meyerc13

I would agree with some of the other posts - don't imply or assume that something illegal has happened without facts - the most likely explanation is just poor book-keeping.  Once you get your hands on the checking account, you can try to sort it out.  You may want to consider moving to a different bank when you step in, it takes a bit of work to open a non-profit checking account (assuming your charter org is non-profit), but it can be done and may be the best way to start fresh (no blank checks floating around).  You should also consider holding a spring fund-raiser.  Our Council has done Spring product sales the past couple of years and they can be a good way to boost the Pack funds to get you through summer and into the fall before the Fall Product Sale. 

The good news is that most Scouting units live year to year, rarely is a substantial balance carried over from one year to the next.  When I became a Cubmaster, I too wondered where all of the money was going over the past years.  What I found was that the previous Cubmaster was actually injecting her own funds into the unit to keep it alive.  The first year, with poor popcorn sales, our balance was very low by the fall of my second year (not quite down to $20, but not much higher) before more popcorn money started coming in.  Plus, that's not counting the numerous purchases I was making out of my personal funds without asking the Pack for reimbursement.

The reality of a Pack is that our income comes from Dues, Fundraisers, and other fees we charge (for campouts and other events).  It sounds like in your case that perhaps the Chartered Organization also injects some money.  It should be easy to figure out about how much money should have been coming in.  I say 'should have' because in our unit's case we had several occasions where families never paid their dues or didn't turn in everything they owed for fundraisers.  If your unit wasn't keeping good records the chances are you may never be able to untangle that type of mess completely.  The best you may be able to hope for is doing a better job going forward.

The big expenses are:  paying for product for product sales, annual recharter ($24 per youth and adult to national), and summer camp registration.  You're also likely spending a mid-sized chunk on your Blue and Gold Banquet (cake, food, decorations) and Pinewood Derby (cars, awards, food).  Awards are a bigger chunk than they used to be - probably around $20 per Scout per year if the boys are actively completing adventures and if your unit is awarding belt loops.  Plus you have the cost of misc. den supplies (paper, crayons, glue, markers, etc.) and misc. Pack Meeting supplies (snacks, decorations, etc.).  The money goes much more quickly than you'd think, and I suspect many Packs drop down well under $500 in the early fall before money starts coming in again from fundraisers.

So, if I were you, given the lack of cooperation you've seen so far, I'd plan for the following:

1.)  Open a new Pack Checking Account the day your application for Treasurer is approved by the Chartered Organization.

2.)  Hold a fundraiser or two once you are Treasurer to build up some funds.

3.)  Come up with a budget that covers Blue and Gold Banquet, Pinewood Derby, Den Supplies (remember how much you spent on one kid for back to school supplies, and remember that a den is 6-8 boys... so even though they are only there once a week, you'll still likely need $100-$200 per den per year because we use things that schools don't like rubber bands, straws, etc.), Pack Meetings (depending on the size of the Pack, and depending on what you do for Pack Meetings, this could be as high as $100/month), etc.

4.)  Once you have your budget showing what you think you need, then you need to plan and run fundraisers or charge dues and fees to cover the expected budget. 

5.)  As you go through that first year, see how well you are tracking toward budget.  If you are spending more than anticipated, you may need to add additional fundraisers to make up the difference.  If you are showing a surplus, that may be good the first year so you can built up an emergency fund, but it may mean you need to charge or earn less the next year.

6.)  If your fundraising is better than in the past, you should show a larger balance at the end of the year.  If your fundraising is flat and you still show a much larger balance, then perhaps there was something shady going on with the past Committee (or they were really bad at managing Pack finances).

Sadly many Packs don't keep good records, and they get away with it because nobody holds them accountable (not the parents, not the chartered organization).  There have been cases where embezzlement has occurred from Scouting units, but it is often hard to prove and can take an auditor to uncover the details.  Most of our Packs operate on such a tight budget that there isn't a substantial amount to embezzle.  The rare exceptions are cases like the Police Explorer Post in IL where the cop who was running it took his own life rather than face what he'd done.  Hopefully most units that are bringing in that much money are keeping a closer eye on their balance sheet.

