madkins007

External, visible, and desireable motivation has always helped fundraisers, no matter how noble the purpose. Perhaps the astated goal of the fundraiser should be sufficient but often it just isn't- especially during the middle 'dragging' phase of the activity. Adventures work nicely- some variation of 'if we hit X, we'll all go to Adventure Park!', then a big tote board to proudly display the progress towards the goal. Food is also a motivator in our society- a pizza party and all the trimmings, or a ice cream blow out, or a full-on pig roast, etc. Scoutmaster (or other nice, vi

Bob White replied "Since he is not here I will voluntarily fill his position. Every time time you, or jkhny, or prairie scouter, or Ed, toss out any more wild eyed claims about what the BSA should or should not be doing or supposedly is doing that they shouldn't do I will happily say Bull and insist you show evidence. (P) If I cannot support the BSA without being criticized why should you be allowed to make baseless accusations and not face the same scrutiny?" Bob White- thank you! I really appreciate that you take the time and trouble to point out how things should work/do work if

Find the closest place you are allowed to do and set up some sort of activity and display booth- mini-Pinewood, 'guess the number of jelly beans' jar, photos or slideshow of last year's stuff, samples of stuff the Cubs have done... Create an interactive handout- we had a lot of luck with a coloring page that had our information tucked nicely in a corner. Consider a handout that includes a coupon- bring the coupon to the meeting (or bring a friend) and get *something* (candy bar? Scout pencil? We used Hot Wheels cars and these were pretty successful.) Is there a school newsletter you

If I am ever involved in teaching leader training/uniforming classes again, instead of rehashing the Insignia Guide and inspection forms, I plan on showing 6 large photos: 1 each of an adult and a youth in no, partial, and complete uniforms. I will then ask each participant to look at the pictures and tell me, based solely on what you see here... - Which youth's parents are the most supportive? - Which youth will go the furthest in the program? - Which youth wants to be here the most? - Which youth is most likely to follow den/patrol and pack/troop policies and by-laws? - Which ad

So- how many people have seen anyone in the Scout Dress uniform? I've seen many Scouters in suits with lapel pins or other Scout 'designators', but so far none of the dress uniforms. So, basically we need a Scout equivilant of 'Sunday clothes (or 'photo day'), 'school clothes', and 'play clothes' to meet most of our unit's day-to-day needs? It would be kinda fun to have three rhymin' words to describe these... DUds (Dressy Uniform), BUds (Basic Uniform), & GRUbs (Going Rough Uniform)?

Acco's strip is Clear Blue Water, and the storyline started on Thursday, so when you click on it, just go to the archives section and start with Thursday's strip.

FScouter's comments are 'bulleted' here: - No Boys Life magazine (how can it be published it if there is no national office?) - No Scout Shop (these shops dont run themselves) - No Scouter magazine (no longer needed since leaders are on their own now) Actually, these things might be better off if they seperated from National. Boy's Life used to be independent, Scout shops in other countries are independent (and might well enjoy better sales seperated from the policies of the Scout office), etc. As for the list in general- you are of course dead on. We may not NEED each

John-in-KC- I really REALLY hate to point this out, but the 'official uniform' tag in the clothing does not necessarily mean that it is official for all programs equally (as evidenced by the tag in the Cub shirt). Like I said, as far as I can tell it is only 'official uniform' for Philmont staff. For it to be official uniform for Scouts, it would have to be listed in the Insignia Guide, which it is not.

Wow- The Walgreen's "Town of Perfect's" Boy Scout program! If I took the whiners, complainers, and the 'lumps' out of our group of district and council volunteers, we'd have much smaller meetings! While the ideal world WOULD promote hard working, knowledgeable people up the ladder- paid or volunteer, the reality is that oftimes they just need warm bodies, and/or use the 'good old boy' network- at least here. I will freely admit that most of them dearly love Scouting, I can't say as I've seen most of the rest of BW's description in action hereabouts. Most of them are just decent peopl

re: FOS Once, while I was cleaning up after chairing a Cub Leader training session at the council headquarters, the Assistant DE for our district (a great guy, by the way!) hit me up about why I did not invite the FOS people to the pack meeting. I mentioned a few things going on- our unit had been shuffled between 3 districts for about 3 years (we were close to a dividing line that kept getting moved). That we had never seen a Commish at a meeting (we had a good friend commish who helped with rechartering, etc. when needed- but half the time, she was not even in our district!) That i

Bob White said "Perhaps you have not had any unit leadership experience but I have never had a den, pack or troop meeting that depended on Corporate giving, the paid staff at any level of scouting, or affected by 'social approval'. (P) Nor was the recruitment in the units I served ever affected by anything other the quality of the program we delivered." And "It's unfortunate that there was no one in your unit knowledgeable enough about scouting to explain the structure of the scouting community and how a healthy council helps to not only provide a better service and program support to the

The guy who is The Tracker would recommend a debris hut- find or create a small depression in a sheltered area (do not dig in fragile soil, but matt down plants or scrape away leaf litter, scrape away snow, etc.) Line the depression with a tarp, leaf litter or other soft, insulative material that also provides a dampness barrier if needed. If possible, 'bury' a tube of some sort (tube tent, tarp folded over, 2 large trash bags (one cut open at the bottom and the two taped together), etc.) in a pile of leaves, grasses, straw, and other 'fluffy' materials.* If possible, put stuff

Philmont shorts, expedition hats, and a few other items are often thought of as 'official uniform', when (as far as I can tell), they are not. I had been told, many moons ago, that the Philmont shorts were 'uniform' only for Philmont staff, who were Explorers/Venture and had selected such for their uniform as they were allowed to do. The Expedition hat (one of my faves) is listed as 'an approved activity hat' which many people take to mean 'uniform', but it never seems to show up in the Insignia Guide as such.

