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Gutterbird

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Everything posted by Gutterbird

  1. Last year, our troop had several fundraisers to purchase all new tents. It has been our policy that at the end of a campout, if the tents are still damp from dew or rain, that a scout will take the tent home to dry. The scout AND the parent have been briefed on this policy and asked to please lay the tent out to dry that same day and return at the next troop meeting. On occasion we get a tent back with a little mold due to the tent not being dried thoroughly. This past week, we opened a tent to use and there was a significant amount of mold on the tent. So much mold that the tent is unusable.
  2. I was suprised to still see reply's after a year. I had to go back and read my original post because I forgot what is was. Long story short, we have stayed with our original CO. A meeting was held with the church, there is a new executive officer and COR. They both have been great and we now have 100% support from the church.
  3. Thanks for all the great ideas. We went with the church option and found a church near Madison that will let us crash in their basement for the weekend. For all those troops that have used churches in the past, let me ask you this: Come Sunday morning, did your troop stay for their Sunday Service as a good gesture or did you just pack up and head home? We will plan on staying and placing an offering during their collection, I'm just curious what other troops do.(This message has been edited by gutterbird)
  4. Our troop is planning a ski trip in Feb to Cascade Mountain, just south of the Wisconsin Dells. We want to make a weekend of it and are looking for a place to camp. Preferably cabin camp since it is still winter. We were planning a Boy Scout Camp near Janesville but they are booked solid. Any Ideas?
  5. Here is my situation, I am a scoutmaster for a troop, committee chair for a pack, and advisor for a crew. Granted, not all those positions by choice. The crew advisor just up and left without a word and I felt bad for the kids so I stepped up. For the troop and pack, at one time I was running both because of a lack of leaders. Two years ago we found a cub master but she left, last year, we got a new cub master but one of the den leaders did not like her and forced her to leave due to the headaches caused by this den leader. This den leader then stepped up to the top position. Fast forward tw
  6. I did talk with the boy and his mother, I did tell them about both units and what each one has to offer. the mother was asking me for my recomendation, it is a tough call, it would be truly up to the boy as to what he wanted to do. I just wanted to see what others thought.
  7. We have both a Venture Crew and a Boy Scout Troop, we have a new scout wanting to join either unit, he is 16 years old and will not make Eagle if he chooses to go into the Boy Scout side of the house. So, what do you think, join Boy Scouts or Venturing? What is everybody's thoughts?
  8. All that sounds like some good ideas. Maybe I can get the SPL to officiate a renewal of the vows and I can rewrite the vows to make them scouting vows. I also plan on calling ahead to a local resort about getting some roses.
  9. Here is my situation, this summer we are taking the troop on a 7 day camping trip to the Canadian Boundary Waters. The same week of our trip is my 20th wedding anniversary. The wife is going with us on the trip, since she is a Committee Member. Since we really cant be alone on this day, I have been trying to think of some celebration I can do boy scout style but coming up blank. Anybody been in a similar situation? Any ideas?
  10. Thanks for the input. Our final destination are the boundary waters on the Canadian/US border straight north of Duluth. I am thinking we will take 94 to Eau Claire then head north towards Duluth and the boundary waters.
  11. Our troop is heading up to northern Minnesota in a few months for a week of camping. It will be a multi-day drive for us and we are needing a place to stop for the night. We're planning on the Eau Claire Wisconsin or Rice Lake Wisconsin area for the overnight. Does anybody know of a camp site where a group of about 25 scouts and scouters can camp for the night in the above listed area's? I have also heard of church's opening their doors to scouting units for the night, any thoughts? Any help or ideas would be great.
