ScouterPaul

Tread carefully NJ or you will be labeled a troll.

The gear guide is an excellent starting point. My advice to is be nosey and ask everyone you see what type of gear do they have and do they like it. My local store has a college age Eagle Scout who has become one of my most valuable resources.

Melodee Good question. I have attended only one day camp. Our district required a minimum of 2 leaders from a pack (unless there was only one boy going with one of his parents) with a ratio of 1:5, one leader for each five boys. We group the boys by rank. This policy does not guarantee that you will be with your son. There is at least two usually three leaders with each den. It seems to work well. I really liked the fact that the boys were put with boys from other packs. This really seemed to help them socially.

Welcome back sctmom sounds like you had a fun trip. I'm going to take your advice and go for a trail run tomorrow (Saturday). I know I'll get dirty because I also seem to trip and fall at least once.

With all due respect Rooster I need to ask the following question. Do you as a leader ask each leader and parent whether they are homosexual or hetrosexual?

You want to stuff your bag into the stuff or compression sack. This will not only make it easier but it will help protect your bag. You will want to store your bag in a large cloth bag such as a large pillow case. Compression overtime will reduce the loft of the bag reducing it's ability to keep you warm.

Excellent suggestion OGE.

I am a Cubmaster (prior Webelos Leader) and Assistant Scoutmaster. I see absolutly no problem with your Webelos camping with the Troop. I am a sales person by trade and relish any opportunity to sell my product or my Troop/Pack. In addition the new Troop may or may not get started and your boys may find that the Troop they are camping with is everything that they are looking for. As a Scouter I feel that it is my mission to help every Scout whether they are in my Troop or not.

I used to be a believer in the "buck naked" method of sleeping bag sleeping. In cold weather I now prefer to sleep with some sort of clean (sleeping only) moisture wicking clothing. I've found that the clothing will increase the thermal qualities of the bag but will also keep the moisture away from your skin.

Our Pack just changed CO (1/02) due to the attitutde of the previous church. We have started a new troop and the previous CO refused to charter it. Our new situation has been great so far. Our new COR is an Eagle himself with another Minister also being Eagle. The church placed an announcement, on their own, about the new Pack and Troop in the Church Newsletter for four consecutive weeks. We have registered 5 new boys so far. Things are looking great!!

andrews I am also starting a Troop this spring. We will cross over 8 Webelos in April. My thoughts for what they are worth would be for your wife to start out as the CC with the Minister as the COR. As soon as possible recruit someone to be CC then your wife could become ASM and all possible conflicts would be resolved. Good Luck!

WFR - Wilderness First Responder WEMT - Wilderness Emegerncy Mediical Technician Both require extensive training. I'm hoping to get WFR training soon.

sctmom - I predict that the young man will choose to stay with you when you move up. Good Luck

Thanks I think I'll try!

Sounds like you are going to participate in a Billy Goat where there many markers each having a different point value. The higher the point value the more difficult the route to the marker. You will need to choose your game plan -high number of easier and lower point markers or smaller number of higher point markers. My advice is to have your boys practice taking and following bearings as this will be helpfull during the meet. Also practice reading a map. Also take a good amount of time to plan your route before the meet starts. You'll do this with your map and compass(determining the bear

One of our leaders was beaded during our last Weblos campout. The fellow Patrol members and Woodbadge Scoutmaster made the trip to our outing and presented the beads. The ceremony was incredible and was designed to get the boys excited.

Mike Excellent post. We take all of our new leaders/parents on a 2night backpacking trip. This gives them the confidence to help their son.

Is is desirable to have Patrol only outings or is it best to have Troop wide activities utilizing the patrol method?

We conduct quarerly uniform inspections for our Webelos. Ed I'm wondering why you wouldn't want all of your Scouts in full uniform for all troop meetings (unless there is a special activity)?

Well-said Chippewa29. Dedicated Dad you wrote: "But this thread has taken a nasty left turn down the road of liberalism and towards the Cult of Political Correctness. Diversity for its own sake is subversive, lets not forget the lessons of forced bussing, social promotion and affirmative action." I personally think that our society and country are better because of the gains made during the previous 40 years. We live in the present and not the past.

sctmom - My advice is to find a different (better) troop.

We are starting our Troop on 1/1/02. The Book of Honor idea was great.

Thanks DD. Great resource.

Thanks FScouter and Ed I will be moving up to Boy Scouts this summer and will become an ASM. The issue of how much of the fundraiser to "assign" to the boy and how much goes to the pack or troop is a question I can't come to grips with. Thrifty is part of the Scout Law and we teach our boys to "earn their way". Is 10% the normal percentage? If summer camp costs $150 and popcorn is the fundraiser then the Scout would have to sell $4,500 worth of popcorn to earn the $150 this doesn't seem right to me. Should the percentage going to the Scout be on a graduated scale? Example: If the units

I have signed up for the spring 2002 Woodbadge course. All of my Scoutg training so far has been excellent. I'm hoping and expecting Woodbadge to be the same. It has been my experience that Woodbadgers are all dedicated Scouters with an almost fanatical desire to improve the scouting experience for their Scouts.