mashmaster

Talked with my wife last night and the conversation was definitely along the lines of "You think adult scouts are more important than your family?  You should do what you feel is right...."

Looks like this is not yet the right time for me accept this opportunity.  :-(  I really wish i could do it but I like being married.

I was asked tonight to staff Woodbadge next year as a troop guide.  For those that have done this, how much time is involved in doing it?  I want to do it but I need to see how much wife aggravation I will get.

More than the ones they already knew? (0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9).

LOL

Interesting update; today my daughter got a letter of support from the city Mayor for her project saying how it is needed and fits in the cities long term plan.  I can't wait for her leader to react to that.....

We had a Muslim scout and the only difference it made was that we had to buy some pans that weren't to be used with pork products.  Other than that the boys got to learn some words in Arabic. 

I've worked with some control freaks in the BSA over the decades, but they were pikers compared the ones I encountered in the GSA. 

 

@@mashmaster, I wish you and your daughter the very best, and when she completes the Gold, please let us know so we can pass along our congratulations.

Will do,

From what I have seen on both sides of the fence the pre-work for boy scouts is more intense and the last phase is easier.  The project/proposal phase for gold award is much harder and slower.  I've seen Eagle projects approved in one night an completed a month later.  That doesn't seem possible for the Gold Award.

I needed to rant....

I know this is mainly about Boy Scouts but my daughter is a Girl Scout working on her Gold Award in the final stages of the project proposal phase.   They are supposed to work independently and her super controlling troop leader can barely bother to talk with her about her project because it wasn't the leaders idea.  After my daughter contacts her a couple times she tries to postpone meeting again then finally subsides and comes to our house for like 2 minutes to sign the paperwork, can't even bother to talk to my daughter about what the project is and how she and the troop can help support her.   

My daughter will be the first Gold Award recipient for the troop and the troop has been around for a while.  You would think the leader could support a girl that is putting in the work.  I am sure the leader will be all smiles when they award my daughter the award in front of all of the other leaders...

Sorry just a rant.

I can only imagine the pain you all must be going through.  My heart and prayers are with you, your unit, and all others affected by this.  

I have no issues with the scout,  He returned the wallet without any reward questions, his mom was a fan of the actor so he asked for some free tickets.  Resourceful

He genuinely was looking for anything  got the scholarship for sadly a small amount ($10k doesn't go far anymore)  From the story they had to sell livestock for him to do his Eagle project, so I don't get the impression that they are rolling in the money.  

Appears to be a good young man, and set a good example for others.

We sit around a table and talk about 1-2 topics every month.  This month we talked about pack budgets and calender planning.  

Exactly what Stosh states about removal.

You might also suggest taking them to the district round table, baloo, and other training opportunities.  They won't go alone but maybe they will with someone else.  Maybe that would help him see the light?  

Good luck and welcome.

I call "Burn out" an excuse for Poor Programs!  Call it what you want and bury your head but if you have Scouts that are burned out then you might need to check your programs!

The biggest problem I saw in my Web 2's was that they were tired of being around the 1st graders....   I bent over backwards to provide Boy Scout adventures for them to keep them invigerated but when it came to pack meetings there as always a collective sigh from them.  We have a large pack 60+ boys now and it is always a fight against chaos at pack meetings.  

That doesn't even count in the factor of sports that ramps WAY up in 4th grade.  Parents start deciding on spending 4+ days a week at the baseball fields and feel the hour meeting a week for scouts is just way TOO much.  They all think their son will be the next pro baseball player.

congrats

I see the younger ones loving it, but they already burn out at Webelos level, will that speed up the burn out?

Awesome, I am sure you positively affected many boys over your time as their leader.

Thank you so much, This is going into our leader newsletter with huge disclaimers all over it :-)  

yum....

 

Here is one I saw the other day and I immediately thought "Yum, that would be perfect on a campout".  http://allrecipes.com/video/1469/bubbas-jambalaya/?prop25=170677855&prop26=DailyDish&prop27=2015-10-02&prop28=Feature_1&prop29=Photo&eaid=5159317  Bubba's Jambalaya.  I would just omit the shrimp.

Made this in a dutch oven and they gobbled it up.  needs Franks hot sauce as the only condiment.  We omitted shrimp.

Our unit has the council archery instructor and we use the local range which has been accredited by the council for operations. We also have several scouts who are instructors. This allows us to host groups for archery and sling shots.

nice

Still silly that only council (or a professional facility) can run an archery, sling shot or tomahawk event for Cubs and Webelos. I get BB guns, but sling shots? Please.

Agreed, I think the reason they did this is to drive camp registrations.

I like them.  The info on sling shots is way to vague. What is the correct equipment, ammunition, and range for them?

http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/programupdates.aspx

Take aim at fun and excitement in your council with the new Cub Scout Shooting Sports Awards. Insignia will arrive in national Scout shops and become available for wholesale customers in February. The awards will be offered in three disciplines: BB guns, archery, and slingshots. Councils may choose to offer one or more of the disciplines. With rank-specific requirements and insignia, there is incentive for boys to earn the awards year after year at camp. Our youth members consistently list shooting sports as one of their most-desired outdoor activities. With these new awards, Cub Scouts will hit the bull’s-eye with fun!
Award requirements 
Shooting sports award FAQs 
Shooting sports tracking sheet 

I would not worry so much about the paperwork part.  The fact that they are cheating the boys out of a mountain top experience is troubling but difficult to retroactively change.  The Cubmaster could and should den leader meetings to discuss what they are doing.  Maybe highly suggest that she attend the district roundtable meetings, maybe she will get on board for delivering the mountain top experience.

Open PDF.

Search on "subscribe".

Find the following:

 

"Subscribing. Send a message to advancement.team@@scouting.org, with “SUBSCRIBE†in the subject line. Indicate your name, email address, and council in the message text. Unsubscribing. To decline future issues please reply and enter “REMOVE†in the subject line. We will remove the subscription within the next two weeks."

 

 

Thanks

OK, I am dense, how do you sign up to receive it? 

I feel your pain, held my last den meeting tonight.  5 great years with these boys since they were 6....I tried to make it special and grown up by teaching them wilderness survival techniques and fire making techniques.....  Was very hard to have them walk out of the door of my house knowing that I will only see them at Blue and Gold for half of them that are going to a different troop.  I was their den leader, cub master, committee chair, and friend....