shortridge

The ceremony team usually recognizes all Eagle Scouts in the audience and challenges the new scouts to climb the trail to Eagle. I like that idea. Just make sure there are some Eagles in the audience before you ask them to stand up...

That's because it's so easy to make fun of! Seriously, I live a little more than two hours away from D.C. It gets hot and humid here, too. But I have never sweated as much as I did one summer in Washington. For people who aren't used to it (and don't pay attention to the warnings), it can be a knockout punch.

FYI, there was a good thread on Knights of the Round Table program ideas in the spring: http://tinyurl.com/7ckrak

Guess I need to better understand my role here. Do I just implament the CD's camp ideas or what exactly. First, hand off those fundraising and attendance-boosting ideas to the camp director, and let her run with them. That's her job. If you want to help by dressing up in costume or something, go ahead, but you've got enough on your plate with the program. Don't burn out. The CD-PD relationship, in my experience, can be complicated, especially if the two don't get along personally. The best way I can think of to describe it is that the CD is like a CEO, in charge of the entire camp, with the PD kind of like an executive vice-president, the second-in-command who has specific day-to-day responsibility for the main division of the company. If the CD is out, you're in charge unless other arrangements are made. It'd be like Barack Obama naming Joe Biden secretary of defense in addition to his vice-presidential duties. You work together, but you report to her and have a specific area of responsibility. She's the one who has to make the finances work, too, so you need to make sure you're both on the same page.

Do you always worry about things that haven't happened and may not ever happen? With all the possible things that could encompass how would you ever get anything else accomplished? Mr. White, C'mon - that's a straw-man argument, and you know it. Folks here aren't being worrywarts. We're just trying to figure out how these new rules and form will affect the operations of the units, districts, councils and camps that we serve in a variety of ways. There's a big difference between worrying about things that haven't happened and discussing things that will happen. The use of this form and the height/weight rules is one of the latter. It is going into effect in 2010, whether we like it or not. Personally, I like it. I'm just extremely disappointed by the shoddy way it's been implemented and explained.

If you take on this job, be prepared to start NOW, as in yesterday. Don't just pick a theme and wait until the spring to start recruiting, planning, budgeting, etc. Get that in gear today, and your life will be much easier come the summer. Good luck, and have fun!

The only reasons it would take that much time are if (a) the MC or coordinator was totally unprepared or (b) the MC or coordinator or CM or SMs prattled on unecessarily. The most poorly-done ceremonies I've seen were a result of the latter. Gag and handcuff the adults who love the sound of their own voices, enjoy cracking jokes and retell inside-baseball stories. Think about it from this point of view. What are the crucial elements to a crossover/AOL ceremony? You need to summon the boys and parents on to the stage, line them up in the right order, have a moment of serious reflection (a speaker, a reading, etc.) about what the award means and their accomplishments, perhaps a small, short ritual - candle-lighting or somesuch, read their names so each gets a moment in the sun... and then the Scouts walk over a bridge or across the stage, get their new epaulets and neckerchiefs (if applicable), get a handshake from their new fellow Scouts and SM, and it's over. Five minutes per kid is a LONG time. Do this test: Set a kitchen timer or stopwatch for five minutes. Put it out of sight where you can't see it. Now sit still, not fidgeting, staring ahead of you, until the timer goes off. Bottom line: Make the ceremony meaningful but simple, rehearse it, be willing to cut back on things that don't work or drag on, and it'll be fine. If the troop has special traditions or ceremonies that it wants to use, that's OK. But if they're dragging down the overall schedule, suggest to the SM or SPL that they do them on their own time.

Mr. White, You wrote: "Evacuate" and "recieve treatment" are not the same thing. I agree, but "evacuate" can mean a great many things depending on the context, and the great brains who developed the form didn't give us any sense of what they were thinking - not yet, anyway. I'm glad that you understand it, but the rest of us sure don't. The 30-minute standard only makes sense in the context of receiving medical treatment. That's what matters in an emergency situation. Evacuating to Location X won't do the patient a darn bit of good if there's no medical help there. Here's a question. Do you meet the standards if your troop is able to "evacuate" you within 30 minutes to a backcountry ranger's station where you then have to wait an hour for an ambulance with EMTs to arrive? That isn't logical. Here's another example. If you're out on a boat at Sea Base (undeniably "high adventure") that can reach shore in 30 minutes, you're fine, according to your reasoning. But if you then have to wait 30 more minutes for an ambulance to arrive, and then another 30 for it to take you to the hospital, that's an hour and a half total spent waiting for treatment. So what is the point? The point, I think, is not so much to have camp directors and Scoutmasters crunching numbers and figuring out how long it'll take to get somewhere, but rather to put a new focus on physical fitness. Hopefully it'll work out, on the whole. Unfortunately, by promulgating such a poorly written standard without providing guidance, the powers that be have opened themselves up to a ton of questions, and possibly legal liability. Leaders in the field cannot implement best practices or follow the rules if the rules and practices are as clear as mud.

