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fotoscout

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Everything posted by fotoscout

  1. You're too quick to associate work and scouting with money. Don't forget, we only work one hour a week!
  2. My office computer was so excited to see BW, that yesterday it blew a circuit and had to go to the PC Hospital! Yes limited authority, in the area of health and safety. However, no Commissioner has or would exercise any authority in the areas Commissioner service to the unit. Would any Commish shut down a unit because the leaders were not trained, or because the unit leader told everyone that the uniform was not necessary. Would a Commish shut down a unit because it did not use the Patrol Method, etc.,etc.,etc. The big flaw in the system is a lack of enforcement. Like the man said, if yo
  3. I didn't want to imply that BSA should do away with the charter concept. If I did I should have been more clear. Bob, you are correct that I don't see the benefit of greater CO involvement on the macro scale. But that does not come through a lack of understanding. History has shown us that greater involvement by the CO's , with it's greater influence, has detrimental effects on the larger program. BSA cannot suffer more of that. Sure it would be great if every CO would live up to it's minimum obligation, and maybe even do a little more for the units. But where does one draw the line
  4. I agree 100% with the concept of mandatory training and that has been my postion right along. The reality of what happens now is more like a game of telephone than a single nationwide program run from the same book. As for developing a greater reliance on the CO ,I could not object strongly enough. It is the aligned strength of blocks of COs that has put Scouting in the less than enviable position that it now occupies. Putting greater responsibility in the hands of the CO would further polarize BSA, and ultimately make todays problems pale in comparison to what might happen. Bob, I se
  5. If you're looking for a hard and fast date, you won't find one. There is nothing wrong with allowing the boys to work on Wolf Arrow points during the Summer. In fact this may be preferred since your participation may be less through the summer months. Then in September, with everyone back from the summer, you can startup with the Bear program. Your first responsibility is the give the boys every opportunity to earn their Wolf Badge. The Wolf program is fairly simple to get through, most units have completed the requirements by February or March. Then they move on to "the fun stuff".
  6. The best piece of advise I see here is for you to do your overnighter on Saturday night. Let Friday night be your extra night for the expieracend campers. Doing it this way will also give you an oppurtunity to spend some time getting ready for your acitivities on Saturday. Expecting non campers to come home from work, pack the car, get to the campground, and get setup is just too much to ask. AND, let's not forget about dinner!!!! It is far easier to pack up quickly for fast getaway on Sunday morning, then it would be to get there and get setup on Friday night. For the boys who are
  7. The showing of October Sky was I think the most emotionally effective bit of choreography that Ive ever been a part of. As they say, timing is everything, and the timing of this movie in the program was outstanding. Especially for those who had not previously seen the movie. It reduced a room of 52 grown men and women to mush. Win All You Can was another story. Most of us just didnt get it. Maybe it was the way it was presented, or maybe it was the game itself. In the previous years WB, this game almost caused a fight. Im told that it got VERY ugly. So, yes I think that this part of t
  8. SP, you are of course correct. I never read the fine print. We are always instructed to have the IH sign the applications and charter. I guess it's one way of insuring that the someone contacts the IH at least once a year.
  9. The idea of working your ticket, is intended to make you a better Scout Leader. As a Cub Scout leader, you might want to take stock of where you see your future in the Scouting Program. Do you see yourself staying with the Pack for another 10 years, or do you see yourself working at the Council level in the future? Maybe you see yourself as an organizer and planner, or maybe you see yourself as a skills person or outdoorsman specializing in teaching scoutcraft and outdoor skills to the boys. I don't remember the details of the questionnaire that Eamonn refers to, but some of this s
  10. The COR has no signature responsibility to the unit! The IH - Institutional Head - must sign Adult applications and the Charter. Special treatment is always a difficult situation. Maybe he doesn't understand what he's doing. I suggest that you discuss this with your CC or CM (whichever you are not) and perhaps another knowledgeable leader. If you all agree, then go talk to the COR, but not alone. If you can't agree then you might need to spend some time in quiet reflection.
  11. And what if one of my cubbies is my nephew, can I be his guardian on a camp out? There are lots of ways to answer this, but only one is correct. Yes, you can be his guardian, but, no, you cannot sleep in the same tent with him. I am sure that someone will try to call me on this, but that is the "official" answer that I have repeatedly been given by our Council people. The other side of this question is, will your own son be on the trip? How many other responsibilities will you have on the trip? Will you have the time to supervise a child that is not yours? Good questions, you should th
  12. Here is another thought, why would you want a more involved COR. The CORs responsibly is to interface between the unit and Chartering Organization. He/She should be mainly involved with issues relating to the Charter agreement. Items like Leader selection, meeting location, equipment storage, and maybe the coordination of some program activities that are associated with your CO. Having said that, most COs and CORs dont want anything to do with Leader selection. It is the Leaders job to make the program, not the COR. If youre looking for the COR to be more involved in the way a Leader
  13. As Wingnut mentioned above, we do all of those trainings each week for any adults in camp. Some weeks it becomes a one on one session, but we do have leaders that look forward to the opportunity to do some training while at camp. I am particularly fond of the SM Sleep-off. It has a very simple set of rules.... the SM must be seen sleeping in a "public" area of the camp. The porch that surrounds our dining hall is a favorite.
