Trevorum

Our troop has been charged with planning, organizing, and running the fall Webelos Woods camporee. We're having a lot of fun with it and we expect it to be a success. In our district, the individual troops always seem to rotate responsibility for the spring Camporee and fall Webelos Woods. This seems to work well enough, but I am wondering how these types of events are handled in other districts? These are ~500 person events with $4,000 budgets. The OA chapter would seem to be an ideal choice to run these events. Or, I would think that is what the district committee would be for. Who orgnizes these events in your district?

Many tailor/alteration shops will sew on patchs for a small fee. Or maybe a neighbor has this skill in exchange for you watching the toddlers for an evening. If you want to do it yourself, I suggest first positioning each patch with several safety pins so it won't shift. Take your time and be careful of that needle!

Our troop is hosting the district's Webelos Woods in a couple of weeks. We've asked each troop to select a scout skill to demonstrate to the webelos. During the day, each den will rotate through about a half dozen such skill demos. We're not calling them events. They will be stuff that Cubs don't get to do like water purification (pumps, tablets, boiling, etc), alternative cooking (solar, hot rock, etc), backwoods first aid (splints, stretchers, etc.) Importantly, the cubs will have a chance to actually DO some of this stuff. We hope these skills will be cool and adventurous enough to whet the appetite of the propspective recruits.

"... to be the best kind of citizen one should not eat pork." Where I come from, serving pork barbecue is a hanging offense ...

Dan, The last time the religious left wore their religion "on their sleeve", we were thrown into concentration camps.

It depends on what questions you ask. According to an August 3, 2006 survey by the Pew Research Center, "... a clear majority (56%) continues to oppose allowing gays and lesbians to marry while 35% express support. But nearly as large a majority (54%) supports allowing homosexual couples to enter into legal agreements that would give them many of the same rights as married couples. " see http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=283 I'd call that nearly evenly split "on the gay rights issue".

tom, There are many Scouters who agree with your thinking. And then there are many of us who don't. Welcome to the forums!

Brent, you are right of course. I was taking a shortcut in rhetoric which I should have realized would be spotted by all you eagle-eyed Georgians! Didn't mean to get your Georgia hackles up. You see my point though about the battle flag. And you are also right about the swastika being an ancient Hindu symbol. It was also a symbol among many Native American groups, which is why I suspect it was adopted by the early BSA. Perhaps it was inherited from Seton's Woodcraft Indians. I'm not sure; perhaps Kudu knows.

Hello Hops, I think it's possible that you may have misunderstood my post about symbols. If you go back and re-read what I said, you'll find that I did not suggest that all symbols are bad or should be changed. What I tried to say was that the meaning of some symbols changes over time. Old Glory is clearly a symbol that strongly retains it's meaning and suggesting that it be scrapped is a ludicrous straw-man. (By contrast, the symbolic meaning of the Stars and Bars has substantially changed over time to the point where a majority of voters believe it is inappropriate as a state flag.) Now, don't jump to conclusions and infer that I am suggesting that any specific BSA symbolism is outdated. However, I think that Brian brings up a good issue. His point about "outdated icons" - as far as I understand it - is that the way BP packaged the aims of Scouting was more relevant to the boys of a century ago than the way BSA packages those Aims today.

Our unit does the annual popcorn gig, but not because it raises a lot of money for us. We do it because we have pre-conditioned customers who WANT popcorn and EXPECT popcorn from our scouts. For some, it's an easy sell. We make the popcorn available to any scout who wants to sell but we don't push it as a fundraiser. And, we're happy to share proceeds with council. The popcorn is always a nice supplement to our big annual fundraiser which, as in packsaddles' unit, is offered at a reasonable price, is better than anything else on the market, and because we keep 100% of our fundraising.

I think Beavah nailed it.

