infoscouter

I have been asked by some friends to be a Committee Member in a troop they are resurrecting at the request of the Chartered Organization. So basically, we're in the same boat as you - none of the Scouts currently registered with the troop will be active. All of the 15 or so Scouts we are gaining through crossovers will be 5th graders. The Scoutmaster and Committee Chair have no Boy Scouting experience, but have been in Cub Scouting for five years. I have been a Troop Committee member in the past. One ASM is an Eagle Scout, another was a Boy Scout. We have some other willing parents

The age issue (when he's old enough to be in Boy Scouts, but is still in the pack) can be overcome with a waiver. I assume he has a disability that has caused him to be "out of synch" with his age-mates. If he, and mom and dad, have said that Tigers is the best place for him, respect that - they know him best. What's the physical size difference? Is he markedly larger than the other boys? This may become an issue during game play, if he doesn't know his own strength. Otherwise, get to know him, find out if he needs any accomodations and treat like one of the den!

Is this Scout really "left behind"? or is he following one of the principles of BSA advancement as a self-paced exercise, rather than a lock-step march through the ranks? After five years of leadership, I think a Webelos leader often gets focused on the end of their personal journey, rather than the best interests of the individual Scouts in the den. I can't blame them - it can be a long slog. Personally, I turned my first den over to another leader after year four because the pack needed an assistant cubmaster, but privately I was relieved. The structure of the Webelos program, wh

Nothing. When a new family joins they pay the prorated membership and Boy's Life fees. After that, no one ever pays a fee to belong to our pack. Now, don't go thinking we're rich or crazy. What *is* expected is that they participate in fundraising, and produce enough sales to create $115.00 in profit (about $350-$400 worth of product sales). Families who don't choose to sell _can_ buy out at $10 a month, but almost no one misses the goal badly enough for us to lean on them for the cash. In 18 years with the pack, only one year has our fundraising been poor enough that we had t

I have successfully washed our pack flag in cold water in a home washing machine. It is 40+ years old and looks like it is cotton (there were no content label in those days). I have had less luck with the nylon banner http://www.scoutstuff.org/BSASupply/images/05NDC/images/11112.jpg even in cold water the fringe ran. So I'd be careful with any newer flag that has fringe.

In my corner of the world, it's a reminder that the adults' needs and wants are secondary to those of the Scouts. I recently asked another leader, whose program I view as successful, what the factors were that made their units (pack and troop) successful. Her reply was that the adults involved try to do the best they possibly can for the benefit of the Scouts involved and keep their egos and personality clashes out of the picture. They put the boy's needs first.

The National Council has added info about the 2008 awards to the bottom of this page - there are some small changes to the form, as well as some further explanations and a FAQs section that's useful. http://www.scouting.org/awards/centennial/index.html

Charcoal is a standard on our THanksgiving list - we cook the turkey on the grill, and now that I think abou it - it would be fun to do something in the DO at the same time! Hmmm, what could I think up in 6 hours?

I don't know of a way to stop the pilling - my regular uniform pants - both green and blue do this as well, it just takes them longer. I use a clothes shaver when it gets too bad.

ScoutNut's suggestion about a parent's meeting is a good one. I find few leaders use this very important communication tool. Your leadership style and that of last year's leader don't have to match. But the parents have developed an expectation that you need to reshape to how the den will operate *this* year. Also - there are significant differences between Tiger and Wolf, which change the way in which parent involvement takes place. A parent meeting is a good place to cover this information. If bringing the books to the meeting isn't happening, you could institute a reinforcement system

Our district encompasses all of two counties - a total of 863 sq. miles. We have approximately 90 units. It's approximately 25 miles to either of our service centers, but happily, we have a free-standing National Scout shop in the district.

