SemperParatus

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

Popcorn money - I though the Treasurer was doing his job. Klondike Sled - Why is the CC to blame? unless he is storing it. Just announce that the trip is cancelled unless the sled shows up. Sooner or later it will surface unless it was left behind at last year's derby, then there should be hell to pay when it does. Bent ski poles - Why is the CC to blame? He didn't go on the trip - what does he have to do with that. You should get reimbursed for your OOP expense from the troop. Equipment damage is to be expected. Eagle BORs - Where is the Advancement Chairman when the CC is not around. After two months, you would think the Advancement Guy would do his job. The CC may not know everything that is going on, but it sounds like there are plenty of others that are out of the loop too. The lack of follow-up on the money and advancement is where your CC is falling down. But, it is the Treasurer and Advancement Chair that are the ones that are most shirking their responsibilities. Why are you not calling for their replacement?

In our troop, discipline in this case would probably be addressed at the Committee level rather than at the PLC level since the scout is part of the PLC. After ascertaining the facts and discussing with the SPL and the scout involved and his parent(s), as SM I would recommend disciplinary action to the Committee - who would make the final decision. In this case, I would seek a public apology from the scout to the troop, loss of fire privileges for two camping trips, and his instruction of fire safety to the new scout patrol. That is assuming this has not happened before with this scout.

I'll be doing what I do best...sleeping.

Definitely Rubbermaid with wheels. We have been using the same ones now for over 5 years and I expect we will get at least another 5 years out of them. I think the 25 gallon size is what we use for the patrol's cooking/cleaning supplies. Fits a coleman stove, BSA pot/pan kit, BSA utensil kit, full assortment of tongs, spatulas, long forks, cutting board, griddle, hot pads, propane bottles, cleaning stuff, etc. One person can carry. They clean up easy. They're cheap. And you can get different colors for the different patrols.

Definitely get your parents involved as FB suggests, if you feel your discussions with the SL have gone nowhere. If there is still no improvement, then you have two choices. Suck it up and do as he requires, or seek another troop. You are gaining valuable experience (in dealing with people) that will serve you well in adulthood. Good luck to you.

Dluders, I feel your pain. 1. He conducts a monthly committee meeting. Are the meetings productive? Are tasks being delegated? The CC should actually do very little, with advancement issues (Eagle Boards) handled by advancement chair, money handled by Treasurer, tour permits and campsite availability handled by committee's outdoor coordinator. It is the CC's job to delegate these responsibilities and follow-up as needed. Is he not doing this? 2. He never attends camping trips. Is he needed on a trip? Our CC (a woman) hasn't attended a camping trip in three years. No big deal. What are looking for from his attendance? He should show up at some troop meetings just to see firsthand the program you and the scouts are running. 3. He doesn't have e-mail. Does he have a phone? Can you call him? 4. He is going to be out of town for 8 months. Does it matter? If he doesn't seem to do anything when he is 'in-town', what does his being out-of-town mean? My suggestion would be to approach his replacement in such a way to allow him to save face. Seek the appointment of an interim CC during his 8-month hiatus due to his being out of town. If you can get a real go-getter to take on the position, get trained and make things happen then at the end of those 8 months he may just go away, or accept a lesser role. That way confrontation may be avoided (or at least delayed).

We replaced your cardboard box with a plastic tote - with all the cooking/cleaning stuff. Also each patrol gets a folding table for a place to cook/eat, a plastic tote for dry food and a cooler. We used to have wood chuck boxes but got tired of moving them around inside the trailer and wet wood started to rot. Everyone is much happier.

Why maddog...you would not want to deprive Bullwinkle's friend from his inalienable rights, which have been endowed by our and his Creator...would you?

You are definitely on the right track. The hitting and kicking can not be tolerated regardless of the scout's problems. Hopefully, the parents and the scout are getting some professional assistance in learning how to control his behavior. If their response is simply to defend his behavior as 'not his fault' then it sounds like they are not at the point of addressing his needs. I had a scout through early cubs and followed me to boy scouts that put the A in ADHD. At the beginning (when he was first diagnosed), the parents really did not know what to do with him. I don't think they ever really knew how to help him and came to see scouts as some good quality time for them by letting someone else deal with him. As a boy scout, the behavior issues escalated during our weekend camping trips (that the parents never attended). It turned out that the parents would withhold his medication on weekends (at least when he was with me). Good luck.

No - we have one or did until I turned it over to someone that kind of let it go by the wayside.

Too many local troops? I would say we don't have enough. At least 6 of the troops have over 80 scouts (3 with over 100). Of the rest, none are less than 30. If anything, we need more troops to serve the growing population and interest in scouting.

The local troop? There are at least a dozen troops within a 15 minute drive from my house...which one is local?

