Eamonn

I like to think that I'm not a complete dummy. I know at times I can be very mule headed and at times there are things which because I have never taken the time or made the effort to understand that I just don't understand. While I know a lot of people who are not of the same religious persuasion as I am. I really have never taken the time to find out what they are all about. Sure I know the stuff that I think everyone knows. But I have never picked up a copy of the Koran. I do admire how often the followers take time out of their day to pray. I have never picked up the books that the LDS church has for their followers. I am in awe of what I have seen in how well they manage their family life. Sure I have read bits of the Old Testament and most of the New Testament. I have some idea what most of the Jewish Holidays and some of the ceremonies are about. I have had Scouts in the troops that I have served that were Hindus along with other religions. Being an Irish Roman Catholic, and seeing all the problems in the North of Ireland. I think that I'm supposed to dislike Protestants. I never have, it would be hard when you are living in England and many of my best friends are Anglicans. As is my wife. I don't think that I am in any way prejudiced. I take people as I find them and do not like to prejudge or tag them. I watched a TV show on PBS, that looked at life in North Korea. Talk about Big Brother. The State is indoctrinating the entire population to hate the USA and Americans. Everything that goes wrong in the country is put down to the "Imperialist Americans." The State controls the press and the media. The ordinary man in the street has no way of thinking for himself. So he hates. While it isn't a popular thing to say, but these suicide bombers must have a lot of faith in what they believe in to do what they do. Many of these are well educated, intelligent people. I would have thought with all this education and all this intelligence, that they would look back over history and would see that no terrorist campaign has ever worked. I feel sure that they know that killing people is wrong. I fail to see why they keep doing it. Am I missing something? Eamonn.

While I agree that it is not right for a registered adult leader to become "Involved" with a person who is registered as a youth member. And If the SE in a Council says that legally married couples can't share a tent. He is the boss. Still I just don't see where he is getting this from. It is not what the guide says. Could it be that he is worried that there might be the "Honey Moon Tent"? Eamonn

On the course last year we did have approval from the region to go to nine patrols and as I said there would have been a Raven Patrol. In my travels I have only met one Raven. A very nice young chap who serves as a DE in Buck Tail Council. Come to think of it I would much rather be a Raven then a Buck Tail!! Eamonn

Where did my posting go?? I see that the G2SS says married couples. It does not mention them being Leaders, parents or anything but married couples. So I think that married couples are couples that are married. While I don't think that there will be many Venturers that will be married couples, it would not go against my idea of a family based organization which stresses family values to not allow them to share the same quarters. Eamonn.

Cantaloupe, Kiwi Body wash,Mystic Melon. A few candles, a bottle of Chardonnay..... "If soy candles be the food of love" Heck! that was B.C. (Before Children) Eamonn.

