qwazse

Sorry I wasn't there. I never lament the lack of beer. But, I would have definitely lamented the lack of 1919!

If I were you, I would keep it simple and interactive. Use the nicest part of the building. Set up only a couple of dozen chairs so everyone is nice and close. The 12-points candles are nice, but practice lighting them well in advance. If attendance is solid, you could have each of your scouts light a candle and present two points. Same with the color guard. If you haven't done so already, teach the PL how to advance to the front with the scouts who aren't color-guard, wait for the scouts to be seated, welcome everyone, then command the colorguard to advance. She would do the same thing in the middle only in reverse. Scripts are nice, but I think you might want to take advantage of this being a small group: As you give awards, you might ask each scout to present one thing that they enjoyed doing so far. If they have a favorite scouting song, maybe they should sing it, or teach the audience to sing it. One of the scouts might have shown herself to be a good story-teller. Then, there's your SM minute. And I think nobody has a script for your situation! I think the best thing you could do is to tell the scouts that they might tenderfeet (or 2nd or 1st class) now, but soon they will have new scouts looking up to them. Even if they have not earned the patch, they will be expected to be first class scouts. Exactly how you get that message across depends on your audience, who you know better than we do. Congratulations for making it this far. Have fun!

When he was about that age, I once told Son #1 that if he kept throwing a tantrum, I'd take his litter sister to the Steeler game instead of him (his uncle had given me a pair of tickets) ... and I did. I'm not sure I ever told that story to my scouts. I wouldn't want them up at night wondering how they got stuck with the cruel adult leader.

Please note that we have denoted all uniform police to insignia dorks. Use that term in all future posts.

I rarely pack a tent. I'm content with a tarp for myself. Some of my scouts and their buddies have followed suit. I've tried setting up one for my dog, but he'd still rather bed down under a corner of mine. We set up dining flys on occasion, but often times we find it to be unnecessary. The tarp is more useful as a groundcloth while stargazing.

The CDC site does not say anything against applying soap first causing regurgitation. It's specific advice is against "... “painting” the tick with nail polish or petroleum jelly, or using heat ...". But, it also says apply soap afterword. Remember, that low pH is the best bacteria killer available. The supposed effectiveness of q-tip is in its ability to catch the beasts legs which, because of the soap, no longer have a grip on the skin. But, the main advice is that time is of the essence. Truth is, the tick is already regurgitated while feeding. The longer you wait, the more backwash seeps out the end of its "straw." So while you all are getting your devices, I'm grabbing that bug by the abdomen and pulling it off of my hide with the first thing I find (and that's usually my fingers). When dealing with someone else, I see the point of using tweezers and cleaning with soap (while wearing a pair of the non-latex gloves from your kit)! But, if I were to think of it on the spot, I'm more likely to find that tick-picker before I find any other tool or soap.

Taking a 1st Aid Course now. The EMT and nurse teaching it swears by q-tips dipped in dishwashing liquid for tick removal.

@FireStone, sorry to say I can't help you. I've used online sites for religious terms in ASL, but not scouting. However, you might want to call around to agencies that serve hearing impaired. Your local hospital or county courthouse could be a good start. Round here, I would call the school for the deaf. Sometimes they can send a volunteer. They might even know a few scouts in your area who sign ASL. It's definitely more fun to learn from someone who uses it as a first language.

Didn't realize it at the time, but we spawned a Sooner! She's a great hiking buddy! There's one.

A neighbor kid of mine collected handbooks and did just that. I'd see him and his "patrol" on some trails in our community's park. @Sentinel947, your church's and mine ... someplace between here and Hogtown. The coffee will be strong and hot.

Nobody ever claimed that we Yanks were masters of the English language!

Confession from Junior Leadership Training: I had a choice between letting my uniform be "altered" or losing British Bulldog to a bunch of city boys. I took the win on the field*, the loss on inspection, and an irate Momma when I got home! *Quite literally, I was on the field gripping ground for dear life, half my shirt was in some scout's hands.

You know what would change recognition value? NESA recognizing girls who earned Gold Award. But, then again, they wouldn't recognize venturers who earned BSA's highest award for them ... and that one has an Eagle on it!

Given that the best scout I ever knew aged out at 2nd class, I will say, that I cared ... First class scouts are the best!

Happy Birthday!

Thanks. Look forward to the point-by-point comparisons! (USSCouts does a pretty good job of that, as long as you're not red-green colorblind.)

Most of my older venturers compared the last cost increase to the cost of a night camping with a decent dinner and breakfast. They concluded they could do just as well without the BSA.

On a practical level, for me, a fee increase means postponing some gear purchase. Not a big deal. On a troop level, I think that's the same thing. But, if not ... TL/USA has delivered the promise of scouting to my young relatives. Not sure about their price structure. BPSA looks good on paper. Never camped with one in person. Campfire was very good to my Aunt ... nearly a century after she participated. That should count for something. There will always be youth who want to camp and hike independently with their mates. It's only a matter of who will lead them.

It's like I'm one of a set of evil triplets! I was in the Flaming Arrow patrol! And, being more lark than owl, I got up before dawn and restarted the campfire. It was really endearing to my heart when on a crew campout, I woke up early, peeked out of my tent, looked across the field, and saw my daughter and her friend and a campfire coming to light between them.

I was wondering about the author's tone of amazement, then he got down to his scouting experience: It breaks my heart every time I hear of adults sacrificing the promise of scouting on the idols of lossless hikes and perfect meals.

Well, give the scout unit applications to hand out. Got bullies? We got bear country! A great opportunity to work the 4th and 10th points of the law at the same time. Doesn't matter, our troop didn't meet this week so getting the word out is a non-starter. In general, BSA's fad-chasing doesn't impress me. I wore my uniform to school Feb. 8th. That's timing that I can get behind.

Not bad logic, but why round down? $49.20/12 = $1.10 a month. Brother, can you spare a dime?

I have no idea if this will help you or waste your time, but I've come up with the idea of "who's on first" goals. That is, when I list a group's goals, the first line of each goal is who we're helping. So, for example, for the "what kind of unit" step. The who is, broadly, "Youth". So that goal looks like: Who: youth What: a BSA, Pack Troop Crew, and Post. When: one evening a week and a weekend a month for the forsee-able future. How: Committee Members and Leaders and Willing Parents Why: They all need it. Well, obviously that's a terrible goal, because it's so nebulous. But it it changes perspective a little. @ParkMan's step #1 becomes 1. "Determine who you want to serve." Then when you list the type of youth who could be served through one of BSA's programs, readers can quickly decide if they really need to start just one unit, or more. Note that in subsequent goals, the "how" becomes the "who". E.g. parents who need to be recruited, committee who need training, etc ... Like I said, I am not sure how helpful this will be. But often, when we get eye-rolls when we say "we need another fundraiser" but when we say "These scouts want to hike and camp independently" or "these cubs would love a pinewood derby", we will get people rallying behind those goals.

By way of reference here are the essential survival gear attached NASA's new astronaut flight suits (https://www.nasa.gov/feature/orion-suit-equipped-to-expect-the-unexpected-on-artemis-missions numbering is mine) Scouts could trade with an astronaut -- a full-size neckerchief for his/her kit -- and still have three optional items.

Regarding bathrooms/showers, etc ... Do your troops take it in rotation to clean your camp's showers? I know as a scout up until a few years ago mine did. Heck, I built* my camps' latrine. *Okay, "built" was quite a stretch ... kinda like how Al Gore and I built this here internet ... but my limited involvement in latrine assembly was because of a sudden bout of flu. It was mostly scouts slapping up posts and plywood while I huddled in a corner fighting chills.