Jump to content

SR751Fox

Members
  • Content Count

    25
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by SR751Fox

  1. Knight -- I don't necessarily disagree that water could replace sodas and that cracker barrels could involve some healthy alternatives. However, I think you are missing the bigger picture. People don't gain most of their weight at roundtables or campouts. Where do you draw the line? My son's troop held its annual spaghetti dinner Saturday and served Ranch dressing with the salad. They also had a dessert table. Is that OK in your book? Also, I tend to drink a lot of coffee, even though some health professionals claim it's bad for me. I'm one of the lucky ones. . . My beer gut co
  2. Hershey - I''d be interested to know how the unit has set a $400 sales -or- $100 dues rate. The unit keeps roughly 33% of the popcorn income (the other two-thirds is split between your council and the Pop Weaver folks). With $400 in sales, the Scout will have brought in about $133 to the unit -- so the powers-that-be in your unit are forgiving an additional $100 in sales if you just fork up $100. The same people are saying you must bring in about $250 income to become elgible for spring trip attendance. Seems like a slight double standard to me. I think unit fundraisers a
  3. I''ll run it by the professional (again). I appreciate your help.
  4. John - Thanks for the quick reply and link. As I read it, row-boating is within the scope. We are in a controlled area without power or sail boats and it would be at a district event (held at a BSA camp). If I read it correctly, we need some Safety Afloat people and not necessarily NCS-trained folks. Am I reading it correctly? Thanks again.
  5. What if. . . It is a Cub Scout event and the boys are in row-boats with an adult (their fathers) in a lake inlet? I''m told the BSA Lifeguard adult is required to be on the premises. I''m also told that a NCS-aquatics trained adult needs to be there. Problem is, there are only two (NCS-trained) in our council. One is away at college and the other is a new mom. Is the information I received correct? We would like to have this event, but our chances look slim. Perhaps there is someone here who might be willing to do a volunteer trade-off? Thank you for your help. I apologi
  6. Carol - I thought you were from Texas when I saw the chicken fried steak. I KNEW you were from Texas when I saw the fried okra. Mmmm! I remember living along the Jersey Shore and going to grocery stores and asking for okra. People just looked at me funny. I finally had someone FedEx some from my home state. -- And campout okra, made in a dutch oven, is almost as good as mamaw used to make. (I''m back in Texas these days, so the okra is easy to come by.) Don''t forget the peach cobbler and the BEST barbecue in the country, smoked brisket (for which none of that sweet KC sauce or musta
  7. The only foolproof way to have someone commit is to have them hand over a deposit. Let them know up front whether their deposit is refundable. We've been burned by money issues on a number of occasions. One particular (Cub Scout) had not participated in the fundraiser, nor had his parents taken advantage of any opportunity to volunteer. (As well, there was no need for financial aid.) They were the types who would show up just as dinner was being served and would "have to leave" immediately after the last patch was awarded, but prior to cleanup. So, what did we do? We called the parent pr
  8. Lisabob -- I was illustrating absurdity. I can assure you, having cleaned a stall or two myself (mean thoroughbred racers no less), that I know all about the inherent dangers of working around horses. And you are correct about the 101+ ways kids can get hurt on farms. How many times have I had to threaten my own child to stay off the tractor and not throw rocks at the spinning PTO?!? But I also know an adult who got several toes cut off by a push mower. And I've seen a black eye caused by someone stepping on a garden rake. -- My own son sliced into his finger with the same knife tha
  9. I think it goes without saying that you don't want an 11-year-old holding a hoof while the farrier does his work on the 2-year-old thoroughbred. Ultimately though, this is a parent-kid issue. It has nothing to do with the unit, district or council. As far as someone in the troop passing along possible job ideas . . . it really doesn't matter, since the parents ultimately decide.
  10. Call me 'old school' -- I'm with OGE on this one. As a young Boy Scout, my parents told me that they were not paying my way to camp and that I would have to earn it myself. Part of that was participating in the official troop fundraiser. But any additional funds came from mowing lawns. This doesn't have to be complicated. Leave the council out of it, since it's not a Scouting issue. If someone has some hay to be stacked, stalls to be cleaned or a lawn to be mowed, they should contact the boys/parents directly and let them deal with it. Take care.
  11. >>If your Quality District, in your Quality Council does not expect it's Unit Commissioners to actually visit the units they serve, then what DO they expect them to do?> BTW - I am also in a Quality Unit, a Quality District & a Quality Council.
  12. I long for the day when I'm only wearing one hat. As far as the Quality District. . . All I can say is, we continue to achieve it and the return address still says Irving, Texas. And, we haven't had any 60-boy packs fall apart overnight, so apparently our system works in that regard, and the national office approves. I agree that it would be better if everyone wore only one hat, but people aren't exactly beating down the doors to volunteer. In the case of your now-defunct pack, a unit commish wearing another hat (such as the ones in my district) could have helped. Apparently,
  13. Ea -- Okay, I'm with you on the rule. But I'm also saying that in our quality district/council unit commissioners hold other positions elsewhere. Don't we all? Take care.
