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In my book, TroopLedger is worth the money, although my committee Treasurer disagrees. TroopLedger goes far beyond what you can easily do with Excel or any simple spreadsheet. For example, * Easily set up multiple accounts, including scout accounts, trip accounts, fund raising accounts, liability accounts, etc., etc. * Easily split proceeds from activities among participating scouts * Track troop assets (equipment), including aging. * Prepare comprehensive budgets for next year It does take a little effort to get TroopLedger set up properly, and once that's done you have to t

I thought I'd posted this a day or so ago, but I can't find it anywhere, so I'll try again. Sorry if this is redundant. The scouts in my troop are planning an August 2008 trip from Connecticut to Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. We'll be driving (about 950 miles each way), so it's a 2-day trek each way. The boys are hoping to find a BSA camp en route to overnight on the way out and back. Given the distance, it needs to be somewhere in the general area that western Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia come together. Does anyone know of any BSA camps in that area that might

I guess I'm the biggest loser so far. After MANY years of different diets which all resulted in the yo-yo syndrome described by LisaBob, I'd pretty much given up. Until last June, when I opted for a surgical technique: the LapBand. I'm a believer. I've lost 110 pounds and I feel absolutely GREAT. I've taken 10 inches of my waist, 2 1/2 inches off my neck, and went from wearing 2X sizes (almost 3X) down to a straight L (bypassed the XL!). Now my wedding band falls off - have to get it resized! The LapBand isn't magic - it's only a tool to be used in conjunction with dietary changes (like eating

Thank you! This is exactly what I was looking for. I guess I erred in assuming that the video stocked at the scout shop was the latest version. I'll have to talk to them about this.

My troop has marched for years in our local Memorial Day parade. It is expected. The PLC flat-out tell the boys (and their parents) that the only acceptable excuses are being in the HIGH SCHOOL band (which is curricular - the middle school is optional), severe illness, or the family is out of town. The sports teams (soccer, little league, karate, etc.) have enough people to represent them in the parade. Those units just walk as a mob. Our scouts take pride in keeping their rows and columns straight and generally try to march to the beat of whichever band they can hear. They do take p

I just obtained the DVD "Youth Protection: Personal Safety Awareness (AV-09V027)". This is the video aimed at kids 14-20 years old. It is excellent. However, I cannot locate a facilitator's guide. According to my local scout shop, they don't believe that there is one, and searching scouting.org was an exercise in futility. I did find an old version, but it's for a version that includes suicide prevention as a topic - that's not on the current DVD. Does anyone know where I can obtain a Guide?

My troop did the Freedom Trail last spring and loved it. It's good to allow all day for this. That way you can spend time at the various waystations and really learn something about history. Quincy Market is an excellent place to let the scouts have lunch - it's always crowded, but it's great for people-watching. And the variety of foods available is astounding. You'll want to build in time to visit Old Ironsides (that needs about an hour without the muesum), and the the guys will want to climb the tower at Bunker Hill (an obelisk - sort of a mini-Washington Monument). And when you finish

My troop did the Freedom Trail last spring and loved it. It's good to allow all day for this. That way you can spend time at the various waystations and really learn something about history. Quincy Market is an excellent place to let the scouts have lunch - it's always crowded, but it's great for people-watching. And the variety of foods available is astounding. You'll want to build in time to visit Old Ironsides (that needs about an hour without the muesum), and the the guys will want to climb the tower at Bunker Hill (an obelisk - sort of a mini-Washington Monument). And when you finish

I don't recall the year that the movie was set in, but I'll bet that the 2-deep leadership requirement didn't exist back then, along with a whole passel of rules and regulations that have been forced upon us by the lawyers. Those were to good ol' days.

My son earned Eagle just before he turned 18. He scheduled his ECOH for this coming January so that a lot of his friends (who are off to college) will be able to attend during the winter semester break. He has been asked to speak at a major Council event in late November attended by probably 400 major financial supporters of the local Council. His role is to speak to his experiences as a Boy Scout and how it helped to shape who he is. He is expected to be in uniform. He is registered as an ASM in the troop, but also maintains his membership in a Crew (although I'm pretty certain he's

My [biological] boys have both Eagled and aged out. One asked me if, since he and his brother had moved on (college, etc.), if I was going to leave the troop, too. I've chosen to stay. I enjoy guiding my [other] boys - those who are still on the trail, and they seem to like me. I had a conversation with a mom yesterday about her son (new PL with scant leadership inclination - sigh). She stated unequivocally that she is so glad that I am the SM, and "the boys just love having you as their scoutmaster". She said that those are the boys' words - not her. Creepy? I think not, especially

Welcome. It's good to see another Nutmegger on the board.

You and I don't know the unit. These were younger scouts - who knows better than their adult leaders how much they are capable of at this point? The older boys bailed on them - sounds like their leadership abandoned them. I'll bet that the weekend provided some food for thought for those who went. I do think it's presumptuous of us to second-guess based on our experiences with our own units.

