rkfrance

Pow Wow is not training itself. Pow wow is like a big version of roundtable, sometimes with specific themes and ideas, and sometimes a variety of things, that may include training. It is billed as the BE-ALL-END-ALL for training, but it's mostly for ideas (like roundtable). Now would be the time to start looking at Webelos leader training and Webelos leader outdoor training. If you can have them done by next Spring, you'll be ready to go for Summer Camp and the Fall. Also, you must check with your Council if training outside of your Council will be recognized. BALOO, as an exampl

I'll agree there are a lot of issues, and WE (the dedicated Scouters) have little or no actual say or influence in much that happens, OK, no influence at National. There may be a little more opportunity, but not much, to have an influence at Council. Whoa, I am directly involved at the District. I might not have a big influence, but I know my voice gets heard. Better yet, I have a big influence at what's happening at the Unit level. I don't get my way all the time, but I don't need to. The ONLY way things are going to get better anywhere in Scouting is going to come from "the grass r

Ed, Self abuse is part of it too.

I think jkhny has a lot of valid points. I've seen some of the things he said happen in our Council. The pressure is on the DE's to constantly increase enrollment. (It should be expected. It's part of their job.) I've seen questionable recruiting practices. It's grab and go with the applications and money. The boys might not even be placed into a unit for several weeks. Has any interest been lost at that point? Any thoughts of "What did I get for my money"? I see the concern of offering the "incentives". Incentives are not bad, but with Councils continuously in money conce

Ed says "While we have moronic parenting going on, it seems the underage drinking is occurring outside of Scouting. Therefore, getting the SE involved is not appropriate and the G2SS & YP don't apply to ones home life. These two documents are written for Scouting." It is not for us to determine abuse. If it is in question, we are to report it to the SE who in turn will get the necessary authorities involved to conduct an investigation. Because it's not happening at Scouts doesn't exclude it from being a YP issue and therefore, it is our responsibility to report it. If you f

For our Sept open house/pack meeting we are doing a "wheels rally". The boys can bring their bikes or scooters and the activities will focus primarily on traffic safety. We've also thought about having a police officer/deputy in to reiterate the rules of the road.

And those parents organizing the PWD, etc should be registered Committee members. All training is invalid for unregistered adults. They can go to any training out there, but it does not count if they are not registered. Therefore, to attend any training, an adult must be registered, and I would call that person a Leader. If you have a parent willing to attend BALOO training but unwilling to sign an application, what kind of commitment do you think you will get from that person?

I would really hesitate to call any volunteer a "non-leader". Bad precident. Any registered adult is a leader, regardless of their position in the unit/district/etc. Our district recommends (not requires) any Committee Members, CM, and ACM to be BALOO trained. It would be great to get all leaders BALOO and WLOT trained. It would be great just to get all leaders trained in their positions. That is left to the discretion of the CO. When I see "non-leaders", I think unregistered adults. Any training they might take would not be binding, because they aren't a member of the BSA

Keep em short and sweet. One hour, one and a half tops. Adding a "dinner" to your schedule will only reduce your funds and expectations will grow with each meeting. Pizza this time, maybe burgers the next. What's after that, four course with desert? We usually have some kind of snack, cookies, punch, etc. for our regular pack meetings. Save having dinner for the Blue and Gold. We also have a potluck picnic for our last meeting of the school year. Other than that it's a few activities and awards then out the door.

I do not feel doing push ups is bad IF & ONLY IF it is directly connected to a physical exercise program. If push ups are being handed out by any leader, adult or youth, for any perceived or actual rule violation, then it is to be considered a punishment. NO LEADER, ADULT OR YOUTH, may punish a Scout in their care. Punishment is to be left SOLELY to the boy's parents. Whether considered hazing, child abuse, punishment, a deterent, or any other thing you can think of, it does not have a place in Scouting. IF there is a rule violation, there are certainly far more appropriate method

The same popcorn we sell for $15 you can go to Walmart and buy for $3. Ours is Trails End. Theirs is Weaver (same brand). People still bought from us because it was for the Boy Scouts, but without a doubt, the $15 packages didn't sell. The least expensive we had was $10 (which did the best, but didn't necessarily do great).

