ASM59

Good day and welcome, First, like FireKat says, we need more detail to comment on your problem. What exactly are they not supporting you with or arguing with you about? What "voice" do you need to have on the Committee. As SM you oversee the meetings and activities that the boys have organized. You offer guidance to the boys with regard to the way the program is run. The committee ultimately answers to the Charter Organization, not the SM. Having said this, the committee should do everything possible to help to support the program that the boys want, and the SM has approved.

I think this will qualifies as "Southeast". I just got back from taking some of the youth from our Church youth group to Carter Caves State Park in KY. The boys had a lot of fun, as did the adults. There is a wide variety of Caving that you can take part in at this park. 1)-Along some of their hiking trails are two caves that you can go through yourself, unguided. There is no way to get lost in these caves. They are simple single path caves with only a few short dead-end side passages. They are great fun to go through as a group, but make sure to get your hiking permit from the office fi

Joe, You do not need SM permission to sign up to be a MB Counselor. Go to your local Council office or download MB Counselor application and an Adult application. Both must be filled out and turned back into your Council office. Typically your application will go before the Advancement Committee to be evaluated/approved. Once approved you can begin teaching the MB. Most Councils publish a list of MB Counselors that are available. Once you are approved as a MB Counselor your name can go on this list so boys interested in the MB(s) you Counsel can contact you. I personally have b

Hello, I posted a response to another thread regarding how Troops are paying for fuel costs for outings. In that response I mentioned that our Troop also pays for the adult leaders cost for each outing. In response, it has been asked if the Adults who have their way paid submit the outing costs on their taxes. Also the thriftiness of those leaders has been called into question for allowing the Troop to pay their way. I should add that the Troop pays the Adult leaders' outing fees from the Troop funds and we do not charge extra to the boys' fees to cover it. The Troop has always looke

Hello RangerSteve, Most of our leaders do not expect to get reimbursed for gas when we go somewhere local (e.g.; our local Council camp is 15 miles away). Our next outing is the Illini Jamboree. That will take us about 90 miles from home in a couple of large vans that get about 14 mpg. The round-trip fuel cost will be nearly $40 per van. The troop expects to reimburse the drivers for this fuel. After all, without the generous use of the vehicle, there would be no outing. In the past, we did not charge extra to cover fuel, but we have begun to do so. In the case of the Illini Jambor

Your only about 4 hours away. If I only had the time it sounds like great fun. I only asked about what type of reenacting you will be doing because I know it can get expensive. My daughter's boy friend and his brother do Civil War reenacting. They are 18 and 20 years old, and have been doing this for the last 6 years. Their parents are not involved, but the two boys have really dedicated themselves to doing this. They use Christmas and Birthdays to get things that they need for reenacting; new hats, boots, clothing, blankets,... They have invested in or been given well in excess of

EagleInKY, I totally agree with what you say. The only advancement requirements missing that either did not happen or I am not sure of are: - The missing SM conference - Req. 4; While a Star Scout, take part in service projects totaling at least 6 hours of work. I don't know if these would be considered tangible, but at this point, there's nothing that I can do; it's looking like I will not be around to see how this family handles the Eagle rank. ASM59

Welcome, What type of re-enactments will they be doing? Civil War? Medieval? Trappers' Rendezvous? just curious ASM59

The Camp Ranger actually instructed the Scouts to break the Scout Oath/Law when he told them to take property that was not theirs to take. Bad choice, man I wish we could take things like this back after we've had the chance to think about it. This year at summer camp we had a leader in our site that flew the "Jolly Roger" (skull & cross-bones). His tent was right off of one of the main trails, only about 12 feet of not very dense trees & under brush. You could clearly see this flag from the trail, and I thought for sure that he'd be told to take it down, but it was never broug

Vicki, I agree totally with you. I cannot answer your questions as I am equally perplexed. ASM59

My heart goes out to this wife if what she says is true. Now, I am trying to work through this in my mind and cannot make up my mind how I would want to see this handled. There was another post back in 2001 about a Scout that got his girl friend pregnant. http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=45651&p=1 Because he was engaged in premarital sex, most in this thread thought that there should be some type of caution with regard to his involvement in the Troop and others thought that he was such a poor role model that he should be removed from the Troop. This Lea

Great topic, I used to get upset when we (Scouts) would ask parents to help and they'd say, "I don't have the time to do ..." or "I'm already too busy". Sometimes I'd ask them how many TV shows to you regularly watch each week. Most of the time I'd get a list of 5-10 TV shows that they regularly watch. I would always come back with the fact that I only watched one TV show and that I had to tape it to watch when I could find time. It frustrated me that no one would reevaluate their priorities to see that helping an organization that benefits their son(s) is more important that having to gi

