qwazse

Three years in and the BOR is acting as if it is untrained? There's more here than meets the eye! I think in this framework the UC should point out to the adults that a disagreement between SM and BOR of this magnitude indicates different philosophies that need to be hashed out. Then leave the room maybe leaving behind the date and time of the next training! The SM and CC and share their interpretations of the advancement guide without your intervention. Don't sweat the CoH. Not every award has to be handed out then. SM can encourage folks to offer a follow-up BOR sooner than sch

Spaghetti Diner fundraiser.. brought in 1200 but the Troop funds got 180 while the scouts got over 1000.. *grins I had no idea they did this 'work hours' thing. I knew about ticket sales as that was mentioned plus that is how my son's troop did it too. The work hours was a whole new thing that wasn't mentioned until after the Spaghetti Dinner. I like the idea as it gives the scout money toward their summer camp but at the same time how does the Troop funds grow? It's like my troop has an evil twin! Except, we don't compute the hourly rate in advance. SM gives the committee a budget for

These are the type of decisions that need to be balanced with the calorie needs of the adventure. A mile away from home without strenuous activity = lesson via tough love. A high adventure where carb+protien-loading could make the difference in completing that last strenuous mile = cruel and unusual.

If I were the SM, I'd like the UC meet with the committee and provide a crash course in BOR! Especially the 5 month thing. If the issue is an unkempt shed, do they really want to wait 5 months for it to get cleaned? If they want to stick to their guns, IMHO, they should provide two adults who are willing to assist the boy over the next few weekends.

If this is a first-time offense, have a scoutmaster conference with them and explain that Scouting is a place where people feel welcome and equal. If your SPL is mature, have him sit in on the discussion. Gently bring up the incident. Ask them if anyone did something like that to them when they were new to the troop. Apologize to them if that happened, but point out that this type of imitation is not flattering! Affirm that you have heard them promise to live up to the scout law, and one point of that law is "kind." Point out where you have seen them be kind in the life of the tro

DS, Worse is I'm trying to do both the Committee Chair and Scoutmaster. Yep. That about sums it up. You need to split your personalities ... The SM-self needs to sit with the boys and work with them on formulating a list of equipment that they will need for the upcoming year. There are checklists in the handbook, etc ... You may want to use index cards or post-its so that they can prioritize and split things into personal/troop gear. Determine what on that list needs to be travel-ready and what might just need to be used for local events like your fundraiser. Make plans with t

Good luck! You have your daughter,that's a start. Spring is prime time for recruiting venturers. Does your council have a VOA? A word or two from other seasoned venturers would go a long way itoward inspiring your daughter and her friends.

total bafflement of where ideas come Actually, young George Washington acquired his land holdings by registering deeds with whatever colony was convenient -- and, no doubt least expensive -- to process the title. (E.g., a title in W.Pa. could be drawn up in the colony of Maine.)

I've seen our not-ready-for-prime-time boys bow out of the election or before the ordeal. I've seen one or two of the rest rise up to the ordeal and really get a lot out of the program. All of this played out as they still camped and hiked with the troop, so everyone (except the first-years) had some idea of what was at stake come the next election. So, I think a little lesson-learning did go on. I guess this process is acceptable to the O/A, so I never questioned the lack of formal feedback to non-candidates.

Let me make this simple: my UC has not darkened my crew's door since its inception. So where do I go for outside help (besides these forums )? I have certain seasoned advisors on speed-dial. (The advisor's advisors, if you will.) They all are leaders in their respective units. I'm pretty sure none of them have logged the amount of help they've given me, but other than that, I consider them my mentors. I'm not about to question the propriety of this. I just thank God that they took time out from managing their respective units to coach me along the way. 'nuff said

Following up on the other thread about youth leadership in multi-unit events ... Why don't you find out which troops/packs are meeting early this week, pay a visit to one or two, and ask the boys what they'd like to see in a gateway? One fun idea would be a "wood-shingle" sign-in. Have boys burn or paint 1/2 tongue depressor sticks with their name and unit number, glue velcro on the back of the round end and stick 'em to a felt board in a layered fashion. The rough flat end would hang down and form the roof. Invite the boy-scouts to come and decorate their own shingle. I bet

The National Council reserves the term "Jamboree" for National and International events. So local councils CAN'T call local events "jamboree" without National approval. But does national approve of some councils labeling their big events "Jamborees", or do councils proceed on a "better to ask forgiveness than permission" basis? In any case I'm proud to be part of an organization that caused Webster's to re-write their entry on this one.

