SMEagle819

Yes, I remember the youth BoRs from years past. I was even given a couple when I first crossed over into Boy Scouts. I do believe that these are an asset like others have stated in previous posts. We still use the youth BoR for the Scout Badge and on occasion Tenderfoot. This helps the older scouts feel useful, and the younger scouts to learn from the older ones. Also, it goes back to the Boy led principle we hear so much about. IIRC, these were called "Personal Growth Agreement conferences" at one time.

This is what we do, which was suggested by our PLC a few years ago that has been enforced ever since: If you committed to the trip at the meeting when menus and drivers were set, then you had to pay for food and any fees associated with the trip. The only way out is if you called the person buying food for the trip and let them know before they went to the store; the day the food buyer was going was communicated at the meeting. This "policy" has cut down on the late bailouts in our troop. We have had some that have bailed at the last minute, and they did follow through and pay for t

I think these are great ideas! Yes, the lock-in may not appeal to some, but to use as a recruiting tool, I think would work. It would get potential new members in the door, and then we can go from there. Definitely the shooting day would be great as well. If it could be set up at the district/council camp (if it has a range), it could be piggybacked with some other activities at the camp, maybe even an overnight camping trip to introduce the prospective members to the outdoors portion of scouting. I whole-heartily agree that if the district sponsored it, I definitely would view it as a distric

I have been reading this thread hoping to get a feel for the WB program. I have been on the fence for some time about whether to take it or not. There are many points that have been discussed that I agree with, and some that I disagree with. One of the points that I agree with was made on another recent thread about WB. A couple of posters said they would not take it because of some experience they had with another person who had completed the course. I have some of the same feelings. Some of the people I am familiar with in our district seem to think they are so much better than the peop

Message I received from my council this morning: The National Youth Protection Committee recommended additions to Boy Scout rank requirements that were approved and will become effective January 1, 2008. These changes will help us advance the importance of Youth Protection training beyond the initial Boy Scout joining requirements, and keep youth informed and actively engaged in understanding the key elements of personal safety and protection. Tenderfoot Rank Revised requirement 9: Explain the importance of the buddy system as it relates to your personal safety on outings and in your n

That's the question I have in my head as well; what form was used? Our council also has stopped including the multi-color, heavy paper stock Eagle app in the Eagle workbooks. Now you are supposed to go to the council office and get a "working copy" of an electonic form that shows the merit badges earned, ranks earned, etc. This form is rather useless, however, because many of these dates are not filled in. They still need to be filled in by the applicant. (Thank goodness for good record keeping!) I have started using this form as a "rough draft" copy, and downloading the "Eagle Application" fr

scoutldr wrote: We do have some Scouters in our council who reside in the neighboring state, but are nonetheless in our council. They refused to adopt the new CSP, and instead continue to wear the red and white strips for their city and state on the ODLR uniforms. Now, that''s inappropriate...but nonetheless none of my business. I still wear the city & state red white strips on my uniform. I have not once been told it's inappropriate. Also, our council has recently changed names. The council leadership has made it known that you do not have to change your CSP to the new one, or

Get a copy of the Eagle Project Workbook to assist if not already done so. It does provide space to show what the scout plans to do for the project, and the accompanying signatures for approval. Calico is right that the project is based on leadership, and I like what he included. An outline of the project with the workbook would be a great start for the project. The signatures in the workbook would show that the troop approves (SM and CC) and the organiztion he hopes to work with also approves. Don't forget to let the scout include any "mistakes" or rough spots he encounters during the project

Definitely communicate with the parents. Even though the Webelo may chose one troop, the parent usually has the final say in my experience. The "parents only" trip is an excellent idea. May have to try it. One other idea is a parents only meeting where troop history, adult leadership is explained, how a troop functions, etc is discussed. Leeting the parent know that they are welcome to join the committee or as an adult leader is useful to bring new ideas into the troop. Another item to mention in this meeting would be that if you join the troop, but then decide the troop is not for them,

Thanks for the clarification, LisaBob. I don't remember where I heard the visit 3 troops requirement from. Maybe that's a suggestion someone gave out (not gonna say guideline or requirement) to let the Webelo and family get a better feel for the troop they would like to join...

I do agree that providing DCs is a service, and a great POR for a young scout to gain leadership qualities. However, there should be some "quid pro quo" when a troop gives up a scout or 2 to work in this position, especially when the pack and troop meet on the same night. I alwyas looked upon it as "aslong as the Webelo stays in scouting..." But, when that young DC looks at me after crossover, after giving it his all for 8-10 months, and not one of them crossed to our troop, and he says "What did I do wrong?", that is where I have the feeling of being "being used." Like I said before, now my o

Another idea is to have your "tweeners" bring their pack in packed with what they think they will need for a cold weather trip. This way, you can incorporate them into the teaching aspect by having them unpack their packs as the instructor goes thru the list of recommended items. It will also be a learning experience for them as they will see some items they may have missed when packing.

