jamist649

I need to replace a DL in our Pack due to some "shifting" and Pack growth. The outgoing DL and myself (CM) have looked over the parents in the Den and have come down to one that we think will do a great job. He's got alot on his plate (who doen't?) and we're not sure if he'll readily accept. Can anyone share some success stories about some things you've said that have got some folks off the fence and into the game?

Rediculous. MY son's birthday party was TODAY, matter of fact..and it was Cub Scouts (off-duty LOL) from wall to wall!

I "suppose" that in the far fetches of reality that all of what you described could happen (Maybe once in a thousand years)...I certainly wouldn't tell my son he couldn't have his buddies over for his party. No way.

The only partygoers today that were NOT Cubs where the (very few) girls that were there!

Party on Scouts!! :-)

OK, I just called her back and told her to give me some time to try to get it worked out. We don't have any PACK events for the next couple of weeks anyway so I have some time. She was VERY appreciative...to the point of making me feel even worse for not being able to help more. I don't know if I feel better, or worse.

Several weeks back I (CM) recieved a call from a lady in the community who said she had heard about about our Pack and wanted her son to join. I told her we'd love to have him. She then stated that she was disabled (visually, among other things) and that she had relocated to the area recently and had NO family, friends, etc in the area. She said that she would NOT be able to accompany the boy on any outings and meetings would be difficult. We have a parent in the Den who drives for a local bus service and knew her from her use of the bus (special bus for disabled people). He, reluctantly, agreed to be the boy's mentor (we made sure that YP was followed) but this didn't last past the first meeting or two due to problems communicating with his Mom, schedules, etc. Things just havne't come together. Fast forward to now, the "mentor" is now a new DL for our group and I can't imagine asking him to saddle this resonsibility after agreeing to take on the Den. She called me while I was working tonight and left a voicemail almost "pleading" for me to call her and work something out for her son to participate. I **CAN NOT** take on anything else. I'm wrapped up at work, the Pack has grown into a second full time "job" for me, my assistant is wrapped up, I can't imagine anyone with any free time here lately that would be able to help. What do I do? I am totally at a loss. I want to boy to participate if he can but this lady would need ALOT of help. Uniform procurement, patch placement, I can't imagine who he would camp, meetings would be difficult, and on and on and on... ANY suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Our presentations have been awful too. Over the past few years, we've had one extreme to the other on these things. Everything from "Poor little low income Scouts..." to "We need a new roof on the dining hall at camp..." to "Ya'll don't pay hardly anything for this wonderful program" I really loved that last one (as a leader). Oh yeah? I don't "pay anything"? How much is my time/gasoline/paper/toner/donations/uniforms/popcorn/etc...worth?

Sorry for the negative tone, but we recently had our annual FOS presentation at our Blue/Gold. The presenter was drier than a desert and spoke so softly *I* couldn't even tell what he was talking about. A few days after this event, our DE called me and was all snotty: "We didn't get ONE PLEDGE from your group!" Uhh, sorry dude..but I'm thinking you should have seen that coming when you sent the Ben Stien wannabe to do it.

I think it's a great idea. What a good big brother to want to go back and help out his little bro. Of course, he'd have to clear it on his end, but as far as the Pack...I think it would be great idea.

Not much to add, just wanted to agree with what most have already said. Call up those and celebrate those who have done the work and will earn the badge (if you have not already awarded it). Then let him bridge with his buddies.

If your COR is like mine; he/she will probably look at you and say: "..and you are?" Probably not alot of help there.

The Pack is YOUR reponsibility. Period. If this guy is running folks off, if may be time for a sit down between you and he. Tell him how you feel.

It's not worth losing leaders and Scouts over.

Doing some last minute planning for our Annual Pack Campout coming up this weekend. Other than joining me in an ANTI-rain dance, I was wondering if ya'll could give me a few ideas.

I'm looking at a "goodnight" type of CM Minute to gather the boys around and tell at lights out. This will be for the final night and the end of the camp activities. Kind of a "look at what you learned, you've done well but now you need rest, sleep well, this is the way it's supposed to be, go to bed and don't get up" kind of thing. I was looking at the lyrics to the song "Goodnight Scouts" and I really like it, but it's a little "short" for spoken word.

Any ideas?

Thanks, Jet, for your reply.

You've really cleared alot up...and made me kind of sad at the same time :0( . LOL

He's my only son and as we begin our year of "lasts" (i.e. last Pack campout, last PWD, last etc.) I find myself wishing for the days of the excited little tiger cub.

Thanks again.

I know every Troop operates differently, but I was hoping to get an inkling of what to expect...for my son and myself.

