Troop24

Quote from the place the BadWolf mentioned earlier came to $100 for initial cost to create the stamp the first time.  Then the first 50-99 medalions were $4 a piece.  After 100 they drop in price to $3 a piece.

It is so sad that everything must be about making money for the council.  Even at $4.00 a piece with a retail price of $5.00 there is a marginal profit but free advertising among the old farts that Bad Wolf mention.  Aren't they mostly the ones guiding the Scouts in the selection of camp venues?

That's too bad. Sounds like you council needs a better marketing person. I would think they would be interested in some type of marketing. Coins or medallions might be too high cost for them. T-shirts and hats are lower cost and easier to sell/promote, higher margins too. Everyone likes T's, the hiking stick medallion market is likely an over-40 old-fart thing.

 I guess I resemble the over-40 old fart thing!

Thanks, Bad Wolf.  I guess I will try to look deeper into this.  But it seems that everyone at Council is against the idea of advertising our relatively new camp property.  They are so strongly concerned about recouping costs quickly that they will not commit to making any merchandise.  While we are not any where near the level of Camp Rainey Mountian, that council knows they have a product and they are actively selling it.

I have been talking about walking stick medallions at every district meeting and other gatherings that I attend in my council.  I am consistently hit with "but do you have any idea how much costs to create a medalion or how long it would take to recoup the investment?"  I do not know the answers to those questions of course and Internet only research has not given me any help.  I have not contacted a vendor to see about the set-up because I am not in position to design or create a medallion.  Does anyone know the costs involved. Bad Wolf you created a coin?  I would imagine it is more expensive.

Mine is a catholic unit.

 

Keep in mind, this linked web site looks to be just one guy spitballing a proposal.  It's not anything official from the church.

I went to http://catholicscouts.org/and while I understand Joe Gillespie is spitballing and attempting to start a grassroots movement, I think some of his thinking is flawed.  He pointed out a large drop in Catholic membership in the BSA from 2003 through 2013.  This does not reflect any change in membership since the youth decision.  It also does not appear to reflect the overall drop in Catholicism throughout the U. S. over the same period. 

As a Catholic I do not oppose the creation of a youth program but why copy scouting.  Create your own!  But I must echo perdidochas and say that there are not enough Catholics in the southeast to support a catholic scouts organization. 

From www,vfw.org: [h=2]Flag Disposal:[/h] 1. The flag should be folded in its customary manner.

2. It is important that the fire be fairly large and of sufficient intensity to ensure complete burning of the flag.

3. Place the flag on the fire.

4. The individual(s) can come to attention, salute the flag, recite the Pledge of Allegiance and have a brief period of silent reflection.

5. After the flag is completely consumed, the fire should then be safely extinguished and the ashes buried.

6. Please make sure you are conforming to local/state fire codes or ordinances.

While I have never seen this inaction it certainly makes more sense than placing strips of cloth in the fire.

From http://www.legion.org/flag/ceremony

Commander: “Hand salute.â€Â

(Color Guards present arms. Post Standard is dipped. All officers and members except those on the Flag detail salute. Members of the Flag detail dip the condemned Flags in kerosene and place them on a rack over the fire).

(Bugler sounds “To the Colors.â€Â)

Commander: (at conclusion of “To the Colorsâ€Â) “Two.â€Â

(The Color Guard shall resume its station and detail is dismissed.)

(Color Guard advances down center and places Colors. Members of the detail resume their places among the members.)

In our neck of the woods Wood Badge quite often takes on the appearance of a cult. WBers wear all means of regalia from the CSP, the beads and necker with woggle, and the WB circle around the World Crest. Their walking sticks are festooned with their former patrol identification and even statues at the door of their tents. Every conversation is rooted in WB. It has been enough to convince me it is not an activity I wish to participate in.

Take the course and learn the lessons. Bring the new knowledge back to your unit and allow your example be the indicator of why others should take the training. If it is truly for the boys then leave all your paraphernalia behind and simply share the wealth.

KDD, I am a recent "convert" to Troop Track. I like the fact that it handles event and other emailing tasks and that scouts and parents can view troop information. However, as a long time Troopmaster user there are aspects I do not like: report formatting, the board of review report is terrible, lack of automatic merit badge alignment with ranks, among other things. The creators are diligently working toward user suggested improvements. So we are currently using both programs (just renewed TM for another three years!). This means that I am making duplicate entries but we are a small troop and the level of work is acceptable.

We used Right Response to sell first aid kits. We have a very small troop and we did alright with them. We did a brochure sale and they offer other sales options too.

I noticed that, too, KDD.

Nothing is returned if you Google Ann Curry broken leg. I agree with Skeptic and wonder if this not a hoax, too.

Would really like the ability to return to the last page I was visiting by using the back arrow.

I earned skill awards as a scout, too. I think the idea was a very good idea especially as an introduction to the required merit badges of the day.

Here is the way our District Advancement Chair sees the issue:

Here's the official position:

Starting Jan. 1, 2014, Cooking Merit Badge to Be Required for Eagle.

Effective Jan. 1, 2014, the Cooking merit badge will be required to obtain the Eagle Scout rank. Regardless of when a Scout earned the Life rank or began working toward Eagle, unless he fulfills all the rank requirementsâ€â€with the exception of his board of reviewâ€â€before Jan. 1, 2014, he must earn the Cooking merit badge to become an Eagle Scout.

As I interpret this then, if the Eagle rank was earned prior to 1/1/14, they've earned Eagle. Period. They do not need to then fulfill some requirement that was added afterwards.