Lisabob, You have hit the target dead center! Many of the items you list as wanting from the troop when you were a WDL I can claim to be guilty of. Yes, communication could be better. Yes, an alternate contact at the troop other than the SM would be good. However, we did offer many times for the Webelos to go on a "regular" scout trip to see what it was about. Sometimes we would get takers. Other times, would never hear anything back. You wrote: 3) Please don't play coy about what troops your boys might join. If your boys aren't planning to join ours and you want to come to our webelo

He needed to fulfill that requirement as well...

I have a story... This was done via email. The mother of one of my scouts, who we had not seen for about 18 months, wanted to come back and earn his Eagle (current Life Scout). I responded that we had not seen the scout for 18 months, could not get in contact with them to find out what was going on, and actually had removed him from the roster at recharter. I also said that he would need to be active for 6 months in a leadership position and attend regularly. Would this be considered "against scout policy?" Since Requirement 1 for the rank of Eagle reads "Be active in your troop and

How in the world can you prove you were a Second Class Scout for like one year in 1969 BTW? It wasn't necessary for me to have included youth - my husband rated the 15 without the youth time and I had no way to prove it, so left it out. For those of you that have them, how important is your pin to you? Is it "just a matter of filling out the form and buying the pin. What''s the point?" Or do you actually CARE that you have, rate, and wear the pin? (if you wear it) My current 25 year pin is very important to me. It is for use on "civilian" clothes, but I do have the service stars on my sc

Yes, you can use youth registered time for your veteran award. I am also close to my 30 year pin as well...

I joined the forum back in 2003, mostly just reading for help with the troop. Now that I have a little more time, I hope to be able to share some experiences and advice to you. Currently the SM of the troop I grew up in, with 30 years experience (youth and adult combined total). Like an old commercial used to say, "I liked it some much, I became Scoutmaster" (words changed a bit for the forum).

Eagle Class of 1988, Robert E Lee Council in VA (now named the Heart of Virginia Council) Currently the SM of the troop I grew up in, with 30 years experience (youth and adult combined total)

Congrats Its Me! As many of the other posters have stated, start the traditions now. Some other ones you may want to consider: - Father - Son campout in the spring - Start a scrapbook - pictures, newspaper articles about the troop, etc. - Have a customized neckerchief designed and wear it proudly. A new scout earns it when he earns Tenderfoot. - Get a group picture of the "original" members of the troop, and hang it on the wall. Just like those of the heroes, this will be a reflection of a new chapter in these boys' lives.

I have to agree with Chippewa29 about term limits. A long term SM can still be effective if new adults are entering the program. Many times, the new adults are looking for someone who "has been around the block a couple of times" so they are not overwhelmed with the program. Also, some of the "old timers" may find as the new blood comes in, it is a good time for them to transition out. I have been in the situation of replacing a SM who was SM for 25 years. All of the boys really respected him, and gave him their full attention when he spoke. When I took over, he stayed on as an ASM, and has be

Beavah, your little note on courteous hits the nail on the head. As a matter of fact, I think I will use it for my Scoutmaster's Minute at our next meeting. Yes, I understand that there is other things a young person is doing outside of scouts. Yes, I understand that to ask for 100% participation is ludicrous. However, we as volunteers are giving up some of our free time to create an enjoyable experience for young people to have. Not having enough courtesy to say "I won't be able to attend because of XXXX" is not asking a lot. Also, what happens when you make a troop schedule with

One of the things as an adult leader that yeh just have to shrug off sometimes is parent behavior. It's not somethin' that you can control most of the time. So don't beat yourself up too much. Beavah said this earlier in the thread, and I couldn't agree more. There are some parents out there that think little "Johnny" can do no wrong, it's the other kid's fault, my kid always gets picked on, etc. Sometimes, asking that parent to go on an outing can change their attitude, and the scout's as well. I also agree with what has been said about "Parent2" and scout probably not wanting to be in s

Our local camp has built showers similar to what bigedbsa mentioned... We now have 4 shower houses with 10 lockable "bathrooms" each. These rooms have a shower, sink, bench, and toilet. I learned from my guys this past camp season that many of them took at least one shower per day, and some took 2! With the flushable toilets now in a locked room, I heard of no one holding it for multiple days. I do remember being a scout and taking showers in the shower rooms (locker room type). Many of the scouts then would go in and get out as quickly and clean-ly (is that a word) as they could. I

Tagguy, I have taken my troop to Brady Saunders for a number of years. The camp has a good program, and they are adding some more items for 2008. If you have some older boys going, I would have them sign up for Rangers Challenge. This is geared towards the older boy, and my older scouts return year in and year out for this program. Also, another program for some older scouts is the James River Adventure. This is a 50 mile canoe trip down the James River, with some activities planned on the trip. This trip lasts the entire week, so those scouts that attend will not be back at camp until Fr