ScoutDadof5

Thanks for all the feedback.

Scoutnut...you asked about the Bobcat Badge...that was awarded at the same time as all the other stuff, at the end of the school year when they had the last COH.

In regards to appealing to the CC, that person is on paper only. The COR is also really a paper figure only. I think the CM may know who that is, but I am not sure anyone else really does. We do not meet at the COR''s location, but somewhere else. Not sure why, but that is how it is. So that leaves the CM and the UC and the Committee as a whole.

Knowing that the leaders of the pack form most of the committee, I have discussed with (with much patience) with at least 3 of them so far and the individual responses so far have been ...we wait until the B & G.

I am planning on discussing this with the CM and see if I can appeal thier on this. If that fails, I am not sure that I want to try and contact the COR and possibly alienate the leadership of the pack. It was suggested that perhaps I discuss that with our UC. I may be inclined to approach that avenue.

So there you have it.

What a sticky whicket! You would think it should be simple to just want to recognize the youth as soon as possible? The thought of a B&G where the youth must wait possibly monthes for thier awards...somehow loses a bit of my enthusiasm.

Switching packs is not that much of an option. My son has many friends there from the neighborhood and his school. So it looks like I am in it for the long haul. I really want to come up with a solution on this.

I have to admit, this has not been fun. A shame.

Thanks again for all the comments and feedback. It has been quite helpful.

Lots of great feedback. I''ll definitely have to take my CS Leader Book to the next committee meeting. I am definitely going to see if I can turn this around.

I did chat with my DE for a moment or two today and he did see the point of getting the recognition to the boys sooner than alter and even offered to see what he could do to help if I needed it. I did tell him I did not want to start an upheaval, but I do want to make sure that the boys get thier recognitions sooner than later.

Over the years, I have heard many things as to what a Unit Commissioner should do and what they should not do.

I would be interested hearing what others believe a Unit Commissioner should and should not do.

Do you have a story about yourself or another where something was done that exemplefies Unit Commissioner service and thier role?

Do you have a story or commentart about yourself or another that speaks to what a Unit Commissioner should avoid doing with a unit?

I would enjoy hearing your comments on this topic.

In a short while, my district and council will once again be hosting thier annual recognition dinners.

Over the years, I have enjoyed watching others selflessly give of themselves in the scouting program. To that end, I enjoy submitting nominations for worthy individuals for the DAM and Silver Beaver awards. It is a pleasure to see ones nomination go through and to see someone deserving recognized in front of thier peers.

Seeing as it is the season, I was wondering what advice or recommendations others might offer up on this topic.

Have you ever submitted a recommendation? How did it go? What qualifications stand out?

I would enjoy hearing your comments on this.

Point well taken. It just goes to the further realization that our role models that really make a difference in our lives and in the lives of our youth are around us on a daily basis.

This thread has been a bit of an eye opener for me. It makes me appreciate the volunteers and local leaders that much more.

Congratulations! A job well done and just begun =)

...I used to be a good ol'' Fox,

Michael

Ditto on the "Sailing around the world or landing on the moon"...having 5 kids...my longtime dream of attending the 2007 World Jamboree as a Staff member came and went ...but I have 5 little kids that see me as thier role model on a daily basis.

Something you said (Eamonn) made me realize something...""Outside of the area where I live, no one knows or cares what I do with my spare time, or who I am. But here in my small community the locals do know and do appreciate the work volunteer Scouter''''s do. Every time I go for a haircut the barber tells me so. I have made Scouting presentations to local service groups (Lions Elk''''s, Rotary.) and given recruiting talks in local churches. Afterwards I receive a lot of thank yous."

And as Ozemu said ..."But they just don''''t seem to fire up the imagination and enthusiasm of a football or rap star. If they had the same PR people and tv exposure they might. That''''s a national/world Scout issue."

I do realize that our role models are on the local level. It would be nice to have a few larger than life scouting figures that our youth could relate to, but I cannot think of a one. Growing up, I remember Bill Hillcourt, Max Silber, and Harry Thorsen (a friend of my uncles who was a Silver Buffalo Recipient). Before that we had Baden Powell, Dan Beard, James West, Bearce, Carter, Seton, E. Urner Goodman, Carroll A. Edson, etc. Guys that seemed larger than life in scouting and were in the public eyes.

In looking at where we have seen Scouting in the national / international news the past few years, I can recall seeing an announcement regarding Robert Mazzuca becoming the Chief Scout Executive. Other than that, the only other thing I have seen at a national level in the news was some national staff member that was caught with questionable (I will leave it at that) material on his computer and was promptly dismissed and escorted out of scouting.

Personally, I have never been one to seek the lime light and have tried to sit back and help and support where needed. It wasn''t until recently that my wife and a number of the leaders in the Pack coaxed me into putting my knots and patches on my uniform. I have always tried to put the focus on the kids and not on me. (I have been to national and international events and have a handful of knots to boot including 5 Eagle Palms). One of the committee members actually sewed them all on for me.

