oldsm

From Foxnews.com just now (6/24/10 @ 11:43 a.m.): Boy Scouts Win Battle in Court June 23, 2010 - 12:32 PM | by: Rick Leventhal UPDATE: A Philadelphia jury has ruled in favor of the Boy Scouts, meaning they will not be evicted from their home or forced to pay rent, at least for now. Outside the courthouse, a lawyer for the Boy Scouts, Jason Gosselin, told Fox News the Scouts won on the most important issue, that of First Amendment rights. The jury found the city posed an unconstitutional condition on the organization by asking it to pay $200,000 annual rent on property it

We're not close to the AT - it's about a 2-hour drive for us. However, several years ago, 4 of my previous scouts did a 3-day/2-night section in rain (which turned out to be the edge of a significant tropical depression - wet enough that they coined the term "whitewater hiking"). Four of them also attempted a portion of the AT in Maine, and found that they'd bitten off more than they could chew. My recommendation before tackling the AT is to get the guys in shape with a series of warm-up hikes. Start light, then work up to full packs. And don't count last summer's training as preparation

This past weekend we held our Annual Planning Conference but use a format that is probably familiar to most of you. First off, our SPL's have been singularly unwilling to think ahead enough, or perhaps too immature, to conduct a planning session, because they always fall back on the familiar. And only 2-3 scouts would show up for the session (a meeting held in the church lounge around a conference table). This year we scheduled the APC for a Friday night + all day Saturday at a small church-operated camp that none of the Scouts had ever been to. We had access to cabins and a lodge wi

I believe that Troop Ledger (troopmaster.com) is an excellent, comprehensive program designed for the way Scout units operate. It is based on solid accounting principles. If you don't understand debiting and crediting of accounts, then you'll need to read the user guide carefully. You can track routine budget income/expense, scout accounts, trip accounts, troop assets (trailers, gear, etc.), and much, much more. I got our treasurer to try it a couple of years ago, believing that it would provide more clarity and granularity of reporting. However, our treasurer was more comfortable using

Regardless of how you attach them, 15-20 ribbons on a troop flag pole is a bit much. It gets to the point that you can't see the flag, and it becomes unwieldy to handle. In a parade, the mass of ribbons makes the whole thing very top heavy. Indoors, the weight causes the flag and stand to fall over. You can't display/store ribbons in a book - at least we haven't found a way. Most of the time, they just wind up in a drawer. Are they worth keeping? I'm still looking for solutions...Thanks!

What does your troop do with all those ribbons that are awarded? Such as: - annual recharter ribbon - 100% Boys Life (at recharter time) - Participation ribbons (for camporees, etc.) - 1st/2nd/3rd-place ribbons for various events: competitions at camporees and other outings (some may have been earned by patrols or "temporary/mixed" patrols, depending upon attendance) - FOS participation BSA sells a ring that can be added to a flagpole so your ribbons can be displayed with the troop flag. But sooner or later they all get tangled, the cords fray, and they generally look a mess. No

Yeah, I was kind of thinking along those lines. Unfortunately, we're between DE's right now. I do know the SE, although not well - our paths have crossed a number of times (always on good terms)...I'll definitely be contacting the DAC.

Last evening I met with the Troop Committee to review this whole incident. All 6 TC members present except one have sons in the troop (the other one's son aged out about 25 years ago). They had all heard bits and pieces from their sons. I filled them in on the events that occurred, read the dad's email, and presented my findings. My recommendations were that the dad be banned from all scout activities except Courts of Honor for some indefinite time, possibly a minimum of 6 months, and have to complete YP, after which we would consider reintegrating him into the parent community based on our ob

Thank you to all for the answers and suggestions thus far. Last week the SPL did an excellent job reviewing the boys' code of conduct (which basically elaborates on the Scout Law) with the entire troop to help everyone figure out how things happened and what, if anything, needed to be done to prevent future problems. The basic outcome was that this was a case of boys being boys and they just need to be aware of what they're doing. There was no apparent intent to hurt anyone, so they decided that the no consequences needed to be imposed on the Scouts. Involving the entire troop was appropr

The adults were still in the campsite, about a 7-10 minute walk away, but out of voice range. The boys were in the parking lot on their way to visit the adjacent swamp to see what could be seen. The dad was expected to pick up his older son, but got there about 30 minutes early (that in itself is of no consequence). This camp is a small "wilderness" camp with a small parking lot, 3 virtually unimproved camping areas, 1 latrine, 1 water source, 1 light. No tent platforms, no shelters, etc. It's a great place to camp! The adults were intentionally following the boys at some distance to

