scoutldr

It's nice that the "Key 3" gets a nice plaque. As a mere District Committee member, I would have been happy with a QD patch for my district shirt. We are a brand new District and made QD in our second year. The DE said he didn't know such a thing existed, but would get them for us...but here it is almost October and we are still waiting. We worked hard and are proud of our accomplishment. i would gladly buy one myself, if I could find a source.

Every scout can be a den chief. All he has to do is ask.

Actually, it was and still is "Webelos"...Wolf-Bear-Lion-Scout and the word is both singular and plural. I too wore the diamond "W" patch on the right sleeve before Webelos was just a den and not a rank, circa 1962. Only had two kinds of dens...Cub and Webelos. Cubmasters and "Committeemen" were always male and Den Mothers were always, um, Mothers.

If you run a Google search on "Scout Board of Review", you can get some sample questions to get you started. Pick and choose what you like. Bob will say that some are inappropriate, and that may be. The questions that are a "trivial pursuit" of scouting, such as obscure facts of scouting history are probably not useful. I use the BOR for probing questions on leadership, family relationships, ethics, scout spirit, career goals, school accomplishments, and goal setting for the next rank. Of course, the BOR for Life will be longer and more in depth than a BOR for Tenderfoot. Ask open-ended questions that can't be answered with a "yeah or nawww." Ask him for suggestions on how to improve the Troop...some of the best ideas come from 12 year olds. Good luck!

We don't have the Rovering program in the US. We have Venturing...a program for boys and girls aged 14-21. What country do you live in?

After becoming an Eagle Scout, you may earn Palms by completing the following requirements: Be active in your troop and patrol for at least three months after becoming an Eagle Scout or after award of last Palm. Demonstrate Scout spirit by living the Scout Oath (Promise) and Scout Law in your everyday life. Make a satisfactory effort to develop and demonstrate leadership ability. Earn five additional merit badges beyond those required for Eagle or last Palm. Merit badges earned any time since becoming a Boy Scout may be used to meet this requirement. Take part in a Scoutmaster conference. Complete your board of review. You may wear only the proper combination of Palms for the number of merit badges you earned beyond the rank of Eagle. The Bronze Palm represents five merit badges, the Gold Palm 10, and the Silver Palm 15.

When I served on the Church Council, we had a Financial Secretary and a Treasurer. Two different people. Counting and handling the money and checkbook was never done by the same people who kept the accounting books. I believe that was a requirement of the liability bond. So, your situation does not seem out of the ordinary to me. The problem is that someone needs to be assigned to keep the records (Pack Secretary/Troop Scribe)...and that person is not necessarily the Treasurer, whose job it is to maintain the checkbook and approve expenditures and pay the bills. To simplify...keeping track of income should probably be a different job than keeping track of and approving spending. In those units which feel compelled to amass large 5-figure treasuries for no obvious reason (we have a few), this can be an important issue.(This message has been edited by scoutldr)

Girl Scouts of Broward County Inc 4701 NW 33rd Ave Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309-6807 Phone: (954) 739-7660

Den dues of $100 payable up front does seem out of line, and I know a lot of parents that would object to that. Does your Pack also charge dues in addition to the registration fee? What do the den dues cover? How is the money accounted for? We still have more questions than we have answers. In my experience, typical den dues, if any, is rarely more than $1 a week, payable weekly. In a den of 8 boys, that should be more than enough to cover any routine den expenses. Of course, if there's a field trip that requires an admission fee, that would be extra, but those should be rare.

It's not "discrimination". It's a reality. Scouting costs money. When the Pack advancement chairman goes to the Scout Shop to get badges and arrow points, there has to be money to pay for them, or Council won't let them out the door. As a training chairman, if I want to copy handouts for a training class, my Council charges me 9 cents a copy. The money has to come from somewhere. I either "eat it" or pass on the cost to the students. Your Pack faces the same choices. Ideally, Scouts are encouraged to "earn their way" ... getting Mom and Dad to fork over the dues is not the first choice, either. Every kid can do "something" to earn money. Wash a car, mow a lawn, rake leaves, sell popcorn to add to his "Scout Bucks" account (which he can then use to pay his dues). But the answer "you can't have a Wolf badge because your mom did not stroke us a check" is not the right answer either. Have a good Pack fundraiser...then no one will have to pay "dues".

