John-in-KC

AAD? PPXII? Do you mean the Roman Catholic Religious Awards Program, which allows a Boy Scout to earn his purple square knot? I will say this: From working God and Church and God and Life on the Protestant side, there are three things I'd do: 1) Operate gender-neutral. Bring in the young ladies in Girl Scouts going for their religious awards. Remember, your context is not Scouting, rather the parish and the community. 2) Cross-walk the confirmation curriculum your Pastor is using. I've found over the years that Confirmands generally get 90% of the religious award curriculum done in the context of their doing confirmation. 3) Within the God and Church program, I expect a young person to do five service hours in the worship life of his parish, five service hours of more general work (custodial, maintenance, pantry, clothing closet), and five service hours outside the parish. I also expect a youth to go outside his "worship comfort zone": Liturgical Lutheran has to go to a Pentecostal service, Pentecostal to a Catholic, any Christian to a Jewish Shabbat service. I expect the youth to be able to talk intelligently about the differences between his form of Christian worshp and the alternative worship. HTH. Go in His Peace, John

HI-Lo, Welcome to the Forums! As a Christian I am supposed to be relatively in-tolerant of other gods. There are more than a few NT verses where the Triune God declares his exclusivity. As a Scouter of a Christian denomination, if you ask me about My God, I will tell you about My Lord and Savior the Triune God. As simply a Scouter, there are few limits on what I'll accept of a Scout for faith: I expect a young man and his family to select and live within a faith community. Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, Shinto, Buddhist... I also ask that at a Summer Camp, faith communities outside Christendom provide for their Scouts on the Sabbath. I do, however, ask that a Chaplain not play "mix and match" of writings from various faith traditions in "one size fits all." It does not, and I will complain of scandalous conduct to the Council Relationships Committee if it happens (again). Numbers 6: 24-26 The Lord Bless you and Keep you. The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you His Peace. Amen.

ASM915... The Bull is not for Baldy, it's for a Trek at Philmont, period. If you've not done a trek, then don't wear the Bull. If you have, do. Nice thing about the Mountain Trek done by teens while parents are at PTC: They BACKPACK over Baldy; no side trips for them, no-sir-ee!

leVoyageur, Perfectly legitimate , since uniforming is not a method of Venturing Has your Crew settled on attire for occasions where they are "out of role", but need to be appropriately dressed (vice a workshop or sewing session at the meeting place)??

Welcome to the Forums, Florida Mom! I would hope your SM has a location picked out which has the area poisonous plants as part of the flora. It really is best for the young men to see them in the wild. I was an ROTC senior, already branched Field Artillery. I knew what poison oak looked like. I was working with a HS JROTC Ranger class on basics of patrolling. We went to Vandenberg AFB for a night patrol training opportunity; the JROTC cadets chose the route based on the mission. I KNEW, having been at Vandenberg before, that their route took us right through a poison oak thicket. Nothing I could do but call my doc when I got home for meds. My Professor of Military Science told me that particular group of JROTC students didn't go back for another year. Oh, well, it was the 70s. Better they learn what it looks like day and night in the wild. As to the SM teaching it, I'm squeamish about that, but all you can do is keep watching how the kids learn. May he have a great Scouting trail.

Rank quickly, MBs at COH, unless it's Eagle Required and the young man is just about ready for his Eagle SM conference and BOR. Then we speed things up a bit.

There are activities so WOW that I can see a Troop and a Crew wanting to do them simultaneously. Remember that to have young women Venturers as part of a Crew, your housing requirements for the Crew are: Under 21, Male Under 21, Female Over 21, Male Over 21, Female Yes, indeed, four SEPARATE housing areas. Further, by VENTURING YP policy, leadership must be from both genders, and must all be over 21. Additionally, (emb021, help me out), many 18-20 Venturers will not recognize young adult Assistant Scoutmasters (18-20) as having adult authority. The WOW factor of the event would have to REALLY WOW for me to advocate co-participation, or even co-location of a Troop and a Crew. As for Summer Camps, most staff villages I know are off limits to campers. Eagle Son just finished his camp staff contract for the season; he was in front of the paying guests from 830AM to 615PM daily, then had to be at Campfire at 830-930PM. The staff needs privacy in staff village to decrompress.(This message has been edited by John-in-KC)

Trev, The knee sox of our youth? With garters and tabs? I LIKED THEM, but I also seem to think they were a wool blend at the time!

