frank10

I think it is Webeli

Lisa, This one is easy if you know the right question... Don't call your DE and ask him what packs you can recruit from... have some one else call him and ask for the packs that their 9 year old son can join. Same list but I bet this time he gets it to you. Lets hope this DE retires soon. We have a feeded pack and we work with them to be sure that they visit atleast two troops before they cross over. It's improtant to make sure that each Webelos finds the tooop for him.

OGE, Sorry to hear your not feeling well and hope you are doing better soon. Like Neil my experience is second hand. For years I shared a tent at summer camp with a diabetic scouter. Best tip I can offer you is share info with your friends. They can spot signs of trouble that your condition will make you miss. Tell them to watch for moods that are out of place, loss of fine motor skills, trouble walking and indistinct speach. All it will take is a friend to tip you off that you should run an extra test and you can get your self back on track.

Hops, My mother always told me me to believe what I hear and only half of what I see. So when I read some thing like this I can't help but to check it out. In just about every case I can go to Google.com and enter a few key words from the story along with either myth or hoax and up pops the truth... I'm glad to say this one checks out. More than that, it doesn't tell half the story! Check out http://www.homeofheroes.com/profiles/profiles_crawford.html Don't miss page two, It will confuse you for a bit but then become clear and even more interesting. (Also notice on page 3 which president put things right) Great story, thanks for bringing it to our attention.

"The scout called the scout office and got the third one's name and contacted him and did the badge. " I can only dream and hope that some day one of my scouts will have enough drive to find a counselor on their own.

Ok, this is a bit off topic since the story does not say if the boy is a Tiger Scout. But read the story and then ask your self one question, "would you have called the fire department or handed the clerk a buck and asked for 4 quarters?" http://www.chippewa.com/articles/2004/01/04/news/news3.txt

Two long time Scouter in our district have passed on this month and we will be raising a mug of coffee to them tonight. These were not young men, we won't be standing around wondering what they could have made out of their lives. We know exactly their role was in this life and they were great men. To me falls the task of finding the right opening and closing thoughts for TONIGHT's roundtable. If you have a favorite tribute, prayer or story that you think might just work please post it or a link to it. Two that I have so far are - Success To laugh often and much To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others To leave the world a little better - whether by a healthy child, a garden path, or a redeemed social condition To know even one life has breathed easier because you lived This is to have succeeded. Ralph Waldo Emerson ------ Isn't it strange that princes and kings And clowns that caper in sawdust rings And common people, like you and me Are builders for eternity? Each is given a bag of tools A shapeless mass, a book of rules And each must make ere life has flown A stumbling block .... or a stepping stone

Could just be that the tie tack isn't needed anymore. Even IBM stopped requiring ties over 10 years ago (Except for the sales staff).

Eamonn - " Should I take the bait? No I won't. " Let it be, let it be, speaking words of wisdom, let it be....

Wow NJ, My father had told me Paul M used to play in a band. I thought he was making it up. (Evil grin).

In the past when we felt that the boys input wasn't making it to the PLC we took a large sheet of paper and laid it out on the table. A few adults took marking pens and we gathered the boys around the table. We started with a random boy and asked him for an idea... Good, bad, undo-able or just plain crazy, one of the adults wrote it down and we moved on to the next scout. Worked our way around the table several times until every one was out of ideas. Roled the paper up and put it away for the next PLC. Not every idea was used but atleast the scouts knew that the PLC knew what they wanted. BTW: in most cases the PLC will define an event but not a location. (ex: We want to camp where we can fish for trout.) They leave the exact destination to the SM and CC. In some cases they will ask to go back to a camp they have already used in past years but they like using new camps. Oh, one more thing, each year we print up a new Tshirt. Front had the troop logo. Back has a tour name on the top and then the event, location and date of each event for the year. Looks like the band tour shirts. The scouts love the shirts but as an unexpected bonus at our planning meetings we have the dates and events from past years right on our backs. Gets comical to see the boys searching to find someone wearing the tour shirt with the event they need to know about.

Hmmm, let me try this out. The wife I serve.... May feel that way somedays, but I'll get wacked up side the head and spend a night in the guest bed if I ever say it.

Any one can get caught up in the numbers game. Just look at the merit badges on a paper eagles sash.