You're welcome, and I agree with your assessment.  I've said it before but I'll say it again.  A healthy den is 6-8 boys:

A den of five boys can survive, but it's reaching the point where it might not.  If one boy moves away you are down to four and that's not enough.  With four boys, if one boy is sick or can't make a den meeting you no longer have enough boys to partner up into two teams, and many games require at least four boys.  I've tried running dens with 3-4 boys and it doesn't work well... the level of fun drops and more boys are likely to drift away.  Even at five you risk 1-2 being out sick and falling below that minimum level for 'fun.'

Yes, you can stretch a den to nine boys, but only if you have help from parents or an assistant den leader.  At nine boys, you can't really completely split into two because one group would be down to 3-4 boys, and as I said in the paragraph above, that isn't enough to maintain the appropriate level of fun.  You might be able to get away with two dens if you meet at the same time/place, then you can bring the dens together for group games or if someone is out sick.

By the time you reach 10-11 boys, you really have enough for two dens, and should split the den.  A den of five isn't ideal but can survive if all five are dedicated to Scouting.

At 12+ you'd be crazy not to split the den in half, and once you hit 18 you can start thinking about dividing into three dens.  At 24+ per rank, I'd start thinking about spliting into two Packs.  If you maintain that level of interest across age levels, that's a Pack with over 100 kids, and while it can be done it can also succumb to chaos at Pack meetings.  Rarely do I see a Pack with more than 2-3 dens per rank.  Usually it's more like 1-2.

Again, we aren't doing kids favors when we try to have too many kids with too few leaders.  Instead of fun, we can end up with chaos and that isn't fun for the parents, kids, or leaders.  So knowing your limits is good, and being open and honest with parents will help with recruiting more leaders.  If you let things descend into chaos, then you aren't likely to find many parents who want to jump into that chaos with you.  If you can get the help before the chaos starts, it will be much easier.

That is an interesting question.  I think a 'waiting list' is absolutely the wrong way to go.  That happened to my daughter when she tried to join Girl Scouts.  She was told that the Troop was 'full.'  Does anyone truly think we should deny a child the opportunity to participate in Scouting for a year because we (as adults) aren't doing our best to staff the open positions in our units? 

Yes, some of this has to fall on the parents of these kids, but I think in most cases parents don't step up because of reasons the Pack leadership could fix.  For example - if the parent's see that the Cubmaster and one or two Den Leaders are doing everything - that shouldn't be happening.  There should be a Pack Committee that handles things like the Popcorn sale, picking up badges at the Scout shop, collecting and proessing applications, etc.  If the parents see one or two Leaders doing all of that - no wonder they don't want to volunteer.  Yet time after time when I visit Packs as a Commissioner that is exactly what I see.

Or, we have Pack Committee Chairs and Cubmaster making a general appeal to a room full of parents.  Again, that shouldn't be happening (or shouldn't be the only method).  Look at the guides I linked above... you are supposed to wine and dine (figuratively) your candidate and ask them individually to fill a role.  How many of you can say that happened for you?  In a way it happened for me, but the outgoing Cubmaster didn't do a great job of selling the position to me... she's lucky that a Scout is Helpful and I try to live by the Law.  Her salesmanship definitely left something to be desired.

Or, we fail to think outside the box.  Do you have any colleges nearby?  Do you think there are any former Boy Scouts attending those Colleges who are looking for a way to stay active in Scouting?  Or perhaps students in the Education degree programs who want to gain extra experience working with youth?  Or retired grandpas or grandmas who were Scouters when their kids were young?

If you've exhausted every method for finding a den leader, and your Pack has a healthy Committee, then as a Scout be Helpful and find them another Pack.  Don't waitlist someone... somewhere there is a Pack that can take on additional boys, and that boy deserves a chance to experience Scouting from the day they first fill out an application until the day they age out.  Talk to your Unit Commissioner or District Executive if you don't know of a unit, I'm sure they can help you find one for those kids.

For Webelos Den Camping, isn't there a requirement for an IOLS/OWLS trained leader?  Seems odd that specific type of camping has no training requirement.

