ExperiencedUniforms

Hi AbbeyM:

This is the one subject that boggles every organization and every leader. Don't be discouraged. It is difficult to get volunteers for any project.

RULE #1. Take care of yourself. If you can't get help, DON'T DO IT ALL YOURSELF. If you do, you will be doing it all by yourself forever.

The best way, and most difficult, to get help is to sit down individually with your parents and ask them if they think the program is worthwhile. Explain the various tasks of the organization, and how it can be better with many hands helping. Get to know the parents. What skills do they have that will fill the jobs you have? Is someone better at speaking in front of a group? Does someone like crafts? Does someone like working with adults better than children? Try to look at your jobs as tasks, rather than titles. The master of ceremonies at a pack meeting. The person who arranges for the awards for the boys. the person who assists with snacks at meetings. etc. Ask for help with small tasks rather thank big jobs. When people do help out, thank them sincerly.

RULE # 2. Have fun. If it stops being fun, stop doing it. If you demand a big show for the Pack meeting, and you end up doing it all yourself, and you get burned out, is it really better than having a low-key meeting where the boys still enjoy themselves without all the trappings?

Keep on Scoutin' ora

Hi KWC57:

you are correct. I checked the online catalog at http://www.scoutstuff.org and found this:

CLASSIC PATCH BLANKET

Display patches on this reproduction of a classic patch blanket. 100% acrylic blanket has a gold fleur-de-lis screened in one corner. Measures 63" x 46". WW55290 $20.00

Keep on Scoutin' ora

Howdy ctablock:

Another alternative is a patch blanket. Take a small to medium size blanket, preferably red, fold it in half lentghwise, and cut a "T" shape slot at the fold, similar to a pancho. You can whip the raw cut, or sew a cloth border on the cut to keep the blanket from unraveling. Sew your patches on the blanket, and wear to campfires, use on your bed, or hang on a wall.

I have also seen imitation and real animal hides used as patch display. The skin is streched on a frame, and displayed on the wall.

Keep on Scoutin' ora

Hi John:

If you are interested, Scouter.com hosts no-cost sites for units. Please see http://www.scouter.com/hosting/ for details. Doing a search via the NetCompass, I found this page on Scouter.com that has references to other low- or no-cost hosting: http://www.bsa-gnyc.org/member/freepgs.htm

When your site is up and running, please let us know the URL.

Keep on Scoutin' ora

Hi Laura:

The service stars may be awarded by the unit, or the Scout may purchase them for themselves. It depends on the unit, and the amount of funds available. Some units recognize all of the Scouts at an annual meeting, perhaps during the Charter presentation, or on an anniversary of the Scout joining the unit. Some may present them at fall round-up to recognize the Scouters for their service. It should be a time to publically recognize the dedication of the Scout.

I have a few available @ no charge. If you are interested, Click on "Send Private Message, and let me know what year you are looking for.

Hi Twocubdad:

I think that supply wants to streamline their inventory, and it also helps keep the uniform less cluttered. They used to have the Pack numbers in blue and yellow, and changed to white on red to save a few cents. They also changed from providing individual community strips to council strips. This helped reduce waste and other logistical problems. I imagine that a few orange backs will turn up on online auctions, or they can be fabricated from orange plastic.

Keep on Scoutin' ora

Sir Robert:

Yes, you are correct about the copyright laws. On Merit Badge dot com (http://www.meritbadge.com/home.htm), there is similar information that one can find in the Merit badge books. And, of course, you need not have the book, as long as you fulfil the current requrements.

As a good Bobwhite, you did remember that Camping is required....unless you request a waiver [before beginning] for a disablility .

In the Great Denver Area Council, if your Troop meets our Commissioner's Challenge, the troop is entitled to free badges of rank. The troop can present the badge, but need not pay for it. You should present the earned awards and Merit Badges to the boy, but the BOR only looks at the record from the advancement report. The boy should keep his blue cards and the award cards. He can keep his badges and other awards in a shoe box.

Free rank = $0.00

21 merit badges @ 1.15 = 24.15 [if you are cold enough to make the boy pay for his own awards].

27 cards @ .05 = 1.35

Please add 25.50 to my previous total.

Just havin' fun.

