jr56

Hi, Most of the scout supplies will probably be at trading post B. How well stocked it will be depends on advance catalog sales. They just bring all the merchandise to the jamboree that didn't sell by advance catalog orders. You will probably be able to find most everything for the first day or two of the jamboree, but it just depends on how much extra stock they have to move, and how brisk sales are. They usually open the trading posts to the staff the weekend before the jamboree opens to give them first crack at whatever supplies they want to purchase.

I have always thought that this is a case of making an invalid assumption from statistics. I feel that the boys who achieve first class within one year are the boys who are actively participating in the scouting program and having a good time. It makes sense that the boys who are enjoying the program are the ones who are going to stick around. Whether or not they achieve the rank of first class has nothing to do with it.

Thanks Bob, Great ideas for increasing uniform wear. I have been a voice crying in the wilderness advocating uniform wear in my units for years.

Sometimes as a scoutmaster I had to turn down service hours for things such as working to benefit a private organization, but to get any more restrictive than that is carrying things a little too far in my opinion.

As a scoutmaster I would often offer suggestions as to whether or not a boy should take a particular merit badge, and why. But the final decision was his.

This is a safety issue, I would not have any problem denying participation without the proper medical documentation. Require it whenever a boy joins the troop before he can go on a outing. We would always do the annual update before summer camp each year. Any summer camp we have ever attended require the forms properly filled out, or the boy gets sent home by the council.

If regional patches are worn, they are worn on the right sleeve below everything else. Usually, the only local scouters who wear region patches are those serving on staff positions at the jamboree. But like Bob said, this is a special event. If a contigency troop wants to wear region patches at the jamboree, and their council exec has authorized it, more power to them.

Jeff

We had the same problem in my troop once, a new Scoutmaster took basic leader training and got the message loud and clear that it was to be a boy run troop. The part he missed out on was that you have to instruct the boys on how to run the troop and provide guidance as needed to make sure the boys get the job done. Good luck in trying to bring the troop around.

Unit Commissioners help units be successful by giving advice, information, and doing the rechartering process anually.

District Commissioners oversee the Unit Commissioners in their dictrict.

Council Commissioners oversee the District Commissioners on their council.

We have never cancelled an outing due to rain, but a couple have been ended prematurely by severe weather (tornado warning).

Great list Bob. Just to stimulate conversation, we used to subscribe to the first class in one year theme. We discovered that we had a bunch of 12 year old first class scouts that wern't ready to hold a position of responsibility, that were eligible for OA, but didn't have the mental maturity to even begin to understand the concept of the obligation. What we do now, is lay out the program, so if any new boys want to take advantage of it, they can attain their first class within 1 year. But most boys go a little slower and it takes 2-3 years, but it is their choice. Anybody else see this, or have any comments?

Yes, a boy can finish his Eagle in a Venture Crew if he is at least First Class when he joins. Yes, a boy can be registered in a troop and venture crew at the same time.

Hi again, I posted a few days back that my troop had a policy of only letting the boys cook a given meal once a year to encourage variety.

To answer a couple of questions that were directed my way,

#1 Yes, the policy was implemented by the PLC

#2 Does cooking a particular menu item only once a year mean they will never get proficient at cooking it? Well, I guess that is a valid way of looking at it, like any other idea you could try, it has its advantages and disadvantages.

Just my 2 cents worth. The fabric looks ok and fits ok, it is just not very durable. The fabric on my long pants starts wearing thin on the inside of my thighs after only a few months of wearing them to meetings. I gave up on wearing them on campouts a long time ago because they are just not durable enough. I also think the price is excessive. I jave only worn the poly blend style, so I can't comment on the durability of the other fabrics.

Camp Lowden IL

Camp Indian Trails WI

Northwoods Scout Camp MI

Philmont

Sea Base

If nothing else, you can look in the Scouting catlog. There's several ideas for Eagle gifts in there. A nice card with or without a monetary donation would also be appropriate.

Actually, most schools around this country will allow minority interest groups to form, they refuse to allow standard Christian groups for fear of lawsuits from special interest groups like the ACLU.

We have had a policy that once a menu item is cooked on a campout, it can't appear on that patrols campout menus for a year. It encourages them to try new things.

If joining the group for only atheists was optional, I would say great, it would appear that there was a demand for that kind of club if the school was taking the time to sponsor it.

Even if a public school charters a BSA unit, none of the students are in any way obligated to join it. It is just another activity being offered. If the school offers football as an extracuricural activity, and physical fitness offends me, should I file a lawsuit to have football banned?

It all boils down to the great myth that you can somehow please all the people all the time. You can't. A minority group of atheists exist in this country, they are free to do so under the laws of this country. Does this mean that everybody else has to give up worshiping God if they so choose?

Years ago the city of New York wanted to install permanent portable toilets in parks. But there is a city ordiance that states that all public buildings must be handicapped accesible, and there was no way they could design them that way. So, because 0.5% of the population cant' use these buildings, 99.5% of the population is denied the right to go to the bathroom.

Merlyn is polite in his posts, but I sometimes feel his prescence her is like going on a Jewish website and spouting anti-semetic rhetoric. I really don't think he is going to accomplish much except rile up a bunch of people.

I don't see any problem with wearing the appropriate rank insiginia if it is old style. Your local scout executive could rule on it for you.

Yes, it would be possible but you have to work diligently and not waste any time. Good luck

I agree with previous posters. Talk to the Scoutmaster about your concerns first. Your next step would be to talk to your troops Advancement Chairman. If that fails to get results, talk to the troop Committee Chairman. After that, your next step would be the District Advancement Chair, Council, Regional, and National. This is all laid out in the Advancement Procedure Manual you can purchase at your local council office. Since there is an appeal process already in place for you to follow, I really doubt there is a hidden dirty secret to deal with. Good luck, hope you can get your issues resolved to your satisfaction.

There is no reason why he couldn't. In troops that I have been associated with, the Scoutmaster relays the wishes of the PLC to the troop committee, so the Scoutmaster is representing the SPL at the committee meeting.

I got 16 out of 17.