It is suggested, but not required.  As a Cubmaster or Pack Committee Chair, personally I would require it of my Webelos Den Leaders, especially if they weren't Boy Scouts themsleves.  I say this because I attended what our Council calls Webelos Rendezvous, which is basically a camporee for Webelos I boys (as they finish Webelos I and are almost Webelos II).  During that campout, I saw a Webelos using a hatchet, quite unsafely at that.  Had they gone through IOLS/OWLS they would know that this is not part of the Cub Scout program.  Pocketknives yes, but Axe and Hatchet should wait for Boy Scouting.  I've observed Webelos leaders using other non-Scout methods to teach their boys, rather than using the 'Scout' way (don't get me going on starting a fire).

Some Districts and Councils may have their own policy, but at a national level it isn't a requirement, just a strong suggestion (based on all of the information I've reviewed, which is quite a bit).

Popcorn is more for the units rather than council. After all out of their "third" comes the freight cost and incentives they offer, not to mention employee hours administrating the sale.

I don't know... our Council's popcorn sale is usually just under $3 million.  That million going back to Council goes a lot further than covering their costs.  Most of the 'running' of the sale is done by a volunteer Council Popcorn Kernel.

Yes, that is correct.  When you change roles, to make it official you need to fill out another application.  I've filled out the Adult Leader Application for each of these:

1. Tiger Den Leader
2. Cubmaster
3. Pack Trainer
4. Roundtable Commissioner
5. District Committee

When I'm ready to take on a role in my son's Boy Scout Troop, I'll need to fill it out again.  You only need to pay the $24 registration fee once per year, but any time you change or add a position you need to fill out the application again.  I hear that electronic applications may be coming soon... I hope that's true because after the first half dozen times filing out the application it gets a bit repetitive. 

Situations like this are why I really think more Packs should use Pack Trainers.  Technically, the Tiger Den Leaders should be picked by the Chartered Organization (see here and here, not sure what the difference is between the two versions of this process, or which is the correct and most up-to-date version, perhaps someone from the BSA can explain), not by picking the short straw in a room full of parents.  However, how does the Chartered Org and existing Pack Leadership get to know the Tiger parents before a Den Leader is needed?

In my opinion, this could be a place where the Pack Trainer steps in... or  in cases where there is no Pack Trainer, the Cubmaster or Assistant can step in assuming he or she isn't already acting as an unoffiicial Den Leader for a different den.  Have the Pack Trainer, Cubmaster, or Assistant Cubmaster run the first Adventure for the Tigers, while at the same time watching for prospective leaders.  Let the parents know that this is only for the first Adventure, and by the time the second month rolls around one of them *will* be the Den Leader.  See if any parents step up, and observe the parents to see which have a knack for keeping the boys in line and which have the energy to be a good den leader.

If more Packs did this, I think the Cub Scouting program as a whole would improve quite a bit.

Qwazse is right.  While many Districts have an unofficial policy that Scouts be at least First Class, it isn't a requirement.

Would not consider it except it is same time as the original event, at a campsite that has been council approved (next door to a fire rescue station), will have at least two BALOO trained adults, and several tiger families want to go because they cleared their schedule.  Would not prohibit other dens from coming, but no time to plan with them.  The den discussed it among themselves and jumped at the idea when it was suggested by someone in the den.  We will not do it without council saying there is an approved way.

 

Any thoughts on this type of situation, especially for the rule experts and sticklers?

Let's look at what the BSA says about Pack Overnighters:

 

Pack overnighters are pack-organized overnight camping activities involving more than one family from a single pack, focused on age-appropriate Cub Scout activities and conducted at council-approved locations (use Pack OvernighterSite Approval Form, No. 13-508). If nonmembers (siblings) participate, the program must be structured to accommodate them. BSA health and safety and YouthProtection guidelines apply. In most cases, each youth member will be under the supervision of a parent or guardian. In all cases, each youth participant is responsible to a specific adult.

At least one adult giving leadership to a pack overnighter must complete Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation (BALOO), No. 34162, and be present on campouts. BALOO trains participants to properly understand the importance of program intent, Youth Protection guidelines, health and safety,site selection, age-appropriate activities, and sufficient adult participation. Permits for campouts shall be issued locally, according to council policies. Packs use the tour plan Application, No. 34426.

The BSA also allows for Webelos Den Overnight Camping.  The difference between these is that Webelos Den Overnight camping does not require a BALOO trained leader, and parents aren't necessarily along (although Youth Protection Guidelines always apply, so two deep leadership, no one-on-one contact, appropriate sleeping facilities, etc. still apply).  The BSA also makes a point that den camping is not allowed for any den except Webelos.

