Second Class

I've heard from friends on staff. Showers are -invigorating-, food is good and plentiful, and the hills are steep and also plentiful. And both have commented on how beautiful the place is. AND HUGE. Can't wait to see it Monday.

The point about the Jambo site being clogged by so many day visitors is valid. The paying scouts were hounded out and blocked from their venues because of the mass of visitors. Want to go to Jambo? Then pony up the $1,500 like everyone in my troop did. The visitors center, with a "taste" of the Jambo is a great idea. Any bets on golf carts everywhere? 23 out of 30 day of the last has rained. It will be a bog.

I'd like to put my name in the hat for one of these!

I looked a bit, and found ten food kiosks shown on the Jambo app. Additional food should not be a problem.

I was told that if a scout is allergic to a food, he should plan on bringing his own to supplement what he can eat. I think it would have been nice to have known this up front. I've suggested to my troop to bring a few snack items.

I always overpack for summer camp. I'm not cutting back on socks or underwear. Everything else is minimal. Well, and my fan, chair and bed cushion.

Every single scout (not scouter) that I have talked to has stated that a National Jamboree was the top or second to Philmont for a scouting experience. Remember it's not for the adults, it's for the scouts. But some of us get to come along and share a portion of that experience.

I hope everyone here knows by now to keep a copy of everything. And take it with you. And after 9 tries, still can't get my medical form inputted and accepted.

I had a scout drop from the troop, so we're at 35. Hoping to fill it, but chances are thin. Packing, re packing, washing and getting pulled together after a week at summer camp. I'm going to go minimalist on clothing. Two full uniforms, a few sport tees, and a button up. That is still probably too much. I found a pack able 20 liter wash basin (expensive at $30) but with this and a pocket rocket and aluminum bowl, will be able to survive the ambient (well water) showers. Look for me in B subcamp. See yall soon!

It is surprising to me this version of vBulletin has so many problems. Numerous other forums use vBulletin and it works seamlessly. I'll check back in from time to time, but for now, following threads and commenting is too much trouble. Is it just a tablet issue?

Indeed sad news. Condolences to Terry and all of OGE's friends. I am thankful for his contributions to the scouting movement. May he rest in peace.

This is a ridiculous situation. This kid has been running fast and loose at BSA events with no insurance, no medical forms, releases, etc. This is on the unit leaders. They didn't have enough spine to tell mom NO however many years ago. And no, he didn't earn Eagle. This is a bad joke. I'd have nothing to do with this.

Sort of. We go to summer camp in June and take off 4 weeks after that. That gets us past the 4th of July weekend, and we start back. We still have light attendence until school starts, and we do one July outing for those not going to jamboree. Usually a canoe outing. We go back to weekly meetings in August. We've found that we have 10-15% attendence after summer camp. Everyone wants a break. We camp a LOT.

Merlyn, The BSA allows a member to follow their god, not mine. How that members god defines acceptable food (behavior) is between that member and his god. Another member and his god may have a different view on that same subject. But you know that; you're just being thick to be argumentative.

This is sort of like the guy that wears two Silver Beaver knots, because he was awarded them in two different councils. Ok, whatever....

The " enlarge" functionality on My IPad does not work. Can't stretch the type to a readable size. Thanks,

Would be interesting to know when that document was published.

If we had professionals who were scouts writing these rules, this would not be an issue.

So will National defend, in court, a CO that is sued for "following their beliefs", as "Under this proposed policy, the BSA would not require any chartered organization to act in ways inconsistent with that organizations mission, principles, or religious beliefs. If they do not, I believe you will see a headlong crash in the number of churches willing to be a CO. Or anyone else, for that matter.

FDIC insurance is now to 250,000K, albeit temporarily. There was such a bleeding of deposits being withdrawn that it was near 1929 style banking panic. The Clinton era removal of the banking limitations was lighting the fuze of this mess. IMHO, the Federal government has zip, zero, nada business insuring private banks which deal in stocks and bonds, international finance, arbitrage, and real estate. The people and businesses who bought houses they couldn't afford, and businesses who sold them, should have been allowed to go bankrupt. Insuring them against loss, and reducing the amount of debt they willingly incurred is an affront to every working American who has played by the rules and paid their bills. It is outrageous. Allowing banks to cross state lines was a terrible idea. One we are still paying for, and will pay again and again for. Sorry Beaver, if you think a majority of the Democrats will vote to repeal Dodd-Frank, you're deluding yourself. It is a cash cow for them.

Good luck! Find a Chartering Partner. Find the Training Chair in your area. Find the adults that will be the leaders in this troop. Get trained. All the way. All the while be promoting your troop. It's better to hit the ground running, when you have a clue, than trying to figure it out on the fly. It'd be ideal if you could be up and running in time for Webelos bridging in the spring.

I well remember as a new scout parent the attitude of "well, everyone else knows where camp is, find it". I think scouters need to be careful about assumptions of what new parents know, and what expectations of them are. This also goes to the large number of acronyms we use. NYLT. COH. BOR. POR. The list goes on and on. When we are going to a camp we've not been before, I'll prepare a one page map, GPS location, physical address, phone # if available. I discourage caravanning. It is not particularly safe. If we're stopping for food along the way, we'll name a city/location where we'll stop, and we meet up within a usually tight time window. If we are camping close, (within the county) we don't charge a gas fee. If we're further out, we charge a flat $10.00. We reimburse drivers who carry scouts (more than just their son) actual cost. We use the honor system, and don't require gas receipts. This works well, and doesn't over pay or short drivers, which happens when dividing a pool of cash. Our budget allows some cushion to absorb the actual gas costs. Popcorn sales subsidizes gas throughout the year. Scouts choose who they ride with, and what vehicle. It's not a big issue, and have never had hurt feelings about how they choose. No, no tools or software needed for this. Just some organization.

I wish there was a way we could drop a scout mid year. We just finished recharter, and today a boy told me he is quitting, 8 days into the year. The way the system works, he'll stay on the roll all year.

Now that troops have the ability to set participation standards, comes the hard part in tracking and implementation. Step outside the lines you've drawn ONCE, and the 3 year absent scout gets his award. It's not worth the effort to me (to try to prohibit advancement). If a scout that didn't participate for that long can wear that award and look himself in the mirror, well.....he's the one that has to live with himself. The truth probably is that he wanted it as a resume enhancement, and nothing more. It probably won't be thought of again, or be mentioned in his obituary. Work with the ones that are interested and involved, and try to keep them all engaged. It keeps your mind off this stuff.

I didn't have time to read all of the replies so far, but I did scan them. Picky eaters are a self righting ship. When the scout gets hungry enough, that chili in the bowl looks pretty good. I don't worry a bit about the scouts that don't eat at summer camp. I don't reply to the mothers that email me with what their son doesn't eat. By dinner on Tuesday night, they are eating everything in sight. I challenge all of my scouts to learn to be a proficient cook. We've provided the tools and knowledge for them to do this. At one thorns and roses, a new scout said he learned "that a dish made with more than one ingredient tastes good!". Challenge each patrol to make unique menus. Do an "Iron Chef" competition, with secret ingredients. Don't coddle the one or two that won't eat, and don't worry if their patrol mates don't go out of their way to provide what they will eat. Last year, a patrol chose an all ramen noodle menu. I let it go without comment. The next month, when ramen was brought up as a choice, it was roundly and loudly shouted down. They wanted real food! I've told them before, boiling water is not cooking.