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BluejacketScouter

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Everything posted by BluejacketScouter

  1. Some of ya'll need to cool down and quit tilting at windmills that aren't flippin' there. This is a Pack that gets a lot of direct commissioner service, and cheerfully: I've driven 30 miles out of my way to unlock the church for their den meetings when the Cubmaster was out of town. Helped them create advancement reports. Loaned them equipment. Can we borrow a flag to practice folding? Sure, I've got one just for that. Been invited to teach knots to the Webelos. Can you get us a barrel to collect canned food? Yep. And so on. Two months ago my son, 6-year-old daughter and I were
  2. Imagine you're an elementary school teacher who's a Cubmaster. Imagine you're an elementary school teacher who's a Cubmaster that lives in school district A and your Pack is in school district A, but you work in district B and your children attend district B. Imagine I'm a District Commissioner and my wife works in district A and my children attend district A. And the Recruiting / Membership Chair calls me and says, "Your wife works in A, do you know when they're doing their 'Back to School night?'" And I pass along that information; and also the names from your Pack of adults
  3. Thanks Papadaddy, we do the same weekly email blast in our Council. The tough part is getting the parents to opt-in. I've done data-mining for email addresses and contact info directly from unit rosters, and the percentage of parents who actually submit real email addresses seems pretty poor. But, there's no reason why I can't look over the list again. Additionally there is a monthly newsletter that goes out to the mailing addresses of registered youth. I've heard there was a study that showed people had to see the information in front of their eyes 7 times before becoming aware o
  4. This question is for Commissioners although others will ring in. I am at odds with a Cubmaster. We had a civil relationship until recently. There are no throwing chairs and such, but lately there have been a few arrows coming my way. My children attend school in the Pack's area, my wife works there also. So I do know many of the families and talk to them. There are Council and District events the Pack does not participate in. Recently I was talking to a few parents while at school and discovered the families are not being told of events. Therefore, they are not getting getting
  5. I was wondering, if anyone has seen empirical or anecdotal data regarding Wood Badge completion rates for the application phase? 90% completion rate, 75%...less? Just curious.
  6. I think what you're asking is, "is there a single list of all the training courses?" http://www.scouting.org/filestore/training/pdf/What_makes_a_trained_leader.pdf http://www.scouting.org/filestore/training/pdf/TrainingCoursesReport2011.pdf http://www.scouting.org/Training/Adult/Supplemental.aspx Currently, training completed beyond the basic requirement by position is considered supplemental. 2006 Requirement - Participate in a supplemental training course at either the council or national level. 2012 Requirement - Participate in at least one additional supplemen
  7. Your local scout shop should have a whole bin of generic award patches that'll fit that situation.
  8. Chuck Norris likes to come home from a hard day at work and slip on a pair of bunny slippers - made from real, live bunnies.
  9. Base... just tongue-in-cheek on those application form questions. Scoutfish...nothing wrong, in principle, with paying for as much as you can with the popcorn fundraising. But when you take it to the extreme that any boy can join the unit for free, and participate all year in unit events for free? There's no investment therefore no obligation from the youth or the family. Obviously there are some families, where the opportunity to participate is a good thing and those families should be assisted. But to make it blanket across the whole unit...trouble. New Year's Day, you join
  10. "Is your unit on the budget plan?" - Yes "How much are dues?" - Enough to cover advancement and awards "How much is in your unit treasury?" - Enough to cover next recharter Sorry, couldn't help it This is just my opinion from applications that I have submitted - the Council wants to know that you're planning your program far enough in advance to be prepared for program expenses. A Scout is Thrifty, and Scouts should pay their own way. I know units who do their annual popcorn sale, then use the proceeds throughout the rest of the year to pay for EVERYTHING - recharter, hand
  11. One project I had seen was, going door-to-door collecting expired prescription medication for proper disposal. That project had something to do with a recently-published (at the time) water quality report.
  12. My Eagle project was nearly 30 years ago and I'm drawing a blank on a lot of the details, but not the sweat and labor involved. The Troop was (still is) chartered in a small village with two stop lights, about 20 stop signs, 3 railway crossings (the same trunk line crossed by 3 different streets), and a downtown main drag with the usual stores and street parking. I painted all the pavement street markers...by hand. School zone, stop markers, street parking, RR crossings, you name it. The village donated the white reflective paint. I recall I built some sort of template with two boards spa
  13. Another point, position-specific training does not transfer! So if you had a trained Den Leader who switched registration to Cubmaster this year, he is no longer considered trained. Same for changing registrations from ASM to Troop Committee, etc etc.
