PhillyScout

I'm hoping that doesn't happen. I did find out that one of our staff members (a retired NY police officer) is a counselor for it. That should help a little bit .

Thank you so much for all the input!

I love the idea of fingerprinting and have incorporated it into the program already.

I'm working with my cd and se to explore and fit in geocaching, metalwork, space exploration, and public health and am continuing to research the possibility of some of the other ones mentioned.

I'm sure our ranger would be on board with your idea, mnscout.

Thanks again everyone. It really helps to know what units actually enjoy rather than trying to predict what they might like. My goal is to make sure that every scout has fun and falls in love with camp like I did when I was younger.

What's the most interesting/merit badge that was the most fun for the boys in your troop?

I'm trying to incorporate new things into my camp's program and was interested in seeing if you have ever seen any non traditional "camp" merit badges done well.

Thanks!

We use badge tracker (http://www.badgetracker.com/)

I don't have any firsthand experience with it, but both our units and camp admin speak highly of it.

From personal experience, the info usually pops up on the net around December/January. You could try to give National a call but my guess is that dates/locations are still being confirmed. Your best (see:quickest) bet may be to contact the ranger(s) at the camp(s) that NCS normally takes place in your area.

Here's the northeast's camp school page (not yet updated; who knows if it will be):http://nerbsa.org/sitecore/content/Regions/Northeast/program/campschool/residentcamps.aspx

Good luck! Let us know if you find a doc. I have to send a few guys to NCS next year as well.

From what I've heard the program and food are good.

The one negative that I've heard from at least 2 troops is that it was somewhat overcrowded. They were running 600+ campers a week this summer. One scoutmaster said that they were sharing a campsite with 3 other troops.

With that said, my troop had a good experience and are planning to return as far as I know.

Great camps you guys have in Del-Mar-Va, shortridge.

It amazed my unit and I that a council relatively small compared to our own (Cradle of Liberty) can maintain 2 reservations and be building a new one when we can only operate one. What's the secret? We were at Rodney for a weekend this past winter and were really impressed by the camp as well as the campmaster program.

"Director shall at all times reserve the authority to review or retest all participants to ensure the standards have been maintained."

This is pretty important. At the end of the day as a director, the well being of the boys in the water is the responsibility of you and your staff. I personally never ran into the problem (all units were encouraged to take the tests at camp) but as long as the tests were conducted by someone with a camp school card. You're average 16 year old BSA lifeguard doesn't have specific enough training to conduct swim tests without the supervision of a director (as they would have in a camp setting).

I assume you are referring to a repeat after me and do as i do song?

"The Buffalo Dance" and "Singing in the Rain" are personal favorites of mine. Both can be found with a google search.

The BSA is not regulated by HIPPA however, in a resident camp setting, medical information is distributed only on a need to know basis to unit leaders and select staff members.

Standard M20 reads: "The camp director and unit leaders are informed of campers with limitations so that the appropriate staff members are alerted"

As a former waterfront director and current COPE director, information about scouts with asthma, sting allergies, and other relevant conditions is generally made available to me by the health officer at the start of each week.

Something that I have observed as both a leader and a member of camp staff is that parents tend to take their kids off of their add/adhd meds when they send them off to summer camp. My point: taking them off meds isnt going to do them any good. Talk to the parents and ensure that they will be sending the meds with their kids.

The spider web is a COPE low course element. There is some danger associated with this. Ideally, you want a certified COPE director or instructor to facilitate the event but if that isn't an option, here are a few pointers for you:

Feet first! Going through head first greatly increases chance of injury.

Make sure everyone is spotting the person going through.

If it gets rowdy, don't be afraid to stop the event.

Make sure that you are over a soft surface.

I also generally discourage use of elements in timed competition as this generally leads to increased safety risks. Also, one of the philosophies of COPE is that there are no winners or losers; it's about achieving something together.

Here's a picture that may help you get an idea of sizing: http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/5205/1006477jpg.jpg

Let me know if you have any more questions and I'll see if I can help.

I agree with the FOS also. Council camps are a service to the troops, not a business venture or fundraiser for council.

I also couldn't agree more with you, Eagle732. Sure ooc troops provide diversity in a camp and an infinite expanse of potential "customers" but serving the units in your council should be emphasized. If your own troops don't want to go to your camp, what makes them think that ooc troops will want to?

A couple more issues I have:

Camp operates for 6 weeks or more w/900+ campers.

If the camp is providing a quality program to the kids that are at camp and are relatively full what do the total numbers matter?

Camp staff - 50% over 18 years with low turnover.

This is pretty difficult to do especially if they are pushing the financial side of camp so much. A 16 year old is gonna cost you between 500 and 1000 for the summer where an 18 year old doing the same job is going to cost about twice that much. Camps have to offer competitive salaries or they are going to have high turnover. Also, the average turnover for certain jobs is high. Aquatics directors turnover every 1.4 years and COPE directors about 2.3 years.

I have to agree with WAKWIB. Most of my favorite things/times in scouting have come from working at camp. It's so cool to see kids smile because of a skit you did at the campfire or a song you sung in the dining hall. You realize how much of an impact this program has on kids when they come up to you at the end of the week and thank you for working with them on a mb or helping them have an awesome week.

I have been lucky enough to go to camp school twice and have met some amazing people from across the country. I have also had the privilege of working with international scouts.

The best things about working on camp staff are the people you work with. I am amazed every year at how close of a family the staff becomes so quickly. Above all else, the relationships that you create are what keep me coming back every year.

Along with others, I agree that it would be a lot easier to tell with a picture. I'm relatively young (22) and consider myself to be pretty aware of popular culture. From what you described, I see nothing gang related or negative at all. Its a common pose in pictures and the like. There's no real meaning to it that I'm aware. In a social situation, a sign similar to that is used as a parting gesture. It's a derivative of the term "peace out" and was/is the accompanying gesture. Perhaps it was originally a gang related thing but it is now very much a mainstream thing.

