EagleInKY

E - You are exactly right. As I was reading the thread I was thinking of the same type of example. My wife's family always celebrated Thanksgiving Dinner on Thursday and opened presents on Christmas Eve. My family was always traveling on Thanksgiving and had dinner on Friday or Saturday, but we always opened presents Christmas day. How fortunate our family traditions complemented each other. If they hadn't worked out so well, we would have adjusted our traditions to fit the new situations we were faced with. And, of course, our traditions have changed over time. Our troop also has t

I strongly encourage units to have an audit/review of the books once a year. Usually you can find another member of the troop committee to do this. We have an accountant on our committee who does this for us. Additionally, I encourage units to rotate the treasurer duties every 2 years. This reduces the chance (or even the appearance of) impropriety. It also forces you to rotate a rather challenging, thankless job.

Nothing more to add, other than to say Mark gave you a GREAT answer. Use it wisely!

We experienced some similar problems when we did troop cooking. We did this until we had close to 20, and then decided to switch to Patrol cooking. It's been great ever since we "converted". I think the boys act much more decisively when they are doing it for themselves. I've also found that over time they get a good feel for what each other likes. Now their planning consists of coming up with general ideas, and then let their patrol grubmaster work out the details. As for SM guidelines, I don't get after them too often about their eating habits. We do talk sometimes about food grou

Welcome to the forum. It's great to have scouts in here to provide the youth perspective. We look forward to learning from you.

Recently I was reminded of the stages of team development (forming/storming/norming/performing) and used the concept to explain to my ASMs why we had to change the way we were approaching some things.

Here's the "official" rules from the BSA website. Generally, if you follow the rules regarding logo, size, color, etc., you shouldn't have any concern. http://www.scouting.org/identity/contents/11.html The trademarks and logos of the Boy Scouts of America are protected by a 1916 act of Congress (36 U.S.C. 27) as well as by a variety of registrations with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The 1916 act specifically gives the Boy Scouts of America the sole and exclusive right to use its "emblems, badges, descriptive and designating marks" in connection with carrying out its purpos

There are certainly debates over what "boy-led" means, and in particular how it relates to youth leadership. As the SM, I do not believe boy-led means I turn a blind eye and allow the troop to fall apart. Here's what I do. When the boys are nominated for SPL, I have veto power over any name. If I know the boy is only doing it for the "power" of the position, I'm probably not going to allow him to run. I use the opportunity to coach him on why he's not prepared and what he should do to be more prepared at the next election. I realize some won't like this approach, but I believe it's

I would discourage you from asking them to not come to the meeting. Adult association is one of the methods of scouting and meetings are just one of those opportunities for scouts to interact with adults. I would have a pow-wow with your adults and set a new standard. Make sure they understand what their role is at troop meetings. What's their role? First, and foremost, it's whatever the SPL asks them to do. Additionally, our job is to assist the troop leaders in running the meeting. Assist is the key word. What does that mean? Here are some ideas: - Helping keep them on time.

Welcome back mighty warrior!

We attempt to make campouts a zero-budget item. In other words, the cost of the campout is covered by those that participate in it. We use a fairly set formula and hope it works. So, let's say the cost for campsites is $100, and we estimate that 20 people will attend, we charge $5 to each person (in addition to other costs - food, activities, etc.). Sometimes, if a trip is getting a little expensive, we'll charge a less and let the troop absorb some of the cost. For example, we had a canoe trip that was getting up around $35. We only charged $25 or $30 (don't remember now). On the

John-in-KC gave a good overview of the differences. I think we're comparing apples to oranges. For example, if I said winning a Presidential Election is similar to winning two NCAA Basketball Championships, you'd scratch your head and say "huh?". But there are similarities. They both require raising money, both require a dedicated fan base, both require lots of sweat and energy, both require you to be opened up to public scrutiny and unsolicited feedback, both require a game plan, and so forth. But even with all the similarities, they are two drastically different items. When

As with anything, you can use statistics to make almost any point. The way I've always understood the "less than 5%" or "around 2%" numbers was that it was of all the scouts that ever joined, at any level, what percentage made Eagle. For example, if I take the kids my son's age, I can look back at all the boys that came through his den as a Cub Scout. I should know how many there were, but I don't. I remember there being 10 that started together as Tigers. My son is the only one of that group. Others joined as Wolves, Bears, Webelos and Scouts. I would guess that close to 25 joined

Welcome to the forum and welcome back to Cub Scouting. The main thing is to have fun. Get trained, so you understand the purpose behind what we are doing, and so you can offer the boys the best scouting experience possible. Good luck.