  14. You're right, I'm moving forward from the standpoint that the IH and/or COR are involved, or at least care. And I'll be honest - I don't have any units that aren't chartered to religious organizations, so if I'm being dodged it's relatively simple to show up in uniform for a church service, and find somebody who cares afterwards. For a non-religious organization - I guess I'd try to find out their business meeting schedule, and crash that party. But I haven't been there, yet.
  15. 1. I have this opinion: the charter agreement is between the unit and the National Organization - not between the unit and District, or unit and DE, or unit and Council. Therefore as volunteers we have no right to decide whether a unit recovers or folds. That is strictly a decision for the IH and his/her organization. As long as the IH wills it, my consultation is always in "help" mode. 2. Registered members of the unit and their families have permission to occupy and use the facilities provided by their organization. Unregistered members (ie commissioner staff) DO NOT. Commissione
  16. Interesting question. The Totin' Chip is only a pledge to use knives (and woods tools) safely. Nowhere is it stated in the current handbook or requirements as mandatory to carry a knife. Unless the Troop votes against it, or they have it in their silly bylaws or some such (I'm betting not, but who knows nowadays). However, do think of the implications when all the boys suddenly clamor to carry knives... For me personally, I'd put Totin' Chip in the "tradition" category - should be done - like taking off your hat before entering the dining hall, for example. Maybe a weak
  17. OGE One thing I have seen with several packs, even some high-end ones: sometimes the plastic teeth on the cinch buckles do not have very much "bite" into the nylon webbing. Sometimes they are not molded cleanly or crisply. Using a small file to sharpen the teeth usually takes care of the problem. Be careful not to nick the nylon if the buckle is not removable. Have fun at Philmont and good luck,
  18. http://scouting.org/filestore/membership/pdf/Webelos_to_Scout.pdf We have wanted/needed/tried to have a District Committee member to act as a resource for Webelos to Scout transition, with mixed results - but we're a pretty small district. Still plugging at it. Thanks for reminding me to bring it up at the next DCC.
  19. Hello, I need to stir some discussion on this topic. I've never really been able to get a good answer (or have it explained down to my level of understanding), so I can't answer intelligently when asked. Guide to Unit Money-Earning Projects: 7. Will the fund-raising project avoid soliciting money or gifts? The BSA Rules and Regulations state, Youth members shall not be permitted to serve as solicitors of money for their chartered organizations, for the local council, or in support of other organizations. Adult and youth members shall not be permitted to serve as solicitors
  20. Yes, the Scout Parent flag is still on the Adult application. I believe...(pops out to check)...yes, ScoutParents Unit Coordinator Fast Start training is still available as self-study.(This message has been edited by BluejacketScouter)
  21. For one-nighters and weekend backpacking, I use the regular Therma-rest 1", but for week-long camping I have an old Alps pad that is 3", has two valves at the bottom (one at each corner) and the opposite end is a pillow sort of wedge. Cabela's sells a similar 3-inch pad. But it is too big to backpack with. I will throw this out about the inflatable foam mattresses, because I have several other styles and thicknesses that I use to double-up in winter camping or as loaners: it is possible to both under-inflate and over-inflate them. If you store them rolled up or folded in their original
  22. Laying on my back, without my glasses on, looking at the spider as big as my hand crawling on the outside of the netting directly above my face. Putting my glasses on and realizing the spider was actually inside, not outside.(This message has been edited by BluejacketScouter)
  23. >>>Those may be the terms your pack uses, but there's no basis in anything for them. And they ignore the fact that a Webelos Scout can earn the Webelos badge at any time, not just in the first year of the program. I agree to your first statement and stand corrected. But I never made any allusion to your second reference, which seems to be that I said a boy can only earn the Webelos badge in the 4th grade? I never said that. >>>I can think of lots of reasons not to embrace those designations, though! Such as? >>>Now, if you have a den based on th
  24. We will try to have one person (usually me) have a "campfire" with an orange traffic cone and all the boys who are staying sit around if for storytelling...I start the story, next boy adds a few lines, then the next, etc. It quickly degenerates into something totally silly, but keeps them engaged, OUT OF THE WAY, and calms them quietly, just like a good campfire ceremony should do.
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