eagle90

I would be a little hesitant about interview a large number of candidates, as there may be some hurt feelings from those "rejected". I had a similar situation a number of years ago when I had a "pseudo-interview" for a Jamboree leadership position. The interviews were really window dressing because the leaders were already pre-selected by those in charge. A few other leaders and I were rejected and were extremely upset and hurt. One actually left the program. I got over it after a while and was subsequently picked four years later. I understand we have to be adult about this, but it still

As a Scout - Camp Delevan, Delevan, WI (defunct) Camp Mach-Kin-O-Siew, Elcho, WI Now we attend Lefeber Northwoods Camp in Laona, WI.

I think it depends on your CO. We are chartered by a PTO organization and they wanted no part of insuring or titling our trailer, so we put it under the Troop's name. State Farm insures it for about $30.00 per year.

I'm a complte computer novice, but it sounds like a great idea to me!

When I'm NOT Scouting, I am General Manager of a contract electronic assembly house, specializing in printed circuit boards and cables and harnesses for the controls and medical industry. if anyone needs any, please call!!

JB - Sounds like an excellent idea. I too believe the High Adventure program is what holds the scouts in the program longer. There have been times when our troop has had more high school boys that Jr. High boys. Not a totally healthy situation, but as long as they are interested in Scouting, the better off we all are. I'm always looking for new ideas for places to go and exciting things to do.

Our troop will be celebrating its 50th Anniversary next February. Our committee has been kicking around ways to celebrate this momentous occasion. Some of the ideas have been a "Class reunion" kind of banquet, an alumni campout, etc. Have any of you had an anniverary celebration of some type? What did you do, who was invited, how did you contact them etc. We want to get an early start, so any advice would be appreciated. THANKS!

With your training and experience and your knowledge of how the program should be run, you would be welcomed with open arms in most troops, including ours! Look around and find another home. It is probably for the best. Good luck!

Our troop had its annual Rummage Sale last weekend and made over $1600 in one day. All families brought their rummage on friday night, we set it all out, and were open Saturday from 7 AM till 1:00. Only expenses were a couple of classified ads in the local paper. The families are happy to get rid of their "treasures". The leftovers were donated to the Cancer Federation for their resale shops. It's an easy way to make money, expose the public to Scouting, and is good fellowship at the same time.

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING. Aren't we carrying things a little too far?

OGE - Good suggestion. We will definitely bring that up when it is time for this year's donation.

In my experience, churches and fraternal organizations are much more supportive than schools and PTA's. Our sponbsor barely knows we exist. They provide a meeting place and nothing else. In fact, we support them with a $200 donation every year instead of the other way around! And in most years we do not even receive a "Thank You" from them!

My SPL from two years ago is now in the Army Airborne (51st), and is in Kuwait. This brings the situation much closer to home than normal. You can believe he and his fellow soldiers are in my thoughts and prayers daily.

Beautifully expressed, redfeather!

While i agree the ceremony should be an individual choice, I think the COH, if done well, is not only for the eagle candidate, but also can be great incentive for younger boys in the troop. We always see a surge in MB's and advancement after an eagle COH. The younger scouts think that maybe one day it will be them up there!

Just last week a dad of one of our Troop's eagle scouts who is now a junior at a pretigious west coast college called me. He said his son and three other young men didn't know what to do for their spring break, so they applied for a grant to go to Northern ireland to work with the homeless. Forty groups of students applied, but his son's group won the grant and will be en route to Northern ireland later this month. His son said the leadership learned in Scouting and the fact that 3 of the 4 requestors were Eagle scouts got them their grant. He called to relate this story and to thank me fo

Congratulations to your son, his scout leaders and fellow scouts, and of course to his family. It is an accomplishment to be proud of. Now, get to work on the Star Scout!!

The thoughts and prayers of another Illinois scouter are with him.

The City of South Bend, IN has the East Race Waterway, a man-made Whitewater course,about 1/4 mile long. They charge a nominal fee per ride and supply kayaks or tubes. They do have a rather short season though - beginning of June till mid August.

OGE - There is a web site (and I apologize for not remembering what it is) whereby you can print the entire Supreme Court decision, which includes the facts as presented and the majority and minority opinions. I printed it out just after it came out and found it to be fascinating reading. Maybe someone can remind us of the site.

As a Troop we do 2 fund raisers a year. A Pancake Breakfast in fall and a Rummage Sale in spring. 2/3 of the profits from the Breakfast go back to the scouts in the form of Camp Credits to be used for summer activities or weekend campouts. I think burnout would occur with 5 or 6 fundraisers a year. When is there any time to do the "Scouting stuff"?

Amen, Bob

KS - You hit the nail right on the head! The Popcorn chairman is now trying to change the rules after the game is over. WHen it was broached to sell Popcorn, nothing was mentioned about the Troop's portion be appropriated to the individual scouts. The scouts were to earn scholarships and prizes as their reward. Now, they want to change things, and some people are upset, because had they known they could have earned credits toward campouts, they would have sold popcorn too. You can imagine the fallout we are trying to dodge! HELP!!!

We had some boys in our troop sell popcorn for the first time this year and are having a sometimes heated discussion on how to disburse the 1/3 that the troop retains. Some of the suggestions are: that the funds go into the troop's general treasury; give a percentage to the scouts in camp credits to be used for summer or weekend camps (1/3; 1/2; 2/3, all); give a percentage to the scout to be used exclusively for High Adventure trips; etc. How have your units handled this situation? Quick responses would be appreciated as we have a meeting coming up very soon! As usual, thanks in

If we know a scout is leaving early Sunday before take-down, we make sure that scout has "extra" duty during setup or during the day on Saturday to make up for missing take-down. Maybe if you make the other duties more difficult he may relize that take down isn't so bad after all.