You missed the joke, Unc. You said 30'...30 FEET!!!! Even I'M not that big!!!

I get it. They can be married, as long as they don't "act" married around other youth. Kinda like other discussions we have had here. At least National is consistent. Sheesh.

I saw your response too late to edit. But that's how I found them...off the internet using a Google search. The entire District committee is listed, with their phone numbers. They are already in the public domain.

OK, I'll make a couple of assumptions here...you are in East Tennessee, probably in the Knoxville area? That would put you in the Great Smokey Mountain Council, maybe in the Toqua District? Your District Training Chair is Don Lee, ph 986-2775 Cub Training Chair is John Buck, ph 693-2618 They also had a 2004-2005 calendar posted in pdf format, but I couldn't get it to work. I would suggest calling one of these gentlemen. If you are not in their district, they will know who the Training Chair is for your district. They can probably also give you the dates of the next training...it doesn't have to be in your district...anyone can go to any training anywhere. scoutldr UT, '77 Go Vols!

Consider that if we were talking about a Troop rather than a Crew, and the two married (to each other) 18year olds were registered as ASMs, this question would not even come up. Where is the common sense in any of this? What lesson are we teaching? That rules are rules, even if they are devoid of any logic? That's why this country was founded in the first place! (faint sounds of God Bless America in the background...) The right answer should be (National, are you listening???), if they have entered into the Holy Bond of Matrimony, they are adults, both in the eyes of God and the Laws of man. End of story. The other side of the coin is that maybe married couples should not be accepted as youth members of a Crew. That privilege is reserved for those who have not yet entered into legal "adulthood".

Consider that if we were talking about a Troop rather than a Crew, and the two married (to each other) 18year olds were registered as ASMs, this question would not even come up. Where is the common sense in any of this? What lesson are we teaching? That rules are rules, even if they are devoid of any logic? That's why this country was founded in the first place! (faint sounds of God Bless America in the background...) The r

The one we use is Camp Hidden Valley, Keystone Area Council. If you want to do a Mapquest, the camp is physically located in Loysville, PA.

Ahhh...stalking and Silent Signals. More lost scoutcraft.

"It's not easy being green." - Kermit the frog Racism has no place in scouting. We must not tolerate it, regardless of the color of the perpetrator. I would explain that to the parents and ask for their help in squelching it.

Without going into details...we can save that for the safeguarded threads. Unfortunately, scouts of the younger variety may consider any weekend that deprives them of their X-box and junk food as "hazing". Too many parents are quick to agree. I didn't really understand the symbolism of the various elements of the Ordeal until many years later. Sometimes I think we are too quick to encourage OA membership to those who are still too emotionally immature to understand it.

I was in a similar situation. I just filled out a new Lodge membership form and sent it in to Council with a check. They asked for date of Ordeal, Brotherhood, Vigil, on the form, but no proof was required. I believe there is a rule that you may only belong to the Lodge (and wear the flap thereof) which serves the Council of your primary BSA registration. The flap is only for current Lodge members in good standing.

Well, we can argue this until the cows come home. You said yourself his paid registration doesn't end until December. What's September got to do with it? He is a member of the Pack unless his membership has been revoked for cause, and I believe only Council can do that. I believe if they appeal to Council, you'll lose, so you should probably discuss this with your SE before you do anything. You are denying this boy this boy because they have stated their "intention" not to renew their registration and because the boy is a handful and you are frustrated. If you want this trip to be a "plum" that only the best behaved and committed scouts can attend, then it's ok to have Pack rules for behavior, attendance, parental support, etc. But you can't make them up now and apply them retroactively. If he met the established criteria (if any) at the time you accepted his money, you have no dilemma.

I'm confused...if the boy is a PITA , and the parents have announced he is not "returning" in Sept (since Scouting is a year-round program, not sure what that means), why in the world would you have taken their money and allowed him to sign up for this trip?

Agree with boleta. The time to be wrestling with this was before they paid the non-refundable deposit. Too late now. They're registered members. They've paid. They go. I would, however, mention frequently, what a shame it will be when he can't go next year.(This message has been edited by scoutldr)

Wherever you go...there you are.