Scoutfish

Fod drive huh? That's not such a bad idea : reqeusting everybody bring a can or two boxed food when they come to the ceremony. And thinking about it, that idea exemplifies the idea of being an Eagle. The ceremony was cool though. After the awrding of Eagle Award and after committing to the Charge of the rank of Eagle, there was a slide show of the scout from Tiger all the way up to the morning of the ceremony.

It also means that the count is way off since it probably also goes higher every time you jump from post to post within a forum, and from one forum to the next.

He'd be a great scout! Sure would....when he's not getting into trouble. He isn't scared, loves to explore, isn't afraid of doing or the unknown....and has a great imagination! I wish that all the boys in my pack were Calvins. They'd all make Eagle before they entered 5th grade!

jamist649, The very first time my son went camping also was at our pack campout. It was in October. Sometime during the middle of the night, he wakes me up and asks me: "Dad! What was that?" I ask him what, and he just says: "That." I have noidea what he's talking about so we both get real quiet. He then says: "there it goes again!" Turns out he was hearing leaves fall to tye ground, and every now and then, one would slide down the side of the tent. I told him what it was and he said something along the lines of - Everybody should be able to hear that. He's been hooked ever since!

I gave an Eagle card and a tie tack and money clip. Probably ended up being the tenth of each one he got, truth be told. Nope! No FOS at all. Matter of fact, I was the only person who was not family or within his troop that was invited. Well, I take that back. There was a rep foir Woodmen of The World there who presented the Eagle Scout with a NICE US flag. All I can say is that a FOS at that ceremony would be way, way beyond tacky.

Went to te Eagale award Ceremony today. Well, maybe it was a Court of Honor where the Eagle Award was given? Not sure, first one I have ever attended. The ceremony was opened with a prayer, then the host called the COH as being open. Was a great ceremony. Anyways, it was exactly what some of you said it was: I was invited due to the Eagle Scout was a Tiger Cub and Bear at my pack way back in the day. They had to move due to dad getting transfered to another state ( not military) and when they moved back to NC, they set up about 25 miles up the road. I figured that I was invited along with other district leaders,but the case was - I was the only Scout Leader who was not a part of the Eagle Scouts troop. As son as I stepped into the Sanctuary, the father greeted me and siad he was glad I came. Anyays, a great and beautiful ceremony. Absolutely glad I went!

I use a $39 Wal-Mart special tent when we go pack camping. Since I camp only 3 or 4 times a year total....I haven't felt the justification to buy a $100.00 tent. But the trick is this: I also buy a tarp to cover my tent and one to go under it too. A $4 for under works greeat and around $30 for the rainfly tarp. THis way I have a very breathable tent if it's not raining and the rain tarp( I always put it up) creates a nicer temp control to the tent when it's hot and sunny. Again, if most families only use it twice a year, I'll tell them to spend around $30.00 to $40.00 on the tent, but buy a nice tarp since most rainfly's barely cover the mesh area anyways.

Because what comes around- goes around. One day, when that den of Tigers are going to cross over and rae also having an AOL ceremony, their will be paid for by that years Tigers. Our pack does something slightly similar. We recharter in the end of Dec/ beginning of Jan. We charge $40.00 in fees that includes recharter and insurance from BSA . Yeah, that leaves $20 for pack dues plus the weekly den dues of $1.00 BBQ chicken dinner and popcorn makes up the difference So it is Dec and recharter time. Webelos II boys pay the same fee as everybody else. Most of their fee covers National and Insurance and also pauys for any Plaques, awards, service arrows, etc.. Any left over monet reverts to next years incoming Tiger den. Why? Because at roundup. those Tiger pay for regsitration, Boys Life and BSA insurance and do not pay the pack a dime until recharter time. What comes arouind goes around. It just works opposite for us. In your situation, I migght charge a prorated fee. Figue out what each active month of being in the pack costs. Divide your dues by that amount minus BSA insurance and registration. When the boys cross out, either refund them that amount or just figure how long before they cros over to begin with and pro rate the fee to match. But now, what about the Webelos II that do not get AOL and stick around for the full year? Does the COR think they should not pay? Now as far as money going with scout: We will transfer ( through scout office) for a scout for any money left over in his scout account, to his next unit.... IF HE ASKS. If any pack or den dues are left over. they go back to the pack and ultimately get used for next years new Tigers.

