artjrk

One year at webelos camp we decided to have fun with mail from home. If a scouts letter had any X's or O's (loves and kisses) we had him do one pushup for each. Our Den cheif who was their with us that year would do them with the scout. If the scout didn't want to do them they did not have to. It wasn't punishment at all just fun and games. we all had a fun time laughing w/ each other as they where being done.

I need to meet w/ my guy as well. On the phone he told me it would be very low key and that I didn't actually need any documentation. I have been playing tag w/ him for the last few weeks and I need to get it done this month. Yikes. Now if I can just find my copy of the tickets...

Sorry. The Troop Treasurer happens to be an accountant.

The question came up while the committee was discussing whether they needed to file any form or another for tax purposes. Also we have set up online payment for our mulch sales using Paypal and we needed to submit info from the CO using their Tax exempt status, School PTA.

No major issue right now. we just wanted to be clear.

I have read here numerous times how the CO actually owns all the troops assets and accounts. I brought this up to our committee last night and some had not realized this. What I could not do is tell them where this is documented. Can someone here help me out. This would be helpful for our new troop accountant coming on in a month. Thanks.

Concerning the Tiger/Parent partnership team. I understand how the ideal is for there to be a parent there to work with their son. I was a Den Leader for my second son. I assisted the Den Leaders for my first son. Now that I am a Scoutmaster, my wife is the partner for my 3rd son. I understand the system.

But...

Here is a situation where the Den Leaders hide behind the rules and the Scout loses. We had a recent Go See It with our Tiger Den to the library. A parent sends an Email to the other parents and Den Leaders informing them that the Husband is out of town on business and she is home sick for the last 3 days. She asks if another parent could take her son to the outing. Another parent responds saying that they would with no problem. Then comes the email from the leader stating the fact that: No, another parent could not bring the boy because then it would be one adult to two scouts and it was not allowed. The scout ended up not getting to get to go on the Go-See-It.

I'm sorry. This is just wrong. This is a case of the "rules" getting in the way of common sense. The parent was not abusing the system and just dropping of the kid. She was just looking for help so that her son could still get to go on a special outing with his Den. No additional burden was even being put upon the Den Leader.

Thanks for the referral to this site. I plan to present it as an option to the Committee soon. Being a designer I have created our own site which another leader hosts on his company's server. What i like about this is the ability to work with the data from Troopmaster (which we use) and the interactive nature of the site. Event signups and payments. I like how we ccould even allow multiple users to add content thus not putting all the maintenance duties on just one person.

A variation to Buffalo Skipper's two layer method. We have found that by adding a layer of wet paper towel between the two layers you create a steamer of sorts. With this method we have rarely have charred spots and vegetables come out fantastic.

Don't forget your sharpie to mark each dinner as to its owner.

I want to try that Ham dinner variation.

I do not recall our patrols getting together before buying their food to work out trades, but there is a lot of trading going on on the trip. "I'll trade my oreos for your chips."

We don't set a budget for each trip in advance due to the fact each trip is different. On some trips we encourage the boys to expand their food choice range and some times we go for expediency of meals to keep to a time schedule. weekends generally run about $10-$12 though. Due to the varying tastes of the boys, I don't think we could have one basic menu for all patrols. We are not real rigid on menu approval except for the ban on Donuts/Pastries/poptarts unless they are made from scratch on the campout.

While on the subject of menu planning, my pet peeve is Raman Noodles. I get discouraged seeing the boys use that as a complete meal out of laziness. Whenever I see that I point out that Raman is a fine, warm side for a cold day. It goes well with a sandwich or can be dressed up with the addition of a can or two of chicken and some frozen veggies to make a nice hearty soup.

I've just started exploring the realm of Facebook myself. It started as way to keep up with my sons. I've reconnected with old High School friends. As I am going along I have been asked to be "Friends" with many of my Scouts as well as other friends of my sons. It is with a feeling of reward to realize that these guys actually want to be associated with me. I have started a new group listing for the troop to be a "virtual" campfire for current and former Scouts and Scouters of our troop.

The issue of maintaining Scout Spirit is one I am trying to figure out how to promote. I'm hoping thru discussions online and in meetings I can impart my concerns to the boys in a positive manner.

I see a great value in using these new forms of communication so I am attempting to embrace it.

The only thing my wife has cautioned me about is the appearance of an older man befriending younger boys. As a cooach I had the same issues. One self imposed rule I have is to only accept Friend requests for the boys and not to initiate it. That is another reason for having the Troop site was to take myself out of the focus.

