scoutldr

The quoted description is pretty clear to me. As far as I know, "Den Aide" is not a registered position, but has been used unofficially, e.g., a Girl Scout daughter of a Den Leader who helps out with den meetings.

You're late for work in the morning because your sleeping bag zipper got stuck. You can do all of your Christmas shopping on eBay in the "Scout" section. You laugh at all the people who spent $30 on a "S'Mores Maker" (a fancy Sterno holder) for Christmas...and think "why didn't I think of that?" You're considered the "go to" guy at work when they need to know which side of the stage the flag should go for retirement ceremonies. (They also look at you funny when you suggest the "watermelon cheer" should be added to the program.)

Suffice it to say that Eammon's council is not the only one offering free registration as an enticement to grow numbers at the end of the year. Nothing sneaky about it, though...it's advertised on our website. Just the normal recruiting methods...no herding them into the corral and locking the gate.

The best thing I received (1970)was the Eagle medal, and the lifetime of honor and obligation that came with it. Your son will appreciate that more in 30 years than he does now. Don't recall receiving anything else, other than cards of congratulations from out of town relatives.

I am curious about your statement on "on-line training" records. The only online training I am aware of is Youth Protection and Fast Start. And not all councils are participating in those. Is there other online training available somewhere? Also, I've been told that training that occurred prior to the implementation of ScoutNet will not be listed in the computer. I have Scouters with 35 years of tenure, who wear the Silver Beaver and Woodbadge beads...but the "official" printout lists them as "untrained". Go figure. I realize that it takes time and effort to input historical records, bu

If your kits are the official BSA Trail Chef kits, replacement parts are available at www.scoutstuff.org. The large fry pan is $13.60

The problem, Dan is that most COs and CORs don't want to be involved more than they are. They will sign the charter and provide a meeting place, and, providing your scouts don't trash the place, it's a commensal relationship. Heck, we even have to pay our own charter fee out of troop funds. In my experience, how many CORs attend District Committee meetings? Zero. How many attend the Council annual meeting? Zero. Do they WANT to be voting members of the BSA? Probably not. My sense is that they are ignorant of their role in the BSA organizational structure...and they are content in their

Girls are just as bad these days. Just go hang out at the local mall and keep your ears open. They hear it on TV constantly, and won't buy a CD unless it has a "Parental Advisory" label on it. Parents don't care. So if we are to make a difference, it's up to us. We tried the "quarter jar" since one of our ASMs is a merchant mariner, and raises "sailor's language" to an art form. He doesn't even realize he's doing it. Now, he just chucks a $20 bill in the jar on Friday night and says "There, that should cover me for the weekend."

Aye, FOG, there's the rub. We "safety geeks" don't go around thinking up ways to kill your fun. We go around trying to think of all the ways people can be stupid and then try to engineer the process so that they can't make that choice. As a former boss of mine once said, we have to educate the "defiantly ignorant." Everyone agrees that fireworks are not allowed in camp...why in the world would a black powder cannon be acceptable? We never had a cannon at my camp. I still had a good time and didn't grow up warped. OK, well I had a good time, anyway.

Well, I ignored the naysayers and sent a box of stuff anyway. Got a nice letter back from Barbara Green on official American Red Cross letterhead, thanking me for thinking of the young men and women who are sacrificing for our freedom. Well, OK, it was a form letter, addressed to "Dear Patriot". They must have had a good response which necessitated the use of a form letter. Kinda gave me a warm feeling anyway. Best money I've spent all year. Merry Christmas and God Bless America and our Troops overseas. Scoutldr (aka, Patriot)

Those citations sound like typical OSHA violations. The Council was cited because it is an employer and the camp staff are employees. They are covered by OSHA law. Volunteers and scouts are not. However, that does not relieve Councils from civil and criminal liability. As OSH (occupational safety and health) professionals, we are taught that there is no such thing as an "accident". There are only unsafe acts and unsafe conditions. Both are prevented by inspecting the environment, training, enforcement of rules, and, as a last resort, PPE (personal protective equipment). We also recogni

