Eamonn

G = Get A Life. Eamonn

Does this mean that I get to go first? As a Council that has two camping facilities and no full time Ranger the work that the OA does to get camp ready for the season and maintained is vital. While I am not as active in the Lodge as I would like my son is. In fact he is taking a run at becoming Lodge Chief this year. He was at camp Alpine in NJ a few weeks back for the NLS and came back with a high that I have only seen when people have came back from Wood Badge. While I don't have any data to back it up, I feel that the Lodge is doing a lot to keep the older Scouts involved in the program. At times some of the OA members adult and youth forget that they are still members of the BSA and the Council. I get to attend about half of the OA weekends and really enjoy the fellowship.I don't get caught up too much in the workings of it all. OJ has plans to go as far as he can. He is dragging me off to a conclave this year. My first and then he is off to NOAC. I have never been. If he gets to be Lodge Chief, he tells me that he wants to go for Section Chief. So who knows maybe his enthusiasm might make me become more active. Eamonn

As some in these Forums are aware the love I have for the person who holds the title of Field Director in our Council is what might be termed a little less then over flowing. Add to this that I at times am very much an old stick in the mud. So when this Boy Blunder starts thinking creatively,I bite my tongue and shake my head. One of his creative ideas was to start new units in difficult or financially depressed areas. The idea is a good one and the cause is a noble one. I am behind the idea 100%. I don't like the term "Where they need it most." As I think that Scouting works for every kid no matter where he comes from. Starting new units is not easy and I will admit that this is the weak or soft spot that we as a District has. We as a District working with and through the District Membership Committee were looking at starting a pack in a subsidized housing development.One that is in the news for drugs, shootings and other not so nice activities. The Membership Chair. The DE and Your's truly had meetings with HUD in the community center. We knew that whatever we did, it was not going to be easy.In fact even getting the parties involved to attend a meeting was like pulling teeth. HUD was willing to be the Chartered Organization and would provide the community center as a meeting place for the pack that we wanted to start. The lady that was paid by HUD was to be the COR. We met and all agreed that the idea was good and we left, leaving them with the task of recruiting the adults that they would need to get the pack off the ground. Weeks past with us calling and no returned calls. We went back a couple of times to the community center and found out that the paid HUD person was gone. I don't know where, but she was gone. Make matters worse the HUD guy was gone too. By now we were disheartened and while we still thought it was a good idea, it was one that just wasn't going to fly. In steps the Boy Blunder. He bypasses the District. Goes and finds one of these Americore Volunteers (Paid volunteers??)and next thing we know we have a new pack.Boy Blunder is now on a roll, working with HUD, he starts another one in our district and one in another District. I meet with him and express my feelings that this is a good place to start but we need to be moving these units from being Dependant on us to becoming everyday normal traditional units. The sort that have leaders and details like that. Pompous Twit, is too busy telling me how he done this for my District and what a good job he has done. These units meet right after school and I explain that we don't have Commissioners that can get to the meetings. "That's OK" He tells me. I ask when their committee meets and I volunteer to attend so that we can start moving them to becoming a traditional unit." They don't have a committee." He tells me. Our DE does get to a couple of meetings and informs me that there is four or five boys that are meeting. No Cub Scout program, but the Americore guy has a craft for them and some Kool Aid. By now my old Stick in the mud attitude is in play and even though these two units are in the district I'm content too leave them in the hands of the Field Director. In fact I look at it as this is my only choice. The Americore guy starts missing meetings. Field Director wants the District Commissioner to find someone to run the meetings. As a Key3 we explain that we don't have anyone, that most are at work and even more are scared to even drive in there. Boy Blunder fires the Americore guy. Our DE, phones me and asks what I know about building Pinewood Derby cars? I pass on the wealth of my knowledge not adding that OJ's car never made it past the first run. When I ask why she informs me that she is now running both packs and asks where she can get a Pinewood Derby track? I tell her that it is April and everyone has packed them away. We hold the District Pinewood Races in February. She says that she has to have one as the Field Director has Pinewood Derby races on the program for these packs. I ask how many boys are attending the meetings she tells me about four in each pack. I now have a Senior District Executive, running two packs. We have a District Golf outing in June. The invites need to be done, we are planning a fund raising dinner for the fall. We have a major Tiger Cub recruiting campaign in the works. We have the tail end of the FOS to wrap up.We just found out that the Cubmaster and Assistant Cubmaster of one of the biggest packs in the District just resigned and our DE is busy running a Pinewood Derby for two packs. That makes no sense to me. Worse still is that these two packs have no foundation, none of the adults or parents are involved. We really are not running a Cub Scout Program, just a after school activity once a week. I feel like the clean up man that cleans up after the circus has left town. The idea may have been a good one, the cause is a noble one. But it isn't Scouting and it just don't work. Eamonn

