Overtrained

I applaud your efforts in having Cubs think of the senior citizens. Talking to a coworker the other day, she mentioned what had just happened to her mother.

The aide came in and said they were going to the break room for a suprise. When they got there, there was a big bowl of cookie dough. They got to roll the cookies and then eat them when baked.

I thought instantly that this could be a good thing for Cub Scouts to do. The majority of senior citenzens are ladies and they miss baking. Add that to young boys people around and you have the makings of good memories.

I'm for giving them the option, but let them know the expense of making their own patches.

As to leaders redesignating patrols every year, my experiance has been that in those cases the patrols are just in name only and the troop isn't truly boy run. They don't have a cheer, yell, patrol flag or compete as a patrol. The only espirit de corp they have is they usually are in the same grade together.

The $1 transfer fee is if you transfer units, not if you multiple register.

An example would be a scout who moved from Milwaukee to Toledo can transfer his registration for a dollar. This keeps his unique identifier number.

Let me clarify my previous post. The postcard I spoke of is attached to a new leader application at Join Scouting Night. The register at the office gives these to the program assistant who mails it out to the district training chairs. The new leader can also mail them directly to the scout office.

We also have the register gives the district copies of the adult application to the DE after they have been entered with the "Unique ID number" My district register then enters that in our district data base. That is how we're able to call all new leaders, not just the Cub Scouters who get the postcard.

I hope this didn't muddy the waters. If someone would like a copy of our ACCESS training database for districts, send me a private email and I'll forward it to you.

Welcome TXscoutdad,

My district just started its first home schooled Cub Scout pack. As of now it appears it'll have a troop next March.

I don't know much about it, so I can't offer much accept to say we have a unit.

Well, we just finished our University of Scouting. We had around 700 participants, which is about the same as last year.

We had some challenges with staff being called to active duty which led to very little promotion, so we were very glad to hold our own.

Our next big training event is a Junior Leader College for scouts and conducted by Lodge Leadership. This is our second year for that and we expect over 600 scouts again for that.

As I develop our University Catalog of classes and lessons, I will let you know. Please continue to let me know of your events so I can add to the wealth of information.

fotoscout,

We have a little postcard with the adult applications at School night that get mailed to the district training chairs within a week of registering. We then call these new leaders and let them know about basic training and University of Scouting, Rountable, etc.

They also get a bunch of flyers. The council newsletter for Oct or Nov also goes to the family of every registered scout.

Seems to work okay. In my particular district, my Vice-chairman of Training calls all untrained leaders 2-6 weeks prior to a training and registers them for training or helps them find another districts training date that might fit better. This fall is the first time we've done that and attendance is up.

I'm like andrewcanoe. I think really those born in '64 are the lost generation. True baby boomers and Gen X don't consider us part of them.

As to topic, I think there is so much more offered today to our youth of all ages that compete for our time. A parent is glad to shed one task off as the youth takes on another group. Some of the recent Harris study shows compelling reasons (what parents and youth want and what scouting offers) to keep involved in scouting. The brochures seem to explain it well, but I had a hard time getting them and have never seen it promoted. It all comes down to marketing,IMHO. If we run a program that competes better for the scouts attention, they'll stay. If we sell the merits and benefits to parents, they'll stay. Sounds simplistic, but hard to do. If we do the first part, we'll have the parents for 12-15 years (1st through 12th or age 21). Well enough babbling over my lunch period. I'm sure this will spark some replies.

Overtrained

Let me add a little to my original post. We are attempting to have a core curriculum that doesn't change, another set of courses that rotate over 3 years, and a last set of current issues or new courses to try. That is why I want to procure a list of your courses and descriptions to add to our group.

As to dwindling numbers for various ones, I think it can be a lot of reasons. One of which would be the same thing over and over. Others might be promotion, timing, price.

Keep the ideas coming. I hope to compile a generic course catalog that I will share with everyone that you could obtain some ideas from. Who knows, we might even invent a wheel?

Werlovz,

Welcome to the forum. I know when they came out with the new adult applications years ago there was a questionaire of sorts, but I don't know that there is now.

My CC looks at the adult application and confirms the responses the adult filled out, to include calling the referances and asking them the same questions about the adult that are on the application.

Hopefully someone has the sheet your talking about. I'd like to see it.

Hi NJ,

Congratulations! Couple of thoughts. BW was correct about what a troop committee members needs to be trained.

A SM/SA need New Leaders Essentials (if they took it as a Cub Leader, thats fine), SM/SA Leader Specific Training and Outdoor Leader Skills.

Youth Protection for adults is available on most council web sites. Encourage your leaders to do that on their time.

If a whole troop committee needs training, then it is best to see if the district will come and do that for you. If it is just a few scouters, then see if the district or council has one scheduled.

As to other jobs, it is always nice to track scouters for their Scouter Key and Scouter Training Knots. At least promote them and let the scouter keep track of it.

One touchy note - the Council Charter/membership system doesn't always match the Council Training records when it says someone is/isn't trained. Make sure to match your records with the council training records and not the membership roster.

YIS

Overtrained.

Does your council hold any of these events or something similiar? If they do, what is a web site one can go to? I'm interested because it is getting harder and harder to have a variety of courses to keep experianced people interested in attending and I'm looking to see what programs others have that I can borrow from. For my part, ours is www.indianhead.org/uos

Thanks

"...I just think we could really do a much better job of giving a clear rationale for uniforming.."

