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Congratulations meamemg, Welcome to the Brotherhood of the Eagle (myself, class if 1978) Good job. As John in KC said you should have your certificate and "credit card" in a couple of weeks at most. I love Eagle CoHs I''ve got two to attend in the next couple of months. Very exciting.

Wow, mandatory training. What a concept. I like the idea actually, and maybe because I''ve taken it upon myself to get all the training I can fit into my schedule, and maybe because I''m on my council''s Training Team (have the new neckerchief to prove it) and WB Staff. I know how important it is for scouts to have trained leaders. I''ve seen first hand what damage an untrained adult can do to kids, and I can support mandated training as long as it''s handled correctly. I would think that at a minimum, like in OGE''s council, the Council or District leadership focuses on the t

Welcome. This forum is a great resource and not such a bad place to get things off your chest, too. I hate it when kids get bored with the program. Happens all the time. Maybe Wolves would be a better fit? My son''s den, by the time they were Bears, were feeling the same way. The Den Leader and ADL (My wife was ADL) talked to my daughters middle school science teacher for help. He was, among other things, a model rocketeer. He got them all rockets at no charge, taught them how to assemble them, how they worked, why they worked...then they shot them off at the school. He still talk

From a post in another thread, I see there is still a faction within Scouting that thinks that Women have no place beyond the role of Den Mother, or maybe as high up on the Scouting food chain as Committee Member. Here''s my experience and where I''m at on this subject, I''d be interested in yours as well. I''m probably from the old school. My father was a Scoutmaster, and being the envious son, I followed in his footsteps. Perhaps too closely as it turns out. When I was a scout, women were relegated to Cub Den Mothers, Troop Womens Auxiliary members, and those that made the foo

That''s a great idea Pack378. That would be a fantastic event if we could get enough council wide participation. I don''t have to get my committee together until January or Feburary. Our council does a yearly gathering in the Fall with our local County Sherrif''s department who hosts a public Rodeo. Lot''s of fun and tons of people. Great time to get the message out. This might turn out to be one of the capstones to the list of celebrations. We''ll have 3 years of buildup to the 2010 celebrations. I get excited thinking about the possibilities.

"This thread has been pole vaulting over a mouse turd far too long" I swear to God I get more usefull stuff form this website every day...Thanks John for this gem, I''m gonna use it often. Oh, and it would be nice to have some sort of recognition for the youth that serve. My son was a CC, and he was expected to work that job. He was a member of the Dist Committee of sorts and reported to them monthly. He was recognized by the DE during the annual District Dinner, but any form of recognition of their position during the tenure I would be in favor of. WWW

Pete, I think your gifts were a great idea. It was kind of a joke on the course I staffed. Apparantly the previous course one of the TG''s had given gifts, had not backed away from her kiddies like she should have in the course, and they wrote songs and cheers about her, bought her presents, put her name on their patrol flag...she was a bigger part of their patrol than the patrol members at one time. They gave her the Mommy Award. On my course we were threatened (light heartedly of course) with the Mommy Award if we gave or received 1 gift on course. Giving gifts at the beadin

Eagle Pete, at the course I was just on, had I done just one of those things I would have received the Mommy award. LOL I do like the personal hand made gifts. Nice touch IMO. I think the I Can is a neat thing. Good work.

Our troop as been asked several times in the years to field a Philmont contingent for our council. We know that Philmont is a wonderful place, a Meca of sorts for us scouters and scouts, but we''ve never been able to get beyond the $$ issue. We can put on a 10 day high adventure backcountry trip for under $200 a piece and that includes transportation. That''s hard to beat IMO. Now, while I can''t see spending money on a Philmont trek because of what we have available to us here in CA, I can see the value in FL Sea Base or Northern Tier. Those programs are not easily reproduceable fo

Never have a duet produced such a high quality sound since the Smothers Brothers. That''s funny, I don''t care who you are

Our courses this year were $235 if paid before the 30 day meeting and $275 if paid after. $20 isn''t quite the incentive for commitment as $40 seems to be. $100 staff fees, for food and materials. Our CDC here in November is $90 early, $110 within 3 weeks or so. $175, I hope that came with room service and a massage! On our course recently (WE4-45-1-07) we ate like kings, or QM is a great cook, and she had lots of help. Staff got a copy of the syllabus and Course Directors guide, 2 t-shirts, WB patches, etc. Our participants got 2 shirts, 1 binder, 1 hat, 1 necker, 1 piece of

Thank you Fred, that was the point I was trying to convey. I hope that clears up my opinion for you Longhaul.

