JerseyJohn

Here is more detailed information Click here for the full CoL camping committee report - 11 page PDF John

I forwarded my comments to CoL Council. Given Philadelphia's history, perhaps someone who works for or on behalf of the council has knowledge iof historical preservation. The issue is keeping TI open and exploring paths to do so. Let's not muddy the thread by debating what camp was open when.

I am from the southern NJ council and we are going to TI this Friday. Out of council folks should be able to voice their opinion since we all use each other's facilities. There may be a trail to saving Treasure Island. There may be people involved at Cradle of Liberty (Philadelphia) who are far more familiar with this designation than I. National Historic Landmark Status A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance. All NHLs are listed in the

Here is what I did and it worked like a charm We used to pile 3, 4, or 5 scout patrols and the leaders into ONE campsite. I started renting two or three site at BSA council camps at weekend outings. They are inexpensive and well worth spending the extra 15.00 per weekend (you going to pay the $1 per boy regardless, so you are only renting extra sites. That will only run the boys one more dollar for the trip.... Split the patrols between two campsites and the adults take the third site and walla....you become out of sight - out of mind. BP said kepe the patrols 150 to 300 feet a

FWIW My Troop of 55 registered / 40 actives had six Eagles in calendar year 2007 3 - 16 yo 1 - 17.3 yo 1 - 17.9 yo John

My troop did a weekend out of Henson called survivor. Canoe trip thru the Blackwater Wildlife Refuge, MRE's, tarp shelter. Pictures are here. http://www.troop184.com/PictureShow.aspx?dir=2434&img=40294 Run out of Del Mar Va council John

55 scouts - six patrols - SPL 17 year old Life Green Bar replaces one monthly meeting. SPL, 2 ASPL, 6 PL's, Scribe, Instructor, and Quartermaster, myself and one ASM. They take 75 to 90 minutes. They are held on the last Wed of the month and are used to plan the upcoming month. All troop meeting plans are established - skills session instructors, service patrol (set up and tear down) Game patrol. They review past month activities, plan next month, make all troop meeting agendas for the next month, old and new business. Pretty straight forward. I could not imagine doing a

We institued a new meeting feature at the request of the senior scouts. First a little background 65 scouts of which troop meetings average 35 to 40 scouts, mostly junior scouts. I have 2 patrols of crossovers (14 boys) and 2 patrols of last years crossovers (16) The senior scouts have been griping about "camping with the little kids" and "been there, done that" so I called their bluff. We meet on Wed. nights, so, the first Wednesday of every month the senior scouts get a room to themselves to plan their own high adventure / extra curricular activity. Scouts must be 14 and 1st

Lisabob, My scenario in the Patrol Realignment thread is similar. My SPL, the PL and I talked and it was decided to give them until the end of this year to get their act together. Knock of the bickering, everyone do their duty, no whining, no more BS at campouts, etc. The troop will not allow negative interactions of the few, to take away from the positive learning experiences and interactions of the many. Should it come down to it, the two patrol's in question (both crossed last year) are going to be divided by rank, ability, and skill. This will provide for more stratified

ASM915, I forgot to elaborate on the other questions you had.... How large of a town and what kind of traffic flow are we talking about, small town, mid-size city? Pretty much your standard, suburban township. How many vehicles per hour? No clue but not extremely heavy traffic and not light either. Any drinks or just Hoagies? - Just hoagies Same meat or different kinds? All Italian. Never order them with oil because the rolls get soggy pretty fast. Be sure they are individually wrapped. How many scouts? Every location had a Field Leader or Cmte member a

ASM915, They are made by a local deli. I don't know what time they get to work but it is probably the time the average scout falls asleep on a Friday night :-) Is your July festival during 4th of July festivities? Perhaps a craft booth tailored to patriotic items. Maybe run a woodworking MB in April / May and make Uncle Sam items, etc. Then have the scouts staff the booth and sell them. Just a thought. A race could be tough because I believe you have to pay for security, pay for police to block roads, etc I run a golf tournament in April for our troop. I call it St.

Steve, We tried a sit down once and it went over like a box of rocks. Lot's of prep work, many hours and about 800 net. For my troop anyway, they seem to require lot's of time. We do the hoagies because it is 1. Make a phone call to order X hoagies 2. Pick them up 3. Sell them 4. 4 hours - done We may try another sit down though - especially with the place mat idea ala longhaul Longhaul, I love the place mat idea......very creative Eagle90, Does your rummage sale basically go like this.... Hear ye, hear ye, bring out your dusty, good for nothing, stored

Just sharing what we did and how we did it in case you may want to emulate. I scouted out multiple locations in our township that allowed for a drive thru hoagie sale. They were primarily school and church parking lots, plus an ice cream shop, and an ACME supermarket. I received permission from the onwner of each location. We had signs printed (a scout Dad is a printer) and laminated them for future use. The signs were mounted to "election sign" metal frames. We posted the signs like the 1950's barbasol signs that were read as drivers came up to road toward the "drive thru's"

