SSScout

xj-boonie, welcome to the ecracker barrel. Here in Murlin, we have many Scouter.com'ers. You say you are "getting into hammocking." I see that as no problem. My problem has always been "getting out" of the hammocking .

It does sound like a useful project that will ultimately be appreciated, if successfully done. My next question is, how do you show "Leadership"? Organization? It sounds very like a one Scout operation. Are there others involved in this? And I do not mean your parents....

These inspirational articles always bring me back to the one that I think may have "started it all" . . . This is always re-quoted in what some may see as "politically correct", but I still like the original: Within My PowerBy Forest E. Witcraft (1894 - 1967), a scholar, teacher, and Boy Scout Executive and first published in the October 1950 issue of Scouting magazine.I am not a Very Important Man, as importance is commonly rated. I do not have great wealth, control a big business, or occupy a position of great honor or authority.Yet I may someday mold destiny. For it is within my power to become the most important man in the world in the life of a boy. And every boy is a potential atom bomb in human history.A humble citizen like myself might have been the Scoutmaster of a Troop in which an undersized unhappy Austrian lad by the name of Adolph might have found a joyous boyhood, full of the ideals of brotherhood, goodwill, and kindness. And the world would have been different.A humble citizen like myself might have been the organizer of a Scout Troop in which a Russian boy called Joe might have learned the lessons of democratic cooperation.These men would never have known that they had averted world tragedy, yet actually they would have been among the most important men who ever lived.All about me are boys. They are the makers of history, the builders of tomorrow. If I can have some part in guiding them up the trails of Scouting, on to the high road of noble character and constructive citizenship, I may prove to be the most important man in their lives, the most important man in my community.A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove. But the world may be different, because I was important in the life of a boy.

Well, our district already had it's Klondike Derby (50 degrees in Maryland last month)...

In suburban Maryland, a lot of Troops/Crews hike around, up/down Sugarloaf: https://www.hikingupward.com/OMH/SugarloafMountain/ and http://sugarloafmd.com/

Volunteer coordinator office.... Project/community service coordinator.... media/publicity advancement guy.... How does one Scout organize and "lead" more than himself in this effort? Posters, social media connections, newsletters, public libraries, referrals of willing John and Jane Q. Public to the various possible service organizations, connecting the Town Council into all of this and making something "Permanent" left behind (!) when you (the Scout) have moved on with your life (and your Eagle?). Volunteer Possibilities Catalog Cross reference of all the public service agencies and who to contact and what they need.... A lot of possibilities. A lot of nice possibilities. Useful, appropriate, complex... Might make building a bridge on a washed out park trail sound easy and straight forward.

""What do you call the Medical School Graduate with the lowest GPA? == Doctor""

Might start with our first Eagle Scout and trace his family? Ancestry dot com.....

I collect such memorabilia, too. Packed away in plastic, I Show it off sometimes... Any Scout Necker is appropriate . Woodbadge, Eagle, Jamboree, Troop, District, old time. "Wear it as long as thee canst". .. I sometimes do a "Necker" talk at some BoRs, I like to compare the one I wore as a Scout (big, 36" on a side, bright (faded) red, big design "ALWAYS ON THE GO" with dusty boots), how it was designed by the Scouts, talk about how the necker was treated as an emergency tool (first aid, extra rope, signal flag, etc. That's how mine got the holes and edge tears in it), and compare it to the modern Troop necker (about 24" on a side, light blue, standard BSA issue), how today's necker is more of a symbol, a ceremonial thing.... How times have changed...

I am getting into this conversation late, but because of the Mayors munificence (donations, support) would it not be appropriate to award HIM some special award ? A "sparkplug" or "Bowline" or "Cub Arch Support" award? Easy to make, fun and smiles elicited. Then , of course he could turn around and help present the other "special" awards. Why do we want celebrities and officials to write our nascent Eagles congratulatory letters?