I was never a Scout, for whatever reason it was never presented to me. Not sure why, but anyway. My son joined as a Tiger and is now getting ready to start his 2nd year as a Webelos. He, and the other 4 in his Den, are HIGH achievers. The parents are SUPER involved and the DL is superb..it's a DREAM den. BTW, I am the CM...just gonna throw that out there, it doesn't really relate to my question.

As I was never a Scout (My son loves it)I'm not sure what happens after crossover. Our Webelos have NOT had the opportunity to camp with the Troop as of yet (we're planning on it, just haven't had a chance yet) so my experience with the Troop has been limited. I've attended a couple of thier meetings just to try to get acclimated but still I can't quite get a handle on what to expect for him AND myself.

What is the parental "role" on the Boy Scout side? I ask for good reason. My son loves Scouting...it's the ONLY youth program he's involved in, but he is also very, very timid. He told me that he can't imagine going camping without me and asked me if I could be his SM too. I told him that the Troop had a longstanding SM and besides...I was ready for a bit of a break. What role to the Dads play in the Troop if they are not leaders? Are we expected to seperate ourselves in favor of letting the Patrols run themselves? What can I expect and what can I tell HIM to expect?

Sorry for the wide-open, general questions but I genuinely DO NOT know. I plan on presenting these questions to the Troop also as soon as we choose one, but I just wanted a little bit of background before I start talking.

Thanks!

He came back. I can't beleive it, but he came back. Mom said he just "didn't want to do" PWD...Strange, but OK. He came to the last meeting all decked out in uniform and I felt the urge to pick him up, toss him in the air and holler. I REALLY hate losing Scouts...in case you didn't catch that. LOL

We have two that sort of "float" between Dens as needed. A simple answer as to what they "do" is: Anything I need them to do. Mine don't come to every meeting, however they are at most. The boys love them, the DLs love them, *I* love them! LOL

They help set up/take down, they help with events, they set up tents for families at campouts, they help prepare snacks/meals, they answer Boy Scout type questions for Cub families, they keep order in meetings, and anything else we need. Don't know what I'd do without them!

These two have made such an impression that MY son (who is a WI) asked me if he could come back and be a Den Chief after he's been in the Troop for a while. :-)

Ok...I'll ask. What were the "muffins" made of? LOL Sounds like fun!

I think someone is misinformed. Our Pack has always done the Whittling Chip in the Bears DEN. NOT at any camp, etc. It's spelled out pretty clear as to what can only be earned at camp (i.e. Archery, BB Gun, etc.) I've never seen anything about the WC being restricted.

When I was given the helm of the Pack back in 2009, it was basically dropped in my lap. A once large and active Pack was down to 10 Scouts, an inactive bank account with zero dollars in it, and 2 registered leaders. Due to the effort of alot of good people, we now are one of the largest in the district and have (arguably) the best and most active program around.

My son Webelos I and will be crossing over in February 2012. In an effort to keep the Pack strong, I decided to do sort of a "phase-in" approach to replacing myself. A few days ago at our Pack meeting I dropped a bombshell and named by sucessor and my assistant CM's sucsessor. The parents were shocked, but supported my picks. I had discussed the appointment with the two guys that I picked previously and they had agreed to it. We even had 2 parents to come forward DURING THE MEETING and volunteer to take over the DL positions vacated by this action. I almost fainted. This NEVER has happened before.

Anyway, I want to remain in my spot until February...I just want my duties to be gradually diminished. I have a rough timeline in place, but I was wondering if anyone had done anything like this before and how it worked. I don't want to have a situation where the oncoming CM or ACM is unclear on when/what/where things will take place. Any help on previous experiences would be appreciated.

On a side note, I'm SOO looking forward to the Troop with my son. Cubs have really worn me slam out. I love it...but it's so tiring!

Around here, the DLs follow their sons through the Pack and usually cross with them into Boy Scouts. I (CM) will SURE ENOUGH be following my son. I can't imagine being a leader at Cub rank for years. It's just too much darn work. It would be nice, however, to have someone in those positions who knew how to run the program.

I've had BALOO, as has my assistant, and two of my DLs...however we focused more on cooking, gear education, and safety more than activities and schedules. Maybe I just had a marginal instructor LOL.

When I refer to "daycamping" I'm talking about the Scouts/families who don't want to/are afraid to/can't afford/fill in the blank camp overnight, so they show up in the morning and stay till lights out and then go home. Again, I will-of course-welcome anybody who comes but I really wanted to boost our overnighters...it just makes for a better camp.

I was thinking a special patch for overnighters or having a ceremony late at night (10ish), I don't know. I'm kind of at a loss as to how to get folks motivated enough to sleep in a tent. When my son joined, I remember telling him that he could join Scouts all he wanted to, but he would need to find me a tent with a thermostat and running water if he wanted me to camp with him. All it took for me was one night in the tent and realizing it wasn't that bad.