A situation occurred near the end of a camping trip this weekend that calls for action. I was not present, but as SM have been placed squarely in the middle of the fray. There are several issues. This is going to be long, but the details are important to the situation. I apologize in advance. 1. Scouts behaving poorly. While one scout was giving another a piggyback ride, he apparently and accidentally kicked another scout who was on foot. Concurrently, another scout was running with a stick; he tripped, and the stick struck the scout who had just been kicked. (The victim is one of the you

Not a committee decision. Ideally, let the boys discuss it and come up with their solution. If you absolutely can't trust their decision, then it's up to the senior adult in charge at camp - that's you! Tell the other adults that no shirts is OK, but draw the line at no pants! Time to get unwound a bit - the whole Committee, too.

There are a number of us who would like accurate, updated information - and not so that we can gloat, second-guess, or play Monday Morning QB. Unfortunately, it seems that those with direct or 2nd-order knowledge have been duly disgusted with the online antics of certain members of this forum and have gone elsewhere. Too bad. I can't blame them for not saying where else they're going. Was/is this a hoax? I don't know. But not abiding by the spirit of the Scout Law and Scout Oath with respect to this thread has, I think, cheapened this entire forum. It takes a lifetime to develop a re

What do the boys want?

According to my District Advancement Chair, there are no plans to follow through with the Historic Merit Badges. Seems that someone at National thought it would be a good idea, Boys Life picked it up and ran with it, but the decision to actually do it was never approved and likely will not be. BL owes us an apology, I think.

In the previous thread, a poster was asking about the value of a Den Chief in Cub Scouts. I have a related question: How do you find a [good] Scout who can make the commitment to be a Den Chief? I know that DC is a POR, but there are lots of others. DC, it seems, requires another weekly meeting beyond troop/patrol functions, along with prep time and time to plan with the WDL. With the huge variety of activities that older scouts get involved in, where do you find a BS with the time, the skills, and the interest. From a troop perspective, how do you make this work? And how do you ge

We post the new requirements on the bulletin board, send an email to every scout (and parents), and write them on the appropriate page of the scout's handbook (makes good reference at the BOR).

It hasn't worked for several months...

We have used Class B (www.classb.com). Their prices are good (no surprises), and their quality and customer service are absolutely outstanding. They are licensed by BSA. I don't know how the exchange rate will work or what shipping costs will be, but check them out.(This message has been edited by oldsm)

The funniest one was the Doritos ad where the cheeky young lad says "keep your hands off my momma, and keep your hands off my Doritos." I'm still laughing at that one.

I haven't read everything in this thread, but one thing irks me about most of the DE's that we've had: They cannot communicate well. Oral: Needs to be concise. Use the correct words, not just something close to what you mean. Be explicit. Written: Learn how to write effectively. Especially when you present yourself as a professional. Too much written communication (letters, fliers, and emails) are very poorly done - most middle school students would not be able to get a passing grade on a paper written as poorly as some DE communications. It is embarrassing. Seeing letters from my DE

We use Troopmaster.net, although we haven't taken advantage of the multiple users aspect yet. I, as SM, do all of the data entry, including individual requirements as the are earned - IF I am told about them. We have a standing rule that anyone who signs off on a requirement has to give me a note so that I can update TM. I find TM useful to track when a scout starts a MB and who the counselor is. For the MB's I counsel, I do track the partial requirements. We have about 20 active scouts, so it's not too difficult to keep up. Our Council now requires that all advancements be done online, eith

Don't close the thread. I want to see what happens when the number of pages in the thread goes exceeds the space allotted on 1 line. Will the numbers concatenate (1 2 3 4 5...33, 34, 35)? Or will they wrap to another line?

I'm not sure I understand what you're asking for? Pictures of "evidence"? Or are you suggesting that a scout can "identify or show evidence" by submitting photos he finds online? Or pictures that he takes himself? My troop follows the practice of having a scout show or identify the actual animal/scat/tree hole/beaver dam/etc. in the wild - usually on a camping trip. How do other units handle this requirement?

It's not a replacement for the printed book, though. There's no "app" to sign off on advancements, so you still need the paper version.