baden

In 1997 I had 4 boys in my Jamboree Troop that were 12 yrs. old. They did great!! I have stayed in touch with one of these guys, he just graduated from USMA (West Point) and is headed to Ranger school. He says he was inspired at the '97 Jambo.

Directly answering your question, registering for Jamboree and staying off post with Mom is probably a bad idea on so many levels I scarcely know where to begin. Being a day visitor is an option, but will not be able to participate in much.

We host a family dinner prepared by the boys in the evening on Scout Sunday. We do it in conjunction with a COH. We've done spaghetti some years and chili other years. We invite all family members and friends of the Troop. We always get a good response to our FOS presentation.

Being a member of the Exec. Bd. is not always a question of $$$. I've been on our Councils Exec. Comm for 10 years and do contribute to FOS annually, but not at a high level. I was asked to serve by a former Council Chair that wanted some front line Scouters on the Board to talk to the heavy hitters about what was what.

I have enjoyed my tenure on the board very much. I have learned a great deal about Council operations and problems in this time. I would tell our young Scouter, however, Council Policy is like sausage. You will enjoy the end product more if you don't see it being made.

Out of the blue today, I received a card in the mail from Hy-Vee (a regional supermarket) giving me a 10% discount on all grocery items used for Scouting programs. It has my name, Troop # and Chartered Partner on it. Nice surprise.

Thanks for the heads up!! I went to the site and filled out a Staff app. and fired it off into cyber-space. Now just sitting back waiting for the credit card bill and the offers of Jamboree employment to roll in. All in all pretty painless.

I read a thread a few weeks ago protesting the National fee for Staff and my head was nodding up and down in agreement at the time. I remember thinking I'll be darned if I'm going to pay that kind of money to swelter in Virginia and work my tail off, but Jamboree must be sort of close to what childbirth is like. After a while you sort of forget the pain. After the last three Jamborees I remember thinking, I'm glad I went, but you'll never get me to do that again. Well, here I go again. Subject to offer of employment.

Out of the blue of the western sky comes...SKY KING!!!

The plane was named Songbird, his niece was Penny, and his nephew was named, I believe, Skyler.

Did he have a horse?

In our Council the Silver Beaver is usually awarded to quite a mix of people every year. We typically award around 16 and they go to people that have given money and people that have given time. Sometimes a combination of both. Having served on the SB selection committee twice and chaired it once I can say that our selection process is apolitical. Every member of the committee receives the copies of the nominations with the names omitted. Then the electors vote on each nomination ranking them 1-5. When all responces are in we add up the scores and place them 1 thru whatever (121 one year) We start at the top and count down the list until we run out of awards.

The Council could stack the deck a little in forming the Committee, but to the best of my knowledge that has never happened. Usually a mix of District Committee people with strong Unit Service backgrounds and a couple of Council Exec. Bd. members to round it out.

This selection comm. has almost always done a great job of recognizing volunteers at all levels of service from Council level to Unit level. We are a large Council. We have 12 Districts and are very large geographically speaking. We have a large number of rural Districts and one large Metro. area served by many Districts. The rural Districts seem to receive a larger number of awards than the Metro on a proportional basis. The typical Metro recipient will be younger and a real fireeater with 10-12 yrs. of service. Our rural recipient is typically older with 20-30 years of service with most of it at the Unit level.

My answer to your question would be, No, the Troop policy cannot supersede BSA policy. Having said that, the policy of your Troop makes good sense. Unless you are an Atomic Physicist (sp?) counseling the Atomic Energy MB, what unique skills or knowledge do you bring to the party that cannot be found elsewhere in the Troop? This is the general policy of our Troop. Right now we have one of the Dad's counseling the American Business MB for 6 boys including his son. He asked if he could work on this with his son and I said in general we discourage this sort of MB work, but if he were willing to ask if anyone else would like to work on it, I would register him as a MB Counselor. He agreed and it has worked out well. We have had many instances like this in the past. So far a simple explanation of why our Troop likes to do it this way has has been enough to head off any problems.

When my son was a Scout, I didn't work with him on any of the Merit Badges that I counsel. As an ASM at the time, I didn't want there to be a perception that I was just passing my son through to ensure his advancement.

I used to be a Fox, and a good old Fox too.

