TundraHawk

Thanks, Semper. The packs I have been involved with unfortunately look like the "100 scouts and 10 volunteers" packs that you mentioned but on a smaller scale. Both my husband and I thought that required volunteer support of some sort was not unreasonable at all -- it's good to know that we aren't alone in our thinking! This is definitely a topic that will be addressed at all of our recruiting nights. I think this type of involvement from the parents will be so beneficial for several reasons: - I'm hoping that if the parents are involved, they will develop more of a sense of ownershi

How would your feel if your pack required parental involvement, where at least one parent per scout would be required to help out in some way with the pack? I have read where some packs do this and think it may be the way to go with the new pack we are starting at my son's school. I'm not saying that they have to assume any type of leadership role, especially for those new to scouting. There are so many ways one can get involved -- DL, ADL, committee member, helping with various activities (B&G, PWD, etc), even volunteering to help with their sons' den during den meetings. As

Bryan, this was the main topic of one of our recent roundtables; folks from different troops brought in either their by-laws, troop policies, or parent handbooks. I have a copy of one parent handbook that I thought would be particularly helpful to a new parent. It included items like: Committee Chairman's statement (welcome letter) General info on troop (meeting day/time/location, summary on how a troop runs, names of volunteers) Parent expectations Uniform (parts of, placement of patches) Overview of Scout Oath, Law, Slogan, Motto Financial info (dues, fundraisers, camp cost

The first pack we were with had a pretty limited budget so they charged the parents an extra $10 if their son wanted to participate in the Academic & Sports program. They also limited how many a scout could earn in a year (I believe it was 10/yr). I'm trying to figure out how to deal with belt loops with our new pack. I've seen some boys rack up a number of belt loops and pins in a single year -- I know two Wolves that have more than 20 belt loops and probably 1/2 dozen or so pins. The cost adds up very quickly, especially for a pack with limited funds.

I don't know if I have many suggestions, but I can sympathize with you. I once had a parent on our pack committee make the comment that being a den leader is "nothing" and it takes little to no time - I only wish I could see what type of den leaders those folks would make! Like you, both my husband and I expand on the achievements, and it takes A LOT of work. Not surprisingly, my husband's Wolf den was the strongest den in the pack. I know you said that you have asked for help in the past, but maybe you can get the parents together (as they are picking up their boys from one of the meeti

johndaigler -- I've always been told/have read that Tigers can begin working on their Bobcat as soon as they earn their Tiger rank. Actually, the Tiger handbook even mentions that the boys should "keep your Bobcat badge in a safe place. After you graduate to a Wolf den, you will wear the badge on your blue Cub Scout uniform shirt." (from the Tiger handbook printed prior to the Tiger uniform changes) I wonder if this has changed?? foto - Most likely we'll have more new scouts than existing scouts after our recruitment so if we work on advacements we will definitely have to be creative a

Has anyone ever been involved with a pack that utilizes scout accounts? In my son's former pack, they did away with scout accounts because of the problems it created -- I'm not sure if it truly was a hassle or rather just someone unable to keep up with the work (before we arrived the old CM ran the pack like a one man show so many things suffered). In a related thread, OneHour described how only a handful of scouts in his troop do the majority of the fundraising; that has been my experience with cubs. In addition, NONE of the money raised by these boys actually went towards summer camp,

**double posted by accident - my apologies!** (This message has been edited by TundraHawk)

Thank you so much for all the wonderful ideas!! I've already talked to one parent, and it looks like we've decided to do a garage sale this spring. This will be held about two months after our first recruitment. I don't want to have to ask the new scout parents to help with a fundraiser that involves selling anything, especially so soon after they have had to pay for registration, uniforms, etc. Of course we will need to conduct other fundraisers in the future so I have written all the ideas down! Thanks for the reminder about the paperwork - that is one thing I am a definite stic

I really appreciate the input...thank you! acco40 -- If all goes well, it looks like we'll be doing a recruitment in March and again in May. I hate that they will run so close together, but hopefully in March we will be able to pick up a few boys to start up the pack and the May recruitment will help bring in a few more, along with our new crop of Tigers. I have yet to deal with having a scout earn rank over the summer so this is new territory for me! In my limited experience, I've always taken it that the scout must earn it by the end of the school year (May/June) and an extension

We are planning a recruitment night in mid-March for our new pack. We will have several current scouts but most, of course, will be brand new to scouting. As of right now the scouts who will transfer in are one Tiger and two Wolves (all have already earned their rank). How would y'all proceed for the next few months until they all crossover (Tiger to Wolf, etc.) on June? Since the new scouts won't have time to earn their rank, I was thinking of working on a non-rank related award (our council has a area-specific heritage award, etc.), plus working on their Bobcat. In packs that I have

Lynn, I was in charge of our fall school recruitment night this past year. We had two "brag" tables. I made two displays using those trifold poster boards (that kids typically use for science projects). One display was educational in nature...had pictures of the different ranks, the Cub Scout motto, Cub Scout promise, etc. On that table I also had the handbooks for each rank, the mini Boy's Life mags, etc. The other display was pictures of all the boys having FUN...day camp (bbguns and archery), our crossover campout, and the raingutter regatta. We had a few boys bring in their past rega

I need ideas, ideas, and more ideas for fundraising for a new pack! Besides popcorn sales and carwashes, I've never really been involved in fundraising for any activity (be it scouts, little league, etc.). What have been y'all found to be your most successful fundraisers?

