Eamonn

Hi KS Yet again you have pulled up a topic that I guess you knew that I would have to add my 2 cents too. Scouts and Scouting is just about everywhere in our house. It is not possible to avoid it. The phone calls, the E-mails, the letters. There is no set time for Scouting. I am not involved in the troop that he is in.Me not being involved is by his request. He didn't want me to join when he crossed over. At that time I was already the District Commissioner. I think he was getting a bit fed up with me dragging him alone to stuff that he wasn't really interested in. The troop he is in is by no means perfect and does a lot of things that I don't like. I do have too bite my tongue.I do remind myself that I'm not the Scoutmaster. I am very careful not to allow him to overhear phone conversations or read E-mails which might be seen as me saying something bad about another Adult. He seems to have this idea that I know everything!! Which of course I don't. He does at times try and pump me for information. While I do at times know things a little earlier than some volunteers, most times all the stuff I know is made public soon after I become aware of it. He has been a Life Scout for what seems like an eon. Every now and then it will come up. Her That Must Be Obeyed, seems to want him to get his Eagle ASAP.I dearly would love him to reach the goal, but refuse to make it my goal. He is really into the Order Of The Arrow. I am 100% for the OA and what it stands for. I really like the Lodge Adviser. But I worry that a lot of the young Adults (22-35) forget that the Lodge is part of the Council. To be very blunt they annoy me. He was going to run for Lodge Chief this year.(Some serious politicking made him change his mind) He was up at camp every week pressing the flesh. It got back to me that he was putting the present Chief down (He was also running for a second term.) This really up set me.I don't want him putting other people down ever -Especially not in the name of Scouting and not in our honor society. I did intervene and put a stop to it. His term of office as SPL came to an end last week. He did a really good job. Mainly because he had been on staff for JLTC. While he was preparing for JLTC,he did ask me to work with him. I of course did. I used to do things that clearly annoyed him. We would pass a Lad on the street and he would say "There's John Doe." And I would ask "What troop is he in?" He would then explain that not every kid he knew was a Scout!! He is now at an age where he has a lot more choices and is doing a lot more things. At supper last night he announced that so far next summer he will be away for 43 days and that's if he doesn't go back to do JLTC. Announcements like that do make Scouts and Scouting the topic at dinner. He is trying very hard to be his own man and get out from under my shadow. Some things he just refuses to understand: Venturers at the Jamboree, Venturers in the OA. I try to explain this stuff too him, but he is young. I do try not to allow Scouts and Scouting take over everything that we do. Eamonn.

Nipper has been on my case to buy him a new calculator. Last year we bought him one through the school for about $45.00. This year he keeps steering me toward ones that cost about $150.00. It has a USB connection for a computer and way too many buttons that I don't know how to use. $150 seems like a lot, but he is telling me that he needs it. Eamonn.

How can you get your Scoutmaster to step down? You can't!! The Scoutmaster was selected by a committee and approved by the Chartering Organization. These are the people who "Hired" Him and unless he does something way out of line, and the Scout Executive finds reason to revoke his membership , the people who "Hired him." Will be the people who "Fire Him." If you are really unhappy you can of course join another troop. F.Scouter has some good ideas, but it will mean a change of mindset on your part. You will have to decide that you are going to work with the Scoutmaster and support him as he might try and change. If you do this there is no guarantee that he will change or things in the troop will change. If you decide to use the material as a tool to challenge the Scoutmaster and "Rub his nose in it." You would be serving everyone better by not being there. Why a Chartering Organization selects a person to lead their youth program is in their hands. Please believe me that there are times when the guys at the district level wonder why? Sad to say very often the guy or girl selected is selected because at the time they might be the person who is available and willing. You and the Scouts in the troop, along with the District type people need to look at the Scout Law and Oath. Using them as your guide what can you do to make things better? How can you help this Scoutmaster? What part does Trustworthy, Loyal, and Obedient play in helping to improve things? The first step might be to pick the right time and place to talk with the Scoutmaster and in a calm and polite way express your feelings. It could be that he needs help in an area that you might be able to help. Eamonn.

