eagle90

Having sat in on 50+ Eagle BOR's , and having done the same amount of SM conferences for Eagle, when scouts are asked "What is the highlight of your Scouting career?"  I would say the vast majority of them answered "Summer Camp". 

Very well said.  Especially Point #1.  A few years ago we had some parents who were only there for their own children and it caused a large rift among both scouts and adults to the point of shouting matches.  Not a pleasant situation for anyone.  A well thought out message.

Dale

Let's try to get appropriate ads.  The latest one for bras and lingerie doesn't seem right for a Scout forum.

We have a similar situation.  3 boy patrols, 1 girls patrol.  There are 2 SPL's (one girl, one boy) and 4 patrol leaders.  Working very well so far.

Dale

I believe all the money collected should go to the troop and then the Troop could decide to donate a portion to the senior center as a service project.  The individual scout should not make that decision.  It would open a can of worms if the scout wanted to donate to a cause not supported by the majority of the troop or the BSA.

Well said Jameson.  I totally agree

Dale

Very nice.  We had two very influential leaders pass within three months.  Might look into doing that.

Dale

One of our former ASM's was a woodworker and made a gavel out of a piece of wood from our summer camp.  Unfortunately he passed away way too early from brain cancer, so we use the gavel symbolically to feel he is still with us.

Dale

The CC bangs his gavel and says "The Meeting will come to order"....

Wonder what the mortgage payment is on $450,000,000?

28 degrees would be a welcomed heat wave here today.  It is 14 degrees with a -5 wind chill!

We always have our scouts in uniform when selling our tickets either door to door or in front of the local supermarket.  What better PR for the organization?

LOL!  Our troop is camping this weekend too.  Only the temperature is supposed to be in the low 20's Friday night!

Our new scouts receive a troop neckerchief and a troop t-shirt.  If they are crossing over from the pack, they receive a handbook from the pack.

Hope she didn't get the Gucci outfit wet and the high heels didn't puncture the raft!

We have found that early August is the best time.  After black fly season, and the mosquitoes are calming down.  Also the weather and the water is the warmest.  We prefer Ely, as the waters and woods are similar to the Canadian side, and there are no daily fees.

Dale

We have done a Rummage/Garage Sale for over 20 years.  We fill the school gym with used treasures and normally make between $1,500 and $2,000 for one day's work.  It is also a good fellowship activity because it gets all families involved, even the ones we don't see too often.

We had a similar situation occur a number of years ago when two brand new parents did not like the way the troop operated and left to start their own troop.  We lost about ten scouts.  However, we gritted it out and prospered and grew.  The new troop had problems right from the start, a lot of internal dissension, and folded after two years.  Some of the scouts came back to us and said that leaving was the worst decision they ever made.  So keep up the good work and things will get better!

Dale

We have always tipped our Sea Base guide or rafting guides after our trips. We did not tip the boat captains.   We don't do it blatantly, but discretely.  For the most part these young men are not highly paid, and if our tip can pay for a pizza or the like for them, we've done a good thing.  We build it into the fees for the trip

After 40+ years it got to the point that instead of looking forward to meetings and campouts I was dreading them.  It was time to step down.  Best thing I ever did.  Now I go to the events that I want to and not have to.  Lot less stress and aggravation

PROGRAM  PROGRAM  PROGRAM

After doing Eagle Scoutmaster Conferences for 30+ years, one of the questions I always asked was "When did you decide you wanted to become an Eagle?"  And one of the most popular responses was "When I was at so and so's Eagle COH."  So it is not only for the eagle candidate. but is a great inspiration for younger scouts.

Dale

One of the most fun activities at Scout camp as a youth was building a raft out of logs and 55 gallon drums and then "sailing" it out on the lake and seeing how long it would stay afloat!  A good pioneering project.

Absolutely not.  Let's not get carried away with paperwork and regulations!