Rixkidz, does your unit have a commissioner? Maybe you can get everyone together w/the commissioner and try to hash things out. At least he/she would be a neutral presence that might be able to lend a hand or give you some insight. I can sympathize with your situation. My husband and I recently left a pack, somewhat due to all the internal fighting among the volunteers.

Anarchist, it looks like you have a great system going! Our old CM had a similar system but on a much smaller scale. They were the clear bait/craft boxes with the dividers. I "inherited" the system when I became in charge of advancements. Although we had a few arrow points, rank patches, etc... most of the items were belt loops and service stars. How are you able to keep extra rank, activity badges, etc. on hand? Our council is incredibly strict on how we purchase these (cannot buy unless they are given the advancement report)?

OT -- I really appreciate your insight. As of right now, my son isn't in a pack. Thankfully he has only been out of the loop meeting-wise for a few weeks and is completely up to speed on his rank, etc. (he's actually farther ahead than most boys in his den) I have the contact information for several packs but don't really know much about any of them. We planned to begin visiting a few of them when our DE approached me about the formation of a new pack. When he first mentioned this I was hesitant and thought my husband would go crazy at the mere mention of the idea. I was really surp

Hi Semper, Thank you for all your input! I'll go point by point from your post and add what I have in regards so far: 1. Hard work is something I'm not afraid of and know that is what it'll take to get the pack off to a strong start. I've heard from several folks that it takes a good two years or so to really establish a pack. 2. I talked to my husband this evening, and he is completely supportive. Although he will be leaving in the upcoming months, he is more than willing to help out until then. I also talked to another mom (who has two scouts), and she is very eager to see

Does anyone have any success stories to share in regards to starting a new pack? Our DE recently approached me about starting a pack at my son's school. Since our family's departure from our last pack (where both my husband and I were very active volunteers), my husband and I have vaguely kicked around the idea but never took it too seriously until my talk with our DE. While I feel I am motivated enough for the challenge, after such a bad experience with our last pack I have to admit I'm a bit hesitant to take on the endeavor. What were the biggest obstacles you had to overcome? Any h

Your post was such a welcome sight to me, Tim, when I checked the board earlier. Late last night I decided to resign from the pack. This morning I went to council and asked for my name be taken off the pack contact list (I'm the one folks call if they are interested in joining/transferring to our pack). I wanted to talk to the DE, but he wasn't available. (forgot to mention earlier...right now we don't have a UC. I was told that our DC was to attend our meeting last night. He never showed up. Our DE has gotten such conflicting stories on our pack, honestly, I'm to the point where I don't

Rix, you're right. Actually the charter is really the least of our problems. Our volunteers are more hung up on having a certain crossover ceremony than trying to find the essential leadership that we are lacking. Another month has gone by, and we've yet to find a Cubmaster (it was shrugged off again by the committee). I'm completely and utterly at a loss now. Am I asking too much of this pack?

Cardinal, thanks for your post. Our den leaders are indeed part of our pack committee, along with our CC, treasurer, secretary, and a few other positions (I'm Advancements/Memberships). Unfortunately, when I say our leaders don't think there is a problem, I'm speaking of ALL our leadership...CC on down. They see the need for more volunteers, but that is it. For instance, they think a CM is not needed. I just can't comprehend this. We basically have a program where our dens are running on their own, with a committee structure in the background. Our pack program is incredibly

Tim -- Thanks for the idea. I'm not exactly a whiz at desktop publishing, but I could probably crank something out if no one else is to be found. I have something (sort of) similar but on a MUCH larger scale. For our school recruiting night I used a trifold poster board and displayed a number of photos that I took of our scouts during our crossover and at summer camp (the regatta pics and closeups of our boys learning archery/bb shooting really got a lot of attention from potential new scouts!) Eamonn - you're exactly right about safety in numbers. One is very unlikely to have parents

cheffy, I don't know much about the Jehovah Witness faith, but I did find the following on belief.net, which gives a synopsis of most faiths around the world: "Service in the armed forces or any form of allegiance to government is prohibited" Hope that helps a bit.

My son was a Tiger last year, and he had a blast working on his PWD car. I'd really encourage your pack to include the Tiger den. With our Tigers last year, we had them raid their matchbox car collection and find one that they would like to model their PWD car after. With a bit of help, they drew the design on the block of wood, and then we had a parent cut them out. My husband and I left the sanding and decorating to our son. The axels and wheels were a combined project with father and son. It was a great experience for our family. Y'all could also have a raingutter regatta for

Do y'all find that your COs take an active role with your pack/troop? What type of things do they do? I know what their "official" responsibilities are per the Cub Scout Leader Book, but I'd like to know y'alls experiences and what your expectations are for your CO. Our former CO (we are between COs right now) wasn't involved with our pack, except for providing us with a place to meet and approving adult applications. Come to think of it, I've never even met our COR. (edited to add...and that should have read "Charter Orgs" not "CharterED Orgs") (This message has bee