FScouter

When a boy leaves the troop, is it fair for him to take with him a slice of the troop pie? The troop operates as a unit, a team, a group of boys and leaders. It is the troop that plans a program, the troop that plans a money earning event, the troop that procures the equipment, the troop that pays for the costs of the outing. The boy worked hard, to be sure. They all worked hard together to pay their own way. But did each individual boy work hard solely to benefit himself, or as part of a team to benefit his troop? The funds earned by the troop from a troop money earning event

Our world would be a better place if we spent more time on constructive activities, instead of plotting infantile methods to "make a stink". I'm reminded of the three-year-old who whines and complains and throws a temper tantrum when he doesn't get his way. This kind of advice is what gives attorneys a bad name. What kind of message do we send our boys when the adults play nasty?

It is appalling that anyone involved in scouting would advocate filing a lawsuit or criminal charge over a matter such as this. Funds raised through troop money earning projects belong to the troop. The troop may or may not allocate some of those troop earnings to be used for the benefit of the specific boy. The absence of written bylaws does not automatically mean that the money is owned by the boy. A boy account is not a personal savings account. If the troop chooses to transfer the amount to another troop, that is fine and well. But they are certainly not obligated to do so, regardles

I've had boys or parents question the uniform requirement. I tell them that until they can show me where the book says the uniform are optional, we will wear it.

Our troop attended the funeral of one of our boys. We all wore the full uniform, at the specific request of the family. At the next troop meeting we constructed a flag pole and performed a formal flag raising ceremony, raising the flag and lowering to half staff in honor of our fallen Scout. Tributes were offered. Although no family members were present, they were touched to know that the troop cared enough to honor their Boy Scout.

I don't know that there is a minumum. I know that when a certain boy in our troop earned his first merit badge, he couldn't wait to get a sash and wear it, like the other boys. It looked pretty bare, but he had an ear-to-ear smile.

We had a guy in our district that had kakhi colored velcro on his sleeve. It was such a perfect color match to the uniform that I think it must have been official Scout issue. A phone call to North Carolina might be worth while. Maybe your detractors would make the call for you?

Heres one I remember from a-way back in the olden days, when I was a Cub Scout. The Cubmaster had a heavy wooden box on the floor with a handle on each end. Tied to each handle were several threads about 3 feet long. He explained that a Scout had a job to do. He had to lift the box and carry it to the other side of the room, without touching the box or the handles. He could use only one thread to lift and pull the box. The Cubmaster invited one boy to try, and of course the box didnt budge and the thread broke. A second boy came to help, but still both threads broke. Then eight boy

I used Scoutmate for a time, but eventually abandoned it. The problem was that I could not take the records to troop meetings or campouts. What we use now is the BSA troop record book #34508. It tracks everthing the computerized system does and is easy to use. It's available at the scout shop for about $4.

According to the Insignia Guide, up to six merit badges may be worn on the right sleeve of the long sleeved shirt, above the cuff. The sash may have an unlimited number of merit badges. There is no prohibition against wearing merit badges on the sleeve and the sash at the same time.

Our troop uses the BSA immediate recognition kit #01998. It consists of a leather totem with three leather thongs that hangs from the Scout belt. The three thongs hold white, green, and red beads representing Tenderfoot, 2nd Class, and 1st Class achievements. Each time a Scout completes a rank requirement, he earns a bead, which is presented at a troop meeting. The kit is available at the scout shop, or through the catalog. (Quote marks cannot be used in the subject line of a message. This causes everything after the quote mark to be truncated.)

If the bank is renting space, they would be legally required to rent to all comers. Are there not laws about discrimination against tenants?

Sounds like the bank was attempting to be "politically correct", but wound up looking politically stupid.

Our troop wants every Scout to go to camp, and the boys ability to pay should not keep him from going. All boys are expected to earn their own way. We provide ample opportunity for this through money earning events. Not all boys can participate in all money earning events, but the boys that participate more, earn more. Boys that come up short are encouraged to earn money through their own enterprise. We give them hot tips on who needs their lawn mowed, or car washed or whatever, and the boy then has an opportunity to follow up and earn a few bucks. The challenge for the Scoutmaster

There's a bunch of mess kits for sale on the eBay. Here's two: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1086606581 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1087088066

6X? Sounds like a pretty good size for a 16 year old. Is that a large kid size or an adult size? There are 108 shirts up for bid right now on eBay. Here is a men's XXXXL for $12.99. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1087549399

Take a look at the 'NetRoster' button on this web site. Looks like there are several Troops in Mesquite. I'm going to Winona, Minnesota soon and will try to look up a Troop there.

That would be a whole lot of work. How could one possibly do justice to either position, given the time required?

I'm not familiar with the "Patrol dad/sponsor method". Coud you elaborate?

I carry the requirements booklet in my Scout breifcase. Many times a kid will ask "What do I need to do for the XXX merit badge." And I've always got the answer. For $3.50, I get a new booklet every year and pass on the old one to another person.

It happened again yesterday. Another member of our district committee stated that neither our unit insurance through Mutual of Omaha, nor the Council insurance would be in effect unless we wear the uniform while traveling on a tour permit. In other words, if an accident were to occur, we would be uninsured unless we were wearing the uniform. I dont see what the uniform has to do with insurance. Has anyone ever heard of such a thing?

www.sierratradingpost.com is another. They deal in overstocks, closeouts, and 2nd's. My first contact with them was to buy a closeout tent from their catalog. They had run out, but apologized profusely and sent me a $5 off certificate good on any future order.

How about letting them go ahead with the rest of the day's activities. Meanwhile you wash them yourself, and confiscate all dishes for the duration? Maybe let them have one small pot.

Here's a situation that recently came up. Ive been working to get our Patrol Leaders Council to understand they have more control over the activities and operation of the troop then they think. All of a sudden at the last PLC meeting they seemed to get the concept. Im very pleased that they took the bull by the horns and made a decision, but not happy about what they decided. Ive thought for some time now that we need to implement dues collection in the troop and stop the annual re-charter fee. At first, there was parent opposition and committee opposition, but we overcame that.

Bob White - Your plan sounds well thought out. Our troop has made tremendous progress towards pursuing Scouting aims and implementing the methods. There is much still to accomplish. Two committee members have done Fast Start, the other three have not. Perhaps we could all do it again at the next committee meeting. Our district has Troop Committee Challenge on the calendar for later this month. Sad to say, they don't yet have a leader to run it, and the training may not happen. Our troop has no scribe, nor a treasurer (is that a position?) thus the boys have little contact with t