So let's look at your example.  Families are attending, at an approved facility, with age appropriate activities, and BALOO trained leaders.  Call it what you want, but it meets the requirement for a Pack Overnighter.  If you call it that, and run it as one, there is nothing in the requirements for a Pack Overnighter that Scouts from multiple dens must attend.  My old Pack had a fall camporee last year in which the vast majority of the kids were Tigers.  If no Webelos and Wolves had been able to attend (no Bears attended, and the Wolves and Webelos were mostly the kids of the BALOO trained leaders like me), should we have cancelled?  No, of course not, as long as all of the requirements for a Pack Overnighter were met.  You have met those requirements, so it can be a Pack Overnighter.  Out of goodwill, I'd invite families from other dens to make it an official Pack Overnighter, but if nobody signs up there is no reason to cancel your Pack Overnighter as long as you have at least one BALOO trained leader onsite and all of the other Pack Overnighter requirements are being met.

Webelos is all about preparing a boy for Boy Scouts, and as such I think it is appropriate for a Den Leader to verify that a requirement was completed before signing off on the requirement in the boy's handbook.  All of the things that you mention are things that they will need to know for Boy Scout advancement, so you'll need to work on them with the den until everyone knows them well enough to demonstrate to their future Scoutmaster, Patrol Leader, or Troop Guide.

It's better they learn this lesson now, rather than later.  My son went to his Scoutmaster and told him he had completed the requirement regarding the Outdoor Code.  The Scoutmaster asked him to recite it, and my son couldn't.  The Scoutmaster told him to come back when he could.

There's also a lesson here for all Scout leaders - don't believe everything that comes back on the cards from summer camp.  While the curriculum that was planned may have covered all of the things that were on the list, the curriculum as delivered clearly did not.  Unless I witnessed it, I have always asked my son or another Cub Scout what they learned/did at camp.  If they tell me they didn't do something, then I know it is something I need to cover in a den meeting. 

The perfect example of this is Whittling Chip.  I have yet to see a Cub Scout resident camp be as thorough on this topic as I am.  How to open, close, hold, and use a knife properly are things that must be learned, and signing off on those requirements when the boys haven't retained the information is dangerous.  I've tested plenty of boys who went through Whittling Chip courses at summer camp only to watch as they close their pocket knives in such a way that they're likely to cut off a chunk of their fingers eventually.

Something Stosh said in another thread got me thinking, and rather than let yet another thread go off topic, I thought I'd start a new one to disuss:

The fund raising efforts of the troop are purely the responsibility of the parents to organize and run.  The boys assist them so they have a bit of skin in the game.

Contrast that with:

A Scout is Thrifty. A Scout works to pay his own way and to help others.

 

Up here in Northeast Wisconsin, the Green Bay Packers are a big deal.  Every home game is sold out, and all of those fans in the stands need to be fed.  The Packers allow non-profit groups to run their concessions stands for a share of the profits, and as you can imagine this can be a very lucrative method of fund raising.

Here's the catch - the people working need to be over the age of 18 (due to alcohol sales).  So that means the parents are working, not the Scouts.

Personally, when I heard that Troops were using this for fundraising, I thought, "That's not right... the boys should be raising the funds they intend to spend... not the adults."

I'm curious to hear Stosh's explanation for what he said, because I still think that Boys should be working to earn money for their Troops.  When I was a Scout, we held a Chili Dinner each year as our primary fundraiser.  We could make enough off of that to keep the Troop going throughout the year.  Sure, the adults put on hats and aprons to help us out, but every boy in the Troop worked hard to prep, cook, and serve the food.

When the adults do all of the work, as in the Lambeau Field Concession fundraisers, isn't that going against the Scout Law?

It's hard not to feel a little sick to the stomache when reading about Boy and Girl Scout camps closing.  Most of these camps were donated to the Scouts by people who loved their land and wanted future generations to enjoy it the way that they had.  While these people must have also loved the Scouts to some degree, I wonder if they'd still feel that way seeing what the Scouts are doing with the properties.  If these generous groups and individuals had wanted the Scouting Councils to have money to spend on other things, I'm sure they would have donated money (many probably did).  I think the fact that they donated land was because they also loved that land as much as they loved Scouting, and wanted that land to stay in as pristine a state as possible.  Seeing these properties sold into private hands for 'development' would surely have gone against their wishes.  If the Scouts had been selling off the donated land back in the days in which these land donations we being made, I suspect these owners might have found some other group who would care for the land instead of selling it off.

