AwHeck

Our BOR chair, who always chairs the EBORs always passes around a "sign in" sheet for the EBOR members to fill out with their full name and address - this is given to the scout after the BOR is complete. Almost always, the BOR members receive thank you notes from the scout.

Our troop program is planned around the Webelos crossing over in February. We have a New Scout/New Parent orientation the first Saturday in March where the new scouts are placed into patrols, decide on their patrol names etc. They all earn their Scout rank on that day and start on the Tenderfoot requirements. Advancement at troop meetings for the younger scouts is also keyed to this time frame. We have had a few scouts cross over later in the year and they have to work harder to catch up to where the other scouts are. We try to plan our March and April campouts so that the new scouts can be in a cabin in case of cold weather. Being in the Colorodo Foothills, we have a troop policy that NO scout can camp in tents during the "winter months" (Nov - April) until they've attended our own Troop's Winter Camp training which is planned for a Saturday in early November each year. This has resulted in a few 3rd or 4th year scouts missing a few campouts a year because they weren't able to make the training but in reality has not been a problem. We have our traditional New Scout Campout the first weekend in May where the scouts learn how to set up troop tents, troop stoves etc.

For both SM conferences and BORs, the scout is responsible to request it in our troop. We have a BOR Chairperson on our committee and she requests that scouts call her in advance to schedule a BOR. Our troop has a policy of requesting that at least one parent from each family register as an adult with the troop. If they want to work directly with the boys, attend most campouts, etc, we usually suggest that they register as an ASM and take the training, otherwise they are registered as committee members so we usually have plenty of committee members at most meetings to hold BORs as needed. Occasionally, scouts will come up to the BOR chairman at a meeting and request a BOR that evening. Sometimes she can accomodate that but other times, they must wait a week but that about as long as they have to wait for all BORs other than Eagle.

I had my beading at a troop COH. Neither my Troop Guide nor our Scoutmaster (CD) were available that night so the CD asked one of the quartermasters from our course to present it since he knew she was from the same part of town... he didn't realize that she was also a member of our troop (and the soon to be installed SM for our troop) Whenever possible the SM and the TG try to be present for the beading but if the participant has completed all the requirements and want to be beaded at a certain time, they'll make it happen.

You also might check with your council office. I know that ours have some used uniforms available for a reduced price - it's not advertised and you have to ask. Ask at the SCOUT OFFICE, not the SCOUT SHOP.

He "hasn't been involved in our troop for over a year and a half"..I'll assume that his POR was completed as a Life Scout prior to his disappearance. His parents are turning in his eagle project and application - we tend to expect the scout to do this. Questions: 1) Was the Eagle project approved by the SM, Committee, and District Advancement representative prior to being completed? 2) Has he had a SM conference for Eagle? That's a requirement for the Eagle Application. The CC also must sign the Eagle Application - have they? There really is no requirement that those assisting with the Eagle project be scouts. My experience is that especially with older scouts, they often gather several of their friends who may or may not be scouts plus ask the troop for assistance. We recently had one scout who was pushing the age limit and had literally 2 weekends between the time his Eagle Project was approved and his 18th birthday. As CC I asked him how he'd get enough helpers as the first available weekend, when he planned to do the project also conflicted with a troop campout. He assured me that he had enough friends who would help out. One of our ASMs was at the project for most of the time and he may have had a scout or two from the troop. The ASM assured the SM and myself that the scout had, in fact, ably demonstrated leadership during his project and, really, that's the only true requirement other than satisfying the benefiting organization. If he has completed all the required MBs, if his Project was approved in advance and completed satisfactorily, and if his POR was during the time he was "active" in the trop, he will likely get his Eagle even if he has to go through some protests. If the project wasn't approved in advance or there are other factual reasons to deny, you may have a case.

Regarding the new First Class requirement, it was my understanding that if they are already 2nd Class, they have until June 30th to complete First Class without the new requirement. Am I wrong??

I didn't say that... apparently I didn't complete the sentence but the final sentence in my first paragraph is: "Regarding the Citizenship requirements, that is one where the adult who meets with the scout." (should have ended with ...who meets with the scout signs the requirement) This is the one requirement (other than scout spirit/SM conference/BOR) where an adult MUST sign off. There are a few such as service hours, participation where the advancement chair *might* sign off based on what is in our TroopMaster database or another scout might sign off if the scout can document that he has completed the requirement to the satisifaction of an older scout.

