fotoscout

First, although the DL and ADL are the key figures in the den , the Tiger Program is intended to be shared. I effect if the DL has become a lighting rod, then he is not allowing the parents to do enough, or have enough involvement. Certainly the DL personal issues with his sons health outweigh his scouting responsibilities. He may not longer be able to do the job. Dont be afraid, ask the question!!! I think we all know that BSA wants everyone to meet weekly, but I am not a proponent of weekly den meetings for Tigers. There is too much potential to burnout the parents and kids this early

WWBPD, I applaud your strength in making the decision not to attend anymore pro sporting events with your troop. Given the often frenetic and rabid approach our society now displays when it come to sports, I suspect that this wasnt an easy decision for you. We dont do big league sports with the boys. We do a minor league baseball game and a local college basketball game. The baseball game is outstanding! The stadium is small and very family friendly. They limit alcohol sales, and have no tolerance for unruly fans. The people running this operation have clearly figured out that thei

This sounds like either a caricature or a Norman Rockwell imitation. I know of no one who would allow a Tiger Scout aged boy walk around with a knife like this strapped to his belt. This is an opportunity for you to show leadership and remove the knife from the boy. It is simply inappropriate! As a parent, I would have been VERY concerned and nervous during this outing. I would have been VERY happy to see the leader address the problem promptly by separating the boy and his knife.

I have seen people do it. Although it is not common, it is also not uncommon. Like most other things it depends on how well you pull it off. Two big problems I've seen with it are these: 1) extra Velcro showing on the uniform, usually where some other patch would be worn but is not appropriate for the position you want to identify with at the time, and 2) when attached, the patches must be placed properly, not tilted one way or the other. Since you have to buy the patches anyway, go to ebay and bid on another shirt. Any way you slice it, this would be neater.

I wore the overseas cap while in college. I know of no other piece of clothing that as many colorful names as does the overseas cap". None are flattering. Some of you must be familiar with a few of those names. Most of the names have an origin in anatomy (gender explicit) or body fluids. I think that this would be one reason for us to continue to stay away from these hats.

A "Closed Pack", this might be the most unscoutlike thing I've ever heard!!!!

I think it starts at the beginning! From the Get-Go new leaders are allowed to not wear the pants. The kids (parents) just follow suit. So it really becomes a leadership issue. Start them off properly and they will continue in Scouting with the proper uniform. Start them off poorly, and they will continue in Scouting without the proper uniform. Cost aside, its that simple.

Hi Judy, and welcome! You are not alone in your thought process. Our Council believes as you do, if the dissemination of information is left to the CM, or DLs, the information will not be passed along to the membership if the CM or DL does not believe in camp or will not be going to camp. We have a single CS Camp brochure for all of our CS camp (camping) opportunities, day camp and overnights. It is mailed home, AND made available for distribution by the units. The registration form is included with the brochure. We also provide placemats for Blue and Gold that describe the CS camp progr

Beam me up Bob!

Aww shucks.............. (hope I spelled that right)

You deserve an answer, but I dont think youll find one here. Youve raised some serious issues that you are only knowledgeable of on a third hand basis at best. If what youre reporting is even half true, it should be taken up with your council Key Three for an investigation. However, as had been said here, the Key Three hired this guy so there may be some resistance in effectively dealing with him. On the other hand he may be following an agenda that has been laid out for him by the Key Three to help redirectsideline.some non productive Scouters. Good Luck.

Our FOS and Camp Promotions people are usually district or Council Scouters, and we do see them yearly. Now the camp person is me. Beyond that we never see anyone, not even our UC. Our CM has that ignorant attitude that anyone with silver loops is a spy. Maybe that's why he doesn't get in the way when I do things to better our operation. Getting back to the question, we don't invite the DE or SE or even the UC to events. I just told you why. Our UC is a no show kind of guy anyway. As BW said, they are trained to not show up uninvited, so if you are looking for someone to just pop i

Sometimes you can plan and plan and plan in an attempt to do something will ultimately become your legacy. Sometimes it just happens without even as much as a second thought. Last night at my bead ceremony I got to thinking about what would be my legacy with the Pack as I get ready to move on. I assumed (theres that word),that my legacy would be the reintroduction of outdoors programs to the unit. Boy was I mistaken! This morning, at the Veterans Day ceremony, as I waited for my boys to arrive I didnt see Webelos hats walking toward the park. I saw Tiger Hats, and then Wolf Hats, an

