SemperParatus

I did a quick search and couldn't find it. But here is a folded neckerchief invitation idea if you can't find the one you are looking for. Good luck! http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/9152/necker-invitations.jpg

I would suggest modeling the boy scout method as much as possible, because it works and it will give them some sense of what the future holds. Have a meeting where the scouts establish a food budget, plan the menu and put together the shopping list. Have them elect two scouts to go shopping with their parents to secure the items on the list. During the shopping, the scouts should use a calculator to make sure that the budget is not being blown. The paying parent can be reimbursed before shopping by all participants (based on budget) or after shopping once actual costs are known. It is not clear how many meals you are having (Friday night dinner?) or whether the Saturday arrivals are eating breakfast - typically, a weekend of food will be $8-$12 per attendee so I would probably just charge one price for all, rather than different amounts depending on who comes and when. To keep things simple, I would suggest scouts and parents eat together (same meals). The scouts should also put together a duty roster showing who will cook each meal, cleanup, etc. The parents should be involved in the cooking (assuming the scouts have little or no experience) but have the scouts actively involved in the meal preparation, set up and clean up.

I just financed a new machine for one of the contract embroiderers used by the BSA. The machine had to be able to apply the iron-on adhesive to the back of the patch. I was told by the manager of the business that the BSA plans to start switching over to iron-on options in the near future. We shall see....

"What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others." - Confucius

Congratulations! I could be mistaken, but I don't think Boys Life is distributed through newstands/book stores - only through subscription. I would be happy to mail you my copy if you PM me your address.

A very interesting read - The BSA Summercamp Outcomes Study. http://www.scouting.org/nav/enter.jsp?s=mc&c=rr

Registration is required when an adult desires to hold one of the unit positions listed in the instructions to the application. You can not hold any of these positions unless you are registered with the BSA. Benefits of a registered adult. For the unit and the scouts, it means the adult has been screened and found acceptable by the unit to work with youth. For the registered adult, it means you can work with young people in one of the finest youth programs devised. You also will receive Scouting magazine, an excellent publication. Who pays? That is up to the unit. In our troop, dues and fundraising pay for the annual scout and adult registrations. Some units may have the adult pay the registration fee in a more direct manner.

Couple of ideas - 1. Critters of the night hike. 2. Presentation by a Scales and Tales group. 3. Contest for the week - collection of the largest insect (alive of course), etc. 4. Real service project opportunities for units. 5. Eco-challenge event of some sort - can be physical or mental. Good luck!

You were right. This was a pack event and the scouts do not need to see their leaders (or those associated with their leaders) drinking. While they may be surrounded by many other adults drinking beer at the game, it is not appropriate for those closest to the scouts (i.e., leaders) to model this behavior. Your asking him to finish it in a discreet place was the best decision...afterall, a scout is thrifty. (This message has been edited by SemperParatus)

Cliff, Congrats on a great looking high adventure program! Would you mind sharing some info/itenerary/costs of your recent Hawaii trip, either on-forum or PM?

I agree its time for some revamping...its been 20 years since the last redo. More rugged, from both an appearance and performance standpoint, would be appealing to me. Who the heck is Royal Robins?

Thanks for the heads-up. Now...when will the BSA enter the 21st century and offer on-line ordering? Are they concerned the scout shops will be driven out of business?

I can certainly see both sides of this coin. The Camp Director and Staff have spent countless hours and untold energy into making their program the best that they can (or think they can) given budget constraints and available resources. When a troop comes in (especially from out of council) and just 'gripes away' at every little imperfection, what response would you expect? Nothing is perfect and they are certainly trying their best (in most cases). You can please some of the folks some of the time, but you just can't please everybody all the time. Serious issues that result in complaints from all (or most) troops in camp should certainly be addressed as soon as possible, and I have seen that occur at many summer camps over the years. From the troop perspective, the scouts are spending good money for what should be a quality experience. In most cases, they are getting good value from summer camp (have you priced other summer camp programs lately - wow!). However, I don't think attendees should be completely catered to in every way and for every complaint. In some instances, adjusting the program to accomodate one unit can have detrimental effects on other units. I think most Councils have legitimate pride in their own camp and that comes across in their communications. They realize that improvements can be made in certain areas, but they try and accomplish those as time and money allow. Why would a Council 'bad-mouth' its own camp...no business would do that. Our troop goes to a different out-of-council camp each year and our reception is hit or miss. Sometimes, we are welcomed with open arms (typically a smaller camp) and sometimes we are derided as 'just gypsies'. It really doesn't matter...we are there to have a good time and will do so no matter what the situation. Every camp has its good points and bad points - focus on the good and you will have a much better experience! Whether we have a good or a bad experience has no real bearing on whether we will go back to that camp. In all probability, we will not in the forseeable future since we view summer camp as a chance to get 'far away' from home and seek new experiences. From a business perspective, why should the camp cater to our unit? As a businessman, I would devote my energies to those that put bread on the table - the troops that return year after year. But, I thank God that scouting is not a business.

