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Now that our council has expanded our VOA cabinet is relying on phone conferences. Each youth officer is more than an hour away from the others. We tried video but that had a host of problems. (Didn't work for everybody, sometimes not for anybody. When it did work didn't help the discussion advance much.) Except for 15 minutes of fumbling because the wrong # was circulated, our first phone conference of the year seemed to go well, and I'm looking forward to hearing our VOA President improve as the year goes forward. Besides making sure everyone has the right number , Does anyone have

Yep. Most of my crew is clueless. We try to require it if a youth is on the VOA, but even then you're herding cats. Now that we're phoning in cabinet meetings, there is no way of policing uniform compliance. (Unless somebody invents uniforms that are cell-phones which only operate when the wearer has them on properly!)

There's another thread here somewhere. But the general thinking is that the voting pool from whom a youth is elected into O/A should range from the 11 to 17 year-olds members of the unit. (In my troop, doing right by the cross-overs is critical to being elected.) Members of Crews do not have an 11-13 y/o constituency in their own unit. Regardless of the logic you choose to use, it's up to the young Arrowmen to enact change in their order. Rant here, and be sure no change will be made. Appeal to them to bring it up at NOAC and other conclaves, and perhaps you will begin to see movem

They are revamping Bronze, Gold, and Silver awards. The expert awards (Ranger, Trust, Quest, Quartermaster) are unchanged.

Contact your local sportsmans club to see if they host any youth NRA certifications. Field sports with a mix of large and small caliber rifles, shotgun, and pistol can be done in a 1/2 day on that kind of budget. Cycling trails. See if anyone has a family farm near a scenic trail. Dutch oven cooking can be a big draw. An evening at the go-cart track.

Kayaking, Rocket Launches, Jai Alai, Fishing, Coconut Harvesting, Salsa Dancing, Kite Building, Costal Search and Rescue, RC Airplanes, Dog training, Hog Hunting, Invasive species removal (Python, Lionfish, African Crocs ...)

That's ridiculous. First of all the youth make the rules on public displays of affection. That implies that dating couples are part of crew life. Secondly, part of a healthy dating relationship is learning to "turn off" the intimacy switch so that you can feel like part of the group without being "owned" by your partner! Venturing is designed so the couples can hash out the ethics of dating. Thirdly, there is nothing like being in a tandem kayak for a few hours to actually find out how compatible you really are. Not allowing dating couples just to avoid adults like BD having to lay down t

Looks sharp! Congrats to your crew for settling on a uniform. Do you fundraise to offset costs?

Hallmark male PMS. (An aside for PC types: I know this has nothing to do with cycles, and that youths' behavior is not as hormonally driven as folks make it out to be. But, in my crew some girls appreciate it when I call out the boys on this kind of thing, because ever since period one, folks have been blaming their "all about me" moments on things they can't control. It's nice to turn the tables. And, without pointing the finger at the females, teach that those "all about me" moments may have more to do with plain old selfishness than human biology.) It's never about one kid and some pers

MT, that last one is genius, especially heart shaped balloons. You could call the game "Heartbreaker Hop"!

Forestalling death is it's own reward.

See JBlake's replay to howarthe on 11-04-2013. That about sums it up. But definitely start a new topic on this one. We've had similar, but it's always nice to have a fresh batch of replies!

'Skip, as a kid I never actually 'laid out' bullies. I landed a right hook square in a mate's jaw at church camp. Brought him to tears, which then brought me to tears. It was pathetic. But, word got around that although I was flat-footed and generally a softie, my arm had a longer reach than most. So, "going there" with me could have unintended consequences. Then in Jr. High, some upper-classmen cornered me against a locker, and pulled some punches just shy of connecting with my face. I didn't flinch, so it kind of freaked them out. Truth was I had slow reflexes. Anyway, somehow word got

Our troop charges $55/boy this year. That's about $4.50/month. Just enough to cover registration fees and bling. Adults: $30/year. We'll evaluate if we have increase at the end of the year. Our crew charges $28: just enough to cover registration. We've only had to purchase one medal in the past 7 years. There is a little padding in the treasury for that and any active youth who comes up short financially.

Pity the SM. That medal of honor paperwork is gnarly.

It's been going around. Still if I was the boy, I wouldn't have told you. A day sick in the woods is better than a day recuperating any place else! Probably all the better that you didn't pull his tent pegs.

Thanks for more details. Talk to your scout executive as soon as possible. There may be resources out there, and he/she should be in a position to know about them. Also, a seasoned exec will put you in touch with seasoned leaders to help you think through what's best for the boy and the troop. Also, scouting doesn't stop in the juvenile justice system. Hopefully your scout will not face that. But, there are opportunities for him to keep working the program in juvy.

When you get a chance, tell the kid no hard feelings. But mid-afternoon was not the time for cracker barrel activities. Keeping an eye on things is part of the responsibility that goes with the patch.

Male PMS. gotta love it. On the fly, I have overridden SPLs who planned a slacker's afternoon. "When you get home, go crying to your mamas that Mr. Q made you hike an additional 3 miles 'cause the first-years wanted to keep going. I'd love to hear what they say." I get that boys sometimes want to step back from responsibilities with the youngn's. Fine, there's always wood to chop. I've never hesitated to pull pegs and poles. Tents are for members only. Now my crew may have the afternoon nap, but they'll start hiking at midnight.

Different councils have different resources. Ours would support any disciplinary action the troop would feel it needs to take. It would follow the lead of the Sate Police. They would refer the scout and his parents to ample counseling resources. In all likelihood they would insist that the boy consider rehab. In other words, everyone would do everything in their power to discourage the boy to never use that drug again. For a boy to want to bring a controlled substance to a scouting event, there are bigger issues in play. We all would want to know what those issues are and how many

Our boys gather all kinds of weeds and attempt to smoke them. We yell at them and insist they stop. If they persist. We tell their parents. In terms of transporting non-native controlled substances that are illegal for any youth to have or use. We may call the boys parents and tell them to take him home (at their expense). If it is a controlled substance that is illegal for anybody (adult or youth), I would not hesitate to call the authorities. Regarding marijuana, I effectively lost a jr. high friend for a decade because he bought the lie that it was a "clean" tobacco with no ill

The point of reverting to council is to find a good home in another troop. Our troop got some of its gear like thar.

Even with ISA's, well managed general fund, etc ... Scouters in our troop have had to dig deep to float some special expense or underwrite some scout who fell on hard times. Making sure none of your buddies miss out on some super activity by reducing the fees/collecting enough gear for everyone is its own reward. It's just like putting a dollar in the toll for someone who came up short on the bus. It's not about them being deserving or not, it's about making the driver's day a little bit easier so he can concentrate on the road and serve us all better. Betcha BD's griping mom was th

Well, DT, since 1911 scouters (BP included) started realizing that it's not just about boys. Even if we were still unisex in membership, our mission would always include youth in general, and a better society at large. When you're trying to get some philanthropist to write a check for millions (never done that personally, but know the fellas who do), a "here's how we're impacting the world" catchphrase goes a long way.

Sounds like your QM gets to earn his keep! Does the CO have a point? Do you have too much stuff? What kind of space are you asking for? When was the last service project the boys did for the CO?