Eamonn

Jaime Working for an organization like the BSA as a volunteer along side other volunteers can be really tough. I have owned several businesses and I know that if some of the people I have worked with, worked for me they would be long gone!! Still I try really hard to remember how much we are paying people like your Cubmaster!! If that doesn't work I try really hard to think of the Scout Law. If that doesn't work I try really hard to remember what a pain it is finding someone to replace them. Do try and attend the Training's, if the CM isn't trained bring him along with you. Invest the money in a copy of the Cub Scout Leader Book and take the time to read it from cover to cover. It's really great when someone is being twit like to be able to quote from the book!! Heck at times it has even made me look like I knew what I was talking about!! Good Luck!! Eamonn.

"You are CC. Part of your responsibility is to find leaders. Don't burn yourself out (or do it to someone else) because there's too much to be done by one person. If you are having a hard time getting parents to commit to being leaders, contact your Unit Commissioner. Your COR might also be able to help." This is NOT the job of the CC !! Unit Commissioners can tell you how to go about it -But chances are they may not know the people who would be acceptable to the CO. This is the job of the Nominating Committee. Eamonn.

I can't say that I've ever heard of an Assistant Pack Committee Chair. before? Most non-program types just joined the committee. Reading your examples it seems clear that the way things are done in the pack you serve are different than in the Pack I served. Not that I'm right and your wrong just different. While most of the new Cub Scouts we got were from some kind of a Sign Up Night, if a little Lad happened to arrive at a Den meeting the Den Leader would take his application to the Leaders meeting and just give it to the Cubmaster. The Cubmaster would inform the Committee at the next meeting. I think what this person does depends a lot on what your plans are! As a retiring District Chairman, I have spent the last year grooming the Vice Chair to take my place. Taking him under my wing and showing him who to and where to go in order to get things done. So a lot will depend on where you see yourself in a given amount of time. I think passing on the role of Nominating Committee Chair to this Vice Chair, might be a good idea. You don't have to wait till there is a crisis to have the Nominating Committee meet. If you don't have a Pack Trainer, she could look after the Training Records and work behind the scenes to promote training for all the adults in the pack. Eamonn.

Hi siberfish Welcome to the forum. A couple of questions. What is your position in the Troop and the Pack? How many people serve on the Unit Committees? Eamonn.

I'm with FScouter. I think?? If he was wearing his "Parent Hat" I don't see that he was out of line. If the Popcorn was a Council Sale he was allowed to wear his uniform. Eamonn.(This message has been edited by Eamonn)

Like a lot of things in our great organization, some COH are really good, some are OK, and some are just ugly. Of course they are never going to be like Pack meetings. A good Pack meeting highlights what each Den has been working on over the past month and the Pack has a central theme running for the month. While a lot of Boy Scouts I know really get into Camp fires and skits and songs, asking them to perform in front of the Troop and parents, just wouldn't fly. Most Lads I know would sooner go to the Dentist. The best COH are well planned and have Scouts doing all the important stuff. Scouts never seem to want to talk as long or as much as the adults do!! I have been very fortunate to see some very impressive COH with really good openings and closings, some have had music that the Scouts have downloaded or brought in on tape or CD. One ended with two Scouts who play in their school band playing Taps (One was the echo) Some Troops do a wonderful job with lighting and do a good job with Scout Law and Scout Oath ceremonies. Some Troops have videos of what they have been up to or show a power point presentation using photos that they have taken. Of course all the best COH know that I love white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies and serve them at the end. Eamonn.

I own both long and short sleeved uniform shirts. But maybe it's just an English thing when we get cold we don't put on extra underwear!! We go for a pullover, sweater or even a sweat shirt. I sure as heck don't wear long underwear under my Scout Shorts. Eamonn.

