Jeffrey H

I'm a Cubmaster and I wear the new larger blue neckerchief for Cub Scout Leaders. Same design from the past but a much larger traditional size. It looks better because the previous ones were about the size of a paper napkin. I wear the necerkerchief for Den and Pack Meetings when I'm with the Cubs. Other meetings such as Roundtable I usually go necker-less.

Uniform means One Form. Everyone the same, following the rules.

The problem now is we have about 3 variations of the uniforms because National Supply just changed the look of the uniform shirts again.  In my Pack, adult leaders wear a combination of the any these 3 variations depending on how long we have been in Scouting.  My newest leaders are puchasing the newest style.  We're all following the rules, just not really in "One Form."

It's interesting to note that the Centennial Shirt does not have "tails" which makes it look better when it's untucked. 

I wore the olive green collarless shirt when I was a Scout in the 70's. The shirt looked good only when you wore the neckerchief with it because it was made to accomodate the neckerchief. However, the shirt did not look good without it.

If I had to choose one, I would take collared shirt over the collarless one.

But, if you show up without your CS uniform, you...???

I say hello with a big smile and "glad you are here." If the young man is without his uniform, he already knows that and is self-conscience about it. I welcome him and affirm him as a person of great worth regardless of the uniform. I just awarded the Bobcat Badge to a young man at our Pack Meeting who did not have his uniform yet. He seemed to be more impressed and proud of his Bobcat than the boys who were in uniform.

Uniforming is generally not a problem in our Pack, but we do give time for new scouts that have recently joined to obtain it. Parents do want a uniform for their sons but need some time to get it. Usually, after a month of meetings, most new scouts have their uniforms. Occassionally, we will have some new scouts thathave financial needsand we will privately address getting hima uniform. We don't require uniform pants, but we do require all other uniform parts (belt, shirt, neckerchieft and slide). Hats are optional.

Consequences of not wearing the uniform? I don't have any. A boy without his uniform will feel left out in our Pack. If he continues to notwear his uniform, a friendly conversation with the young man is needed to determine why.(This message has been edited by Jeffrey H)

This happened to our Pack a few years ago. We had alot of Scouts transfer from two other Packs. Why did they leave? The reasons varied but the common denominator was a lack of committed top leadership (CM, CC) to deliver the Cub Scout program. Another common factor was a lack of real commitment from their charter organizations to keep their programs alive. Their CO's were basically paper CO's and not engaged.

What did our Pack do to draw these scouts? Nothing spectacular. We were simply doing the Cub Scout program as recommended by National - monthly pack meetings, weely den meetings, two Pack campouts a year, occasional pack events (picnics, bowling, baseball game, etc.). Another postitive effect on our program is we have an engaged Church CO and COR that are interested in scouting and our continued success. Both the Cubmaster (me) and the CC are members of the CO and have close working relationships with our COR and IH. I chat with the COR and IH regularly. When it comes time to recharter, I don't have to look for him, he helps out!

In our area, the Packs that struggle are the ones that try to meet at public schools. Our local public schools do not charter scout units, but will make accomodations available. This sounds nice on the surface, but in reality their is no real partnership or sponsorship.

"Transfer Growth" (gaining scouts at the expense of another unit) is never good in the long-term for the overall Scouting program. I agree with Basementdweller that it's not a good feeling to gain Scouts for your unit that may cause other units to die. The short-term effect is good to keep Scouts in the program, but the long-term effect has negative impact on recruiting to achieve real growth.

"I don't care about your lifestyle as long as it is checked at the door ..."

That's why the BSA does criminal background checks on adult applications.  They want to see what is being checked at the door.  The various lifestyles out there is why we have youth protection and two-deep leadership. 

A Tiger Den should have an adult designated as a Tiger Den Leader. You need someone who is willing to take the time to be a more educated about the Cub Scout Program and the Tiger Program specifically. The Adult Partner shared-leadership concept is great on paper but does not always work consistently or effectively. As somone mentioned earlier, the Tiger Den Leader job is to function as a coordinator for all of the Adult Partners.

In my Pack, one of the Tiger Adult Partners desired to be a a registered den leader. He is now a registered Assitant Den Leader helping out the Tiger Den. Yes, I know, technically there is no Assistant Tiger Den Leader postion, but you can register an adult as an ADL who helps in the Tiger Den.

Jeffrey H, so if I interpret what you say correctly, it is local option and UUA fellowships CAN charter units which follow THEIR beliefs.