Laura: not sure if I can claim to have a brain storm, but I'll try for more than a foggy day. My other hobby is touring on our motorcycle ('94 Honda Goldwing with over 100,000 miles). At most of the motorcycle events there is an area set aside for a "Swap meet". Anyone registered at the event can lay out a blanket and sell what ever motorcycle items they may have. Works well for our events... Now I can see a few problems translating that to scouting. 1) adults selling to (or buying from)youth members could be a conflict of interest. Scouts are used to Scouters looking out for their best interest but if they are on the other side of the deal I could see a problem. May be set a rule, no business with out a Scouter from the youths troop. Could also do it at an adult only event (round table, district dinner or such). 2) If youth members are involved I'd be uncomfortable with the amount of cash floating around at an event. The way it is some of my scouts already bring way too much cash to camp. Again, requiring a Scouter from the scouts unit to oversee the transactions could solve this. 3) transportation - I have enough trouble hauling the gear they need for the event. 4) hate to think it, but some might be tempted to sell items they don't own. Or items mom might not want sold. some ideas that might make it work... -Set it up for parents night at camp. -Set up a consignment shop at camp. -Standardize pricing (our uniform bank buys and sells uniform shirts and pants for $5 each. Makes scouts want to bring in their old parts.) -Now that you bring it up, I wonder if a special one day swap meet / tagsale might work out better than combining it with a camporee or Klonkike. -How about a want ad sheet? (charge two bits to place an ad?). - "for sale" board at local scout shop. Thanks for bringing the topic up. I may address it at the next roundtable.

Dan, your plans for "Prevailing Winds II" sound great and got me thinking (searching)... check out this site... http://www.indianhead.org/activities/high_adventure/ look down to " Guide Pages on Information Sources and Index of Adventure Bases Only "... 31 pages that list all sorts of camps with over the top programs.

Yes. I mean no. Well yes but no... Ok, I'll try to explain. Scouting serves a need. I won't bother to try to define the need or the service, we've all see it, we've all felt it. For many of us we more than just feel it, it's a part of our lives. We camp 30 nights a year, attend 40 troop meetings, monthly committee meetings, roundtables and PLC/TLC meetings. Late nights getting things ready for the next event. "Finding" a way to get a kid to camp and claiming the cash came from a "fund". This need will not go away and those willing to serve will still be there. We will find a way to serve. We are what makes the BSA what it is. If every state park was closed to us, if every $ from united way was cut and if council sold the last of our camps we would still find back yards and open trails to keep the program going. So for this reason I say no, there is no crisis. On the other hand, when a troop's only contact with anyone above the unit level is the check we send in with our charter and to do a FOS promo I have to start to wonder if maybe there is a crisis above us. At times I found myself as a unit level scouter asking myself "Would I even notice if they closed my council ofice and layed off the staff?". Would my unit just have a new address to send our tour permits? I know that we don't pay them to run our troops. I know that volunteers must provide the labor, the drive and the spirt. But sometimes it feels like we are on our own. No quality control, no marketing, no two way comunication. So maybe there is a crisis after all, but I can't help but feel that we will get past it. The units will still go on, the only question is what the national and council org charts will look like when it is over. (I know there is more to it than this, but I had to try to simplify it. Please read the idea rather than find the faults.)

FOG: Never unpack? Don't clean the mess kit? Sure I clean it before I put it away, do you bring your dirty dishes home?

FOG: Define pack. I tell the guys to never unpack. They just insert cloths and tie their sleeping bag on to the pack. Other than that the gear from last time is the same as this time. If it's just a single item, then there isn't a problem. If he is standing around on the campout like he's waiting for his mother to do the dishes then there is a problem. As for your wife, she may pack more than you, but I bet she lets you lug it.

Age aside, The scouts should not be on a BOR for the same reason that the SM and ASM are not allowed. The BOR is an independent review by someone other than the folks delivering the program and signing of the requirements in the handbook. It is a review of both the scout and the program. Second reason is that in the best cases the scout will someday face an Eagle BOR run by council and I asume that one will be all adults. Do you realy want the scout to face his first adult review then? Have you had any scouts make Eagle under this system? how did it go?

Thanks all! I have bookmarked the links and ordered the book. Thanks for all the tips.

Our UC would ignore both and hope any problems fade away.

Brother, If I put my hand on the window I can feel the pane! I do what ever I can to get some one else to do the task for me. When I lived home my younger sister would do them for me. Many a year where she thought she was wraping a gift for my girlfriend only to have me switch the tags later to her own name. My wife loves to wrap so all I need to take care of is her gift and about half the time it comes wraped from the store.

KA6BSA - The first time around this young man asked if we thought it was a good idea. You can still reply to that post. In this case the question is how to make this the best project it can be. Can you help him in any way? SPLT15 - To make the most of it, is there any way you can set this up as a yearly event? (or twice ayear?) Would be a lot better if it had a lasting effect rather than a one shot deal. Maybe make a big deal over the total blood donated by scout leaders vs. scouts (what's the rule in your state? 16 and up w/ permishion?). Scouts wash cars of the doners? Ask if you can speak at the leaders round table to promote this.

Buy Microsoft now.

We restarted a troop years ago with a handfull of Webelos crossing over from the pack... Well, time goes by and we have an Eagle! (and the crowd goes wild!) It's been a lot of years since I've had to plan a COH for an Eagle. What I'm looking for is a list of "outsiders" to contact... You know Mayor, Gov, President, Congress (both houses and both state and US), Arch Bishop, Pope... you get the idea. Anyone have a list you can post here or Email to me ( Chairman@onmyhonor.com )? The Scouts parents were born in Portugal, any ideas on who to contact there?