qwazse

IMHO, a direct payment from the family makes for easier accounting for tax purposes. If the scouts want to make a contribution through the troop, they should do so before budgeting the $ to a scout account. Scout accounts are essentially discretionary spending for individuals to make purchases that enhance the life of the unit.

I agree with Beav, except that you may not have been able to avoid the impression of a "chink in the armor." Lynch mobs often interpret deliberation as inaction and there may not be anything you can do about it. If you would have said "we're doing x" at the outset, they would say you were thoughtless and irresponsible! Also, in church terms, there are "prophets" who rail on an institution if it's more prone to dispense grace than judgement. If you're lucky, all of the stone throwers actually worship elsewhere. If not, well, let's just say your church board is going to need some addit

I have yet to review this with our crew president. (Getting a few adults to push paperwork has consumed an obscene amount of energy.) But, since we went over the standards last November, I think the kids will have learned that seemingly easy goals are no slam-dunk. Did anyone review their JTE with their SPLs? I would love to hear from any SPLs who may have gone over this with their troop.

Sleep out in the cold, cook in the cold and prepare for the cold? Sounds like a routine to us. Do we really need a program? If you find a couple of volunteers who would be willing to help make it work over the long term, present them to council and you might have a program.

MT: A circus by any other name is a recruiting night. Go for it!!! I think one of the goals would be to drum up 1/2 dozen tiger families for the pack. What would be gravy would be if one dad was a former scout and therefore cub leader material. As CM, MIB can figure out if the pack can have the hall on a different night than the BS. He can grab the COR and say, "I need a little history so I can do my job better." (Maybe there is a little religious persecution or something else going on!) He can pull the line: "I'm in college, I got mid-terms right before your B&G, so I need you a

The cross-over itself was just a formality in my mind. (Maybe because there was no cheap imitation of Native Americana involved.) Don't know if it's my son's favorite memory, but mine was his first backpacking trip we took with his buddy and dad that same year. It was just the four of us and really represented the transition from the cub world to a place where dads began to step back. Advancement was not instantaneous with those two, but 7 years (and lots of miles hiking, biking, and canoeing) later they both Eagled.

You need the boxes and a reliable place to store them. But make it someplace accessible so that folks can go back to it as the years go by. I always enjoyed going down into my parent's basement (it stayed very dry) and just rifling through the boxes of snapshots. Shoeboxes worked very well for them and still do for us. There is nothing like sitting on the floor and pulling up picture after picture. How I would improve on our system: On the outside of each box, write the date range and list the subjects. You don't have to be overly detailed and get everyone who is in every pictur

My SM was the organist at our church. So we were always in home in time to get breakfast and suit up for Sunday school! The only time that was different was at camporees. One time we did Sunday service with an LDS troop. I kinda like being able to have a brief devotional in the field Sunday mornings. Our CO has limited parking on Sundays, and they kind of like it when we pull in just after service lets out. (Of course, I think they'd be happy if we pulled in just before service and worshipped with them -- smoke-filled clothes and all.) I know one Jewish fella who has to make

I just cleaned up a late night cracker barrel for our VOA. Alterior motive: making sure the hall was cleared of "stray" youth.

MT - do your District rep thing, and only that. Recruiting night, good idea. give the parents a List of things you expect them to provide. Brace yourself for the possibility that they wont. On the night, set up a table where the boys do most of the busy work, passing out stuff, showing pictures of activities etc ... Let MIB do his thang. Keep yourself as far away from the management of the Pack possible. If he wants advise from total strangers who act like they know what they're talking about, he knows where to come! Ticket counsel: make sure the goals are not dependent on oth

Depends on the group. I first did it with our crew and each card had a Method of venturing (plus a couple of terms that referred to stories known only to our crew). With a youth group I used chapters of the Bible. The other adult helped me pick them, and we basically called it off the top of our heads. The task could easily be delegated to an officer or SPL.

We use different rules for stops. My favorite is to give each hiker a "rest card" which when opened reveals one word. If someone wants a rest they can call for a 30 seconds break. When anyone wants to extend the break he/she must open their card and expound on its contents. When the speaker stops talking, we move.

