MNBob

As I said when we joined in 2005, the handbook still had Scouts earning their Tiger badge before the Bobcat badge. And our Pack treated Blue & Gold as the Tigers graduating into the Pack. A site like http://www.troop97.net/bsahist2.htm#cubs doesn't mention the full integration and it was last updated in 2009. The online advancement system our Council provides only allows you to record Bobcat, Wolf, Bear, Webelos and Arrow of Light for rank advancements. The roster still separates "Tiger Cubs" from "Cub Scouts". I'm just pointing out that many places have not caught up to the "official" pro

As a second year Webelos den leader this past Scouting year I had the same concerns as CPAMom at the start. As it turned out we did not add any new scouts but this was my plan if some had indeed joined in September: 1. Explain to the Scout and parent that my goal for them was to earn their Webelos badge. If the Scout was especially motivated he could also plan to try to earn his Arrow of Light as well. 2. During some den meetings I would have included some activities that applied to the Citizen and Fitness badges even though the rest of the Scouts were finished with those badges. 3. The

Put me in the cold-hearted bastage den leader category. To those who way Cub Scouts is not about advancement then why is the Cub Scouts 2010 program changing entirely to den meeting plans that lead towards advancement? I can only go by my own experience but the dens that have advancing boys stick together while those that do not spend much time working on requirements have had the most turn over in our Pack. I'll go out of my way to communicate with parents about what their Scout needs to complete in order to advance. I'll send reminders ad nauseum until I feel like I'm actually being a p

I realize they are integrated. But I find that lots of information online has not caught up with the changes. I suppose most of what I'm talking about is not BSA official (ceremony ideas and such). And most likely my Council hasn't yet allocated money to fix the internet advancement system.

My oldest son is a second year Webelos Scout nearing cross over. When he joined as a Tiger in 2005 Tigers were still "the year before Cub Scouts". He earned his Tiger badge before his Bobcat badge. The following year the handbook changed and Tigers earned their Bobcat first and Tigers became the first year of Cub Scouting. I only found that out because I remember being surprised when the new Tigers earned their Bobcat before our Wolf den. Yet even with this change almost everything I've seen still treats Tigers as outside of Cub Scouts. Our online Council advancement system still only rec

I don't know for sure, but I am willing to bet that part of the issue here is that we are in blue & gold season. For reasons I don't understand, many (most?) pack leaders are under the impression that rank awards should be presented at blue and gold, come hell or high water.I agree completely. When we first joined our Pack 5 years ago this was the big push (all ranks by B&G). Not only does it make it difficult for some dens to finish in time but also it tends to change Blue & Gold from a party to a long advancement ceremony. We have since changed things and hold a "graduation" pack

The registration problem had nothing to do with browser or machine. The site must have been having email problems for a couple of months. Since email wasn't being sent new users could not register.

I've quickly picked up on most of the acronyms but I have to ask, what does IH stand for?

The point I was trying to make (poorly) with my example situation is that if you have den leaders who don't care what is going on with the Pack or how their decisions impact the rest of the Pack it's hard to ask them to do things at Pack meetings. And if you keep asking and they keep ignoring there isn't much else you can do. Individual examples might have easy (on the surface) solutions but deeper issues are more difficult. Perhaps that makes me a bad leader/Committee Chair but I don't see anyone else wanting to volunteer for the position. Tonight the Cubmaster will come to the committee

Well, if its a consolation, picking the new Cubmaster or Scoutmaster etc is not the function of the Committee. Selection of adult leaders is the COR's job Where do you find that responsibility listed? http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/CubScouts/AboutCubScouts/ThePack/chorr.aspx Pack Committee http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/CubScouts/AboutCubScouts/ThePack/pcomm.aspx Regardless of the size of the pack committee, these responsibilities must be performed: - Make recommendations to the chartered organization for final approval of pack leadership. - Recruit the Cubmaster a