They (adults) did convince me that as much as they (Scouts) enjoy earning the badges, they like to see the adults with them on as well.

I guess I need to recognize that on a local level, I am a role model, huh?

Now, I''m not the perfect role model either. I liked the comment..."Sometimes my best is better than at other times and even when I get it right the bar is raised and my best can be better." I am and I am sure we all are always trying to do our best and better.

I can say though that if it boils down to ..."prepare(ing) young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law."...then I am right there with you Eamonn =)

"Wow! When did you start meetings? Ours started only a month ago and I can''''t imagine any of our Wolves being close to completing the requirements. Did they work on it over the summer?"

We started back up late August and other than Cubscout Daycamp, a picnic, and a family campout, we didn''t push anything over the summer.

We have several boys very motivated and working hard on thier advancement. On top of that, thier parents are quite involved. I was speaking with one of the parents and he said that he tries to work with his son 15 minutes a day on requirements whether it is in the car to/from school (he keeps a wolf book in his car for the occassion) or before bed. Many of the requirements are` simple and easy for the Akela to work with thier cubs. Thier are a few that require either a 2 week or a month to complete with a chart, but other than that, the cub can progress at thier own pace and I have been encouraging it with the boys.

Now, we still encourage the belt loops and pins and are awarding many of those. At a typical Den meeting, we may work on a piece of an achievement or two to introduce it and help move it along, but our format is usually...

Gathering activity

Announcements

Show and Tell (2 - 5 Minutes centered on monthly theme)

Activity of some sort focused on achievement, belpt loop, or pin

Physical activity or game

Closing

OR

Field Trip

We have 13 boys in the Den...pretty big, but thier are 2 leaders and it seems to be working fairly well and going smoothly.

Very interesting. It dawned on me the size of the Tarps... 40x60...thats huge, not to mention all the other ones you mentioned. I am sure that definitely is a teamwork tool!

I was amazed when you told me that your CD had been on 12 other course staffs. Thats pretty amazing. I can see why he was hesitant to become a CD with some many staffing experiences, but I do like the idea that there you are limited to being the CD on only 1 WB course. I have seen some older records of previous WB courses in some of my old councils and saw several individuals who were CD''s at least 6 or 8 times each. That does not offer up much training development in that capacity for other, so IMHO, I think it is a good thing. I commend that individual for taking the step to CD the couse you mentioned and to open up the opportunity for others to step up to the plate.

I agree that this is a significant committment. With 5 kids, it is something I spoke with my wife about at length. She is ok with the 6 weekends, not thrilled, but ok. (Perhaps I have it wrong, but that is what is currently in the Council Calendar...we''ll see how that pans out).

Of interest, I see that in the requirements for a Staff member, they must have completed a "Trainer Development Conference". Would that be considered one or some of those weekends, or is that a regularly scheduled council event? In looking at the training courses that have been offered in my council the past few yaers, I did not see any reference to such a conference. They do offer Pow Wows (I saw one council refer to thier Traininer Development Conference as a Pow Wow.) My council does not offer a University of Scouting and occasionally offers a Commissioners College (That appears to rotate through a grouping of councils including ours). Can anyone offer any insight into that?

Folks, thanks for the feedback. My understanding and what I was told was that they give the scout his pocket card and then wait until the following February to give him the patch.

I am working with a Wolf Den. I suspect that at least 1 will finish this month and several next month. We have some active and motivated cubs at hand. In regards to ..."Is this the way you have handled rank awards in past years or is this something new from a new Advancement Chair or Cub Master?", as far as I know, this is how it is done.

I agree that the recognition should come sooner than later. Last year as a Tiger Cub, my son got his Tiger Cub totem, beads, and Tiger Cub badge all at once at the end of the school year, so he never got a chance to wear the totem and beads at all before he became a Wolf Cub.

I want the cubs, as well as my son, to keep that excitement, and the prospect of having them wait all that time does not seem to support that.

When a cub scout earns thier Wolf or Bear badge, when is that awarded? I asked one of the leaders of our pack, and he indicated that the boy could get his pocket card at the next pack meeting (where they normally ge thier achievments awarded), but would have to wait until February when the Blue & Gold was held to get thier rank patch.

Is that correct? That just seems like a very long time (4 monthes) for a young boy to wait to get thier advancement rank to wear on thier uniform.

IMHO...whether it be a man or a woman, our youth are impacted by the presence and demeanor of the adult leaders of our scout units.

I have seen discussion of role models here in the forums.

Maybe scouting is not as popular as when we had some of th legendary scouters still around, but the need for solid supportive adults, leaders, and parents has never been needed more than it is today.

When our youth look around them, what do they see? I won''t answer that. But, when they look around at us...yes, us as a collective group, can we say that we have positively impacted the life of a scout today?

