SR540Beaver

Can I see a show of hands for the Cellular MB to go with those Gaming and TV watching MB's? I'm currently working on the curriculum for the Piercing and Tattooing MB's.

One can only assume that it was Fuzzy who as a youth would offer his handbook to be used as the flag in capture the flag.

It is unfortunate that you had past CD's arguing over how the current CD should run his course. Our council follows the administrative guide and does bring in the at least 1/3 new staffers each course. I'm between weekends on my first staffing experience. I hope to be fortunate enough to staff again in the future. National allows for "support staff" which basically means kitchen help. Guess where many of our former CD's serve? That is right, they are support staff. It is a win win situation. The CD gets the much needed kitchen staff and gophers to take care of little things the course staff doesn't need to be bothered with. It also gives the CD and staff a safety net of mentors while staffing the course. It also gives the former CD's an opportunity to participate in a course they love. We have 9 returning staffers, 11 new staffers and 5 former CD's working in the kitchen along with the 2 CD's for next year's courses.

Crabby strangers.......tie the scurvy dogs ta the yardarm me mateys.....ARRRRRR!

"I wish there was an official 'advanced scoutcraft skills' course out there. But you know, there is NOTHING stopping some scouters to make it happen at the local level and having National adopt it. Stop whinning and complaining about WB not doing it, and come up with a new course." As Barry mentioned above, our council does indeed have such a course. It is called Outdoor Skills Training and is referred to as OST. While IOLS teaches leaders the skills needed to facilitate a program from new scout thru 1st Class, this course is an advanced course that goes beyond the basic outdoor skills taught in IOLS. It is a two weekend program and is held each spring and fall. One of my fellow Woodbadge Troop Guides will be the SM on the fall course. He explained to me that the gentleman who developed the course years ago (and still oversees it) did shop it around to other councils and had no takers. It is however, a very popular course in our council. The link for the course is http://www.lastfrontiercouncil.org/train/ost/outdoor-skills-training.htm. Basically it says: Outdoor Skills Training is Last Frontier Council's locally developed and extremely popular two weekend advanced campcraft training program. Outdoor Skills Training is open to Leaders of all Scouts: Cub Scouts, Webelos Scouts, Boy Scouts, Varsity Scouts, Sea Scouts, and Venturers. Outdoor Skills Training will be open to THE FIRST 36 registered adult leaders (18 or older) who are, or will be, involved in Troop Operations (Cub leaders included). Learn to perform the outdoor skills of the Boy Scout Troop hiking and camping program. Skills include: Orienteering (map and compass), Pioneering, Woods Tools, Fire Building, Back Packing, Cooking with Dutch Ovens, and much more. As a bonus, participants will be certified in first aid and CPR. Outdoor Skills Training is a two weekend training course which begins promptly at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday morning of each weekend and concludes about 5:30 p.m. on the first Sunday and about 7:30 p.m. on the second Sunday. ATTENDANCE AT BOTH WEEKENDS OF OUTDOOR SKILLS TRAINING IS MANDATORY FOR COURSE PARTICIPANTS. COURSE FEE: $ 55.00 The course is fast paced and every minute is scheduled. Please be prepared to hike at 8:00 am on the first Saturday. We camp out both Saturday nights. Participants will provide food for three meals the second weekend. Health History: All OST participants need to bring a BSA Class III medical form to the training. A physical exam is not required to participate in the training, but Sections I, II, III, IV, and VI of the Class III medical form need to be completed and the information needs to be current within the twelve months immediately prior to the course. Download a BSA Class III medical form (.PDF format) or pick up a form at either council service center.

Firekat, Yes, they will really listen. The new pants are a direct result of surveys done by BSA thru their website. My experience has been that the handbook more often falls apart based on how it is treated. I can't tell you the number of bloated books I've seen that have been left laying on the ground or tables and rained on at camp. I've seen them thrown, kicked and just about everything else you can think of. I carry and use my copy of the handbook to every meeting and every campout....more often than many boys do...and mine still looks brand new.

Alrighty then, it is time to change things up. You can still post your favorite verse or get creative and make one up since their are those among us who thinks Scouting is due for an overhaul. How bout..... There are critters, critters, critters, eating apple fritters. There are high adventure crews, who smell like rotten stew. There are dorks, dorks, dorks, eating with their sporks.

There are leaders, leaders, leaders, slapping at the skeeters, at the store, at the store. There are leaders, leaders, leaders, slapping at the skeeters, at the Quartermaster's store. My eyes are dim, I can not see. I have not brought my specks with me. I HAVE NOT brought my specks with me......... or is it.... There are skeeters, skeeters, skeeters, chewing on the leaders, at the store, at the store. There are skeeters, skeeters, skeeters, chewing on the leaders, at the Quartermaster's store.

