SeattlePioneer

Hello blw2, Besides the on line training, there is training presented by experienced leaders usually following a training syllabus. That can be worth taking. I teach the Tiger Cub Den Leader training at our council annual training event. The national slideshow that follows the syllabus is at: http://rochesternyweb.com/Troop%2048/Training/Tiger.pdf You might be interested in looking through that, although you lose a lot without my running commentary of practical experience and explanation that should go along with it.

> There certainly are units that don't have the surplus resources to help out on a district level ---so I'm not questioning Basements post. But in my experience, there ARE quite a few units which could find volunteers to help out with district activities and leadership if they had a mind to do so. My own pack is small and struggling, but we have a Tiger Cub Assistant Den Leader who is helping plan the Cub Scout Day Camp. Last year the pack committee volunteered to help clean up at the conclusion of the Cub Scout Day Camp, allowing staffers to be able to leave when the camp was done. In my experience, that happens when unit leaders are well enough plugged in to district leadership and activities to be able to see the things that need to be done, which allows them to review the resources within their unit and direct people who can help out with those activities. Unfortunately, too many unit leaders pay no attention at all to district leadership except to consumer the resources and activities provided. Sad. With some effort they could be strengthening their own program and Scouting for everyone in the district.

Hello jonathanrbaker, So what kind of issues are you working on to improve your pack and its program?

As I think further about dealing with this issue, it occurs to me that the previous CC, who did an excellent job, is still around although not a member of the pack. I saw her at the Webelos Arrow Of Light/Crossover ceremony and roller skating activity held a month or so ago at the local roller rink. Any suggestion on whether you would draw her into this, and if so, how? Great comments so far! Thanks.

Hello OGE, Once a year is a LOT better than nothing. But strictly speaking, the trip permit was asking about whether people had those records in hand for the particular outing. Unfortunately, it's real easy for people to fail to renew their license, registration or insurance or to have had their license suspended or whatever. Unless you check, you probably aren't going to know. And of course trip permit type approvals are no longer required except for out of council and other kinds of trips. Of course, it's not a problem unless something goes wrong. Then it can be a big deal and perhaps a major liability.

While no responsible leader is going to gossip about confidential information, it could happen.

> Don't keep us in suspense! What happened then? A former Cubmaster was famous for letting a district rep make their FOS pitch and then say to the crowd, "If you'd like to make a donation, we'll collect it at the next Pack meeting!" No money collected then!

> Pretty much every state requires drivers to have a valid license in their possession, to have proof that their vehicle is properly registered, and that they have proof of liability insurance. It's QUITE common for people to neglect these responsibilities, and unless you see these documents your aren't going to know --- until an accident occurs or a car full of people are arrested for riding around in a stolen vehicle or whatever. If a Scout Troop puts boys in a car with a driver who has a suspended license and they get into an accident, that is likely to be evidence of negligence which is going to increase the damages people collect from Scouting. It shouldn't be burdensome for people to produce these documents. We are all required to have them every time we drive. I just experimented--- it took me about five minutes to dig those three cards out of my wallet and verify that they are all up to date.

Just to throw out an idea, how about asking the lodge adult committee to organize a district Friends of Scouting breakfast to which business people and community leaders could be invited to learn more about Scouting and make FOS contributions?

My district had an inactive OA unit for several years --- no adult interested in supporting it. The past three or four years, an effective district leader has done an excellent job of reviving it, but he has found no one else to help him and he may drop it when it becomes more burdensome. In short, we need quality volunteers to make Scouting work. I would think that there ought to be ways to utilize adult volunteers in useful ways. There is EVERY reason why Scouting should be fun and attractive for adults too. You don't want adults messing with or interfering with the youth program of course. But I should think that motivated adults willing to work on community and Scouting projects, and invite OA youth participation as well sounds like a great program to me. It sounds like a fine thing to me that needs good leadership to keep it directed towards carrying out the OA program.

I am inclined to ask our District Executive who made the largest Friends of Scouting donation in the district. I would consider recognizing that person with a District Extra Mile award, especially if they have other volunteer credits at the unit level. If that person made continuing large FOS contributions, especially if it were combined with other volunteer activities, I might consider supporting additional recognition. The need for money is a fact of life in Scouting. My council is LUCKY to remain well financed, and I don't take that for granted. Recognizing people who support Scouting financially seems quite reasonable to me. I don't think they should dominate adult recognition, neither should their financial contributions be ignored when considering recognition. Any comments on that as an idea? (I want to thank Baden P for noting such recognition, even if overdone in his own council).

My district had a two hour meeting last week attended by six or more top district leaders to begin evaluating district recognition awards. A meeting a week for an additional four weeks is planned to finish that process. All the people on the committee except the chair have the Beaver. As I understand it, Beaver recipients are pretty much permanently invited to be on the committee. That last meeting was my first meeting with the committee, so I'm just learning what's going on. I'm especially interested in identifying people to be considered for awards who may have been overlooked in the past. Earlier I'd promoted our Cub Scout Day Camp Director and a leading Cubmaster who was our Popcorn Kernel last year (and the father of the Cub who sold $9500 in popcorn), and they are being considered. I e-mailed the day camp leader and asked if she had other volunteers on her staff she would like to see recognized. She had three, and we'll be adding those to our list. Initial awards are likely to be of the District Extra Mile Award. Continued valued contributions are likely to result in further and higher awards in subsequent years. So one question I have is... what other volunteers tend to be overlooked who might reasonably be recognized?