  12. John-in-KC - "What do YOU think your chartered partner is not doing, according to the annual charter agreement?" Bullet points 3 and 4 "How did you invite your IH/COR to attend? Letters, email, personal visit? Have you talked with your unit commissioner about this?" We have made personal visits to the CO AND sent formal invititations for Blue and Gold. Unit Commissioner? What Unit Commissioner? BSA24 - We fall under your first category, we are pretty much use the facilities and get them to sign whatever needs signing. However, one of my goals is not only increase the siz
  13. Our CO is a local, non-denominational church who is basically a CO on paper only. The COR, a minister, is there only to sign the paper work, (recharters, adult apps, etc.). We have invited them to numerous banquets and COHs and Pack Meeting but never come. When we have fund raisers we ask if they can put it in their weekly bulletin, they dont. They even told us we are on our own to find our own leaders. The only support they give is the use of the rooms and gym. I will say, they have been very accommodating when it comes to the use of the facilities. I would like to find a new CO. I have anoth
  14. So where do we buy the ALPS brand tents with the 45% discount? Website? Thanx
  15. Did a little research and found a couple tents that may work. One of the things I was looking for was an enclosed vestibule so the scouts can store their gear and park their shoes outside the tent. In addition, we need to keep the cost around the $100 mark per tent and plan on purchasing 10 - 12 tents. The two we found are: Coleman Hooligan 4 http://www.coleman.com/coleman/ColemanCom/detail.asp?CategoryID=11070&product_id=2000001591 Coleman Trailblazer http://www.coleman.com/coleman/ColemanCom/detail.asp?CategoryID=11020&product_id=2000000281 Does anybody use these te
  16. Our troop just completed several fundraisers; our goal was to raise enough money to replace some old, worn out tents. We have discussed somewhat, the kinds of tents we want. We want a good quality tent with heavy duty zippers; can withstand the impact of boys, and something that will last. We recently were at a Camporee and saw another troop use larger tents for their scouts. Each tent slept 4 scouts. We are now considering that same idea. Purchase less tens, but bigger to fit more boys. Are there any troop out there that is doing this same thing? I am looking at the "more but smaller tents
  17. I think you hit the nail on the head with that last post. Safety of the boys are my main concern, I am very nervious about taking them on weekend campouts and more so our weeklong summer camp. There is no way I can supervise these boys 24/7 while at camp. Losing a boy for an hour on a recent outing confirms my concern. I really do need a parent to step up and assist.
  18. That is good information, thanks for the reply. How do you handle the suppervision issue on campouts? I am getting concerned with summer camp just around the corner.
  19. I have several young scouts who just joined or will so be crossing over into Boy Scouts with learning disabilities such as ADD or ADHA. Some are on meds while others are not. The issue that I am having is that these boys can not sit still, do not listen to directions, or become fidgety. I set simple goals for these boys (baby steps) and work with them to help them achieve these goals. It takes constant adult supervision when working with these boys. My big concern is camping trips and outings. I do not believe I can leave these boys without any type of adult supervision. We teach them the bu
  20. Has any troop ever camped at Illinwek Forest Preserve in Hampton Il near the Quad Cities? Just wondering if it was a decent place to camp.
  21. We just recently held a PLC and the boys wanted to put some events on the calendar. They decided they wanted to try something different this year and thought it would be neat to take a River Boat (Steam Boat, whatever you want to call it) on the Mississippi River. I said lets do it and put it on the calendar. We do not have a hard date for it yet but we are thinking late April. We will make a weekend of it and do a campout with the River Boat Ride. Has any troop ever done this? Can anybody suggest a good camp ground near the Quad Cities? The boys prefer the Iowa side, this way they can say th
  22. I have been asked to do a SM Minute at the closing of a Blue and Gold Banquet next month. The banquet's theme is the 100 yr. anniversary and I am wanting a SM Minute that would go with this theme, but I am coming up blank. Anybody got any good ides?
  23. What seems to work for teaching Leave no Trace? Some of our boys just don't get it yet. Boys will be boys, and boys love to climb tree's and break branches in the process, it is human nature for a young lad. Other things I am seeing is walking off pathways and tearing up the land. Whatever we say or do goes in one ear and out the other. I know our troop is not the only one that has this issue, I have been at camporees where boys from other troops just destroy the area around them. I can also say that I have seen troops with boys that learned to respect nature and take care of it. So, h
  24. The pack will be holding thier Blue and Gold Banquet next month. We are trying to come up with some ideas for the banquet. The theme of the celbration will be the 100 yr anniversary. Any idea on what we can do to make this banquet really stand out from past banquets?
  25. The pack is having their Pinewood derby and I am looking for an easy way to keep score of the races to determine 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. I have downloaded 2 excel spreadsheets from various web sites and have used these in the past but they seem to have a few errors in tracking final scores. Are there any other programs out there that work for the Pinewood Derby? How do other packs keep score? Thanx
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