JeffD

thanks for the info on the scout shop - ours is a national shop too and i am going to talk to them later today. the only thing is i had them raid my leader shirt for buttons since i would rather my son be taken care of.

fortunately - the dry cleaner worked extra on his shirt to get it cleaned as the melted buttons stained the shirt. there are still a couple minor stains on my shirt - but they aren't too noticeable.

So my son has moved from a pack to a troop andwanted a few patches moved around to his troop shirt. we had used badge magic to put the patches on and never had an issue. like the website stated, i went to a dry cleaner that used 'perc' in hopes of dissolving all of the stuff off. when i picked the shirt up this morning, it was missing some buttons. i talked to the owner and he told me when the shirt was in the solution every single one of the buttons "melted" off. it even left a stain on the shirt that looked like he spilled chocolate milk or coffe down the front of the shirt.

the place had sewn on generic brown buttons - but missed the pockets and shoulder loops on my sons shirt. the other 2 leader shirts of mine came out with no button issues. i had him remove buttons from one of my shirts (they didnt look bad - i would rather his shirt be perfect than mine to tell the truth).

and for those wondering - there is a slight discoloration after the badges removed - though the area will be sewn over with new patches. when i originally put the patches on, we ironed the patches and badge magic on - and i saw that this is not recommended. but hey - the patches always stayed on and we never had an issue with them peeing up on the edges.

so my questions are - have any of you ever had this happen? where can i get replacement buttons that look right?

Our school year kicks off in September we get our show/sell popcorn October 10th this year and the popcorn sale pretty much goes through December. unlike other areas of the country, this is a very active time for our Pack as its not so bloody hot outside

December is when we will see our profits in the bank.

If popcorn is to pay for this year of scouting do you just hold over money from last year? Or how do you handle that?

In the past we have done okay with popcorn but I never want to go spending money that we hope to have in a few months (maybe its the Thrifty part of me ) I have always tried to carry over a little seed money to cover costs for the next year but wanted everyone elses opinions

the only thing i have gone by is the guide to safe scouting - http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/ageguides.pdf

Tonight our pack was given a flag from US Central Command and it was used in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. it was flown in the war and includes a transport form from camp Eggers, Kabul to Bagran Airfield on March 16th 2009 (or 16 Mar 2009 for all you military folks) where it was last flown over there.

A big thanks to 3 Marines and 1 USAF Col. whom i may never get to meet but will be forever grateful.

Thanks to GySgt Brian G Busch, James Davis and David Rossheim -USMC and Col. David Denning - USAF.

Now i know they make the display cases for flags - but does anyone know if a case is made that can also display certificates (2 8x10 certs)?

yes- the company's foundation will only give payments to those groups they recognize in the community. unfortunately - our pack is not one of the groups, but the council is. we are now looking to see if our CO (American Legion) is. we may run in to a similar situation since they may recognize the national legion but not the local post

there is a leader who can get a $750 grant from his work for every so-many hours of volunteering (up to 2x per year). this money has to go to a registered non-profit org. because the pack is not recognized in this manner, the check went to council last spring. herein lies an issue.

the leader would obviously like the pack to benefit from this more than we did this past time. $1500/year would be a great help to our program and allow us to build some programs like a uniform closet etc.. for those scout families in need. i think he was rubbed the wrong way when a family friend of theirs wanted to bring their kids to scouts but couldnt afford the uniforms and books to get started. The DE was not too willing to help us out with an uniform and book for this scout saying that they **might** be able to help out. some would say to just have the pack pick up the costs however, we simply dont have the funds. his problem was that they had no problems taking the $750 check, but only might be able to help him out with a shirt.

in an ideal world our CO would give us a blank check to run a program, all parents would fight over volunteering for positions, and all that other stuff we dream of in our units

last spring, the check was sent to council and we had it applied to our FOS. he is obviously not obligated to fill out the paperwork for the grant and it doesnt sound like he wants to do this is we (as a pack) will not benefit from the money. i realize that the money is going somewhere in council and that can be considered us benefiting, but this does not help us pay any of the pack expenses.

i know he doesnt want 100% of the money to go to our pack (though it would be nice) but it would be nice for us to even be able to benefit some as a direct result. im afraid he will simply not fill out the paperwork and just let the money go elsewhere. either that or he fills it out so our CO would get a check and give it right back to us - with council cut completely out of the picture.

a few uniform shirts and books each semester would be nice so we can recruit some scouts that may not have the ~$100 to spend to get started.

thoughts??

harbor freight had some scales that would easily weigh the cars for about $10 on sale (reg $20) they worked great for us

no - the pictures would only be of scouts and their families in the regular activities - meetings, awards and recognition, campouts, derby etc...

the pictures would be taken by any of the members. i usually bring a camera, and a few other parents always have a camera handy. our pack tries to do regular outdoor activities every month and we always have great pics. last year a parent made a slideshow and set it to music. it would have been nice to post that so people could download and burn to a cd/dvd and view at home or send to relatives

the purpose is simply to show interested parties what the pack does and even let the scouts see themselves online if they would like. (IE - hey grandpa - go to our website and see me - i just earned my bobcat)

the scouts would be identified by their first name and last initial only. (IE Jeff D wins the pinewood derby)

FWIW - our unit is a cub scout pack.

our unit website hasnt published pictures of scouts yet. we want to share pictures taken by the many shutter-bugs and I have looked for a sort of release to cover us. the BSA site has the following - http://www.scouting.org/webmasters/webstandards/appendix-a.aspx

it looks like this is set up for a single event - and we would like to do one for an entire year. yeah - i may be a little cautious, but i would err on the safe side.

what have you used?