Now if they start shaving lines in their eyebrows or getting tattoos...you have a problem. Leave the kids be. They are just having fun.

gsdad: Its great to see a fellow TI staff member on here.

I second the watch suggestion especially working in aquatics where you can't really use a cell phone as a watch. You'll definitely get bonus points for always being on time for things.

If you are working at the waterfront, I would bring 2 pairs of water shoes. By the middle of camp your shoes will probably unwearable. Old sneakers work as do those 10 dollar pairs from payless or wal-mart

You'll probably be issued a whistle by camp but I would recommend getting a pealess whistle (one that doesn't require a ball to create sound) You can get one from wal-mart for 2 or 3 bucks. That way you don't need to take off your whistle when you go into the pool/lake for demonstrations.

Great to see another TI staff alum on here! Welcome to the forum. Theres actually a topic up in the camping section about TI closing. We are also discussing ways to keep it open over at saveTI.org if you're interested.

kgram1: Treasure Island has been operational for 95 years. Just because the buildings are old doesn't make it "run down". In fact, the director of camping commented on the good condition of the island earlier this month. Land mass limitations have not prevented it from being profitable in the past either. Marshall (Eagle) island was already being utilized in the camp program and could be further used to implement new program features.

I dunno how you can back up or refute a claim that one staff is better than another, but I can tell you this. The staff at TI is rooted in a tradition of putting together a good program run by a dedicated, enthusiastic staff that are proud of their camp.

Treasure Island isn't a fancy place with flush toilets or an olympic pool and it doesn't offer the accessibility to drive up to your camp site or program areas. Even if you could, you wouldn't have to because of the great natural layout of the camp. These things shouldn't be important in scouting anyway. Treasure Island represents everything that scouting is, has always been, and should continue to be.

I havn't seen any coverage yet. There is however a group of us (329 right now) that are discussing a plan of action. Part of that should include media involvement. To access the discussion, you can visit www.saveti.org

Most of the discussion is currently housed in a social networking site group but we just established a forum in order to make our conversation more accessible. If you wanna get involved, please join us. Right now we are mostly a youth movement with limited resources.

www.saveti.org (standalone site)

www.savetreasureisland.info (facebook group)

To nldscout. That is up for debate. there is a very good article here about it:

http://www.usscouts.org/scoutcamp/oldestcamps.asp

Treasure Island was first opened in 1911 under a different name. It has been operated as a Philadelphia Council(merged) camp continually since 1913.

To John:

I think that is something that definitely has to be looked into. Not only does it have the history of the OA, but there was a dig conducted on the island which unearthed artifacts I believe in the 80's. I don't have much information on that but to this day, people still stumble across arrowheads and other things around camp. It is suspected that the Lenni Lanape, at one point, used the island as either a burial ground and/or a hunting camp.

Additionally, Edward Marshall of the infamous 'walking purchase' made his home on Marshall Island (the second island that makes up the reservation that is now named after him)in the years following the purchase in an attempt to escape native americans who were angered by his involvement in the purchase.

To Bob White...

I never said anything about anyone telling the council what to do with their assets or how to run their corporation. In fact, talk like that is contributing to the closure of camps. Everyone is too concerned about the bottom line anymore. Last time I checked, scouting wasnt about money or politics.

My original post was mainly meant to inform this community about the closure of the camp and to reach out to anyone who may have had experience with the camp. Even so, it doesn't matter what council you are in, we are all scouts. We are all a part of the same family. A voice is a voice, no matter who it comes from and the fact that they are asking for opinions prompted my original post.

To address the question about flooding, yes floods are a potential problem. However, Treasure Island has only experienced 3 major floods in its 95 year existence and had 50+ years between the first 2. Environmentalists have begun over the past two years to take steps to help prevent future floods. The storms that produced the floods are rare in this area and odds are that if the island does indeed flood again, it won't be for quite some time.

I just wanted to make everyone aware that the Cradle of Liberty Camping and Executive committees have "recommended" that Treasure Island Scout Reservation be closed effective October 1st. They have invited scouters to voice their opinions by emailing campinginfo@colbsa.org.

The official statement and an abstract of the report can be found here: http://www.colbsa.org/openrosters/ViewOrgPageLink.asp?LinkKey=2308&orgkey=541

For those that aren't aware, Treasure Island was established by the Philadelphia Council in 1913 and is the oldest operating scout camp in the United States. In 1915, the Order of the Arrow was founded by E. Urner Goodman and Carroll A. Edson.

If you have had any experiences with Treasure Island whether it be directly or indirectly, I ask you to please make your voice heard by emailing the Cradle of Liberty Council at campinginfo@colbsa.org

Treasure Island

It may be hometown bias, but its really a great camp. I always have looked forward to it as a scout and even now as an adult.

Oldest continually running scout camp, birthplace of the OA, and as far as I know, the only scout camp that is actually an island. Layout of the camp and the program are pretty awesome too.

http://colbsa.org/openrosters/ViewOrgPageLink.asp?LinkKey=15041&orgkey=1112

http://colbsa.org/openrosters/ViewOrgPageLink.asp?LinkKey=16549&orgkey=1112

Here's your answer to the merit badge sash rumblings:

http://scoutstuff.org/BSASupply/ItemDetail.aspx?cat=01RTL&ctgy=PRODUCTS&c2=UNIFORMS&C3=UACCESSORIES&C4=&LV=3&item=620SASH&prodid=620SASH^8^01RTL&

Kilts would be pretty awesome but they would probably say its a gray area or something.

Tomorrow is the day of reckoning . I may be tempted to stop at the scout shop after work to check em out in person.