Dens only make it happen if the den leaders are interested. If Den Leaders do not come to leader meetings and do not respond to requests for their dens to "do something" that something doesn't get done. How do you deal with that? Do you embarrass the den at the Pack meeting by saying "Ok it's now time for Den 5 to perform their skit. Oh I guess they didn't prepare a skit. Next." In the end that doesn't solve the problem of lack of leader participation. Prime example of a situation that I'm not sure how to handle. Tonight is our monthly parents/committee meeting. These meetings have been o

As your response inferred we do have some issues but I'd rather not discuss them here. We're working on them and hopefully things will get resolved. However your comment Then assign the no-show dens the tasks of bringing snacks, set-up, and clean-up, for the next Pack meeting. did pique my interest. I'm curious if other units have tried this kind of punitive response? I admit that I've considered this type of reaction but I always decided against it as I figure it won't really solve anything and instead will make the situation worse. IMO accountability is the toughest thing to have in a v

I'm excited about this new program. While searching for scouting related forums it was this thread that caught my attention and made we want to join here which I was finally able to do after the server email problems were fixed. However I was a little discouraged when I contacted our DE and she wasn't aware of it. She forwarded my email to some other people at the Council but I still haven't received any responses. Kind of suprised me that a brand new program is rolling out "nationally" and I haven't received a reply from anyone at my Council who has any details. The DE did point out that

On the other side of the coin, you as a unit leader should try to engage your CO whenever possible if you wish to improve relations. An old thread with some tips can be found at http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=257086 Thanks for the tips. I recently have made an effort by inviting our COR to our first 2010/2011 planning meeting as well as our Blue & Gold which is March 7. Haven't heard a response yet but the invite was recent so we'll see.

I noted your emphasis on "all" and I agree that everyone working together is the ideal situation. But reality is not always ideal and in our case not all of the leaders are interested in Pack planning. We're not even able to get all leaders to attend committee meetings. I've made many attempts to be inclusive but at this point I realize the best course of action is to focus on the leaders who wish to participate and then we'll tell the other leaders what we've decided.

Our Pack had the unpleasant experience of going through 4 Cubmasters in two years. The third Cubmaster was in the role for just over a year but he did not believe in doing any planning or meeting prep and relied on others to take care of that if they felt it necessary. No one looked forward to Pack meetings and the lack of effort showed in what was delivered. During that period I was the Webelos I Den Leader and Pack Secretary. The Committee Chair and I tried our best to make things work with the Cubmaster but it was a struggle. In the latest year (09-10) I took over as Committee Chair (and st

I'm not positive that this thread belongs under the Council Relations topic but no other topic jumped out at me either. First an introduction. Our Pack (http://www.pack589.org) has been in existence since 1972. We had been chartered by a home owners association but ever since my son joined as a Tiger (and in the recent past just before that from what I learned) we never truly had an Org Rep and we did not have any relationship with the Charter Org except on paper. Last March we changed charter orgs to the local Lions Club. We now have a Charter Org Rep but we still don't have a strong rel

I often use the term "my" in this context. If someone thought poorly of me for using that term I could care less. Frankly, I'd consider the person questioning my use of the term "my" as the person who has the problem.

I worded that poorly. I should have asked the following questions: Before a Scout earns his Totin chip can he use a pocket knife with the troop he joins? Will the troop require that he has a whittling chip or does that only apply to Cub Scouts?

When a Webelos Scout crosses over to Boy Scouts does the Scout need to have a whittling chip to use a pocket knife in the troop? Does he have to wait for the Totin chip?

AIM: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AOL_Instant_Messenger ICQ: http://www.icq.com/ (kind of the first big messenger service) Website would be a place to put the URL of your own personal web site.

I just tried it. I think it's just an odd interface. Clicking the "Continue" button saves the information. Your public profile gets updated. For you I see: Location: Pennsylvania Council Name: Keystone Area District Name: Current Scouting Positions: ASM Past Positions you've held: Tiger and Webelo leader Interests: Founded a troop. I like an organized & fair troop. If a boy has initative he should be rewarded for it.

Ditto. Glad the email is working again.

Thank you BrenAllen. I was finally able to join today.