THe council in which I serve charges $6 per course, or $10 for both NLE and CSLS if taken together. They are told to bring their own Leader books, but I am told we must cover Insurance(?), Council "administrative fee", training card, Trained strip, certificate, and handouts at 9 cents each (which I usually pay for myself at Kinko's). We never miss an opportunity to reach into the wallet of a volunteer. Thanks for explaining the situation so well. The logistics are hard, and my training team consists of me and one other, who is a newbie. Pre-registration is one of my pet peeves...people ju

ds said, "From a pure dollars and sense point of view, attending an out of council camp takes money away from your council and puts it in another council's coffers." That's true, but if you have OOC troops coming to your camp to replace them, who cares? The goal should be a two warm, paying bodies in every tent, every week. And the "warm" part is optional. It shouldn't matter what CSP they wear. As others say, there are 3 things that will help that..."Program, program and program."

In another post, someone referred to the current CS leader training curriculum, which requires retraining at every level of progression through the program. Leaders starting out in Tiger Cubs get trained as a Tiger Leader. Then the next year, they have to get retrained as a DL (and pay another fee). Then WL. Then CM or committee member (MC). There are specific training codes in ScoutNet for each course. My dilemma is that when a course is advertised by Council, it is simply "CS Leader Specific", so out of a random group of 5-10 scouters who sign up, I have a mix requiring 4-5 instructors

It took me two seconds to recognize the operative term, "unlawful discrimination". Unless the Supreme Court reverses its decision, the BSA policy is, by definition, lawful and constitutional. And unless the city changes its policy regarding public accomodation, I see nothing changing.

I think the important thing is that every scout attend a long-term camp SOMEWHERE. Some councils charge an extra fee for out-of-council (OOC) troops, so it seems to me they make MORE money than if we go to our own camp. In a boy-led troop, if the PLC decides that the camp program is "lame", or if they simply don't want to go back to the same camp for the fifth year in a row, the adult leaders are obligated to help them do that. Most troops in my council rotate camps among the 4 or 5 that are within a half-day's drive. Our own camp often has more OOC campers in a given week than scouts from

What's a Unit Commissioner? In 14 years, I've never had one visit my Unit.

I don't know if I'd call it "micro-managing". I just figure the more names the scout has to work with, the better chance he will be able to make a connection without having to come back to the SM for a new name. If he is "assigned" a name, and the person turns him down, that can be discouraging. As I said in another post, most of the names on the district list are "Troop XX Only", so that doesn't leave much to work with anyway. I guess I don't see a problem with it either way.

BSA DECLARATION OF RELIGIOUS PRINCIPLE Excerpted: from Adult Registration Application B.S.A. No. 28-501K. The Boy Scouts of America maintains that no member can grow into the best kind of citizen without recognizing an obligation to God and, therefore, recognizes the religious element in the training of the member, but is absolutely non-sectarian in its attitude toward that religious training. The Boy Scouts of America's policy is that the home and the organization or group with which the member is connected shall give definite attention to religious life. Only person

KS, What I meant was, we make the district list available to the Scout. It is up to him to make a successful connection using that resource. We do not "assign" him a counselor.

One of the purposes of the MB program is to teach the Scout initiative. He has to find the counselor, call him/her and make an appointment and then work with him. It is also to encourage the scout confidence in reaching out and meeting new people. If Billy's mom, a member of the troop committee, is the counselor for 8 MB, that's seven new people the scout won't get to meet. A MB is supposed to be something the scout earns on his own...not something that is spoon-fed to him at a troop meeting.

Perhaps to accomodate the older crowd and camp staff before they split for college? Ours is always the third weekend in October. Fall camporee is the second weekend. Then those of us with wives catch it for being gone two weekends in a row. Ya can't win. >>>|--WWW--|>

There are usually "vintage" issues available on eBay. Naturally, the older, the more expensive, and those with Rockwell covers go for as high as $10 each. Out of almost 200 purchases, I have never had a bad experience.

>>I've seen councils not advertise, except by word of mouth to those "in the know" for coveted positions.

A properly uniformed Scout at a Scout function is always appropriate.