Pack212Scouter

I'd like to throw one other possibility out there. Our Pack had a highly above average popcorn sale this year, so our account reflects a higher than normal ballance. We are actually using little of this to keep dues at the same level as last year. That said, we aren't budgeting assuming an equally good year this coming year. As has been said, there are plenty of reasons that they may be carrying this ballance. This doesn't mean that any of them apply though.

I noticed that it was said that this was post Popcorn sales. I offer the following possible explanations, although none may apply...

Has the Pack yet paid Council what was owed to them from popcorn? if not, this could account for six or seven thousand dollars of it.

Does the pack use this for operating expenses for through the next popcorn sale? It may be a pay as you go pack, but some costs may be offset to reduce the cost to Scout families. (i.e an event costs $20 per person, but you only charge $10 for the Scout).

Does the Pack have to pay for it's meeting place? I know that Schools here started charging ridiculous fees for Packs to use the school facilities here. On the order of 100-300 dollars per night.

Has the Pack recently been in financial difficulty. If that is the case, there may be more of a tendency towards hording funds right now.

Generally a I think that a Pack should try to carry enough in it's funds to provide for replacement of major equipment about every 5-10 years (PWD track, etc) and have in reserve what the Pack might need in case of an emergency or if fundraising flopped one year.

Additionally, they should be carrying into a year enought to cover awards, recharter, boys life (if they do), scholarships and any other annual expenses (less what the CO provides).

As far as BSA is concerned, two-deep does not apply to a vehicle, only to the trip itself. No one-on-one is what applies to vehicle transport.

Gotta be careful with that blanket statement SMT... While BSA does not have prohibitions on female leaders, some CO's may. This is permitted by BSA.

Yes, it is fully integrated, the same as Webelos is. There is Tiger Cub, Cub Scout, and Webelos all under the Cub Scouting umbrella.

In our Pack we average about $40 per boy. Now this can vary greatly depending on how active the Pack and Dens are. Alot of your awards cost comes from the belt loops and pins program, as well as the Webelos Pins.

Sorry to hear about that Basementdweller. It is unfortunate that some units violate the rules and that DE's do nothing about it. In truth though, I have seen more small than large Packs violate the rules. I'll admit that in the case of small packs it is usually ignorance, while in large Packs it can be intentional, but the rules get broken just the same.

I know that our troop has a limited female policy. Women can serve as MB counselors, and on the Committee and in supporting roles, but not as ASMs. Females are also not permited on trips with the exception of the two family camping trips per year. This is by directive of our CO and not the Troop itself. For middle and high school ages, all programs in our CO ae same sex.

This said, while there is something to be said about the boys learning to deal with females in leadership positions, the reality is that in the rest of many of their lives this is a reality. In schools, and anything else they deal with it. I have heard many times from the youth themselves that they love the camping trips because there are no women there and they can just be boys.

No, we don't own our own BB & Archery equipment. There would be little point since it has to (is supposed to) be done at a District or Council event. COULD we hold such an event? Probably as we have several rangemasters in the Pack, but we would actually have to make such a District event and we would rather just support those programs instead of create more. Plus it wouldn't be a Pack event any longer. We hold monthly Pack meetings and play games, sing songs, plus hand out awards at them. We do all this in less than 90 minutes. Of course it's all about efficient planning too. Are large Packs for everyone, I doubt it. But by the same token, they have their place. I see our boys having friendships, they get individual attention as much as I have seen in any Pack in our area, and families bonding all the time, so that isn't an issue.

Do I know all their names? Not as well as I'd like, but that is more of a function of my abilities than anything else. I have to know someone for a month before I really remember their name. That said, I do know them all.

I'm sorry that some of you have such a negative image of large Packs. We can't help but grow, as they keep coming. Sometimes from other Packs because of the quality of our program. Usually because of the beliefs of our CO (as in strong values, etc). Are there challenges? Of course. At times it can be quite a chore. But at the same time our events are second to none. Our size gives us the leverage of numbers when it comes to being able to afford things, not in influence. Events are definitely a challenge though and you have to plan them to keep the boys engaged. Our average Den size is 9-10. I never go over 10 in a Den except by special request and evaluation, and never 15! I have found that one of the reasons that our program thrives is that in a small Pack you may have 3 or 4 REALLY dedicated and good leaders. In our Pack, because so many are involved, we have over a dozen dedicated leaders. This allows more people to work on an event, creating a truely great one.

Most of the Packs in our area that have split have usually wound up with the new unit dying out and the boys returning to the original Pack. Our Spring campouts for instance rival the Council resident camps. (And before you get on that, we heavily support the resident camps!) In fact our Pack is one of the greatest assets to our Council. It is quite often us that they call when they need help for an event, such as the Celebrety Pinewood Derby this past fall and a few others. We send a representative to every round table and are very carefull about not violating any rules.