24 boys in five patrols. Yesterday the Flaming Arrows lost two and are now down to two. I think that you have Patrols that are too small. You don't say how big the NSP is? But something isn't working. I would meet with the PLC and see what could be done to recruit more members or go down to three patrols. In my book the PLC always overrides a Mom and her son, unless it is a safety issue. Welcome back to the Forums. Eamonn

And I thought that OJ wearing OA Boxers was over the top !! Eamonn

Most of the people that attended NE-IV-153, paid their own way. Wagion Lodge gave a full scholarship to one OA member. While no one was looking we found some money that had been donated many years back for training and had never been used. Not sure what help the participants got from their units. Back when I was a Cubmaster I managed to get the Pack Committee to pay for all training. Seemed like a good idea at the time, but four leaders from that pack took Wood Badge.$800.00 was a little much so they only got half. Eamonn

Most of the Counselors on our District Merit Badge List are people who are registered in units.There are of course some that are not. Everyone when they apply fills in an Adult Application and the application to be a MB Counselor. This is looked at by the District Advancement Committee, who approve or don't approve. This is reported to the District Committee and if need be discussed. The District Committee then instructs the Dean Of Merit Badges to contact the applicants with the decision. The letter that the Dean sends has details of when YP will be available and how to do it on line. It also has guide lines. We do strongly urge everyone to register with the council and take the additional insurance that the council offers. They are also contacted again before the District Rechartering to see if they want to remain on the list. We also ensure that those who are not in a unit are given the opportunity to donate to the District FOS campaign. Eamonn

Hi There and Welcome to the forum. Needless to say I'm sure everyone in the forum wishes you only the best with your project. While I know very little about building a brick walkway I would hope that you involve a lot of your Scout friends and non-Scout friends in helping to get the job done. You might want to think what style of leadership you need to use to get this done in the time allowed. You might also want to sit down and write the plan down, step by step. Get everyone involved by showing them what you think the walkway will look like when your done. When you are planning the project don't forget to include some little celebration for everyone that helped. Doesn't have to be anything big just a little something when you all can get together as a team and enjoy the fact that you made it happen. Best of Luck, I look forward to the updates. Eamonn

Laurie, I hope that the little fellow with the cut knee is on the mend and will soon be back kicking a soccer ball around the yard. I also hope that the big fellow with the Wood Badge invite gets to go. Like my pal who can't make the course just yet, I feel sure that both of you will get there one day. Eamonn

I really enjoy reading the postings about equipment. I don't post in them very much, unless to ask a question. There are a lot of people who really do know a lot about some neat stuff. So count me in. Yes. Eamonn

I hope that we would notice that $40k was missing in year one. I hope that the Council is able to recover the money. Eamonn

You can down load the stuff you need from the BSA web Site as a pdf file. It is in the Commissioner Section there is one for Selecting Cub Scouter's and one for adults. Eamonn

G = Give It A Rest Eamonn

Was it something I said? Eamonn kinda Dark in here What was that about LCD Flashlights?

I'm worn out just reading it!! Sounds like the Lads in White Plains, New York are going to be busy and have a lot of fun. Thanks for everything that you are doing and the luck of the Irish. Eamonn

Have to own up to not being much of a hug person. Not When Her That Must Be Obeyed is ten feet away!! I do however join in the sentiment and hope that Mrs. Smith will become a regular in the forums. Eamonn

Well now I know what a Blog is!! And there I thought it had something to do with Dr. Who or Monty Python. Now I know I want to know what the difference between sounding off in a Blog is too sounding off here? Still now I know what it is, I can die a happy camper. Eamonn

I didn't wear any scout items to my wedding. We were married in a very old church in London. After the service, as we went to leave the Troop had formed up outside the church. None of the adults had anything to do with it. A lot of the Scouts bought us wedding presents. In fact the ash tray that is by my side was a gift from a really great Lad. Eamonn The Photo of them is in the album

