Hawkrod

I can only hope that somebody from the area does step up and preserve these. I am on the west coast and have collected a huge amout of local historical memorabilia because it is important and too many people forget where we came from. Old slides can easily be used to make modern prints (many scanners now will do it automatically!). I have collected a bunch of stuff like this and using frames from the local dollar store, I intend to eventually decorate buildings through out our local camp as soon as it is rebuilt. Unfortunately I have not been lucky enough to get something like boxes of slides

SaintCad wrote "The rule (and yes I did look it up) is once something is official BSA uniform wear it is official forever". Please note that this would only apply if your Troop approves the use of this type of hat. Hats are approved on a unit by unit basis and so if your Troop has not chosen to recognize the Campaign hat as official for your unit then it isn't appropriate to wear it and it would not be considered part of the uniform in that unit. The official line is "All troop members must wear the headgear chosen by vote of the troop/team" (from the uniform inspection sheet but it is listed

The calls in our District were made by the OA youth leaders. Each boy got part of teh list. My son had to call each SM (some several times because he left messages and never heard back). The SM was asked to have somebody call back if they wanted an election so the PLC could plan a date and time. In many cases he was told to just show up on their next meeting night other times he was told they were not interested or that the CA had already spoken with them (usually at RT or at another event). I thought it was very good for the boys to be calling to set up the elections but I think the SPL or AS

I can't even imagine being my sons merit badge counselor! We specifically avoid having a parent to be the MBC for their own boy unless it is a group setting where all of the boys are working on an MB (for example camping where the SM may be the MBC and also has a son in teh unit). That concept takes away from what the MB program has to offer the boy. It is not just about earning an MB, it is about going out into the world and working with another person that they do not even know (which is my preference when I give out names for MBC's to our Troop). The personal growth of the boy is all part o

I am sorry but did the definition of courteous change? Courtesy does not mean you have to accept a situation. It means that you handle the situation properly. Turning away a person or asking them to change is not a discourteous act, how it is done determines if it is courteous or not. Courtesy is treating a situation politely and with respect not simply accepting something that is improper because the other party did not know better. I think maybe some people may not be fully aware of what courtesy actually means and may be confusing the concept. As far as a dinner party at a home, yes, I

I see a lot of opinions but I also see a couple of unrelated points or bad analogies that have been use that to justify the answers given. For example (sorry Beavah, yours is easy) It was asked "Would you embarrass a guest in your home by asking them to change pants before dinner?" and there are points that need to be addressed to respond to that. First how is an OA team like a guest in my house? I would more likely look at them as employees. They asked to come and do a "job" that they committed to do for the OA. If I had a party at my house and I used a company that hired a waitstaff and they

I had to think about this issue a bunch before I responded because I know that no matter which way you respond somebody will take issue with it and being in such a low income area I do know how tough it can be to be able to put a uniform on each boy. I have run a used uniform library in our area for almost 7 years and have put uniforms on hundreds of boys. I try and keep at least 150 shirts on hand but it can be financially draining and it is also a lot of work. Recently another person in our area decided to try and start a library and trust me, I am grateful as I will be able to reduce or pos

eBay is the place you wanna be buying an official BSA campaign hat on the cheap. I just got a nearly new size 7 for $35 including shipping and last year got a 7 1/4 for a little less (no, I am not cornering the market, my boys want them because I have worn mine for years).

Sorry Lope but you wrote "when I feel qualified to give an answer that might actually help someone." so why did you drag up a sleeping thread and post while not providing any help? It is true that I stepped down after three years as the district Cub trainer because that was my original committment and you and Jessica were not even around when I made that committment. I did exactly as I promised to do even though I was asked to do the job under false pretenses and would never had done it had I known the truth. Despite being misled (and that is a very polite way of saying what happened) I did as

I have a modest collection of those and, I assure you, they are why I continue to beat my head against the wall! While I was a COR for a Cub Pack I had a Den Chief who's brother was in our Pack. He was a great kid and worked hard and was always there to help. He went with us to summer camp and the whole time he was with our Den he was always upbeat and positive. A while back he was looking for an Eagle project and came to talk to me about an idea he had about helping our CO by servicing the flags and sites we use as a fundraiser for the CO. It was a very well thought out project and we accepte

I want to point out to those that respond, there is no reasoning with this type of person. I think he is very Bill Clinton like and uses many of the same justifications to "prove" that his failures and shortcomings are actually advantages. The sad truth is he probably believes what he writes and just does not have enough experience in life to see that he is already on the road to failure. It is kind of like a train wreck, you see it but there is nothing you can do and you just sit and watch while shaking your head. I have worked with youth for quite a few years and I have met several people (b

He said he lied to get the OA info so we have to assume he is proud of lying and probably does it a lot. I will assume he is lying about 90% of the time based on what I am reading and I will assume he is really not an ASPL but probably an EX. He is definitley a Troll but if he is an ASPL it is a pretty sad Troop. There would certainly be no pride and honor in belonging to a Troop with somebody like that in a POR and if I were a member I would lie and say I wasn't! The sad truth is his philosophy (i think that the scout oath and law are to simplistic and idealistic. sometimes you have to violat

I had not responded earlier about this but after thinking about it and speaking with some others I figured that I would add my 2 cents (but I expect change). The QU award is a unit award as mentioned earlier. It was earned through the combined efforts of the members in the previous year and is worn proudly on the uniform to indicate that you are a member of a good program. It is not won by individuals but as a group. Some members of that group are still with you and others may have gone on to another program. If they go on to another program they do not get to wear that QU as it represent

