RMV

Here is a link to pick up one of my favorite collections of Scout Songs. They are sung by a male chorus from a Troop. The tape I have is, "Hail all ye olde time campers." http://www.tuscazoar.org/prod05.htm The one I think would be great for your show is the one that was used in the movie "Follow Me Boys." There is a great rendition on this tape. RMV

I am not LDS, but have worked with many LDS folks in the past. Here are what I have seen as the main differences for programming. They do not have Tigers or two year Webelos programs. The Boy Scout program really doesn't start till the young man is 12, the first year of Boy Scouting, they are a part of the Blazer group, which is registered in the Troop, but actually doesn't fully participate with the Troop. The younger Scouts are considered a part of the Primary group for the church and when they turn 12, he joins the Priesthood. So they have matched the Scouting programs up to th

Not being a Field Director anymore, I would imagine that they would spend more of their time at naps. When I started Scoutreach units, I always asked myself, what can I do to make this as close to a traditional unit as possible. Sometimes it was close, other times it wasn't. The chartering organization was often the deciding factor in how close we got it. One year I sent a group of Boys to Boy Scout Camp. Because of zero tolerance with knives, none of these Scouts could participate in Woodcarving. They couldn't do shooting sports either. But they still had a great time with great r

Hi There, It has been awhile since I have made a post to this forum, my new job has been keeping me very busy. I have been involved with lots of Scoutreach units in projects. Some I am proud of, others didn't work out the way I had hoped. In one project I started the program with a day camp for the whole housing project. The first day, we had 12 kids, on the last we had over 200. Transportation costs would have prevented me from bringing the kids to a traditional day camp location. Also, I would have only touched the 12 that came that first day, and even they may not have had pa

I've seen fos goals set in lots of different ways. I think your input on the goal is critical. This year we had the largest increase in FOS goal that I have ever seen. (About 20%) It was done after a group of volunteers, including several district chairmen, had reviewed the budget and saw no other way to maintain services at current levels. Without the buy in from everyone, these goals would have only been a pie in the sky thing. We are running more than 20% ahead of last year, even in an economy that is pretty depressed. Big corporate gifts are down, small grass roots gifts ar

Hey Tim, Most of the time it will be at meals, but also at flag ceremonies, and at the opening and closing campfires. I would show up in uniform as well, then let the instructors set the times you will be needing it after that. There can be other times, but those are the main ones. Doesn't matter shorts or long. Although, most camp staff I have been around wear shorts no matter how cold it gets. It also doesn't matter how old the uniform is. Once a uniform, always a uniform. If your friend is truly not going to need it aferwards, he might be able to borrow one. If buy

Hi Tim, I have been on staff for National Camp School, and you are in for a great experience. Camp School is beyond just learning about your specific job at camp. Much of the school will be devoted to showing scouting aims and methods. Because the uniform is one of those methods, there will be times when it will be needed. COPE is part of the program of the Boy Scouts of America, so the uniform for Boy Scouting or Venturing would be appropriate. Your friend should find a uniform and bring it to the school. As for two uniforms, you may be able to get away with one, but eith

I don't think the council has to be notified unless the removal is for youth protection issues. If the leader is a registered unit leader then the council would need to be notified to remove the leader from the list of leaders registered in that particular unit. The leader would then be able to join another unit, with proper approval of that unit. Most of the time the council is asked to get into the middle of such a dispute, but not always. Being asked and doing so are two different stories. The chain of command is that the COR, then the IH is the final authority witin the unit.

National does make uniforms to order. They are pretty expensive, and by the time you get them, your future Cub will probably be born. (Big assumption on my part.) Haven't heard of maternity uniforms. I would suggest going to a class "P" uniform and wearing what works, even if it isn't from national supply. Good Luck! RMV

The actual national policy on SSN has just changed. Starting April 1, all adult applications must have a SSN on them. Scoutnet will actually check to make sure the number is correct. The number is being used to do a nationwide criminal background check. Our council has been doing a three state background check for years, but this system is much more thorough. If you have something that is likely to come up on a background check, make sure you disclose it. I know in our council, we have a lot of leeway when someone comes back with a criminal background but has disclosed it, if somethin

Hey there, I don't fit any of the positions that you asked for, but hopefully can help out. The real question here is, is the committee in agreement? Then it doesn't matter who delivered the messaage. It is not an everyday thing to remove a family. That said, it is within a committees power to do such a thing. I think most troop committees try hard to not penalize youth when adults can't get along, so this decision must have a lot more to it. If you think that the SM did this on his own, call the committee chairman and ask. If the SM did this on his own, then you may find that

I would start an endowment to give good camp staff members college scholarships.

Eamonn, I used some examples that might have been why a DE would consider something busy work. I don't mean to imply that your district has those problems. They were examples of things that DE's have told me were busy work that I had given them. It sounds like you are running a great show. The whole point of my post is that it isn't you that is the problem. It is probably not the Field Director. It is the DE. If they feel they are getting too much busy work, they then need to work that out with their Field Director or that persons supervisor. I stand by the statement that ins

I'm not angry. And sometimes my DE's think the work I give them is busy work. Many of them have called me much worse than a nitwit. (Although I didn't see that reference.) They don't like keeping track of things, like how many schools have join nights scheduled. Who is covering each school? Are the flyers delivered? Is there a budget for the camporee? Which donors have been contacted to date? Which ones have been thanked? Our program is complicated and a lot of things need to be kept track of. There are many personalities that are within the ranks of professional Scouting, it i

This gets to the heart of a quality program. There are so many things we can do, having the courage to tell people that their special interest isn't going to continue is a tough job. I would love to have you in my Council as well! Some logic to help you: We are here to assist unit program, not to replace it. So many programs are spreading volunteer support too thin. We must decide what is important to us and make those programs of the highest quality possible. RMV