gwd-scouter

Couple of years ago we had a stomach bug run through camp. At first it was thought to be dehydration. It was a very hot, dry, summer. The bug spread quickly and all troops during our week had at least one person affected. Some were taken to the hospital. DHEC was brought in to check the kitchen to rule out food poisoning. Couple of guys in our troop got it, I came down with it very early Friday morning. It was not pleasant, but only lasted a day or so. One good thing came out of the experience and that was a most memorable quote. Around midnight, one of our scouts came outside, walked ove

On your list of possible things to do, keeping den and pack meetings on a regular schedule is probably the best. Don't most den meetings happen on the same night at the same time every week? When I was a den leader, I gave out a sheet to the parents each month that showed the den plans for the next month. Yes, this did require me to do some preplanning rather than throwing together a meeting at the last minute. When I was Cubmaster, I encouraged the den leaders to do the same. Most did and it helped keep their den meeting attendance up. Our Pack meetings were always scheduled for the last

Wonderful - congratulations!

In defense of Golf merit badge at summer camp - ours offers it, but in the merit badge notes it states that the scout should have prior experience playing the game, bring his own clubs, and that the badge can't be completed at camp (they only play a nine hole round and the requirement is to play two or one 18 hole). The guys spend the week practicing the different shots and discuss the safety and rules. They go out on Thursday to a local course (beautiful course) and play nine holes. My husband always volunteers during our week at camp to help out. It always seems funny to see him pack up

Years ago I went to our Council's Exporee - held every three or four years for all the Cub and Boy Scouts in the Council. At the midway I bought a set of the skill awards belt loops. Made a really cool hat band. Get a lot of comments on that from Scouters that remember the skill awards and from those that don't and ask about what they are. Buffalo Skipper - I think you did the right thing. I have some new Scouts that are very eager to start on merit badges (or maybe I should say their parents are eager). Your Scout's list is interesting. I've never heard of any Scout in my area that has w

Oh boy, time to fess up. Our Troop's practices regarding merit badges are dreadful. No, we don't hand them out like candy, nor do we attend Universities and such. It's just that we haven't had much in the way of counselors to drawn on and our Scouts mostly just work with our own Troop leadership. It is one of the last things we're working on fixing. As I've posted before on the forum we do not have a listing of merit badge counselors in our area - nothing exists in the District and those on the Council list live too far away (our District is something of an outpost of the Council). So, tr

Wow,that was quick. It usually takes more posts than this to get to the point of bringing up Nazis.

I've received a bit more background info on these two new Scouts. One is very eager to go to summer camp, his mother is not. Dad is somewhere in the middle. The Scout has been on his first campout with us last month and Dad came along. Dad had a broken foot. We suggested he'd be much more comfortable at home, but he insisted he had to go because his son simply would not stay if he wasn't there. Dad was in a good deal of pain later Friday evening and went home. Son was fine. Dad came back Saturday morning, stayed for a few hours and, again, went home. Son was fine. So Dad is OK, stil

Hey sandspur - welcome to the forum. Your new troop is not unique in that practice, unfortunately. I know of a troop in our district that does the very same thing. In fact, years ago I was asked to sit on one of our troop's BORs for a Star Rank candidate. I was the new Advancement Coordinator with the Troop and had not yet had the chance to go to training. I did read up on conducting Boards of Review ahead of time and what happened with this Star Scout in no way matched what I had read. Indeed, the candidate was asked to demonstrate knots, lashings, first aid, etc. In the end, he w

Patrick worked as a CIT for the full summer session. He rotated around the first couple of weeks and then was assigned to ecology. That, however, is not the normal practice for CITs at our camp. Normally, they go for one or two weeks, working in different program areas each day. CITs are not paid. If they return the following summer to work as a paid staff member, they get slightly higher starting pay because of having been a CIT. Patrick is working his third summer in ecology this year and was delighted to find out he got a raise.

