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Now another caveat, Our local council no longer requires a tour plan unless the outing is high adventure or out of council......So take the patrol to the local state park for a camp out no tour plan needed, as a result no training is needed. Ours is just the opposite! We were supposed to file a TP if we gathered anywhere other than our regular meeting place. I balked. (Do you know how many times Venturers go out for a cup of coffee or a campfire in someone's back yard?)

I thought that Cub Scouts was supposed to be a family oriented program. Thats why you need a parent/guradian on camping trip Yeah, me too. Until one year at cub resident camp this school bus pulls up by our campsite and out stream a couple dozen boys followed by two gentlemen from an inner-city pack! None of the boys were their kids. In their neighborhood you don't get the single moms to come camping, and dads are no where to be found. Period. So, these two gentlemen (one in his 50s, one in his 20s) stepped up. These guys commanded respect from the boys, who all-in-all were really

I've always thought the scribe patch was for the troop position, but I don't see a problem if the troop wants someone from each patrol to wear the patch! (I could see it now "Scribes, submit your patrol activity reports by end of meeting!") I would make the effort to find out the troop's convention from the SM. My bottom line: if you're doing the work, wear the patch.

Confession: In my troop, I am the uniform police. If you've got a uniform, I'll make sure you've got the patches right and ask your boy where his khaki pants are. If there's a problem, I'll help you fix it. If PLC ten years ago defined the troop uniform as no-necker, I help carry that forward in time until a PLC wants to reconsider that decision. Why? Because on one level boys want to look sharp. They also like tradition. Some also like when a fellow scout's sister comes up and asks how they got a particular patch! In as much as it's fun, I'll support it.

Cub leaders definitely have the warmest spot in my heart! When it comes to the little Gompers, I'm like a grandparent I'll wind them up, but hand them off before they wear me down. Unless you had a boy-led den where you advised the Denner on planning a program, assigning one boy to get the supplies, another to teach the craft, another for opening, cleanup, etc ... While you sat back and drank your coffee, then your work as a cub leader definitely does not compare to a Boy Scout or Venturing leader. In some ways it's much more demanding. The hard part in scouting is getting the righ

Perhaps the Venturing mission statement should be reworded to emphasize the youth-led and determined nature of the program. Otherwise, how is the current statement any different than many other youth programs in other organizations? Nike's point is an interesting one. The mission statement is intentionally vague, I think, so as to not discourage COs looking for a national program that fits their vision for their youth. It's certainly not designed to attract youth or parents, but who here read MacDonald's mission statement before buying a meal? So, we wind up pitching the program th

If we're talking about reputations, it is the Charter Oganization's that's on the line. But in terms of making sure the boys' plan is solid, it's the SM's call. The SM should let the troop committee know who he's accepting as a qualified individual for a given outing. There's a spot on the tour plan for the committee chair or charter org rep's signature. Personally, I have no problem with putting the boys in the hands of someone who knows the material and could test out of the IOLS weekends! (Even if they haven't taken a test yet.) The more important thing is establishing that th

I think along the line that Jeff H does. If a scouter shows up in civi's and helps a boy map out a hike plan through a wilderness recreation area, or if a scouter is conversant in religious issues that a boy may have, then I feel that we've applied the methods to the satisfaction of our CO. We aren't making either put on class-A's before having that discussion! Later on our conversation with those scouters will involve the quality of the coffee, the beauty of the campfire, or their opinions on how the boys are coming along. As uniform issues arise among the scouts, we ask the SPL to address

It's a shame boys don't carry wallets anymore. (What's with that, by the way?) I'd have them flip to their membership card and show what unit they're in.

As much as the scout brings in fundraising, less budgeted expenses. E.g., our big fundraiser is a spaghetti dinner (on the 31st, if you're in Pittsburgh then, PM me). The boys get $2 for every pre-sold ticket, they work shifts at the dinner, and the remaining revenue less expenses and what we think the troop will need in the following year is divided by the total number of shifts worked and allocated to each scout account accordingly. Nearly all the boys use the funds earned to offset camp fees, after that we encourage them to "gear up" so they are prepared for any outing we do. As a re

As much as the scout brings in fundraising, less budgeted expenses. E.g., our big fundraiser is a spaghetti dinner (on the 31st, if you're in Pittsburgh then, PM me). The boys get $2 for every pre-sold ticket, they work shifts at the dinner, and the remaining revenue less expenses and what we think the troop will need in the following year is divided by the total number of shifts worked and allocated to each scout account accordingly. Nearly all the boys use the funds earned to offset camp fees, after that we encourage them to "gear up" so they are prepared for any outing we do. As a re

because of the family nature of cub scouting they have done a lot of cub scouting through the years. Can GS host activities that involve boys (e.g., family camping weekend, community dances, service projects)? I've always assumed the answer was a strict "no" because that was part of the motivation for some cadets to also join my crew. Is is officially the case?