IR, I think it was our lodge chief's idea to invite cubs. He was an exceptional youth leader. The challenge, of course, is finding those leaders every year, giving them an "iron in the fire" at every level in the council, and appropriately recognizing their commitment to scouting. Wouldn't it be cool, for example, to plan a Cub-O-Ree by getting a bunch of denners in the same room and asking them what they would like to see/do? Give them the right amount of ice-cream and candy-bars and I bet you couldn't write their ideas down fast enough!

DS, My situation is like yours. Best I can figure is make sure everyone who comes through the door is welcome and appreciated.

The original topic was about multi unit events -- some of which sound insanely cool! That leads me to ask the next question: Planning or implementation, youth led or adult led? Folks in Laurel Highlands Council are welcome to chime in and disagree, but from what I've seen: Venturing events: youth led with adult coaching where needed. If youth say "no", we don't do. Adults step up in terms of administration recruiting staff, etc ... at the pleasure of the VOA president. OA events: youth+adult. Lodge chief has a big influence here. Boy scout events: adult led. Period. Youth m

But if a troop elects a dud, or fails to elect a good candidate, to OA they never feel the results of their decision and so learn no lessons. I have seen this happen within the troop a couple of times. Did the "duds" pass their ordeal? Did they cause harm to the chapter?

Thanks, Joe, My bottom line: how well does it perform offline? Can you cache a collection of tiles (including ones with your markers, etc ...) to an iPad for later viewing? While offline, can you add markup (waypoints, pics, blogs)? Can you backup that collection when you get back online? If so, then I'll give it a trial run next weekend.

Where I am really struggling with this personally is that as a PARENT I am not supposed to have to deal with this, so I thought. This was the big difference between Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts..."Son, it is now up to you to chart your own path and take responsibility for your own stuff." Yes, Brew, we want it to be the boy's journey. And if your boy is up for talking to the SM and asking for a different counselor who will take the requirements seriously, then let him. If not, like BD said, you have a plan. Work it. You can consider the problem solved once the boy can say with co

Insurance liability is not a factor in TPs. TP's are for accountability, and you probably have higher powers who you need to reckon with (the Mrs. or your Mama for example). Spend the time you'd otherwise waste on paperwork checking your oil and brakes.

-fish, Sorry, I thought your question was more about the term because I take for granted that every so often councils and areas should host big blow-out events. So let me outline what I see happening in our neck of the woods: Districts (which are arms of the council) host camping events spring/winter/fall as long as there are units who will contribute. O/A being the cheerful service arm of council and hosts several events a year for their members. On one of those, they invited cubs to attend. Venturing Officers Association (VOA) hosts 3 big events a year. One is a set of multi-we

Ditto to all of the above. IMHO, your knots should tell a story of how you can help others. It's the man behind them that matters! Thanks for your service. I know unit leaders who were simultaneously UCs, but they eventually transitioned away from the direct contact leadership. Most guys can't afford the flowers and chocolate needed for the Mrs. to support them in both jobs! From your description, I would suggest working the SM gig for a little while longer to decide what from "back in the day" still works for you, find your replacement, then work the UC so you infect more SM

This has little to do with your son or your role as a parent. It has everything to undermining the value of that bird that we hang from left pockets. I would (and I have done) something. I'd ask folks to stick to the standards or risk undermining the awards of every boy who had a blue card with their signature on it. Regarding your son, I would challenge him as mentioned above. I would ask the SM to refer him to a different counselor.

My momma told me you better shop around!!!

The term predates BS. So there's nothing stopping a council from using it. As far as I can recall, however, our council (and in 2010, our area) termed their gatherings camporees. Venturing in our area started to call their gatherings summits, not to be confused with the location at Bechtel!

Bottom line: It REALLY pays to visit different troops and/or crews to see how they operate. One of my WB buddies had his beading at his troop's CoH, so I got to see how his troop operated. It was radically different from our troop's. It reminded me more of my childhood troop. It leaned much more on advancements being distributed by patrols. Now, I'm not going to go back and say, "That's it, y'all are gonna get your act together." But maybe at a campfire or by the shoreline I'll "float some balloons" to the SPL or the scout who needs to emcee and event for communications MB. I'm