3scoutsmom, I guess I am a little thrown by the 'our pack year ends in March'! What happens in March? Do the scouts crossover to the next rank? Are these Tigers expecting to crossover to Wolves then? If not, then why not allow them to complete their Tiger Badge requirements after the Pack year-end (as a den) and cross them over when you get started up again in September? Just reading your message, it sounds as if there are several problems - a short pack year, an untrained den leader with little understanding of the advancement program, and parents that don't know any better and are just going along with the den's 'unprogram'. The den leader's refusal of help and 'oh well' attitude is in need of serious adjustment. If she is unwilling to commit to some level of advancement work and following of the program outlined in the handbook, then she simply must be replaced with a den leader that will make such a commitment. As for awards - is it possible to have the den leader at least review the handbook and what has been done, to figure out if some achievement beads have been earned? Does the pack provide Wolf neckerchiefs at crossover? I would seriously look at extending the Tiger year for this den, stress to the den leader the advancement opportunities, and see if the year can be salvaged (its only been 3 months!). You and the CM should possibly schedule a meeting with the den parents to address. If everyone's attitude is 'oh well' then so be it...it may change when they actually see the other den receiving their awards.

The Merit Badge program has seemeingly worked for 95 years now (with varying levels of success depending on the time, locality, individual scout, etc., etc.). I, for one, would not look to revamp the program to fit the current perceived societal makeup, since that will likely change again with the next generation. Falling into the trap of making wholesale changes to fit current societal needs will result in the BSA looking like a dog constantly chasing its tail. Absent strict guidelines from the BSA on these matters (which I hope never come), the troop leadership needs to decide the best means for administering the merit badge program for its own scouts. Once the troop leadership decides on its approach, it needs to effectively communicate to and MOTIVATE its scouts within the framework adopted. Our troop has adopted the approach that a scout should avail himself of many different menas of merit badge work - from individual pursuits, class environments, summer camps and MB weekends. Each person learns in different ways and should not be 'shut out' because only one way is deemed the only way.

cajuncody I would suggest either a round robin format or perfect-n http://members.aol.com/StanDCmr/pwraces.html#h Then follow with challenge races just for fun!

My opinion...its not about the Eagle Board and what it may like or not like. Its about the scout's development as a man of character. Does he believe, in his heart, that he has performed his best in the various aspects of scouting - skill development, leadership, advancement, concern for his fellow man. The conversation and advise should be centered around a reflection on whether he truly feels he has done his best, or did he somehow 'cheat himself' out of a missed opportunity for growth. No, the Eagle Board would not likely fail him. It could very well make things a little uncomfortable for him for an hour or so. Even if there are areas of concern, however, by always seeking his best he would hopefully have gained a level of maturity to discuss those areas of scouting where he thinks he may have not acheived to his satisfaction.

Nominations are now being accepted for the Scouting Hall of Fame. Who do you nominate and why?

White cards? - I got to believe that the Scout Exec signature is a rubber stamp applied by the clerk in the council office. No way he is signing thousands of cards a year. Sounds like a joke to me.

JohnD Most abused merit badges? I would consider the following badges as suspect if earned during a week-long summer camp: Environmental Science Citizenship in the World Personal Management Family Life I know there are exceptions and others can surely add to the list. But unless the scout has already basically done all of the work in advance, no way these badges can be earned over the course of 5 hours of 'instruction'.

The success of the merit badge program is entirely dependent on the quality of the counselors. Scouting is a reflection of society, as a result, you will have good counselors who take a real interest in a scout's learning and you will have bad counselors that are not competent, not interested, too busy, etc. And of course, you have the full spectrum in between. Our troop puts forth a lot of effort in providing an annual merit badge counselor training session for both new and experienced counselors designed to not only cover the basics, but to also motivate them to seek a greater mentoring relationship. Our district and council provides no such training opportunities. Counselors that go through this training are typically sought after by our scouts because they know it will be a quality experience. For the most part, our troop considers the merit badge programs at summer camps to be a joke. While every camp advertizes that badge requirements are upheld and strictly followed, I have rarely seen it in practice (and we go to a different camp each year). The same goes for Counsel-wide merit badge weekends. In my mind, it is these merit-badge factories that have spoiled many scouts to simply wait for such opportunities where they know the counselors are lax and the amount of effort required is minimal. The average boy will certainly choose the path of least resistance if two options are presented to him. Environmental Science covering multiple meetings and significant projects with Dr XXXX (a scientist associated with our troop) or 5 hours of sitting in a class with 20 other scouts listening to a 16 year old and doing goofy experiments. I think the choice is obvious to a boy.

Also address it with your patrol leaders at PLC -the patrol leader should be the first 'line of defense' and should have it well planned out as to who cooks and when and should also know what to do with an overzealous adult.

Part of our annual planning process - each Patrol comes up with a dozen trip ideas (typically 2-3 are high adventure type). Scoutmaster Staff offers up alternatives for list as well. As a result, PLC usually has about a dozen ideas to choose from. Typically, the high-adventure trips are planned for on a rolling two year schedule.

From the tax standpoint...once you have valued the items based on the above posters' suggestions, you can certainly donate them to a charity - may be a local scouting museum would be interested. The fair market value of the donation would be the amount she would claim as an itemized deduction on her personal return. The actual dollars to her would probably be less than if you sold the items. For example, if she is in a 25% combined federal and state marginal tax bracket then a donation of $1,000 of scouting stuff will only net her $250 in actual cash through tax savings. Make sure you get a receipt from the donee organization. If the value is in excess of $500 you need to file and attach a Form 8283 to the return. If the value of the donation deduction exceeds $5,000 then you need to attach an appraisal from a qualified appraiser.

Yes. We count the boy scouts' service at the Pack's Blue & Gold (serving, cleaning up) as service project hours for rank advancement purposes.