Some people may wonder where or how we came up with Her Who Must Be Obeyed. When we were planning our wedding service, which was in my parish church back home in London, we met with the parish priest, who had an American mother. We were going over the vows and she was adamant that she was not going to "Obey". She said that she wasn't a dog. I read a lot, normally 3 or 4 books a week. Nothing heavy, just anything that is on the discount displays at the book stores. I got into reading the John Mortimer,Rumpole of the Bailey books, mainly because my little sister is a barrister and was for a while at the Old Bailey. Later it became a TV series by Thames Television which was aired by PBS. Rumpole a very crusty old barrister calls his wife "Her That Must Be Obeyed. PBS has a sales catalog where they sell tapes, DVD's and shirts, they had a sweat shirt, with Her That Must Be Obeyed on it. When we had bands play at the bar, there were lots of young people and she would wear her shirt. There was never ever any mistake who was in charge. Eamonn

Much the same as Bob, the Den kept their number all the way, but they made a new flag each year. The Commissioner is right you can call them "The whatever den" but being as you have such a wonderful program and the pack is the best show in town /on the Island you will soon have more than just one whatever den. Belonging to a Den is important to the little fellows in the den. Den pride will we hope in time lead them to being proud members of a Patrol when they cross over into Boy Scouts.Preparing these little fellows to become Boy Scouts is a very important part of Cubscouting. Welcome to the Forums, I hope you will stick around and update us how things are going. Eamonn.

I just love playing with all the new toys that are out there. Let me lose in a store and I can spend hours trying to see how things work, pushing buttons, twisting knobs. I am in my element, Her That Must Be Obeyed tries not to go with me and OJ informs me that I'm an over grown kid. Car salesmen are pushy, when you go and play with the new cars they are like wasps at a picnic, they swarm in thinking they will make a sale. I like a lot of what is happening in cars. On Star is a great idea, I don't have it but never the less what a great toy. Pam has it on her little Mercedes, I like getting lost just so I can push the button. When the voice fills the car it's like talking to God. I'm not as yet sold on satellite radio. I think that I'm just too cheap to pay $20.00 a month to hear the radio. I don't really travel that much in my car. Most of the time the trips are the same: To and from work, off to the store or just around town. I look at the new video navigation tools and while they impress me, I don't really need them. For trips when I don't know how to get where I'm going I use Map-quest or Yahoo. Her That Must Be Obeyed will get a trip-ticket from the AAA. I have been keeping an eye on the hand held GPS units and see how the price is falling, I really don't need one but think that I will get one. It will be added to the other toys that I have and don't use that much. Eamonn.