On a side note I enjoy playing WoW , an online game, and I try to impart a more family friendly attitude amongst my fellow players. I just remind them that some of us have younger children playing. They are receptive to that. Also in casual conversations, I have discovered several of my Online Friends are also Scouts and several are Eagles. It has put an interesting perspective on this whole thing. Where most of us in the game are anonumous strangers who can respect each other, I sure know scouts can do the same.

Our pack hosts it's own "Summer Games" Each Monday evening (when it cooled down) was a different sport, ie soccer, softball, dodgeball, flag football, Ultimate frizbee, etc. A different parent or leader would spend 20-30 min going over the rules of the game, then the kids played for 45 min or so. Families were always welcome to play and friends as well. Neighboring packs were invited including the one for kids with disabilities. The Troop which shares the meeting location also would come out and join the cubs after they finished with their business. Everything was kept at a informal level. If some families were on vacation it didn't matter. We were there for those that were not. The highlight was always the giant water balloon fight at the end of Summer.

Usually each kid completed the requirements for the belt loop as well as earning the Summertime activities pin.

Having run aces with Double Elimination and with multiple lane computer judging., I would say go with the latter if you can. I was our Pack Derby Coordinator for 4 years.

Look at it this way. 1/4 of your kids will race just twice and lose both times. For many this can be devastating. Sadly I have seen boys quit scouting because of this. A boy spends hours to make a car which they are so proud of only to "fail" in a matter of seconds.

With the ability to run 4, 8 or more times, the likely hood of losing every race a much smaller. My 3rd son for example this year in his first Derby lost 6 of 8 but was able to get a 3rd and 2nd in two of the heats. Tho he didn't come home w/ a trophy he did feel successful and is excited for next year and has ideas on how to improve his car.

I know not all packs have multiple lane tracks, but even with a 2 lane track there are other possiblities. Group the racers in 4 or five and run a round robin format to start. This way each scout will race at least 3 or 4 times and has a better chance for some success. After that then DE would work fine.

I'm not advocating "babying" the boys but instead affording them the opportunity to succeed in some form or another.

I have spent 3 summers at Goshen for WEBELOS camp. Beautiful place. The weather in that mountainous area of Virginia is quite different from AP Hill. Out of 21 days only one was considered hot and humid. There were several nights that were down right chilly. I don't know if this new site will actually be at Goshen SR or adjacent to it.

As for the centrally located issue. Yes Geographically it is not but as far as population is concerned is is much more central to a larger number of scouts.

I grew up about 1/2 hour away in the valley so I may be a bit prejudice.

When a Troop invites the local Webelos to a meeting or event, can't the Webelos go on their own with their own family? Thus negating the need for a LTP. I know as a troop now, we invite all the local Packs with an open invitation. The boys do not come as a Den but as an individual.

On another note. Just because a LTP is not filed it doesn't negate the activity. What it does do is release BSA from any responsibility if something should happen to any of those attending.

I went to Camp Shenandoah and had a great time there. But then again I was a first year Scout back in 1975.

I'm not familiar with the other two.

Since one of the methods of scouting is Adult Interaction, having an event for the Scout Master or even better one where the Scoutmaster works with the youth is indeed appropriate. At our last Camporee, "Scoutish Highland Games" I went around with the boys to watch and see how they did in working together as a patrol. Once in a while I after the boys had completed a station, if there was time and it did not hold up any other patrol, I would attempt the required activity. I had fun and the boys had fun watching. Though some games may have seemed silly, it let them see that I was willing to do what ever they did and help legitimize the activity. Now being that I pitch for my churches softball team, I blew them away on the old boot toss. This had a positive effect on them and help build a little admiration for this ol' man. Jousting with them on the balance beam with pool noodles was a blast. They enjoyed getting a few shots in on me.

Back to the OP's suggestion. I think "are you smarter than a Tenderfoot" competition would be great. Doing it with the boys around would be a plus.

we are troop that used to have the adults stay away from the boys all the time. To some extent I believe too far away. As the new scoutmaster I am trying to introduce a bit more adult interaction. By this I mean, if we have a Saturday night Campfire then we all do it together, on the occasional camping trip we will cook for the boys for one meal while the cook for us another.

If the lack of number seems to be the problem, might I suggest having the Tigers meet occasionally with your wolf den for some joint activities. This will help the Tigers see that meetings are not just "play dates' and the Wolves can get the chance to act like role models. You can split the time into joint activity time and separate Den time. If there is another Pack nearby you could try having some joint activities with their Tiger den.