Welcome Back. Vent Away!! Eamonn

"I think someone is filling this kids head with junk" Easy there big guy. I kinda think that we are all big enough to understand that some of our members are white, some are black, some are Hispanic and others might fall into other categories: Native American and Asian come to my mind. We don't need to use Green or Blue. As an organization we embrace diversity. While I agree with the way you are managing the situation. I do think that saying that someone is filling his head with junk is not very wise. I was born in England, both my parents were Irish. While my parents were grateful for the opportunities that England made available to them and because they were born before 1926 both could hold British Passports, although at that time no passports were needed for travel or residence in the UK. They were Irish. Our house when I was growing up was full of other Irish people. Irish music and stories about Ireland. Most of these stories were about how badly the English had treated the Irish. Sadly most of them were true. I was and am very proud of my Irish heritage. My parents gave me a very Irish name, so before people even met me they had me pegged as an Irish kid. I think of Ireland as the land of poets and scholars. The country that kept Christianity alive during the time of the Roman invasion. Sad to say many people in England seen the Irish as loud mouthed drunken trouble makers. At times because of the reputation that was already in place some of the kids that I grew up with felt that they had to do something to live up to it. At times we all fall into the trap of wanting people to fit into a "Stereotype". We see someone who looks Chinese or Japanese and we want them to be a expert in the martial arts. We want Englishmen to wear bowler hats and carry rolled umbrellas. The English want Americans to wear ten gallon hats and talk like John Wayne. Could it be that the "Junk" that this little fellow has in his head, is similar to the "Junk" that I had in my head? I feel sure that even at his age he has heard about how his people were treated in the past. A little while back I seen a really good presentation on diversity. The presenter gave everyone a penny. Some were new pennies, all bright and shiny. Others were old and dull looking, some fell in between. The presenter asked everyone to look at their penny and then write a list of what they could buy for a penny. Needless to say the lists were not that long and the items listed were not worth very much. She then asked what happens when we put 100 pennies together? She closed the presentation by saying that while every penny was different, different dates, some bright and shiny and others much darker, the real power is when we put all the pennies to work together. I do wish you the best of luck with your goal of not smoking. Please don't tell Her Who Must Be Obeyed, she has been on my tail to do so for over twenty years. I don't need to give her any more reasons. She is already saying that I would if I was a nice kind little Eamonn, go outside to smoke!! This is a new tactic, I have a cupboard full of patches, gum, soothing music and two cartons of cigaretts in the car -He He. Eamonn.

There seems to be a lot of ideas going around. The way I see it is: 1/ The boy and the Dad attend. The boy is a Cub Scout and goes as a Cub Scout. He and his Dad are informed what the expectations are regarding behavior, dress and all the other stuff that is expected from all the Cub Scouts that are going. If things work out well there is chance that the boy will not leave the pack. Expelling the boy from the pack falls under a set of rules that are different from what has been mentioned here. 2/ They decide that they don't want to go. In this case they lose their deposit. 3/ If the Pack Committee decides that allowing this Cub Scout to attend will ruin the experience for the other Cub Scouts. They can refuse to allow the Cub Scout to go. However a refund must be made. Hopefully someone will be found to take his place. 5/ To not allow the boy to attend and not refund his money is not an option. While I feel sure that the amount of money involved is not enough too involve law suits and that sort of thing. I do believe that by taking the money there is some sort of a contract in place. 6/ Maybe just maybe a face to face meeting with the Dad explaining everything would enable all those involved to come to some sort of agreement that will work for everyone? And what is a PITA? Eamonn

Over the weekend, which was very warm I managed to talk OJ into wearing a Garfield Cat costume, which I had borrowed from Idlewild Park. The head was massive and hardly fit in the car. We had visited all the local elementary schools and taken photos that we were putting in the local newspapers to promote Sign Up Night. On the morning of September 11, I was in the office of the newspaper. I was sweet talking the girls in the office when one of them said that a small plane had hit one of the towers. Out of no where Tim the owner of the insurance office next door came in. Tim is a super nice guy, active in Rotary and in the local community. We know each other well, mainly from him coming to eat in the restaurant at lunch time where we would trade really bad jokes. He was very upset and agitated. He said that the "Rag Heads" (His words- not mine) had attacked and this was war. I was shocked, not about what had happened but at Tim. I went home and turned on the TV to NBC. I seen the smoke come out of the Pentagon. I was in total shock, as only weeks before on the way home from the Jamboree, the sister in law of the other Jamboree Scoutmaster who works at the Pentagon had arranged a VIP tour for us. I drove to my office with the radio on. I didn't get anything done. I had a radio on all day. I wanted to turn it off, maybe if I turned it off it would all go away. We have large screen TV's throughout the building,every time I passed one it was showing re-runs of the terrible footage. Flight 93, had gone down about a half hours drive from where I live. Yet somehow I had this fixation on the Pentagon. I drove home all the time thinking about the kids in New York, that had lost a parent. At that time the estimated death toll was over 5,000. I couldn't wait to see OJ and just hold him. The phone at home was busy with friends and family from England and Ireland phoning to see if we were all right. Some of these people had waited hours to get through. A very close friend who was my ASM at the Jamboree, had returned from the Jamboree and his wife informed him that she had left him. She had moved back home to her parents, who live in Somerset, not far from where the plane had gone down. He had spoken on the phone with his daughter, a first grader. She asked her Dad "Is the school going to shake tomorrow?" I have met people that have lost family members in New York. Last year at our Council Recognition Dinner we invited the Lady who had organized the tour of the Pentagon to be the guest speaker. She informed us that two of the young service men who had served as our guides were killed. I couldn't help but remember how OJ had said on September 11, "Dad we were just there, that could have been us." I wasn't sure what could be done for these two young service men. We had only been with them for a very short time. They were very smart in their uniforms, they had done the tour most of the time walking back-wards so that they could face the group. They had shown and shared their knowledge and their humor. I did have a mass said for them and all those that had suffered. The sad thing is that I for the life of me am unable to remember their names. I had wanted it said in our church, but the calender was full. So the mass was said by a missionary priest working some where in Africa. My donation for the mass will be put to work over there. I hope that maybe these few dollars will help the people there come to the understanding that killing people is just plain wrong, no matter what the cause is. Eamonn