I am saddened to hear about your Buddy and do hope that everything works out both for him and the troop. I thought long and hard before I decided to post in this thread. There is a presentation in one of the advanced Commissioner Training's about Scouting and your spouse, that isn't the exact title but it's close. Her That Must Be Obeyed and yours truly will be married for 22 years in January. We met at our Council camp 27 years ago last June. We really are a great team. I have over the past 22 years taken her to some very dark and dangerous places. We were on the brink of bankruptcy a couple of times, when I over extended and we were not bringing in enough money, we came close to sinking in a sea of red ink. We stood by each other and the Big Guy heard and answered our prayers. I spent about 15 years lost in building up our businesses working 16 -18 hours a day. I was having a ball, I loved what I was doing it was or I thought it was my life. We rarely took vacations together, I would take off to England or Ireland leaving her to "Mind the shop." In our 22 years we have only ever had one big fight and that was over Fried Eggs!! It was in March of 1984. She has not fried me an egg since. I was very surprised about six years ago when our Priest asked if we would get involved with the Marriage Classes, the classes that engaged couples take before they take the plunge. Surprised because I have never thought of myself as being very religious. Sure I attend Mass every week and have been involved with a few committees. But really surprised because Her That Must Be Obeyed, is not a catholic. We only do these classes two or three times a year. Before we took the plunge we had agreed that if we were ever blessed with children we would raise them as Catholics. When OJ joined the pack, I was on the Council properties committee. The committee only met a few times a year and if the truth were to be told I really only took the job to keep a few friends happy and get them off my back. She joined the Pack Committee straight away, and when the top leaders all were leaving she engineered and plotted behind my back to re-activate me. I think she remembered how our house in London always had Scouts coming and going. How the troop had formed an honor guard out side the church the day we got married. Once I got back into the swing of things Scouting took over, she was left to look after things more and more, I was busy with Wood Badge courses, meetings and after the meeting meetings. She has always been very supportive and to say that there was never the odd moan or groan would be stretching the truth. However I think that she didn't say much mainly because I wouldn't listen anyway. We both love each other a heck of a lot and still do things like hold hands. We always make sure that we kiss each other good night and before leaving the house for work or in the evening there is always a quick peck on the cheek. She isn't a good cook, but she tries. She works part time at our local hospital, she says that she needs to get out of the house. We share a great love of dogs, if she had her way she would adopt every stray dog. We normally have three dogs but for the past few years only have the two. Our great love is our son. We both think that he is a good kid and we are both very proud of what a good job we have done raising him. - Even if we do say it ourselves. Last June she started having female type problems, they got so bad that one day when I had been at work and then stopped to see how Day Camp was coming along, she took herself to the emergency room. This led to her seeing a gynecologist. I had never been good with the workings of the female body. This OB/Gyn Doctor did a biopsy in the office and what we both thought was something to do with menopause turned out to be endometrial cancer. Things started to happen, she had to see all sorts of doctors and have surgery. She had the surgery in late September and will start radiation therapy on Tuesday. She has been tattooed, cut from stem to stern. The C word scared the heck out of both of us. She started sorting things out so that if anything did happen I would know where to find them. I have always loved my wife, but the thought of losing her gave me a real jolt. I love Scouting and enjoy the time I spend doing what I do. But this really was a wake up call. John Lennon in Power To The People, asks "How Do Treat That Old Lady Back Home?" We talk about Family,Church, Work and then Scouts. I have delivered that speech so many times - When she has been left home for the how many nights? Beaver old Pal, I do feel for your buddy. I do hope that everything works out. I would suggest that we all do our best to listen to what the other half is saying and we all need to be a little more aware of each others families. Little things like invitations, we need to ensure that we invite the spouse to events such as COH and Blue & Gold banquets. We need to be aware that meetings on important dates are unfair. Units need to thank the wifes of the Scout leaders. Scouting is a big part of my life, it was sad that it took something this big to make me see that Her Who Must Be Obeyed is so much bigger. Eamonn.

Coming again!! Knots are great fum, messing around with rope or string can be a nice way to pass the time. They can be very useful, there are knots used in climbing, sailing, rescuing, pioneering, first aid, butchery, hair dressing,trucking too name but a few places. I have a real hard time explaining how to tie a knot or drawing a knot. I can show you how to tie a knot. But when it comes to pictures it somehow just doesn't register, hence the reference to the uniform knots. All of these have a right and a wrong way and an up and a down. The bad thing about being a District Commissioner is that other people who really do need to get a life expect you to be perfect especially in matters of uniforming. I have a large number of uniform shirts, one has a knot (I'm no longer sure which knot.) that Her Who Must Be Obeyed, sticky ironed and then sewed on upside down. Most people wouldn't even notice, most of those who would notice wouldn't mention it, but I had to have one Unit Commissioner who did. Eamonn.(This message has been edited by Eamonn)