Keep on Scoutin' ora

HI All:

I just reviewed the requirements for all the badges from Scout to Eagle at the US Scouting Service Project (http://www.usscouts.org/advance/boyscout/bsrank2.html).

One overnight for T-foot.

Another overnight for 2nd Class.

Another for 1st Class.

If the boy goes camping in the summer, he doesnt need much in the way of equipment, and he can borrow it. No requirement for high-adventure. Figure 15.00 for each overnight camping experience ~ $45.00.

Star: Four months from 1st class.

Life: Six months as Star

Eagle: Six months as Life

Minimum time: 17 months, or two years worth of registration fees. Dont know about troop dues, I know of a troop that charges $30.00/year. ~ 60.00

I looked as hard as I could, but did not find the requirement for owning, wearing or purchasing a uniform. It would seem rather awkward to show up to the Eagle BOR wearing overalls and a t-shirt, but the board should not be able to refuse to see the young Eagle candidate. Id like to see some anecdotal evidence if this ever occurred. I know that Venturers are not required to own or wear a uniform, and they can earn Eagle through the Venturing program, if they earned First Class as a Boy Scout. Anyone here ever sat on a board with a boy not in Scout clothing?

Uniform cost ~ $0.00

21 merit badge books can be found in the Troop library, or the public library, or online.

Investment ~ 0.00.

Shall I be as Phileas Fogg and challenge the group? Give me a highly motivated young man between the ages of 11 and 16 and Ill make him an Eagle in a year and a half for only 105.00.

Keep on Scoutin ora

HI Chippewa29

I wish you only success with working with this troop. The next few years may be the most difficult (unless you are the father of infant triplets) that you face. Sometimes you will want to just throw in the towel and give up. The only think that may keep you going is that every boy who walks through that door into your Troop is a wonderful young man in the making. There may or may not be any Eagle Scouts in the troop, one or two of them may make poor choices in their lives, but each boy is very important.

If you can locate a Scout book from the 70s, it is written more for city Scouts, and has many good ideas inside. Try to focus on developing patrol spirit in the group. Take a look on the Internet for some team building exercises. Does your District or Council have a COPE Course the boys could attend, or is there a COPE trainer that could come by your meeting one night or on a sleep-in at the COR and do some team building exercises? The patrol is the basis of Scouting, and it should benefit your Troop if you can develop this cohesive small group bond.

If you have not already, identify the natural leaders of the Troop first, either by election, or observation. If it is possible, train these boys with the troop/patrol leader training materials available from your Council. Then utilize the boy leaders. Make them accountable for their patrol.

Try to have a meeting a month away from the COR, if possible; the city park, bowling alley, retirement home, hospital, print plant of the local newspaper, the airport or local military installation, or just the DQ and hang out. Plan a day hike on a Saturday or a school holiday around the neighborhood. Talk with the boys and learn about their aspirations. Use the advancement program to teach them that goals can be achieved.

If you are in need of camping equipment, take some time and visit with your local National Guard or Reserve Armory and ask them if they have any camping equipment that they can loan. The worst they can say is NO. They may be able to offer an alternative though. For experts in other areas, contact your armed forces recruiters. They will most likely be very pleased to talk to young men.

For community service, picking up trash is a great project, but it really turns the boys off. If possible, contact the city to see if there is a minor construction project the boys can do; build erosion berms for a flood plane, plant trees or perennials for the park. Check out the Volunteers of America website to see if there are any opportunities in their neighborhood. Try to instill that they are an important part of their community. They are young citizens, and they do matter.

If you want moral support, you have it in droves. If it means anything, you may e-mail me anytime. Click on "Send Private Message" next to this posting. I'll usually respond within 24 hours. I may not have an answer, but I'll be here to offer what little I know, or to say "wow, that's great!," or "I'm sorry, maybe next time."

Good luck, and God bless.

Keep on Scoutin' ora

Hi Sheila:

Thank you for your comments. Yes, I too have seen some uniforms get way to much decoration on them. Some people just like to do that. It looks tacky, but does it really harm anyone?

I can understand the Safe Guide to Scouting rules, and follow them. They are there to keep the children safe. I look at the uniform guide as a source to help people who want to look proper to have a guide to know where to place items on the uniform.

