shortridge

Seems like this thread should have split seven different ways already. Narraticong wrote: "It's always been my understanding that WB is the pinnacle of Scout training." That's always been my understanding as well. As a non-WB'er who came up through Scouting during the time of the "old" program, I always thought Wood Badge was the top-of-the-line program that taught adults everything they needed to know. I was always encouraged to attend Wood Badge once I became an adult leader. Now, having read the pros and cons on this forum, I'm not so sure it'd be all that helpful.

Yeah, those rules should be updated. That's silly and sexist.

If you still can't find anything around you, another option is to look into Readyman programs at your local council day camp or resident camp.(This message has been edited by shortridge)

If National had delivered such an edict, one would think that it would be included on the national Web site, to help get the word out. A search of oa-bsa.org turns up many uses of the word "regalia," so I don't think that what some have heard is true.

I can't answer that specific question - I'm a council camp guy, born and bred - but there are lots of details and great planning tips for independent troop camps in the older Scoutmaster Handbooks and Handbook for Patrol Leaders. I have copies from the '50s. scottmphoto - $190 is CHEAP from an East Coast perspective. My local camp is up to $305, and that's with the early-bird discount.

Which camp does this take place at?

Lots of 'em at Scoutstuff: http://tinyurl.com/8d332b EDITED: Sorry, I misread the question. That link is for the medallions from National. Here's a company that produces custom medallions: customhikingmedallions.com/Site/CustomHikingMedallions-668.html And another here that says it's an official BSA licensee: www.scoutingcoins.com/custom_hikingmedallions.php Kudu also hosts an article that explains how to make one: www.kudu.net/outdoor/skills/b-p/medallions.htm(This message has been edited by shortridge)

SctDad, In this case, his affiliation was included as an identification in an official state voters' guide. In other words, he chose that to ID himself. That's how it got onto the newspaper's radar screen.

jet, Suggest that they re-think the plan. The Scouts would love it. I wouldn't do that in front of my 4-year-old, but an 11-year-old ought to be able to handle it.(This message has been edited by shortridge)

Since you're not "racing" per se, consider making your car stand out by doing something showy - feathers attached to the hood, tires on the roof, a small squirtgun rack on the back, etc. The kids'll get a kick out of it.

That's a really nice prayer. Thanks for sharing!

An even clearer statement on the issue: "Any Venturer who achieved the First Class rank as a Boy Scout in a troop or Varsity Scout in a team may continue working for the Star, Life, and Eagle Scout ranks and Eagle Palms while registered as a Venturer up to his 18th birthday." www.scouting.org/BoyScouts/AdvancementandAwards/eagle.aspx (look at the first note under the requirements) I don't know when it "changed" - probably with the advent of Venturing? - but it doesn't matter. Sounds like a couple of busybodies. You're right, they're wrong, don't worry about it.(This message has been edited by shortridge)

Since it's at the local council camp, and used for Boy Scout programs already, will you be allowed to use the BS trading post building and items for sale? That'll help you tremendously.

SctDad, When I staffed a resident camp TP, we sold shaving cream only to leaders or Boy Scouts who were clearly in need of a shave. No need to enable pranksters. They'll just learn to plan ahead for next year. Shaving gel is even worse... try getting it cleaned out of your shoes or off your pillow, tent or latrine seat. I wouldn't sell silly string - it can be biodegradable, but it takes a really long time to degrade, making camp areas look very unkempt, and can also stain. I also wouldn't offer water balloons, since they don't exactly degrade very well and can harm wildlife. (The exception would be if you had a "water war"-type event in a specific area, and afterwards policed the area thoroughly.) Add flashlights and ponchos to the "good" list. There's always someone who'll forget theirs. Those small battery-powered handheld fans might be good, if it gets really hot or humid in your neck of the woods. For fun stuff, consider checking out Coghlan's - it's the "outdoor accessory" wholesale company that sells a lot of stuff in Wal-Mart's outdoors section (www.coghlans.com). They have a bunch of items that would seem ideal for Cub camp - bug jars, butterfly nets, insect houses, pond nets, binoculars, kid telescopes, kites. Of course, those are available from other sources as well - probably better quality, but more expensive. Check out dollar stores and teacher's stores (educational supply shops) for other relatively inexpensive but neat, unconventional items - ocarinas, rainsticks, recorders, pencils, goofy pens, etc. Don't forget to make parents' lives more comfortable in camp by offering folding stools, pocket hammocks, pack pillows, etc. And you can never go wrong by stocking a couple rolls of duct tape!(This message has been edited by shortridge)