Wow, what great time! Eleven of my twelve boys came, along with bothers, sisters and assorted friends that have been a part of some of the things we do. The ceremony was great, I shared it with fellow Scouter (who was very happy to have someone to share it with!). Unknown to me, the parents conspired with the MC to write a little tune and have the boys sing it. It was great, I cried. Here is the text, of course the tune is Home on the Range, and a little poetic license needs to be applied; Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam Wearing glasses, a beard and a grin Where boy scouts h

Now dont anyone get jealous. My PR is very easy, I walk next door to my neighbors house and let her know what were doing. She takes pictures, writes a story, and poof were in the paper. Yes, she happens to be the editor of our local paper. My pack is in the paper 4-5 times a year, 2 or three of them are the front page. But I have to admit that we get very little out of it. Scouting in our community as a whole, gains, but on a unit level we get nothing except some very happy parents when their kid is on the front page. Oh yeah, and I get bragging rights at RT.

Well we finally got around to scheduling my bead ceremony for tonight. Actually my ticket counselors wife has been very ill and I waited until he could make time to be at the ceremony. It will be done at RT, with all of my boys in attendance. The plan is to do the ceremony then call up the boys and thank them for being the inspiration that drives the WB experience. Any comments or thoughts? Im always looking for new text..... Tonight it's Buffalo chips for everyone!!!

Ive used a product called Sno-Seal for many years. Its made from Bees wax. If youre concerned with appearances after youve applied the treatment then this isnt for you. If will darken and leave a slight buildup on the leather. But the stuff works, and its cheap! You warm the boot in an oven, spread the stuff over the boot and work it into the seams. Then wipe off the excess. All done.

Our popcorn is not great this year. We will be down by a total of about $800, and thats with a increase of about $1000 in Show and Sell. This years total will be $5600. Council changed the program this year, by forcing us to use the prize system offered by Trails End, and by mailing the order forms to each home around mid July. Most of the forms got thrown into the garbage, because it looked like junk mail and no one was looking for it. By time we had our program up an running this year, we had already lost 1 month of Take Order, and realized that almost no one had order forms. We only

I have to admit that I am not a fan of winter camping. Sure theres a challenge and satisfaction quotient to it, but I primarily see it as a Gear sport. Without the proper gear, conditions and situations that are wholly of your control can literally mean the difference between life and death, or, the loss of toes and fingers. Good winter gear is very costly. I believe that its out of line for a Scout Leader to have the parents shell out that kind of money for a few nights of fun in the dead of winter. Cabin camping on the other hand, is a different story, provided the cabin has some sourc

Greg, you play a good Devils Advocate. As for the parent signing off on an achievement under dubious circumstances, you have little control over that. The only one that looses is the boy. You stand to loose too much personal capital by challenging the signature. A constant drone about the importance of diligently doing the achievements wont do any harm. Chronologically, youve setup a simpler scenario, and I would agree that if you did your den trip in Sept. and the school went in Nov. I would probably say yes its OK to use. The difference is in the desire to see the boy compl

Bob, the problem is that no one in the Troop is a spectator, everyone is a participant. Everyone contributes to, and everyone affects the end product. In a play everyone has a 100% commitment, even the understudy. How would that play turn out if the understudy was a part timer and had to go on stage knowing only some of the lines? But getting back to the original question, its about commitment. Coaches demand commitment, and we dont. When the boy decides to play soccer, its in part because the coach expects him to be at the game and the boy doesnt want to let him down. Call it a guilt tr

Eagledad, I dont think youll regret that thought. I understand what Bob is saying and there is certainly truth in it. But I dont believe that you can become the best show in town simply by working hard to get there without demanding a commitment. Say you have a Troop of 30 boys and 10 are really gung ho active Scouts. Those 10 boys can work themselves to death in an effort to better the program, but the other 20 are going to stand as an impediment to progress at every turn. Look at this in terms of the sports analogy, 10 dedicated players and 20 hangers-on. Those 10 players can stand on

Sorry folks, I would say NO. The Go-See-Its (as are any Den, Pack, or Troop outing) are intended to be more than an academic pursuit to complete the achievement. They are intended to be a special time for the boys to not only have fun together, but to bond as a group and to create those shared experiences that will ultimately become their memory of Scouting. They put on their uniforms and proudly make their way to the go-see-it, and when they get there, surprise surprise, the only ones in their group are Scouts!! Lets look at it another way. Who are the boys going to interact with

The real question is,,,Which one really belonged at Yale?

I got so absorbed in my reply that I almost forgot where I started. You cant be the best show in town without commitment. Youll never become the best show in town without demanding commitment. And thats just something we dont do.