My grandparents having left "occupied" lands for someplace where they could start a business and not worry about a blood feud or being taxed according to their religious/tribal status, my sympathies fall somewhere between BD's and SP's. I think reckoning with the frontier is an important step in citizenship. First you realize that people passed through this land before you, then you learn some of their names, then you learn to admire the skills they acquired to get by, then you begin to understand that not everything was equitable and some took huge losses. But, I don't think you lea

TT: It is tough to chow down on your adult breakfast when a bunch of boys is going hungry though. It's not so hard if the night before those boys had to watch you nom shrimp scampi and fettucini alfredo on a bed of fresh lettuce while they had under-warmed franks and beans. Practice makes perfect. Hop, it sounds like to demote the QM to QM-advisor. It doesn't really mater if he/she is numbered among one of the ASM's. It's perfectly reasonable, in my opinion, for the committee to buy the wood to make a replacement sled. They need to inform the troop that the target for the next fund

BD - That's effectively what we do as a crew. The better conditioned youths plan a more challenging set of hikes for those who have conditioned regularly. Some of them may help train the younger youth to the point that adult association is a mere formality. The seasoned contingent accepts adult chaperones (even though we tend to slow them down), I think, as a way of showing their gratitude and a desire to fellowship with us. There is no safety advantage to them.

Eng - I'm sure there are Trekkie who wold take offense at your suggestion. Written on the elevator in my college dorm: "Beam me up, Jim" Written the next day: "Scotty does the beaming you moron." I am really impressedd with the whole PC approach that teaches "Don't do it at all." Sure beats wasting time telling a cub to "Do your best."

I have a hard time getting adults 50 yards away from these boys. The young ASMs seem to find it the hardest. So, here's the result: None of the boys really feel like putting together a patrol activity and running it by the SM. Tthroughout the year a bunch of boys (some scouts, some not) will hang out in a local hollow all day long. A few college couples (and a younger brother - high school age) planned a backpacking trip on a popular trail with my advise. Except for the tour permit, it was an unsupervised co-Ed patrol overnight activity. BSA, the patrol method happens with or

So, if the boys dressed in Star Trek uniforms and gave accommodation from the Galactic Federation, would you be less offended? If a native American actor puts on a Bishop's robe to play some part that he finds noble about our culture, should we be offended? I could go over the pros of imitating the good we see in other cultures ..., but let's leave it at this: It's fun. Lighten up.

Here's how we did it (once): A senior ASM was appointed to be our " selection subcommittee". This guy had experience as an SM and we trusted his judgement a lot. He had been on nearly every camp out that year so he had a good idea of how we all operated. Anyone willing to take the position told him. It wasn't a big long interview, we just described our level of availability and maybe suggested anyone else who he should consider. The discussion took less than a minute. He made his recommendation to the committee, the decided on it, and delayed their opinion to the CO. Done.

It would be nice if Bob issued a resolution for an uptic in tour plans submitted for patrol hikes and overnighters.

BD, much of it may be psychological. Certainly some of us grew up being kicked out of the house at noon and not welcome back in until supper time on a Saturday. (Parents just got sick of yelling at you to do chores while all you did was try to watch cartoons on TV.) Sooner or later we would figure out that we could easily get ourselves five miles away from home and back in that time period if we tried. That's not the case anymore with most kids in the country. You need them to experience that walking a mile or two is hardly any imposition on their time or energy before they try anythin

Hope he enjoys the next six months! Adults will rally around a driven youth, even if he transferred in yesterday. At his SMC he'll get a load of advice. probably most significant: start the Personal ** badges ASAP, and decide what he'd like to do for a service project.

Invite some special guests: - Local game commissioner (this is especially useful the month before fishing season) especially one who might be able to teach tracking or suggest a simple service project. - Former scout just back from his tour of duty or boot camp. - An NRA certified instructor for some basic gun safety/maintenance instruction. - How many in your troop are driving age? A mechanic with some basic car care tips might be handy. - Ask your committee if they know any pro athletes who may be willing to visit. (Seriously, this happened at our troop once.) These may pr

Sometimes, mapping out where the cute girls live helps extend those walks. But, no point in telling your boy that. It sounds like if it's your idea, he'll ignore it. My oldest, who was very athletic, was insulted at the suggestion that he could walk a mile to his buddies house instead of pacing the floors writing for us to be ready to haul him there.

Well, to put all my cards on the table, I am listening to how different folks handle this because our SM broached the subject to a few of us ASM's last month in relation to a life scout and his FB page. Keeping this boy may have been one reason that some parents left and spun off a new troop. The kid has improved greatly over the years, but no doubt a few rough edges remain. Anyway, we told the SM we'd back him however he wanted to handle it. Bounced around a few pro's and con's, and suggested he give our district advancement chair a call, just to be sure that whatever we do is con