rkfrance

I've done it. It took me about an hour to complete. I've recommended it to our DE, District Chairman, ASE, and anyone involved with responsibilities to filling positions in the district. It's a nice idea, but the idea of going into the community and finding leaders that have little to no Scouting experience is a stretch. That might have worked 50-60 years ago, when 9-5 was your day. Not when you work 9-9, or various shifts, etc. The process in the training took me about "9 months". Not unrealistic to actually get several people involved and trained, but TOTALLY INSANE to belie

I am NUTS and tell everyone regularly. I volunteered!

http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=166421

Where is the Webmaster's page that's referred to? I haven't seen anything anywhere saying the site is changing.

Let's not forget Cubcast http://www.scouting.org/cubscouts/podcast/

Lisabob's comment was "Does that mean that prior to being chartered, the group could raise funds by doing things that they would not be allowed to do after being chartered? How about a raffle or poker night?" She is not referring to the CO, rather to the leaders and parents of the prospective Venturers. If the CO does that sort of thing (within the appropriate limits of the law), it's their perogative. I fully understand how the American Legion, Elks, etc operate. If they support their units in such manners, I see the money donated going to a worthy cause. I know our district and coun

Excuse me? Poker nights? Raffle? Chartered or not, is this the way you want Scouts and leaders to act? The adults and boys/girls you're likely going to start with will probably be dual registered. "We did it for the Crew, why can't we do it for the Troop?" I've helped start 3 new units, 2 in Jan/Feb time frame, well after our popcorn sales for council are done. We didn't get anything from anyone to get things going. The first unit, a Pack, was started 4 years ago with NO $$$ and a handful of boys and leaders. We still have our issues, but have several hundred $$$ in the account an

Firelands Scout Reservation in the Heart of Ohio council (Lorain County). Excellent 1st year program - "Trailblazers" (definitely not run by 14 year old) Decent selection of MB courses with advanced staff available for special interests. Can't say I know enough about the HA aspect, but we did have 3 coed Crews at camp the week our Troop was there last year that had an excellent time. Details at http://www.bsa-heartofohio.org and summer camp leader guide at http://www.doubleknot.com/openrosters/DocDownload.asp?orgkey=1097&id=30701

Can't say for sure what the "rule" is, but as I've heard a lot, our council says you should retake YPT every 2 years, but 3 is acceptable. Variation, if you are going to any National High Adventure Camp - Philmont, Northern Tier, Sea Base, or any of the lesser HA camps, you must complete YPT within the last 2 years. Heard about leaders being turned away after making the trip because they weren't "current". I've never had anyone ask me if I've retaken YPT and I've been in several years, but I've also been through the training several times and done it online several times too.

Fred, This is not a case of life and death. This is Scouting. Unfortunately, as has been previously stated, egos get in the way. As a UC, you are expected to support the unit and offer advice to try to keep it moving in a positive, healthy direction. Don't beat yourself up if the CO, COR, IH, CC, CM or anyone else in the unit won't listen to you. You can't make them do anything. Your position is to support the wishes of the unit(CO) (even if they don't know exactly what they're doing). You can and should work with each of the leaders to develop a relationship where you ar

I know it goes against the grain but I have seen the Super Den concept work several times in different Packs. There is a higher level of energy which translates into more excitement and fun. I would rather add another leader to a den than to try to split a big den that''s progressing. You almost always lose the energy, and then slowly you lose the boys. It''s also a better much better than the inverse - the Tiny Den. The den with just 3 or 4 boys. They get bored quickly. It almost seems like a job in a den like this. Then 4 goes to 3 then 2 then 0. Been on both sides of the fe

There should be a paraphrase with "and how many hats too"? ACM, SM, District Committee, CS RT Commissioner, District Webmaster. Sometimes I feel like I get one hour of sleep per week. (Add Church Webmaster and Technology Committee. Oh wait, then there''s that little thing called work where I live most of the time.) But it''s not about me. It''s for the Scouts and leaders and the units we all serve. We''re all Scoutnuts. Everyone go hug yourself. Those white coats are very comfortable.

I think this is great. We can all wear a big "S" on our chests. I thought something like this at one of our roundups the other night. You have a lot of boys (and parents) that come in and immediately look up to you for answers. You immediately have a level of respect from people that don''t know anything about you. By putting on the uniform and agreeing to live by the Oath and Law, you''ve set yourself apart from those that accept just being satisfied. Thanks for being a hero.

John Denver said the same things in "Rocky Mountain High" which is a song I hear in my head almost every time I go into the Great Outdoors.