We are fortunate in that our troop only has a handful of special needs youth. We have quite a few on meds for ADD however only one comes to mind as a significant problem on meds or off. Over time, however, he has become better. We had one youth who was bipolar and the parents had not shared this information with the troop leadership. We had major issues with him at summer camp when he was 15 or 16 and only then (when we were calling the parents to come get him) were we told of his issues and that the way we had handled the situation was "totally wrong". We also have one scout who joined the troop last February who is a high functioning autistic. His parents knew one of our ASMs and had several discussions with the ASM prior to their son joining the troop. The parents have considered the realities of a scout troop and their son's unique needs. They stated up-front that one or the other would be present at all meetings or campouts that their son attends. For certain situations, we have had an older scout agree to be his "buddy" and this has worked out well. We do a full day "New Scout/New Parent Orientation" in March of each year. The scouts are in a rotation of classes completing all requirements for the Scout rank and beginning the requirements for the Tenderfoot rank. For this, we had an older scout shadow him and they developed quite a bond. Many of the scouts in his patrol were with him in cub scouts so they are aware of his challenges. The PLC was briefed about his condition when he first joined. For summer camp, his mother came along and accompanied him to his merit badge classes. I have been very impressed with his mother in particular. She is watchful but does not hover.

Our former DE said that if a group of boys came to her and said they wanted to form a Crew, the first question she asked was "where are the girls?" From what she had seen when a few older scouts get together and form a crew, without recruiting any girls, it will be functional until they go off to college. If they have a mix of girls and boys, however, the synergy is there and recruitment happens and the crew has a better chance of long-term success.

In our troop, any scout 1st class or above can sign off on the requiremetns for Tenderfoot, 2nd Class, and 1st Class. They all have a keen awareness of this responsibility and this is usually discussed during a 1st class BOR. I have never seen a marginal swimmer sign off on someone else's swimming requirements. We have been fortunate enough to have a BSA lifeguard in the troop for the past several years but we also have other scouts who are on swim teams etc. Scouts usually sign off on the requirements that they feel most comfortable with testing another scout on. Regarding the Citizenship requirements, that is one where the adult who meets with the scout. I do not in any way feel that our program is lacking. Teaching and testing younger scouts is one way that older scouts solidify their own knowledge. Learn it, practice it, test it, teach it - that's the best way to truly assimilate a new skill.

dluders - I suggest you read your G2SS... Laser Tag is specifically prohibited.

In our council, Webelos can come for the day only at Klondike (no overnights for them)... they are allowed to camp overnight for the Camporee. In either case, they must come as a guest of a troop in that they are registered for the event through the troop, the troop is expecting them, etc. Living in Colorado at 8,000 to 9,000 ft we take winter camping seriously. Our troop does a 5-6 hr Winter Camping Training session every year and our troop policy is that NO scouts can camp in tents during the months of November through April until they have been through OUR winter camp training. We enforce this for transfers into the troop as well as recently crossed-over scouts. We do have some cabin camping during the winter months so it tends to be only 2 or 3 campouts per year that are excluded if a scout hasn't made it to the winter training but this helps us ensure that our scouts know how to keep themselves warm and dry during the winter.

There is a checklist (albeit in the front of the book vice the back) for Scout rank. Most of the requirements are covered by the Arrow of Light requirements but our troop considers them separately. We take one Saturday early in March to do our annual "New Scout/New Parent" orientation. New scouts spend the day in round-robin training sessions that review all of the scout rank requirements along with some of the Tenderfoot requirements. We include a Scoutmaster Conference as part of that day (with the help of several ASMs). Most of our scouts are awarded their 'Scout' rank on that Saturday evening. An advancement report is filed to show that these scouts have achieved Scout rank. Within TroopMaster, I know that scouts are listed as "new" until such time as their Scout rank is recorded. Not related but as a point of information... while the scouts are doing the above, I have the parents for the day. I have recently incorporated the New Leaders Essentials training into my agenda for the day, we've always included Youth Protection training (as long as I've been with the troop). In addition, we talk about how Boy Scouts is different from Cub Scouts, how our troop operates, what equipment the troop has and what the scouts will need etc. The full day is capped off with a full turkey dinner prepared and served by our oldest scouts. It's quite a day but it starts both the scouts and their parents off on the right foot.

From what I understand, venturing is the next step beyond the "boy led" concept of troops. My son is a member of a fairly young venturing crew. I'll address your specific points as I've seen them in his crew: "1) communication - lacking" Communication can be a bit lacking but his crew all have email addresses so they use that to communicate as much as possible. This has seemed to help. "2) no long range goal / planning" I see this also but I consider it "the nature of the beast". They have at least a vague idea as to what they plan for the year but I would say it's not as formalized as the troop's annual calendar. "3) events are planned but usually last minute or cancel due to poor planning" - Same here. But - they are learning. They wanted to go to a couple local sporting events... didn't get their act together early enough for the first one and it was sold out by the time they got it together. They learned, planned a bit more, purchased tickets in advance for the second and then had to scramble a bit but got all the tickets matched up to people who wanted to go - some at the last minute. Not all attendees were current crew members but some will be joining the crew, perhaps due to the event? "4) crew basically is lead by one person - who is trying - but doesn't seem to have the support of other crew members" - can't say as I've seen this, however I have noticed that the female members tend to be more vocal, take more of a planning role etc. On the whole, I was impressed with the ENTIRE crew's willingness to jump in, make suggestions, etc. "5) Advisors / Committee struggling to understand our roles (Boy Scouts -v- Venturing structure)" perhaps a constant struggle. If you haven't attended training specific to the Venturing program, I suggest taht you do so. Also, our roundtable has a breakout for Venture leaders where you can share with others in your shoes if this is available in your district.

