eolesen

I fear we may be facing a similar situation in Catalina Council -- our primary summer camp has had little infrastructure added over the years, and was closed two years in a row (one due to fire danger, the second due to a water shortage). The council finally invested in additional water storage, but decided to cut in half the number of campers they'd accept for this coming year to less than 100 per week.

Thus, some troops (including ours) who have always gone to Lawton are now going out of council, due in part to

1) the uncertainty of camp closing yet again,

2) concerns over how good of a program can be put together with a smaller staff group

3) the lack of experience from a staff who for the most part have never worked together before

Essentially, summer camp just became a district camporee in terms of size. That's not what the experience is supposed to be about.

This year, it's camps closing.

Next year, look for councils consolidating, especially if the membership policy change causes larger than expected fallout...

Godspeed, OGE....

Fundraiser, anyone? Just guessing it would have a higher conversion rate than popcorn, and less overhead....

Classic response.....

There's a reason UC's aren't supposed to have any attachments to the troops they are responsible for, and why district Scouters aren't supposed to be dual registered as a leader.

BlueJacket, you have too much emotional attachment to this unit to see clearly.

I never interfered in matters involving my sons, and my SM does likewise with his kids. We deal with each other's when the need arises.

You need to find someone else to work with this pack. You need to get out of the way before your conflict of interest really causes damage.(This message has been edited by Eolesen)

Maybe our kids are fortunate economically, but our troop tents never leave the shed... We made a conscious decision to not buy anymore, and as a new QM, I'm more than OK with that. Now my budget goes for stuff like propane and spatulas.

If the kids buy the tents, they take better care of them. When they age out of Scouting, ideally they have equipment to continue down the trail to exploring the outdoors...

Timely posting... I just volunteered to step into the adult QM role, and am facing this one. I have a budget to buy fuel, and replace missing items from the patrol boxes.

Anything above that goes to the committee for discussion and approval.

Where the boys are involved is in deciding what equipment they'd like to add to the collection. That gets balanced out in discussions between me and the youth QM...

For our patrol boxes, we use plastic footlockers containing some of the basics -- fry pan, boiling pots, serving spoons, spatulas, foil, scrubbers, soap, etc... We also have a few stoves, and about a dozen tents which I've never seen come out of the carry sacks.

When the question comes up on buying more equipment, I plan to answer with a question: how often will it be used, and who is going to find a way of disposing of some of the other unused gear?

Once I get an answer that has been thought thru, we can take it to the committee to get the funds released, assuming it's not something I can just cover in my budget. But I'm not rushing out and buying stuff just yet.(This message has been edited by eolesen)

Imagine that... Automation enforcing national policy? Shocking. Simply shocking, I tell you....

As a former ADC and UC, I'm shocked, amazed, and pissed all at the same time. Which handbook did you read?... I guess I must have missed the part where I was supposed to second guess the unit leaders and run the program as I thought it should be done....,

My handbook said Commissioners are supposed to be there to support the units, not tell them how to do things without being asked first, and certainly not to do an end-run around the unit leaders.

What you've done is given the CM an axe to grind, and word will get around, not in a good way.

Taken a step further, you may have just created a huge distrust factor between other unit leaders and your UC's. I certainly wouldn't be inviting you into my meetings, nor would I want to get more involved with district events...

You overstepped, and now need to man up & repair the fence.

(This message has been edited by Eolesen)

We have a planning weekend at our council camp, and the SPL runs the meeting:

1) each boy brings with them an idea to present to the troop for an outing, including approximate cost

2) adults have no say in which ideas are presented, but do speak up when there are G2SS age restrictions (an 11 year old was not too pleased to find out his caving trip couldn't include him) or activities which simply can't be done (we had two suggest mock-war paintball...)

3) ideas are then voted on for general interest

4) Once the ideas are vetted by the boys, the SM and ASMs start working out the calendar, keeping in mind firm dates for things like camporees, school breaks, and leaving open weekends for as many Eagle projects as we anticipate for that year. The ideas with the most votes get slotted first.

5) SPL reviews, and then the parents get to see the calendar

Having the boys do the brainstorming is easy, especially if you're forced to bring an idea. No freeloaders.