BTW, Mr emb021, It's not girls in Venturing; it's young women Venturers. (ducking and running)

Once upon a time (1968), T was the base rank and T-2-1 were sequential. This is 2007, not 1968. If the Scout has done the work, had the SM ConferenceS (note the S, there need to be multiple SM Conferences imo), and BoardS of Review (note the S again), then finish the process OGE showed you and give out the awards.

I believe the latter. The leadership psych should come as part of the activities. Have em camp near a field suitable for flag football, frisbee, and running their heads off. Create a "Patrol Games". Let them have fun. For that campout, cook simple, carbo-loading and mineral loading food... Take them to the State Capital (Cit in Nation required) for a visit. Camp em, but have them cook more deliberately! Take them to the local community pool as part of the trip. Use the aids provided: National themes are introduced at Roundtable and are reinforced in program helps, Scouter, and Boy's Life. If you create a great program, they will come!

That great Scout Executive, H Roe Bartle, said it best: Give the young men a great program and they will come. It takes training on a few dedicated folks part: Training in outdoor skills, good enough you are far better than the kids you teach, and then teach other kids. Training in leadership, so that you can train young men to lead, and so they can train the ones following them to lead. Training in using the "game with a purpose," so they don't realize they're learning even as they are participating. It does take some facilities and some equipment: Hard to camp in 0F weather when your sleeping bag is good to +40. Vision, goals, means, ... and then roll up the sleeves. YIS

Our Crew has held several Eagle Courts of Honor. We've had a mix of young men, all of whom were dual registered, go through. At Eagle Son's ECOH, he and one other were in Venturing Class A. The others in his group of six wore Scout Class A. Those who were Arrowmen opted to wear their sashes and belt their MB sashes. One who wasn't wore his MB sash. All were at least Hardway Warriors of Mic-o-Say, naturally they wore their claws. To a man they were HS Juniors and Seniors. Four had just come from a HS parade. All were handsome. As to the dual registry... here is what BSA Requirements #33215 says: Any male Venturer who has achieved the First Class rank as a Boy Scout in a troop or Varsity Scout in a team may continue advancement toward the Star, Life, and Eagle Scout ranks up to his 18th birthday. He must meet the requirements as prescribed in the official Boy Scout Handbook and the current Boy Scout Requirements book. The Venturer may fulfill leadership requirements by serving as president, vice president, secretary, or treasurer of his crew, or as boatswain, boatswain's mate, yeoman, purser, or storekeeper for his ship. The Scoutmaster conference will be conducted by the Advisor or Skipper. As the Venturer meets requirements for the Star and Life ranks, a board of review will be conducted by the crew or ship committee. The Eagle board of review should follow the procedures established by the local council. That is a direct quote of National Policy http://www.scouting.org/boyscouts/resources/32215/eligibility.html#ven (This message has been edited by John-in-KC)

In the end, I am less concerned about offending those who continually sit on their hands, and more concerned with promoting principles of 'equal support from all participants. A Scouter is Courteous. If you are offending, you are not being Courteous. I'm also starting to see a disconnect in this Pack. It seems to me you are doing the Committee Chairman's, and the Committee's, job. The Cubmaster is responsible for the program. He works with the Den Leaders to implement a BSA approved program every month. The Cubmaster hands off support requirements for Pack events to the Committee. The Den Leaders ASK their parents for specific support for specific events. It's the Committee's job to resource the Pack program, in terms of people, equipment, funds, and seat belts. The duty roster works for Boy Scouts, who are in a program where they are prepared for increasing responsibility. It also works at the adult level because the Scouters buy into taking a specific share of the workload, based on their own personal skillsets. When you have Cub parents who are not registered Scouters, you need to bring them along incrementally, with a lot of praise. "Gee, we need someone to weigh in the cars for Pinewood Derby. We've heard you are really great with attention to detail. Please can you help us help the boys have fun? THANKS!" 1/1, not casting calls. Bite sized elements, not "do your full share." Let the Committee Chairman do his job, you do yours. YIS/ICS/IFAW John I used to be an Owl...