I would classify scouts (in regards to attendance patterns) into these groups: 1) Those who are very involved and this is their primary activity. These scouts are present close to 100% of the time. They may miss occasionally due to a sport, band or school function. But it's the exception. 2) Those that are interested, but are over-programmed. These are the kids in several sports. When sports don't get in the way, they are very involved. But you may go weeks or months and rarely see them during their various seasons. 3) Those that consider scouts a filler activity and get involve

Congrats John in KC from John in KY. I used to be an Antelope SR-606

hunt - Good response. I concur. I don't want to pass judgment on the lad. I think it's entirely possible that he was up to youthful "antics". A good friend of mine in High School decided to make a homemade explosive with some of our friends (luckily, I wasn't there, or I probably would have gone along with it). There plan was to blow up some plastic toy cars for fun. In planning their fun, he blew off 1 1/2 fingers. (Ouch). He was lucky, and was still able to play the Saxophone. Kids do stupid things. I hope that's all this was.

The main thing is that it's fun. The primary campout where we have Webelos visit was this past weekend. It's a simple overnighter, we go out mid-day on Saturday and wrap up Sunday morning. It's local, so those with conflicts can at least spend some time with us. This year we had seven Webelos spend the night and one spend the day. The guys had organized an orienteering course with some scout skills stations (kind of like a Klondike without the sleds). This is something we do every year to practice for Klondike. After which they played a variety of games (football, capture the flag

Ed, I respectfully disagree. I understand why we should you age-appropriate guidelines in activities and why we would expect a 13 year old first time SPL to perform different from a 16 year old 3 term SPL. However, I do not believe we alter requirements based on age. If that were the case, we'd take it easier on the 12 year old taking lifesaving than we do the 17 year old in the same class. If a 13 year old wants to be Eagle but doesn't have the maturity to carry out the project at an expected level, then he's simply not ready. Get some leadership experience and come back prepared next ye

You've received some good advice (as you always will from Mark, OGE & Barry). This is truly a test of leadership for your son. This is what makes Scouting so special. He won't get this type of experience in any other youth activity that I'm aware of. Here are some random thoughts.... Recently I had a scout tell me he was leaving the troop. He's closing in on 17, not likely to make Eagle, and is not enjoying it as much as he used to. I asked him why and he said it was because of the immaturity of the leaders. I looked him square in the eye and told him I agreed that our lea

I personally don't have an issue with it being self-funded. Some get fired up about the idea and feel that the scout should raise the funds. There view is that this is part of the lessons learned in the project. I disagree. My Eagle Project was a big challenge, but all materials were provided by the church. I provided leadership and free labor. I understand why some have this point of view. (Mommy and daddy paying junior's way and all). But that's not a fair reason to add to the requirement.

It's a true ASM. JASM is a youth role. So, he would qualify as the 2nd adult on a campout. (One adult must be at least 21).

Beavah - Yeah, the rules are a little convoluted (can do it as a venturer but not a scout) and all. However, I beg to differ with your thought that it's no big deal for an 18 YO (FORMER BOY SCOUT) to tent with his 17 year old buddy. You've left yourself wide open for problems if it turned out something was going on there. The scout needs to understand that he's reached another stage in life, and that there are adjustments we must make.

Welcome to the forum!

Hunt - I'll give you a different POV on that. I turned 18 right before going to college and signed on to be an ASM. I camped with the troop over Christmas holidays and a few times over the next few summers. I even made a return trip to Philmont (and made it to several of the shakedowns before the trip). So, it can be done. Admittedly, it was easier to come back and act like an adult after being away to college for a semester. It has to be much harder if they turn 18 while still in school.