silver-shark

You guys are right on the money except for the name of the 3 volume set of themes. It is Troop Program Features. The Troop Program Resources book is a companion that includes SM Minutes, Games for Pre-opening or Interpatrol Competitions, and other valuable resources. Be sure to get all 4 books. The TPF books also go into great detail about how to set up your Annual Planning Meeting

In the past we have continued our practice of meetings on Sunday afternoon unless there is a holiday or something, even in the summer. We are looking into changing the day of our meeting this summer so that families can have the entire weekend for trips, boating, or whatever. During the summer, sports and other activities don't interfere hardly at all, which I'm sure had something to do with the Sunday meeting day to begin with.

Yeah, omlettes in a ziplock bag are great too. Make sure yuo use the freezer ones. they are tougher and less likely to melt. Just smoosh up a couple of eggs in it and add your fixins, then drop it into boiling water. leave a little air in so it'll float or it can burn/melt onto the bottom of the pan. Also, wrap potatoes in aluminum foil and put them on some hot coals for about a half hour and you have a baked potatoe. Slice that potatoe into 1/4" slices and alternate in onion slices and it's ebven better. Wrap corn on the cob up in foil. I always add a little butter first to

I Agree.

Hey Folks, Here's what the BSA actually has to say in their "Leave No Trace" pamphlet. You can geta copy at your Council Office or Scout Store, or online at www.scouting.org. "3. Dispose of Waste Properly (Pack It In, Pack It Out) This simple yet effective saying motivates backcountry visitors to take their trash home with them. It makes sense to carry out of the backcountry the extra materials taken there by your group or others. Inspect your campsite for trash or spilled foods. Accept the challenge of packing out all trash, leftover food, and litter. Sanitation Backcount

Bob White, You're absolutely right about zero leadership being acceptable at the patrol level, with the approval of the SM. My original post was relevant to Matua specifically having only one ASM present. I look at your First Class requirement a little differently. I look at the maturity level of the scout rather than rank. Some Star scouts are complete squirrels compared to first year boys. I do however make sure that lower ranking boys have at least a few successful campouts etc... in before I would allow them to go. The PL definitely needs to be at least First Class. Beyond

On the utensil-less side of breakfast cooking, how about: Volcano eggs You can use charcoal or coals from a fire to cook these on. Poke a hole in the top of the shell to let pressure out then place on hot coals. Have a toothpick handy and make sure that the hole you made doesn't get glazed over by some of the cooked egg that oozes out a little (part of the volcano name) or boom, thus the other part of the name. Bacon and eggs in a paper bag. You'll need a grill surface above your hot coals for this one. They can be charcoal or coals from a fire, but if you use the fire co

Bob White Dont get me wrong, I believe the one about an active scout merely being registered is a myth as well. My response to the Eagle Dad was to chuckle, shake my head and change the subject, since the boy had already passed his Eagle Board. Be active in your troop and patrol. Page 169 tells us that, To gain full advantage of all that scouting has to offer, you need to be present when things are happening. Take part in meetings, in planning activities, and in the fun of adventure. If youre there you can do your part to make your patrol and troop a success. Be present how oft

FScouter Our Unit Commisioner told us about a year ago that National was going to put a ban on white gas products in about 2 years. I don't know if this is part of, or even a spinoff of the same myth or not. Regardless, we have been buying propane replacement equipment as it has become needed, just in case.

Hey Bob White Talk more about your #2, and #3 favorite myths. As I See it, many scouters try to use the attendance as part of the Scout Spirit since there doesn't appear to be a definition of an active scout for advancement. I have heard the one about merely being registered to be considered an active scout. It came from the ASM father of a boy that was preparing for his Eagle Ceremony. The boy had not attended a meeting or any other a ctivity for 2 years other than the 5 minutes he addressed a Court of Honor looking for his Eagle Project volunteers. 2/3 of the boys in attendance d

Dan It's a myth that works, so we made it a policy. Bob White Believe me. The majority of offences are an automatic 4 corners. If they are already missimg a corner when they make a 4 corner offense, that fifth one goes onto the next card to start with. We probably focus more on the little things that most scouters overlook. An old employer of mine used to say of business, "if you take care of the pennies and nickels, the dollars will take care of themselves." When we focus on little things that are commonly overlooked, the boys are automatically more focussed on the b

Ron I've heard this expression used in reference to inspections for District Camporees. When I asked the people running the camporee what this meant, they told me it could be found in the Camping Merit Badge Pamphlet. I've never checked, but this might be where you can find it. By the way, I would say that it would be real close to what Dan wrote, even though I would prefer Bob White's version. Oh well... Maybe someday again...

