Oakville Tim

John-in-KC, You raise some further good points. I appreciate your feedback! I will say that the SM in the feeder Troop, on the job for a year or so now, was cordial and responsive when I sought a Den Chief for the only one of our Dens that really needed one. He readily forwarded the Troop's calendar and web site information for me to review. A big part of what prompted this thread was: Should Web2 Dens FEEL like they're being recruited? As in, 'We know Web2s have a lot of options out there for a Troop, and we want to make sure you choose US.' Because that has never happened.

Scoutldr, To respond to you, I should amend my 'gut feeling count' on how many of my Web2s will continue into a Troop. I believe three of my Den's five, my own son included, will continue. One boy has a single Mom who believes fervently in Scouting. The boy has ADD-type issues and is rough around the edges socially but has a big heart. A second boy has always played lots of sports, but his Dad really wants him to stick it out for at least one year in a Troop and see what the program offers. The two remaining boys -- both have parents who have long been extremely non-committal

Thanks, LisaBob, for all the great feedback! Also I wasn't aware of the thread on first-year retention. I certainly won't bore you with responses to the questions you posed, but all that you wrote will kick me into action in finding out. Thanks again!

Mark, I too am in St. Louis... Our Pack also traditionally holds the AOL and bridging at the Blue & Gold, for a couple of reasons. Being the CM as well as the Web2 DL, I can see why this has been effect. Our 'Feeder Troop' is always eager to get the current Web2s moved up, and historically they plan a big campout for the very weekend after the B&G with the express goal of getting the new Scouts 'out there.' IMHO the Troop is not eager to come back a month later for a big bridging ceremony such as what they perform at B&G. Further, in our Pack we really strive to ge

My son is a Webelos 2 and looking very much forward to Scouting. I am the DL as well as our Pack's CM. Our Den is small, just five boys, and my gut feeling is that my son is the only one who will continue as a Boy Scout. The other Web2s and their families all have received the same information about Troop opportunities; thus, with a clear conscience I am most devoted to my son's finding a good Troop experience. That's what leads me here tonight, seeking your opinions. My son could join our 'Feeder Troop,' although because of school district boundaries he never will attend the same mid

Hi to all, I'm the CM and I have a dilemma that maybe you all have had yourselves and solved in years past. Would you allow a non-Tiger Den to get started with a program even though it has the bad mix of huge numbers plus only one uniformed and trained leader? We have 11 second-graders signed up and paid-up. Six of them are back from their Tiger year, and their DL is continuing. We had our first Pack event Saturday, and at a split with the Wolf parents -- seven of the 11 families attended -- I had a chance to sit down and give my 'Speech 101,' which stresses the need for t

I am CM for our Pack, based in south St. Louis County, MO. With a heavy heart, I post here asking for your prayers for one of our Bear Den Leaders, who has been diagonsed with inoperable brain cancer. Steve K., who isn't even 34 years old, I think, had surgery a month or so ago but the doctors couldn't/didn't 'get it all.' We are told that Steve might not have more than a week left on this Earth. He has been a devoted and fun DL for his Den and our Pack for three years now. His family -- wife, son/current Bear, and daughter -- are terrific people and beloved inside our Pack, a

One of the Bear Den Leaders in our Pack, based in south St. Louis County, MO, has been diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer. Steve K.'s surgery a month or so ago didn't 'get it all.' As I (the CM) write this, he might have as little as one week left on this Earth. I don't think he's even 34 years old. Steve has been a valuable member of our team for three years now, serving his Den and our Pack faithfully. He has been a fun and terrific Den Leader. If you pray, please, then, pray for Steve and his family (wife, one son/currently a Bear, and a kindergarten-age daughter). Ma

Hi to all, I am the new CM for our Pack, and I want to start a monthly newsletter to be handed out at Pack meetings. This will be the first time we've had one, from what I can gather. I have someone lined up to handle this for me, and now I am eager to show her an example of what other Packs do for their newsletter. Can anyone share their ideas with me? Maybe even a link to their own newsletter? I have some basic components in mind -- a 'Happy Birthday, Scouts' corner, a Cubmaster's 'minute,' a jpg now and then of what one of our Dens has been doing, written updates from all

