SR540Beaver

My dad was a WWII vet Marine. I know a good number of Marines. I can't fathom a Marine not understanding the uniform method in scouting and not being willing to set the example.

We have an ASM who has never bought scout pants. Every other registered leader in the troop is fully uniformed. He can afford them. I assume he just doesn't like any of the various styles. His son crossed over from Webelos and is now 17, so that is how long he has gone without buying scout pants. Coincidently, his son has never worn any either. That being said, he is a good ASM ans while we would like for him to be uniformed, he is an adult who can make his own decisions regardless of any logic or reasoning we use. Oh yeah, he is fully trained for his position and he has signed up for W

Speaking of "adult" replies.... Basement: "I have come to the conclusion that those who have the mountaintop experience are very shallow people who have never experienced adversity or difficulty......" Oh really? Seriously? Like OGE said, we are all very well aware of your disdain for WB and all very well aware that your experience is not typical. Just because YOU didn't have a mountaintop experience doesn't make everyone else "shallow". That's insulting and uncalled for. I personally know two men who will tell you how WB was a life changing experience for them. One is a ho

Eamonn, Wow, $225 for your CDC? I attended the CDC for the Southern Region at BSA HQ in Irving this past November for $75. Of course, it cost gas from Oklahoma and hotel expense. But those of us going carpooled and doubled up in the hotel, so that cut costs drastically. And to those who assume someone honored with being asked to be a CD has things like the CDC paid for.....NO, not in many councils. Most councils don't have fat bank accounts where they just write checks for this or that. I remember back in 2004 when we were preparing for the 2005 Jamboree and we had a number of boys

TwoCub, I'm going to disagree with you on a few things. I've been an ASM for new scouts and had 3 TG's I worked with. I am currently an OA Chapter Adviser and have 5 youth officers. Kids hate email. They refuse to use it unless forced. It is my preferred method of communication because it is quick and easy and I can load it with as much information and attachments as needed. My point to them is that one of these days they will have a job. That job will most likely come with an email address and whether they like it or not, they will have to use it just like they will have to get up

hocountry, welcome to scouting and servant leadership. That is indeed how it works. I've staffed four WB courses and served as ASM on two Jambos and I took vacation time and paid my way just like the participants. If you were sending your son to Jambo and the cost was $3000 per person (our cost in 2010), how would you feel when you found out the the cost for the four adults in your son's troop was split between the 36 youth in the troop. All of a sudden, your son's cost is $3,333 instead of $3,000. Keep in mind, even though we are transporting 36 kids halfway across the nation by plane an

I've had a fair number of DE's in my scouting career. Most are gone. The one good one I had is now Council Progran Director. My experience is that most DE's are far to involved in trying to raise funds and membership numbers to actually know what is going on around them. We usually educate the DE's, instead of the other way around. 10 to 15% is a more customary number. 60%, either he doesn't know what he is talking about or you heard him wrong or your council is engaged in highway robbery.

BasementDweller, A 60% profit on WB? How much do your courses cost? Our council went from $185 to $200 a year or two ago and we have a really tough time budgeting on that amount. We've actually cut some of the traditional WB bling things out to stay within budget. With your 60% figure and my council's $200 price tag, that means the council is keeping $120 and the course is operating on $80. That doesn't even cover food costs in our council.

There is no one best modern way to communicate. Different people....young or old.....respond to different forms of communication. As an OA Chapter Adviser, I prefer to communicate directly with my youth thru email. Why? Because I set at a desk all day with email open in front of me the whole time communicating with vedors, coworkers and customers. I have an numerous email distribution lists set up and I simply start typing in the first few letters of the name of the list and it pops in automatically. Then I type my message, hit send and it's gone. Quick and easy. Every single one of my

I'm an NYLT back up course director for our summer course and the course director for our fall course. I attended the Course Director's Conference back in November. The basic rule of thumb was that those over 18 needed to take WB instead of NYLT. Within NYLT, the rule of thumb is you don't put 16 or 17 year olds in tents with 13 year olds. My personal belief is that while I think it is fine to mix and match programs with one adult WB course, they should have left NYLT strictly as a Boy Scout specific course instead of including Venturing. I understand the idea that it is more efficient, b

Most 18 year olds who have been camping every month and summer camp most years since they were 11, plus possibly having done high adventure and staffing camp along with earning Eagle, kind of balk at having to go learn how to teach boys Tenderfoot thru 1st Class requirements. They've been doing that for at least 5 years. This is where you need a "test out" feature since many of these guys could teach an IOLS course. SM Specific is a whole other matter. They set thru lectures at college and they don't want to drive home and blow a Saturday listening to someone drone on and on for 6 hours.