Please pass on my Congrats. To Ian. I can't help thinking back to the day when I first held my little new born son in the hospital. There I was with this little person. I was totally untrained and knew nothing about being a Father. To make matters worse he didn't come with any instructions!! He threw up on his shirt and I went to put a clean one on him. I was never so scared in my entire life. I knew that I was going to break something!! It is strange when we look at how far we as Dads have come. From that helpless little being to a Son that can set goals and reach them. So go ahead blow out a few more buttons,buy a bigger hat. Squeeze the heck out of him. You both have come a long way. Enjoy it. Well Done. Eamonn

Hey Beaver Guy, Was that Google Search or a Woggle Search? Eamonn.

Adult burn out is very common. I think that there are times when we all feel that we are in over our head. There have been times when I have let the answering machine answer the phone. Not because I was busy, but because I just had too much on my plate. We as an organization are at times guilty of over loading people. Someone comes along that is good at what they are doing. Soon they are asked to take on something else in addition to what they were doing, and then something else, and so it goes on. Many of us are not used to putting ourselves first. Some of us allow Scouting to take over. Her That Must Be Obeyed, is the best wife in the world. We have a very loving, very strong and understanding relationship.I would be lost without her. A couple of years back, unknown to me, she got a copy of the Council calender. She highlighted all the days that I was "Away" Scouting. It was a very busy month, with Training weekends, golf outings, on top of the normal meetings. I was doing stuff 22 days in a month. Most of these events did not involve my son. While I have to admit I thought she was a bit of a sneak!! She did get her point across. I have found that making people accountable for what they are supposed to be doing has helped a lot. While I still think that I can change the world, I know that I can't do it alone. I need help and I need people that will keep their word. I still check to see how they are coming along and that the assigned task is being done. When it comes to asking people to take on a position. I really do try to be very honest and give them a detailed job description with how much time the job involves. One big problem I have ran into is that people don't like having some of their hats knocked off. So many people seem to enjoy complaining about all the different roles they "Have" to fill. But when one is taken away they are hurt. Sad to say most times they are doing too much and not doing it very well. When this is pointed out to them, they use the fact that they were busy doing something else as an excuse. Still being that they are such nice people they feel bad and this adds to the tension, which in time becomes burn out. The BSA is aware that this can and does happen. The material that is available from the BSA does work if it is followed. In the case of Eaglewings, I have to wonder why a Den Leader was also the Pack Committee Chair? It does seem that the Committee didn't follow the BSA guidelines for the selection of adult leaders. From what ha been posted I have to wonder where the Commissioner Staff were and there is no mention of the Chartering Organization.I also think that the DE is not doing a very good job. Everything that could have or should have been done or needs to be done is covered in the material from the BSA and the DE working with the other members of the key3 should have taken steps to get everyone on board to solve the problems that this unit is facing. He or She should have got the Commissioner staff up and running. The DE could have met with the COR and maybe the head of Chartering organization to get a nominating committee on the job. I think that everybody has something that they can do for this organization. Some people support Scouting and the values of Scouting by just donating money. Some people just find one job that they like doing and are good at. We have one Cub Scouter that only does Day Camp. She does a wonderful job. She used to do a lot more but found that it was too much. So she somehow learned how to say no. At times we all feel that we are irreplaceable, but Scouting has been around for almost 100 years and will continue long after we are gone. I really do hope that Eaglewings will be happy working with the Tiger Den, these little guys are the most important members in Scouting, they are tomorrows Cub Scouts and future Boy Scouts. They are great to work with, everything that they do is an adventure and it is an honor that we can share this with them. Eamonn.