The rationale for uniforming that I have heard and believe works on most parents, is that uniforming evens the field. No matter what background the scout comes from, they're all the same in uniform. Of course, they have to be able to afford one or have some trade in program with the unit.

We had done this for years for our SPL. We'd by him a new Fieldbook and have this done.

Usually this is a book they don't have and its done up nicely. I know of another troop that had done the Jr Leader Handbook this way, but now the new SPL book (I think) is spiraled.

I like the idea of the handbook though. Thanks for posting it.

PS2Lady,

Welcome to the forum. Now that you know the official answer, as everyone was correct, one of your questions was, "Where do we put these patches?"

I have taken my scouting patches and sewn them on a big red wool blanket. It shows my scouting history as a youth and adult. I use these at campouts and often have kept it on the guest bedroom bed along with my green one from Army stuff. Conversation starters both.

There is a four page post on the topic of who is eligible to drive when.

It was posted by mk9750 on July 14,2003 and is titled, " YP and G2SS questions" Use the search to find it.

Perhaps some of the answers sought are there.

Sandyt888, again, the scout in this case is not eligible to drive, therefore the trailer issue is void.

NLDSCOUT is correct. Here is the link to the current part of G2SS that applies:

http://www.scouting.org/nav/enter.jsp?c=xs

Although I haven't been involved on that end of things, I know my troop does have several people sharing information.

We have one master records keeper. All other committee members who keep track of their portion of data give him a disk each month at the committee meeting to update the master file. This way it is not all on one person to enter the record of 50+ boys and adults.

They may even be at the point of emailing him the stuff.

I haven't dealt with TM for a couple of years, but from what I remember, they have good support and will help you in this process.

Bob

Dear Nivipi,

I see from your other thread that you are from Chili. Welcome to the forum.

Although Scouting around the world uses the basics of Scouting from Lord Baden Powell, they are run differently in each country.

In the United States a scout unit comes in many forms. We have Cub Scouts for boys roughly 5 to 11 years old. We have Boy Scouts for boys 11 to 18. We have Varsity Scouts for boys 14-18 and we have Venturing for Boys and Girls 14-21.

Each of this units has a charter partner that agrees with the Boy Scouts of America to use our program with there youth. This partner may be a church, a business, a school, a parents group, and more.

We do have professional scouters who manage about 50 to 80 units and their volunteers. They are paid. The leaders in the units are all volunteers and usually are the parents of the boys involved. So the age range can be 20's to 50's. We also have other volunteers who help train and support the unit leaders.

Our national office has a web site at: http://www.scouting.org/

Hope this answered your questions.

Overtrained

Acco40,

"Your first responsibility is to your unit."

You are absolutely correct. That is the purpose behind OA. But without the unit OA members (youth and adult) making an effort to stay active in the OA, that purpose can be lost. The effort may be as simple as making sure the troop doesn't schedule an activity on the same dates or that if it is the same date they attend the same camp where the event is going on.

NLDScout caught my sentiment. My troop and most in my district do the same as his. There are two troops who are newer and just had their first OA members go through the Ordeal this past weekend.

The Elangomat Chairman and Advisor talked with the Scouts and asked if they knew any OA members. One had a friend at school who was an OA member in the neighboring district. They asked him to come to our event to support his friend. He did.

The other Scout did not know an OA member. We asked him if there was someone he'd still want there. He said his father ( a unit leader). His father did come and worked on projects with the members and was there for his son at the Feast. I think that scout will become Brotherhood and his father will definitely promote the merits of the OA to his troop.

ps His father did not participate in ceremonies or chapter meetings.

Spider,

Bob is correct in the letter of the law.

As a chapter conclave advisor for the last three years though, I believe it is detrimental to the OA to have only individual participation at all events. If the unit doesn't support it by their active participation, then the message to the Scout is that it isn't important. They won't complete their brotherhood and in the end hurt the lodge so they can get their "ticket punched". In the past we had candidate's showing up without units to go through their Ordeal. There was no one that they knew to celebrate their achievement. Our tracking showed they were hard to convert to Brotherhood, even when the Elangomat kept in touch with them.

So, to your question - can they: Yes

Should they - (In my opinion) No

As to the insurance issue of the trailer. If your charter organization has an existing policy, you can add it to it. We have done this with our troop and then pay the CO for the cost.

If you don't want it covered for damage, it doesn't need to be insured at all.

The liability is extended from the insurance of the vehicle that is towing the trailer.

As to the Cargo truck that was mentioned, you will have to get business auto insurance and have every driver listed and rated. I don't know that a CO would want to do this on their policy. They are not cheap either.

Overtrained

Insurance Agent

I have heard of this and seem to remember seeing something on it in an old troop activities/ceremonies book from the early 50's. I'll do my best to find it.

Dave Steele has mentioned a link to the archivist at the national museum before. Perhaps they could help.

I have seen leaders set tents up outside the entrance of school as kids came walking in they would strike up a conversation.

This works anytime of year. Perhaps up here we'd have to do igloos though.

Just because one time of year is better, doesn't mean we can't recruit year around.

If you get all the materials on "Leave No Trace" you will see that it discusses "High Impact" areas. This means our campsites with fire rings and tent spots along with heavily used trails.

The philosophy says to use these and not create new ones for one time use. The best example of this I've seen recently is Philmont. They use existing trails and campsites on most of the programs because to blaze a new trail would, in that enviroment, leave a permanant mark. That is why we can still see the Santa Fe trail all these years later.

I know of one unit that only uses dutch ovens on their trips. They have the aluminum light weight for backpacking too.

Those boys cook at home too.