When we sell of these properties, we are never getting them back.  Few today own the amount of land you'll find in these camps, and those who do aren't likely to donate it to the Scouts, especially considering how the Scouts have treated the land they've held for 100 years in some cases.

It's a sad thing, and a real shame. 

To update your registration from den leader to assistant cubmaster, you'll need to fill out another application listing the new position code.  If you've already done that, perhaps it got lost on the way through the signature and approval process. 

Wow... sounds like you had a great recruiting night!  Way to go!!  I think the place you need to improve is in your new parent orientation meeting.  Here's what I've done successfully the past couple of years as a Cubmaster.  On the first meeting night following recruitment, divide your leaders into three groups: 

• Returning Scouts - two leaders will take this group outside to do a service project cleaning up the neighborhood.  Bring small plastic bags to collect trash.  Following that, take the group outside or to the gymnasium for some games.  Recruit parents of returning Scouts if you need extra supervision.
• New Scouts - two leaders will group all of the new Scouts together (Tiger-Webelos).  Divide them by den.  have them stand in straight lines and then run through the Bobcat requirements.  I start with the Cub Scout sign.  Explain what it means (be quiet, listening ears on).  Then ask them to make as much noise as possible, and have them stop as soon as they see the sign go up.  Do this a few times - the boys love it.  After that, you've burned up some energy and can work on Scout handshake, motto, oath, law.  Maybe mix in some games as well.
• New Parents - Take this group to a different room and go through a new parent orientation session. 

For the new parents, here is what I'd cover:

• Explain the Lion and Tiger Adult Partner expectations.  Maybe play "Cat's in the Cradle" as opening music before you get started.  Ask them to close their eyes and do a visualization exercise.  Ask them to think back to childhood.  Imagine a happy time with their mom and/or dad.  Ask them to think about that time.  What were they doing?  How were their parents participating?  Were their parents focused on them or distracted by the TV, friends, or a smart phone?  Hopefully the answer to that is no, their parents were focused on them.  Now ask them how they would have felt if their parents were there at that happy time, but instead of focusing on them their parents were playing with their smartphone.  How would that have made them feel?  Would it still be a happy time?  Stop the exercise.  Explain that you get it... nobody is perfect and we are all guilty of being distracted and trying to multitask when our attention should be on the here and now.  At work we use a phrase, "Be Here Now."  It applies to our job, while on a call, I should focus on that call, and not be distracted by email or personal matters.  But it also applies in my personal life.  When I'm with my son or daughter, I should 'be here now' and focus on them, not worry about that project at work or the bills I need to pay tonight.  Explain that the Adult Partner is an active participant, with his/her son.  It shouldn't be the den leader helping little Timmy or Johnny, it should be the Adult Partner.  This is bonding time for them.
• Explain the Lion and Tiger shared leadership model.  Explain that each parent/son team must pick one adventure to lead.  I use denner cords as extra encouragement to the boys (they get to wear the cords during the month they are leading an Adventure).  Explain that the Leaders Guides tell them everything that they need to know to lead that adventure.  Explain that the most they'll need to do is gather required supplies, lead songs/games, and coordinate outings.
• Explain that every den must have at least one registered den leader.  Explain that this person goes through about 3-4 hours of training to learn more about how the Scouting program works, and how to deliver the program safely to our youth.  Explain that the training can either be done in person (Saturday morning in our District, some do it during an evening session) or online.  Suggest that it works better when there are two den leaders - that way one can cover for the other in the event of an emergency or illness.  Ask the parents to divide up into groups of 6-10 boys per den.  Ask them to pick two leaders amongst them who will take the training.  Then ask them to pick which Adventure each will lead.  Give them the five required, and suggest a few electives as well. For our Tigers, we like Good Knights but you may prefer a different one.
• Explain the Pack Committe Roles.  I think you should probably review them closely yourself.  A Pack Committee is essential, and it shouldn't be the leaders.  The leaders handle the program, the Committee handles the behind the scenes stuff.  If you don't have an active Committee, your leaders will get burned out, it's only a matter of time.  Personally, I wouldn't push for Lion or Tiger parents to step into the named Pack Committe Roles (Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Public Relations, Advancement, Outdoor Activity, Membership) unless it was a new Pack that was just forming.  I would encourage them to be Commitee Members to help out with these things or other things (such as Blue and Gold or Pinewood Derby).  Ideally you'd have Wolf-Bear parents filling these Committee Roles.  By the time their youngest boys are Webelos, the Committee leads and Cubmaster should be stepping down into Assistant roles to allow the next generation a year to try out the role with their predecessor as an Assistant/mentor).  I've used various demonstrations to get the point across.  One of my favorites involves a bunch of ping pong balls, each with a role or task written on it:  Blue and Gold, Pinewood Derby, Den Leader, Cubmaster, Advancement, Rechartering, Friends of Scouting, Popcorn Sale, Camping, Newsletter, Pack finances, etc. etc.  I like to use the Cubmaster for this example... I ask him to hold the balls, and keep giving him more and more balls until he starts to drop them.  If he has really big hands, and doesn't drop any, once I've given him a dozen or so of these I'll ask him to start juggling them.  Hopefully everyone will laugh at this point, but you've illustrated the problem your unit has right now - a handful of leaders being asked to do all of those roles.  Next you can illustrate how much better it works if each person in the room takes on one of those things.

