meschen

Good to hear. Hope he's having a great summer.

Does anyone know why Clark Green's podcast and website have gone silent? Nothing posted for a couple of months.

I agree that they are more than capable, its just a matter of timing. We got the Webelos just before their first campout and we were focused on the "getting ready to camp" skills, new patrol formation (names, flags etc) and the routine campout planning activities. Our goal has always been to get Scout done by our May Court of Honor and by sending this requirement home to the parents it was easier to get that done.

Scouts bridged in late May. We've got 6 out of 7 their Scout rank. The last one has one knot tying requirement open. I "dumped" the Cyberchip on the parents along with the rest of the youth protection requirement we've always told the Scouts to do at home. Most of the new Scout have been on at least a couple of camp outs, plus 5 attended summer camp. With a bit of luck, we should get the majority their tenderfoot at our September court of honor. Looking at the new first class requirements, we're going to be lucky if we get any of the to first class in their first year.

All but one of them pulled their kids too.

We had a trip planned this last weekend and I had 7 parents signed up as drivers, In the last 48 hours before the trip, 3 of my drivers cancelled and a fourth simply didn't show up to the departure location. If one of the drivers who was signed up didn't have the opportunity to borrow a mini-van, we would have left Scouts behind in the parking lot.

If you're covering summer camp, I don't think $480 will go that far.

I’m curious what units spend per Scout each year and what they charge in dues. I’ve run a rough budget and figure we’re spending ~$275 per Scout. This covers most camping costs except summer camp. How does everyone’s unit compare? We haven’t collected dues in decades, but our primary funding source doesn’t scale with growth so our increase in the number of Scouts over the last couple of years has caused us to eat through our reserves. We’re going to be very close to $0 when fundraising begins at the end of June, with just enough funds remaining to cover our commitments f

If you want to know if they are approved for camp use, I'd e-mal the camp director. Send him the link. And save his e-mail response :-). Those look like they'd make a great pair of camp shoes for a Scout taking boating related merit badges at summer camp, assuming they dry quickly. But I never assume anything regarding camp policy. One thing I've learned is it is best to ask first on maters such as these.

We accept payments via our SOAR website in combination with PayPal. It's popular for the smaller stuff (say $30 to $50). We tack on a fee to cover the PayPal charge, so it isn't as popular with summer camp payments.

Two Scouts isn't a Patrol. It also makes for a lot more work at meal times since there aren't several Scouts to share the load. For our Troop, if a Patrol doesn't have four or five Scouts, they become "guests" of another Patrol for the weekend. One other thing, if you're getting only 5 Scouts to attend a camp-out from a Troop of 30 Scouts, you should probably looking at why your turn-out is so low.

Looks to me more like a website design error than inconstant uniform policy.

This looks like a website design error. The boarder around the patch at the top of the page indicates the patch is required, but if you hover your mouse over the patch it says "It is not required for uniform wear, but makes a handsome addition." Lower on the website, the patch is not included on the list of "essential" patches. (Edit - just noticed Stosh posted the exact same thing)

Agree 100%. If you haven't counseled them on their Scout Spirit before, now is not the time to start. Look at the first three words of your third sentence. "The good kids..." That is your answer. Look at the first sentence on http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/OrderoftheArrow.aspx. Scout. Scout spirit should be primarily about how you live the Scout Oath and Law in your daily lives.

This is a rhetorical question: but one you should think about while rebuilding your pack. Why did the Pack fall apart? What needs to be fixed? I'm reading between the lines but since all you have is another Webelos Leader, it looks like everyone else aged out and you had a recruiting failure. Perhaps that is the first thing to look at repairing. IMHO, relatively speaking, recruiting Tigers and Wolves is the easiest thing for a Pack committee to do. Unfortunately, the most difficult task for the Committee is recruiting Den Leaders for those same Scouts. OTOH, if the Scouts and their le

I think it can be done so long as there aren't any extra responsibilities thrown at you. I've been in pretty much that position (albeit the SM didn't have one foot out the door and the Pack was humming along just fine.) There can be some cross-over in responsibilities between between your Cubmaster and ASM-NSP roles. In an ideal world the ASM-NSP works with the pack to insure a good transition for incoming webelos and coordinates activities between the units to help make that happen. It could be similar to the role many Cubmasters take who are also the Den Leader for their son's Den. Not i

5. Orienteering is a cross-county activity where Scouts are attempting to locate way points indicated on a map. It is generally a competitive timed activity, and isn't done in groups (although Scouts should be a buddy). Adult supervision is problematic here. Map an compass hikes though, with full dens and an adult are permitted. 6. Cub Scouts can traverse bridges and towers (subject to other regulations on the topic). They have not been taught the skills (ie building projects using lashings) which is what Pioneering is.

This is your problem. You need a sit down with your Committee Chair and fix your relationship. A Pack can not function if a Committee Chair and Cubmaster don't see eye-to-eye. You are a two person team and without a good relationship you are hurting your Pack's program and your boys. You two should also discuss what each of your respective responsibilities are. Take a look at the BSA position descriptions and you'll find that the relationship with the Chartering Organization and COR is the Committee Chair's problem, not yours. And if it hasn't been said before, someone somewhere should

Does anyone know how long the online position specific training courses take for Den Leader and Cubmaster?

You're District Chair is wrong. The issue you have is not with the Pack Committee's job description but with the Cubmaster's. See: http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/CubScouts/Leaders/About/ThePack/cmast.aspxThe second duty listed (after being properly trained) is: " Plan and help carry out the Cub Scout program in the pack according to the policies of the BSA. This includes leading the monthly pack meeting, with the help of other leaders." I recognize that different packs operate in different ways, but your Cubmaster MUST be engaged. IMHO, A Cubmaster who simply doesn't show up to either

I agree with those who said transferring the money to another account or CO was a bad idea. Bankruptcy court may well go after it. Your equipment is (probably) not going to be taken. My two cents: spend down the money for legitimate uses, defer the collection of dues from members, and whatever you do, don't let any money you collect for summer camp sit in the Troop account.

This is of topic, but something doesn't ring true here. You don't transfer ownership of your vehicle to the shop when you take it in for repairs. There is no way shop's creditors can claim the vehicle in settlement. It still belongs to your friend unless there is some sort of unpaid repair bill.

My two cents: this isn't an advancement issue. As far as advancement for the youth goes, if a Scout did the work, it is legitimate. He was awarded his Scout rank. Once he's been awarded the rank, there are no do-overs or take-backs. Furthermore, it is unfair to punish a Scout for the errors of an adult leader. There are no other age requirement for any other rank, so there is no reason with withhold those ranks. This is a guide to safe scouting / age appropriate activities issue. Letting a Scout join early means he is allowed to participate in activities "inappropriate" for a "Webelos." If

OP here. Just an update to all. I had about 7 or 8 Scoutmaster conferences at last night's Troop meeting, including one extended 30 minute conference for a Scout who was finishing his Life rank, so I had one of our ASM's discuss advancement with mom during the Troop meeting - our ASM explained to her again who was responsible for what. I was only a little suprised when five minutes later mom had her son's handbook in hand and was having a conversation with one of our younger patrol leaders, while her son was kind of in the area. I was in the middle of a conference so I sent the ASM back into t

E-mail from mother of 1st year Scout (paraphrased): "I want to meet with you for an hour after the next Troop meeting to discuss my son's advancement." My response (also paraphrased): "Scouts should discuss advancement directly with either myself or one of our ASM's at any Troop meeting. This is the BSA's policy, not just mine, and is an opportunity for them to grow." Response from parent: "That's fine. I still want to talk to you about some requirements that are not signed-off in his hand book." *sigh*