We set a few ground-rules, and make it clear that not all ideas will turn into an outing --- with over 24 boys submitting ideas, there simply aren't that many open weekends.

We also make it clear that economic load also plays a part in what winds up schedule.... You can't have a bunch of $100 events the two or three months before camp payments are due... A few families can probably afford it, but most can't.

(This message has been edited by Eolesen)

Yep, seen it several times. Twice with SM's wearing too many hats at the district and council level, once with volunteers who spent a little too much time together away from their spouses.

If i were a CC, the latter two would have been asked to leave their registered position, since it was common knowledge inside the troop committee.

Can't do much about the district and council guys. But I also don't do much with them.

Easy to spin this as a membership policy example, but if you weed out the folks who can't play by the rules, you can still be consistent in what the policy aims to do.

I am a necker renegade, over the collar. Don't bother with the top button because the woggle covers it up... Lost count of how many new parents have tried to tell me it needs to be tucked in.

Put all of the parents into a separate room during the meeting, save for the SM and ASMs. Discuss committee stuff to distract them from the fact they're not able to helicopter...

Repeat weekly.

The boys will figure it out once they actually see that they're being given almost free rein.

SP, it's only a mistake if the parish dress standard says no shorts... I have seen tshirts, shorts and flip flops at mass in some churches; in others, you're out of place if you're wearing Dockers instead of trousers...

My LDS colleagues have made it clear as to what we can get away with on Monday thru Saturday does not translate to what we wear in their building on Sundays. If you're wearing shorts, you might as well carry a Coke into the service with you and ask where the polygamist seating section is... I'm sure they'd be polite, but it would be offensive just the same.

As with most things Scouting, local policy should dictate...

Late to the discussion, but I've seen more LDS scouts in shorts than not. Some adults choose not to wear them for modesty, but the boys definitely wear them out here in the desert. I suspect the new switchbacks were cut more towards the knee to accommodate the LDS.

IF the CO has a policy on appropriate attire and the COH is being held on their premises, I can see a justification for accommodating their custom. Personally, I'd be finding another location for the COH if that were the case...

No dining fly for us, and don't miss it. But we're I the desert, where rain is barely a concern most months...

If we had them, I'd go for patrol size. You can always put a couple up together if you need a troop size space. We've used ez-ups a few times, and no complaints aside from the weight. Staked and/or tied down they're fine. Freestanding without stakes or tie downs and yes, you're asking for trouble...(This message has been edited by Eolesen)

Sorry I've been gone for the last couple days -- I went 5 mph over the speed limit on the way back from camp, and had to track down my SE to self-report....

I'm amazed at how "taken to the absurd extreme" this discussion went....

I was a registered foster care provider in AZ, and the agency's rules are far more rigid than BSA's. If I called my case workers over a Playboy or inappropriate pics on a cell phone (that were clearly not taken by the kid), they'd probably hang up on me. And, being trained/registered/licensed made me and them far more culpable where reporting abuse is concerned...(This message has been edited by Eolesen)

Second the recommendation on scanning handwritten records like a book or blue card. Came in handy when oldest son lost his book....

>> Why does everyone Bash Cub Scouts

Not trying to be overtly harsh here, but meetings aren't a drop-off day-care or respite.

If a Scout is presenting a challenge, require (don't ask) that a parent remain available so that they can help keep the child on task, or take them out of the meeting of they become too much of a distraction.

I'm a parent to a special needs child. Sometimes they do much better when we aren't there, so I get why the parents might want to stay out of the way, but we never just bail. We got to a room where we are out of sight, or wait in the car... But always accessible,(This message has been edited by Eolesen)

Merlyn, how do you explain how the existence of UU, Pagan, Wiccan, Buddhist, Hindu, Sihk, and Scientology Scouters?

All that the faith statement requires is a belief in a higher power. Atheism doesn't acknowledge that, agnostism and all of the others mentioned do. Doesn't have to be monotheist.

Uh, he died a week ago.

>> Average troop size nation-wide accordin' to JTE materials is 14 boys or so.

Seems to me this topic has run its course and then some, no?...

Seems to me this topic has run its course and then some, no?...

It's a good idea, but as you said, it's a transient group.

My wife did outreach at a shelter in Texas, and the average stay for the moms with kids was 30 days, since they jumped to the top of the list for housing.