matuawarrior

We had the same problem years ago. Now we have a $10.00 non-refundable, non-transferable activity fee. The fee is broken down into food and supplies. Depending on the activity the fee can go up to $15/participant but no higher. This is decided by the PLC. There are rare exceptions when we transfer the funds into the Scout's Own Account with the unit. It has to be an illness with a doctor's note, a death in the Immediate family (here on Guam, practically everyone is related and this excuse has been used up to many times), etc. . Then the member may use the funds at a later activit

I enjoyed that.

BW Thanks for the info. Looks like we'll be doing some changing here in our OA chapter. I'll have to call up our advisor and tell him the new information. Here were using old resources to provide the program. So what do we do with the crew members that are now OA members? The only solution is for them to dual register with a troop. AT least we know now, the correct guidelines. You know in a way that may help these troops here with low memberships bring back some of the older scouts that transferred into crews. For me its different because my crew members are also du

On another note, we've had DE's here who should not have been assigned here. They've left their mark. And it soured the Scouting program. It took the current district leadeship to change things to where there at now. We are slowly growing but it takes trained committed leaders to make a difference. Matua(This message has been edited by matuawarrior)

My units are chartered to a local non-profit organization that started out as a family and friends association but now has grown to a more focused youth organization. We are outside of the military bases. Our original charter was with our village middle school for some years before we changed to who we are now. Most base units, as we call them here, are chartered by fraternal or family associations, or the base chapels. Our council is Aloha Council out of Hawaii. I would like to see the name changed to "Greater Oceania Area Council" to show the diversity of the council being t

We must be doing things differently here but then again this is Guam and we've always been the black sheep of our council and we've always acted as a mini council. I'm still working on mending the fences. Our OA chapter allows Venture Crew Males who are first class and above, and who meet the camping requirements, and not yet 18 years old to be elected and then tapped out, oops, I meant called out. We've followed this from the Exploring Program prior to 1997 before the new Venturing Program started. Only the active males can elect those nominated and this really causes an uproar with o

le Voyageur I'm not sure if the rebars are still in place. We hike their annually going to Sella Bay and then going around the point to Cetti Bay. It's a great overnight spot. Matua

Scoutldr, The travel time to get here is something to get used to. I've been here most of my life and still hate the flights and the long hours waiting for a flight from Hawaii or Japan. Yep, So you met the local urban wildlife. Scouting was great here in the 40's to mid 80's and started declining. Only the last five years has it started to climb. The dominating units when I became Scoutmaster were the units from the bases. Now its evened out. Matua

eisely, We constantly have to clear back the jungle everytime we go camping at a number of our unit chosen sites. Once we cleared an area for a good size troop with patrol sites one month only to go back the next month and clear the site again because the jungle grew back to 6 to 10 feet jungle. Because of our Tropical weather, small brushes that we call 'trees' tend to grow faster especially during the wet season. We have two seasons here in Guam: wet and dry. Were blessed if we get to camp in a grassy clearing but that too has to be maintained and its rare unless you know the fam

DS, Hafa Adai pronounced (ha fa a day) means Hello in Chamorro. Our native language here in Guam used by Chamorros. Matua(This message has been edited by matuawarrior)

Hafa Adai DS, Glad you're on the forum. Your posts makes me understand the professional side of the house alot more than I had before. Matua

Knives are tools. Like all tools, the size of the knife depends on the job that it will do. There are some situations where a pocket knife may not be the suitable tool for a job but for everyday "camp" chores it will very well suffice. Now I bring 3 knives to camp. A swiss army pocket knife for around the campsite. I bring along a 10" trailmaster with heavy leather sheath for lite to medium trail or site clearing. The last blade is an ontario machete with plastic sheath for heavy to hard clearing. The only knife that stays in its sheath on my belt is the pocket knife while the oth

Hey BW . . . That was a good one still LOL :-) Matua

I would really like to know why the Scout Law and Promise is dissected to further the means of certain groups. Why can't the Scout Promise and Law be seen as a whole? There are three parts to the Promise and twelve points to the Law. Each One of the parts and points supports the other. It is our very Foundation. You cannot just say, "Oh, how about this law. We'll just follow that one and maybe this one too" or "We'll just follow the 2nd and 3rd part of the Oath/Promise because that fits our needs and our lifestyle". For those who like to pick and choose here are two others tha

I used to be a Bob White . . . and a good ole Bob White too . . . Matua

Great advise here, everyone. I would stress very much that you find a new troop. Your son has been made out to be the black sheep. You and he need a fresh new start before you both start hating something you love doing. It's apparent that you did not have the support of the committee and the leaders over the Jamboree incident. I really don't think you'll garner any support from the committee or leadership on the latest situation. Matua

Made my morning . . . reflection is always good for the soul. I'll be passing this along to my church. God Bless, Matua

If that was a condition to go on the trip, then the troop can and should enforce it. The Scout had ample time to prepare himself. The parents knew of the requirement. If he can't pass the swim test, he is not a swimmer. The Swim test is about Scout's current swimming ability at that time. My units conduct swim test at least once a year, if not twice. The parents are making a big thing out of this. The quickest way to quiet'em up is to tell them, "If your son has to go, then you have to go too, and he'll be in your canoe". It's amazing how quiet they become after I make

moonstonerI, First welcome to the campfire. I would need more detailed info on the situation. If the Scout has all required MB's, I then would speculate that he has not completed his position for Leadership or even his project. Has the Scout completed those because it is not stated on your original post? The other is Scout Spirit. Is he, A Scout All Around the Community and not just at Scout meetings or events? For now I would say Yes, if the Scout has not met all the Requirements. Matua

Good Job. Network and have Fun. Matua

I received an email today from a friend of mine. She is now the WB Course Director for the next course for Aloha Council scheduled for October 5-13, 2003 at Camp Pupukea. This is my second invitation to serve. I was invited last year and was on staff up to a week before the course was to start. I had to pull out due to an emergency situation with my business. I really didn't expect to be invited again after my sudden pullout last year. Wow, what an honor . . . Matua

Hafa Adai Mario, Welcome to the Campfire and congratulations on attending the course. It's not over yet, so let's get those tickets done. I'll be prayin' for ya. Keep us posted. Have FUN . . . Matua(This message has been edited by matuawarrior)

Your in our prayers. Matua

Ditto . . . I'm in complete Agreement Twocubdad. Matua

Worksheets for requirements . . . That must be similar to what my district has for scout camp. It's like a giant blue card with the Scouts names and all the requirements on it. The floppy disk holder is a great idea. I'll see if we can incorporate that into our scout's handbooks. Both sounds like good ideas. Matua