Wait...this reminds me of something familiar....it's on the tip of my tongue...oh man.....I can almost connect the dots... OH YEAH! I know what it is! 20/80! Of all the active users, only 20% actually do something and write for the other 80% who don't do anything!

acco40, No, what I am saying is that ...wellfor example: I go to England on vacation. While there, I hear some people talking about faggots and how they stink up and foul the air and how they should be against the law> WEllis that still a hateful; word that they used? Was it with hateful intent and full of malace and predjudice? Does the fact that ( even though I am over 2,000 from America) I'm even in a different culture/country/ region matter since it seems to be in America where that is a hateful word? No! The only hate associated with that word in that example would be from my mindpoint and state of opinion. So would it be correct or even make sense to be offended by something that ( at least in this case) has no association with anything offensive whatso ever? Now, another example: Some folks from England come to the US on vacation or buisness. While here, they notice the anti-smoking laws in most states. One is overheard telling the other how nice it is they do not allow fagots in restaurants. Now, at first, you might think they are mistaken, and wonder if they are bigoted or predjudiced, But one you found out ( if you didn't already know) that the way the used the word had nothing at all to do with the hatefull meaning that OUR country changed it to mean...well again, if you find offense in it - it's your own shortcomings, not theirs. If you found offense in their usage of the word..it is only and soley becuase you willingly chose to do so! Yes, it is that simple. As mentioned before..go to other countries and hold your fingers in the "victory " sign and see what people think. HOld up your middle finger and see what people think. Belch very loudly and see what they tghink. Just say hellow to a woman and see what it means. Just shake hands with somebody and see how it is taken. But no matter how they take it...it dos not change the intent or meaning I felt when it did whatever motion or gesture that may cause offense. And if they chose to stay offended after I explained my intent...well..I could care less about their opinion after that point.

This will sound so stupid, but the case may actually be this simple: At work, my boss had a computer. Pretty normal thing nowdays. but his was an old tube type monitor where the front to back dimensions were actually greater than the screen size. Must have been two feet thick - front to back. Well, that monitor finally dies and the office manager went out and bougfht a nice new 20" flat scren monitor. My boss complained for almost a week that the monitor was busted and didn't work. You know...you could look at those glass front tube monitors from any angle you wanted and saw the picture the same. But if you change the angle of most LCD or LED screns a little bit, it's worse than looking through welding glasses or a 35mm camera film negative. You do remember what a film negative is right? You do remember what film is ...right? Just showing my age!

As 4 of our adults are crossing out of the pack - ACM, DL, CC and Awards Chair, I went out and bought 4 plain hiking sticks. I engraved something pertaining to each person and what they did for the pack onto their hiking stick. For the ACM, I had ALL of the boys in the pack sign it. For the DL, I had all the boys in his den sign it, For the CC, I had all the adult leaders and committee sign it, For the awards Chair, the boys signed it also. Haven't given it yeat, but so far, all the other committee members and DL's think it's a great idea. If that isn't your thing...any craft that the boys themselves worked on and made or a ($30.00 max ) gift card to the scout shop.

Ditto what Pchadbo said! Other than seeing them perform the AOL ceremony for our Webelos at crossover.. I have no idea what they do. But I also realize that as a Cub Scout Pack, we will not see them remotely as much as a Troop, Crew or Ship would. And again, as Pchadbo said, Not sure what we could do to help them, but my ears are open.

No but you can follow the requirements EXACTLY as they are stated. The ones that say you make a poster and show it to your den , ones that say you stand up and present to den or pack. Ones that require you to show your den leader or explain "X" to your den leader, etc... Our pack pays for any and all beltloops earnd while on pack or council time. Mom and dad pay for BL or Pins earned during family time or time away from a scouting sponsored/controlled activity. We too had a boy who's mom turned in paperwork for ALL the beltloops..even though the boy never went to any scout camp ( council, district or pack) at all and only came to 6 den meetings and one pack meeting all year long.