What I meant is COs reserve the right to select and approve their own unit leaders.  Whether or not they mandate that the unit leadership follow their BELIEFS or be members of the CO is entirely up to the CO.  My CO is a Baptist Church and the CO has no requirement that our Pack leadership adhere to the beliefs of the Church or be members of the Church.  They basically want folks of good character that provide positive role models to the boys.

The only organizations that I know of that charter BSA units are the ones that are in general agreement with what the BSA stands for.  Not agreement on every point, just "general" agreement.  I'm sure that you do not agree with everything your Pack/Troop does, but you are a part of it just the same.  I'm not sure why you singled out UUA, but even some of our more liberal denominations in my area of the country have chartered BSA Troops for a very long time and continue to do so.

"....must possess the moral, educational, and emotional qualities that the Boy Scouts of America deems necessary"

The CO will interpret the above statement in light of their overall purpose and mission when they approve leaders for their Pack or Troop.  It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that a leader needs to be emotionally stable (emotional), be able to read a scout handbook (educational), and be of good moral character (moral).  If the CO wants to probe further with questions about personal lifestyle, then that is the COs business. 

We have three nearby elementary schools where we traditionally recruit during Open Houses.

It happened to our unit last year when a parent did not turn in a significant amount of popcorn money and the popcorn was already delivered to the customers. We pursued this parent several times to pay the money and even offered them a "payment plan" to return the money, but we had no success. It was not worth taking to court. The saddest part of the story is their cub scout son never returned and he was one of my favorites.

"So being respectful of God can mean we are respectful and work toward the application of our highest moral and ethical standards to be put into place on a daily level. We speak of God because otherwise we run the risk of making relative all that we hold dear. If morality is human in origin then it can be shifted to meet the needs of those in power and adjusted to fit the needs of the powerful."

Best answer I've seen on this discussion regarding reverence.  Thanks for sharing. 

"...what kind of 1 man show can I put on to impress the kids and parents???"

noname,

It's good that you have learned to say "no" and yes to your family. Scouting is stronger when we keep our families first. To answer your question, I plan to do recruiting tomorrow night and I may turn out to be a "1 man show" depending on who can help. That said, I have nothing planned to impress anyone other than to smile and be there to promote the program. I have limited space to work with and not much I can do inside the school building during our Open House. I do have a couple of cardboard props with pictures of past Pack events and campouts that will serve as visuals. I will lay out a few handbooks and other Scouting material that prospects can look over. Other than that, I will be there to answer questions, share the aims of Scouting (Character Development, Citizenship, and Fintess) and share why I believe that Cub Scouting is a great program and the 12 core values it teaches.

If you have the space, you can set up a game area for prospective boys to play. Have your cub scout son with you in uniform to keep them occupied. Ideas for simple indoor games can be found in the Cub Scout How-To Leader Book or you can go online and do a search for "cub scout games." Keep it simple and fun and that should make a good impression.

I use open houses to invite boys and families to come to our sign up night.

We do the same.  We promote Scouting and our Pack, answer questions, and inivte them to our first meeting.  Those that are interested and accept our invitation will show up to our first meeting in September, which is our sign-up night.  We have applications available if they want to fill them out at Open House, however that's not our goal.

For our Pack, Open Houses have proven very effective for our Pack.  The traditional  "School Night For Scouting/Join Scouting NIght" was not effective for us because very few boys were showing up and a huge waste of time for volunteers.  In our community, we have to go to the people and tell them about our Scouting program.  We cannot expect them to come to us. 

Our recruiting efforts have worked so well that other Packs in our District started doing similar recruiting efforts.

In our Pack, each den is assigned a number in our Packmaster software program. For us, the purpose of den numbers is purely administrative and we do not use them on the uniforms or use them in conversation. If your Den is designated as "Den 3", that will be your Den Number all the way through Webelos.

Ann,

I like the way you handled the Pack Committee. You provided a good lesson here: Committee members will not become active unless they have something to do and suddenly have to make decisions.

Good lesson also for Cubmasters: Stay out of committee business and be the Cubmaster. Often, Cubmasters don't know how to say "not my job" because either they do not understand their role or they are control freaks.

Our Pack charges $40 Pack Dues annually to cover the cost of Pack operations. We collect $20 in September and the remaining $20 in January. We have a $200 popcorn raising goal per Scout. If a scout meets the $200 goal, then his $40 dues are paid for. If a scout sells less than $200, then a portion of his dues will be reduced.

We don't require anyone to sell popcorn, but we do require they help fund Pack operations either from Dues, Popcorn, or a combination of both. Scouts that can't pay dues, need to fundraise. We don't hold back awards from scouts who are behind (delinquent) but politely remind their families to pay up.