Barry, I'm TG for the Owls.....the wisest of WB critters! We had 46 participants show up and had a super first weekend. Great weather except for pouring rain on Sunday morning. We knew it was coming and adjusted the schedule to get all the canvas down before it hit. I was anxious going into the first weekend. Now I'm pumped about going back for the second. You forgot to add a verse. There are owls, owls, owls, shredding paper towels, at the store, at the store. There are owls, owls, owls, shredding paper towels, at the Quartermaster's store. My eyes are dim, I can not see. I have not brought my specks with me. I HAVE NOT brought my specks with me.........

I'm still high from the first weekend of staffing Woodbadge and I have all of these scout songs buzzing thru my head. Since I don't see a bunch of folks running around in tan shirts and green shorts here at my office, I thought I'd get a virtual song going. I'll kick off the Quartermaster's Store song with the FIRST among Woodbadge critters. Feel free to add any verse with any item. There are beavers, beavers, beavers, wielding rusty cleavers, at the store, at the store. There are beavers, beavers, beavers, wielding rusty cleavers, at the Quartermaster's store. My eyes are dim, I can not see. I have not brought my specks with me. I HAVE NOT brought my specks with me.........

Someone took the outing out of Scouting? Why weren't we notified? Where is the memo? We'll need to notify our boys that they need to get with the program and cancel the new annual calendar they put together. Maybe our two crews who returned from Northern Tier in July can send their pictures and patches back.

SueM, A belated GOOD LUCK to you!!! I hope your weekend of staffing went as well as mine. We had a blast as staffers and I feel like the participants did too. We had 56 fully paid participants by the end of May. We over sold the course because of experience with cancellations at the 11th hour. It was a good thing we did, we ended up with 46 participants when the course started. We pull out the stops for our WB courses here. We do staff week with as many staffers as possible showing up either Monday night or Tuesday morning the week of the course. We mow, sweep, mop, trim trees, set up tents, etc. so the participants have a near perfect and squared away camp facility and WB experience. It is also a time for the staff to further bond before we kick off the course. I was nervous until I got the first presentation under my belt and then felt like I could finally take a breath and whip the world with one hand tied behind my back! I don't believe I've been busier or more taxed though since......I went to WB as a participant. But it has been a blast and I'm looking forward to weekend 2 on 09/29-10/01. I've got the Owl patrol and they seem to be coming along nicely. In fact, they have made my job easy as they are usually two steps ahead in planning on their own for things like their outside patrol meeting, project/presentation, campfire skit, etc. I used to be a Beaver.....the FIRST among WB critters. Now I can lay something of a claim to being an Owl....the wisest of WB critters. Then there is being a Staffer.....the craziest of WB critters. To quote my buddy Barry (EagleDad), I love this Scouting stuff!!!

E, Basically, the boys pay $1 more for a campout than the adults. The $1 is used to offset a very small part of the cost of gas for the adults driving. The adult is already spending his own money to purchase gas for his car, so it would be senseless to make him pay $1 more for gas.

SWScouter, Sputnik was the first object placed in orbit around Earth and it was done boy our hated and feared enemy the USSR. It started the space race with each country trying to be on the leading edge and beat the other to all of the "firsts" in the record book. It was viewed not only as a matter of national pride, but also national security. Technology grew by leaps and bounds during that "competition" and our society ended up reaping many rewards in the process. Many items you use today were a byproduct of the space race. What it has to do with the argument of stem cell research is obvious. Does America want to allow other countries to one up us on scientific and medical breakthroughs and have other countries drain our best scientific minds to where the action is over on their shores? Also, if the results would provide some sort of benefit such as a cure for radiation poisoning, do we want our enemies to have it rather than us. Stem cell research can be viewed as a race just like the space race that Sputnik started.

I leave Tuesday morning, 09/05 for "staff week" for our course (SR-756) beginning Friday, 09/08. We pushed hard and filled the course back in May. This will be my first staff experience (Troop Guide) on WB and I'm both excited and anxious. I used to be a Beaver, an SR-540 Beaver!