Common. Cambria is an "EXPERT". Everything she says is Gospel, right? She's obviously got a great relationship already established with the BSA or some other large outdoor program. Yeah, mistakes were made and the worst thing that could happen, did. Are we going to pack it in, or move on with a better awareness with more focus on planning and contigencies? Will changes be made? Guaranteed! Can you "Be Prepared" for everything? No. In the end, who's gonna be around and have to pick up the pieces? Us. I want to know where the PR guys are to try to add something positive to th

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,163617,00.html The killed and injured Scout leaders were from Anchorage, Alaska, said Bill Haines, Scout executive and chief executive officer of the Western Alaska Council (search), which oversees about 10,600 Boy Scouts and is the largest of three councils in Alaska.

Webmaster may be assigned to the Scribe as part of his responsibilities according to the Patrol Leader Handbook under "other troop leader positions".

Welcome. I know most are listed in the Patrol Leader Handbook. I have not looked but I would imply that they are also listed in the Senior Patrol Leader Handbook, and the Scoutmaster Handbook.

We are being told more and more frequently, Scouts should be treated like a business. The CEO part is pretty easy to define. We've talked about adding a CFO. I'm sure there are enough VP positions to go around. PR is certainly needed. The element that we've eluded to that is missing is - accountability to the shareholders.

From the Venturing fact sheets on scouting.org Liability Insurance. The Boy Scouts of America has liability insurance that covers leaders and organizations to which Venturing crews and ships are chartered. Accident and medical coverage are not included but are available through local BSA councils at a modest cost. This is a basic for the Venturing program. Troops and Packs don't have the same insurance coverage Crews "should" have. Activities conducted by Crews are generally (depending on the activity) going to be more "high adventure" and likely would not be appropriate for Packs

I think BadenP & Scout Commish are right on target. National and the SE's would never go for it because it would be a loss of authority on their parts to combine authority. But how many DE's might jump at an opportunity for honest restructering that might, and I emphasize, might, make their jobs a little more normal and structered. Create a revenue generating position (a controller/CFO in corp America), someone trained for handling and making money. It takes a burden off the SE and the DE's. They would still be responsible to assist the function, but the major responsibility woul

Is the original unit in question a Crew or a Troop? If it is a Troop, it becomes a District activity, unless those units are from different Districts. It is my understanding, if it is a Crew, ALL activities would fall under Council control (because they would be considered high adventure (whether it is or not), requiring the additional insurance, etc) and would therefore have to have SE approval. Crews may function as part of a District but essentially they are Council entities. I'm definitely lacking in my basics on Crews but that is the way it is described in the National sit

I agree with msnowman. Simply put, don't place all your eggs in one basket. We have a newer pack, mostly Tigers. We had 11 at the beginning of the year. We had 4 actively participating at the end of the year. You will lose boys and parents to any number of things. (Some parents even after it's explained don't understand the Tiger program until they see it in action. When they figure out they have to come every time, some will pull out to wait for next year, when they don't have to be there.) Try to get as many interested boys as you can. If you only get 3 or 4 Wolf and B

Our Pack and several others I know do something similar we call a Cubanapolis. You make cars out of cardboard boxes. The kids "wear" these boxes as they race up and down. There are various other tasks involved like turning your shirt inside out and putting on gloves, responsibilities of these go to the pit crew (parents). We do the same thing at the District for Tigers. Lot's of fun and easy to do. The more racers you have, add more lanes.

Hot dogs banned? No mentions of Pop Tarts too?

We had a Tiger Leader with a similar attitude last year. He went to New Leader Essentials and talked thru the whole thing. Never went back for anything else. "Can't understand why we are so uptight about everything. That's not the way it was in Canada." He also had an issue with women in control. (Our CC and UC are both women). Gee, unfortunately, he got a better job and won't be in a position to be a Leader for us this year.

I hope we can do without a depression to improve volunteering. Maybe if we only had hundreds of channels on TV and unlimited 24/7 satellite radio, oh and don't forget your choice of millions of video games, cell phones with unlimited minutes, and ... to keep everyone constantly distracted. Add to that scouts, soccer, baseball, choir, church, 4H, planning the family picnic, coaching, .... I think the biggest problem we face today is people don't know how to prioritize their time. For each kid added to the mix, the problems grow exponentially. Jonny has to be here at the same ti

Like I said in another post, I kinda figured him for one of those "certain people", but I'll still go for the ice cream. I think he might have a career as a writer for Newsweek.