shortridge

Just signed. Thanks for bringing it to my attention! Irving is 20 years behind the times with this. Let's pull our collective heads out of a few churches' sandpits and let local units make their own decisions.

In a local Scout shop I once found a stack of Eagle kits sitting out in the open out of sight-line of the cashier, perfect for someone to steal. Disconcerting.

Agreed. In BS, parents and kids should be sleeping separately. Patrols camp together; parents are not patrol members. Simple. Not a gender issue, but a training / program / proper preparation issue.

I would say "Thank you for your thoughts," perhaps ask why he felt that way and whether his opinion was shared by others, entertain other comments and questions, and move on. What would you do, publicly smack him down for disrespecting the esteemed committee members? Give me a break. I have heard far worse and insulting comments from uniformed Scouters during committee meetings. I still fail to see how this young man displayed poor behavior. This SE was out of line, not the Scout.

What was unScoutlike about the reported comments? The young man expressed his opinion. He did not, as far as we know, insult anyone or use bad language. Disagreement with others is now disrespect?

I read nothing that seemed disrespectful to me. I've been to hundreds of public meetings in my former career as a journalist, and the quote from the young man was nothing compared to the disrespect routinely shown by adults. Who in the world would think a teenage boy would be delivering an official statement on behalf of the organization, anyway?

I had the opposite experience - I was two or so weeks away from FC when the election team came. My SM tried to put me and another boy on the eligible list. I spoke up and said we hadn't earned the rank yet - kind of embarrassed the SM. I'm glad of it, though, because I was too young and would've been a sash and dasher. When I got elected a few years later, I jumped in wholeheartedly, and it was great.

What an idiot. The SE, not the Scout. The boy just got a lesson, all right - he learned that adults can be supreme imbeciles and hypocrites. I'm sure the SE would have no problem wearing his uniform lobbying state legislators for a grant or local officials for a zoning change for his new council HQ.

Only one troop in the district? In the Atlanta area? Is the district the size of a postage stamp?

Yeah, but that has nothing to do with organizing a Webelos den. All that encompasses is giving the WDL a list of contacts and checking later to make sure he or she followed through. I just don't see why this item is singled out in the CM duties list - nor do I think the OP should put much time into worrying about it.

"I know if I bring it up and push it forward it is going to be my responsibility to get this going." Technically correct in terms of your unit dynamics, but you should look to pass the organizational aspects on to the troop representative ASAP. OA is youth-led; adults have no vote. Also, consider that the SM heads the program department. As advancement chair, you're a committee member, responsible for the paperwork and the like. Your role really should not extend into the program side of advancement unless that's the SM's and CC's wish. (Setting aside the point that OA is not advancement-related ...)(This message has been edited by Shortridge)

If a WDL can't handle the job of finding local troops and calling the SM, I fear for his Scouts. Seriously? A CM is needed for that? Give me a break.

That's kind of an odd thing to single out. Organizing a Webelos den is no different than organizing a Tiger, Wolf or Bear den. As long as you don't call it them Webloes, you'll be fine.

Does anyone know who the highest ranking professional woman is? For Bob - thanks for your service, but don't let the door hit you.

I believe Wingnut is right. I think you're misreading the application. There's a difference - subtle yet distinct - between selling a good or service and soliciting donations. Selling is OK, as long as it's something of value that can sell "on its own merits." So no buying pencils in bulk for 1 cent each and selling them for $1 while saying "It's for the Scouts." Soliciting donations is going up to Mrs. Smith and saying "Would you donate $5 to Troop 28? We want to buy a new trailer." That's my read of it, anyway. Anyone else with more expertise?

Unless the trailer is owned by someone who's lending it to the troop, then it's really owned by the CO. It's the COR and IH who should be making this decision, not you and the committee. You can do the research and suggest an option, certainly, but this involves assets and ownership issues. That belongs to a higher authority, in my book. This may be off on a tangent, but you wrote about "not doing campouts as we should." What do you mean by that? In my ideal Scouting world (the one where it never rains on campouts and is always a balmy 60 degrees), campouts are almost never done with trailers and heavy gear, but with backpacks and lightweight tents. If your troop's goal is to move to backpacking (which supports the patrol method far better than "plop" camping), then drop the trailer entirely. Get your boys used to lightweight equipment and gear from the get-go, and they'll never know the difference.

My council did a jamboree a few years back at a state park - Cubs through Venturers. Not a lot of room, everyone crammed into spaces in a field. Activities same as you'd get at summer camp, pretty much. This year is another one. To be held at the council's new still-under construction Cub camp. Should be interesting.

What are we calling traditional in this thread? No clothes are practical or suitable for every occasion. You wouldn't wear a biz suit hiking, nor jeans on a canoe trip. If you want to both look sharp for dressy occasions and wear the uni camping, buy two. It's that simple.

I appreciate your enthusiasm, but no Cub Scout is going to get all that. Way WAY too much overkill. Do your kids a favor and dump it.

Pshaw! Foil cooking is easy and simple. The trick is having a good (adult, of course) fire-tender who keeps close track of times, and having an adult watch the food prep area like a hawk. If you don't want hobo dinners, do pita pizzas in foil. Just use the pitas like the pizza dough. If you want individual dishes, your options are by necessity limited. But if you're willing to do a group dish (and that will depend largely on your group size), just do a giant one-pot meal of any variety, served with fresh fruit and bread. (The bread could even be the individual part - dough wrapped around clean sticks over the fire.)

SR540, You didn't look very hard. Here are emails for multiple pros: http://www.scouting.org/sitecore/content/BSAFoundation/ContactInformation.aspx

DeafScouter, I'm speaking generally of a parent's role in the Scouting journey. Scouts should be in charge, not their parents. Wasn't talking about your son in particular. None of the issues you've raised are as insurmountable as you seem to think. The Scout has only to ask his PL, who if confused can ask the SPL, who in turn can ask the SM, who can flip open a copy of the Requirements book and answer the question. Or the Scout can go to the Librarian and check out the book for himself. Your discussion of theme pages, notebooks, tabs and folder pockets, frankly, sounds far more complicated than it needs to be. If you don't mind me asking, did you consider suggesting that a Scout organize the MB library rather than doing it yourself? Also: You have fewer than 10 Scouts at present. No need right now to waste time fussing with Troopmaster.(This message has been edited by Shortridge)

Twocubdad, Rock on.

Maybe I've missed something, but where is it written that an SPL should be Star or above? Also, at your size, forget about even having an SPL. You need a PL, and then several patrols, before you even think about an SPL. DeafScouter, don't take those estimates as gospel. They're rough figures based on others' experience. Your unit could become completely boy-run in a year if the boys want to and work at it, and if you're there to encourage and support them. The most important thing you can do is ask questions - turn it back on them - while backing their decisions up and not letting other adults trample them underfoot. Never do anything that a boy can do himself.(This message has been edited by Shortridge)

"More and more I'm liking this idea of turning the MB over totally to the Scout and letting the parent involvement be at that end." Uhm, isn't that how it's supposed to work? Nothing radical about that. I'm not at all sure what you mean about the MB system being unclear. It's pretty simple to anyone who's read the BSH. No need for worksheets and theme lists and anything else. What strikes your son's fancy? Let him explore it. On his own.