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I'm not LDS, but I did play one on TV once... Here's what my LDS friends have told me. The president is called from the Quorum of the 12 appostles. He is, as a general rule, the eldest member of the Quorum. The president chooses 2 members of the 12 as his first and second councellors. This is called the first presidency. The Quorum of the 12 calls from the quorum of the 70 to fill positions. The Quorum of the 12 calls the 7 brethren from the Quorum of the 70. The Q70 and Q12 constitue the General Authority of the church and preside over all church matters. I gotta sa

I had the opportunity to sit in on an EBOR the other night with a young (YOUNG) 15 year old that was so nervous he had trouble talking and giving responses to the board. Maturity is not a requirement, but it sure comes in handy. He had done the work, his leadership project was weak, but had been approved and he completed it as described in his application, so we had no options there. He'd finished all of his MBs and held an appropriate POR. Scout spirit was not in question. The only thing we could do is let him, his parents and his Scoutmaster know that we considered him lackin

I live in an town that had 3 "mega" troops...HAD. Each troop had well over 100 youth. They ran a very agressive program and had events and outings almost every single weekend. An operation of this magnitude requires a lot of support. Physical, financial and emotional. When a troop gets this big, the unit dynamics change, and not necessarily for the good. Many boys feel lost in the numbers, issues with bullying and cliques seem to go un noticed, youth leadership is often streched beyond its fragile limits and adults are often very territorial and looking for a way to advance as they w

LOL, This cracks me up. I must have been at the right place at the right time, or the wrong place at the right time, or...well you get the picture. The first time I was asked to be a SM, my own Scoutmaster, then the District Chairman, asked me to help out a troop accross town who's SM had moved away. That little job lasted 4 or 5 years. This time I was asked to take on the job by the previous and founding SM. I love the kids and spending time with them so according to him I was the perfect choice. I had no intention of being the SM of this troop when I joined, I was happy to be

When I give a SM Confrence, i make notes in the margins and blank spaces of the boys book. This give him a place to reflect on the goals we've set for him and gives him some idea of what his SM looks for in a member of the troop. He can share that info with anyone he wants, or he can keep it private, it's totally up to him. The document you mention is like that, but where does it go after the confrence? If it's just more file filler, I don't think I'd be too excited about it. I do see some pros though. I like the fact the boys needs to reflect on his service and leadership, and nee

I think the BSA takes good notes, I'm just not sure they read them in between events.

About four years ago our troop had 3 boys earn Eagle at 14, had thier Eagle CoH and then two of the three left the troop immediately. They'd earned the Eagle, it was time to move on to other things according to their moms. I had only one of them stick around until he was just 17 before he gave up the ghost. Our then Scoutmaster, myself as CC and a few others sat down with the entire group of parents and explained how ridiculous this was and that we were determined that it not happen again. The group came together and made a pact that they would not "force feed" scouting to thier sons

Honestly, I attended the 1977 Jamboree at Moraine St. Park, PA. It rained for almost the entire time, and i'm not talking sprinkles, I'm talking "Noah, build yourself a boat" rain. But I would say it one of my fondest memories of my youth, and I will always remember that trip. When the opportunity came up to send my son to the 2005 Jambo, I jumped at the chance. The cost for our council contingent in 05 was $2300. It was well worth the money for me.

I was able to staff on the last Jamboree. My son attended with a council contingent. I was stationed in the Arts and Sciences Expo, just next to the OA Shows tent. The day the lights went out is when the troop showed up. The 4 adults from Alaska had just been killed, a freak traffic collision stopped power in our area, and rumors of the electrocution were running rampant. My staff mates and I hurried to board a buss that was bound for our barracks, near where my son's sub camp was. He was one sub camp from the accident. The info was so spotty, I was in a panic and needed to see hi

I see really great things happening in Scouting in my district in the near future. Your DE must be happy to have you and other dedicated Scouters step up to the plate and make it happen. Sometimes it takes someone willing to be the punching bag in order to get change to begin happening. Great news about your conversation with your SM. I think it's great he sees your vision and agrees with it. Keep up the good work.

Good advice so far. Re-schedule the pack meeting or allow an assistant to cover for you. Take the training and have a great time, come back energized and ready to roll. Have fun

Our CO, a local Rotary Club, is generous IMO, they provide scholorships to the boys attending NYLT, about 1/2 the fee, upon completion. They provide 2 1/2 camperships to Summer Camp every summer. They will help to finance Eagle Projects, but the boy has to make the ask.