What is the largest traditional (non-soccer) Pack that you have seen in your area?

Our Pack rechartered 172 boys this January and we anticipate kicking off this fall with between 180 and 190 boys.

Beavah has the best answer.

In a nutshell, the way that it is supposed to be run is the Committee Chair is responsible for establishing Dens and leaders. In our Pack however, the CC usually winds up keeping up with the CO and paperwork side of things while the Cubmaster runs the program side of things, with the CC's support. Really in fact it is the CO's (or at least the COR) ultimate call since it is their unit

As for the Dens, I see a few things that pop out at me. First of all it looks like the Dens have only one Leader? Each Den should have two leaders if at all possible, especially if they are this size. In our Pack, we have found that dens of 8-10 with 2-3 leaders actually function better than smaller or larger Dens. With sports, etc. interfering with meetings, a Den of 8-10 often winds up functioning as a Den of 6-7; which is often the smallest that you want. If you have a Den of 6, you wind up having meetings with 3-4 boys and that doesn't work well for us, as you tend to lose the Den dynamic.

It sound like you may need a third Den for expansion, but I'd put the boy in one of the existing Dens with the caviat that he may move when you see what next year's lineup looks like.

A flag can only be retired if it was flown on the day of retirement. (I think that this one was more of a desperate excuse because they weren't ready for the posted retirement).

We have had several made. All the 8'x3' size. Shop around some of the local sign shops. You might get one to print one from a digital image that you provide.

LOL...I'm going to have to add that one to my list of "Scout Rules" that people have made up! Now there IS the possiblity that it is a rule of your COR, but I doubt that they would be that specific.

Ok. I stand corrected. I have no firsthand knowledge of the program, but was told this by another unit.

WireDad, just remember when you ask something of someone at Council, you are just as likely to get an answer from the "I heard it" category. When asking, tell them that you would like to have a source to reference to others

Most units use Troopledger with TroopMaster. One thing that it deosn't do well though is Scout accounts. Our Pack has used Quickbooks Pro for a couple of years now and the Troop is converting to it next year. It's not cheap, but it handles anything that you want it to. Additionally it has the advantage of most small business people being familiar with the software.

Thanks for the info. I thought that this was so, but couldn't remember the reference!

Some units, councils, or camps may have specific rules that restrict knife types. As far as BSA is concerned however common sense is the key. I have seen camps that say "no fixed blade knives". I guess this means that I have to leave my filet knife or chefs knife at home if I go there. More often than not however the statement is based on "this is the way it is because I heard it/was old it."

We don't require the worksheets. What our Pack does have though is a policy of no more than 6 belt loops/pins in a month. We feel that in most cases a boy cannot truely earn more than that. They sign this when they join as a policy. If they truely have more than this, they can turn the extra in the next month. This seems to often get rid of the "bling hogs" that just say "it's done" to everything as it is too much effort for them to turn in every month.

I can't find my copy of the uniform guide so couldn't answer this. I had a parent ask me if the homemade slides were official for Cub Scout neckerchief wear. I seem to remember that they are, but I can't find the reference. Does anyone know this? (not that it really matters in the end, but I wondered what the official word is)

In answer to your question Oak Tree, because they are used by Packs, or at least should be. In the case of our council, they have two properties. One is used primarily for Boy Scouts, although there are areas of the reservation specifically for Cubs. The other is used principally for Cub Scouts. All of the Resident Camps are held there and our Pack, for instance, holds our Spring Campout there. You should really look at what is available for your Pack to use at these properties.

"I really hate popcorn selling. I think it is over-priced and we're giving a lot of profit to Council."

CPAMom, I don't mean to sound antagonistic here, but where do you think that the money to support the camp reservations and programs that the council has comes from? For most councils, United Way funds have been steadily decreasing, Friends of Scouting donations have been going down, and they don't get much (if any, I'm not sure) from the BSA dues. If it wasn't for the income from popcorn and any other fundraisers, most of the Councils would be going under.

We had an opt-out option a few years ago and what happened is that people wanted to take this instead of selling popcorn the next year. Luckily we saw this coming and told them that it was not an option any longer and that all Scouts were expected to sell. The result was our bigest popcorn sale year ever last fall. Something to consider when offering an opt-out is that it gets your unit the "minimum" rather than all that the boy can sell. Additionally, the council doesn't get funds from this, as they do from Popcorn. The Districts desperatly need these funds, especially as their United Way funds continue to drop.