Me thinks this is something that the Pack Committee needs to look at and rule on. If the Lad and Dad have paid and still want to go, I agree with my wise old Unc. This might be a golden opportunity to keep the little fellow in the program. However, if it is clear that he is going to be a real pain in the neck and disruptive. I would refund the money and try to get someone to take his place. Even if I was unable to find a replacement I would still refund the money and write off the loss. Of course if the Lad is a good kid and it looks like he would attend and not be a problem, things might be different. Maybe a word with the Dad would be in order, asking him to work with keeping his son from being a pain. It is important that the decision comes from the Pack Committee and not from one person. This helps prevent a Leader coming off as the "Bad Guy". Or if the Committee allows the Lad to attend and things don't work out, the Leader is not to blame. It could be that this little fellow is wearing this "Quiting Badge" as a ploy to gain attention? If this is the case, I would give him all the attention needed to keep him in the pack. Even if the Lad thinks that he is no longer a member of the pack, as this is a pack outing, I would expect all those going to wear their uniform. There would be no exceptions. If he goes, he goes as a Cub Scout and will be expected to act like a Cub Scout. Eamonn.

This "Game" Of Scouting works best when we don't have a "Them" and "Us". Put very bluntly we are all in the same boat. We might be a Professional, one of them there District types or working with the youth in a unit. The unit delivers the program to the youth, the District supports the unit and the Council supports the District. So someone or some unit is unhappy about something. In this case the way School Sign up is being managed. The unit has a COR. He or She has a standing invitation to attend the District Committee Meeting.Some Districts do allow him or her to send a representative in place of them if they are unable to make the meeting. Every District Committee meeting that I have ever attended has had Membership as an agenda item. The goal of the District Membership Committee is to get as many youth members and other organizations that share the values of Scouting on board. As a rule a representative from the District Membership Committee sits on the Council Membership Committee, who reports to the Council Executive board. The District Chairman also sits on the Executive Board. While it would be wrong of me to speak for other Districts or Councils. I do know that if a COR approached me and said he wanted an accounting of the $20.00 I would get it for him ASAP. If he said that the pack that his organization charters would not be doing Sign up along the lines that the Council had mandated. I would have to agree with him. While life would be a lot easier if everyone was on the same page. We are in fact helping the organization that he represents enlarge the youth program of that organization. While I am all for Boy's Life, it is not a requirement for membership. While the Pinewood Derby car is nice, again it is not a membership requirement.In fact if the Chartering Organization wanted to only charge the prorated fee to the BSA. There is nothing that could prevent them from doing so. While I could not see the membership committee ever doing so, I suppose they could exclude the units that refused to follow the guide lines from the Council sponsored Sign Up activities. It is after all a Council event. Just as a Troop might camp at the Council owned camp site the same week end as a District Camporee and not pay the Camporee fee or join in any of the activities. I really do think that with the current drive to recruit Cub Scouts, that no Council would do anything that might become a barrier to a little fellow joining. The "Missing" $5.88 or whatever the number is will show up as a legitimate cost for a real item or will make it's way back to the unit account. As for items that were promised and were not delivered there does need to be some sort of investigation as to what happened. I know a few years back we had Steelers Hats that were to go to the Lads that recruited friends somehow I ended up with the caps for one unit in the trunk of my car. I was to give them to the unit leader at a round table, but he wasn't there and a month past and then he wasn't there. I ended up giving them to him at a Blue and Gold in February. Some times things don't always work out. It isn't a case of anyone trying to be dishonest or doing anything underhand it just happens. I do think that if ATC, sat down with them there District types they could shed some light on what is really going on. As Bob White says no Council is going to go for $5.88 and put it's reputation on the line for such a puny amount. We all need to remember, that we are are the District and we are the Council. There are ways of finding out anything that you want to know, at times we do need to follow the right procedures and at times ask the right people. Eamonn.