If it were up to me [which it never will be 8)] I would just have the boys wear the uniform with no patches, and have all the awards put on a patch vest.

Keep on Scoutin' ora

Rule? I thought it was a guide.

How do you know they don't wear it (with pride) on their non-Scouting clothing? Wearing the pins isn't for the others to see, it is for the son to see that his parents are proud of his accomplishment. Should the leader not wear his/her uniform so that s/he can wear the pins?

Hi Webelosmom:

In these parts, parents of both sexes wear the parents pins their boy earns on their uniform. It may not be correct, but it does show that the parent is proud of the boy's accomplishment.

Keep on Scoutin' ora

Hi ASM1 & et.al.:

In a perfect world, the Scoutmaster should obtain a second uniform for the District-level position. Not all of us have the resources that Bill Gates has and it is difficult to obtain and maintain seperate uniforms for the seperate functions that a Scouter may perform. So, they switch loops to to the tasks for District/Council level activities. To be "in correct uniform," they should wear the red loops of their Unit position with the troop numerals, *even though* they are doing a district level function. That would be the most economical way to go. Of course, the silver loops also show others that this person is a point of contact for valuable information.

When someone corrects me for being out of uniform, I smile and say "You are absolutely correct." Then I walk away. Until they are willing to buy my uniforms, (I currently have five) that is all I will put up with. Uncle Sugar used to buy me uniforms, and I was very happy to wear them the way that was described. Even then, there were many who had tailored or custom items, as well as distinctive unit insignia and awards.

I feel that if someone is doing a volunteer job, s/he can wear any thing they want. I think that we should focus on program, and not clothing.

But that's just me.

Keep on Scoutin' ora

Hi All:

From what I've read, the WEBELOS Cub Scouts are organized in Dens. The Den may chose a mascot, similar to the Boy Scout Patrol mascot. They are then known as the xxxx den, rather than Den #.

If you get a chance, take a look at http://www.gilwell.com/patrolPatch/ . There are images of all the current patrol medalions, and many of the past &/or retired medalions.

The one I like are the custom or home-made badges that the dens or patrols make themselves. My personal favorite is one where they take the raccoon patch, turn it upside down, stitch black thread across the critter, and call it the road kill (patrol or den).

Keep on Scoutin' ora

Hi All:

Quite by accident, I entered the following URL when looking for BSA supply: http://www.scoutstuff.com. They have a page dedicated to Scout clothing at http://www.scoutstuff.com/scoutsstuff.html.

I don't know how they get away with it, but while it is running, take a look.

J.C. Penny's used to carry BSA clothing, but their website only lists GSUSA items. Perhaps a call to 1-800-222-6161 may get you a catalog, but when calling from Korea, it may be difficult.

KS, if you need something from supply, I can pick it up and send it out to you, if they have it in stock. I often wonder if they are going to change the name of the store to "Mother Hubbard's Cupboard," as they are often out of the things needed. I think they have the same guy ordering stuff that the Army clothing sales uses. That's why you have 15 4-star General insignia on the shelf, and no Lieutenant bars.

Keep on Scoutin' -- ora

Hi All:

My hobby is providing uniforms to Scouts and Scouters. I currently have three WEBELOS neckerchiefs that have had the large embroidered WEBELOS diamond removed. I would like to replace the diamond and pass the neckerchifs on to a deserving scout. I've checked with supply, and they do not sell the patch.

I need three or more of the diamonds. Do you have one or more to trade or sell? If yes, please click on my profile, and send me a message.

I have activity patches, worn CSPs or unused CSPs to trade. I estimate that the diamonds are worth about 1.00 each.

Thank you for your time. Keep on Scoutin' ora

Hi All:

I've had good success with the Krelman Company of Pueblo, Colorado. Some of their work is done in Tiawan, some in CO. They have great stock patches available at http://www.krelman.com.

The MacScouter has a great listing of resources at http://www.macscouter.com/Embroidery/index.html.

Any of the vendors who advertise in the Scouting magazine are also reputable companies, and will work well for you.

Keep on Scoutin' ora

Hi All:

From the limited informal research i've conducted, the original uniform from 1911 had woven band of cloth around the wrist to represent service time. The color was green for one year of service. I *think* that for three years, the Scout would wear a red band. (Most likely reflective of the Army's use of cuff cheverons for service time.)