I think Brian has a point. A couple of them, actually. Let's not shoot a messenger here. I believe he is a good Scouter who sincerely wants to stir some lively debate. His thoughts about "outdated icons" holds a lot of merit, in my opinion. Symbols are powerful - for good or ill. Moreover, the meanings of symbols in a society changes over time. (The obvious example is the swastika, which was commonly used in BSA before 1934). Scouting in the USA carries a lot of symbol baggage and what worked in the 1950s or 1970s might not necessarily be effective today. The world is faster and more complex than a century ago when BP was creating Scouting. In my opinion, BSA has lagged behind in making Scouting relevant. The values may be timeless, but the delivery vector could use some work. Take the uniform. Many posters on these forums have lamented the geekiness of the current uniform. In my limited experience, the uniform very definitely does work against recruiting and retention, both. If we are to be known as an outdoors oriented movement that offers adventure, perhaps a more outdoors/functional uniform would help. (And thank you, Irving, for the new zip-offs!). Anyone remember Nixon's "palace guard" uniforms? The men inside the daffy uniforms were still the same, but their image suffered terribly until Nixon got the message and dropped all the frou-frou. Let's remember that our aim is to develop character, personal fitness, and citizenship in young men. Everything else is secondary.

Avast, me hearties! Be mindful that Tuesday next be national Talk Like a Pirate Day! All the young swabbies in blue and khaki garb are knowin' this be a fine game! So remember to Talk like a Pirate, lest ye risk a watery trip to Davy Jones' locker! Arrr!

I agree with Scoutnut. Popcorn isn't a zero-sum game. Offering customers a variety is key to maximizing sales

A very good Scouter friend of mine is undertaking a bike ride to raise money for AIDS research. see http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=140284&chkEm=1 The article doesn't mention it, but Mike is a lifelong Scouter. He's an Eagle, a Silver Beaver, a Silver Antelope, an active member of the National Religious Relationships Committee, and he has never withheld his energies or resources from supporting BSA. Mike doesn't know it, but I am encouraging my fellow Scouters to support his fundraising effort. To sponsor him, please visit www.harbortothebay.org (a secure site) and follow the menus to pledge a donation for Rider No. 27. Thank you! -trevorum

I like the new spiral binding. Makes it more convenient On my son's 2nd or 3rd campout, he left his handbook outside his tent. Of course it rained that night. He salvaged the several sign-off pages, dried them out, and taped the tattered remnants into a new book. And he learned a lesson about responsibility (and about Texas weather).

BSA "... will soon begin the process of developing the twelfth edition of the Boy Scout Handbook and would like to give you the opportunity to share your suggestions for the new edition... " See http://www.scouting.org/boyscouts/survey/index.html

Alas, the Masonry merit badge is no more. Several years ago my son was helping me lay a rock wall and he asked me about it. We looked it up and it had been discontinued in 1998. Lack of interest I suppose

Thanks OGE. There are some good elements in there.

Rather than reinventing the wheel, does anyone have ideas for a new SM investiture ceremony?

I gotta say, this one has me mystified. I know there must be folks out there who are passionate about resins and such, but it seems sorta boutique to me. Anyone know anything about composites and want to set me straight?

Thanks, Fred, I'll pass this along to our Scouts. Bird Study used to be Eagle required. Go figure.

Pack, excellent questions and thoughts. In my mind, you answered your own question by observing, "... within the global system, economic success will come to the most deserving..." In the long run, what difference does it make if other countries, hungrier than we, overtake us in science and technology? No nation has ever enjoyed dominance in perpetuity. All nations decline and perhaps this is an indicator that the 21st century and beyond will be controlled by others, just as the 20th was controlled by the USA, the 19th by Great Britain, the 18th by France, the 17th by Holland, the 16th by Spain, the 15th by Italy, etc... (pls excuse my historical glossing). Who knows, perhaps the 22nd century will be controlled by Luna. Do not fret about the waning of American ingenuity and scholarship. Look outside your neighborhood. Think globally.

Arrrr, matey. Thar be some fine Scoutin'!

"gravely evil ..." - Vatican "Is there any other kind?" - Col. Jessup (wow - this is the second time today I get to quote Col. Jessup! )