""Eagle looks good on the college application"". So does a 4.0 average, AP classes, being a Rank Captain/Drum Major/student conductor in Band, Student Government Senator, ROTC Second Lewy, appearing in three plays, singing in the State Champion Chorus, Boy's State, winning a Merit Scholarship, the Russian Language Honor Society, Altar Boy/Acolyte, earning your Faith Award, earning 50% of your tuition, being able to write (by himself) a coherent paragraph on the student paper, design and build a computer controlled drone out of scrap materials, hiking the length of the AT one summer just because, painting the whole home house one summer because it needed it and "I thought I owed it to my parents", ... Those are just some of the things I have been told "look good on a college application". You might mention these to your college eager Scout and parent. Do any of THESE look good to him ? any have the same panache as "Eagle"? It depends on the view of whoever reads his application. What , indeed , does Eagle mean to him? This is one reason I have come to like the "project". It does tend to show what "Eagle" means to the Scout.

"As the Unit Commish, I once sat in on a PLC meeting. The SM was making suggestions for activities, trips, places to camp.... The calendar was on the table , between the SPL ( a new one) and the three Patrol Leaders. The SM kept saying, "Well, what do you think?" and the Scouts were looking at each other.... Finally, the SPL looked at the SM and said, " You mean I can make that decision?" The SM nodded vigorously and said, "DUHHHH ?? " . After that, the four Scouts had fun figuring out the monthly themes and camping weekends and writing it down on the calendar.

International games ?: Look for Ga-Ga Ball. Invented by an Israeli-American camp in New England. Played at the Jamboree, and our home Troop indoors, with tables turned on their sides to form the play area. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ga-ga look here for more Scout type games: http://www.sendacow.org.uk/lessonsfromafrica/resources/african-childrens-games Remember "Steal the Bacon" ? Here is "Steal the Bacon, Low Fat" : https://www.dropbox.com/s/7780ukvye5ups6p/GamesStealtheBaconLowFat.docx?dl=0 And some of my favorites, "Morley Games", especially Frazleerham. These are designed for action and to be hard to lose at. Cooperation is key... https://issuu.com/ssfs_comm_news/docs/morley_games See you on the trail.

Yep. Scout is three fifths "out". ALWAYS try and have your Cubs outside in the "wild". The sit-down, let's listen type of meeting is necessary sometimes, but God help us, not everytime....

The COR is what they choose to be. They can be a paper official, or take an active role, be there to help make decisions. "Offishully" , the COR and IH decide and approve who is and who is not the Unit Leaders. It is their signature on the appointments and applications, yes? When Chicago Council set about disassembling their camps, it was the volunteers that got the Council Voting Members (the CORs) together and embarrassed the Chicago Council leaders AND National, who thought they had a slam dunk in selling off all the camps. Owasippee is still there, thanks to the CORs who got together and voted their votes, finally, and made the stink and reminded the County Boards who should be in charge. Lots of discussion on Scouter.com about it. AND https://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/threads/owasippe-scout-property-in-jeopardy.90741/

Come on, gang, this is all about "market share" and "loyalty " and "faith". Scouting started up and went world wide because there was a previously unacknowledged desire for child friendly adventure. And Belonging. And the Practice of Adulthood Before you got there... Every kid, Boy or Girl, wants to be part of a "Gang". That can be Scouts, the football team, the marching band, a MYF group or MS13. We favor Scouts because we know how it helped us along, and see the benefit of learning the ideals of the Scout Law and Promise earlier rather than later in your adult life. Frederick Douglas said it best, "It is easier to build strong children rather than try and repair broken men." The GSUSA and Girl Guides have always been (bless'em) dedicated to the females of our species. It is demonstrably sad that they have fallen away from their historically adventurous program. If the BSA has always been dedicated to the adventurous type of the training (see the Douglas quote above) and the GSUSA has tended toward the more "traditional" female type things, THAT is why we are now facing the change we see. The Market Share is now being defined by girls that want the adventure part of that training that the GSUSA has recently come to organizationally deny. Can you blame them? If the BSA can provide (female separate Troops/Patrols/Dens) but the same design and intention of an adventurous, safe danger, allowed to lead, type of program, then we will all benefit thereby. "A Game With A Purpose" indeed.