While I'm saddened to hear that the School Board is acting this way. I do question the effectiveness of Backpack mail. (I had never heard it called that before and just love the term!!) Most of the stuff OJ was to deliver was found in the bottom of the book bag months after the event. If it even made it that far. Some years back working at recruiting Cub Scouts we had plastic bracelets like the ones used in hospitals, but for some reason that I don't know National send a memo saying that we were no longer to use them? Selling the program to Boys of Scout age is different then selling it to Boys of Cub Scout age. With Cub Scouts we sell to the parents and the Boys. With Boy Scouts, the sale is more to the Boy. The wise and wonderful people in this forum have in the past come up with all sorts of interesting ways of attracting Lads into Scouting. National has Cd's and VCR tapes that show how to host an open house. I suggest that you see if you can get one member of your Troop Committee to take care of marketing. Most small town newspapers will put anything that we give them in their newspapers. In these days of digital photography sending them action pictures of Scouts in action (Not a photo of a handshake!!) is not that difficult. It does entail someone to take care of it. As a Troop you need to set a membership goal. Share this goal with everyone. Get everyone on board. Make it something that is realistic, but not too easy. In every newspaper article include the where you meet, when you meet and what your next exciting activity will be. Don't just say "We will be going to summer camp." Make it more like " The Scouts are looking forward to a week of shooting, canoeing, swimming and fun at Camp" You are selling Scouting. Think like a salesman. Most important of all is the product. Working with the PLC, the leaders, the troop committee, the chartering organization. Make the commitment that program you deliver is the very best. Program is what you do every time you meet. Next troop meeting look at the meeting as if you were a young Lad coming in for the first time. Is the meeting fun? Does it have a flow to it? Are tasks being accomplished? Would you want to come back next week? Take your findings back to the PLC. Go over the meeting with your other leaders. You and your team want Troop 123 to be the best show in town. Eamonn.

Txscoutdad, I am sorry if I came off sounding "Stand offish" Or smug in any way. That was never my intent. I am a firm believer that the only dumb question is the one that you didn't ask. I like ceremonies. I like them a lot. Not being an American, I really admire the respect that America has for the Flag. Back home in England it was the duty of the duty patrol to prepare the Union Jack for Flag Break. This not only was a sign of "Do my Duty to God and the Queen." It was a signal that the troop meeting had started and we were getting down to the job at hand. At the end of the meeting the flag was lowered, the Troop was saluting and this was the signal that the meeting was over. I have to admit to not liking the "Same old, same old." I hate when I'm invited to a troop meeting and the Flags are carried in and then there is a half hearted effort to recite the pledge or the Scout Oath and Law. The other week I visited a troop where the SPL managed to do all this with one hand in his pocket!! On this side of the pond we have some really great patriotic songs. I have heard that Scouts don't like to sing. My answer is that we don't give them the opportunity to at least try. Very often at Scout functions we do bring in a few Scouts to do the opening, but when the function is for adults, it isn't fair to keep them hanging around so there is no closing ceremony. We bring in a few Lads to do the opening for all of our Executive Board meetings, but there is never a closing and the flags are just left till the guy who has to bring them back to the Service Center remembers that he has to take them with him. Sometimes that means going back the next day!! Ceremonies can be fun for the Scouts. As a Webelos Scout Den Leader we were lucky enough to find a Lady who taught American Sign Language,she taught the Scouts the pledge in sign. I have seen Scouts bring in recordings of patriotic songs. One SPL had a Hip-hop version of the Star Spangled Banner!! While I would never ever want any of our Training's to be a "How NOT to do." I would hope that when a participant does see something that doesn't seem right that they do point it out to the person in charge, in a nice way!! There might be a reason for it? Or it was just something that was just missed. The guys and girls doing the training's are volunteers and at times we all mess up. Hopefully when someone points out something that wasn't as it should be they will be grateful and get it right next time. Eamonn.