YIS,

jeff

some days it feel like guns-n-roses - welcome to the jungle

When my son was a tiger (last year) his book fell apart within the first few weeks. fortunately as the tiger leader - i had a spiral bound book for me. we solved that the next year by buying his wolf book spiral bound.

at the scout shop they have said they have had issues with tigers - but not so much the books for older scouts - so what is everyone else experiencing? im just debating between the following 3 options since the pack is buying books for all of our returning scouts

1. buy the non-spiral bound book for 6.99 because it doesnt fall apart like the tiger ones - and hope the tiger ones work better

2. buy the spiral book for 12.99

3. get the non-spiral bound book and go to kinkos for (hopefully) cheaper spiral binding?

thanks in advance

when you're 18 and an adult - i could care less - but a 2nd grade boy with earrings. geez.

sorry - had to vent.

i think we all agree that an experienced leader is great for helping.

can i remind those who may have skipped a couple posts that...

she is NOT interested in being a leader

she is NOT interested in playing a role in the pack (heck - when she was running campouts it was like pulling teeth to even get a our permit as she didnt see the need for them)

like someone stated - she wants to be in the "monthly social camping and outfdoor activities club"

when she talked to me last she was complaining at how much boy scouts costs - and how much they have to sell for summer camp. makes me wonder now if she wants to be in a scouting-lite program for her older son. all the values at half the cost

thanks for the info and i think some clarification is in order.

from the conversation - she doesnt want to do anything but go on the campouts. i could understand if she wanted to be a den leader - or some other contributing committee member (not just a named position where they show up for the fun stuff).

maybe this will help some.

i have a webelos leader whose son is crossing over this next month and going into a troop.

they want to still participate in outdoor activities next year (camping and such). as a leader - she had an application on file and was part of the pack - does she need to do anything to continue participating???

i would think an adult volunteer application - but would there need to be anything with the older son or other family members(assuming they also participate)?

maybe i should just feel good that a family likes the pack activities enough to continue.

the other question was revolving around the pack fees. obviously fund raising helps offset any costs we have. our pack only collects a pack fee the first yer a scout joins and their sales continue to "help the pack go". since they wont be selling popcorn - should they have to pay a pack fee?

just a couple things discussed at tonights meeting

thanks

This is my first year working with the online recharter for our pack and i had a question.

When you are entering/updating scouts in step 2 (update roster) section - is the grade for each scout the current grade or will it be the grade they will be in next school year?

i think i should update the current tigers to cubs - otherwise it requires their parent to be tiger cub adults (and they technically wont be tiger cub adults next year). and if this is the case - also update the scouts to the rank they will be next year.

any help is greatly appreciated

thanks

Jeff

had a parent give me a letter tonight at the meeting.

this past month, one of our wolf scouts had a friend fall out of a chair at school. we had recently talked about first aid in a den meeting and things to have in your kit so maybe this was fresh in the scout's mind when he asked if the scout was okay and pulled his water bottle from his lunch to assemble a makeshift cold pack using his water bottle for his head as he had another classmate get a teacher.

the parents thanked us for giving him the very basic first aid skills in the scout meeting and said he felt comfortable helping his friend from the little he learned in scouts.

I know the pack can recognize him - but is this what was in mind for the Meritorious Action Awards?

our pack is asking for $30 per new scout in pack dues. the parents then pay the BSA fee and boys life

re-chartering scouts pay no pack dues - but will be persuaded into participating in fund raising efforts

this is new for this year in our pack (we have never really had a big fund raising effort). we are hoping that parent realize the scouting year can be very very cheap if they "help the pack go"

they get PWD and a spring event (usually estes rockets) paid for. they also get a neckerchief @ crossover and new book at the first den meeting(This message has been edited by JeffD)

our pack had a single winner for the past few years. from talking with dad, i dont know how much involvement (if any) the scouts had since he only saw them 1 weekend a month and had to build the cars while they were at moms house. (that and a couple other comments made me feel like the scout involvement was minimal)

this year the scout didnt win. OneHour - we used your #4 (Solution 4: (my personal favorite) go to www.derbytalk.com and learn all the tricks of the trade and share it with everyone! Then go about and beat the $100 car. )

he came in 3rd behind 3 cars that were scout built. the top couple were cut with a coping saw and the 3rd cut in a derby workshop with his den by a bandsaw. i shared many speed tips with the pack - even put them on the website - and the top 10 cars were within tenth of a second of each other. sure dads helped with the cars, but scouts did most of the work.

with all of the tips shared - it made for a fun and competitive race.

we recharter in the spring march/april and have collected everything at this time (bsa fee/boys life/pack dues)

someone suggested collecting bsa/boys life at recharter then pack fees when the scouting/school year starts.

what does your pack do?

The cubs rarely give any grief... well unless theyre a spoiled little brat who think they should win some award.. sorry that was my outside voice We have 1 in our pack that is like that (same one that had a problem at a pack meeting when someone else got an award that he didnt get) but i digress...

I can really vouch for a track with a timer. We had SEVERAL races that were decided by a couple THOUSANDTHS of a second. I dare you to pick the winner

we had a right at an hour of setup time for the track and everything. we held it at the mall so that made it a little more difficult to get stuff from the car to the site.

about 90 minutes devoted to check-in time and helping some get the last minute tips.

i think next year we will run the races without interruption - instead of drawing for prizes with tickets - do it by scout name and hand out at awards ceremony. that should save time.

i am as stunned as some of you are now lol

its nice to have events where the only complaint is the parents want to go home after an hour and a half of racing (from round 1 to the trophy presentation) so i guess my title is a little misleading. Every scout got a patch, made their own car neckerchief slides, and some sort of door prize donated by a local auto parts store.

Tell Murphy he can show up at someone else's events with his stinkin' laws - our pack has had enough drama this year

for those who rely on fund raising - how much per person do your sales bring in for the pack?