Baden

Do not stand up in the canoe. Do not lean over the gunwale. As the rodeo cowboys say, "Keep 'yer mind in the middle". When you swamp the canoe, laugh and get on with it. Have fun. Be safe. PFD's for everyone all the time.

I like "cowboy" coffee. Just boil a pot of water and dump coffee in the boiling water. I let it boil 'til it looks about right and then pull it off the fire.I've settled the grounds with eggshells (not my favorite method), cold water, a cold rock, but my favorite method is to sling the pot. It is dramatic and the boys get a kick out of watching me do it. It also freaks out the newbie Dads.

How many lawyers does it take to grease a threshing machine?

One, if you feed him in real slow.

My son the lawyer doesn't like all my jokes. Some, but not all.

You make a valid point Goldwinger. It is easy for me to agree with you, but I'm not driving 130 miles (260 round trip) to attend Council functions or go to the Scout shop.

OK. It's not that dramatic. I received a call from a Scouter pal a couple of days ago asking if I had heard anything about his District being absorbed by an adjacent District. I told him I hadn't heard anything about it, but I had a Council Exec. Bd. meeting in a couple of days and I would see what I could learn. When I got to the meeting, it was an agenda item. All that was said in the meeting was "We are looking at ways to re-align our Districts to improve Unit Service". I used to be in this District until the most recent re-alignment 3 years ago when I was traded to another District for a rusty dutch oven and a Webelo to be named later. After the meeting the Director of Field service came up and asked if I would serve on a committee to study the issue and make a recommendation. I agreed although I think the decision has been made and I am being recruited to help sell it. I have no problem with this. It may be the right move. I don't know enough about the situation at this time to have an opinion.My friend asked when he called if it would be possible for a portion of his District to transfer to an adjacent Council?The part of this District he lives in is right next to the next Council. He lives 70 miles from the adjacent Council HQ and 130 mi. from our Council HQ. He is 80 mi. from their Council Camp and 170 mi. from our Council Camp. In fact his Troop often goes to the nearer Camp for Summer Camp, but not every year. I asked our Scout Exec. if this was something to consider and was told "No way, that is not an option".Do the affected Units have any redress?

I think you did the absolute right thing canceling for Webelos. They don't have the experience, training, and probably the gear to deal with adverse conditions.

IMHO this would be the absolute wrong call for Boy Scouts. They should have the experience, training, and equipment to handle it. It has nothing to do with machismo, everything to do with preparedeness.

Another thing, Boy Scouts often relish a challenge. A number of years ago our Troop went to our District's Winter Camporee. I don't really remember how cold it was, but it is still legendary in our Troop. We had a Leader's Mtg. on Saturday morning. One well-meaning woman said she thought it was too cold for outdoor activities and we should plan indoor activities in the heated building we were in. "Like what?" some asked. She said we could set up a TV and watch movies and play games. One crusty old SM said "The boys that want to sit inside and watch TV are back home watching TV".

We ran the Klondike.

Last year, I had a big signup for our Freeze-Out, but on the day only 4 showed up. My ASM and I took them and we had a good weekend. The next month I posted the following in our Troop newsletter. (w/apologies to the Bard)

We few, we frozen few, we band of brothers;

For he to-day who freezes with me

Shall be my brother: be he ne'er so vile,

This day shall gentle his condition;

And Scouts at home now-a-bed

Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,

And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks

That froze with us upon Frozen Crispin's day.

Loosely adapted from Henry V, Wm. Shakespeare

Eamon-

I have to agree with what you said. I have trained most of the Scoutmasters in my district and there is a wide range in their levels of skill and also in commitment. Some are great and try to do things the right way. Some are not so great and sort of slide into doing things the way they have always done them. The one thing I always come back to in my thinking is "All Scouting is local". Unless you are willing to be the Unit Leader, all you can do is point the way.

We get our spars the old fashioned way, we cut them on private property with permission of the owner. For lashings we use parachute cord. We have a couple of Troop Comm. members in the National Guard and they seem to have an inexhaustible supply. It works great.

I like to think all of our campouts are fun. I like to teach "skills" by OJT. (On the Job Training) The best instructors are usually another Scout that knows the skill. It works best when I don't have a "class".