I kind of expect you to get a lot of different ideas and opinions. I like to think that nearly all the people that get involved in Scouting share the same values that I do. Maybe not in the same order as I do, but if we were to make a list the same values would pop up. These values are those that are in the ideals of the BSA. Each person who decides to come on board makes the decision as to what their commitment will be. When I look at how many people are involved I am amazed. We have those that work in the units delivering the program to the youth.Some of these are attending meetings week in and week out. We have people that serve on unit committees who might only meet once a month and serve in a once a year activity. Pinewood Derby or Blue and Gold at the pack level. Or drive the mini bus to camp. Add to this the District Committee, the Commissioner Staff and those unsung hero's the Community people who raise money for the FOS. That is a very large number of people and we have only looked at the District. Our goal is to serve the youth in the programs and bring more youth into our programs. The program can be found in the publications of the BSA. The BSA offers all sorts of training's. Depending on what role the person has chosen to serve in. For people serving at the unit level there is: Fast Start, New Leader Essentials and the Specific training or training's for the position that they are serving in.There are other training's for Committee people and District people and Commissioners. However at the unit level once you have completed the specific training or training's you get to wear a Trained Patch. That Trained Patch should tie in with the position Patch. You need to be have taken the training for the position that you hold. I have never served as a Troop Committee Chair, so if I were to start I would have to take that training before I should wear the Trained Patch. Training never ends,just as we never stop learning. There are BSA and non BSA courses and publications that we can take which would help us better serve the youth. There is also Wood Badge. Wood Badge is a Leadership Course. It will give you tools to be a better leader. It is for all the adults in the BSA. There has been some dialog in these forums about how it doesn't do enough to put over the patrol method. Who ever said it was right. It is not a Boy Scout Course, it doesn't show how to run a district meeting or a den meeting. - If you want that you need to attend that training. We don't have any Varsity Scouts in our Council. If I were to start one tomorrow Wood Badge or no Wood Badge, I still know next to nothing about running a Varsity Team. I would be able to use the tools that I got from Wood Badge to help me lead the Varsity Team. In my experience I have found that dealing with Trained Leaders is a lot easier then dealing with those who have not taken any training. Training helps leaders acquire the knowledge and develop the skills and attitude to make their contribution to Scouting worthwhile.They tend to provide better programs for the youth in part because they know where to look for resources. This also means that the youth stay in the program longer. I really don't know when people should take Wood Badge. It depends on what is going on in your life at the time. In our district we have a Scouting family. Mom, Dad and two sons are all in Scouting. Dad is self employed. He owns a business that sells headstones. At weekends when the weather is good he visits grave yards and does lettering. Adding names to the headstones. Mom went to Wood Badge last year. He is taking the troop to summer camp this year and sending both boys to the Jamboree. He tells me that there just isn't the money to take two week ends away from work and pay out all that money. I know that he will get to Wood Badge, I just don't know when. Eamonn

ASM1 You could be right about me thinking too much of myself. In fact I try to be aware of how I'm feeling. For example if I was aware that I was in a bad mood and read your posting. I might have thought that you were rude and uncalled for. As it happens I have been thinking about myself and find that I'm not in a bad mood. You ask what my Qualifications as a volunteer to judge and replace other volunteers is ? (I'm far too lazy to count how many ?) Of course this being the organization that it is we really don't take much notice of academic qualifications. But I do have a few. Some people think that length of service acts as some kind of qualification. I don't, but some do. In any case I have been around for a while and next year will receive a 40 year pin. Some might think that the number of knots you wear on a uniform might be a sign of being qualified. Again I don't. I do however have a lot. Some might look at all the gray hair and think that might act as a sign of some sort. Again I disagree. So how did I end up judging and replacing other volunteers? Well once upon a time there was a nominating committee, made up of volunteers they met and they nominated me. From there my name went to another group of volunteers who sat on the executive board and they along with the OK of the Council Commissioner approved me then last but not least they asked me. Of course being as I think so highly of myself I accepted. Hope this helps. Eamonn