You do need to know what sort of service you want to do. This will be determined by having some knowledge of who will be attending. If they are all Christian you might want to use readings from the Gospels. Where as if you have a mix you might want to go more for inspirational readings. From what you have posted it seems you have the diversity angle well in hand. I have always tried to work within a theme. If possible try and get the boys to do as much as they can. Baden Powell had a lot to say about Scouts' Own services here is one of the things that he said. If a man cannot make his point to keen boys in ten minutes, he ought to be shot !" Robert Baden-Powell The Scouter, November 1928 The following link has a few things that might get your little gray cells working: http://scoutdocs.ca/Documents/Scouts_Own.php I hope you will forgive me if I retell my Scouts' Own story. I had been asked to plan and organize the Cubs Own for a National Camp School for Day Camp Directors. I choose Peace as my theme. I had poems that children from all over the world had written about peace. We sang "Hes Got The Whole World In His Hand" I spoke about my involvement with a charity that brings kids from Northern Ireland over to the USA. I had hedged my bets I had two services. One short one, in case things weren't going well and a longer one if things were going well. I got under way and was soon into the fact that some kids thought that peace was just not being at war. There was one Lady who got very tearful, by the time I got to the poems she was crying. I thought I was doing a great job. In fact I was starting to think that I had missed my calling. The Saint Francis prayer which would have gone on hold if things weren't going well was now in. The Lady was now crying up a storm. When it was all over, people were coming up to me thanking me and telling me that I had done a good job. Then the Lady who was crying came out I said that I hoped I hadn't upset her, she rushed away Kleenex in hand. Her pal who had been sitting next to her looked at me and said that I wasn't to worry, it wasn't anything that I had done but she had just found out that her cat had died!! So much for my calling. Cub Scouts are great little fellows and I don't mean any disrespect when I say that KISMIF works all through the program even at Scouts / Cub Scouts own. The service is for the Cub Scouts not the adults. Keep it down to 20 minutes or so. There are a lot of nice books that are out there for kids. I do think the theme helps me a lot. Eamonn

This is the guy who has one of the knots on his uniform on upside down. Grab a keyring and a rubber band. Feed the band through the hole of the keyring, then put the rubber band through itself. You have a Larks head. It looks flat. Keep the keyring, find a shoelace /shoestring. Fold the string in half. Feed it through the keyring until both sides are the same length. You have two ends and the loop tie an overhand knot. That is what I think was the idea behind the knot that hangs down. Of course Bob I will do my best to meet you on that first Wednesday. Heck I will even present you with the CSP,from our Council. That is of course if the lazy little toads ever get around to designing one. Eamonn

Lanterns for backpacking? Even back in the day, we made do with flashlights or to use the English we used our torches. Our Patrols had lanterns in their patrol boxes. Coleman a few years back came out with a lantern, which I either must have read the instructions wrong or the mantle went on upside down. Every time you moved the darn thing the mantle broke. I have one that requires two mantles. I don't use it very much. I really do like the big Coleman flashlight that has the two small what look like florescent bulbs along the side. They list for about $20.00 The light is good enough to read with and the batteries seem to last a very long time. I have tried reading in bed with my fancy LCD lamp that you wear over your head, I can't get used to it. But for hiking at night I really do like it. I think I paid about $30.00, but that was when they were new on the market they have come down a bit. It must be the Cub Scout in me I love flashlights I have a tiny mag-lite on my key ring, a belt sized one in the glove box of all my cars and a big one (3 D Battery size) in the trunk (Boot) We have flashlights in the garages, the game room and the basement as well as the kitchen. I don't know what the attraction is? Some people in a word association game would answer knife to camping I would say flashlight.It could just be a phase I used to have a thing for compasses. That was the Boy Scout in me - Could it be that I'm going back to my early childhood? Eamonn. PS No! the truth is I'm losing my night vision.

If it is of any help, my source informs me that the reference can be found on page 9 of the Registration procedures manual, under the Chartered Organizations heading the last sentence is: "A unit can be sponsored by more than one chartered organization." That is all it has to say. Eamonn.

Maybe the Old Gray Eagle ought to have been an Old Gray Owl. He is right as was the Lady in your Council Service Center. Which is a fine way of me avoiding me saying that I was wrong. There is indeed a sentence in the handbook that says a unit can be chartered by two organizations. I admit to being wrong and am sorry for sounding off without checking. I do think that there would have to be special, out of the ordinary circumstances. I am racking my brain trying to think of one and so far am drawing a blank. But that's nothing new!! Please pass the salt and pepper I need to season this crow before I eat it. Again please accept my apologies. Eamonn.