I think the main thing working against Venturing is the demographic you are trying to reach. Yep, I guess we should only focus on program for 11 - 13 year olds. Tell your SMs to stop wishing for a cadre of high school students and a handful of young adults to help his troop grow. They tend to stick with things they've been involved with in the past like their troop, sports or church youth group. Except their friends are in different troops, they play different sports, and go to different churches. Moreover, many are hungry to go deeper in these different areas, but don't have

The value of my time is worth a decent cup of coffee, a beautiful sunrise, and a good campfire story. The occasional bear or shark sighting is gravy.

Rejection sucks. No, holding on to what is not rightfully yours, stinks. If you come in to jump-start a program, then you jump off as quickly as possible. All of us (you too, ALB) should be in the business of finding our replacement and fading in to the background. The nation wasn't cultivated by Johnny's dumping all of their apple seeds in one massive mound! Finding out that a unit is not your little fiefdom is a healthy discovery.

cam, I think my experience meshes with Beav's. When we work hard at getting boys and adults perfectly uniformed, we might get well more than half our boys looking sharp. But, time spent doing that is time not spent teaching first aid, or a survival skill, or something else. Moreover, time spent in anything but the gentlest discussion with an already-very-caring adult about the issue is time not spent counseling the boys, etc ... You only have so much time, so you pick your battles ...

So, B.S., since it's been 3 years where are these boys now? I met one of our troop's graduates when he was on leave after his first round of marine basic training. This was a boy who got by most times on his phone for navigation. You could never be sure how much sunk in. One of the first things he did was thank me for the map-and-compass training. He excelled at the night orienteering course on Paris Island because of it. And honestly, with this kid, I could barely get two points across in a sitting. Evidently they were the ones that mattered.

Time to call your COR and ask him to step up to the bat for you. Give him your council president's number. Make it clear that this could leave volunteers deciding if they can put $ in the offering plate or if they need to make an FOS contribution to be considered a scouter "in good standing". I'm pretty sure most CO's would have problems with this. Most of them don't have membership fees, and they would expect your council to play by the same rules.

Venturing is the anti-Boy Scout program for the folks who don't like the structure and rules of Boy Scouts. Except for the 2 G's (Gays and God). I wonder if that's why we bring in the co-eds? Venturing is the Seinfeld of Scouting. Love it! I'm gonna use it at tonight's crew meeting!

... and his step father does not embrace scouting in any way shape or form. Actually, I think that works towards him staying in the program! I've seen lots of boys part ways with their dad at about this age because dad was just a little too enthusiastic about scouting. My youngest is age 14. Loves the fun -- doesn't want to work to have it! You'd almost think he didn't care. But ... Last week, for a boy's Eagle app, council HQ was having trouble finding all the troops MB slips from 2009 summer camp! As soon as I told him, he hustled up and checked his blue cards. My col

Actually, my first YP course was from a camp committee chair who was well informed. He did go over number of incidents/allegations and described some of them in detail, including how they were handled. One of them did involve our troop. Nobody ran for the door.

I think some basic concepts: Be part of the conversation around you. Tune into our campfires. Ask if you may use a tool. Ask how you may use your device to improve the life of the troop. Earn money and pay for your own devices. No cussing. Whatever the medium. Buddy system. Don't browse alone. Discard batteries safely. Gotta talk to the GF? Your fellow scouts have the right to say 'Hi'! (This roughly parallels our social policy in the Crew. On activities, you are not sole property of your GF/BF. There is no "snogging time".) Not all of these need to be on the chit. For

Processing fees are a hidden expense that discourages volunteers. Worse, volunteers are the gateway to the units. What if a unit decides to stop inviting FOS to present in retaliation for exorbitant fees on its volunteers? Make the calls as suggested above, but I'd also go with facts on how many prospective FOS contributors you have access to. In leiu of $, maybe you can provide phone #'s?

Local rules apply, so ask your district advancement chair. I'd be happy to see the boy in either Life scout or ASM uni. Both reflect to me that he has a strong connection to the troop. But, if he wanted to feel "grown up" and wear suit and tie, I'd take no offense. Most of our 18 year-olds show up to BORs with their life scout uniform. They're still getting their heads around the whole adult thing. Some of them give me blank stares when I hand them their voter registration and say "Happy birthday, run my country well!"

People don't look to sports for a moral high ground. Coach can be as promiscuous as they come, as long as he aint groping kids and is winning championships. Round here, conservatives send their kids to private schools, and demand vouchers to cover the expense of having to do so because of "corrupting" mandates. Or, they run for school board and attempt to muzzle permissive teaching.