All great answers - definitely get the books and read them. Attend training with your new CCs, so everyone gets the same information at the same time and you can all process and discuss it during the breaks or immediately afterward. In my experience and to put it in the most simplistic terms (which obviuosly has some limitations and exceptions), the CC should deal with anything that is dollar or form related, wherewas the CM/SM should deal with anything that is scout related. Good relations between the two are essential, for the health of the unit and their position longevity. As a SM, I probably talk with our CC at least weekly - there should never be any surprises. The committee meetings are the domain of the CC and he/she should be running them, looking for reports from the various volunteers: secretary, advancement chair, outdoor coordinator, treasurer, hospitality chair, scoutmaster - who provides an update on program issues, our SPL also attends providing a report on troop issues. COR should expect both to do their jobs and so should know what those jobs are. In our unit, the COR interfaces more with the CC than with the SM - although you can be sure that when the COR tells either one of us something, the other will know about it very soon. Our COR attends the committee meetings (for the most part) and usually addresses CO issues at that time - in most cases, issues raised by the COR are not time sensitive. Follow the BSA guides and your common sense and everything will work out fine. Good luck recruiting.

Years ago, when I was running PWDs we used the Perfect n method to give each scout a greater number of runs, neutralize lane factors, eliminate matchup issues and to better determine the fastest car. http://members.aol.com/StanDCmr/pwraces.html Has this method caught on with packs, or are most packs still running double elimination bracket races?

Fscouter, As explained to me, the purpose is to ensure that a scout does not rely on only one or a few counselors during their scouting career, especially in the case of a scout going for his Eagle. In the extreme case, they do not want a situation where an Eagle Scout has earned 21 merit badges, all counseled by the same person (that could very well be related to the scout). DAC indicated that in such a case, there could be questions raised as the Eagle App is reviewed. In addition, it is further explained as a way of getting counselors to be more focused, by selecting badges that best relate to their occupation, talents, interests, etc. I will say, the District does a good job of maintaining and distributing the District merit badge list that shows the names, address, phone numbers of the hundreds of different counselors available in the District.

I know our websites get alot more attention...but tell me about your newsletter. Title, who creates it, how many pages, pictures, hard copy or e-mailed, how often, degree of scout involvement, well-read, recurring sections (e.g., SPL message), etc.?????

For those with Webelos IIs - 1. How many different troops are you visiting before crossover? 2. What are you looking for in a prospective troop? What is are the biggest turnoffs?

Our District Advancement Committee has placed a limit such that one individual cannot be registered as a counselor for more than seven different merit badges (and no more than three Eagle-required badges). Granted, I don't know why anyone would want to be a counselor for much more, but if one is so inclined then why not. Any other Council or District limitations out there on the number of MBs that one person can counsel? Is this a recommendation from national or is my district just making up its own rules again?

Welcome, Andy!!!!

EagleinKY looking for alternatives, Have you tried the Silver Bullets book series by Karl Rohnke for some of the coolest team-building and initiative games/activities?

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas!! and praying for the safety of all!

Attendance is up...congratulations! I am sure that is because you are getting the word out and making it more meaningful. No doubt you are committed to improvements. Keep up the good work and contact/announcements and I am sure you will see further increases over time. Dutch Over Cooking - I assume you are having a cook-off and better yet, taste-off! Philmont Myths - an engaging photo presentation by some experienced campers! OA - having a dance/ceremony team come in to perform!

While I think every scouting household should get Boy's Life...it sounds like the new leadership wants to make it optional for those who want to pay for it. Plenty of other packs do that, why fight them on this issue after you have moved on? Now arguments for Boys Life? 1. Use it in your program. Have a pack joke contest and send the entries into the magazine to see who gets published. Have a pack phot contest - do same for the annual BL photo spread. 2. You never know when you might see your face in it (coverage of cuborees, etc.) Better yet, call them up and see if they may have an interest in featuring one of your spectacular pack events. If you don't subscribe, you can never buy it on a newstand. 3. It is so cheap. If you don't read it you can at least use it for toilet paper on the next pack family camping trip. 4. Investment - have you seen the prices of 50-year old issues on ebay lately?

You speak of troop, SM and CC in the singular form, but I assume your efforts have been directed at many nonparticipating units. The question for you is how much effort do you want to go through in order to change the mindset of those who feel that roundtables are not necessary or worth their time. You could visit with each of these nonparticipating unit leaders to address what it is about roundtables that turns them off and pose the question to them, 'how would you design/change roundtable so that you would feel it is worth attending.' Now, that could be a lot of meetings and work in making the necessary adjustments, so it comes down to how much time and effort is your district willing to expend to increase attendance. Perhaps the meeting/data gathering can be performed by the Unit Commissioner staff to share the load. If your roundtable attendance is less than half of the units in your district then I think you would want to look real hard at what your roundtable is offering and whether it is really meeting the needs of the units by helping them improve their program. What is your attendance rate? What topics are on the calendar for the next 6 months? In what fashion will these topics be addressed? Will it be engaging or just a bunch of talk? Have you eliminated the corny stuff - by boy scouts most leaders want info and new ideas, not fluff? Do you have mandatory roundtable attendance by units for certain activities - recharter, Scouting for Food signups, Camporee signups, etc.? - perhaps focus on these nights in particular to put on a really superb RT and make them want to come back. Have you tried personal invites to all the SM and CCs in your district (via e-mail, phone, mail)?