Methinks that jblake47 is hung up too much on semantics vis a vis patrol method/troop method. It sounds to me like you made some excellent decisions and salvaged the weekend. Close physical proximity doesn't mean that patrols can't function as patrols. The important thing is that the boys are learning to take control of their activities under reasonable adult guidance. Trust your instincts. I believe you're on the right path.

Can someone explain the significance of saving or rescuing the grommets when a flag is retired? As far as I know, the flag is the stars, stripes, and the blue field. Nowhere is there mention of grommets! Grommets are simply a utilitarian device to make it easy to attach the flag to some other object, like a pole or a rope. So why do we attach significance to the grommets? Are we just practicing LNT by not leaving non-combustible material in a fire ring? I'm curious about placing the on grave markers. Unless they're embedded or screwed on, wouldn't they just fall off during the next strong

Be prepared to wait for your custom numerals. My troop has used them for years, and it generally takes 4-6 weeks to get them. I've had the centennial patches on order since mid-August and they're not here yet.

Although the policy regarding new uniforms has yet to be published, I think that common sense and tradition indicate that the green sock with the BSA at the top goes with the Centennial uniform. Sort of like the red-stripe socks matched the color of the official uniform pants. The new green socks match the new pants. The Thorlo socks don't match anything. I think the gray Thorlo "activity" socks are just an attempt to provide an alternative sock to wear when hiking or wearing boots. The old red-strip socks really weren't very good for hiking, but they were great for formal occasions such

Thanks, John. My troop has done flag retirements (very respectfully, btw) for several years. We'd never think of tossing one on the BBQ. For those who are network news addicts, we've also addressed the "respectful" nature of burning as opposed to the headline-grabbing protesters who like to wrap themselves in the flag or make a spectacle out of burning the flag in anger. My troop (myself included) prefers to burn the flag in its entirely. Otherwise, you are essentially destroying the flag by cutting. (And what about all the little threads that inevitably fall to the ground?) My guys

My local council newsletter, just published, has an article in it about how each of the closing campfires at Cub Scout resident camp included a flag retirement ceremony. This was something different that was quite meaningful (the intent and thrust of the article). However, the article contains the following statement: "The BSA is one of a few organizations authorized to conduct these flag retirement ceremonies." From the US Code, Title I, Chapter 4, Section 8(k): The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignifi

Experience? As a candidate for VICE-President, Sarah Palin has more executive experience than Obama does running for the top position. "Change you can believe in": Mr. Establishment Biden?

We make things so difficult sometimes. If you take a rubber band (which has no beginning and no end), pass it through a ring, and then loop it back over itself, you will get the same kind of "knot" that is at the bottom of the emblem. Basically, you need a loop to start with - how you get it probably doesn't matter: square knot, granny knot, overhand, on a bight or not... I believe the knot is more symbolic than anything else. It's supposedly a reminder to "do a Good Turn daily". And what this "knot" is is really nothing more than a loop of rope/string/whatever "turned" around the ring an

Thanks for the link, Eagle92. However, I would not trust it for patch placement. What that link has is nothing more than marketing slicks designed to sell the uniform. As others have noted, it's not necessarily in agreement with the Insignia Guide. Best bet is to wait until September, or you may be unpleasantly surprised.

John-in-KC, you cheer the fact that the annual Requirements book has been placed online so you don't have to buy it every year. I submit that going online has is drawbacks beyond those already mentioned, such as lack of access in rural areas. The first thing that comes to mind is loss of history and context. While what is "out there" right now might be current and accurate, there is usually no way of looking back at preceding documents. For example, I found out this summer that one of our camps was planning to teach Citizenship in the World MB as part of its Trail to Eagle program using t

I just came back from my local scout shop, and I'm bummed. The new uniform pants are pretty nice. They are a darker shade of green than the now-old switchbacks. The shop had only the "canvas" pants - the nylon ones won't be available until sometime in September (they're supposedly on a boat somewhere between the Far East and the U.S.). I was told that nobody has them - not even the warehouse - and that while I could probably order them online, they won't ship until sometime in September. Both nylon and canvas pants are (or will be) available in both "classic" and "relaxed" fit. The canvas

Fotoscout, see my earlier comments about Camp Mattatuck near Waterbury CT: http://www.campmattatuck.org. It will resolve ALL of the concerns you have. My troop has gone there for years, and the older boys keep coming back - actually, 4 of them opted to be CIT after our week and plan to be on staff next year. Your scouts will know their counselors' names by the end of Monday. The food is outrageously good for a scout camp - plentiful, too. Example: for the salad bar they don't use bagged iceberg lettuce - I saw the kitchen staff actually cutting up real romaine. The scouts even commented abou