If it's a trading post designed for Cubs, then scrap uniform parts, awards cards, etc. Maybe have a few adult-oriented program materials and supplies, but for the rest, put the kids first. The council service center and the national catalog are the place to get that kind of stuff. Your Cubs will eat up smaller, affordable items - pocketknives, whetstones, craft lace (gimp), whistles, water bottles, patches, T-shirts, simple pocket first-aid kits, Hot Sparks, collapsible cups, small magnifying glasses, bubble compasses, thermometers, snakebite kits. Set your price points carefully, so a kid can buy one or two "neat" items, a patch or T-shirt, and still have a couple bucks for snacks. Since it's a resident camp, also offer basic supplies - toothbrush, toothpaste, shaving cream, floss, soap, shampoo. Also consider snacks, sodas, Snapple, juices, etc. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, but you could also load on on dollar store items such as water balloons, slingshots, squirtguns, foam airplanes, foam footballs, Frisbees, etc.

It's worth noting that the U.S. Army doesn't even have a one-size-fits-all, unisex height/weight chart. Their max weight limits are divided between male/female and age ranges. http://www.usarec.army.mil/hq/apa/rc/weight.htm

I see your point, but generally, a ceremony is a public recognition of a private accomplishment. It signifies the Cub becoming a Boy Scout, generally including the outward trappings of epaulets and neckerchief. If they haven't crossed over, then why have a crossover ceremony?

Skip it. That's nuts. You can always do a more meaningful recognition ceremony on the den level for your Tigers when they finish up. Invite parents and siblings for a family night-style meeting-slash-show. The organizer is out of her mind.

I'd tend to agree with jimster. If they cross over, they're Boy Scouts, and can't retroactively earn Cub Scout awards. If it was a matter of simply awarding the AOL, I'd say you have a bit more leeway. But a Boy Scout, even a newly minted one, can't complete Cub Scout requirements. That said, don't lose hope. The requirement reads "With your Webelos den, visit at least one Boy Scout troop meeting, and one Boy Scout-oriented outdoor activity." The latter element doesn't necessarily mean an overnight outing. It could mean a day nature hike, a knots-and-lashings instruction day, a hands-on cold-weather survival demonstration, an outdoor cooking day with all sorts of fun goodies. Ask your local troop for a patrol to volunteer to put on such an event. Reserve a site at a local state park sometime in the next three weeks, do the deed, and Bob's your uncle. EDITED TO ADD: Actually, you're probably out of luck. The requirements further read: "After you have completed all five of the above requirements, and after a talk with your Webelos den leader, arrange to visit, with your parent or guardian, a meeting of a Boy Scout troop you think you might like to join. Have a conference with the Scoutmaster." So they actually still have two requirements left - the outdoor activity and the troop meeting, since the meeting attendance has to take place after the outdoor activity. That might be a bit harder to accomplish in the next few weeks.(This message has been edited by shortridge)

