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Our Scouts are given a guideline amount of ... gosh at the moment I can't remember if it $10 or $15 per Scout. Anyway, the trouble we run into sometimes if we have a patrol that only has two or three Scouts attending it is difficult to stay in budget. If we have a full head count of eight they typically come in under budget. I have been thinking about talking with the PLC about coming up with a sliding scale depending on head count. This is just a guideline so I am not sure if it even needs to be addressed. What I found to be interesting is that when a Scout goes over the budget the

I worked in a grocery store as a youth. You may find this hard to believe but during Easter week the only time the eggs were refrigerated was when they were on display for the customers. We would sell several palettes of eggs the week before Easter. I worked at the store for years and as far as I know we never had a complaint. So I would not worry about 72 hours at effectively room temperature.

Choosing to be a Scouter is a big responsibility. It seems wherever I go I see Scouts I know. That being said I have to be a good example at all times, in and out of uniform. For me that is pretty easy. On more than one occasion I have had a Scout say to me something about it is okay because I am not in uniform. I then tell them being a Scout is not about what we wear but who we are on the inside. That the Scout Oath and Law is something we live at all times not just at meetings and on campouts. The Scout Law begins with "A Scout is" I think it should end with "I am a Scout" as a co

Our Troop has been chartered my the local UMC for almost 70 years. We had a good relationship with the pastor who was there for a number of years. He was very supportive and also very hands off. He was transferred away and the temporary pastor seemed to tolerate us for about a year. About three months ago a new pastor was put in place. The Scoutmaster and I discussed how we can be more involved with the charter organization other than several Scouts showing up on Scout Sunday once a year. I had the opportunity to sit down with the pastor and chat. Turns out he is an Eagle Scout. We came u

highcountry - I think one of the most important things that any adult leader needs to know is the boundaries of their position. Understanding where the Scoutmasters or ASM job starts and ends, where any particular committee members job starts and ends. For instance when we leave for a campout we publish when we expect the Scouts to show up at the meeting place and when we are leaving. We leave on time unless we get phone call. If we have a Scout who is running late we leave one care behind. The rest of the Troop with the SPL leaves on time. So that the many don't suffer because of

Lincoln is my name. I think I will spin off a thread. Thanks.

Hi Beavah! "Yah, if that were da case, then why is the being active requirement a part of the program as it's been designed? Seems like someone felt it was an important design element to include, eh?" Ah, you have surrounded me with my own words. LOL Lincoln

There is troop near where I live that has a membership waiting list. The troop has near 100% attendance at every weekly meeting and on most campouts. I was amazed to find this out. I asked the Scoutmaster why he thought was. His answer was "I run the program as designed." Since then I have done everything I can to understand and implement what that simple statement means. I read several forums, I have read many old and current Boy Scout and Scoutmaster handbooks. I have brought to my troop as much as I can as an ASM the "program as design." Our Scoutmaster is on the same page with me. We

Our Scoutmaster and I use trust but verify all the time. In most cases it becomes obvious pretty quickly if a Scout did something. I might have asked something like this: "During the swimmers test which lap did you find the hardest? The third lap or the backstroke lap?" There is no trick there just an honest question. Often times I have found that asking a Scout about the experience makes them remember or not remember something important. Just a couple weeks ago a Scout requested a Scoutmaster's conference for First Class and I was sure he did not do the orienteering requ

Chocolate Banana Cream Pie with Graham Cracker Crust. Yum Yum

Know, Be, Do. Take the troop leader training we deliver the boys to heart and you will go far.