My wife and I started a Pack for SN a few years ago. It operated about a year then disbanded. Most of the parents wanted nothing to do with helping. The few leaders there were quickly grew tired of that situation. After that Pack folded, we invited several of the boys to come our other Pack we started a couple years prior. We have boys that range from ADD/ADHD to Aspergers to those disorders that the doctors just can''t decide what it is. It''s all about Do Your Best - for the boys, parents, and leaders. We openly accept anyone with the understanding the parent must participate - we

Our troop has a splitting axe for chopping and splitting. We also have a bow saw which is almost never used. The axe is a composite material that can be run over by a truck and not break (not recommending to try). The brand is Fiskars. It comes with a carrying sheath/handle. I've been looking at hatchets but opted against them for weight (each boy/backpacking). Instead we found lock-blade folding saws w/ 8" blade. Lightweight, compact and small enough to drop in side pocket of a backpack. My youngest son is the smallest boy in our troop. He really preferred the lock-blade

Try fruit. Core apples. Peel them if you like. Butter, raisins, and brown sugar in the middle. Wrap them in foil and wait til they start to get soft. We've also cooked bananas over the fire. Best to use a stick through them because they get soft and squishy. You could also take pre-made pancakes and use them like a burrito, filling with whatever you like, such as sliced apples with a little cinnamon and sugar, bacon or sausage and eggs with cheese, etc.

CA, I would make that permanently required, but unfortunately, it wouldn't teach the boy or his dad anything. There still are a whole lot of unanswered questions in my book and I'll bet we'll never get those answered.

Have him help the other scouts - part of giving goodwill. It will help reenforce what he's already done/learned and help the other boys at the same time. From an adult standpoint, the Wolf program is quite simplistic. From a second grader standpoint, it still could be simplistic. It's gonna depend on the boy. Get him learning and teaching new knots. The beltloops and pins can help him discover new areas of interest but can get expensive quick if he's gonna do them like his electives. You also should check the How-To book for other ideas. BTW, our oldest son, now a Life Scou

To my knowledge the award is ongoing. My wife and I both earned it last year. We each were of seven that earned it in our council. We've yet to receive the knot though. We were told they weren't in production yet. I found that very odd.

"We can look back and reminisce about the good old days. There are as we have seen organizations that still want to do things that way. I wish them well. I don't think the kids I serve would be interested, but I'm sure that some kids are. I might not like it, but the Scouts I serve live in the 21st Century, they are taught in a different way than I was, they see the world in a different way -Some of it in a much kinder and more forgiving way than I. I know I don't always agree with all the changes." Things change at an exponential rate today. To get used to something means you'r

If I were to use a hot water bottle vs a Nalgene bottle, the lid/cap would have to be on exceptionally tight for me to put it in my sleeping bag. I tend to roll a lot. Rolling on top of a rubber hot water bottle could cause the contents to be distributed into the bag and on me, no thanks. Nalgene bottles will take a little more contact with less likely-hood of losing its contents. A simple yet somewhat uncomfortable solution to frozen boots is to put them in a large water tight bag (maybe even double bag if they're wet) and stuff them into the bottom of your sleeping bag. It works b

Gern said "If I have a minor employee who doesn't follow company policies and injures a customer, my company is still fully liable. Granted the employee is fired and I may seek judgement against him, but me as the owner am still liable for damages. What I find disturbing is that the BSA lawyers might be attempting to avoid responsibility because these employees were minors." The emphasis was about minors. Laws are applied differently. As in "the court has to decide if they will be tried as adults", etc. To apply logic, the Forest Ranger, a US Park Service employee and adult, was ch

Our district had Leave No Trace Awareness training Thursday. It was started with a story, can you guess? It was also mentioned that the State of Utah was going to introduce legislation that would prohibit BSA units from ANY activities in state or national parks. The legislation didn't go forward because of a compromise between the State and the BSA. A team of LNT instructors were to go unit to unit across the state and teach LNT. Obviously, that is only step 1. There are still a lot more issues to address, but we're not hearing about it.

I saw the story. I had our Scouts read it. We talked about responsibility. I don't feel Backpacker is any more biased than the local TV news channel. I read a story in Reader's Digest a couple of years (or so) ago about a Troop out west that was breaking up rocks and throwing them in a lake. The rocks happened to be dinosaur print fossils. I think the bigger point to address is how do we establish better PR. The media, any media, will focus on the negative, particularly if it's a well known/established group like the BSA. Yes, there are positive stories about Scouts out there,