Probably our best attended campout every year is the one after Christmas. It isn't really a campout, more of a lock-in. We try to hold it the weekend right after Christmas. We go to a cabin that belongs to a friend. It has heat and running water. I tell the boys it is just for fun. I let them bring their gameboy deals, xboxes, playstation gizmos, whatever they want. There is a TV with a VCR and we watch movies all night. The big hit this year was "The Outlaw Josey Wales" I even got in a little chat about the border war between Kansas and Missouri and how that continues to this day on the gridiron. I tell them to bring whatever awful snacks they want and I make a pot of stew or chili for whoever wants it. No schedule, just fun. I guess the highlight this year was when the boys went outside to "explore" They came roaring back to ask if they could play on the ice. There is a small pond that is about 2-3 ft. deep. I told them to go ahead. I watched out the window as the boys "invented" a game I remember playing back in the day that we call shinny. This is a loose form of hockey using a can as a puck and tree branches as hockey sticks. No one seriously injured, but would have caused a couple of the Moms to faint. It is great to see boys just be themselves with no prefab activity.

I jokingly (somewhat) call this outing My Christmas Gift to the Troop's Moms.

I attended Wood Badge after 10 years as a Scoutmaster. Prior to Wood Badge I had been to Philmont as advisor on a trek and attended a class at the Philmont Training Center. I had also been to National Jamboree as a Scoutmaster. I must admit that my real motivation was to get a group of Scouters off my back. I really respected a large group of Wood Badgers in my council, but never really wanted to invest the time to go.

After I attended the course, my real regret was waiting so long. I can't tell you something specific I got from the course. I might say in my case it was like a rededication to Scouting. Been close to 10 years since I went, and could use something to rev me up again. Go to WB. Enjoy it. I suspect you will relish the experience.

Eamon-

Your post brought a smile to my face. A number of years ago at Summer Camp I detected a low buzz centered around one tent. I thought, this is not good. I wandered over and the boys sort of scattered, so I let it go for then, but the next day when the boys were out of the campsite, I did a shakedown of this tent and found a pile of Playboy mags, some of which I hadn't read. I confiscated them and sat on them for a day waiting for my chance. I finally caught the owner privately and innocently asked if anything was missing. I got a paniced look, and then he asked what was I talking about. I told him I had his mags and was going to return them to his Mother. He started crying and I told him that I would keep it between the two of us, but I didn't want it to happen again. We became great friends and are to this day. This boy did make Eagle, and he thinks we have a secret. He doesn't know that I waited for a good time to tell his Mom. She sort of laughed, and thanked me for handling it delicately. She said he probably swiped them from her husband's shop. I know it isn't correct to say it anymore, but still, boys will be boys. Even some of us "Senior" boys.

I have served on the Silver Beaver selection committee for our council several times. I don't know how this is done in other places, but our council sends out copies of the Silver Beaver nomination forms to all the members of the committee and asks with the names and districts blocked out. They then ask the committee members to rate each nomination on a scale of 1-10. Your "ballot" is due at the Council office by a certain date. When the "ballots" are received, the numbers are added up and the results are totaled in a column. Starting at the top they go down the list until the allowed number of awards is depleted. The committee then meets and the results are announced by the Chairman and the identities are revealed. This always seemed like a very fair way to do it to me. Before I was on the committee I assumed that favorites were played and back room deals were cut. Not true.

Of course when you read the nominations you can usually figure out about 2/3 of who the nominees are. Just by being around you know who has done what and for about how long. As far as District weighting I have found that the closer to the Council office you are the better your chances are of being recognized. If you live 6 blocks from the Council office you are more apt to render service at the Council level than some guy who is 80 miles away.

generally I have found our system to be as fair as you can make it. I don't know how this is done anywhere else.

I would say a wise Scoutmaster would work through his Troop Committee on something like this. I would also say if the Committee failed to support the Scoutmaster he would be wise to become the former Scoutmaster.

We have a had a boy earn the radio MB last year. It is the first time in anyones memory. This boys Dad is a serious HAM radio operator and has offered to counsel anyone in the Troop for this MB. We are going to set up an amateur radio station next month on our campout and participate in the Jamboree on the Air (JOTA).

Phone calls? E-mails? Announcements at meetings? The only thing that seems to work for us is a newsletter sent via USPS. It does little good to hand them out at meetings. It has to get into Mom''s hands and make it onto the refrigerator door or it does no good.

Actually, OJ doesn't know for sure and probably won't know in 10 years. He'll really know when he becomes a parent himself. (I think you'll probably get a passing grade)