Wow, had to do some figuring. My district is the Old Baldy District of the California Inland Empire Council. We are made up of Upland, Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario and Montclair California. That's 114 square miles and a population of 417,000 people. My council is huge, it covers all of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. 27455 square miles and only 3.8 million peeps. I takes over 4 hours to drive from one side to the other. We have over 40,000 youth registered at this time. Wow, toooooo big.

Well, I wonder how Jambo is doing, havn't heard anything for two months. Hope all is well, or as well as can be expected.

Well... It sounds like the changes that have occured are for the better. If a troop committee/parent group gets loosy goosy for a number of years, then it may seem like a Napolean steps in when someone like you want's to put them on the right track. If you feel you should step down, maybe you should take on another job, sounds like the troop is doing better, maybe you could become an ASM? Try not to take it personally, people let the darndest things set them off nowadays. It sounds to me like you're on the right path, maybe taking too steep a tack. You have obviously made a dif

Wow, there's drama everywhere nowadays. LOL, EKmiranda, I had similar issues with den leaders in my Pack some years ago. I had similar issues with an ASM just a few months ago. Very ugly business and I have to say I agree with what Beavah has posted for you, put on a united front before you have your meeting, get your strategy straight and all that. Regarding the husband/wife, cm/cc issue. I have to agree with the others that you should really consider making a change there. You may both be very committed to the success of the Pack, but you need to share power with others at least to

Have any of you ever found yourself recommending a boy for the job to the troop? I find that sometimes we need to change the direction of the herd in order to keep them from running straight off of the cliff. example. I had a couple of brothers that were much larger physically than any other boy in the troop, bar none. The were also bullies and we (myself as ASM well as the current SM and other adults) to get them to change thier ways. They were always in trouble and could never grasp the concept that bullying was verboten. Since they were brothers, this gave me cause to wonder if th

Darnit, I was just going to post this...you beat me to it. What a gret story, sorry the boy got injured though. I pray his hand heals fully. When my son attended the WSJ in England this summer, it really opened his eyes to the fact that there are Scouts litterally Everywhere in the world.

To quote an iconic TV Commercial... "Try it, you'll like it" I have not met anyone that will admit Wood Badge was a waste of time. I have read very few over the last few years say something to that affect, but the % is very small when you get down to it. WB will give you very usable tools for use in Scouting. These tools are also very valuable in your normal life as well, but we all know that nobody in scouting has a normal life any more...ha! The time is minimal for the amount of information you get. The training is a lot more valuable than the few hundred dollars it cost t

This happens way too much. It has come up a million times in trainings and we trainers all say the same thing...Don't tie earning Eagle to the DL, or any other such thing, in most cases it causes the kid to rebel and push away from the pressure. I typcially talk to the parents and the boy separately and get them to agree to make a commitment without causing pain and suffering along the way.

Keep us posted...wow, did I just attend a district committee meeting....lol (looking at you with a suspicious sideways glance) Wasn't this your idea? hmmmm I am going to bring this up to my council's board, and maybe get my SE to put a bug in the ear of SGVC folks soon to get some emotion stirring. I have a couple of friends on that board as well, so we'll see what gives. What just happend anyway?

Ok, here's the skinny I've gleaned off of the website www.tournamentofroses.com Parade includes only Marching Bands, Equestrian units, and floral floats. Only 3 cars are allowed as per tradition, the Mayor of Pasadena, the President of the Tournament, and the Grand Marshall (Emeril Lagasse this year) Floats are limited to no more than 50 due to the length of the parade and the following Rose Bowl game. The cost can be estimated at a minimum of $175,000 per float and should be produced by one of the few approved professional float builders in the area. There are some self buil

I'm a Rotarian, we had a float and Rotary asked each member to donate $3 to the cause to pay for it. I don't know how wide an audience they plucked to get the dough, but $3 was not a difficult thing to give up for a bunch of flowers rolling down Colorado Blvd.

Our council can award up to 23 Beavers a year, and I imagine it takes a long time for the bios at the annual dinner. I was humbled to be chosen to recieve the SB for 2007. My Council uses a blind system of determining who, if any, are chosen to recieve it. The Asst. SE assembles info in a matrix, removes all identifying info, previous council names and odd positions as an example. We had one fellow scouter who had been active in several councils in several district and council level positions before deciding he's staying put in So Cal. Most know his moving record, so any council or

Part of being a Scout parent is being able to sit back and let your son do his thing without your help or influence. You are probably in the norm if you want to take a less active roll. I'd say go for it, just remember that most boys that have a successful run in Scouting have involved parents. Hopefully your son will stay active with the troop for a number of years, just take your time and find the best position fit for yourselves and have fun.