MissingArrow

While I can't comment on those particular camps I would encourage you to try and visit (with your SPL) any camp you may be considering. When I was on camp staff we would have leaders stop by over the summer to check the place out and get a tour. It always amazed me that they came on Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning - why not come when camp is in session? See the staff in action, talk with a few of the Scoutmasters who are present. With that said, call ahead so you can ensure that you are familiar with the visitor policy and that someone will be available to give you a quick tou

Beavah Said: "SPL evaluates the PL's once a quarter by asking him to name every boy in his patrol, their rank, the things they're good at, what they've been up to in the troop and outside it for the last 3 months, and why they're cool. And their phone numbers. All from memory. SM has the SPL and ASPL do the same for the PL's. No credit for POR unless they can do it. " That seems overboard to me, especially the phone numbers from memory. Kids have more important things that they have to memorize for school to waste time and brain space keeping track of something that is readily availab

Permission Slips are pretty pointless with the exception of the updated emergency contact information... Medical forms on the other hand are a necessity. This is a big problem throughout many lodges. Some don't collect anything, others expect everyone to bring it but don't check. Very few collect and keep available the medical forms. I've probably heard almost every excuse about how its not practical to require and collect them... I haven't heard one that made it worth the risk. Wouldn't you want to know and be prepared just in case you had a diabetic going through the ordeal

I just got done writing an article about a Scout in Australia who is going to cycle across Australia to raise money for the Big Brothers Big Sisters Australia. Here is a quote about Scouting: Jack also credits his scouting background, Scouts really has trained me for the ride - training and doing a ride like this is about discipline, self reliance and perseverance. Helping others is also a huge part of Scouts and I hope to do that with the ride. I think this is amazing that this 15 year old put together this goal, talked his Dad into it, and is now using it to raise awareness and m

When you look for a new troop I would be sure to visit atleast one of their meetings and see who runs it. You should be able to see who runs the trrop by who is giving directions, what activities are being done, where the SM is sitting. Another option is have your son talk with the youth leadership and see what they say. I would be sure your son is comfortable with the guys in the troop. I can see it being difficult to jump into a new troop, depending on if he knows people in it or not. Good Luck, Dan Williams

Hopefully someone can help me out. I am not at all familiar with the various program levels of the Girl Scouts. I understand their are Brownies and cadets and such but not much more. What would be the name of the program for girls aged 14+? Our community is starting a Venturing Crew and I would like to talk to the leaders of the right aged group but I don't want to look like I have no clue Thanks in Advance, Dan Williams

None of the Councils around this area charge Merit Badge Counselors. They just have to fill out a membership app and mark MB Counselor on it. The thing I would wonder is if the CC is not understanding how it works and is trying to get them to become a registered leader in the troop. I would ask them what the fee is for, and work it from there. Good Luck, Dan Williams

I just tried to edit my profile and after I filled all the fields and went to submit the changes I recieved the database error.

I doubt it is really worth it. Most of the youth that I know will not be interested in beads or wearing them. Maybe the younger scouts would appreciate them, but not above First Class. Granted this is from my experiences of being fairly young (19). The best thing are troop did was get one of those big advancement posters and colored in the little squares for each rank requirement. The Scouts use this to keep tabs on eachother and give eachother a hard time. Not sure if that is what Scouting is all about but it works. I look forward to hearing if beads actually work in other tro

Thank you for the great sites. The Venture-Mag is almost exactly what I was looking for. YIS, Dan

Thank You Bob White for posting that information. With all of the websites, I totally forgot about the official BSA one. I just assumed more information would be found on a site run by volunteers... looks like I should visit the Official site more often. Thanks, Dan

Hello, I am trying to find some good online Venturing sites. Basically I am starting a new crew in my community and would like to send out a letter to some other youth groups and tell them about the crew. I know some are going to want to have more information on what Venturing is. Thanks in Advance, Dan Williams