MarkS

Yep... fellow critters from my WB partol were invited.

We used email after each ticket item was completed (though he received eval forms for the 360) and scout's honor that the content of the email message was accurate

I meant WB Scoutmaster... They say it's tradition... They also want me to consider another venue that would make it more difficult for the guests I've invited to attend. It conflicts with our Troop Committee Mtg too. They're not saying I have to do what they last suggested. I'm just trying to figure out how to respond to the suggestion.(This message has been edited by MarkS)

About a month ago I contacted my WB course Troop Guide to set up my Beading Ceremony to be performed at the Court of Honor for the Troop I joined a few weeks ago after my den crossed over at Blue & Gold. The Court of Honor (COH) is next week. The COH provides a unique opportunity to also function as an introduction to the other members (leaders and boys) of the unit I am now serving and to set an example to the primarily untrained leadership of the Pack (who I have already invited) I recently left. You see our district offers basic training just three weeks after the COH and I was ho

"(2) quit because parents want for them to concentrate on school and grades." Wouldn't surprise me if stats say grades don't significantly go up as the result of quitting scouts. I always got my best grades when I was also involved in extrcurricular activities.

ladyleader... I have found communicating with parents (and other leaders) to be the most time consuming part of being a leader. For me anyway. I did the exact same thing you did and passed info on to both parents to save time. Unfortunately, unknown to me, the relationship between the two divorced parents in question took a downturn and the parent that didn't have custody started using information on sheduled activities to put up roadblocks for the boy to participate. For example, "that's my weekend and I don't want to do Scouting for Food" or "that's my week and I want to spend time with him

Taking basic training is the beginning of a continuous learning process. All we should expect out of NLE and Leader Specific Training is a basic understanding of our program, position, and resources for further learning. Adding a test won't add value. Continuous learning thru regular attendance of roundtables, networking, and advanced classes via Pow Wow, University of Scouting, Outdoor Skills, and even Wood Badge. Heck, reading the manual helps too. However, if you really what to learn a lot, help out on staff at a day camp or join your district training staff. The most important job in

ScoutNut, ladyleader, Lisa'bob... Sorry but with all due respect, our top responsibility as leaders is youth protection and their safety. Not communication. On the other hand, are the boy's likely to be at risk becuase you say something to someone you shouldn't? NOT LIKELY but it only takes one time. A single parent household is altogether different than a two parent household. In such cases, I recommend that you obtain permission of the parent that registered a boy with scouts before sharing information about the boy's activities with anyone. You have no business assuming the state of t

I have found that when parents are separated or divorced, trying to keep both informed can lead to a great deal of problems if the parents are not in the same page as far as scouting is concerned. Having both on an email distribution list can be especially problematic. If you find yourself in a situation where the parents can't agree, stay out of the middle. Use the parent that registered the boy in scouts as your point of contact (if you look at the boy's application only one parent is required to sign the boy up for scouts). When both parents are required to approve the boy's participat

Ed... I don't think anyone was saying there weren't more important things to be concerned about. This just happened to be the one I asked about here in the forum.

Never meant to imply that Wood Badge was a substitute for position training. I'm registered for the position training offered via my district in April and May. I figured I knew what the rule was but was wondering if practice was different. uz2bnowl is right... as a Wood Badger we don't follow practice, we set the example. Off the strip comes.

You are allowed to pin a temporary position badge over a permanent one too. When you do that, there's no requirement to take the Trained Strip off. I figure I can do that (pin the ASM patch over my WL patch) or sew on the ASM patch and take off the Trained Strip (or say the heck with it for a couple months). Anyways, we're getting away from a training discussion and into a uniforming one.

Hooray! My son crossed over on Friday and taking me with him to the troop. I will no longer be a Webelos Den Leader in the pack. Instead I will become an Asst. Scoutmaster in the troop. No longer will I be the expert leader in the unit, just a leader neonate. In order to be considered a trained ASM, I need to take ASM/SM training and Intro to Outdoor Leader Skills. This will happen in April and May. In a couple weeks I should finish my Wood Badge ticket and have my beading ceremony by the end of March. Despite completing Wood Badge, what I know tells me that if I sew the ASM pat

General announcements for volunteers never works. You need to be observant of the parents in your unit and figure which ones can be approached to ask them to volunteer (e.g., the ones that always have an opinion about how things should be done or the ones who do little things to help out at a pack or den meeting or activity). Once you identify someone who is approachable, you need to match the job with their skills. If they do well with the kids, you need to offer them a job that involves program planning or execution such as cubmaster, den leader, or their assistents. If they do well in

If you cannot get them on the phone, before suing them I suggest you send them a polite letter explaining what the owe and what for, and include a self-addressed-stamped-envelope for the return check. You might find if you make it convenient for them to pay, they will.(This message has been edited by MarkS)

We have a steak dinner funded by oworker1 for all the participants at our RT... oworker1 PM me for the address to send the check ;-) Seriously, we don't have refreshments at RT but there is a drinking fountain in the church.