I came from a broken Pack in much worse shape than yours, but if you don't fix things soon your Pack will crash and burn much quicker than mine was when I became Cubmaster.  It took about 2 years to get our Pack on the correct path, but by my third year as Cubmaster our Pack was one of the strongest in our District.  A strong Pack has a strong Committee.  It also has a den leader for every den.  Healthy dens have 6-8 boys (too few and the den will fail, and too many and it will succumb to chaos).  You might be able to push a den up to 10 boys (especially a Tiger den since you have Adult Partners), but I wouldn't go much beyond that.  You must have enaged Adult Partners at the Tiger and Lion level.  You must use the shared leadership model for at least Lions and Tigers, but ideally beyond that as well.  I know of a few packs who use it for Wolf-Bear-Webelos and it works well once you have instilled that culture into your Pack.

This will be a major culture shift for your returning parents.  You may need an additional parent meeting with them to go over the named Pack Committee roles.  If you need some help, engage your Unit Commissioner.  The Commissioners are great at helping in situations like this.  Many hands make for light work, but too few and your Pack will not be as good as it can be, and that only hurts the boys.

Hopefully the advice you get here will help, use some or all as you see fit.  Just remember that you can't give people an out, explain that this is how it must work if your Pack is going to survive.  Good luck, and let us know how it is going. 

 

The one concrete example he gives of a program involving both genders was a "partnership" (a word that can mean a wide variety of things) between local BSA and GSUSA units. That is not necessarily a "coed unit".  That is two (or more) units, including at least one made up of male BSA members (Cubs or Boy Scouts is not specified, maybe it was both) and at least one made up of female GSUSA members, working together (in an unspecified way) to deliver a program for both genders.  What exactly did that look like?  We are not told.

We know exactly what it looks like, because we have the post here on this forum showing us:  http://scouter.com/index.php/topic/27649-what-if-the-boy-scouts-went-coed/?p=443564 While they may be multiple units on paper, as we've seen in the posts about this unit they function as one coordinated group for all intents and purposes.

I'm glad you posted, I'm starting to see how many Roundtable Commissioners hang out here.  This is a great site, but you might also want to join the BSA Roundtable Commissioners Group on Facebook if you haven't already.  It's a great group and full of helpful information.

I think we do need the camps, and it makes me sad every time I hear of one of the Boy Scout or Girl Scout camps being sold.  As Cambridgeskip pointed out, once these properties are sold, we are never going to get them back.  Even if we scrap the summer camp programs, our camps are still great places for a Troop or Pack to spend time.