Unc I tried to leave it open. Some people might have had all the big rocks in place before joining Scouts and Scouting. My feelings are that the Oath and Law are a work in progress. I did have a fair understanding of all these long before joining at the age of 8. Eamonn.

Thanks for the kind words. I do like the BP farewell message. If I remember right, there is a recording of it at BP House, in London, and some little while back OGE posted a link to a site that had a lot of Baden Powell's recordings. It might have been the Boy Scouts of Hong Kong? Eamonn

You have asked the question in a lot fewer words than I did. My point is that the Finance Directors are not trained for the job. For example our last Field Director has just been hired as a Finance Director. He was with us for three years, this year for the first time he was involved in one Council fund raising dinner. He in fact has had less to do with raising funds over the past three years than the DE's have. Now he has gone to a much larger Council and is responsible for finance? The guy has no knowledge about Grant writing. No real knowledge about money. Is able to balance his check book, but I feel sure he is no financial wizard. On the job training is all well and good, but who suffers and pays for his mistakes while he is learning? We do!! Sad to say the hiring of staff is, in most Councils up to the Scout Exec. The Scout Exec. will have to carry the blame when a person that he has hired is not living up to the expectations of the board. Sure we need people who share in the values of the BSA to work for the BSA,but I would feel happier knowing that the Finance Director has knowledge of Finance. In fact I would put this before Scouting knowledge. We are talking about vast sums of money. Eamonn

We have over the past month or so looked at what worked and what didn't work, we looked at how some people might try to measure success. Some of us have been in Scouting ever since we joined as very little fellows, others came on as adults. Some were here left and have come back. At the end of the Wood Badge course we remind everyone that training never ends. Which I take too mean that we will always be learning. Still just for a moment take a break from this endless pursuit for knowledge and share with us what you think is the most important thing that you have learned or got from Scouting so far? It doesn't have to be a gigantic thing it might be something that others might find very small. In my case I think that thanks to having being in Scouting I have two things that I think are very important. One was learning to cook. My stay at home Irish Mother would never allow us boys into her kitchen. Being allowed to cook at camp opened my eyes to a whole new world. The other thing which I think is a biggie that I'm still working on, is becoming more empathetic. While I still work very much on the assumption that I'm right most of the time, I am trying to get better at seeing where the other person is coming from and going through. When the phone rings and it is a Leader who is having a rough time, I am getting better at really listening and hearing what they are going through and putting myself in their shoes. I'm really trying very hard not to "Preach" and am getting better at giving them the time and opportunity to work things out, just using me as a sounding board - It works better then them being bored because I'm doing all the sounding!! I still have a ways to go. Just ask OJ! Eamonn

Check out your Regional Web site or give them a call they may know more than the guys in the Council.NCS are not Council programs. They do use Council facilities to host the course. I do know that most courses are held late spring early summer, when the Councils have their new camp staff all lined up and the schools and colleges are out. This being where the staff mainly come from and are free. If the Council is paying they may want people to attend as late as possible, that way they feel more certain that people will not make other plans and the certification is put too work ASAP. These courses are very expensive, I'm not really sure why? But sending a guy who is going to be a no show really does hurt. (Of course I am in no way saying that you would ever dream of doing such a thing.) Eamonn.

Her That Must Be Obeyed, has a brother who is about 3 years younger than she is. I can't remember her Dad ever talking about being a Boy Scout or how he became involved in Scouting. Both of her parents got the Scouting bug. Her Mom became a Den Mother and Dad was Cubmaster, then Scoutmaster. Both parents earned the District Award Of Merit. Boy Scouting took over their life. Family vacations were limited due to her Dad having to take the troop to camp. Her That Must Be Obeyed, knew all the Cub Scout stuff, about as much Boy Scout stuff as someone who stood on the sidelines for years could pick up. She never wanted to be a girl Scout. She was in the Rainbow Girls for a while, mainly because her Grandmother was a past Matron in the Eastern Star. When she was old enough she got involved with Day Camp and then went on to Cub Scout Leader training.I'm not sure if this was due to a great love of Scouting or because she had the hots for a young new DE!! At least he was young and new back then. Everything was fine till I came along with my sexy knees. He the young DE is now an old Program Director. When I was grounded at Gatwick Airport and missed my engagement party, he being as cheap as he still is used my party and my cake to become engaged to his now wife. We are all the very best of pals. Being the daughter of a Scouting family must be really hard. However, my pal Mike has been really active in Scouting for years. His wife complained about never seeing him. He has two girls the youngest has just became the President of a new Crew, now Mike's wife is saying that it was bad enough to just lose one, now they are both gone. Eamonn.

