EagleInKY

Thought I'd open up a topic just for fun. Prior to this weekend the worst I had heard was (in the middle of the night), "Mr. J, I think I'm going to get sic....", followed by the sound of footsteps as he ran toward the latrine. This weekend I heard a new one. A scout came up to us and said "Don't ever eat raw chicken, especially with bar-b-que sauce". (Further investigation found that the chicken wasn't raw, but just took a long time to cook.) Have any gems to share?

I (SM) usually do. If I can't make it, I try to make sure an ASM attends. We've toyed with the idea of having an assigned committee person to always be there. That way I don't have to try and run someone down if I can't make it. That hasn't worked out as of yet. Our RTs are a sad state of affairs. Few attend. I enjoy going to network with others and find out what other troops are doing.

I don't have one of these. I have the lightweight "hammock bliss". Purchased it form Campmor. At Summer Camp this year I caught at least a 1/2 hour or more nap every afternoon in it. It tended to sag a little more than I'd like to admit. But I loved it.

I agree Veni. It sounds like you've got the makings of a nice SM Minute there, as well. Any time we can use the Scout Law as a measure of their actions, we're accomplishing two objectives at the same time. We're "disciplining them" using their own words (after all, they repeat the Scout Law at nearly every meeting), and we're reinforcing the good things that happen when we do live by the law.

Sure, there's lots of ways to recognize someone. It doesn't mean it has to come from national or council. I had a leader that participated in saving a guy's life. I don't know if he'll get any kind of national award or not. But you can bet that at the next court of honor I brought him up and recognized him in front of the entire troop. I gave him a small token, and a pat on the back. That was greatly appreciated by him.

Agreed. I ask them to tell me who they talked to, what they did, how was the response, etc. I try to use it as an opportunity to coach them on how to sell scouting. I don't think it's going to make a big impact either, but I guess it's worth a shot.

You know, I usually fall on the Uniform Police side of most arguments. But in this case, I'm not that bothered by this. I'm assuming these zip-off pants look very similar to the scout uniform (approx color, etc.). So, if it's a way of getting them more "uniform", then I'm all for it. If they're khaki colored or heaven-forbid camo-design, then I'd clearly be against it. A few years back Walmart had a pair of shorts that looked just like the official Boy Scout shorts. The only differences were that the pockets were a little bigger and they didn't have the official BSA snaps. I know a

Hours spent fundraising for the troop should not be counted as service hours. While not in writing, it goes against the spirit of the requirement. However, I'll allow service hours given toward the BSA. For example, we do service hours at our council camp every year. I'm fine with using that. I've had scouts work in fundraisers for other organizations, and given them credit for service hours. For example, one scout worked a concession stand for the local soccer league. He's not part of the league, just volunteered to help. I count that as service.

Good luck Eagle! Leave some sun and fish for us, we're headed down next summer.

I purchased the Extreme 2 back in the spring. I chose it because it was a little more durable and the design gives you much more room that the traditional dome. It's a little more difficult to set up, but once it is, it's great inside. I wondered why it was a 3 season tent until I actually slept in it one night. Even with the tarp pulled down, there is a significant amount of heat loss on the ends. I don't think I'll use it this winter. I've purchased a few other items and one of our ASMs purchased a backpacking tent. They've been very friendly and I believe the quality/price ratio

Our troop is only three years old. We're up to 27 scouts. Our recruiting classes have ranged from six to 10 in the spring each year. We usually have one or two trickle in during other parts of the year (move into town, new scouts, etc.). We typically lose about 2 each year. I believe we've lost six total, three of those have moved to other units. Because we're a young troop, most of our guys are still in Middle School (only 5 of 27 in HS). I know we're just getting to some of the most challenging ages, as guys get cars and girlfriends and discover lots of other things in high scho

You're in our thoughts and prayers. My mom went through this last year. I know it's tough, but I know you'll be there for her. All my best.