If they've earned the Cooking MB already, all good.

If not, the requirements might change a little (although I have not seen it on the list to be revised) for those currently working on it, however, once a scout begins work on an MB, they can continue using the same requirements as when they started for that badge until its completion.

I think there are enough political ads bombarding me on the TV so I am relieved to use Firefox as my browser with AdBlockPlus. No ads for anything interrupts my browsing pleasure!

Eagle 732 why not place the names of First Class Scouts on the trailer and place them on again if/when they attain Eagle Scout. BP was a proponent of First Class, right? This could act as a right of passage.

You could ask the parents if anyone owns a Cricut or some similar vinyl cutting machine to cut the lettering for you. The would not be able to create a large BSA emblem, but could make a good size letter.

Tying the square knot: left over right then right over left produces the same quality knot as tying it right over left then left over right. The difference is that the loop on top changes sides. I dont know if there is a proper side for the loops to be on, though. I do know that on my few adult knots I have been informed the knot on the right side should be on top. But who knows what that symbolizes.

My real concern though is the idea that you are reviewing your new scouts to ensure they are ready for a board of review. The board should never be a re-test of knowledge. Once the achievement has been signed off it has been earned. You even stated in another thread:

Are they already signed off on AoL by the former DL?

If so, go ahead and give it to them like Eamonn said. It's not really your place to back track at this point.

Same concept applies here. Once the person authorized by the Scoutmaster to sign off on achievements is satisfied the Scout has learned the requirement and is proficient then they initial the Scout's book. The board of review is a tool to ensure the program is meeting its goals but not through retesting. National policy as shown in Advancement Committee Policies & Procedures (#33088, pages 28-30) says a board of review is:

"A periodic review of the progress of a Scout is vital in the evaluation of the effectiveness of the Scouting program in the unit. The unit committee can judge how well the Scout being reviewed is benefiting from the program. The unit leader can measure the effectiveness of his or her leadership. The Scout can sense that he is, or is not, advancing properly and can be encouraged to make the most of his Scouting experience.

Not only is it important to review those Scouts who have learned and been tested for a rank, but also to review those Scouts who have shown no progress in their advancement over the past few months.

The review is not an examination; the board does not retest the candidate. Rather, the board should attempt to determine the Scout's attitude and his acceptance of Scouting ideals. The board should make sure that good standards have been met in all phases of the Scout's life. A discussion of the Scout Oath and Scout Law is in keeping with the purpose of the review, to make sure that the candidate recognizes and understands the value of Scouting in his home, unit, school, and community."

Ads, ads, I don't see no stinkin' ads! I browse this site using Firefox and Ad Blocker Plus so I was blissfully unaware of the "bad ideas" until this thread appeared. I don't think I would be too pleased if my scouts wore some of those shirts. Then again it would give us an opportunity to discuss choices.

mtroylet23,

welcome to the forums. Here is a link to a site that does a pretty good job of describing what a Hornaday project is about: http://www.conservationbsa.com/ It has not been updated since April 2010 but I think the information is still valid.

Good luck.

Thanks for the reference points and the helpful suggestions. We are in fact planing a meeting night or two to the completion of the merit badge and not putting all our eggs in one basket.

I have searched the forums and I did not find what I was looking for. That said, I am sorry if I missed a previous thread, but here goes. I am interested in supporting a request by my PLC to conduct an Archery Merit Badge session at a troop weekend camping event. I have a skilled and qualified Archery instructor (BSA certified as an Archery range master). My question is can this type of activity be done at a troop camp-out or must it be undertaken at a BSA camp?

EA calls it a responsibility shift on th e part of the Federal government to pass the tax burden down to the state and local level, which I agree with. Lisabob said "don't even start on corporate taxes" but they too pass the tax burden on to others while they enjoy their corporate gains. In CY 2010 GE filed 7,00 tax returns and paid $0.00 in taxes (granted they lost $448 million in the US in 2009, but they profited internationally at the rate of $10.8 billion and they added back a tax benefit of $1.1 billion to its profit statement.) http://xrl.in/8r90 Not too be outdone for CY 2010 GE reported a worldwide profit of $14.2 billion ($3.2 billion in the US) and they paid $0.00 in U. S. taxes and even claimed a $3.2 billion tax benefit. http://xrl.in/8r93 (I used a CNN link and a Fox link does that make it fair and balanced?)

Yet what about the people they employ were they all able to claim a positive tax benefit? I simply seek fairness and the elimination of those loopholes that make it possible for major corporations to pay no taxes (or worse yet claim an benefit) while the working man is paying the burden.

I have posted links in the past in a thread or two. I have found that it is easier to add the link if you first use a URL shortening tool like TinyURL orsomething else (just as a tidbit BitLY is a server/process based in Lybia, hence the Ly) The one I have used most frequently escapes me right now because I am not at home on a Firefox browser, but it is based in India and is a Firefox add-on. It just seems to me that too many URL's are simply too long to post in a thread.

Interestingly in my troop several of the boys find the OA to simply be a clique of self-important scouts and they feel no interest in joining the club. Maybe it is just in our council that this occurs, but the same is felt of Woodbadge folks, too (just a big clique, that is).

While we have not yet sold any cards in a group setting, we have sold popcorn that way and have credited the boys based on the total sales and time attended as UCEagle stated. We have been thinking about holding a group camp-card sale. The idea we are kicking around for that is to provide a certain number of cards per scout, if and when he sells those, he can get more. That way each scout would get the credit for the amount they sold.