83Eagle

Well, I filed one of the new plan forms 2 weeks ago for a camping trip at got it back no problem a day later. Saturday I decided to fill ones out for all four of our summer activities that seemed to require one. Got this message back from the district: "Due to some on for seen problems with the New Toru Plan at the National level, please go to myscouting.org and fill out that tour permit. It is the old one and we are still accepting those." Aaaaargh!!!!

Throughout the summer: -Volunteer service (hour sessions) at local food pantry End of May: -Pack family camping -Memorial day service June: -Cookout and campfire -Semi-pro football game outing July: -Parade -District camps August: -Minor league baseball game -Movie night at a drive in theatre

No more than 2 eggs in a bag. Use FREEZER ziplock bags, not regular ones. Use a sharpie to label the bags Keep bag away from the side of the pot for the most part Use a tong to squeeze the bags while they cook Mix in anything you want that you would put in a regular omelet. Keep quantities reasonable About 5 minutes cook time is plenty if you squeeze while cooking. You can't really overcook them but they can be undercooked and it is hard to fix that. It sounds harder than it is. Toss stuff in, mix the bags well, toss in water. Slide out the omelet when done or let cool a few m

We did sock wars for a Christmas activity with new socks that families donated and we gave afterward to a shelter. It went well but it is still hard to get parents off their cans. I gave people a choice of helping with the forts or rolling socks but a handful still stayed planted on the bleachers. This time I'm not pulling the bleachers out.....

Went through a bunch of the games listed. The problem is most of them are the same general theme in a different way, involving either a variation of tag or a lot of large-space running around. Great for evenly aged kids, but not great when you try to add in grandpa and 4-year old sister. Thinking about it some more, I'm thinking of "minute to win it" stations. They're goofy and not terribly physically demanding. Plus you can easily modify some of them for a wide range of ages, such as requiring younger ages to do less of a particular activity--i.e., keeping one or two balloons in the air

We bought a box of the Alpha III bulk kits from the scout shop and built them at the last den meeting. They took about 45 minutes to build. Having built one kit before, I did modify the sequence a bit so that one part could set up while we were working on another. However, if you use tacky glue you can do it all in one sitting, because the glue bonds firm enough to hold without having to let the parts sit to dry. We are planning on launching at our next meeting, weather permitting.

Hey there, from the Bay Lakes Council....

I guess those details would help... I would expect about 60 people. 25 scouts, and 35 others. We meet in a gym.

No. Bad idea IMO. Who's gonna listen anyway? Very few people have the intellectual honesty to look in a mirror and accept what is clear to everyone else.

For our last pack meeting, I'd like to do a group game(s) that is active and involves the entire family (adults and kids) and gets everyone off their duff. Maybe 2 games/activities that would last about 15 min each. Nothing jumping out at me from the big How-To book. Any suggestions?

FOS coordinator doesn't really take that much time. In order to be a FOS coordinator, at least in our council, the volunteer has to go to offsite FOS training. Truthfully, I would have been more than willing to pass out the brochures, explain why I thought it was important, and ask people to support scouting. But I'm not going to give up an entire evening to fit in FOS training.

Ok, everybody out there who thinks I don't personally understand the value of FOS to Scouting, take a deep breath. I never said that. In fact, our family has been a regular FOS contributor (not just 10 bucks either) for the entire time we've been involved in the program. I understand the need of the support system just like there is in any other organization. shortridge said it perfectly: "But that still doesn't mean a DE or DD or other professional whose job it is to raise money should be tone-deaf to the position of the audience." The presentation to our Pack was not about any of t

SP, your COUNCIL does cub scout recruiting? How did you get so lucky as to have them do recruiting for packs? Or is it more of a general thing. I'm not aware of any pack in our district that does not do 100% its own recruiting.

Well, regarding our Pack providing its own FOS presenter--district communications come through me (the CM). We have a hands-off (i.e., "I don't want to be involved in anything, ever, period") CC/COR, which I've detailed elsewhere. I have zero interest in being the FOS coordinator (and it's supposed to be a committee responsibility anyway), so I turned it over to the pack "committee," who said, not interested. I'm certainly not going to toss the request out to the families at large when, like any Pack, we are challenged enough with getting volunteers for our own Pack activities. Seat

BS-87 - Then I would suggest that FOS focus on how the dues that boys pay, plus the popcorn they sell that BSA gets proceeds from, plus the camp fees they pay to go to camp, are inadquate to fund a quality program at the district level. Because as it stands, 100% of the message we got last night was "donate to help poor kids who can't afford scouting," which was not only a turnoff but, in my opinion, disingenuous because it is the Pack who provides direct financial assistance to boys in need to join our program.

Here's one that's been bugging me and after discussing with other Pack leaders they felt the same way so I thought I'd share it here. The district has been asking our Pack for a FOS coordinator for some time but, well, people in the Pack aren't really clamoring to go to an offsit training session to learn how to ask the Pack for money to send in to FOS. (Shock!) So after hearing "no one is interested" from me for the Nth time the district offered to send out someone. Ok, fine. And that person was our district director. Now, I've been through these several times and I know the drill.

Well, out here in flyover country the school buildings are used by both BSA as well as by a local church which holds Sunday service there while it raises funds to build a building. The school principal is a huge advocate of scouting and has been more than accommodating in letting us do recruitment during school hours.

The "blame the victim" mentality that has been displayed in some posts here is distressing! I'm not sure why the attitude toward new posters is "troll until proven otherwise" but it's something I've mentioned in other threads. Is this truly an open forum, or were you expecting she'd earn her "posting chops" over a few months before bringing this issue up? I think a few of you could learn the value of just keeping your mouth shut if you have nothing constructive to say, and that having the right to say something doesn't mean it should be said. Yes, it was not particularly helpful for the

This is an unusual first post by a new member to say the least. The facts laid out by the poster are that-- Her son was beat up and is not interested in scouting any more. The troop leaders have offered to discuss this with the poster but she refuses to do so. So...other than issuing a "warning" to the forum at large, I'm not sure what the point of this is supposed to be. Like other people have written here, I'd encourge the poster to meet with the troop, if you have any interest in seeing the situation somehow resolved. The offer has been made on their part, and you can

It looks pretty much like yours but it reflects our specific events, and it's shorter. I sent you a PM with a link.

I liked this idea so much I decided to tinker with the tool and based on that have some additional feedback. I don't see any questions that I would add. In fact, I (personally) would probably drop the Yes/No section. I guess I'm thinking of the "time factor" and most of the answers to that can be discerned from responses to the multiple choice parts. But...you may want to keep it in. I also think that three multiple choice are fine: Excellent, Good, and Needs improvement. Because if it's just fair, it needs improvement, IMO. Lastly, I added a "contact info" text box, with t

If you live your life in fear if what might happen you never get to live what can happen.

Yes, you will have better luck, and results, asking the person who you think is best for the job. But you have someone, give him a try. Regarding: Sorry for the rant, but I don't get paid enough to put up with crap like this... so tired of no / little input until a decision is made, then everyone wants to debate the merits of the selection. What have you done / or how have any of you approached this type of situation in the past? Number one, as CM, I accept no complaints regarding the work any volunteer does. If there are any complaints I hand them a complaint form (the a

This looks great to me. Some questions for you: -What is your participation rate in the survey? -Are these all anonymous or is there the option to include your info (I did not complete the survey, obviously) -Any downsides based on your first year doing this last year?

It looks like 2 people looking into their reflection in the water. Hence the mirror-image writing of "lifeguard." If you're looking at it and seeing an adult and a half clothed youth looking worried...well I don't quite know what to say about that...