WE do two nights as well. Arrive Friday, leave Sunday morning. But Friday is a fend for yourself night. There are no offical pack activities nor is attendance critical. A few of us adults will do some Dutch Oven cooking demonstrations, and other cool food ideas for parents new to scouting. We ( a handfull of leaders - not the pack) also have hotdogs and smores ingredients availabkle for the kids. Saturday morning has a more stringent time schedule..but not without plan B,C. and D on standby in case something happens. We assist and supervise older scouts cooking ( the tamer stuff) while younger ones help serve. Duties are broken down into different groups who work the 3 different meals of the day. We allow at least 30 minutes after breakfast for food to settle and event leaders to get their affairs in order. W do activities until lunch. After aloowing 45 mins for lunch, we have an hour down time. WE do after noon activities until about 30 mins before supper. After supper we kinda go into chill mode. Tell stories around the campfire, skits, misc info sessions. and smores again. Then we do a night hike. Sunday we have juice/coffee/hot chocolate and honey buns/ cinnamin rolls. A short scouts own and then we police the camp/ LNT and break camp. The thing is, we usually have at least 4 or 5 different activities set up so there are no long lines or so scouts do not do "the same dull thing" as last year. All activities are usually belt loop activities and not neccasary for advancement ...But individual dens may elect to finish or work on advancement activities themselves instead of other activities. The biggest thing is this: We do not demand that scouts participate in the activities. They are free to just hang out with mom or dad or their freinds and just enjoy the camping in itself if they choose to do so. You do not want scouts bored because there is nothing to do, but at the same time, do not control every minute of the day or you will suck the fun out of camping. I bring a Nerf football and a soccer ball. The boys love it , and myself and another leader will watch the boys while mom and dad can just sit and socialize and laugh. Yeah,those are suck up brownie points - but it helps keep the boys in scouting! Sometimes, just letting them run around, having fun and burning off energy will make that camping trip the coolest thing ever. If it happens at a scouting event, then scouting stays cool .

Aww...that's easy! All you have to say is: " Resistance is futile! "

Well, I'll say this: If the word is used correctly, and the user of the word did indeed use it correctly without malice .. then if offense is taken ... that is the sole responsibility and fault of the offended and in no way says anything negative about the user of the word. Anybody understand that? Point is, if I use a word in it's technically correct form, and you know damn well that I do not mean hatred or malice by using it in the CORRECT way...then if you take offense by my using that word...It's your own damn fault. You are the one creating malace and you are the one who is the problem! Words should be taken as they were used by the user of that word. Now for example ... how freaking stupid and not to mention pointless would it be for me to go to England and tell everybody that words they use are offensive because back in the good ole USA .. people changed what the word meant and made it into something bad. I would expect those English people to laugh at me and then tell me to shut my mouth. Point again, if anybody ignores what other peoples intents are, and adamantly insist that everybody else must abide by thier own usages( which happen to be offensive) ..then that one person is the most vile of all. They live for, and thrive over causing dissent and hatred . They are being spiteful for the sake of being spitefull. So if somebody called me something , and in THEIR usage or native tongue, it is a compliment, then I will take it completely in the spirit it was given to me instead of the negative way that it ended up becoming. What other people say must be taken in their intent instead of being maliced by our own shortcomings and dark thoughts. Simply put, if I take every good thing anybody says and make it into a hateful thing ...that just goes to show I am the one full of hate, not them. (This message has been edited by a staff member.)

Work on Tiger Electives! First, they are not Wolves. Even though they met Tiger rank, they are not wolves until next year OR June 1st which is the "offical" changeover point at National. But the real determination is when you start your scout year. Most pack follow the school calendar. Grade 1 is Tigers. Grade 2 is Wolves, etc... The parent may have misunderstod something that happens at resident camp where Bears attend Spring Resident Camps as first year Webelos because ..they will *SOON* be crossing over. But this if for camping and learning purposes. They are still only Bears. Now, the real thing is this: It is your den, you are running it - the parent is not. Why rush it?Are the boys having fun and enjoying it? Are they still active without being bored? If so..keep on doing what you are doing...It's not a speed comeptition. There is no reason to rush things.

Not so much an add, but how about keeping stuff in stock and available? For instance, the 100 year patch and ribbons. WEll, not so much the patch, but the ribbons. On the cub scout side of things, our council does roundup in the fall. Now, I know that cubs and boy scouts who are already members of a unit were already working on their 100 year patch and the 5 ribbons. But how about the newer kids? If you have until December 31st 2010 to earn the patch AND ribbons, the stor ought to figure on having them in stock until at least Feb. But at the very least, you should not be out of something before the cutoff date of earning it. That is a soory feeling to new Cub Scouts and Boy scouts who worked on it and are waiting to see if more can be ordered!