If your middle schooler came home telling you that their teacher held a discussion about how it was necessary for the US Powers to detain those suspected of terrorist activities and that the use of extreme measusres was justified because of the iminent threat to our country would you still be calling for his head? LongHaul Yes, I would have to say I would. I don''t think political bias belongs in public education in any form or from any camp honestly. As I poorly tried to illustrate before, if this teacher had demonstrated a right leaning bias instead of a left leaning bias in his teachi

At the college level, and the High School level as well, I would say that (un biased) political history and Political Science is appropriate, but I don''t see where this is necessary in middle school or jr. high school. I don''t beileve those kids are ready for the burden of political rhetoric yet. Also, if this teacher had left it at US History and it''s relevance today, that would be ok, but what I read here tells me that this guy had an agenda beyond what his job description calls for. "The lesson being taught in class was that the U.S. kidnaps innocent people and takes them to Cuba,

Gunny, You''re probably more the norm since I live relatively close to the Mag facility and shipping cost is minimal for me. I''ve only done it a couple of times (sent a light in for repair). One of my favorites was a micro mini single AAA. Perfect size IMHO. And I''ve sent in a couple of minis that had been laser inscribed for special occasions. None of which I actually bought, got as gifts and that sort of thing.

Varsity Colors, Orange and Brown. Oddly enough there is everything else under the BSA sun represented here http://www.scouting.org/nav/enter.jsp?s=xx&c=xm except the Varsity program. I ran into this same issue when I took my course. I recently served on staff as a TG on a mainly LDS course (90% participants and staff were LDS folks) and learned a lot about Varsity Scouting. Good luck and have fun.

Nice, I love how it''s some how ok for "teachers" to use their classroom teaching time to promote a political agenda (left or right) and label it "instruction". How does the politics of Guantanamo Bay become US History? And how could it be reasonable to push any polarized political viewpoint on any child, ever? This school employee should be disciplined as if he were holding a prayer vigil during class time IMHO.

Gunny, as an FYI Mag Industries should take those damaged flash lights and repair them for you. Last time I sent one in it cost me shipping only. (I''ve had the battery get stubbornly stuck as well).

Yea, this is a lose lose somewhat. He was good with the HA products we delivered, but he was a huge problem when it came to dealing with the boys. It appeared he just didn''t like kids after all, and being a "my way or the highway" kinda person didn''t help that along. The kids didn''t like him either and were actually glad that he''s no longer associated with the unit. I did whine to my CC and to my CoR. CC''s a good friend and CoR and I are in the same Rotary Club, so I see him weekly.

I''d thought I would share this issue and get some objective advice, too. Sorry in advance for the length. Every summer our troop plans and carries out a high adventure trip. Our previous Scoutmaster is a legendary backpacker. He started the troop as a Backpacking only troop, and since I''ve joined and taken over as Scoutmaster, we have made few changes in the way we approach our outdoor program, simply because it works. When we recruit for new boys and parents, we invite Webelos dens to hike with us for the day. We usually start out with a flat city day hike of 5 miles RT or le

Wow, a questionaire. I think when I was a Cubmaster the first question I had for a potential new leader was "what size uniform shirt do you wear?". I hope you have them lined up out the door to apply. Take them all and give them all a job. Like Scott said, start them off with small bits and build up. The more hand helping to carry the load the easier it is to go the distance. Make sure they''re available to take appropriate training. If you have a whole slew of new leaders, have the District or Council training team come to you. Cub Lead Specific takes about 3 hours or less

Lightweight camp shoes, we use rubber soled moccasins. They don''t weigh much, aren''t constrictive and form to the shape your foot is in at the time, have enough of a sole so you wont bruise the bottom of your feet stumbling around camp, and they''re crushable, so they''ll fit anywhere in your pack.

My worst piece of gear was my 1960's vintage home-made soldered-together pack frame made from steel conduit. With rope shoulder straps. No hip belt. Brutal OUCH! Bet you still have the scars from that.

Simple can be just the outline of the Eagle, uplifted wings, chin right. That silouette is very recognizable and iconic IMO.

I'm in agreement there. Luckily my son went to WSJ and had an incredible time, met hundreds of great scouts from around the world and now is more energized about scouting than any adult fresh back from WB ever has been. I know there's the Centenial Unit award program that's been in effect for a year or so, and the logo'd items on sale at the scout shop, but still no big push to celebrate this year. Too bad we did really miss the bus there...