I have to agree that it is not a primary document of policies but that does not invalidate the policies that it contains. Just because a policy is listed in the G2SS does not mean it is suggestion that you do it that way. It is still a policy and must be adhered to. There are other things included in the G2SS that are not policy but rather recommendations and you can use them as a guide to try and make choices based on your level of experience. In the end, any policies listed in the G2SS are official BSA policies and are not there for you to decide to do it that way or not. The book is what it

I guess it is semantics, my use of the word leadership was wrong because I define Charactor Development and Citizen Training as leadership skills. I was not refering to Leadership Development. I will try and avoid using that word as I am defining it differently. How about I restate the goal as creating better adults who have strength of character and lead by example? The bottom line is outdoor skills are not the goal, just a tool that only exist to achieve the goal. The lower ranks are there to teach the basic skills and the upper ranks are to teach the goals using the basic skills learned in

SeattlePioneer, I don't know if I will ever get your point! LOL. You write "Ugh! More evidence for my theory that too much emphasis is placed on Eagle. My bias is to make First Class the major achievement in Scouting. Star, Life and Eagle are fine, but are mainly polishing what a Scout should already have learned. (Leadership skills being the exception to that general rule)" and yet the goal of Boy Scouts is leadership skills. There is no other point to Star, Life and Eagle, they are designed around leadership skills. Outdoor skills is not the goal of Boy Scouts, it never was and s

Oak Tree is right on the money. If the program has been handled the way it should be (that is always the challenge isn't it?) then the COR is the one who would aprove or turn down a leader. The COR should be a member of the CO and is given the basic responsibility of managing the operation of the unit. It is the COR's job to make sure that the unit is performing as the CO wishes. The issue of the IH can be different in different units because of the structure of the CO. In our units I am the COR and I respond to the Board of Directors and not specifically the IH who changes yearly (most of the

Lisabob makes an excellent point. One that has become all too commonly missed. I am fortunate in the fact that our CO BOD is very involved and is seeing what goes on first hand. Members of our BOD will occassionally drop in on meetings and expects a monthly report. Most CO's won't go that far but I am working with several COR's in our district to get them to better understand their part in this and help them improve Scouting in our community. We do have some people who would rather see things remain the way they are both because it is easier and also because they "have done it that way forever

My advise? Dot your I's and cross your T's. Have all the paperwork filled out and dated and signed before the 12th and let the Crossover be the formality. They will not likely be having a meeting between the 12th and 15th to work on advancement so it should not be an issue. If they have to meet between the 12th and 15th to finish Cub advancement then they are still Cubs and it just can't count (my opinion but I think if they are still working on Cub advancement I do not feel they should be starting on BS advancement).

I had teh same issues but in a very backwards way. I was made COR and really had no idea what was involved. I took the training and got a pretty good handle on it but it wasn't until I had issues outside of my unit and came here that I really fully came to comprehend what a COR "should" be doing. I have spent several years getting the CO involved with our units as they were totally hands off when I came along but they are now involved and several of them have become registered adults including one who has Scouting history and has become an Eagle Co-Chair for the District. The real trick is get

I had twelve to fourteen Bears and cringe at the thought of some other poor soul having that many! LOL You really need two dens for the boys to get the most out of it and having two dens will also allow you to have "rank" events where the boys do stuff as a group (like hikes and such). Shuffling and splitting is very hard but look hard enough and you will find the DL's you need to make it happen so you can become the ACM. Also call around and see if you can find a UC to help you both with the DL issue and with training. The UC's usually have some pretty good ideas about getting people to help.

Wow, I have been here! LOL Fortunately the den leader did not last long. As I have mentioned before, both my son and I have Asperger's and it can be difficult as many of these kids are miles ahead of the rest and there will be some that will tear them down for their accomplishments. I will warn you that it will not always be better in Boy Scouts as there will be people there that do the same thing. I was accused of signing off my sons merit badges and this person went to the merit badge counciler coordinator to complain and also told others that my son did not do it. The sad part was he had ea

I was the District Cub Leader trainer for 3 years. I actually got snookered into the job when a DE used a little bit of flim-flam on me and I bit hook line and sinker! LOL I will be honest and tell you that I think there were better qualified people out there with much more experience but they were not willing to do it. I did step up and committed to fulfilling the obligation as I had given my word when the DE told me it was a 3 year deal. I crammed and took every bit of training I could and passed on some really great things that others had shared with me. I actually took some trainings multi

To be honest, I can't take any credit for the incredible people chairing our events. The people in those positions have been doing them for at least a couple of years and are very good at what they are doing. That is part of why I was willing to accept the position, I knew there was excellent leaders in place and my job would be to support them. These people are all amazing Scouter's who not only chair the events, they are Commissioners, Key 3, and Chairs of other District committees. The reality is they are already Super Scouters and every member of our District owes them a big THANK YOU!!!!

Sorry, the District trainer screwed this one up (and several others) and deserves all of the blame for failing to provide the program that she scheduled. The leaders realize training can be done anywhere but they did not plan to travel because it was scheduled locally and it is a minimum hour plus driving in any direction to another District from where I am and many local leaders here could not possibly afford to travel for the training. For some of our District leaders like those at Fort Irwin it can be a three hour drive each way to the next District and so it is critical that the training b