To clarify... you're in charge of your council's Hometown News committee for the jamboree? No, I don't think you need to step down or find someone else. You're clearly interested, and enthusiasm counts for a lot. You can study up on your own and encourage your Scouts to do likewise. One book that I used in college and found to be very readable is "Writing the News," by Walter Fox. It's a fairly slim volume, not daunting to Scouts who are interested in this sort of thing. A general observation: Newspapers are cutting staff left and right - editors, reporters, photographers - as the economy turns to molasses (minus the sweetness). That bad news for journalists creates a GREAT opportunity for smart organizations to get good news coverage in the local press. If you can put together a news release that requires very little editing, chances are it'll go in your local paper pretty much verbatim - maybe even on the front page. That can only help gain attention to your cause. Off the top of my head, I have a few suggestions for a hometown news program. 1. First and most obvious (but often neglected): Get detailed contact information, including e-mail addresses, of the editors and reporters at the local newspapers, TV stations and radio stations in your council. That'll take some time to compile, but be well worth it. Send out a test e-mail message about a week or so before you depart to make sure everyone's still working there - that'll give you enough time to get new contacts. I once ran a hometown news program for a local university - stuff like who made the dean's list, won scholarships or was named to a student government job - and keeping my contacts up to date was the biggest challenge. 2. Don't expect daily coverage back home, unless you work out an arrangement beforehand to have some type of "Daily Dispatch" feature in the local papers. (If you do develop that type of relationship, send material on a daily basis - don't skip a day, or they'll forget about you.) Unless Scouting is really, really big in your area, the daily paper will probably do one big story, maybe two, during the course of the jambo... the idea is that readers get tired of the same thing over and over, and the paper can't give wall-to-wall treatment to one group because then everyone'll demand it. This can be overcome if you're doing interesting stories - see point 8, below. 3. For daily news releases, send them out in mid-afternoon - 2-3 p.m. would be ideal, and the earlier the better. My own newspaper recently bumped up reporters' daily deadlines to 4 p.m. The only exceptions are breaking news or coverage of an evening event. 4. Releases should be sent by e-mail if at all possible. Fax is a backup option, as it requires someone to re-type the information. 5. In writing releases, keep them readable, fairly short and - absolutely most important - JARGON-FREE. Don't include a lot of Scouting detail that the general public won't understand. You're writing for the guy down the street, not for other Scouts and Scouters. 6. Write them as close to newspaper style as possible - that will require a lot of study and training on the part of your Scouts, but it'll be worth it. 7. Customize releases for local markets. I'm from a council with 10+ counties, and each has at least one weekly newspaper. The dailies straddle the counties and cover wider areas. Know where your Scouts are from and which markets they're in, and the editors will be greatly appreciative. 8. Pick interesting, exciting, action-oriented stories of universal interest. The local reader doesn't care about merit badge midways, patch-trading or OA fellowships. They WILL be interested in the fact that a local young man or woman oversaw the construction of a 30-foot-long rope bridge, shot a perfect archery round twice in one day, shook hands with the president or ... [fill in the blank]. 9. Offer plenty of photos. They should be high-resolution images with caption information that clearly identifies both the people and what's happening. Action photos are best - many newspapers will pass on posed "grip and grin" shots. Unless it's against policy, include the last names, hometowns and ages of all Scouts in the photo. (If I'm an editor selecting photos, I'm probably not going to pick one that features "Joe C. of Troop 12." I can't tell who that person is or if he even is from my coverage area.) 10. Local TV and radio stations will be less likely to report on your experiences at Jambo while you're there, and more likely to cover your contingent's departure and/or return. Give them visuals/audio actualities that they can use - Scouts in uniform wearing backpacks, loading/unloading a trailer full of gear, practicing a flag ceremony or marching, singing a Scouting song, etc. In the case of TV, the more action, the better. For both TV and radio, designate some of the more articulate Scouts to talk about what they're doing. Rehearse some basic questions and answers with them beforehand. 11. The exception to No. 10, of course, is if you can provide video or audio from the Jamboree. I don't know what type of resources will be available there for video or audio editing, but I'm sure you'll have more than one Scout who can turn out a video and stick it up on YouTube or e-mail it to the stations. A simple video camera, a basic digital audio recorder and a laptop could work wonders. I hope this helps! Any questions, let me know.(This message has been edited by shortridge)

ASM915, I have no idea... just passing along info from another source. I came along in the '80s and have never even seen a square neckerchief in the flesh, so to speak.

Count me as one of those who's extremely nervous and cautious about spending on ANYTHING these days. The big-ticket experiences - summer camp, Jambo, HA treks - will undoubtedly take a hit. But overall, Scouting is still VERY inexpensive compared to other activities. That's especially true if units do some creative fundraising and grassroots gear work - where Scouts make their own packs and tents, much like they did in days gone by. It seems to me that the time is ripe for units that want to create their own summer camp experience. Where I live, you can still get a state park pass for $27. Tent camping is $2 per night per person - $14 for a week, plus a $20 group reservation fee. For a troop of 40, that's about $16 per person, leaving a lot of room in the budget for equipment and food while still bringing it in for much cheaper than a council-run camp.

John and emb, Thanks for the clarification!

Any ASM, between the ages of 18 and 21, who has attained First Class is eligible (assuming the requirements for camping and Scoutmaster's approval have been met). Wouldn't that also apply to members of the unit committee between ages 18 and 21?

I'm thinking primarily of the male/female adult accompaniment and separate sleeping facilities rule for Venturing trips and outings. Since this isn't a safeguarded forum, I'd prefer not to go into details about the inductions process. I hope it can suffice for me to say that there are times during the inductions process when small groups work and operate independently, often in remote areas of the camp. I would be curious about how those group activities would be affected. In addition, there's the obvious addition of separate areas or times for showers and changing clothes. Granted, chapters and lodges already have to accomodate female leaders, but adding female Venturers would create yet another category... so you'd have adult men, adult women, young men, young women. That would force some logistical changes that the OA hasn't had to deal with before. While I would hope that council camps would have experience dealing with those issues, since those facilities and programs are open to Venturing crews as well, the fact remains that quite a few were built in the pre-female leader period, and don't have adequate facilities to handle adult women at present, let alone young women.