It's really good news that you are meeting with the CO. Many of us Scouter types would be overjoyed if the CO took a more active role in the Scouting program. We do need to remember that we are only a small part of the Organization that is helping us. I read the Church Newsletter from my church and there are so many different things going on and a lot of different groups doing them. I asked our priest why there was never any news about the Scouting programs in the newsletter? He didn't waste a second and replied that they never hand in any news. Developing a good relationship with he CO as an organization is a must. I found the best way of going about this was on a personal basis. When I was Cubmaster I asked why our COR wasn't attending Pack Committee meetings? The reason was he was never invited. I seen the benefits of having him on "Our side" and wanted him to go to the Parish Council Meetings and do what he could for us, so I went out of my way to get to know him. Once we got to know each other and became friends we were both on the same side. Going along with FScouter you might do well to remember the words of President John F. Kennedy and the January 20, 1961 Inaugural Address: " So let us begin anew--remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate. Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us." " And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own. I really feel that the sentiments expressed in that speech could go a very long way in helping us do God's work through the Scouting Programs Eamonn.

This is for Sea Scout Skippers. But I think it answers your question. As Skipper, you are: to be the key adult leader of the Sea Scout ship, an advisor, a friend and a counselor to Sea Scouts; to be the adult leader who gives direction to the ship program while carrying out the most important duty - advising and coaching the officers as they plan, organize, and conduct the activities of the ship; to be the leader, though you make most of your significant efforts behind the scenes; to coach and give leadership to your Quarterdeck officers; who, in turn, conduct the program of the ship; not expected to do and know everything. The crew will listen to your advice and carry out the program. They will count on you to help in recruiting people who have the skills and equipment that will enhance the ship program; and, to accept the BSA Declaration of religious principle and be of the highest moral character. Hope it helps Eamonn.

While at times there has to be a place where the buck stops. I think that if we all follow the Scout Law we can move toward delivering the program with not a lot of problems. When problems do pop up as they will, we need to take a long hard look at the reason. Sure, having the adults do the menus would make things move faster, having the adults do the cooking and clean up would get it done lickaty-split. But who learns anything? What are we taking away from the Scouts? If we see that something isn't working we need to go back and go over it again. Look for the cause of the problem -I will bet that the problem isn't the menu!! I bet when you look you will find that the problem is leadership. Eamonn.

Harriet Miers? Looks like the White House and George W. Are starting to lose it. No - Change that they have lost it!! Eamonn.

I'm not sure where Bob was getting his information? To date, other than the normal run of the mill rumors, I have not heard anything. That isn't to say that Bob is wrong. Eamonn.

One Lad who received an Eagle Scout scholarship attended an Executive Board meeting, he had really great looking long blond hair. Our Council President who doesn't have much hair left remarked how when he started college he had hair almost that long. I hop that we all remember how we went through different phases and how we followed what we thought was cool when we were young. Sure some kids mess up and it's so easy to blame the look. But some Scouts mess up - Is Scouting to blame? Eamonn. (I loved Ziggy Stardust)

This is a very tough question. I served as a District Commissioner for about eight years. Number of units ? This depends. We had some UC's that only had one unit. Some had as many as four. All sorts of things came into play. The location of the unit. Some of the units are up in the mountains and not near each other, so expecting a UC to drive a long way just wasn't realistic and having a UC drive down to look in on the units in the towns wasn't going to happen. What units want their UCs to do (or not do) and time commitment. As for time. The expectation was that a UC would visit a unit once a month if everything was going well. But when there were problems this might change, I have known UC's attend three meetings in a week. Asking what units expect from their UC is a little like asking 100 people what they want for lunch. Some units will look upon anyone from outside the unit as some sort of spy. Others will just think you and your visit is a waste of time. Some will ask for your help and input while others will want you to really get stuck in and help solve whatever isn't working. Rather than trying to find out what the unit expects from you, it might be better to find out what the District Commissioner or the Assistant District Commissioner is expecting from you. As for working with all the programs? There are people who will say that this works and the UC can read up and get trained to cover them all. I found in most cases it didn't work. It was far better to have people who worked with only program area. Eamonn.

I'll take Sir Paul over Mozart and Beethoven any day!! Band on the run is outstanding!! Eamonn(This message has been edited by Eamonn)

So SemperParatus are you looking for a Gumshoe? Eamonn Going to take a bite out of crime? Oh! By the way Welcome allure_care and fangs for the tip, I'm tickled pink to have it.