Yah, alright now all yeh scouter lads and lasses. Time to admit it. What do yeh really wear on outings, at camp, ... When I am "on contract" in some form of Commissioner work, I wear the designated Class B uniform (BSA shorts, green sox, any BSA belt, staff T-shirt, OA Coup Thong, Mic-o-Say coup thong, WB beads and a khaki boonie hat. When I am working the kitchen at an OA function, I wear khaki pants or Philmont shorts, a T-shirt, and my neckwear goes on a hook in the kitchen. I will not wear BSA Class A in the field unless there is a designated event at the camp. to meetings, Troop meetings, usually complete class A less a neckerchief. RT, where I am a staffer, I wear a B/A combination. While I am doing setup and tear down, my shirt is on a hanger somewhere, along with my neckwear, and I wear a T-shirt. When it's time for meeting, I put on the shirt. WB necker I only wear when someone is getting beaded or some other formal occasion. and for formal occasions? District Dinner? Council Annual meeting? Coat, tie, and OA/MOS coup thongs. What uniform pieces do yeh use all the time? Which do you dispense with entirely? web belts, (prefer Philmont nylon or hand-tooled leather), Venturing pants (Cabelas), Venturing sox (Cabelas or REI grey wool). Do yeh have any "customized features" or fun (but unauthorized) patches? My Venturing shirt has the Lodge Flap of my Ordeal Lodge, Walika #228. It merged out back in 1973. BTW, picked up Eagle Son from school today, where he started his senior year. He was in Camp Staff Class B uniform, less his OA/MOS/COD coup thongs. Since he's a Venturer, he's permitted greay shorts. Like me, he does Cabelas. (This message has been edited by John-in-KC)

Both OGE and FScouter promptly replied in the Mod roles. Thanks to both of them!

The prudent Cubmaster would very closely study every word Eamonn, a former Distict Commissioner, just wrote! Then, he'd add in the words of Lisa. Then, he should probably re-cast his expectations. Better to have a point person for each activity who can recruit parents at Den meetings and Pack meetings. BTW, it's a really good way to drive off Den Leaders by demanding more of them!

I wonder how many others here at Scouter.com have received the Nigerian scam letter by PM??? I got two today, both from Mr Damian Toure... If the Mods or Terry will PM me, I will provide the content, so they can take appropriate action. John

Have fun at college! Learn, not just the content, but the ways to think. Congratulations on the hard work!

Curtis, I think you need to re-read the Declaration of Independence: "The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, "When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. (empahsis added) We're not a commonwealth of the UK. We severed political status. The much vaunted "special relationship" is diplomatic, military and economic in nature, not governmental. We are what we are. If you want to be an agent of change, set your service goal in Scouting to become a Regional Commissioner or the National Commissioner of BSA. As for me, I think gender-specific programs are not the end of the world.

Brian, Thanks for the clarification. Call David Allen. He'll be able to point you exactly to St Louis Area Council troops which come to Camp Runamuck John Who thinks Lone Star is the Greatest!! After all, we have the Lakefront, Davis Lodge, Perry Lodge, She-She-Be, Memorial Hall, AND Lone Bear Tribal Council Ring, and Sawmill gave up Lady Liberty to RHQ. (This message has been edited by John-in-KC)

Having watched a few Eagle Boards now, here are my thoughts: - The EBOR is the young man's day or evening in the sun. - Given the above, the young man is getting a chance to show some other people who he has really become, and how he ticks. In most cases, there are particular people who have been special blessings to the young man on the trail. The young man should have the opportunity to share the trail back with them. - Again, given the above, the young man hopefully has some places that have become special to him in Scouting. An EBOR should not be an anticlimax, it should be one of several defining moments in his life. Doing the board at one of his special places will help engrave the moment in his memories forever. Of course, this presumes the District or Council operates using unit level Boards with an approved Guest. Those which have District or Council level EBORs, well, those young men are going to go through a stamping/milling machine. I'm glad our District does things the way they do!

Welcome to the Forums. I will check with a e-group of fellow HRB staffers I participate in. I know we get Troops from Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Columbia (MO) councils. Camp Draw lottery is October 18, evening, at the Council Offices. 816-942-9333 rings the Council office, ask for David Allen, the Reservation Director. He can guide you through procedures for Out-Of-Council Troops to enter the draw.

GOOD ON YOU!!! Now, this will go against most policy, and there are some who will howl, but if there are Scouters in your life who've been special, you need to visit with your CC and ask if they can be part of your EBOR. Also, depending on your District policy, if there is a special Scouting place to you, ask if that can be where you have your EBOR. Eagle son was a camp staffer last year. He asked for his Camp Director (a District Commissioner), his PD (a RT Commissioner), and the Troop Resident Grandpa (Council Executive Board among other things) to sit his Eagle Board. He asked to have it under the flagpole at one of our Scout Reservations. It was a longer than usual board, there was much laughter as well as some really hard questions! Good hunting, Eric... let us keep hearing how this part of the trail goes.

ScoutNut, Our District rosters over 50 Packs and 50 Troops! We're a two county District in a middle to upper middle income burb region of Kansas City. Our Professional staff is DD, Senior DE and DE.