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I just remembered, Son #1 did take his SPL's little sister to homecoming! I agree that the issue is respect. But, in general the time for an adult to handle it is after the meeting. I would pull the boy aside and say "Next week, I'm expecting better from you." No lecture, no rehashing details, no waiting for an explanation from the boy. Then I would ask the SPL if he understood what that was all about. Then follow-up if there was anything serious. But, from a visitor's perspective none of hat behind-the-scenes work would be noticed. That's why I suggested that OP talk to the SM. I

One comment about iron-on transfers: I've never seen them hold up long term. My suggestion was just for a tiger flag (for that den that year). If your boys keep their den # as they move up, make that a central part of your flag.

Hey Tex, you and whose army are gonna move this thing? I still strongly suggest thinking in terms of separate modules for your food, vs. equipment.

Our camp has a nice Friday tradition: mile swim before breakfast, five mile hike around the lake before lunch, and four mile canoe around the lake after lunch. They call it the Heritage Reservation Iron Man. Youth and adults may participate. Comes with a nice t-shirt. (Used to be in Steelers colors, but I think the Ravens fans weren't buying them, so they changed the design. )

Cubs keep their sign and salute, http://scout-wire.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/BSA-Considers-Changes-to-Program-Ideals-to-Reinforce-the-Organization.doc But venturers lose theirs.

I'm impressed with the second design, mainly because I never saw it before. I like troop 21's system. Still not sure where the 2nd pair of staves gets stowed. Personally, I have a family camp box from my wife's uncle. No legs, but where there aren't picnic tables we can lash a stand or work off the ground. No food in the camp box. I had one national park raccoon successfully make off with a locally packed salami, because I was too sure I had properly secured it.

Also, if you're on a suitable go-see-it, you might want your boys to look for symbols/landmarks in your community. Then decide which ones they want to incorporate on their flag. Finally, four words for you: Printable iron-on transfer paper.

I'd like to think folks are being a little more judicious, but I am afraid that the tough economy is also an issue. From where you sat, was the river as busy as usual?

I have not heard of JTE's score cards making their way into any reportable database. If they did, I would be highly suspicious of the data. They aren't handled uniformly across our district, let alone council, area, or region. Even the membership stats may be somewhat inflated. They used to be worse, but (among other reasons) it's starting to cost real money to keep ghosts on the rosters.

The heading in this table is for the average unit, which includes packs, troops and crews. From here: http://www.scouting.org/about/annualreports/bsatraditionalmembershipsurvey.aspx we have 848,291 Boy scouts in 39,392 troops = 21.5 boys per troop in 2012.

Also, the buttons no longer have the fleur-de-lis on them -- a point not lost on the female venturers in our crew, and a show-stopper for them. (They aren't looking for any more reminders that they are a different program from boy scouts.) In May, National announced planned changes to the awards and recognition: http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/venturing/newprogannouncement.aspx It alluded to uniforming becoming more of a method, and allowed for the "field uniform" to undergo revisions, but it did not specify a time line or any specific design changes.

I suppose you could make benchmarks for all of those, let's see: - Ideals: % of boys who can say oath and law independently. - Outdoors: % of outdoor activities set by PLC. % implemented by boys. - Patrols: % of meetings where PL can report.attendance with none unaccounted for. - Advancement: % of youth signatures in books on requirements. - Adult association: % of boys who've contacted an adult about any given aspect of the program, or % of adults acting because a boy specifically requested them to do so. - Personal Growth: % of boys with an immediate answer to the question "So,

Question: (more for thought, and not judging) how essential is it that an adult make reservations, file permits, collect med forms, etc ...? Is the reason that we lose some older boys that they see their role diminishing if they are not the SPL? They feel they can take on that extra school activity or evening class because there is nothing they need to do around the scout house.

Graduation parties are big around here. Since Son #1 pushed to his 18th b-day in the spring, we had the ceremony at the CO, then instead of having a reception there, we invited everyone over to the house to kick off the first party of the summer.

