Trevorum

"Inconceivable!"

LL, Welcome to the forums! You're going to have a blast in Scouting!

Eagles are always welcome! Glad to have you join us. We hope you'll contribute your experience, knowledge, and lore.

Even paranoids have real enemies...

adc294, I can't speak for OGE (other than commend him as a fine fellow and good Scouter), but many of us here on the forums don't find the profiles particularly useful. I used to have one, but later decided that I would rather have folks interact with me on the basis of my posts rather than my rows of square knots.

For years our troop had custom ballcaps. Tan with our troop logo. We'd give them to the Webelos as they crossed over, and boy did they wear them proudly! For a year, max. After then, we noticed that most fellows would not wear a hat at all (to meetings and similar events) or would wear their own broad brimmed hat (on campouts). Most of the scoutmasters wear broad brims (a necessity in a Texas summer!). We discussed this and suggested that the PLC talk about it. Last year they voted to discontinue the traditional troop ball caps. We now have no official troop headgear.

In these parts, we have an annual "Report to the State of Texas" parade in early February. Hundreds of units from all across the state come and participate. It's great! Most of the cub packs seem to ride on floats (flatbed trailers) decorated with some colorful theme. A lot of the Webelos ride their own go-carts (again, pulled behind a pickup). I'd estimate that only about 25-30% of the units march on foot. Some of the troops are in close order, dress right, but this discipline seems to be too much to expect of cubs. Some packs on foot have a theme but most are a lively mob. We've also been told not to thow candy. The crowd loves it but Council is probably afraid of lawsuits.

Gern is correct. There is NO NATONAL POLICY that requires an Eagle candidate to obtain a letter of reference (or even to merely list such a reference) from a religious leader. Some council advancement people may institute their own additional requirements, but this is in error and would be reversed upon appeal to National. The Eagle application SUGGESTS such a reference (to assist in verifying the character of the candidate) but does not require one. ASM915 states "It's nice to think we can go and convert the whole world to Christianity ... ". Right. Well, I for one don't think that would be nice at all.

Our OA election is scheduled in 2 weeks. Next week we have two patrols of brand new AoL fellows just starting with the troop. As I understand the rules, a troop must have a quorum of at least 50% of its registered scouts present in order to hold a valid OA election. Does this include the newly crossed over fellows? And if we count them in the quorum, do they get to vote, even though they don't yet know any of the fellows on the ballot?

Always bears repeating... "BSA does not define what constitutes belief in God or the practice of religion." More to the point, Not all gods demand to be worshipped. Not all gods are associated with the concept of "damnation" Not all gods are judgmental. Not all gods deal in favors and blessings.

Howdy Back atcha, Fox! Always nice to have another fellow Texan. What part of the Lone Star State do y'all hail from?

In addition to the positions mentioned above, I believe unit scouters may also register as MB counselors.

Novice, That sounds like a question I would ask!

Here's an update on the numbers of units served by various government organizations. The numbers following each organization are the total traditional units (packs, troops, crews) sponsored in December 2004 and the total units that were sponsored in December 2006. Air Force: 71; 1 Army: 96; 1 Coast Guard: 12; 0 Marines: 39; 0 National Guard: 46; 0 Navy: 44; 0 Governmental bodies: 304; 7 HUD housing authorities: 760; 15 Public schools: 6,682; 64 It looks like almost 99% of these 8,054 units that were sponsored by governmental agencies two years ago have been rechartered. The slack has apparently been taken up by a variety of private organizations, including the following (among many others): Non-profit agencies:189; 479 (+290) Athletic Booster Clubs: 46; 350 (+304) Private schools: 2,561; 3,000 (+439) Other community organizations: 1,922; 2,468 (+546) PTAs: 1,621; 2,275 (+653) Parent groups: 4,165; 5,223 (+1,058) Groups of citizens: 3,706; 4,885 (+1,179) fyi

Philmont is still accepting applications for the Relationships Conferences to be held July 29-August 4, 2007. There are 7 different conferences that week: - Scouting in the Catholic Church - Religious Emblems for Youth and Adults - United Methodist Scouters Workshop - Scouting in the Churches Ministry - Membership/Relationships - Scouting Serves the Jewish Community - Scouting for the Home School Participant cost is $405. Spouses and family are also welcome. Interested Scouters should contact ther local district executive. fyi.

Many of you may be familiar with the Duty to God promotion patch that is available through PRAY publishing. There are four diamond-shaped segments that can be earned. Originally, each segment was to be available in successive years. Due to a poor response during the current year, that has now changed. The original 2005-2006 segment (showing the kneeling scout) will be available each year along with three annual segments for 06-07, 07-08, and 08-09. fyi.

I agree with FScouters comments about single adults. In thinking about our own unit of 50+ families, I am struck how our sample is NOT representative of my non-scouting friends. Among the non-Scouting families I know (work, neighbors), I would guess that at least 50% are blended, re-mixed, etc. In contrast, most of the Scouting families I know are stable and have never been through divorce or a family break-up. I'm not sure why that is. Perhaps the adults who tend to have scouting values already - and thus are receptive to recruiting efforts when their children become of age - tend to stay in stable relationships.

In my mind, a lot depends on which patrol model your troop uses - age cohort or mixed age patrols. I say this because it is more important to integrate the new guys into their patrol than the troop as a whole. Regardless, your SPL should identify a key scout to makes the fellows welcome. This can be a troop guide or another fellow, but their only job that night would be to shepherd the new guys that evening, get to know them, introduce them around, make sure none become wallflowers, shadow them, be their buddy. It's essential that this scout WANT the job and be the extra friendy and outgoing type. Depending on the evening's schedule, after the campfire it might be fun to do some fun introduction activities/games in which everyone can participate on a level basis, regardless of age or skill. Some of the COPE first night activities come to mind. (If you haven't done COPE, talk to one of your Council's facilitators - I'm sure they'll give you some ideas.)

It's a darned shame that neckerchiefs have gone out of fashion. If ever there was functional element of the Scout uniform, it's the neckerchief, modeled on the cowboy bandanna. Here in Texas, I wear a bandanna outside in the summer as a practical element of everyday wear. Shades the neck and, moistened, keeps you nicely cool. (Did I mention how practical a broad-brimmed hat is?)

These days, the kids probably think it's a piece of software - Spiri 2.20

Me, I miss the high mass. Latin. Incense. Now that was church!

Hi Robert, I'm sure you'll be able to achieve your goal if you were to offer to trade your Buckeye CSP for theirs. Even so, you don't say when your anniversary is, but I suspect that it may take several months of serious trading to obtain one patch from each of the 50 states. You may want to join Patch-L. Lots of enthusiastic (some say "insane") patch collectors on that list. Good luck! see http://www.gilwell.com/patchl/

Yes, scheduling training is often a Rocky Road. I find that Sundaes are usually best, unless someone has to Split.

Last year we stipulated that scouts participating in our Philmont trek must attend COPE. That was a smart move. The COPE weekend is an intensive team building experience and we believe it allowed our fellows to be that much stronger as a crew. I highly recommend that preparations for any high adventure activity include COPE.

Gonzo, you are mistaken. Scouting for All is an advocacy organization only. It does not sponsor or charter individual units. "The group seeks to influence the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) to serve and include as participating members all youth and adult leaders, regardless of their spiritual belief, gender or sexual orientation." Tone of voice does not translate well in these forums, but I am sure you did not intend discourtesy in your phrasing, "gay-loving". It could be taken that way though.