  14. Ea -- I'm with you on everything except a BSA rule regarding Unit Commissioners not being unit leaders. Perhaps such a rule prevents unit leaders serving as commissioners in the same unit. But I've checked with the powers that be and no rule applies to unit leaders serving as commissioners in a different unit. Every unit commish in my district is a pack, troop or crew leader elsewhere -- including the district commish. Either way, it appears that pack's troubles was way beyond anything a unit commish could have solved. Take care.
  15. Eamonn -- I work with two Quality Units within a Quality District (several consecutive years) within a Quality Council (also several consecutive years) and it is not our practice to expect any Unit Commish to be at monthly unit committee meetings. Considering that most unit commissioners are part of their own unit, it would be impossible if not very inconvenient. One of our den leaders, for example, is also a unit commish. How reasonable would it be to expect her to conduct three den meetings, attend our pack committee meeting, pack meeting, monthly roundtable, monthly unit commissi
  16. I may well be incorrect, but I never understood regular committee meeting attendance as part of the unit commish' duties. In fact, with most unit commissioners being responsible for multiple units, it would rarely be possible. I'm curious why such a strong unit died because one person found a boyfriend and lost interest. It sounds like it wasn't very strong afterall. Where was the charter organization during all of this? There are at least a few lessons here, in my opinion. First, numbers don't make a "strong" unit. They only make a larger unit. Second, if you count on a district-l
  17. You all make very good points. As it goes, that guy was a jerk (for many reasons above and beyond that question). But I got the job and built my resume` there, before moving into a larger and more lucrative situation -- thanks to him. Additionally, since being hired by this "jerk," he became a believer of the Scouting movement and donated a lot of his time and money to our cause. Knowing him now as a friend, I know that he still asks that question. Truth is, his answer would likely be the same if someone responded "I'm an Eagle Scout sir." A useless question? Well, it depends on how
  18. There is an art to recruiting and retaining -- one that I have not come close to mastering. Here are my stories . . . and the solutions that I have employed thus far. (Please feel free to tell me where we went wrong.) I took over one of the area's oldest and largest Cub Scout packs a few years ago. It was a last-minute thing, sort of. At the time, we had roughly 60 registered boys and 10-15 registered leaders. Everything was moving along smoothly, until one of the dean leaders questioned the advancement chair over 'Leave No Trace.' Long story short: I backed the advancement chair's decisi
  19. 23 counts. . . I would guess that they (allegedly) did enough damage to warrant felony charges. I remember being in a job interview about a month after I graduated high school. I was already enrolled in college and trying to get my foot in the door in my chosen career. The owner of the business asked me "Are you honest?" I replied to him "I'm an Eagle Scout, sir." He then said "I don't give a . Are you honest?" At the time, I was in slight shock that he would question my statement. My answer to his question should have been translated: "yes. . .I'm trustworthy, loyal, helpful, etc.
  20. Wow. What a great topic! My favorite Scouting experience, for years, was the district Pinewood Derby when I was a Bear Scout. In Boy Scouts, I had many. But summer camps as a whole probably topped them. TLT was also an awesome experience. As an adult, National Camp School was the best -- until I went through Woodbadge. It's tough to say. . . Seeing my only son cross over during his Arrow of Light ceremony was very special. My Woodbadge experience, and the friends that resulted from it, was also special. I would say it's a tie between the two.
  21. >>It is apparent that I touched a nerve that I did not mean to touch, and appologize for doing so.
  22. >>Adults have learning curves too. This has been a SM for less than a year. Dealing with difficult scouts is not something that BSA training effectively addresses (my opinion - feel free to differ, if you left a weekend of training and were prepared to work with troubled boys and able to turn them around.)>This is only learned through experience, and the only way we get experience is by making mistakes.
  23. I think that the Scout was 1st Class rank, in spite of the repeated poor behavior, is an indication the Scoutmaster and/or the Board of Review were not familiar with the advancement requirements. Last time I checked, the requirement about demonstrating Scout spirit and living the Scout Oath and Law were a part of every rank advancement. Understandably, everyone has his moments. But, it sounds like the Scout in this case was deviant on a regular basis. How did he make it past a SM conference and Board of Review? Was he a good guy turned bad all-of-a-sudden? I am also concerned that a leade
  24. I'm from the East Texas Area Council -- Longview, I reckon. Thanks for the kind welcome.
  25. Good morning. I had actually stopped by looking for an answer (found through a Google search) and decided to create a user account. I recently handed over the Cubmaster patch after three years (my son crossed over) and still serve as Asst. Cubmaster. I've also served as committee member for my old troop since 2000. My son is there now, on the 1st Class Trail. I'm involved in a myriad of Scouting activities beyond this, including our district daycamp where I serve as director and the district committee, where I am marketing chair. I guess you could say that I haven't learned to say "no".
×
×
  • Create New...