Heck, right now I'm our 2nd Year WL (that's what I'm registered as), acting CC (because our CC resigned at the end of October), acting assistent pack meeting planner (because our CM is a great master of ceremonies but planning and organizing are not his strengths, therefore we ask our CC to help with this--not really a problem if the CC is only the CC), acting advancement chair (because I'm good with software and my den earns a lot of awards), and acting pack trainer (because I'm the only leader who's taken any training besides basic training). My wife is an MC. So my unit needs a new CC

This doesn't fix the problem mbscoutmom noted, but her situation did make me realize that chances are every unit will lose more than one leader at Blue & Gold. Chances are most packs have a couple leaders who have boys in their 2nd Year Webelos den whether they're a couple or not. If you're worried about losing more than one leader at once, you need to develop transition plans in the fall rather than a month or two before your Blue & Gold banquet. It's almost a certainty every unit will lose more than one leader a year when their 2nd years graduate to a troop.(This message has bee

Shawn brings up a good point. Having a couple as leaders does present a potential for conflict of interest when it comes to two-deep leadership. This is most often going to occur when they are a den leader and an assistent den leader in the same den. It could also happen at outdoor activities and camping. The couple would serve their own best interests and that of their unit by avoiding situations that make them the only two adults present. However, they both don't need to be registered leaders to be the only two adults present. It doesn't matter if one, the other, or both are registered

Absolutely ScoutNut... but Cub Scouting is also supposed to be a family program. According to my Cub Scout Leader Book, "Family involvement is vital to Cub Scouting's success." If you want to maximize this aspect of the program, you need parent leaders. Let's face it. Being an adult leader is not rocket science. You can teach almost any parent to be an adult leader and there's not a whole heck of a lot that makes them UNQUALIFIED. I think that Cub Scout units will do best for themselves if they select their leaders from the families of their boy members first and then look outside th

Michelle, I understand. It can be hard getting thoughts from our minds through the keyboard accurately. Each post is a one-way message with no feedback until after it's in print. I didn't mean to say that we should eliminate good leaders simply because they don't have boys in the Pack. What I meant to say is that these folks would better serve the Pack in support roles such as Pack Trainer and Assistent Cubmaster or Assistent Den Leader. It will make the Pack more viable over the long-haul if parents take a vested interest in leading the program with experienced leaders at their disp

msnowman seems to have forgotten or didn't read the original question posted in this thread... "What's your take on former cub leaders returning to pack leadership after their boys have moved on to boy scouts? Good idea? Or not? What pitfalls and/or advantages are there to consider before agreeing or declining to return as a pack leader? Are there conditions that should be attached to such an invitation, or to its acceptance?" See, Lisabob's question didn't take into account your situation. She didn't specify an assumption of lack of leadership as a prerequisite for answering her que

I think it is a bad idea for experienced Scouters who no longer have a child in the pack to serve as a CC or CM or DL. In Cub Scouts, parents need to take charge of the programs in their boy's units. They have the vested interest. Where are our future adult leaders going to come from if someone is going to do the job for them? It is better for the pack if these experienced Scouters serve the pack as a PT, MC, or CA. They are best suited in positions that allow them to share their experience and knowledge while the parents run the unit. Sound familiar?

clydesdale115 said, "We have thought many time of changing Packs, but since we are den leaders, we feel obliged to our boys first of all!" It sounds like the best thing you can do for your boys is transfer to another unit and take your entire den with you.

Crew21_Adv, If only one in a unit does and warns the others, then the word would be spread. For my pack, I would be happy if one leader from each den, the CC, and the CM had basic training and attended the monthly leaders meetings. We're only a couple den leaders shy of this. I think we could get by if the other MCs were not trained. While not the most serious issue of having untrained leaders in a unit, the most annoying is having to constantly spend time teaching them instead of the boys. It's a waste of my time to have to give the other leaders OJT for things they should know and