A New Merit Badge? Howzabout resuscitating some old ones? Rabbit Raising, Blacksmithing, Carpentry, Stegasaurus Husbandry....

More and more often, our committees are (by email) listing things that need to be done, folks pick out some task, email back taking charge of it, then emailing back when it was done. I hope that is not what we're talking about here. Then too, I advise against "Death by Powerpoint" at RoundTable.... ** "I hope you won't mind a short announcement" (from the back of the room, in unison "NO , WE DON"T MIND A SHORT announcement") .We have a signal when the overly detailed announcement is overtime... Someone will start edging onto the stage and slllloooowwwwwly edge the speaker off the stage....

Simple. One CO , one COR. Check and see what your Unit signed on with. THAT is your CO. Three units with one CO (my home Pack/Troop/Crew), one CO. Yes, we had to correct that misperception some years back (Pack registered with a Different CO than the Troop and Crew. Council never questioned it), it was easy. Now, however, the present COR (fine, interested in Scouting man), is over 80, in declining health, and wants to resign. The Pastor of the church (the fabled "IH"), is having a problem finding a church member who is Scout Positive and will serve....

A very worthy sounding project. 1) Always good to fill in the form anyway. Helps to define/document where the support comes from. Never a bad thing. 2) If the Beneficiary is truly doing the fund raising/collecting donations/handling all moneys and the Eagle candidate is only passing on the donations he receives, sounds hunky dory to me. Scoutson's project was renovating a barn at the County Fair. All materials were provided by the Fair. He directed folks who wanted to donate to write their checks to "The County Fair". 3) I second the above concern to be sensitive to the religious scruples of your recipients. Label contents. 4) Is this a "one shot" effort, or will there be an ongoing effort ? Is this only a single collection for a larger, established charity? Just curious. Always good to establish a "permanent" affective project. 5) I hope that when questions arise, all the adults involved know to say "ask him" and point to you ! ** Good work, Mattosaurus... See you on the trail.

""And there were a couple of parent comments about being glad to see this opportunity for their girls as their sons had participated in similar programs. "" ""SIMILAR PROGRAMS"" Wellllll, sometimes we learn from the Loyal Opposition....

Virtual Campfire . . . What would B - P say about this? No dancing flames to gaze into.... No warm radiance to utilize ... What to do with the "Campfire Ash Tradition"?

Mucho congrats !

FINALLY, discussion begins. Thank you Latin Scout... Altho as some of you may note, I have penned the occasional song parody, but this wasn't really meant to be sung.... Like Will Rogers said once, "all I know is what I read in the papers." Wellll, now we have internet to read, along with my Roundtable and oldtimers (older than me, even) to hear from.... and so we progress, (tongue firmly in cheek). So what has (in some peoples minds) doomed Scouting? Anything to add to the list? Did I get it all right? Anything missing we have to contradict?

Always liked REM... Okay, so it's the end of the (Scouting) world as we know it. Exactly why has Scouting (as we know it) gone down hill of late? Has it gone down hill? In no particular order, here's what I've heard.... Let's make a list. 1) PTB began catering to the urban family in the 70's. 2) Loss of "traditional" outdoor, rough and rugged activities in favor of electronics/indoor/STEM/ 3) Society views Scouting as old time, not socially relevant. 4) Loss of "Patrol Method"/Boy Centered in favor of "Adult Led". 5) Requirements for ranks and Merit Badges have gotten easier (Parlor Eagles?) 6) Society has changed (Allow any healthy human to join?) 7) Game with a purpose? Games are not socially progressive enough. 8) Old style patriotism versus real patriotism? 9) Religion versus faith versus .... what need for religion? 10) Competition for our youth's attention is greater than in years past. What gang is a kid to join? Scouts? MS13? Minecraft? 4H? Soccer? Grand Theft Auto? Football? 11) Who wants to wear that dorky uniform? Band? Football? ROTC? 12) Oh Hum.... Is some folks concern for "Numbers" and "Money" totals really not the issue we should be concerned with? Quality versus quantity? What's my commission for organizing a RoundTable?