This is still confusing to me. Is the ASMs car only a two-seat? If ASMs son and another boy are friends, and as you say the other boys' parent was along as well, why couldn't all four ride in the ASMs car? From your description it doesn't sound like this situation was handled well at all. We always have a scramble for the cars when it's time to leave. Interesting to watch. No entertainment difference in the cars, but if we're pulling the trailer the guys like to ride in the SUV pulling it. We have a couple of guys the others don't like to ride with - mostly because they talk all th

Yep, that's me. Hal, thanks for the compliment on our website.

Congratulations - a moment you will cherish forever.

Patrick finished his Eagle Project on Saturday. Looks wonderful! He built a sidewalk at our town's historic railroad museum. Bricks were donated from an old cotton mill (circa 1910) that was recently torn down. If you like, you can view pictures of the project at our troop's website at: http://www.troop313bsa.com Sorry for the obvious pride in this post - just couldn't help myself.

The woman's shirt is a much better fit than the old. Shorter hem, too.

Wolfmama: The first requirement for First Aid merit badge is satisfy your counselor that you have current knowledge of all first aid requirements for Tenderfoot Rank, Second Class Rank, and First Class Rank. The Scouts should have all that completed BEFORE they take first aid merit badge.

Our Council only runs the ordeal during summer camp. Most troops hold their elections about a month before going to camp. Ours is next month. The SM is told the results of the election and he/she can choose to tell others - even the boys - before going to camp, although I don't know of any SMs that announce the results ahead of the call out. Call out is done at the campfire on Wednesday's family night. Interesting idea about service hours being a criteria for election.

Older son was not elected to the OA until his third try. He 'lived' Boy Scouts and was very hurt that he was passed over twice. Since his Ordeal after the third try, he has given so much to the OA and his Troop. He's been a chapter officer and lodge officer. He was on the ceremonies team for Ordeal and Brotherhood candidates. He was selected for Vigil Honor and received the OA Founder's Award. Sometimes worthy candidates are not elected and sometimes (many times) guys are elected that go through their ordeal, get the sash, and never do anything with the OA again. Wish it wasn't so, but it

I'm torn on the FOS issue. We have a couple of Scouts in the Troop that benefit from it every year. I have given for years. There is a Pack in our District that is an FOS pack - all the boys receive uniforms, handbooks, registrations through FOS. In our Troop, we have a few generous parents that pay for other boys to go on outings and such. Husband and I pay out of our own pockets in an amount I'm afraid to calculate. Now, though, I'm going to start requesting FOS dollars more often. It's there, we should use it. This year I helped with the District FOS dinner. Hosted a table and ma

I've been doing the Scouting thing for a while and have seen all levels of maturity among the 11 year old new Scouts. I've seen the go getters, the lazy toads, the shy, the whiners. I've had my share of boys that have parents smooth the path ahead of them so they don't have to overcome any obstacles. This year, we have two new Scouts that are not going to summer camp with us. Why? Because their parents don't want them away for a WHOLE WEEK! Yes, that's right. The parents will miss them. I've never dealt with this before. Sure, I've had the homesick guys that get all weepy when Mom comes

We get about 8 servings out of one pineapple: Slice the pineapple into somewhat equal rings - each person gets a ring of fruit (cut in half to make it easier to eat). Of course, some guys like it better than others and sometimes we only get 4 servings.

Just curious, is it everyone's practice to cut a corner of a guys totin' chip if he misuses his knife?

He certainly earned the nickname "slash"

Eight weeks of vacation for us - 6 weeks of camp, one staff week, and, Cub Resident Camp. Yep, send 'em to work!

Yes, in a perfect world the only person to sign off on a blue card for a merit badge would be the registered merit badge counselor. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world. First, from reading many posts over the years, it seems that not all councils require, nor do units use, blue cards. Second, and speaking only from experience in my district, Troops handle merit badges on their own. In all the years I've been in Scouting I know our District has tried to compile a list of merit badge counselors. Haven't seen a list yet. Each Troop relies on its own list to help the boys w