By not clarifying the health standards - though I'm really hoping they are in the near future - National leaves open a ton of loopholes and questions that are going to be answered very inconsistently on the local and council levels. My biggie: What about a day hike in a backcountry area? It's not backpacking, but the Scouts are still more than 30 minutes away from medical care, still engaging in vigorous physical activity. Whether these standards are uniformly applied or not, the mere fact of their existence on the health charts means obesity will be an in-your-face topic for Scouting over the next few years. That can only be a good thing for the youth. Hal, Wow - an MD in the health lodge? That must be nice. My camp is lucky to have had some pretty dedicated, experienced EMTs in that area, but an MD... wow, again. That would be great. Somewhat ironically, I can think of a few health lodge volunteers at OA weekends - mostly adults with RN or EMT training - who wouldn't pass the weight standards. I'm talking people who can't walk more than a few hundred feet without stopping to rest, and take 4x4s to the ceremony sites. And forget about getting onto the mountain to help a candidate who's collapsed during a trail maintenance project.

Sounds like your core issue here is going to be time management, whether or not you have a theme. The theme is almost incidental. By your estimate, the crossover will take almost an hour, meaning the bulk of the pack will be largely bored for that time. That's a really long time for a Wolf to sit still and quiet. But it shouldn't take five minutes to cross each Webelos over. Combine it with the AOL presentations, cut out any self-serving stupid speeches by the CM or SMs, make sure the Scouts and leaders of the incoming troops are well-organized (practiced at quickly swapping out the eps, switching the neckerchief, etc.), and you shouldn't have any problem - or a huge timesink. Get some random Cubs and run through it once or twice beforehand as a rehearsal to get an accurate idea of time. If you want each boy to receive more recognition about his Scouting career - "He joined in XXX, earned his Wolf badge XXX, earned X arrow points, went to summer camp X times, etc" - then publish brief bios and photos in a special edition of the pack newsletter, distributed at the B&G with multiple copies at each table.

Bob White asked: "In your summer camp is there a program or campsite area where yo could not be evacuated from in in thirty minutes be on your way by vehicle or air transport to medical a medical facility?" First of all, if I understand what you're asking, I think your interpretation differs from that of the other posters here. I don't understand "emergency evacuation" to mean that you're carried by other Scouts and Scouters to a site where you are met by an ambulance. The term "ground transportation" that describes the method of emergency evacuation generally refers to vehicle travel, not foot power. I interpret the form to mean that if your backpacking trip, high-adventure site or conservation project is more than a half-hour away from a hospital as the ambulance drives, you're barred. And yes, BW, my local summer camp would fall into that category. It's located in a rural area, and the main entrance is 30 minutes from the nearest hospital. It takes at least five more minutes to traverse the main camp road without getting stuck in a ditch or hitting a deer. If a unit is out backpacking in the undeveloped area of camp, on the COPE course or even working on a conservation project in main camp, Scouts and Scouters who fall into this category would be prohibited from taking part.(This message has been edited by shortridge)

The "emergency evacuation" requirement is worded EXTREMELY poorly. It could mean any of a dozen different things, and doesn't give leaders who will have to put it in practice much guidance. That said, I'm 20 pounds over the allowable limit, and well out of the recommended range - that's what comes of sitting at a desk all day. This will be an excellent motivator.

Another treat we found are little light sabers: stick pretzels dipped in red or blue chocolate with the ends wrapped in foil. That's a great idea! Just prepare the cleaning crew to be prepared to sweep up LOTS of pretzel pieces and chocolate crumbs...

As Kudu and others have recommended, I've gotten my hands on both a 1950s-era Patrol Leader Handbook and Scoutmaster Handbook. Both have a ton of great stuff. I was struck by one thing in particular - the references to Boy Scouts starting at age 12. Scouts these days can join at 10.5. I was wondering if anyone here knew when that age limit changed, and why. (I have my theories, but no facts.) That year and a half can make a substantial difference in boys' maturity and development. Any ideas or insight?