To Eamonn's excellent post, I would add that districts provide a lot of the continuity for programs and volunteers. District Executives come and go all too rapidly. Even good ones are a rope of sand to try to build upon. But districts often attract volunteers for a decade or more at a time. Those people can really learn their job, and the jobs and contributions other are making and forge those variety of programs into an effective program that leads both to unit organizations and the council. Of course this doesn't apply to Basement's district or council, mores the pity.

> Umm. I was wrong when I said the Roundtable participation could be at any time.

The one thing I would predict is that your interest in being a Scout leader would be treated with sympathetic interest, not with an interest in humiliating a person interested in volunteering. Decisions on volunteers are made first by unit leaders such as Cubmasters and Committee Chairs. When you talk to unit leaders about joining a Cub Pack or Scout Troop, I'd ask to meet with the unit leader and explain both your interest and the history you've explained here. Ask them if they would be willing to recommend you as a unit leader. They might say yes, they might say no. Either way is going to tell you whether your possible status with that particular unit. You might need to check with a different Cub Pack and pose the same question. It might also be that they would say "maybe" and reserve accepting you as a unit leader until they have more experience with you. If the unit accepts you as a leader, you fill out the BSA adult leader application which requires that you approve a background check. It also asks questions about criminal history, which you must answer accurately. When the background check is completed, a Scout official at the council reviews the result to decide whether a person should be accepted as a leader. They might decide that your offence is far enough in the past that it isn't a bar to being a leader. They might decide that it is a bar, in which case you'd get a phone call to explain that and whether another application at a later date might be accepted. Another possibility is that the leader of your Chartered Organization would receive a phone call apprising them of the background check results and asking them whether they want to accept you as a leader. Your real option is to explain the situation to the unit leader and ask them whether they would be willing to accept you as a leader. If they are, I'd fill out the leader application and see what happens. If you aren't approved as a leader, you can still do lots of things as a parent. The short answer is --- no guarantees, but no reason not to give it a try.

> He can attend Roundtables NOW and get credit for the Den Leader Knot. One of the purposes of knots is to shape people's behavior and encourage them to do good things. Attending a few Roundtables now will expose him to that program. Ummm. he didn't "chair" much? That one I don't get.

Yeah, we are all interested to see Mt Vesuvias erupt again...

Personally I'd be MOST concerned about forging a doctor's signature and the car insurance issue. These are things that are easy to treat in a trivial manner until something goes wrong, and if it does, everyone's butt is going to be on the chopping block, for good reason. Frankly, if parents are driving, they should be asked to show a troop leader their valid driver's license, vehicle registration and proof of insurance. For EACH activity they drive. I can just imagine the lawsuit that would be filed over forging a doctor's signature if a youth died or was seriously injured. The council might reasonably refuse to extend liability protection to unit leaders. I don't have any problems describing Scout Accounts as unit property. They are. I don't have an issue with signing up Scout Parents--- that's what it's for. But personally I want anyone who is a unit leader signed up as a unit leader for lots of good reasons. I've heard reasonable people suggest that the trailer registration in Main is legal. Unless I knew for sure or I was likely to be towing it that wouldn't bother me. Smoking is obviously a non starter. I walked out on a Scout Troop I didn't trust one time. There was another I did trust a mile away.

In our district you have to take a ferry boat ride to get to an island in the middle of Puget Sound where a Cub Pack and Scout Troop are located. To get to the far end of the district on the beaches of the Pacific Ocean, stay on the ferry boat and drive 144 miles to a Cub Pack and Scout Troop in the town of Forks, Wa. They may have a contingent of vampires and werewolves competing for influence in those units...

The Cub Scout who sold the popcorn sold it in a partnership with his father. Mostly they went door to door together. While the district recognition awards in question traditionally go to adults, I don't see any reason why a worthy Cub Scout mightn't earn one. I'm brand new to the district nominations committee that evaluates such things, so I'm trying to think outside the box about people who might deserve recognition. And I'm only one of six or eight people on the committee. So far, you haven't convinced me that he isn't deserving of recognition. It would certainly be unusual to recognize a Cub Scout. I'm looking for additional opinions....(This message has been edited by seattlepioneer)

> Thank you for so neatly illustrating how to excuse one group from it's actions and condemn another you don't happen to like. The murderous religiously motivated violence that killed and drove Mormons into repeatedly being refugees in the United States is breathtaking.

Hmmm. Thanks to the discussion here, I'm considering the following: Asking the District Executive who contributed the largest amount to the district Friends of Scouting Campaign and nominating them for a District Extra Mile Award. Nominating the Scout in the district who sold the most popcorn for a District Extra Mile Award. I happen to know this boy sold $5300 in popcorn last year and won 1st place in the council sales contest. This year he sold $9500 in popcorn and won second place in the council contest. He also was a presenter at our District popcorn sale roundtable describing his sales methods. Comments?(This message has been edited by seattlepioneer)

> Not in Basement's area.

It's VERY presumptuous to give lectures about oppression and discrimination to LDS church members. Not only did they have a number of church leaders lynched, but the entire church membership was repeatedly chased out of various communities because of violence. I've seen a lot of hand wringing because of Japanese internment during WWII, but those same people are unconcerned about the religious persecution of Mormons. Indeed, they are often advocates of discrimination, harassment and persecution these days.

My district committee has a white elephant gift exchange in December. A couple of years ago I got a nice Marine KA-BAR knife and sheath that had been confiscated at the airport and acquired by a district volunteer. I regard KaBar knives as two varieties of American heritage, being both Bowie Knieves and the Marine Corp knife of choice during WWII, Korea and later. Mostly I use it to split kindling.