I was taught a long time ago several important lessons that I keep near and dear to me:

1. When you throw dirt at someone else, you only lose ground.

2. When you point a finger at someone else, remembet that you have 4 fingers pointing back at yourself.

Is this post a commentary on any specific item that I have seen posted here in the forums....no.

Just a post acknowledging that I wish I could identify some strong role models to my children and my scouts.

I would love some examples of some strong adult role models that are visable in the scouting organization that I can point out to those youth. Anyone?

For now, I remain interested in supporting our scouts and our leaders.

Maybe I am rambling, but with all the challenges that our youth are up against, I warmly welcome anyone who provides a "strong positive influence" for our youth in line with scouting ideals...regardless of sex, religion, age, nationality, race, disability, etc. (I may have missed some, but you get the idea).

Humbly stated and not directed at anyone...with no offense intended,

YIS

Michael

Thanks for the candor with your replies. In reflecting upon my own participant experience, your comments, and the admin & Staff guides, I can see that there really is lot involved and that a fair amount of time is needed to prepare for the WB experience that is offered for participants.

...now getting the behind the scenes look at WB from a staff perspective is quite the eye opener. I looks like everyones job does require quite a bit of prep, no matter what they are doing. Granted, the SM and ASM''s have a bit more.

I can also see that it appears that some of the positions (ASM and SPL) appear to be better suited for someone who has at least done staff once before. It does not show that as required, but I cannot imagine someone counseling the Guides without prior personal experience in the matter.

In regards to the 6 weekends, although I would be delighted to get 6 weekends away from the crew I have at home, I want to make sure that the time invested is accurate and appropriate. I may be misreading into it (some may be for SM/ASM preplanning). I did look at the admin guide that was suggested.

Also, I did set up a lunch meeting with the CD so that we could discuss in a bit more detail.

In regards to promoting, that sounds fun. I already know of one that has expressed interest and am sure that I can drum up a few more.

Of interest...what was with the "Tarp Day"?

Thanks for the reply. That will at least help me to locate a resource to assist with unit members and myself working on that.

I do agree that the although the requirements include cub scouts, they do seem skewed towards scouts, venturers, and adults.

I have not seen any discussions or documentation that help in that direction, nor have I actually seen or heard of anyone that has completed the requirements for that award. I have seen the patches and flyers in numerous council offices and scout shops, but nothing more than that in regards to making it any more visable to cubs, scouts, venturers, or adults.

Does anyone have any other thoughts or experiences with this in either a general or specific narure?

Thanks for weighing in.

I looked at that and it shows a 2006 printing. In discussing that with other folks, they have told me that there has been several revisions and not sure what the actual "current" requirements.

Granted, what you referred me tow as posted on the BSA site, but just trying to get the low down on what''s what. The unit leaders have been saying the same thing because of some discussions that have occurred over the past 6 monthes at roundatble at various time regarding this.

I am just now getting back into Commissioner Service after a hiatus of a few years, having 5 kids will do that at times.

I see that the Quality Unit Award is goone and replaced with a Centennial Award. When I ask about the requirements for units...ummm, there appears to be much confusion and not much clarity there.

Can anyone point me in the right direction or offer up and commentary as to what is going on with that.

Being involved with a Pack, from prior experience, it has always been helpful in getting leaders trained by letting them know that it also helps the unit achieve thier goalof becoming a Quality Unit.

Ok, so the floors open on this one. Can anyone weigh in on this?

I am interested in helping on Staff with a Wood Badge course. An opportunity has presented itself.

Of interest, how much time and preparation is needed? I see in our council calendar that there are 4 Friday > Sunday weekends as WB Staff Development weekends from March > May, and August of this coming year. That makes 12 days, not full, but still 12.

I know that a lot of preparation is needed. Is this representative of the level of preparation needed with a WB course?

As a good ol Fox, I would like to be able to pass on some of what I have learned and experienced from WB myself.

Your thoughts are welcomed.

New here.

Question is has anyone seen much activity with the BSA Fitness Award? Link below:

http://www.scouting.org/nav/enter.jsp?s=xx&c=ds&terms=fitness++award

I think it is a great idea. Good stuff and a step towards getting scouts to understand some indepth info of fitness, nutrition, health, etc.

I am multiple enrolled (ACM and UC) and want have been trying to work on it for myself so that I can see what it would take for scouts to achieve...how hard, what it takes, how long, etc.

Ok, but on several attempts with the local district and council to find the ..."Mentor" for this award, none has a clue or can give me any idea as to who to contact.

Now, I am not just affter the patch. I got a box of those. My wife and I have been trying to get fit and in shape and this looked like a good plan to take a look at myself and what I really knew about fitness (not to mention getting a physical - which I have not had in over 4 years).

I know that many of the scouts in our council would benefit from this program, but it appears to be a dead end everytime I have tried to get info or find a council or district contact. I have emailed council and district training committee chairs as well as the DE.

Suggestions are welcomed.