I am a little confused as to where you are going with this and what this "Blog" thing is all about. But no one ever accused me of being too bright. I am one of those "District Types" who has a son in the program. It could be that we just lucked out, but his being my son has in no way helped or hindered his Scouting "Career.". OK, so maybe I am guilty of expecting him to be a little more Scout-like, as he is a reflection of me. Yes he does own and wear Scout Uniform pants. Yes, I do push him to attend troop meetings when he would rather stay home. And yes he is in the know about district and council activities and this knowledge might give him the edge to participate in some of these. He also has to put up with a certain amount of good natured leg pulling because a lot of the adults in the program know who I am. At present he is a Life Scout. He has been for a good while. Everything that is required for him to reach the rank of Eagle Scout is done other then the project and the BOR. He has all the support in the world from his Leaders, his troop and his family. But at the end of the day he is the one who has to make it happen. If he doesn't then that is down to him. Sad to have to admit that even though I have served as a council training chair, presented most of the training's that the BSA has. I don't share your view that training is the be all and end all of our leadership problems. We have a little over 1.2 million adult volunteers. Just like any other large organization we have the good, the bad and the ugly. Some wise person in these forums recently made the point that if you send an idiot to training you end up with a trained idiot. We have in these forums discussed Mandatory Training. I agree that the goal of having everyone trained is a good one, however I don't think that mandatory training is the way to go about it. I happen to think that we could do a far better job when it comes down to Leader Selection, but that is in the hands of the chartering organization. I am not sure where you are finding the data for your decline in membership. So I can't agree or disagree with you. I think that we as an organization could do a better job of marketing at the unit level. Sad to say a lot of the traditional activities that Scouts and Scouting is known for is now being offered by lots of other organizations. We might still be better at some of these but they are doing them. In my opinion we have at least at the council level made advancement become all to important. Our Summer camps are run with Scouts rushing from class to class. Once a Scout has been to summer camp for three or four summer camps, there are no more merit badges for him to run too. So he sees no point in going. Most councils are having a hard enough time raising enough money to meet their budget that the idea of a capital campaign to raise money for a Cub World or improving the Boy Scout summer camp to make it more adventurous, it out of the question. In fact I wonder how long or how much longer small councils can survive. Last year I visited a beautiful camp and asked what the attendance was for the summer and they informed me that it was just over 600. This has to be a catch 22 situation. Even with the backing of wealthy benefactor's a camp with so few attending will have a hard time attracting the older Scouts. We know that the high adventure bases that we have appeal to a lot of our Scouts, bad thing is that it is so hard to get in. Maybe we need to be looking at High Adventure bases at the Regional level? I think it would be something if each and every Scout was offered the chance of attending some sort of High Adventure activity during his Scouting career, while at the same time our Cub Scouts were experiencing the time of their lives at a first class resident camp. Everything we do needs to come back to the program. Training at every level will help improve the program. A good program will not only retain membership it will attract more youth into the program. What has this to do with "Blog"? I have no idea. But I didn't say that I understood it. Eamonn

Thanks for the link. Going to have a nose around. Eamonn

One problem with all this Stuff is that it tends to breed. Our house has me in it, at least part of the time.And it has Her Who Must Be Obeyed. She tells me that I'm a pack rat. While she is views the world through Dust Free, Junk Free Glasses. I have often wondered if there is a 12 Step program for people like me. "Hello I'm Eamonn I AM a Pack Rat." It starts with patches and a couple of Tupperware box's. It grows into one, then two then three filing cabinets. Slowly it takes over the garage then creeps into the living room and the den and even the bedroom. I ought to know better but someone reads a poem or has plans for a great patrol box and I find myself asking for a copy. This then gets added to the ever growing pile of stuff. The Stuff takes over half the space on your hard drive. Membership reports, advancement reports, financial reports that go back eight years. All the records from a wood badge course. Add to this the Stuff that a teenage son, who takes after his father and is joining the ranks of the pack rats can add. When the Clean up Queen arrives there is no mercy, un-filed papers are found a home, that neat craft that the cute cub scout gave me is destined for the land fill.Replaced with the smell of lemon Pledge. So beware them ribbons could lead to: "Hello I'm Laurie...." Eamonn

The course soft-wear still has the Invitation letter and the acceptance of invitation on it. Eamonn

Brent Thank you for your posting. If you ever move to this end of Pennsylvania I would hope that you joined a troop in this area. I feel bad that some have such a low opinion of Wood Badge. Over the years I have been involved in the course as participant, staff member and course director. I don't know how many hundred of people that I have been involved with during a course. I have no idea how many people I have met or know who have taken the course. I do know that not one of them has ever said that they took the course to satisfy any type of an ego trip. I wish you only the best. Eamonn