Hi to all, I am our Pack's Cubmaster effective with our Blue & Gold banquet -- our CM, ACM and CC all are 'graduating' with their sons. The mother of one of our Wolves/going into Bears has pledged to tag-team in the CC duties. She is very skilled with computers, from what I am told (I have had just one conversation, very pleasant, with her), and she has already pledged to start a monthly newsletter. My question is: For Packs that have a web site, how is the site content kept secure, available to member families only? What is the trick to preserving the security of a passwo

I'm glad to hear you are still so positive about Scouting. Not a surprise to those of us who read how diligently you were trying to solve the problems at 'your last address.' I didn't glean whether your son has indeed found another unit to continue seamlessly. (The fact that the DE has approached you about starting a Pack seems to further answer that.) For all the great advice that SemperParatus offers, I would just add this caution -- just another point of view: You KNOW the time and energy you spent trying to hold 'the old address' together. Are you ready to take on the sam

TundraHawk, (1) I believe greatly that your stepping down is bound to give you a mental breather. You SOUND as though you will benefit greatly from this. (2) This will be a great opportunity for OTHER PARENTS to step up if they want the Pack to continue, for the sake of their own sons. They now will have the chance to get trained and start putting in the time, etc., you have so willingly been giving. (3) If your son's Den has other 'quality parents' -- I mean, people upon whom you have been able to consistently count for any and all sorts of help with the Den program -- and yo

TundraHawk, It seems apparent to me, from reading this thread, that every reasonable suggestion you (and your husband) have brought to the table to revitalize your Scout program has fallen on deaf ears. You haven't indicated that any professional Scouters -- the Unit Commisssioner, the District Executive, and so forth -- have stepped up to assist you. With apologies to SemperParatus (U.S. Coast Guard!!) and Eamonn and so many others whose posts I learn from each day, IMHO you have reached a point where it's time for you and your son to move on and find a new home for all the fun th

First of all, good luck!! It's a truly great effort you obviously are making. I wonder if one of your parents is good with desktop publishing. And, if someone from your Pack has a handful of quality digital images of your Pack activities throughout this school/Scout year. Could be inside, could be outside, could be from the same event, etc. Ideally, these images would include Scouts from all your age ranks. A sort-of 'SOS' (Save Our Scouts) flier, with images of their own sons doing cool Scout stuff, could be presented at your heart-to-heart with your DLs and other parents.

All these responses are extremely interesting, and I am grateful to you all for your veteran perspectives! Makes me do a mental checklist about our own Pack. I don't know if you encountered this, but our CO is the public school PTO and not once has it ever shown any interest in our Pack -- or our Girl Scout troop either, for that matter. The PTO has never had any role in our program. I have to think anyone in the PTO who has any interest in BSA would have her/his kid already in the Pack. Still, Fuzzy Bear has good advice -- never take anything for granted. I liked the suggest

Thanks for your responses! Fotoscout, your response rang especially true with me. It sounds a lot like our Pack. Here's a tangent: In a Pack, is it standard or traditional for an outgoing hierarchy to recruit its successors? Meaning, their job's not done UNTIL they have recruited people to take over with the chain of command? Kind of a 'departing gift' to the Pack? We have one new DL this year who's a go-getter and a good guy, but he also is a Type A-minus. I know him from another leadership setting and he's not one to wait around for a consensus before forging ahead. All ou

Well, that's overstating it a little bit. But have you ever accepted a key post in your unit without 100-percent eagerness? Is that enough of a 'red flag' to make you say, 'No'? I am torn on whether to seek the CM post in our Pack, with the clock ticking on all of our hierarchy (CM, ACM and CC) ready to move on with their sons to a Troop effective at the B&G in February. I am a Web1 leader, my son's Den, and have the most seniority among all the DLs, and yet I believe that our Pack's future success is based upon more people stepping up to do one thing rather than fewer peop