I am not sure you can discount the 'shock value' of the Boy Scout label either. The news mentions it every chance they get because it makes any given story more shocking, more evocative, and easier to sell. Whenever the media can find a way to add a 'hook' to a story, it will. Scouting is just a convenient hook.

A thought struck me when I noticed the frequency of sports uniform comments... How many uniforms does the average Scout/Scouter go through, including those owned simultaneously? As an adult leader, I had, at any given time, 3 shirts, a dozen T-shirts, 2 pairs of pants, a pair of shorts, about 8 pairs of socks (not sure why), and several accessories. I know a lot of boys heading to camp, training sessions, etc. own two sets. Multiple copies of the uniform just aggrevate the nickel and diming issues.

Bob White, My thought on the badges would mean that National would make it so you can't get ANY position patch (other than things like Denner or other positions that really do not require training) without completing some training. Make them a restricted item, like rank, OA, or Woodbadge stuff. This would make the 'Trained' strip redundant. Of course, this would also mean that we'd have to get more aggressive about offering training in a way that benefits the units better and faster. Combine Fast Start and part of Basic into this, then create a more advanced program (University of Sc

One of the historical underpinnings of Western science was the idea that God created an orderly universe, and that by learning the underlying 'rules', one could better understand God, AND be able to extrapolate other, more hidden 'rules'. I am fascinated that we've come pretty much full circle, and there is a major movement afoot to throw out all of what we have learned over the last millenium in favor of the teachings of a few people who do not really seem to understand science OR the Bible really well. Pro-creationists need to look at why most Christians around the world ignore the

Bob White said "For the life of me I cannot fathom how anyone can think that a SE who give a false membership report in Atlants ahs anu effect at all on the quality of your next meeting, and that is all the scout cares about." The PR and similar problems at the National level may be difficult to quantify, but could include: - Reduced corporate giving, which will impact summer camps and other programs that depend on this influx of funds. - Hiring paid staff. Good people do not want to work for companies in the news for bad reasons, especially at the starting pay of the BSA.

The one you have with you when you need it is the best. I've owned Leathermans, Gerbers, Victronix, Coleman, Shrade, and others. For a while, this was an active collection. I lean towards the Schrade ToughTool as a decent overall tool. Not as nice in some ways as the Gerber, but easier on the pocketbook and indeed tough. My current tool is a Leatherman Juice S2. What I like best about it is the small size, complete tool selection for my needs (SCISSORS!) and the non-pinch design. 2 tools open when the handle is closed, so fits that need as well. Finally, it is a reasonably price

I applaud and do 'alternative buying' for uniforms, etc. and that is wonderful. Unit uniform banks can help a ton as well. None of that changes the detail that someone, somewhere paid full price with no other options- no patterns, no look-a-likes, etc.

I like the idea of 'troop planting'- a strong (but not required) policy of splitting units when they hit some certain mass- say 80 ACTIVE youth just as a starting number. Support the idea with some programs from National/Council, like maybe a couple new positions and some guidelines. Perhaps make the project a leadership option for rank? Parent unit would probably form a planting team of a new SM, new CC, and a few youth leaders. The parent troop offers a starting package of some gear and/or money (with the understanding that it is a LOAN and repayment is expected as the new unit gro

Dan- I'm a big fan of the Handbook being one of those books you'd want on a desert island and/or being a straightforward handbook. I'd vote against the novel idea as such FOR THE MAIN HANDBOOK. However, I think it would be wonderful if there was something like that for more pleasureable reading. Actually, I'd love to see a well done series of adventure books done with a Scouting theme written for younger Scout-age boys.

Moving quality unit to under unit numeral pushed position patch off shirts with smaller sleeves- we already have CSP, veteran unit bar, numerals, position patch and trained strip on that sleeve. As for traditions- I am all for keeping taditions that make and made sense. The floppy and often flimsy Colors never made much sense to me- kinda like the Sports and Academics Pins. I think we could come up with a better plan if we put our heads to it. Belt loops are out- the Cub belt is one size and the Scout is another- unless we asked all Webelos ot wear the tan- buit then the S&

We used to be a sister pack to a weak troop- a truly horrible relationship for both of us in many ways. In general, the relationship is rather complex and depends on a lot of things- CO's expectations, unit leadership and their relationship, other units in the area, and more. If I were you, I'd try to establish a strong ground-floor relationship. Become good friends, offer as much help as you reasonably can, and see what the two of you can accomplish together. At least there is no baggage this way!

We also only used the colors at ceremonies. In fact, they tend to pop off and shed pins so easily that they become a liability at more active meetings! The colors are a traditional element of Cub Scouting with a rich history behind them, and I'd vote them outta here in a heartbeat! At least they are better than the hat pin idea.