I use an eBay seller called First Class Scout Shop. They sell lots of replacement buttons http://stores.ebay.com/FIRST-CLASS-SCOUT-SHOP_W0QQssPageNameZstrkQ3amefsQ3amesstQQtZkm

Speaking from a Cub Scout perspective, the kids I see get their religous awards are those whose parents are involved in the process. So, as a pack leader, I need to regularly educate parents about the awards. Once a kid earns the earliest level Cub award, he is more likely to go on to the next step(s), because he's done it once. As to other things - using prayer as part of pack meetings, and not just the grace at Blue & Gold. Making sure that the pack campout has a worship service. If your unit is chartered by a religious institution, tying into that organization's mission and outreac

The training committee guide suggests that districts stagger their training courses, so that all the basic trainings occur as often as possible throughout the year. Our council is fortunate that we are able to do this - of course we have 23 districts. Smaller councils may have difficulty fielding a training team, and so fall into a rhythm (which sometimes becomes rut) of holding a course, the same month every year. Year after year. If that meets the needs of the leaders, that's great. But if it doesn't, it may be because needs have changed, and the training committee's radar hasn't

I'm not surprised you had trouble with the dream catchers - those aren't an easy craft. Some other sources for craft/activity ideas: The Cub Scout Leader How-To Book www.familyfun.go.com Baloo's Bugle: http://usscouts.org/bbugle.asp Scouting the Net: http://www.scoutingthenet.com/Training/Roundtable/Handouts/ Cub Roundtable: http://www.cubroundtable.com/ Get to know your boys. Program Helps are just a starting place. If a craft or activity doesn't seem like it will work, for you, PH is not written in stone. Substitute something else. If your boys need

Try these: http://srbsa.org/ http://www.wrbsa.org/ http://www.nerbsa.org/ Central region does not have a website

I was a Girl Scout from age 8 to 22, and then a GS leader for a year. Earned 1st Class (70s equivalent of the Gold Award). Didn't do a lot of camping, but learned group leadership skills, working with younger girls (I was what's the equivalent of a Den Chief for a Junior GS Troop). During college was a member of Campus Scouts and worked with Cadettes and Seniors, also had a Brownie Troop. Canoeing, hiking and outdoor cooking were major program features. Got married to a former Boy Scout (Life) and had three boys - walked into Join scouting Night in 1990 and asked for an application. Still

#8 - One of the newer (if not newest) knots - the Pack Trainer Award - a rather gaudy blue and yellow twisted cord on a yellow background with a blue border. http://www.scouting.org/cubscouts/resources/13-595/index.html

>This is not a recent change, as we were aware of them over a year ago. It is important to >read SCOUTING and to at least periodically review requirement books annually or on the >internet. Just a note - if you're unaware. There's now an official version of all the merit badge requirements on the National Council web site: http://www.scouting.org/boyscouts/resources/32215/mb/index.html#req

Our local Bowhunters Association did something similar, and contributed a nice check. http://www.ssnscbsa.org/news_2.html'>http://www.ssnscbsa.org/news_2.html We upgraded the bows at several camps to the Genesis bows http://www.genesisbow.com/ (some of them the junior size) for 5 of our camps. We have a standing Shooting Sports committee that is a sub committee of the Activities Committee. One of its functions is to pursue funding like this. http://www.ssnscbsa.org

The reason for the variation is that this is one of those things councils get to set their own rules about. The only national statement I have seen in on the DVD itself, where the DE on the panel says "We suggest you take this training again, every two or three years." (or something like that) My council requirement is every two years. In addition, the council training commitee has decreed that every district must hold "live" training twice a year.

Attended a class and taught a class at our Fall Semester of the University of Scouting. In between I staffed a booth on the Midway, trying to encourage Scouters to attend Philmont Training Center.

I thought you meant the colored tabs that go on the epaulets. They shouldn't vary by that much. Are you talking about shoulder cords, for a denner or a Den Chief? If so, I'm not sure why one is longer than the other. Similar insignia - in the military or on a band uniform also has different length cords, I believe. It's probably just so they hang nicely, and are more comfortable to wear. If they were the same length, they'd get tangled more easily and would be bulkier between the arm and the body.

Are they new? When they haven't been laundered they are stiff and sort of floppy. Once you've washed the uniform a couple times, they soften up. As Gold Winger says, ironing helps, too.

A Scoutmaster in our council challenged his troop to earn 65 merit badges, and he would shave his head. If they earned 80, his beard would go too. Did they do it? http://www.northernstarbsa.org/News.aspx?articleID=99