BDPT00, I just checked the Jambo website and stand corrected. I'd have to dig to find it, but some early literature we had listed the age for 3rd ASM up to 25. I remember this because we assumed that the increase from 21 to 25 was to broaden the pool just as they have reduced the price to $425 as an enticement. Also, "youth" up to 21 could attend as participants thru Crews, so it made sense to up the age pool for 3rd SM. For the past two Jamborees, our council has had 3 Jambo troops. Except for one young man who went in 2010 as a 3rd ASM, we have had to fill those spots with men in t

Papa, What Eagle92 said. My son Eagled in December 2010 and aged out in February 2011. He is now living on campus at college about 80 miles away. He comes home maybe one weekend a month. He wants to maintain his scouting registration, but he can't be active in the troop anymore. Yes, he can be registered as an ASM, but it would be in name only and with JTE, leaders must be trained for their position. Rather than run off these guys, the Unit College Reserve allows them to maintain their registration. It's a good thing. As an OA Chapter Adviser, I like having these guys still be

GetOutdoors, Your mileage may vary from council to council. Because of my experience as an ASM at the 2005 and 2010 Jamborees, I was asked to sit on the 2013 Jambo committee. Let me address the differences between our "experiences" one by one. 1) You have to be "connected" and part of the adult scouting group, You know, the guys you see at all the adult functions but rarely see them working with youth. Response: We have 4 troops and 2 crews going to Jambo. Not including the 3rd ASM who should be between 18 and 25, we needed 4 SM's, 8 ASM's, 2 CA's and 2 ACA's. That is 16 adul

So Beavah, are you saying that if an SM refused to sign a boy's Eagle project because he failed to follow the SM's personal guideline of having to raise the funds with only a nominal amount from parents, the boy would have no recourse? He couldn't appeal to district and/or council? That nobody "higher up" cares? What happens when the DAC or CAC tells the SM that he can't make up his own rules for advancement? I understand what you are getting at. Each troop and SM has their own "flavor" and culture. For instance, the troop I served had "Assistant Scoutmaster Conferences" before the S

Beavah: "I don't think "enforcement" is the issue, eh? We're about growing kids, not about "enforcing" this, that, and the other thing. Most folks will follow the guidance given 'em, because they're part of a community where that guidance is the norm." You are correct. People often take the guidance given without questioning whether it is correct or not. That of course is how the many great scouting rule myths we talk about on here get started. Go back and read Thomas' post. He said that the other troop had checked with the council on whether it was OK for a parent to fund the whole p

Thomas, What do you do when a parent decides to fund a project fully against your "guideline"? You're adding a requirement that is not part of the Eagle rank. I'm not saying that I don't want to see a boy find funding for his project. While we could have funded our son's $600 project, we had him fundraise, put some of his own money in from his job and then we topped it off. I just don't know how you can enforce telling a parent how much they can give towards their son's project.

Papadaddy, can you show us any documentation that states a boy must raise funds for his Eagle project? I'm unaware of any unless it just happened. An Eagle project is a service project, not a fundraising and service project. That being said, if a boy needs to raise funds, there are rules that apply, but it is not a required part of the Eagle project.

I'm not thrilled with the slate of candidates. That being said, any of them would be head and shoulders above the disaster in chief we currently have. I believe what he has "accomplished" can be reversed if he isn't relected. Whether we can survive an additional 4 years of him is doubtful.

rhol, What Trev said! Let me address two different issues. First, I'm a type 1 diabetic and went to the 2005 and 2010 Jambo as an ASM. Of course, I'm a 54 years old who found out I was diabetic when I was 17, so I kind of have the whole thing unnder my belt. As a father, I understand your concerns about your son. That being said, part of scouts is letting them spread their wings and stepping back. He needs to learn to control his diabetes on his own. Your Jambo leadership has accepted responsibility for taking any kid who has paid the fee. That means ADD, celiac, diabetic, all

Eagle92, In our shop, everything OA is on the floor with the exception of the position patch which was behind the counter. Since the shop management basically blew me off, I sent an email to Scout Stuff customer service. Try going to the natonal BSA website and finding an organizational list with phone numbers and email addresses. That animal doesn't exist.

I'll go you one better than that. While helping staff the Trainer's Edge course this past Saturday, I strolled down to the scout shop (run by national) during our lunch break to buy a Chapter Adviser position patch. What did I find sitting on the shelf? No position patches, they were in a controlled drawer behind the counter. What I did find was the Ordeal, Brotherhood and Vigil ceremonies for sale to anyone that wanted to buy them. I asked the manager if he understood that the ceremonies were safeguarded material that only OA members were supposed to have access to based on what honor th

Webelos is a transition from Cubs to Boy Scouts just as has been described already. While still part of the pack, it gets their feet wet in what Boy Scouting is all about. My son joined as a Webelos 1, Eagled in December 2010 and aged out in February 2011. Joining as a Tiger or a Webelos shouldn't detract from the experience they have as it is experienced at a different level and different age along the way. Our Webelos did a lot more camping and outdoor stuff than the rest of the pack, so they got to have experiences they did not fully have as Cubs.

We don't stop for a snack on a regular basis. We usually only do that if we are camping a couple of hours or more out to give everyone a break and some refreshment. We don't do lunch coming back on Sunday unless we are coming from a great distance like the next state over. Any stops coming home are predetermined by the PLC and scouts are notified to bring a couple of extra dollars if they want to get anything. Now, I have to say I struggle with the term bribery just like EagleDad. Scouting is filled with all sorts of incentives. I know boys and adults who love scout bling and will li

Yes they do, but it is at the option of the council and not a requirement of national to the local councils. Individual Program Directors might choose to have a formal council sponsered PB program, but many don't. If someone's council doesn't, than your unit can buy the patches and make up their own requirements. The troop I'm with awards multiple PB's and tracks them. They only give you one patch, but keep track of how many nights you camped below freezing and mention it at COH's.