You might want to look at doing text in the distinctive "Star Wars" up-scrolling style, rather than getting permission to use a copyrighted image, which can often be exhausting. Something like this might work, white text on a black background with some silvery dots for stars: BLUE & GOLD STAR WARS PACK XXX FEB. 20 2009 (Sorry, I was trying to get those centered. But you can imagine what I mean.)(This message has been edited by shortridge)

Use a theme, get energetic volunteers who are willing to be a bit silly, and activities and events will naturally fall into place. Themes that I've worked with at residential Cub/Webelos camps include Knights of the Round Table, Pirates of the [insert name of local body of water], Wild West and Space. With a little creativity, backstory, costumes and decorations, even the "standard" camp activities adapt themselves very easily to the themes, which makes each year a new experience. Campers can fire their ray guns (BBs) at the alien spaceships (balloons) to keep them from taking off, walk the plank (diving board), learn cowboy knots and cowboy cooking (hobo dinners)... not to mention skits, stunts and storytelling, which should be an integral part of the program.

BobWhite, The person responsible for managing the event (the camp director) said he needed help. SctDad is offering help, not trying to take over the program. I get your broader point, but those concerns seem to be null and void in this case.

Regardless of safety issues (I believe teaching fire safety, basic first aid and calling 911 is important at all ages), there's the basic issue of progression at work here. If the Bears know all there is to know about firebuilding (or think they do), that's one less thing for them to look forward to in Webelos and Boy Scouts. The achievements are a basic guideline for age progression. They make sense, too, generally speaking.

BobWhite wrote: "Are you the DE for that diostrict? The District Chairraman? The Cub Activities Chairman for the District? A member of the District Activities Committee? "Wanting to see change and being willing to help if called upon is one thing. Imposing your help when uninvited or attempting to change things not within your authority is something else entirely." So only people already "in the club" are allowed to offer critiques? If you're not a member, you can't volunteer? Sorry, but that's just a silly way to think about it. It sounds pretty clear like the district or council activities people need some more help. In fact, the camp director said as much. That's what SctDad seems to be offering. Kudos to him.

SctDad, I think most folks think of "day camp" as a five-day program during the summer - that's certainly what my experience has been. I admit I was surprised to find out that "day camp" includes one-day events. In my council, there are occasional one-day events for Cubs during the year - in the fall and spring. Those aren't called "day camps," and thus don't require an NCS-certified director. They're usually run by miscellaneous volunteers, Campmasters and the camp staff Venturing crew. Since you say it was held at a council camp, there may be deeper issues here. The shooting sports equipment used may have been the resident camp's own gear, which means the entire camp is in need of some help - not just a day camp issue. How inexperienced was the camp director in general? Was this his first camp directing experience?

But other than that there is really not much you can do. You have no authority in the selection or development of the camp director. You have no say in the purchase of equipment, you have no say in the planning of the camp activities. If you volunteer at a high enough level (on the camping committee, as camp director, etc.), you could! Like John-in-KC, I would doubt that this fellow was sent to the right NCS course. Making sure he got proper training would be the right first move. What were the other primary problems, besides a lack of familiarity with CS programs and old equipment? Also, was the camp held at a council camp or at a state park or private campground?

A lot of it has to do with how local (and large) your newspapers are. Once you get above the 30,000-circulation level, you tend to see less community coverage and more broader regional coverage. A lot of larger metro-area papers have zoned editions - a Local or Neighborhoods section for a particular county - but those are going the way of the dodo. One thing that works in a Scout group's favor is that weekly papers, which tend to have the most intensely local focus, are also the most widely read. Just make sure to get your stuff in well in advance.

AP - Can I ask what those ticket items were?

AP - Can I ask what those ticket items were?

In my county, there are seven local, weekly newspapers. Only one regularly publishes Scouting writeups submitted by a local troop. All the papers run a ton of community news items - business openings, knitters' guild meetings, library programs, Lions Club service projects - so my assumption is the other units simply don't bother to send them in. That's unfortunate, especially since newspapers these days are more desperate than ever to fill their pages. Ad revenues are shrinking and staffs are being cut, so there are fewer people to do roughly the same amount of work. A local editor will be extremely grateful for a Scout unit that supplies timely, regular, well-written items (via e-mail, not in hard copy form requiring retyping), action photos (not just grip-and-grin shots), proper photo captions (people clearly identified) and contact information. - shortridge (a newspaper reporter in my other life)