When I was a Den Leader we had two dens at our level in the Pack. We would meet on the same night so we could take advantage of the larger numbers for some activities while we could also split off for individual den time.

Did things change for Tigers in the last few years? When I was a Tiger Den Leader 8 years ago the boys earned their Tiger badge first and then worked on getting their Bobcat badge afterwards before they crossed over to Wolves. My youngest has just joined Cub Scouts as a Tiger and his DL has not mentioned that he needs to be working on his Bobcat yet.

Interestingly enough, half the times my kids don't want to ride w/ me. They don't like my choice of radio stations.

With my wife being a middle school reading teacher, our whole family is a bunch of avid readers. As parents we also like to read what our kids are reading. As practicing Christians we have enjoyed our family read alouds of the Narnia series, as well as the Potter series and Tolkien books. We feel that it is also important for our kids to read books that will make them think. Sometimes these "controversial" books help us understand why we believe what we do. The same with movies.

This goes the same for what we do in scouts. The boys are at an age where they are exploring and trying to understand what they believe. They are no longer at an age where they believe what they do just because that is what they where told to believe. We challenge them to grow and mature and take on personal responsibilities.

As far as the Golden Compass series goes. Our whole family enjoyed the first book, but by the time we got to the third book...heh not so great. Personally I didn't like where the author went with it, but it did allow me to think about what I believe in and strengthen that conviction.

I don't get why there is SO much debate on this. New shirt-new insignia, Old shirt-old insignia. You can wear old pants w/ new shirt and visa versa. The only exception I could see is having the Troop switch out the Red tabs for the green ones even on old shirts. The same for the Numbers. It allows for a more consistent "new" look across the Troop. Also this allows those short on $ to match those that can afford the new. There were slight color differences even within the old uniform.

My two oldest came from a Pack that is seriously dropping in numbers. They started with about 60+ boys to this year after crossover they will have 12. We had issues working with a new principal who would not let us recruit at the open houses. Also cultural shifts in the student population have led to a decline in the popularity of scouting with the youth and adults.

This year my youngest is starting as a Tiger in a new school and Pack, we moved. The new pack has almost 100 kids. The two school are adjacent and both Packs are feeders to the Troop I am now SM for. I am going to be watching to see what they do to maintain their numbers so that I can help my old Pack. One thing I have noticed is they try hard to get exposure to the overall student population all year long. For example during the Book Fair they sell and serve Ice Cream Floats and Sundaes. Seeing the boys in uniform and having fun in the middle of all the other activities is a great publicity tool.

As was already mentioned. Try having another recruitment drive this Fall. Try hosting a publicity event for all the school.

"rumble... RUMBLE.... BUFFALO STAMPED!"

I used to be a Buffalo

And a good ol' Buffalo too

But now I've finished Bufffaloing,

I don't know what to do

I'm growing old and Feeble

and I can Bufffalo no more

So I'm going to work my ticket if I can

Back to Gilwell.. Happy Land.. I'm going to work my ticket if I can...

We would wait to be the last patrol to enter and with a stamping of our feet would enter yelling "BUFFALO STAMPEDE!"

The BOR is in's right to fail him due to his lacking his book. It is the final proof that all requirements have been signed off.

That being said, I believe a few of options that could have happened.

1. While waiting to go in for the BOR, someone else could have been called to bring the book in.

2. The BOR could delay their final decision until the book could be produced, thus not having to go through the entire process again.

3. The board should have let him know up front whether they would pass him or not with the absence of the Book.

I know that Scouting is meant to help teach a youth to "be prepared" but I think a little bit of common sense goes a long way.

I am sure we all have show a lack of that "Scouting Spirit" in our youth. It is through Scouting that we grow and mature, gain leadership qualities , and take responsibility for our lives.

The original poster has indicated that he has made a terrible mistake. He already is showing remorse and and a desire to correct his actions. Seeing as he has 20 months till aging out, I see that as ample opportunity to take actions to re-establish his "Scout Spirit". He can work with a program for at risk kids, work with younger kids showing the dangers of drugs, or any other program of this nature. I'm not saying that a simple "I'm sorry" is suffice, but actions to back up this statement would go a long way with an EBOR.

As leaders we need to look at the youth and listen and try to guide them along their journey. I am not saying to abandon the guidelines of the BSA but to look at the intent of the Program.