The "Eagle Packet" consists of the forms and instructions, including the workbook for the eagle project so I would assume that he already has that. I'm not sure what was referred to in the posting which is why I questioned it.

Am I the only one bothered by this statement: "before I spoke, he announced that he is finished with his Merit Badges now and was ready for me to begin getting all his Eagle "stuff" together so he could advance. " Why would it be an adult leader's responsibility to get a youth's "Eagle stuff" together? So far as I know, it's the youth's responsibility with some guidance, perhaps, from a unit leader....

Mr.Maynard - are you saying that PARENTS are not allowed to camp with your troop unless they've been through the complete training? It was my understanding that parents are welcome anytime, at any scouting event.

Somehow I missed this particular statement earlier: Mr.Maynard said "We have woman leaders in our troop but they dont have the full leader training required for them to go camping with the boys. If they did have the training I dont see any reason not to let them go." Now, while there is the Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills, I do not see it as a requirement prior to leaders going camping with the boys. Obviously, the more trained leaders the better but we encourage adults who want to work with the boys to participate on every level without having to wait on training. We have one ASM who has been active off-and-on for several years, taken the old ScoutMaster Fundamentals course but was never able to make it to the Outdoors part due to work travel commitments. That certainly didn't prevent him from participating in campouts when he was available. I am the Committee Chair. I am female. I have been through the old Scoutmaster fundamentals (including outdoors), the new NLE and Scoutmaster specific, Troop Committee Challenge, and Wood Badge. I have not gone to the new Outdoors training but I also rarely camp with the troop. Our new scoutmaster is female. When I was looking for a new scoutmaster, we spoke to many adult leaders in the troop, both male and female. I believe we made an excellent choice. We did have one family that objected strenously to a female scoutmaster and another one or two that made mild protests. None have dropped out since her selection was announced almost a year prior to her taking the reins (we allow for plenty of "turn over" wherever possible). While we were still in the deliberation stage, I spoke to several of our older scouts and asked their opinion of a female scoutmaster - none had an issue that they vocalized to me. Prior to taking on the scoutmaster role, she had been serving as our "Life to Eagle Coordinator" which basically meant that she provided the good swift kick when needed and provided advice and assistance to all Life scouts as they progressed to Eagle. Every single Eagle Scout who worked with her came out of the experience with a great respect for her and her skills and knowledge.

In our troop, it's the boys' show. We usually have 2 scouts serving as MCs - sometimes to meet the communications MB requirement but not always. The Service Patrol does the opening and closing flage, the MCs run the rest. The format is fairly standard and a program is produced by a committee member which lists all the awards being given and the standard agenda. Advancement chair prepares all the MB and rank advancement cards, ensures proper signatures etc and gives them to the MCs. At the end of the program is a segment for Committee Announcements and the ScoutMaster Minute - that's the only time you see the adults ... we're currently at 100 scouts so the 2 MCs make sense with the number of awards presented each COH.

Even if the badge has not been presented, the date of advancement is still the date of the BOR.

I don't know how complex the rest of your troop's financial record-keeping is but our troop recently (within the past 3-5 years) purchased TroopLedger from the same people who do TroopMaster. TroopLedger has the capability to track individual scout accounts and our treasurer seems to love it.

These posts make me very thankful for our troop's long-standing requirement that ANY scout new to the troop attend our troop-led "Winter Camp Training" prior to tent camping during the months of November - April. We live in the Colorado foothills - most of our scouts live at elevations between 7000 and 9000 ft. Our winter camp training - which is taught by our older scouts - provides clear guidance on how to stay warm both in clothing and in sleeping systems. Parents are welcome to come and listen to the information presented but we also try to make most of the information available on handouts which go home with the scouts. We keep track of who has attended the training and check it prior to allowing them to sign up for a "winter" campout. We do have a few campouts during those months where they sleep indoors rather than in tents so the rule is relaxed for those campouts. We've had scouts involved in winter sports who just haven't been able to make it to the training over several years ... it's usually scheduled for the first Saturday in November and they just have to miss a few campouts each year. We've also had scouts transfer in at various ages - all must go through our troop's training so that we know what they've been taught.

I'm the CC for our troop. At our last meeting, one scout who happens to go to the same church as I do came and asked me if assisting with religious education at our church would count towards the service hours requirement - he has volunteered to be on the confirmation team. I told him that I thought it probably would but that he'd have to check with the SM to be sure. I saw him talking to the SM a little later and when he was next to me at circle, I asked what the SM had said. He said that the SM had agreed to the service

Our scout have received their medal at Mass in their local parish, preferably on Scout Sundsy. They are invited to the diocesan Mass but I don't believe that there are individual acknowledgements done there other than perhaps being listed in a "program" type of handout. I haven't actually attended a diocesan Mass so I can't say for sure.