"I created a non-profit 501©(3)corporation" I'm not trying to be a smart Alec Really I'm not!! But if you are operating as a 501 ©(3)corporation, is there an agreement with the corporation and the BSA? As there is with a CO? Wouldn't this really cloud the waters in the case of something going very wrong? The BSA covers the CO and the leaders with insurance, but if you are a unidentified corporation aren't you leaving the officers of that corporation wide open without any insurance? No I'm not a lawyer and I didn't spend the night at a Holiday Inn Express -I'm just asking!! Eamonn.

While not finding what I was looking for, I came across: http://beatles.ncf.ca/millenniumlists.html The lists were fun to look at and disagree with. But the Most Influential Americans List was strange. 1 Walt Disney 2 Thomas Edison 3 Henry Ford 4 Bill Gates 5 Steve Jobs 6 Martin Luther King Jr 7 Jackie Robinson 8 Franklin D. Roosevelt 9 James Watson (partner of Crick in discovering DNA) 10 The Wright Brothers But the Best Humanitarian (Irish Millennium Top Ten Internet site) was really strange. 1 Gerry Adams 2 Mother Teresa 3 Mother Theresa (sic) 4 Diana, Princess of Wales 5 Oprah Winfrey 6 Jane Goodall 7 Jimmy Carter 8 Bono 9 Pope John Paul II 10 Jesus Christ Eamonn

I'm not an attorney, I didn't stay at any motel last night let alone a Holiday Inn Express. But here is my take on it -Call it Eamonn's Law. All leaders and adults are listed on the unit charter. When there is no longer a unit charter, they no longer are a part of the unit. Eamonn.

I hope that we never forget that we are here to serve our youth. Eamonn.

I'm guessing that this has to do with the new NYLT? Sad to say I have not had the opportunity to read up on this yet. I have clicked around at: http://lpcylt.org/TR_nylt.htm There is a lot of good stuff there. But given the little time you have I would fall back on the 11 Leadership Skills: 1. Communicating 2. Knowing and Using Resources 3. Understanding the Characteristics and Needs of the Group and Its Members 4. Planning 5. Controlling Group Performance 6. Effective Teaching 7. Representing the Group 8. Evaluating 9. Sharing Leadership 10. Counseling 11. Setting the Example Spending a few minutes on each skill will kill 40 minutes in next to no time!! There is a lot of stuff on the net that you could use to make a power point presentation. I think the OA site has some good stuff as well. Good Luck You might want to ask the organizer to sit in and listen to point 4 !! Eamonn

This is where the Nominating Committee comes into play. Most of the time the NC members are going to talk about a number of people before making their list. When a couple of members from the committee visit the person, they go with a job description. If they are clever they also have a plan "B". If for example the committee had been working on a new Finance Chair and had gone to the local Banker, but when they spoke with him, he said that after working with numbers all day that the last thing he wanted to do in his free time was anything to do with numbers.But he goes on to say how much he enjoyed camping and going to Philmont when he was a Scout. Plan B would be to ask him to serve on the District Camping Committee. Eamonn.

Our Lads are looking at Camp Blue Heron near Savannah, Georgia. For the Sea Kayaking week next summer. Has anyone any knowledge about the camp and the sea kayaking program? Eamonn.

I'm sure that ticket approval is the job of the Guide. Our Guides along with another Staffer met with their Patrol in the time between sessions. While a lot of the time was spent on the project, some was spent on the Ticket. One of the most important things a CD can do is make sure that the Guides really do have a good understanding of what Vision and Mission mean. These should be about your role in the BSA. I have to admit that I can't see what a date night with Her Who Must Be Obeyed would do to further my vision or mission? I know in the old course there was room for personal goals and I seen a lot of tickets with quitting smoking and losing weight, but I just don't see how they fit into a 21st Century Wood Badge Ticket. But if the Troop Guide says it's fine -It's fine!! Eamonn.

Maybe not. But when you think of the time and effort that we at times put into getting people to do things that they really don't want to do and then add the time we put in "Cleaning up" and brow beating someone else who doesn't want the job. I think it's worth doing right the first time. Eamonn