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We keep these, as some have called, "light duty" positions. We expect them to fulfill minimum requirements in order to earn the position. Scribe 1. Keep minutes at the PLC meetings and email them to troop members 2. Record attendance at all troop functions and provide them to the Troop Advancement Coordinator 3. Collect money before Troop Campouts from those Scouts attending the outing Librarian 1. Check MB Books in and out 2. Maintain MB Books 3. Update MB Library as BSA updates MB Books 4. Prepare MB Books for Merit Badge Days and Summer Camp Historian 1. W

I joined Cub Scouts as a Tiger Cub and joined a scout troop 1n 1998. In 2006, after ageing out in September 2005 I earned the rank of Eagle. As a scout I served as Senior Patrol Leader three times. The first time was when the troop finally made its transition from being adult ran to scout lead. We established the Patrol Leader's Council and the groundwork for how it runs in our troop and what it does. My final time as Senior Patrol Leader ended a week or two before my 18th birthday. I did this because our Scoutmaster asked me to train two 8th graders in the position of Assistant Senior

Okay, so the dinner happened Friday night. It was a good learning experience. We have an adult leader who has been going to a local community college to earn an associate degree in cooking. I asked him to cook. I think we both learned important lessons inregards to precooking things and assigning specific duties to those that help him during the dinner in the kitchen. Many different businesses donated items for the dinner itself. Dean's Milk, Panera Bread, a local meat locker, two local bakerys, Olive Garden, and a local business ($125 for advertising during our dinner) our past Scou

We have received many donations from different sources and have purchased the items we need for Friday. I'll let everyone know what was donated and the overal success of our dinner later this weekend. The only problem I have now is that when I have free time (ie: sitting around and looking at Scouter.com) I start to feel very nervous about the event and its details. Any tips to calm my nerves?

In some Districts and Councils the Eagle BOR are the responsiblity of the troop. In our district we have 1 district rep on the Eagle BOR, that's it. I would lay down the exact expectations that you expect him to meet. Explain what he has to change in order to meet those expectations. Give him a deadline to make improvements and meet the expectations. Let me know that if he doesn't meet them or at least make improvements (based on your decision) that you cannot and will not be able to pass him on his Eagle Scoutmaster Conference. We had a scout this past summer (August 2007) ready fo

We meet most Mondays from 7pm until 8:30pm. The only Mondays we don't have meetings are when major holidays (Christmas, 4th of July, Labor Day, etc.) fall on Monday. We will meet on holidays such as MLK Jr. Day and Columbus Day. We also don't meet the week of Summer Camp. We usually have at least two weekend activities a month for the troop. They may be Service Projects, Campouts, Merit Badge Opp. Days, Fundraisers, Day Trips, etc.

""""If the SM has delegated lower level advancement item signoff to a PL, Troop Guide or ASM, and that person signs off on a requirement, the requirement is completed, period. """" Sure that requirement is done, but the Scoutmaster Conference may not be completed. If the Scoutmaster feels that the skills are not learned (forget mastering them) the Scoutmaster doesn't need to complete the Scoutmaster Conference. He can tell the scout to go home and practice the skills and then come back in a week or two.

Quality Control in Advancement, don't we already have it? In order for a scout to advance in rank they have to pass a Scoutmaster's Conference and Board of Review. While the members of the BOR are not allowed to retest skills the Scoutmaster can retest all he wants. We also have the Scoutmaster in other ways that he serves. He should be watching over his Assistants and supervising their practice of advancement. IT should be up to each individual Scoutmaster to rely his expectations to the Assistant Scoutmasters and any older scouts that he has allowed to sign off books.

The sad thing is that this isn't the first time I've heard about Christmas Trees (being used as a fundraiser) were stolen from Boy Scouts. Speaking of trailers our Boy Scout Roundtable Commish. spoke at the last Roundtable about how that was the number 1 thing stolen from troops and members of scouting. He then made a pitch, for I think it was, the Denver Boot?

We let the drivers choice one of three options: 1. reimbursement for only gas 2. reimbursement for mileage at $.47/mile 3. donating their gas many of our adults simply donate their gas. when the want reimbursement they'll go after option number 2. The money is paid out of the general troop fund, which is money from dues and the troop's split of fundraisers (which is usually always 25% of the profit with the troop also getting reimbursed for any expenses occurred during the fundraiser). We do multiple fundraisers and added a couple of this year to help pay for transport

I was in Boy Scouts from 5th until 12th grade as a scout (I'm now only 20). My dad became the Scoutmaster when I was in 8th grade. My experience in scouting drastically changed. I enjoyed the opportunities that I shared with my dad inregards to scouting. My dad really enjoyed the summer water activities that included canoeing and river rafting. After he became Scoutmaster (after not being involved as an Adult Leader) these activities became more fun for me. The first three years in scouting were tough. I didn't enjoy them and felt like quitting. Having my dad get involved was a way

Let me answer Gold Winger's question with something that he stated in a pervious topic regarding fundraising; """Boys cannot be expected to anything other than horse around at the PLC while the SM plans the activities. They shouldn't have to keep track of their accomplishments or know where they stand for advancement, they just don't have the brainpower even though they are taking calculus in the 9th grade.""" Now if that is true then the answer to why we have so many adults should be apparent. Why place all the planning and tracking advancement onto just a few people? Why risk quick

