qwazse

Back in my day, JASMs did guide the troop. Since the boy is all about faith-based stuff, maybe he can be the troop chaplain's aid. He could do a presentations for boys and parents about religious awards. Whatever, put him to work and encourage him to chip away at his next palm.

Don't forget road trips. I've seen scouts from Michigan on the Minister Creek Trail in PA. But for more ideas you might want to put your youth in touch with these guys: http://www.michiganscouting.org/WaterAndWoods/News/WWnewVOA2014. When I started as an advisor my VOA put my youth on to some great activities and opportunities.

RS, I would suggest you allocate your gear to be tended to by individual scouts, that way your QM report to the CO would read something like: Piece of Gear, Quantity, Last known Condition, Stewardship (scout's name) That way they could go chase down every patrol box from every patrol leader and every spoon from every first year if they so choose. It's not a bad strategy ... every scout that's able contributing to the troops storage space. You'll likely loose stuff. But you could possibly start a tradition of troop graduates signing off on gear they've returned in good condition.

Welcome and enjoy advising that crew. Thanks for your service to our youth!

There probably is a middle ground. Make a plan listing what advancement related tasks you'd like to do when. A few of them might involve driving to visit a MB counselor or going to a project site. You may need a buddy or an adult with you. Ask your folks if they can be that buddy and ride with you on your learners permit to do scouting. Earn their trust. Demonstrate your skill. In a few months, they may relent. If they don't you'll have accumulate some precious hours with your folks that you will cherish years down the road.

Arrange to be with his SM four miles into the middle of nowhere. Scout and patrol have to hike there to present his gear and cook lunch for you. Tell him to bring his blue card and you can complete your interview their. Really, you could do anything. He can always choose a different MBC.

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 tips/tricks for managing phone conferences?

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 movement on this issue via their good graces.

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 the law about sleeping arrangements is a little extreme. (By the way, baggss, welcome to the forums!)

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 personal problem. It's about making the world revolve around him/her vs. making sure the world will keep turning on it's on axis while he/she rests up to be ready to serve later.

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 out that I was not to be messed with. Bullying kind of ended for me then because I started to get to know a few kids who could really fight but never did. But, in spite of getting the upper hand, I didn't feel any better about myself. In fact, I felt a little worse for not really being able to "turn the other cheek" and/or really keep that "stiff upper lip." It took scouting and an SM who would shut down any mean-spirited behavior from any of us for me to see how you could keep emotions in check yet play very physically so that everyone could have fun.

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.