The Scout Troop by son belongs to withholds merit badges and awards to any Scout that owes money to the Troop. They have a written policy on this and it's enforced.

I don't care for the popcorn, but it does pay for our annual program to a remarkable degree. Even with the high price points on the popcorn, we do very well on sales. We could find or do another fundraiser, but the popcorn delivery system works pretty well. I have no motivation or reason at this time to find another fundraiser.

If we do find a better fundraiser, then I will need guidance on how to deal with the political fallout in my council and district.

There were quite a few comments about the clean and uncluttered look of Canadian Scouts uniform. Keep in mind that their scout shop is showing the shirts void of any badges and awards. It appears their shirts can get just as "busy" as the BSA.

http://www.scouts.ca/uniform/pdfs/insignia-placement.pdf

"so...did anyone notice the pricing of their uniforms? Adult Large uniform shirt for $20 Canadian!"

That's the price for the discontinued uniform shirts.  I could not find a price list for the new replacement uniform. 

Canadian uniforms look nice, but I do like our BSA uniforms and have had no problems with them. I do think they can and should be made in the USA and I agree with Eagle92 that we should limit the patches we put on them. I would even vote that the patches be smaller.

I took a good look at my uniform shirts and came to the conclusion that they look a little ridiculous with all of the "allowed" patches I've put on them. I've been a leader for six years now and I've fallen into the trap of showing off. Just because a patch is allowed to go on the uniform does not mean it should. I need to reevaluate...The shirts look much better with less clutter.

We had a good turnout for our Cub Day Camp (about 50%) in June and then we averaged about 25% attendance for the remaining summer events. It happens...attendance is nominal for our summer events due to conflicts with church camps, family vacations, etc. Attendance is also affected by the lack of interest in the type of event or the cost of the event as we cannot please or accomodate everyone.

As a Cubmaster, I enjoy our summer break from regular Den and Pack Meetings. Our parents enjoy the break as well. It's a change in routine and it gives me a rest and re-charge for the upcoming program year.

If you are a Cubmaster in your Pack and feeling tired and need a rest, keep in mind that you don't have to attend every summer event or any summer event. All you need is a responsible adult leader at the event and you're are good to go. Our summer events are family affairs and there is always a parent/guardian with each Cub for every event so adult supervision is never an issue for us.

noname,

It's okay to be a small Pack. It can be discouraging at times but my advice to you is to take what you have and build from that. During your recruitment, show the prospective parents your calendar of meetings, outdoor events, and campouts for the coming year. Show them you have an active program regardless of your size. Tell them how you integrate the 12 core values of Cub Scouting into your active Pack program. While we tend to emphasize recruitment at the beginning of the year, recruitment is really a year-round event because parents are always looking at us during and wondering if they should join.

Take the Dens you have and meet together weekly. Basically, you will have weekly pack meetings. Take on only the Den Leader work that you can handle (your son's Den for example) and make it clear to the other parents what Den work you cannot do. The bottom line is you have to show that you have an active program, you meet regularly as a Pack, and you believe that boys will benefit from the cub scout program .

You may have already thought about everything I've mentioned, but just in case I offer my 2 cents. Best Wishes and ignore the "control freak" webelos leader. You are unit leader and look for those who are willing to be team players for the benefit of the Pack.

From the list of the Cubmaster's position responsibilities:

"Help plan and conduct impressive Webelos graduation ceremonies involving parents and guardians, the Scoutmaster, the Webelos den chief, the Webelos den leader, and the troop junior leaders."

While it is not stated who will buy and handle special AoL awards, arrows, etc. The Cubmaster does have responsibility to ensure the boys will have a meaningful ceremony. Often, providing a meaningful ceremony includes the presentation of the AoL Badges and Arrows and how they will be presented.

I completely disagree with webelos being a two year program, completely stupid and a waste of time. They can do it in 9 months.

Actually, it can be done in a shorter period of time. We had two boys join our Pack at the beginning of 5th grade in September and they earned their Webelosbadge and AOLin 6months. If a boy is active and determined, it can be done.

The two year program does allow 5thgraders more time to finish their AOL before they join Boy Scouts. Some are completely new to the program and need extra time. It's not uncommon in my Pack to receive new recruits in the 4th grade and place them into a Webelos Den. When I was a Webelos Den Leader, many of the boys wanted to earn all 20 activity pins and some of them did. The extra year does help.

If we do away with the 2nd year, then we need to consider lowering the minimum age of Boy Scouts to 10. That's another discussion that has interesting content.