The unit is in fact a branch of the chartering organization.The Troop is as much a part of the church as the choir. At some time the church went looking for a youth program or were presented with the idea of a youth program, which ended up to be one or more of the programs that the BSA has. Just as the choir singing in the church and the synagogue would cause a few problems, the Troop can only belong to one organization. Sure you can fill out a New Unit Application, but that would mean that you would in fact be starting a new unit. The church you are now in owns the equipment, the troop number and sorting that stuff out is one very large pain!! The troop that my son is in is chartered by a Town Civic Association, for about the past 40 years they met in the basement of the town building. (It really is too small to call a town hall)Over the past few years thanks to a lot of work by the District, we have started a few more packs in the area and the troop numbers have really taken off. They have moved their meeting place to a local church in the town. Some of the Civic Association members attend this church and were instrumental in bringing the church and the troop together, however the Civic Association is still the chartered partner. The troop "Pays" for the use of the church by doing service projects and is open to ideas for Eagle Scout Leadership projects that could be done at or for the church. Eamonn.

I watched the red tiles march across the map. I heard Her Who Must Be Obeyed, rant on about John Kerry. She plain out and out didn't like him. I don't think much of George W. I will however admire his style of leadership. The guy does seem to have a flock of people who are very intelligent as his advisers, they lay out the facts and he takes action. I am not always in agreement with what he decides to do. He is moving the Republican party further and further to the right. Looking back at what happened in the Maggie Thatcher years back home, she did very much the same thing. The actions of the Labour Party at that time, did more to keep the Conservative Party in office, than any true blue Conservative could ever have done. The end result was that the Labour Party had to move more to the center. In the end there was some sort of an erosion. It became impossible to see or know the difference between a left-wing conservative and a right-wing Labour party member. To my way of thinking the Labour Party gave up their principles, forgot their history, marched on toward the center, not because they really believed in what they were doing, only knowing that this direction would lead them to victory. It worked Tony Blair and this watered down political agenda won. The sad thing is that where we once had political parties that had strong ideals. Parties that stood for what they believed in, we now have little choice in true politics, we have a popularity contest. George W. has stated that the election has given him "Political capital."Which he intends to spend. I see this as him moving the country further to the right. The Country has voted for this and he has every right to move ahead. The Democrats are asking where they went wrong. Blame is plenty, more than enough to go round. I have heard that Kerry didn't get his point across well enough, his wife did or didn't do what she did or didn't do. Some are saying that any party with Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton, will never win. In where ever these things are decided both the parties are more than lightly looking ahead, looking into crystal balls seeing who looks good for 2008. I wonder if the real question might be who is good looking enough for 2008. How many politicians, will not vote for what they believe in, because it might look bad in 2008? How many will not use the platform they have for fear of looking bad? Will we end up with Tom Hanks v Tom Cruise and the debate be about the movies they have been in? Still for now the people have spoken George W. Bush and the Republicans won the day. Hail To The Chief and God Bless The USA. Eamonn.