Some have mentioned that a troop should have fundraisers but not neccesarly push them. That has really been the attitude of our troop. We have 1 big fundraiser a year that each scout and parent is expected to work. It's parking cars for the county fair board. We do it from Wednesday through Sunday and have about 40 hours that need to be delegated to scouts and parents. Throughout the rest of the year we have a few other fundraisers, but none are "required" and none of an expectation for sales amounts. These include; 1. Cartridge and Cell Phone recycling. we simply have a

In our troop we have 3 active Assistant Scoutmasters. Each is assigned to a patrol to also serve as its Patrol Advisor. This is no different than having an Assistant Scoutmaster assigned to the High Adventure Patrol or New Scout Patrol. They serve exactly the same way. Our Newsletter Editor helps the Scribe and Historian produce a newsletter. We have the core positions of the Troop Committee delegated (CC, SM, Treasurer, Advancement Coordinator, Activities, Equipment, Secretary, Life to Eagle, Website, and Newsletter) who help the scouts that are also assigned to similar positions (SPL, A

The position of Patrol Advisor, as I view it, is important. The Patrol Leader needs an advisor just like the Senior Patrol Leader has in the Scoutmaster. The patrol needs a watchful eye just like the New Scout Patrol has from the Troop Guide. However, it is important that the position be performed correctly. The Patrol Advisor is not there to make decisions or appointments. They are not there to contradict any decisions, if they are scout appropriate, made the Patrol Leader. They are simply there to help the Patrol Leader keep the patrol on track, back up the decisions of the Patrol Leade

Asking a question that simply requires a verbal response is different than asking them a question that requires action during a Board of Review. Per the National Website (scouting.org) a Board of Review is how the troop committee (or the Eagle Scout board of review) tracks the progress of a Scout to determine his understanding of the ideals of Scouting and how he applies them in daily life in the troop. This review is not and should not be an examination or retest of skills learned. Rather, it is an attempt to determine the Scout's attitude and his acceptance of Scouting's ideals,

My last two seasons as a Little League Umpire I have seen that parents are trying to live through their kids. If the kid doesn't enjoy playing baseball that's okay, they'll stay, because Dad played. Next time your at a game see how the coach coaches. Chances are that it'll be an aggressive, direct style. See what things the parents complain about. My experience as a Membership Coordinator and New Scout Assistant Scoutmaster has shown me that those scouts whose parents become active will remain in the troop longer. I feel that this is because of the number of activities teens are a

Expect boys to do the unexpected and you will see the unexpected become the new excepted. During my first year on Boy Scout Summer Camp Staff the Camp Director had to skill lessons that he shared each week during the closing fire. The first involved listening and setting the example. He told you to clap on three, but showed the example of clapping after three. The other involved reaching higher heights. He instructed all the scouts to raise their arm as high up as they could. He then instructed them to raise it higher. Gold Winger stated in his post that """Boys cannot be expected t

We are chartered by a United Methodist church. The COR is very active and attends Roundtables, Committee Meetings, Court of Honors, and serves on the District Advancement Committee as the Eagle Board Coordinator. As a troop we encourage scouts to participate in helping at church events. We attend Scout Sunday and our scouts are usually commended by the members for their excellent behavior. BUT, during the last year we had the first visit from the Board of Trustees Chairman to our Troop Committee meeting. He informed the committee that our local community college, who has some classes

If your pervious unit had Scout Accounts your new unit may be able to get some money. Some districts and councils advise that the troop committee set a policy that allows money directed toward one's scout account to follow that scout. The following is a paragraph from my district: ""Transfers to Other Units It is common that if a Scout transfers to another Scouting unit that has Scout Accounts, that the money in the Scout's account can be transferred to the new Scout unit upon a request to do so. The Scout can never directly receive the money in such a transfer. It must always be give

Scout Executives on the Council and District levels put a lot of time into their work. They are constantly having to work with district volunteers and professionals from higher levels. They have to be concerned with membership, fundraising, and budgeting. I am a 20 year old college student and have asked both professionals and district volunteers about becoming professional scouts. The district volunteers know how hard the work is and they'll let you know. Plus keep in mind that a lot of district exectives are paid around $40,000. The same amount that a construction supervisor w

The Scoutmaster's Handbook does bring up that a Scoutmaster wearing a plain uniform with just his Council Strip, Unit Number, and Scoutmaster patch cannot be found to be in bad taste. I have two knots, my AOL and Eagle. I wear both of them. I wear them because as a Scout both advancement patches were part of my uniform. When I aged out I was given both of the knots by my Advancement Coordinator and changed them just like I did with my Senior Patrol Leader patch to Assistant Scoutmaster patch. LongHaul mentioned that we should set the example for advancement by earning our knots. I d

A few years ago the Patrol Leader's Counci and Troop Committee adopted the Discipline Plan that our Council/District encourages each unit to adopt. Under this plan the following have certain responsiblities: All Troop Leaders must set the example for the Scout Oath and Law The Scoutmaster or an Assistant may do the following: 1. first offense issue a verbal warning without yelling or lecturing 2. second offense at same meeting have a Scoutmaster Conference 3. third offense at the same meeting call parents the second time a scout is sent home the Scoutmaster will di

TroopMaster has a section where you can track Adult Achievements just like you do Scout Achievements. When you transfer from one unit to another Boy Scouts has an official form that can be filled out by your Advancement Coordinator and given to the new one.

I have 2 Leader Knots on my uniform. They are my Eagle Rank and Arrow of Light Award. I have only been an adult leader for 2 years and am working on finishing my adult leader training. I think something to keep in mind when discussing this is what the Scoutmaster Handbook makes point to and that is a Scoutmaster that keeps his uniform simple is never found to be in bad taste.