What I think we could do a better job of is managing those properties.  Our Council recently sold one camp, and it was on the same lake as another Council's camp which was also for sale (that's another thing that makes little sense to me, a Council owning a camp outside of its boundaries, inside the territory of another Council... I'm sure this goes back a long way historically, but it just seems illogical to me).  Does it make any sense to have two different camps staffs from different councils managing adjoining properties?  I'd argue that it makes absolutely no sense.  Those two camps could have been combined into one larger camp.  I mean, honestly we are competing with ourselves when we have two camps that literally touch each other.  I know our camp was sold to a private party, I have no idea what happened to the other Council's camp.

I think that most Roundtable Commissioners are not happy with this change, based on the online reaction I've seen to this change.  Even before I became a Roundtable Commissioner I was using the songs, games, etc. in the Roundtable Guides to supplement my den and Pack meetings.  It was nice having games and songs that reinforce the theme for the month.

Now we have the Leader Guides for each rank, which have a lot of ideas for games and songs, but they aren't focused on the month's theme.  Frankly, even some of the Pack Meeting Plans published online have songs and games that aren't at all related to the monthly theme.

I like the special interest topics, and in the past we've done some of that on our own because that's what our Roundtable participants wanted to see, but even if we didn't spend a lot of time going over the songs and games in the Guide during the meeting, at least we had those available for people to take back to their units.  Now we don't have it and I think that makes more work for Roundtable Commissioners (to pull it together), or if they don't do the research it makes more work for the Den and Pack leaders who will have to find it on their own.

The caution against boiling eggs in a Ziploc has nothing to do with bpa, Ziplocs are both dioxin and bpa free.  The unconfirmed information I've seen claims that standard Ziploc bags start to melt at 195 degrees Fahrenheit, which can result in microscopic plastic particles ending up in the eggs.  I've found nothing on the Ziploc site to confirm this, but likewise I wasn't able to find any recipes on the site that involve boiling the bag (the recipes @@qwazse linked above use the bag before or after the boiling step, not during the boiling process).

I was able to find one reference on the Ziploc site that talks about an omelette in a bag, but it involves using a Zip 'n Steam bag, which presumably has been engineered to withstand the higher temperatures involved with boiling and steaming:  https://ziploc.com/en/inspiration/home-and-decor/tips-and-tricks/time-saving-tips-master-the-morning-rush

I think that the safe route is to stick to the Zip 'n Steam bags if you are going to try this, since that's the bag the manufacturer recommends for this task.

Welcome!  It sounds like you are doing the right stuff as far as recruiting - get out there and let people know that Cub Scouting is availble for those schools, and that Cub Scouts have fun!  That should get them to join - then you need to have a fun program to keep them.  The new Den Leader Guides are a perfect recipe for the den meetings, just be sure you pick a fun and exciting Adventure for each den to start.  For Tigers we picked Good Knights (it's an elective, but it's fun!!!).  For Webelos, I'd probably go with something like Cast Iron Chef.  Throw in a fun Pack Meeting, along with a Pack Overnighter, and you should have them hooked.

Welcome from another 1991 Eagle Scout!  I just finished my four  year stint as a Cub Scout Leader (1 yr. Den Leader, 3 yrs. Cubmaster), althought I'm still the Pack Trainer and will be their Lion Guide for the first year.  Being a Cub Scout leader is a lot of fun, as you can tell by the fact that I'm still doing it even though my son has moved on to Boy Scouts.

Simple fact is that at age 10 he isn't eligible to be a Boy Scout.

Technically he is.  The joining requirements state that a 10 year old who has earned the Arrow of Light is eligible to join.  Since earning Arrow of Light no longer requires earning Webelos, only being active in the den for six months since completing the fourth grade or turning 10 years old... we are seeing a lot more of these shenanigans - turning the 1+ year Webelos and Arrow of Light program into a <1 year rush to get them out of Cub Scouts and into Boy Scouts before they are ready.

As the parent of a boy who skipped a grade in school and completed both Webelos and Arrow of Light in less than one year and then joined Boy Scouts in April of his fifth grade year, at the age of 10 years, 7 months... I can't recommend that approach except in the most extreme cases.  If my son hadn't been out of synch between his grade in school and his den in Scouts, I wouldn't have allowed him to do what he did.

Wolf and Bear are a mom and scout program.  again, adults take the lead planning, leading and guiding the boys.

Webelos is more dad and scout.  Moms may be stil involved, but it is still an adult lplanned and led activity.