Figures it's not valid. Still, it was different from last years which was 5 or 6 pages. The whole times I was filling it out, I thought to myself: "This is just TOO easy, I must be doing something wrong!"

WOW! Can't believe I missed this one when it originally posted. I think it'sa great idea and I am planning something similar at the end of this year and the beginning of next year. At the end of this year, our pack is losing 4 adults: Pack awards and advancement chair, CC, Webelos DL and our ACM I went and bought 4 plain straight shaft hiking sticks at the scout store and bought a Dremel rotary tool. For the ACM, I carved a hand grip and the AOL symbol as well as carved his name into it and "ACM - PACK 235" I had all the boys in the pack sign it as well as inscribe this saying: "One hundred years from now, it will matter not what my bank account was, how big my house was, or what kind of car I drove. But the world may be a little better, Because I was important in the life of a child." For the Webelos DL, I carved a handgrip, then the Webelos symbol, his name , and "DL Pack 235",..... then had the boys from his den sign it. For the CC, Handle, engraved a gavel and his names as well as " CC -Pack 235" For the Awards and advancement chair: The handle, an award ribbon, and "Awards -Pack 235" So after the cub all finish with their graduation ceremony, I am going to call themup and have their sons present the hiking sticks to them. THis is not at the WEbelos crossover and AOL, but the graduatiion of the rest of the cubs. Next year, I plan to presnt the trained patch as well as the position patch to all my leaders. And I agree that the boys will like it since it will be the same way they get their awards and recognition.

Nah, it's not parents are looking for somebody to mess up so we can lynch them. And VERY VERY far from nazi mentailty! But as leaders ( at least in my pack) We stop things when they are small in order to prevent them from becoming big. Two examples at PWD: Example 1: A parent just wanted to add a touch of graphite to his car after check in. Really, no biggie because he meant to add it before, but got talking and forgot. Did I think he was honest? Sure did, but if we allowed him to "tinker" with the car after checkin, then we had no basis to stop everyone else from tinkering with theirs...including the cheates. Rules apply to EVERYBODY! NO EXCEPTIONS! Example 2: We look over and see a mom picking up cars and looking at them. We didn't even notice her until after she picked up, looked at and set back down...how many? I walked over and told her she cound not under any circumstances touch the cars as people could/would blame her for cheating if something happened to their cars or if they ran badly. Before she said anything, I explained that "I knew" she wasn't doing anything, but al the other parents might not be inclined to think so. When I did notice her, she was gingerly picking up cars, looking at then,and very carefuly setting them down. She;s an art teacherat one of the 3 local elemtry scholsand was admiring the cars. I really believe that she was not doing anything wrong, but rules are that once cars are checked in,they are off limits to everybody but the PWD staff. In both instances, we acted quickly and while the incident was small. There were no BIG incidents at all because we did not let them get big. Point is, enforcing rules so that all scouts get equal oppertunity in the scouting program does not makes us brutes or nazis, or bad leaders. But if we sit back and allow any parent to do what they want, anytime they want..we'd be more fair to the scouts by not even having a pack at all!

Or , as in most cases, it means the person actually doesn't know, isn't sure or wants to clarify with some sort of experience ,or confirm and back up their own interpretation of sometrhing from those with more experience. Hence, that's why they asked. woodardjp, Never be afraid to ask, There is nothing EVER wrong with asking if you do not know. It is far worse to procede wrongly and incorrectly than to take a minute and ask in order to be sure. I ain't afraid to ask anything that I am not sure about!

It's not that we think they are elite over us...it's that THEY have an attitude and self opinion that they are an elite set of being next to us. The peole who think they are too good, too special or we are beneath them due to economic, regional, or blodlines. Totally forgot her whole name, but remeber the hotel queen? Leona someething or another. She was qouted as saying : "Taxes are for the little people." She was an elitist!

So this must be a council specific and at the council's disrection right? I just filled out a tour permit for our pack family camping and the only form on our council's website was a 2 page PFD document that specifically labeled for trip under 500 miles. Biggest thing it wanted to know was wether we had the appropriate ( by that, I mean required) people with the necessary training for the events you are planning ( BALOO, SSD, SA, Weather,etc...) Then there was the vehicle info if traveling by bus or vans, then the most basic of info such as start ande stop time and the number of scouts and the nukber of adults going. It took me longer to find out the age of my ACM than it did to fill out the report.