Thanks for your replies!

Excellent ideas! Keep em coming, please. I especially like the sample schedule. Thanks!

We are planning our second PACK (just us) Campout for late next month. Last year, participation was "spotty". Baseball practice, other obligations, too cold, etc.....

We've tried to plan it this year to maximize attendance. Here are a couple of modification from last year:

-Taking it from a 2 night event to a 1 night. Arrive Saturday instead of Friday night and leave Sunday AM. We just don't do well with 2 night events...usually end up with half of the Pack leaving after night/day one.

-Making it more structured. Beltloop events, firm schedule, contingency plans. A few complaints surfaced last year about "downtime".

-Providing lunch and supper on day one. This keeps some Scouts from eating lunchables and being done in 5 minutes and some taking an hour and a half to prepare a 6 course meal. Thus, more downtime.

Any more suggestions? What is your average rate of participation in Camp? In our area, it's all over the map. Some Packs get almost 80+% with some only have 2 or 3 show up. We average about 50%. With a few more trickling in during the daytime for activities.

On that same note, are there any "tricks" I could use to get more Scouts to overnight camp? Nothing wrong with Daycampers, but I really want them to get the full experience. I was thinking camp patches, late night/early morning events, etc. Any suggestions on this?

Thanks!

I was given a Scout stave this year by my son's Den (I'm the CM) and I absolutely love it. Better than any night at a "Spa". OMG...Spa? Save it for the girl Scout leaders. LOL

If you don't mind me asking...Those that caused the issue that drove the Tigers and Bears away, are they gone? I certainly hope so. I know there are two sides to every story, but it seems like a difficult problem to fix unless all involved in the "tiff" are gone.

Your Pack sounds a little like mine. We lost alot of boys to a new Pack back in 2008 and have been in recovery mode ever since. We've done pretty well, we've gone from 11 Scouts at our lowest to 46 and now back down to around 30 "core" Scouts that are active. The problem with our area (and many others, from what I hear) is that there are just too many darn units. We're spread so thin with every little hole-in-the-wall crossroads wanting thier own Pack/Troop. What could be a large, dynamic Scouting presence is split up 5 different ways asking for support from the same community.

But...I digress. It looks like you're highly motivated to get things back on the right track. If you have any tried and true, or anything new, in the recruting area I'd love for you to share. We're gearing up for Spring recruuting and I've used everything in my bag of tricks in previous years!

Best of luck to you and yours!

I hope ya'll are right about him possibly NOT quitting. I know it's not right to have "favorites", but he was (secretly) one of my favorites. :-(

I've done all I can do facilitate the PWD with these folks (parents). The ACM and I set up a bandsaw, sanders, sandpaper, pencils, templates, markets, etc in my garage a couple of weeks ago and put the call out to all Scouts who would like some help to come over and we'd get the car cut out and sanded with them. We had pretty good response, but we had some that NEEDED to come that didn't make it. I'm also doing this AGAIN tomorrow for a couple that didn't make it but I still can't get an answer out of a couple that I KNOW need to come. So, if this boy wanted to race, we've certainly paved not just "a way" but an interstate 5 lane highway for him to do it. LOL

Anyway, time will tell. Thanks!

I'm glad Basement started this thread. Here's a few reasons "Why I'm still here":

-The boy in my Pack with aspergers syndrome who gets super excited over every beltloop, patch, and award.

-The younger boys who almost fight over who is my son's (Webelos I) BEST friend. LOL

-The handful who make a point to come up to me after every meeting and say "Thanks Mr. J"

-Getting at least 3 or 4 "Scout handshakes" when I go into the local Walmart

and on and on and on...

I hear ya Basement. Just read your post about your PWD...geez I thought *I* had problems. You are to be commended for your committment to this Pack. Sometimes those who need it the most (the boys) are those that are hardest to reach. God bless you in your efforts...and shame on me for being petty.

As far as the lost Scouts, I'm pretty sure it's the family with this boy. I have found that ALL kids will occasionally NOT want to go to the meetings/games/events/etc that entails extracirricular activity. The secret to keeping the boys involved really lies with the PARENTS. "Hey, Johnny I know you don't want to go today, but the other boys are really looking for you to help do XXXX and YYYY" or "Hey Bobby, you made a promise to Do Your Best, that means doing your best to be there, do you know what a Promise means?" I'm afraid we just don't instill these values in our kids anymore. The first time the boy tells the parent that they "dont want to" go, the parent says "OK!!" and gleefully does whatever else they wanted to do.