Sorry, but I have to say that this isn't the 1900's anymore.  While even my generation (I was a Cub Scout in the early to mid 1980's) this might have been true, I have met plenty of excellent female Webelos leaders and Cubmasters since coming back to Scouting 5 years ago.  The Cubmaster who preceeded me was much very much into Scouting and the outdoors, and made a great Cubmaster/Webelos leader.  At one point I asked why we almost never saw her husband at Scouting activities, and she told me it was because he just wasn't very into the outdoors.  Over the past 25-30 years we've made a lot of progress in moving beyond gender stereotypes when it comes to camping/hiking/etc.  If you don't want to take my word for it, go out to Philmont and observe how many female rangers are on staff, and doing as well or better than their male counterparts.  This line is something I'd expect to find in the 1940's Cub Scout handbooks, not on a forum in 2016.

1. We did not visit other troops. The den leader discouraged it and as a group we only visited the CO troop. We didn't camp with anybody.

This sums up the problem fairly well.  Reading your post, it seems clear to me that this Troop isn't a good fit for your son, as least not right now.  They are all about high adventure, and at this point he is not.  This is why a Webelos should always visit and camp with as many Troops as possible before deciding which one he wants to join.

The answer is to find another Troop.  Joining a Troop isn't a life long committment.  It's always nice when it turns out that way, but some Troops just aren't a good fit for some boys.  There is nothing wrong with changing to a different Troop.  You say that your son doesn't know anyone in the other Troops, and while that may be true, in my son's case as we visited Troops we ran into old friends from Cub Scout camp, friends from Church, friends from Karate... pretty much every Troop we visited (and we visited a lot!), he knew someone.

I'd encourage your son to take off his Troop uniform, throw on a Scouting T-Shirt, and start visiting as many Troops as possible.  I've met boys who drive 20-30 miles to Scout meetings because a particular Troop was the best fit for them.  While that may be a hassle for you right now, I'm sure the little extra time commuting to the meetings would be well worth having a happier son around the house (not just because we want our children to be happy, but because a grumpy kid can test the limits of any parent's patience).  If possible, camp with as many as possible as well.  My son picked his Troop because on a camp-out he found some other boys who were already in the Troop who were into the same games as he was.  That kind of personal interaction happens a lot during downtime at a campsite, but doesn't necessarily happen during a busy Scout meeting.

Over all, don't rush the decision... if it takes you a year to visit all of the Troops and camp with them, so be it.  He's still involved with Scouting, will have plenty of time to work on advancement later, and that year of time may help him to mature a bit.  Who knows, in the end he may decide to stay with the Troop he is in.

One other point, if he is really interested in STEM, there are many merit badges he can start working on.  Don't expect that to happen at Troop Meetings, he needs to seek those out on his own.  Some Troops may be more STEM friendly, but Boy Scouting is really an Outdoors and Leadership program, the hobby/career exploration portion is via merit badges and those are the responsibility of the Scout to pursue.

I used to hate foil packet meals when I was a Scout.  The recipe always seemed to be hamburger with chunks of potato, carrots, and onions, with a little bit of butter.  I can't tell you how many times I had uncooked potatoes and carrots in mine, and a complete lack of seasoning.

As an adult, I love to cook, and despite my failure with foil packet meals as a youth, I was determined to make them work.  The number one change was seasoning.  You need a lot more than you'd think.  Dry soup mixes work well because they are designed to get dilluted, and foil packet meals trap all of the liquids.  Salt and pepper can work by themselves, but you need to use them between each layer (potatoes, salt, pepper, beef, salt, pepper, onions, salt pepper...).  I use far more salt and pepper for foil meals than I do for any other cooking I do, because it really needs it.

I've also learned that frozen diced potatoes work much better than trying to slice a whole bunch of whole potatoes thinly enough for them to cook in a reasonable amount of time.  Sometimes we'll still go with the potatoe slices, but they have to be super thin.  A mandolin will work for this, but isn't really safe for a Cub Scout to use.  Likewise, carrots aren't great because they take a long time to cook.  If you slice them thin, they can work.  I find Zuchini to be a better choice, since it's softer and cooks faster.

Once you've masterd the basic foil meal, then you can start exploring other protiens and ingredients.  I've had delicious foil packet chicken and fish, but these may not be best for impatient Cub Scouts.