Transfers only cost $1, and I'm told scouts are friendly. Of course, being worthy of his new peers will take time. But, if he's up front about his situation, and a little humble about the fact he's serving a new troop in hope of election, and he does indeed serve cheerfully, I'm sure the boys will support him. As for you, in general, fences can be mended. Folks just need a little time. Keep in mind that your son will be watching how you comport yourself and talk about this situation to others. I would suggest doing that in a way that shows everyone in a good light -- even if in the

Sometimes people like to have their own little fiefdoms. They don't even realize what they're doing. That's where a gentle nudge by a UC can sometimes help. Other times, they know full well that they are high minded, and they just don't care. Not much can be done unless that person gets to roundtable and camporees and spends a lot of time with different units. Just sit tight and wait for it all to fall apart. Spout this 300' stuff too loudly and people think you're abandoning their little Johnny to the depredations of the wild. Other times, National can be addle-headed.

I think I get what you are saying. You are concerned about small numbers. Don't worry about that. Everyone participates! If one of the other two scouts is really good at communications, he can be the Master of Ceremonies (MoC). Otherwise ask if one of the adults do that. The MC basically walks everyone through the program. And introduces each participant. Also if you have friends in other troops, you could invite them to participate. Here is one way to make everything work: Have one of the boys be "Sergeant at Arms" (SaA). At the MoC's request, he leads the assembly in the pledge of all

Remember, if you feel stuck, ask for help. Are you two really creative? Write a script. Do you like tradition? Follow a pattern of something already written. Ask previous Eagles in your troop what they have done. Something I haven't seen that I would like, is a panel discussion format. But that's just me. What I think you should do is ask around if there is a scouter who has MC'ed a ECoH for your troop before. They may have some good ideas.

It's a balance. My daughter was academically advanced. Started taking a full load of freshman engineering courses her senior year in high school. Son #1 talked her into staying in the dorms rather than commuting since she was gonna be there so much. I wanted to throttle him! But, turned out she was socially mature as well. Dad just needed to have a little faith .

I first earned my mile swim in a pool. Not until our scout reservation opened with a 250 acre lake, could I even think of doing it any place outside of an aquatics area. Open water (150-200 yard legs) was much easier. Complete straight shot would be easiest. KDD's spot on about the flip turns.

Sounds like son #4 needs to decide if he should transfer to another troop so he has a chance to qualify for O/A, or stick with this troop and take a pass on lodge life. It is unfortunate when adults perpetrate this kind of bias. And it must be tough on you because it sounds like you were trying to keep up a family tradition. But, now it's in your son's (and maybe his friend's) hands. If he sticks with the troop, he can mention at every SMC and BOR that this is his one regret about this troop. He may decide that this wont be his mantra forever. Or, he may decide to be a persistent yet

Maybe you shouldn't be selling more. Maybe you could call some packs from less fortunate neighborhoods and offer them a share of your sales. Now, funds that go into pack coffers SHOULD result in lower event expenses. But sometimes it results in spending more frivolously.

This discussion had me fuming on so many levels, I needed a two nights in the woods on a long weekend to simmer down. I brought it up at last night's campfire,and one of our scouts had an insightful point: "If you're not teaching everybody first class skills, then what's the point of calling yourself a life scout?" In other words, from his perspective, the requirement - in total - should not to teach "one younger scout in your troop" a first class skill, but every youth you encounter those scouting skills. It boils down to this: Those of you who think 1st Class as only a rank, a stepping

*Scape goat.* And again, your are arguing from the standpoint of fairness, which in this age of situational ethics can be quickly turned on its head. Sure, this is a lot of double-speak. They are using the line that we Advisors use all the time "Venturing is a different program" as justification for opposing change. Venturing is a small slice of the BSA, and young women and men who weren't boy scouts yet become honor campers (by any reasonable category) are a smaller slice -- we are doing our best to change that. But until then, we are talking numbers that are seemingly inconsequentia

Yes, generally a win-win. On the venturing side, it's almost essential because often you don't have the numbers from your own crew to meet minimums for a particular activity. You can find yourself on a peak or over a reef with mates you just met the day you set out. Falls under "a scout is friendly." One caveat (and I'm especially careful about this in the Troop/Crew scenario): clear it with the boy's SM, especially if he's older. Active boys like this soon become very skilled and hold PORs, but they often can ignore their troop's agenda for something exciting that their buddies in the o