Sierra cup with leather wrapped handle for cooking on backpacking trips. I have utensil with a fork on one end and a spoon on the other. I always carry a leatherman when camping, that is what I use to cut stuff when needed. I always wipe the the Sierra cup clean with "wilderness soup" or bread depending on the meal. I do use the three dish method for "real cleaning" after most meals, it takes about 10 seconds because the cup and utensils are already clean. There is only one Scout in our troop that has picked up on the sierra cup idea. That is my son. Unfortunately the lesson of

Scouters have to have an open mind. Personally I would take backpacking over anything that has to do with the water. I am not afraid of the water. I earned most of the water front awards while a Scout and when I was in college I swam about 6 miles a week. I just prefer the woods to the water front. All that being said our Scouts wanted to go to Tinnerman, a canoe base in Canada owned by the Cleveland Council. I signed up as adult leader for the trip because that is what they want to do. I would like to go to Philmont someday. With that as goal I have have brought backpacking into our tro

A home schooled patrol within a troop that is great idea! As one of my Wood Badge tickets I contacted all the Home School networks in my area and offered to present Scouting to them. I mailed, emailed and called. Not one took me up on the offer. I found that surprising because at the time I had a Scout in my Webelos Den that was home schooled and his mom thought Scouting was a way for home schoolers to get some good social interactions they were missing by not going to public schools.

We have had Eagles that stay and some that leave. I think that is the nature of the business. We have some Scouts at all ranks that stay and some that leave. We have had Scouts return to finish Eagle we have had others return to go camping. I think continually talking to the Scouts and parents that Eagle is one thing that can be done in Scouts but is not the end of the game is very important. We start this with Webelos and their parents. Additionally we encourage our Eagles, aged out or not, to continue to participate when their school or work schedules permit. I think this shows the you

I agree with the others who say you have tried to resolve this at the troop level long enough. Take it to the next level today.

Never stifle a boys enthusiasm is one of my mantras. A tale of two brothers - The older brother crossed over in fifth grade as an AoL Webelos. He completed the requirements for First Class in eighth grade. Currently he is Star and a freshman in high school. He is going at his own pace and will probably make Eagle by the time he is 17. This Scout loves sports and plays almost year round. He is also a den chief. The younger brother crossed over last February also a AoL Webelos in addition he earned all 20 activity pins. He earned First Class in early October and completed Star i

I would think 5 Scouts simple because "by the book" a patrol is 5 to 8 Scouts. A troop is made up of patrols. I would also say it is better to start with 3 than not start at all. Either way a plan for recruiting should be pretty high on the list.

I think it would be great to have a list of AOL recipients by year and a list of Cub Masters also by year.

All Scouts in our troop I consider friends. I say hi or wave to them when I see them outside of Scouting. I talk with them about things I do outside of Scouting and in general enjoy being around them. Then again perhaps I am over-trained. I treat all youth I come in contact with the same way I treat Scouts while doing Scouting. YP is not just a good idea that applies to Scouting. I would say that in today's environment it is best to not be alone with youth, to copy parents if emailing them, only call youth on the phone when there are others are present at least on your end and call their

Thanks Stosh, that clears things up.

Our ASPL's main job is to run the game portion of our meeting. He has other duties as well mostly as directed by the SPL. I would like to see the ASPL managing the Scribe, QM, TG, Librarian... but currently we have bigger fish to fry. Stosh - I am curious why you disassemble your patrols to form a TOC patrol for outings?

Thanks for the information. The key words "toggle rope" and "commando rope" made all the difference to Google. Thanks for the caution on usage as well.

I did my Wood Badge course in 2005 and we made patrol ropes using what I would call a double slip knot technique. I was talking with a Scouter some time ago who did Wood Badge quit a few years before. He had a six foot length of rope with a dowel eye spiced on one end and an a regular eye splice on the other. This was done so the patrol rope could be hooked to itself or other patrol ropes using the dowel and like a button and the eye splice like a button hole. Does anyone have instructions for this style patrol rope? If it is called a patrol rope. I can experiment with the dowel and

As for Manatoc they run 7 weeks with about 400 Scouts each week. You can see the reservation schedule here: http://www.gtcbsa.org/manatoc/summer_camp/2009_summer_camp_reservations.pdf Even councilors at Manatoc make mistakes. We have had to hunt down councilors for not signing off on requirements several times. We even had one Scout come back with a completed blue card and he said "What should I do I did no complete one of the requirements." I told him that when he did the requirement come and see me, I happen to be a councilor for the MB. He tried to hand me the signed off blue c