rdclements

There is a major side effect of using the words "advancement" and "recognition" interchangeably. The Venturing method is recognition; the Boy Scout methods include advancement. Some of the Venturing awards are earned progressively, so a youth "advances" through them, but they're not the same as ranks in Boy Scouting. In the case of Crew21's OP about the revised leader award, I think it is not correct to expect a big portion of a crew to advance during a year. That's just not the way things work in Venturing.

Hey Radio, thanks for stopping in... The crew that I serve has had some couples. It can be managed. There's some good advice offered above. I've done lots of events where you wouldn't know to connect me to my children unless you checked name tags. My wife and I have volunteered together and other volunteers did not know of our relationship. In addition to not letting your relationship mess up things in the crew, don't let crew business put undue stress on the relationship either. I think that your comment: "We decided to check our relationship at the crew door" shows that

Nearly all of the youth in the crew that I serve do not care about recognition. They only want to go on outings and do cool stuff. I have a couple of guys who are going after Eagle in the crew, but that's it. The award criteria specifically reference "advancement". Since Venturing doesn't have ranks or advancement, I dont' know if a crew where 60% could have advanced in any amount of time. More than 60% of my youth did VLSC last year and a couple did NYLT. They probably wrote the requirements without considering the Venturing perspective - it would not be the first time.

I have delivered missed awards to the home of my scouts.

When you start trying to dictate to a young man and his family how to set priorities for activities, you're doomed to failure. I've never sat on a BOR for an Eagle candidate who was not involved in multiple activities. If you want to go around demanding that he place his troop higher than his other interests - because that's the way you see things - you're just another source of noise in his life. I'll show the scout that I value his time and respect his decision making, "Hey, glad to see you. We missed you at the COH last week. I saved your stuff for you." The best unit leaders

Few persons in contemporary American society truly understand the word "socialism". When people scream about certain policies and practices representing the threat of growing socialism, they don't realize that much of what they are advocating is also socialistic. When someone tries to label a philosophy or action, it is because they are trying to control others' ideas. Much of American politics is based on the practice of defining some boundary (this is what passes for "issues") labeling "it", and trying to make people afraid of it. When someone wants to tell you that something (or s

Nice that the MB will go on for a while longer. I don't encounter many troop buglers anymore and have only had a couple of guys work with me for the MB in recent years. My son was his troop's bugler for a while. He has my Dad's bugle from past scouting days. It's got lots of experience in the form of tarnish and dents, but he prefers it over his trumpet for the bugling job. While it would be nice to have an official bugle in the catalog, national would probably offer a cheap piece of Chinese that would sound like a vuvuzela and be made of toxic metals.

I have not been to Camp Old Indian. Woodruff Scout Reservation is in my council. I've been there many times, including a couple of summer camps. Woodruff is in a great location and facilities are top notch. The staff has been well prepared and they offer a wide variety of program activities - first year advancement to high adventure. It is a big camp and can feel crowded in the summer, but their size does mean a wide range of options for your troop. I have been to summer camp at Camp Comer twice. It is a small facility and reminds me of a classic camp from my youth. You can get

Look at Google's free Groups service. You can easily (10 min) set up a calendar and essential info web page. It's trivial for your unit's parents to connect to the calendar and get immediate info.

"Why in the world should the President (or more specifically the Secret Service) be afraid of Boy Scouts and their leaders present at a military base?" Clearly you have no experience in this area. Security concerns are the domain of the security experts, not the political operatives. The secret service folks are extreme professionals; requiring a group to get screened is not an insult to the group. Their mission is to protect the President but they also plan their missions to protect the public. As was demonstrated at Ft. Hood, being on a military base or among military personnel

"Can a pregnant teen still be a Girl Scout?" Yes. Can a pregnant teen still be a Venturer? Yes. Matthew 7:1

Lots of good feedback in this thread. We all know that some camps cut corners and as unit leaders we need to be ready to address any concerns with the camp program leadership. When evaluating a skill, you could certainly have some who are very good at it and others who are only basically proficient. However, there are no "minimal requirements" for merit badges. The scout either satisfied the requirement or not.