Our troop practices the "try before you buy" concept with recruits that come from outside of our pack. The reason is that you just don't know the boy, the parents, or anything about them. So, we tell them to try it out for a couple of months, go on a campout, and if it doesn't work out, there's no harm done. They'll get their money back (dues and joining fees) and we'll encourage them to try another troop. That hasn't happened, but we have had a couple that visited a couple of times and decided to go elsewhere. Veni - I do think that sports often allow a boy to develop many of the sam

I actually know of a scout troop that did this with boys crossing over. They decided one boy from a particular den didn't fit in and voted to not allow him in. The boy was heartbroken. He had some emotional issues already to deal with (he's a foster child), and then had this dumped on him. I felt very sorry for him. I also felt that the boys in that troop (and their leaders) acted in the most unscoutlike manner that you possibly could. Now, your idea was around keeping numbers small. Which isn't altogether a bad idea. But I'm afraid it could lead to situations like the one I just

Welcome! It's great to have some youth to keep us old guys straight. We look forward to hearing your perspective.

Eagle Foot - I agree with your assessment of the materials. On the up-side, it gives us a lot of latitude in how to structure it. We can tailor the course to our particular unit's needs. For example, our PLC is really struggling in conducting meetings right now. I know that will be part of the next YLT. I borrow from a lot of sources - Materials from courses I've taken at work, books I've read, online resources, etc. Once I combined it in with some low-ropes stuff, for teambuilding purposes. My suggestion is to look at what your unit needs, structure some learning objective

Hops - Good to know there's still hope (and we haven't set any records).

firecrafter - Lisabob gave you an excellent response. Her questions are spot-on. You need more time. But you can do it, if everyone is on-board. First, make sure the boys are aligned with it. Second, make sure the parents are. If so, you need someone to head up the fundraising portion of the project. A couple of thoughts. You'll need to have a few options. There's not any one fundraiser that's going to generate that kind of money at one time. Second, you need to set some goals. How much do you need to raise? To do that, you need to figure out how much you can afford

I don't have any suggestion for you. I'd have a tough time with this kid going. But I would have addressed it at recharter, not now. We've got a boy who joined last year before Summer Camp. He's been in for 13 months and still hasn't made Tenderfoot! (I wonder what the record is). He comes about once every month or two. His isn't a matter of wanting to attend the fun things. His is a situation of only coming if his dad can be there with him (seems the umbilical cord may still be attached.) Good luck.

Welcome to our virtual roundtable! We look forward to getting to know you better.

Hey SA! Great thinking. I like that idea.

Greetings from a fellow Antelope. We're a rare breed, so it's great to see another one in here. You've gotten some great feedback here. Let me throw in my 2-cents. First, you need a fundraising chairperson on the Troop Committee. Ultimately, it's the committee's job to fund the troop. If they don't want to conduct fundraisers, then that's their decision. The boys are responsible for coming up with the program, the committee figures out how to fund it. If you don't have a fundraising chair, you may find yourself playing that role in the interim. We've had one, but he's been inv

This is one of those dilemmas that I struggle with. I like patrol cooking for all the reasons touted here. But I also like the camp-wide view of the dining hall experience. For example, this year we sat with a troop who had come from Illinois. We would likely have never have gotten to know their leaders if we weren't sitting by them all week in the mess hall. Also, the ability to get all of camp together for announcements and such is a plus. But the food pretty much stinks, so I know I'd eat better patrol-style. Interesting, this year one of our patrols wanted to cook a meal in the

We had an interesting development this year. We continue to not allow cell phones for scouts. Our camp has no coverage. You have to leave camp to get a signal. All of our adults have cell phones and we each make the 2-3 mile trip of the road each day to check messages. One scout - with his parent's endorsement - brought a cell phone to camp anyway. This is a scout that I continue to have issues with (him and his family). On Tuesday, he left his backpack somewhere, he thinks at the Rifle Range. He went back and looked several hours later and couldn't find it. He told me so I sen

Thanks SA. Glad that there is a voice of reason out there.