I have only sat on our Area Committee for a very short time. The meetings seem to be half a world away (300 mile round trip last night.) I am thankful for my white hair, it helps the other people feel more at ease with me, as I'm the youngest person in the room.I'm also very aware that I'm the least qualified person in the room. Everyone else has served as a Council President or is a Scout Executive. Most of the non-professionals are good at what they do in the real world,they are successful people from all walks of life, mainly the business world along with a few lawyers. In a nut shell these guys are good. They have proved track records in both Scouting and in their field of expertise. I wish I could say the same about our Scouting Professionals. No this is not me bashing our professional partners. Or me retelling war stories about a twit. I think a lot if not most of our professionals are doing a good job working with and for us volunteers and I'm very aware that we can be a real pain. My concern is that we get a DE who is good. Good at working in the District and helping the District support the units. I don't care what his or her degree is in or what drew them to the profession. A DE who isn't any good will not last long and will see this and move on to do something else. Occasionally,they will part ways on less friendly terms. We had a guy who was doing a super job in a District in our Council, he became a Senior DE moved to another Council and hated it. So he quit and is now doing a wonderful job as a volunteer. I think that the BSA lost a very good employee. However I don't know all the reasons why he quit. The road to the top for a pro, can have a lot of different paths. I am sure that those with more knowledge than I will help me out and correct me if I'm wrong. The DE comes on board, we pack them off to DE Boot Camp (PDL 1) If they are around for about 3 years we make them eligible for promotion and they move up to Senior DE. Depending on the council they might stay or have to move to reap the benefits. By now they have completed PDL, 2 &3. Next stop is?? Field Director, I am OK with that. Hopefully they have seen what the job is and what needs to be done and can pass this on to the DE's. It's the next stop, that some will take that worries me. Next stop could depending on the size of the Council be Scout Executive, Assistant Scout Executive, or as we seen when our Field Director moved up, Finance Director. Most if not all of these positions entail working with very large sums of money. It is my opinion that these guys and girls do not have the real training for this nor do they have the background. We have moved a DE who is used to meeting goals of several thousand dollars into being responsible for hundreds of thousands of dollars if not more.I am aware that we might have sent these people off for more training. But five or six years ago these were the very same people that were struggling with School Sign Up Night. I know if I wandered in to my investment advisor's office and see him or her behind the desk I would run a mile. I'm sure as I write our SE is working on the 2005 Council Budget. I haven't had a peak as yet but I'm guessing that it will be around one and a half million dollars. I really like our SE (most of the time!!) but I do not think that he has the training or the background to prepare such a budget. As I sat at the meeting last night I was shocked to hear and see how bad the finances were in a lot of Councils, mainly the smaller ones. One Council had just kept expanding their line of credit, it had grown from $100,000, three years ago to $300,000. I don't see a lot of hope for that Council. No other Council will want to merge with them and take on that amount of debt. Someone asked if they had a Finance Director? The Regional guy said yes but when he asked her what she did the answer was that she helped the SE, and did what he asked. Another Council, is having big financial problems. The member of the Area Committee said that the Council President does see the problem, but the Scout Exec. Seems to think that "Everything will turn out OK." I of course am aware that Councils are managed by volunteers and that a Council key3 should be on top of this from the get go and do have the talents and expertise of people in the community (The Board) to draw from. However as I look at all non-profit organizations, not just the Council I see that money is a vital part of us reaching our goal which is all about serving the young people.If we are going to do this we need to rethink the people that we are leaving to manage and handle these funds. Eamonn.

Hey Guys - I need you in our District!! I was feeling warm and fuzzy that we had brought our District total up from $76,000 to over $95,000. We managed to do that with 32 fewer Cub Scouts. We were the only District to reach the goal last year and it looks like we will be again. The units that took part in the Blitz / Show and Deliver really did well. Of course the lower priced packs sold better than the higher priced packs. Sad to say the sale is just about over, pick up was early today and already the fights have started. The SE saying that the Council will not make goal and the Council Popcorn Chair. Saying that the goal is/was not realistic. I think it will have to be choice of weapons at dawn. Eamonn.

Hillary a joke? I just don't get it. She is a very talented, educated and clever woman. You may disagree with her politics, say that her husband is a wife cheater. But Hillary a joke? I just don't get it. Eamonn

Unless you are willling to move the pack and the young Lady to a country that allows girls, it just can't be done. This isn't a matter of opinion it is just the way it is. I hope you don't mind me asking. But what was a DE doing at a monthly pack committee meeting? I have say that I'm a little more than surprised that he or she didn't lay out the facts there and then. Eamonn.