I'm not sure when the stars were introduced, but they did not have numerals. They were worn with a felt backing. The backing color represented the years' of service. Green for one year, red for three (or five?) years. The system worked well for youth, but for adult Scouters in for 25 years, it got to be rather cumbersome wearing a row of 8 or 10 stars.

The loops worn on the Venturing shirt can be spruce, silver, or gold. Venturers are not requered to wear the Official polyester shirt from BSA supply. They are encouraged, but not required.

Hey, there's a dichotomy; in the siver over gold vein, Council Scouters wear silver, while national and employees wear gold loops. Does that make the local Scouters 'higher' on the totem-pole than the paid folks? 8)

Keep on Venturin' & Keep on Scoutin' ora

Hi Laura:

Congratulations on your Scout's accomplishment!

If I may, here are a few ideas for wording.

Formal: use if you need a count of your guests.

The parents of

Jason Scout

request the pleasure of your company at

Jason' Eagle Scout Court of Honor.

Please join us at

The First Church of Springfield,

101 First Avenue, Springfield, USA

promptly at six oclock in the evening of

Tuesday, the sixth day of August,

Two thousand and two.

Guests are requested to wear Scouting or business attire.

A formal dinner will be served prior to the ceremony.

Please reply to:

Mrs. Laura Scout, 555-1212, (or provide reply card & envelope)

by the first of August.

===================================

Less formal:

Jason Scout

Requests the pleasure of your company at

His Eagle Scout Court of Honor

***

============================

Informal, used if you do not need an exact count of attendees:

You are cordially invited to attend an

Eagle Scout Court of Honor for

Jason Scout

At the First Church of Springfield,

101 First Avenue, Springfield, USA

at 7:30 pm on

Tuesday, August 6, 2002.

Guests are requested to wear Scouting or business attire.

Light refreshments will be served at a reception following the ceremony.

(no reply needed on a cordial invitation)

==================================

much less formal:

Yo, Jasons Eagle Scout Court of Honor is Tuesday the 6th, 7pm, First Church of Springfield.

Be nice if you came.

========================================

Always make sure you answer the basic questions;

who

what

where

when

why

==============================================

Keep on Scoutin'

ora

Hi Tim:

It's a great site. You did a good job.

Keep on Scoutin'

ora

Hi All:

I beleive the community strips were replaced with council strips for economic reasons. It is more cost-effective to stock one patch that all your units need than to stock 100 different community strips that *may* be needed by 30 different units.

At one time, the Cub Scouts even had their own gold and blue community strips and gold and blue numerals to match the cub uniform. Do you think this added to the confusion?

Our troop and pack has a distinctive numeral patch. While not "legal," no one has objected to the insignia and forced the boys to remove them. If you are interested in the design, please see http://www.geocities.com/yosemite/trails/3142/. The Troop patch is on the top, scroll down a bit to see the pack patch.

When I was a Boy Scout youth in the late 1970s, I designed a troop patch for the members of our troop. It was worn on the right pocket in the "temporary" position. It had our Charter organization and town information. I now see many troops use thier neckerchiefs to display this type of information.

Of course, if you really wanted to know where someone is from, you could break down and ask.

Keep on Scoutin'

ora

Hi tdyer56:

Good looking site.

If you are looking for comments to improve the site, may i suggest that you place on your site things that are particular to your pack, and not items that can be found on other sites. The links to the requirements are nice, but the boys should have books to look these things up. An alternative would be to show how your dens met the requirements; visits to the fire house, WEBELOS Cub Scouts doing first aid for Readyman, what a color wheel is, etc. Post images of projects that the boys do over the course of the year.

Is this designed to be an ad for prospective members, or is it for the members themselves? A calendar of events or online newsletters would help both.

Lots of pictures of Cubs having fun...pinewood derby, picnic, community service, etc. whatever your pack does, record it on the page.

A note on the navigation; you may want to make the text uniform...keep it consistent on each page, or just have a link to the home page.

When you link to other sites, you may want them to open in their own window, rather than the parent window, that way the visitor can return to your home page by closing the child window.

A technical note: your links to your leaders does not function; you will need to remove the coding for the geocities site before your mailto command.

The contest is a fantastic idea!