Since we are off the original topic, I will chime in on the new one.... Patrols are autonomous but they do, and must report to h igher authority. Not necessarily for direction, but for advice and guidance. Analogies - SURE Military A patrol may operate independently, in a manner they deem fit to get the mission done, given the mission they accepted or were tasked to do. THe SPL is the General, the SM is the Chaimrman of the joint chiefs, and the ASM's are the Chief of Staff Business unit A patrol operates to get the job done in manner they seem fit but are held account

I would add the following two merit badges to Eagle Required Entrepreneurship With this MB as a prerequisite to American Business American Business Alter Req #5 to be organizing and running a troop fundraiser ________________ We expect them to contribute and pay their way. This provides a tool to do so. It also take the mysticism and magic out of business. Young men (and adults)see business as a lucky break, when in fact it generally is not. With offshoring, outsourcing, etc, etc, it is in ones best long term interest to work for themselves - providing they can find so

WOW - that was quick...Thanks Longhaul, Thanks for the fire drill perspective. Realignments had been done in the past for reasons of drops or add's, therefore, it is not unusual to have 2 to 5 boys move each year. Eagledad, Trouble is that the go getters are doing it right, they would make an exemplary patrol. I agree on the leadership / delegation issue. Jblake, What do the boys want? The motivated want to get together and expressed it at Green Bar last night. I feel it necessary to have the SPL, and two ASPL's involved with the process as it is their troop and if I allow

Provide the parents a copy of the aims and methods and simply ask them a question 1. Which troop do you believe serves those purposes best? YIS, John

Greetings Scouters, I am looking your objective comments and advice. I am SM for a troop of 65 scouts. I have eight patrols, and I'll try to make a long story short.... Two patrols from last years crossovers, Patrol A and Patrol B, each have seven scouts. Patrol A - Four are 1st Class, one of which is up for BOR in April for Star) and motivated, the others are slackers or minimal participants. Patrol B One is 1st Class and should be up for Star BOR in May, he is a real leader (his sister is GS Gold) and the balance of his patrol is immature and somewhat simply realying o

I have made two changes since taking over as SM and they apply to methods of camping. 1. I eliminated troop field kitchens; 2. Requiring patrols to really camp in a more isolated, independent fashion. Kitchen It had been that all patrol boxes and cooking gear were co-located. This made for "Too many cooks in the kitchen". I now require that the patrols set up their patrol kitchen wherever they set up their patrol at camp. Patrol Camp site The patrols are spread out, traditional style, as far from each other as they can be. This does a few things.... Gives them true in

I have always had an appreciatiojn for quotes. I merge and modify them around a common theme to make my scoutmaster minutes. The series of ..... is for pauses Here is the one I am using at Crossover OPPORTUNITY The moment when you first wake up in the morning is the most wonderful moment of the day. No matter how tired or sleepy you may feel, it is completely guaranteed...that during the day that lies before you...absolutely anything may happen. Look for small opportunities...because they are often the beginning of great accomplishments. The fact is that opportunity is mis

Hello Again, Forgot to mention that I have two variations of patrol meal planning and shopping forms on my troop website. http://www.troop184.com/forms.aspx Feel free to have a look and see if it is something you would find useful for your scouts. YIS, John

How we do it....... Patrol top ten list - Decided by patrol the meeting before the Green Bar annual planning meeting At the Green Bar planning meeting, the six patrols present their "Dream Sheets" Then the negotiations and discussions begin (with a little bickering thrown in for good measure). They break it down to a troop top ten. It is reviewed by the committee. It is usually rubber stamped unless they have a long string of expensive trips which can exclude some scouts due to funding. In which case we recommend that the GB reconsider a distant or expensive trip a

What my boys do.... At my Green Bar, the boys plan all of the upcoming months meeting plans, which includes; 1. Service patrol 2. Game patrol 3. Skills session activities and instructor(s) 4. Announcements YIS, John

C-Bolt, Congratulations on earning Eagle. I like your style, very similar to my SPL. He never yells. I teach my Green Bar that leadership does not mean yelling Clean Up, Get Breakfast Started, Patrol the area or Get Moving. Leadership speaks qietly and says Join Me ---- Join Me in the task at hand. We have a saying in our troop - Do Your Duty and everyone in the troop knows our definition of duty Duty - something you really don't want to do, but you do it anyway. I wish you continued success young man. YIS, John

Our troop has one ASM assigned as Grubmaster. Each patrol going camping is required to have two shoppers. There are anywhere from three to six patrols per campout. The budget is 13.00 to 15.00 per person for the weekend. We pay with a troop check. We meet at the store Thursday night, parents accompany the two patrol shoppers to be sure they are looking for deals and not just grabbing the first pancake mix they see. Teach them to comparison shop and generally keep them focused. We all meet at the checkout, single file, and get a sub total by patrol. If they are over budget, out go th