  14. My "den family" is at least 30.
  15. Scoutnut nailed it, the Program Helps are just that, HELP. Sure you can try to run your program by following the Program Helps religiously, but you could do better things with your time. Pull things from the book that are worth while and doable for you! Remember, not all of us are the same. Something that works for you may not work for me. The Program Helps represents an ideal program where everything falls into place and everyone does their share and then some, including the parents. It also requires weekly meetings! This may be a generalization but Ive found that Packs, who becom
  16. I think it's about doing the bare minimum. Many leaders exist by doing only the bare minimum. One excuse for getting away with it is that they are not trained. This falls squarely into that category. "If I don't get trained, then I don't have to be a part of a swimming event. And, if someone does go into the water and a situation develops, I can't be held responsible since I'm not trained......" Convoluted thinking, but some people live by it.
  17. Scoutnut your camping facilities seem to be different than what is available here. We have no public campgrounds with cabins in this area. Our Youth camping areas are specifically set aside of youth camping, not family camping. That means, that very young are not welcome, and family groups are not allowed. In effect these areas are set aside for Troop Camping. So we dont camp in different areas, we are in the same group site, but we setup as dens. The families in the dens setup next to each other. With or without instruction, I would expect nothing less from a good den. They want to b
  18. I think this topic is about much more than Nationals support for recruiting, although some positive press and advertising would certainly help. As Ive said before, I believe that there is a perception issue with regard to Scouting. And as a result Scouting has become polarized and political. Many people just dont want to be associated with the current perception of scouting. This is not helping when it comes to recruiting. National should find a way to fix this! We also have kids who are involved in everything under the sun. The choices are many, and instead of being one of just a fe
  19. Maybe this needs a little more of an explanation. Yes, certainly Pack Camping is a family event for those that want to attend as a family. But a "Pack Family Overnighter" is different than a "Pack Overnighter". Yes, there are some semantics here, but the overall structure and feel of the event are in fact different. In no way, shape or form are any one of these a Troop overnighter. To make it easy I'll describe the extreme of each: Pack Family Overnighter - We'll be at Happyland State Park for the weekend, join us anytime, bring your own food and games. Setup wherever you want. If
  20. This is exactly what we do every year. It has never been a problem. It is not too much to ask of the den leaders. You will have campers in the group that will step forward to help the den. The problems with allowing each family to cook for itself are numerous. Most notable, non campers will stay home! Second on the list are the simple logistics of moving along with your program. Continuing down the list is the potential for many, TOO MANY stoves, BBQs and ground fires that will occur if you let them all cook for themselves. Kids running all over the place and hot stoves everywhere, not
  21. Try Suffolk County Council's Camp Baiting Hollow. It offers access to Bay, Sound or Deep Sea. You'll have your choice of flounder, stripped bass, shark or tuna (and others), depending on where and when you elect to come. Travel time to the boats varies from about 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on what you want. You could of course fish for bluefish from the the camp beach if you prefer. I'll PM you with the contact numbers.
  22. No. In the Cub Scout Program the Bobcat must be earned before any other badge can be awarded, with the exception of the Tiger Badge. Even 4th or 5th grader joining as a Webelos must earn the bobcat badge. Once the boys reach Boy Scout age there is no Bobcat anymore.
  23. This has become a game between my son and I. I prefer that all the boys address all of us a Mr. or Mrs. My son has heard me say this on at least 100 occasions but he insists on calling me dad. This has evolved to almost theatrical proportions. He says Dad, I say Mr. Foto, he says Dad, I say Mr. Foto and on it goes. In the end, he always wins!
  24. I used this ceremony yesterday at our B& G to install our new CM. It was terrific! Instead of using diplomas I attached different items to a ribbon that went around the new CMs neck. Responsibly was a telephone book sized catalog with the 1000 lbs written on it Knowledge was a graduation cap Hard work was a hard hat Enthusiasm was a Sponge Bob stick puppet Gratification was a back scratcher. Admiration was a stuffed bear with a big heart held between its hands. As the symbols of his office we used our Pack flag and a campaign hat. Each was presented to him by one of h
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