Have fun and keep up the good work!

Keep on Scoutin'

ora

Howdy All:

If I were to change the uniform, it would be to make it something that the boys (over 10) would actually like to wear.

I would eliminate much of the insignia, the epaulets and the two front pockets. Put all the extra patches and awards on a vest like the GSUSA.

Make the shirt a knit polo-style. Use the world brotherhood crest and a small USA flag in place of the BSA strip. The position badges of Assistant Patrol Leader, Patrol Leader, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, and Patrol Leader could go back to the simple green bars worn on the sleeve.

Make the rank (Tenderfoot ~ Eagle) badges easier to attach and/or replace.

Make the official pants blue jeans, so the boys will always be in uniform.

I borrowed an idea from Scouts Canada and created some shoulder loops with green bars. If you are interested in seeing a sample, take a look at http://www.geocities.com/o_sheffler/experien3.html#sloops

The boys seem to enjoy wearing them, it is easier to identify the youth leadership quickly, and there is no sewing involved, and they can be traded off quickly.

Keep on Scoutin' ora

Hi Laura:

Have a contest in the troop to design a logo. Keep it simple, and tell everyone that it will be printed HUGE on the back of the current and future shirts.

Go big. Design the logo to fit the entire back of a small shirt--that way it will also be large enough on a xxl shirt, but still fit the small shirt. Go with a simplified mascot or a simple line drawing of a wolf, wombat, eagle or whatever is your troop mascot. It can be a simple geometric shape--look at how recognizable the Nike 'swoosh' is. It is a very simple design. Use your troop numbers for ideas. They can be converted to Roman numerals, or be stylized numbers. Go BIG. For font ideas, check out http://www.jumbo.com/mm/fonts/ .

For specific details, look in your library for books on silk screening, or visit a silk screening shop in your community. If you want to stencil your own shirts, you may be able to locate a silk-screen kit at a nearby hobby store. The kit should include a frame, the 'silk' material, the stencil material, and a squeegee. It may also have ink. It is possible to use a thin paint as your ink, as well. Acrylic will clean up with water, and will be colorfast once dried.

Another alternative is to have the Scouts create a stencil using pasteboard. The silk screen is used to hold stencils that have intricate detail, while a simple design is OK for a paste--you can create a large stencil using pasteboard and then use spray paint for your design.

If you are up to a challenge, use two colors. Interesting effects can be done using 'drop shadows' -- a darker color strategically placed beneath a lighter color. Print the light color first, then print the shadows. For aligning the stencils, use cardboard inside of the T-shirt. Pizza box covers are good for this, of course any cardboard or light plywood will do. You will need to keep the board inside of the shirt until the ink is dry enough for the second stencil. You may not be able to get a perfect match, but if your design is simple and large, the error may not be as noticeable.

Keep on Scoutin

ora

Hi all:

Boys grow. Can't get around that.

I think that it would be IMPOSSIBLE to create a uniform that 1. Will work for both ceremonies *and* outdoor activities; and 2. Would be a design that everyone will be pleased with. I would be willing to bet that even in a troop of 12 boys, there will be three different feelings of an "ideal" uniform.

Many groups wear uniforms; athletic teams, work crews, safety technicians, and of course military units. If you will examine the use of the uniform for each group, they all have various uniforms for various tasks.

Take an athletic team like a baseball team. They have uniforms for play (team outfit), and a different uniform for travel (sport coat and slacks). Work crews (like a fast food restaurant) have a uniform for a specific task; preparing and serving food.

Safety technicians (fire fighters, peace officers) and military personnel have a specific uniform for doing specific tasks. They probably have a ceremonial or dress uniform for parades, dinners, or ceremonial functions. They also have completely different uniforms for fieldwork. Would you expect a firefighter to walk in a parade or attend an awards dinner wearing a fireproof suit? Most likely not.

So why do we expect that Scouts would have one uniform that will do all functions? Wear the BSA uniform for dress occasions, and wear your outing clothing when doing ScOuting.

How do you keep the cost down? Instill in the boys that they are just using the uniform for a time. When they outgrow it, they pass it along, and another uniform will be available for them. Teach them to take care of the uniform so it can be passed along. With luck, they will begin to think of others before themselves.

Keep on Scoutin