While I in no way claim to be ant sort of an expert on Wood Badge and the Wood Badge Patrol names. It does seem to me that the Americans take this far more to heart then most other members of Troop 1 Gilwell do. As a participant on the old Cub Scout Wood Badge (NE-CS-58) I was a member of the Bear Den. While I am a very proud Bear, I have to admit to not liking the picture of the Bear that is on a lot of the scout stuff. I see myself more as a Teddy Bear or Panda Bear. Of course with my now white thatch maybe a Polar Bear would be more in order? That course was held at Hawk Mountain Pa. Two of the staff from Hawk Mountain that were involved in the course were from the old Exploring program and were members of the Lewis and Clark Patrols. I first took Wood Badge at Gilwell Park, in the early 70's. The Courses do not have numbers and I'm unsure how they came up with the Patrol names. I can't remember all of them. I do remember that we had Wolves, Panthers, Kestrels,and Cuckoos. For my sins I am a Cuckoo. I am sure that you can guess how much and how often I get my leg pulled about that!! With the new 21st Century Wood Badge, we are seeing courses that are much larger. In the past in our area we were lucky to get to Buffalo. It now in not uncommon to see an Antelope Patrol. The course that we hosted last year, we would have had a Raven Patrol, but we had some last minute drop outs. The Brits are doing a really great job of marketing their new course to non-Scouting groups. Companies like British Airways and BT are sending their managers to take the course. Sad to say they no longer use patrol names. Last time I was home in England, I had lunch with the Director of Communications at Gilwell Park, we got to talking about the Gilwell Reunion. He said that near the end of the weekend they sang the "Back To Gilwell" song. He was between an American and a fellow from Japan. They were singing their hearts out with tear rolling down there cheeks and the guys from England didn't know the words!! I have served on more then a few courses as a staff member and once as Scoutmaster, I seem to have a mental block when it comes to the patrol order of the song. I either write it on the back of my hand or use a cheat sheet, most times the next patrol is up and ready without any prompting. Of course I always get to do a solo near the end being the only cuckoo. Eamonn.

The reason why this was done? I kinda think that was something that you might have asked the person in charge when there was a break or at the parking lot meeting. At the closing ceremony of the Jamboree, each troop carried its troop flag and their national flag into the arena. Over 500 Flags. We were sitting on the grass as the flags came in. One young Marine stood and saluted as all the Flags passed. None of the Scouts did. I thought that this had gone un-noticed until a Scout came up to me and said how cool it was that the Marine had done this. Eamonn