Wingnut, You said, "...my troop signs the kids in when they arrive. Food money is how we know who to buy for." So, does the Troop/Patrols do their shopping for the outing on the way to the outing? Or, do you collect the money in advance from the boys who plan to go? acco.., Nice, I like your approach - make it each Scout's responsibility. ASM59

Crew21 and John, Just to clear up a couple of points. I do find fault with the Scout. Consider how many times he has gone through this process to get to Star and how many times the SM and ASM's have stressed that they must have everything completed in the book before going into a BOR. He knows what is necessary for a BOR to take place. He did not approach a SM or ASM to let them know he was ready for a SM Conference, nor did he let a SM or ASM know that he intended to ask for a BOR. Does he deserve his Life rank? Ultimately he has met the requirements, and would still be Life ra

Thanks for the info. FScouter, I guess that's something that I've overlooked and/or Troop tradition has blinded me to - Our Troop (from before I was involved) made it the boy's job to contact the CC or other CM's for the purpose of arranging a BOR. Of course this is supposed to be with the SM's approval and is normally discussed at the SM Conference. Venividi and evmori, Unfortunately, the Scout has already been awarded his Life rank at a COH. You are correct with your assumption that the SM is in the position without really wanting to be there, yet will not give it up. Wha

OK, I think I'm seeing that the level of involvement by CM's depends on the need in the Troop and possibly Troop tradition / philosophy. Please, keep the feedback coming. Thanks, ASM59

Thanks for the info. Is it really true that Committee Members are allowed to sign of on advancements? I thought I was told in SM specific training that they were not allowed to, but perhaps that is just an old rule that our Troop had in place. Thanks also for the vote of confidence, this whole thing is sooooo difficult. ASM59

What about e-mail notifications? I no longer receive them when I check the box to get notified of a reply on the thread... ASM59

I just found out about an incident that took place a several weeks ago. Let me explain: One of our Scouts, Scout1, was ready for his Life BOR and called some of our Committee Members to see if they'd be able to meet him at a Troop meeting for a BOR. They agreed and he had his BOR. One of these Committee Members let her son (Scout2) know that there were going to be Committee Members present and told him to be ready for his Life BOR as well. Here is my first problem: Scout2 made no contacts to assure that he could have a BOR and the Committee Members present for Scout1's BOR

Hello, I have a quick question and would like to get as much feedback as possible. Do you have Committee Members who are regularly involved in your Troop Meetings and on Troop Outings? Our CC has told the committee that they are not allowed to be involved in such areas and need to stay out as that is the responsibility of the SM and ASM's. I know that Committee Members can not sign-off for any advancements, but I should think (and have seen in the past) that they should be welcome wherever and however they are willing to help. Thanks for your responses, ASM59

In answer to a couple questions: About the CC: She is a part of the in-fighting. She will admit that she has a "control problem" and most committee members feel that problem. She is not related to the SM but is wife of one of the ASM's Commitment Level / Training: Yes, there is a lack of commitment, and therefore there is no desire to take "my personal time" to get the training. There is only one Committee person who has a real desire to see that the Troop keeps going. She is the Outing/Transportation coordinator. If it were not for her help, I would not have been able to pu

Eamonn, I was interested in you comment about being able to rent a 15 passenger van for $80 for the weekend. What rental company is that? We rented two 15 passenger vans for our Church Youth Group and the best we could find was about $100 per day which ended up costing aroung $300 for the weekend per van. Just curious... ASM59

Yes, there is a lack of shared vision, but mostly a lack of commitment. I mentioned that we have 21 boys in the Troop, and that we are utilizing every available parent (on Committee or SM/ASM). There simply is not one additional parent that we have available due to a variety of reasons. I didn't mean to imply that our PLC does not plan outings. When I said that our SM "planned the last two outings", I should have said that he was going to be the adult leader in charge of facilitating the outing. The PLC has been doing a great job of planning outings for the last year. They have plann

Yes, it is difficult to give the whole story, but as I mentioned, there has been in-fighting on the committee. Everyone thinks everyone else is out to get each other along with gossip and hard feelings. It is almost impossible to get cooperation out of anyone. I have talked to our CO Rep but she doesn't know what to do outside of getting rid of the whole lot of them (Committee, SM, and an ASM). If she did that, there would be only two or possibly three people left, and we have 21 Scouts. Like I said, we cannot get anyone to even help drive boys to outings when we have two leaders to t

Hello, I've been an ASM for 5+ years now. Similar to Lynda, I had a discussion with the SM (no longer with the Troop) regarding my role and what I could do to help. For the first year or so, I'd always check with him before doing much, so I'd be sure not to interfere with his wishes. I also had a "deal" with some of the other dads who were ASM's that I'd take care of anything to do with their son (including advancements and any correction/guidance) if they'd take care of the same with my son; that way my son wouldn't have to feel like Dad is always getting onto him on Scout outings.