Barry, I don't know why you are surprised. Those of us who know you understand their choice! I know it is cliche, but my dad was/is my hero. He passed away about 5 years ago. I'm now 49 and with each passing year since my early 20's, I realize more and more what a great man my father was. He probably had the greatest influence of any man in my life. There are however, a handful of other men who made a difference in my life. One was a Silver Beaver who was my assistant baseball coach in 1st grade. He was also my Cubmaster a few years down the road. His family later joined my church and he was one of the "youth sponsors" when I entered the youth group. Another was the man who was my Sunday School teacher from 9th grade thru college. He moved up each year with my class. Another was my Youth Minister who came when I was in 7th grade and stayed until my Junior year of college. Another was my boss at the grocery store I worked at during high school and college. Every single one of these men had a profound impact on the man I grew into. I was reflecting on these men recently when it dawned on me that I very well could be one of those men in the life of any of the scouts in our troop. It was very sobering and humbling. Enjoy your reward Barry, you earned it.

Don't forget the Masonic Lodge.

In our troop, the adults pay the same rate as the boys for everything except for a $1 fuel surcharge per boy that was implemented this summer. Many of the summer camps we've attended offer a sliding scale of x number of free adults per x number of scouts and we take advantage of that when available. A decision has to be made as to who gets the free summer camp registration and the rest of the adults pay the adult rate for camp. The first free summer camp goes to the SM. Any additional free adults go to registered leaders who will be attending the full week.

We have 60+ scouts on our roster. We started a $1 per scout fuel surcharge for our monthly outings this summer when gas prices shot up so high. It isn't much, but it helps offset the cost to the driver some. Gas dropped a little more than 20 cents a gallon here last week. Amazing how the oil companies are not price gouging, yet the prices drop when vacations are over and school starts. Who wants to bet they shoot back up around Thanksgiving and Christmas. I saw a headline that prices could drop to around $2 per gallon later in the year. Amazing isn't it? It must be all of those new refineries that came on line or all of those people conserving.

Trev, Thanks! I think I handle my diabetes pretty well, but it still takes its toll both physically and emotionally at times. There are other diseases that are far worse than I have to deal with and I hope that stem cell research will be allowed to be just one bullet in the gun that will one day lead to cures for all of them.

While I understand the "arguments" against stem cell research, I am fully in favor of it as a type 1 diabetic. I've been diabetic for 32 years now and am beginning to experience the issues related to it. I had laser surgery on my left eye this past Friday for diabetic retinopathy. They did my right eye about 3 weeks before that. These were not my first laser surgeries. I have high blood pressure and high cholesterol which will eventually lead to heart disease. Both are under control with medication and exercise, but still.....they are causing problems, just at a slower rate than if they were unchecked. I have very little feeling in the toes on my right foot due to diabetic nueropathy....nerve damage. I'll never be able to do Philmont or other such high adventure trips with my son because the strenueous activity will constantly lower my blood sugar and make me "shocky" unless I constantly stop the crew so I can eat a snack. Brent, I consider myself conservative, but also a realist. You know there is the old joke about a liberal is just a conservative who hasn't been mugged yet. It cuts both ways. A conservative is just a liberal whose 14 year old daughter has not gotten pregnant yet. I'd give almost anything for a cure for diabetes and to be able to live a normal life. I'd love to get up in the morning and not have to check my blood sugar level then and throughout the day. I'd love to not have to juggle medicine, food and exercise each day, all day long. I'd love to not have my life expectancy shortened by about a decade. I'd love to do more than car camp. Until a cure is found, those things are extremely difficult for me to achieve. Possible? Yes. So is balancing on the top of a flagpole, but how long can you do it? Politicians who stand in the way of funding stem cell research are standing in the way of a possible cure for my disease. They won't get my vote any more than a politician who is pro-choice will get yours. Live with a life threatening disease day in and day out and your reality tends to win out over the ideology very quickly.

WA_Outdoorsman, What a welcome change!!! There are those of us who are not vertically challenged, but instead are horizontally challenged. For some reason, clothing manufacturers seem to think anyone with a waist over 38 to 40 inches is 5 foot tall and make the inseams 30 or 32 inches. At 6'2", I'm not looking for capri pants. It is tough for tall, hefty boys to find pants that don't fit them well above the ankles.

Hot dogs? From where. It wasn't in the days food draw that I recall.

JimmyD, Like I said earlier, have the President do a video. Then there is no need for the security and the disruption it brings. Getting to see a President is a big deal, but it really does have a HUGE effect on the daily conings and goings of a Jambo. You get two meals instead of three that day with nothing else to eat until breakfast the next day. Everything else shuts down. 40,000 people have to march in extremely crowded conditions. There were some activities that had to be scheduled and those activities earned rocker patches that went around your Jambo patch. The day our boys were scheduled, the President came and the activity was shut down due to everyone having to eat early and begin marching early for an evening show. Bottom line, do a video address and you don't have to worry about security, weather or disrupting the activities.

Hmmmmm, I didn't know there was any question. I thought old SM's were always taken out in the woods and put out of their misery!