I don't know how large the district is? While Eagle Scout BOR are important, I have found that the best advancement chairs,do keep track of the reports that show how the troops and packs are doing (Yes Cub Scouts do advance.)Our guy gives that report at the District Meeting. One very important thing is to have a good working relationship with the Dean of Merit Badges. The Scouts need and deserve an up to date merit badge list. In some councils it is up to the District Advancement Chair to select people to sit on the Committee that selects the people who will be awarded the Silver Beaver and other awards. Selecting the right person can at times be hard. There are at times a lot of advancement topics discussed in these forums. I would suggest if you are unsure about something that you go to your Council Advancement Chair. And the professional that has advancement and ignore what we have to say. While the stuff in the book seems very straight forward, at times we can read it different ways!! And see things that maybe are not there. The same goes for much of the stuff on the net. There are many good and useful sites, however a lot of times people add what they think and not what is in the material from the BSA. When push comes to shove the material from the National Office wins every time. Eamonn

It seems that I am now taking these two to the Jamboree!! I had sent them both a letter saying that I was having a problem. But I'm not sure how or what has gone on and they are still going. Neither set of parents took me up on my offer to meet with them and their sons. In fact if I hadn't questioned an updated membership list with their names still on it, no one would have said a word. I'm thinking that there has been a breakdown in communications. I have been dealing with the Scout Exec. While the parents have been dealing with the Program Director. Of course the parents were and are aware of where I stood. But have found a way to work around me. The Program Director and I are great friends, I love him to death. Right now we are trying to work this out. My argument is that the Scout Exec. left it with me to deal with and I did. While I'm not trying to be anything that I'm not, I was acting in good faith as the Scout Exec's representative. The Program Director, the poor old Lad who had to fire this pair and talk to the parents on the day that they were sent home from camp. Which I feel sure was as hard on him as it was on this pair. Has a different argument. He says that the Scout Exec. ought to have been the one to inform them that such and such was going to happen. When he didn't it was up to the chartering organization to do whatever. When they opted to do nothing, there was nothing that could be done. In the very nicest way that he can put it he is saying that what ever was going to happen ought to have come from the Scout Exec. Or the Church (In this case) when it didn't these Lads were free to participate in all Scouting activities. I am upset with the way the parents of the boys have gone about things. It reminds me of how at times OJ will play "But Mom said...." As neither the Scout Exec. or myself were there when these boys were send home from the camp, we don't know what was said - If anything.And the Program Director was the only one who does know. That door is closed. I am not going to do battle with the Program Director, I value our friendship way too much. The Jamboree Troop meets next Monday. I will be having two side meetings. One with the parents of these Lads and one with the Parents and their sons. People have said that I'm good at saying what I really feel - They ain't seen nothing yet. Eamonn

I am with Bob White, if a Scout wants to use his money on his Eagle project, that is his choice. In our small town the local hardware stores are about tapped out with Scouts asking for donations. There are so many fund raising events, both Scout and non Scout trying to fund raise the money is really tough. Not impossible but tough. If the money in the account is really his (Not part of the troop account.) I see no reason why it can't be used. Eamonn.

OK,ATC We need to hear from you. I think that when you go to pay the fees you will only have to give Council the prorated fees and maybe the cost of the Pinewood derby car. I will keep on thinking that way unless you tell me something else. Eamonn.

No, I know that I'm not Bob White. If you talk to the professional in charge of training or your Council Training Chair. They ought to be able to help. However there are some items, mostly to do with Wood Badge that are managed by the region. It has a lot to do with agreements that were made with writers and that sort of thing. Eamonn.

Hi Sylvia, Welcome, I hope that you will stick around for a long time. I have never been to Long Island, however we have as a Scout Exec, a man who was there before coming here. You all must be doing something right as he keeps saying "Back on the island we ..." Needless to say there are times when I want to send him back to the Island, still most of the time we manage to work together doing what is best for the important people- The youth in our programs. Really Happy that you found the forum. Eamonn

OK, A Crew can if they want wear: Pink Socks, lederhosen,tie-dye t-shirt and a pink campaign hat. If that is the uniform they want to go with. They can not opt to wear the Cub Scout uniform. They can not opt to wear the Boy Scout uniform. If they are wearing the Green Venturing uniform they can not or should not wear the Campaign hat. Just as Cub Scouters should not wear the campaign hat. Eamonn.