KS The Firem'n Chit has similar wording to that of the Totin' Chip. It sounds like hops' troop has a policy similar to one that our troop has regarding how they monitor those that are exercising safety, and adhering to the Outdoor Code in these situations. We still cut off a corner, or more for serious offences, and therefore demand to see the cards of all violators. When all 4 corners are gone those particular rights are suspended. At that time they don't only forfeit any offending equipment to be collected by their parents, but have to retake the appropriate course, (5 page Q&

Twocubdad VFW Posts, American Legion Posts, Lions Clubs, Moose Clubs, Elks Clubs, churches etc... have several sources of income to run their OVERALL PROGRAM. These consist of tithes, dues, raffles/bingo/poker machines, bar and food sales, other fundraisers, donations, etc... These monies go to pay for salaries, utilities, rents, mortgages, supporting needy people, etc... BSA would have no say regarding how these OVERALL PROGRAM monies are earned, unless in an illegal way, these monies are all gray and fuzzy as they pertain to where they are spent, but would as they pertain to

God Bless the VFW and American Legion !!! They do A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT for our youth in the scouting programs AND atheletics programs. But, when they supply the resource of a meeting place for a unit, thus helping to conduct the scouting program, they have to follow our policies regarding the safety and adequacy of the meeting place. They might not have to follow the same guidelines for their sports programs but they do when providing this service to their scouting program. When they supply the resource of drivers for our events, thus helping to conduct the scouting program, they ha

If we don't give the boys the option and free choice to do mulitple activities we are going to lose them, especially the older they get. Between a yearly sports schedule, including baseball, soccer, football, and basketball, all of which are equally important to a childs physical and emotional development, then later band, other clubs, work, and girls, we are always in competition for the boys time. So what can we do? We can have a more exciting program to get them there, reschedule your meeting date and time so that as many boys as possible can attend, or do both. We have our mee

Bob White Great thoughts !!! I particularly like the one about the Merit Badges during Troop Meetings. Our troop used to do this, and the problem we had was that there were always some boys that had it already,(we only focus on Eagle Required ones) and some boys that the material was completely over their heads. We were'nt giving a well rounded program when we excluded people. I like the advantage of doing these as a group because there are more ideas and opinions that flow and more is learned by the boys, so...we now schedule 2 to 3 Eagle Required Merit Badge Classes throughout

eamonn Don't stop at this site alone !!! How many councils are there in the US? Ther are 7 in Indiana alone !!! Check out as many as you can !!!

Bob White "THAT is the point of the policy". What policy? There is no policy pertaining to how the charter organization should fund the scouting program. They are not required to do so. The boys are supposed to be earning their own way. Not looking for handouts. When "they are funding their own unit", the charter organization that is, by doing a fundraiser directly for the unit, they are bound by the same policies as the unit. They are one of the 3 PARTS or branches of the unit as it pertains to the scouting program and are therefore bound by the BSA's policies. If the CO wants

dsteele Here's what our council does: 1. Vanity License Plates. The State of Indiana hooks us up with $25.00 for every scouting one sold. 2. Marsh Cookout on the Circle in downtown Indy. This one is used to send our underpriviledged boys to camp. 3. The Boy Scout Memorabilia Auction. This is a show and auction with experts on hand to let you know what you have. 4. Shooting Stars is a clay target tournament that we sponsor. 5. Council Award Dinner. $200.00 per plate or $1500.00 per table of 8, with higher levels of sponsorship of $2500.00, and $5000.00. We anticipa

Bob White "Among a chartered organization's responsibilities are the following: Conduct the Scouting program according to it's own policies and guidelines, AS WELL AS THOSE OF THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA." This is from page 156 of the SM Handbook. You hit the nail on the head when you said, "It is not called a donation because it is the charter organizations unit. They are not donating to themselves, they are funding their own program." This is reinforced by the Troop Committee Guidebook which states,"Your troop is "owned" by a chartered organization, which recieves a national charte

You're right on Bob. The only thing I would add is that at least one of the 2 mwmbers of any activity must be at least 21 years old according to the Guide to Safe Scouting. They couldn't have just 2 18 year old ASM's if the SM weren't present.

Great insight guys. I was first tempted to bend rules by the trainers at my OLS Training. This consisted of things like placing the water pot directly on the fire during a water boiling contest. Nothing big, but something to make ya think. Since then, we have taken the 2 weeks prior to a camporee to practice for the competitive events, so that the boys would know what to do when the time came. This might be cheating to some. We had our District Camporee last weekend. At the beginning of the competitive events we had 2 patrols try to merge and send the newest scouts out on their

OOPS, I hit the wrong key. Bob The original question asks, "if its appropriate for BSA units to sponsor this same type event"? Also, as a member of the council with the third most visited summer camp program in the US behind only Sea Base and Philmont, and at about one-third the cost I might add, I know all too well what goes into the council fundraising that makes this happen, and am VERY grateful. We just merged another council in with us that did not have nearly the resources that we do, and will spend the next 3 to 5 years modernizing their faciliries among other things.

Bob