Nice story, resqman. When I was CM I wore a different slide to each pack meeting, based on the theme for the evening. Like resqman's matchbox cars at the PWD, I would usually hotglue a 1/2" PVC ring to the back of a little toy or something. Another tradition that I picked up when I was a scout. Collect the brass grommets from the ashes after a flag retirement. Tie the grommet into a small loop of leather to make it into a slide. Use them for impact awards; presented to scouts who do something extra. I usually present the young man with the one that I'm wearing and make myself an

"behavior contract" - man I hate that term. In a Crew, you've got the Oath and Code; in a Troop, the Oath and Law; Cubs have the Promise and Law. That's all you need. Anything else is waste and distraction.

eolesen, I appreciate the different experiences used to provide the good discussion... I've had some guys in my units run into drug/alcohol/legal trouble. Here's what you do: 1. Read Beavah's post a few times. 2. Remember that you're an example for how a man is suppose to live his life. 3. You could be the 1 adult around this guy who sees past all the negative stuff that others see about him. 4. Have a grew trip with the crew.

A lot of good tips so far. When I've done rocketry with Cubs, we also sometimes did these activities: - Teach range safety practices; similar to the rifle range at camp. - Make altitude trackers from fishing line, split shot, pvc pipe and a protractor. It was a great way to apply some math. - The Webelos each made their own launch controller. The circuitry is really simple and it takes about 2 hours to make one. - Contest to see who can land their rocket closest to the target circle. - Any excuse for a campout. And of course I would kitbash a monster rocket, us

Heat and humidity are the main factors, but don't forget that an active body generates its own heat. This can be significant in heat stress cases. With a lot of emphasis being placed on drinking plenty of water, you also have to remember nutrition. Hyponatremia can be a serious risk as well. Previous jambos have clearly demonstrated the need for abundant caution regarding heat-related illness. The jambo is being held at a US Army base. A scout is obedient - if you go to jambo, you follow the advice and rules of the host. This is about the health and safety of your scout family, not

The common threshold for the military is Black Flag at 90 WBGT. They use the flag system to standardize and simplify: - Green Flag - WBGT Index 80-84.9 degrees. Discretion for heavy exercise; marginal heat stree limit for all personnel. - Yellow Flag - WGBT Index 85-87.9 degrees. Strenuous activities curtailed for unacclimatized personnel; avoid outdoor classes in the sun. - Red Flag - WGBT Index 88-89.9 degrees. Strenuous activities curtailed; acclimatized limited to 6 hours. - Black Flag - WGBT Index 90+ degrees. Non-essential outdoor activities suspended. With the standard of

My son's troop has lights, battery, and solar panels installed on the trailer, much like was suggested in other posts. It has a lot of potential, however in the end it has been rarely used. Everyone's wearing an LED headlamp and the installed lights are not really needed much.

That's right, WBGT attempts to improve accuracy in sunny environments by adding consideration for direct solar heating. Since it can also be computed through a simple process, it is more suitable to getting location-specific information. which also makes it more useful to the military. Even if you and your scouts are accustomed to the summer weather in Virginia, you need to continually watch for heat stress. Remind your group to reapply sunscreen frequently as well.

Hopefully you're simply not in touch with the right people yet. The key to good service is to find a way to say 'yes'. Troops choose to cook in their camp sites for various reasons - special treat, learning, advancement, whatever. I also know of scouts who have been to different summer camps and managed to work out food allergies, even maintaining faith-based dietary rules without a problem. In the case as you have described, I would take a cooler and a camp stove and do what you need to do.

Lisabob - there is a crew near me that exists only so older scouts who joined the OA while in a troop can maintain their OA membership after their tie to their troop fades. It is a bit inconsistent with the concept of arrowmen focusing on unit service, but that was why the crew was formed.

That's a good point - once the bully is removed, other folks may feel more willing to step into a volunteer role. His behavior is likely keeping others away.

1118: Excellent post; you're doing fine. Sorry, but you need to remove this guy from all involvement with the unit. I sense that you already know that is what is necessary. If he takes his son out, OK. If others are dumb enough to follow him elsewhere, that's their decision. We cannot make up for stupid parents. The way your son gets his parents back is by you removing the antagonist. You're right, this guy wants the drama. It's a tool. He seeks to make people feel uneasy so that they are easier to manipulate. I feel for your husband because I have had long commutes and full

An excellent op-ed piece in the New York Times that illustrates the "you gotta do what has to be done" point: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/24/opinion/24truscott.html?ref=opinion