pstar

Thanks! Lot's of good ideas. Btw, 800+ people at the little league opening day parade. Yikes! One of the three Tiger cubs almost ran for the hills but they all did it and did it well. Very proud. The pack leader stopped by and said he'd like to have the flag repaired and work something out with the award ribbons. There is hope after all

Good ideas. But, we meet in the school gym and store our flag(s) in the closet etc. Storing and finding a place to set and display shadow boxes would be difficult, at best. They've been traditionally displayed with the flag at den/pack meetings so moving them to the charter organization is not an option. The one idea I've had, rough at this point, is maybe buy a few birch or oak dowels around 6'. Drill holes every 4" or so and attach ribbons to the holes, one on each side if necessary. One side would be better because we could hang the staffs sideways and the ribbons would hang separately and be in unobstructed view. I'm still open to suggestions.

I happen to the the pack flag and attached award ribbons because I've volunteered to lead a flag ceremony at the opening day little league parade. I contacted the 6 den leaders asking for scouts to volunteer for the color guard and only two replied after a week of waiting saying they could not help. I sent an email to the pack leader two days ago suggesting we have a tailor repair some small tears to the flag and possibly address my above question on the award ribbons. Thus far, no response. So, sadly, you see the apathy I'm dealing with here.

My pack has the pack flag on a staff and 50 or more unit award ribbons lashed onto an O ring at the top of the staff. They getting to be a mess. The oldest one I've found thus far is from 1954! I'm wondering how other packs display their unit award ribbons. I'm looking for ideas.

Fyi, here's the ceremony and oath I presented to and had the scouts recite when they received their staffs.

Scout Hiking Staff Ceremony

Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting, spoke at great length of the need for a Scout to have a basis of strength and support as he goes on a journey. In his first drawing of a Scout, it showed a boy with a staff in his hand. The hiking staff has long been a symbol of a journey. By trusting in the strength, support and guidance of the staff, you are much more likely to have a safer journey. Always looking for ways to tie scouting to duty, country and faith, Lord Baden-Powell said the hiking staff should be like your faith in your parents and God. Always there to support you when you are about to slip or fall, always there just when you need it. And so I present this staff to you today in recognition for your hard work during your 1^st year as a scout. This staff is unfinished, it represents endless possibilities or opportunities. Finish it and decorate it as you like with your parents.

Denners, line up the scouts~

Denners hand out the staffs~

Tiger Cubs, with your staff in hand, repeat after me the scout Hiking Staff Pledge:

I, [state your name], promise to use my Staff,

In a safe and responsible manner.

I promise to never hit,

Another scout, plant, or animal.

Should I forget these rules,

And abuse this staff,

And the trust that has been place in me,

I will lose this staff,

The staffs came in 6' lengths and I cut them down to 5'. They are either 1" or 3/4" in diameter, I don't recall right now. Birch is a good option as it's a hardwood and strong but not as heavy or expensive as some other hardwoods. I sprayed a light clear coat on them to pull out the wood grain and rubbed them down with baby powder when dry to remove any tackiness. I drilled the top holes, three, using a small bit for a pilot hole and then a larger bit after to avoid splitting the wood. I highly recommend doing the following hand grip wrap with para cord or similar rope. I also suggest you leave an extra 6 or so inches at each tag end. You can tie these two ends together which acts as a hand tether. I cut approximately 10' 16" of rope to make each hand grip. The rope can be removed and used in a variety of ways. They are 7 year old's so I bought some stickers they could put on if they wished and to my amazement, and joy frankly, none of them wanted to mess up the look of their staff with silly stickers. I almost went with sticks found in the woods but I like these dowels much better.

Thanks for the replies. The den meeting was last night. I did contact the pack leader and he told me it would be fine. He had previously told me I should be collecting dues at den meetings which I never did before. The staffs were Birch dowels I bought at Home Depot and really nice quality. We had a nice ceremony with an oath taken by the scouts to reinforce the importance of the staff and the privilege they have entrusted to them to have it. We also touched on it would be taken from them if they did not act responsibly with it. I instructed the scouts with their parents on how to tie a unique rope grip to the staff and I drilled several holes at the top so they added additional ropes with beads. I also brought different color tape to include tiger cub orange so they could add stripes. I've never seen the parents so engaged and interested in a den meeting to date. The scouts and parents were THRILLED with the activity. I substituted this for the usual leaf rubbing which is done in the Get Outdoors section of the tiger cub rank achievement. Btw, I learned Lord Baden-Powell's 1st drawing of a scout depicted him with a staff in hand and he strongly suggested all scouts should have one. Definitely a home run.

I'm a Tiger cub den leader. Thus far I haven't collected any dues at meetings. The parents who have led den activities relating to attaining the tiger cub rank have paid for and provided their own supplies. On the last outdoors section for the coming den meeting I'm going to have the boys make scout hiking staffs. I've purchased 9 birch sticks and various supplies to do so to the cost of $60. This is a chunk of change to me. I don't think the other parents spent anywhere near this amount. Is it ok for me to send a note out I'll be collecting dues to split this cost? For some reason I feel uncomfortable asking for money. Thanks.

I will rotate them.

I'm aware of the parent/scout team concept. I suppose it works in some cases. in mine, getting parent participation is extremely difficult. Parents are often texting throughout the meeting. I've politely brought up the above theme to no avail. I'm not going to force the issue and drive scouts out of the program. Agreeing on a meeting night once a month took weeks. Boyscouttrail.com specifically says every den should have denners. I don't see any downside in this minimal responsibility position for 7 year olds. I have a 7 year old right now so I know what he and his friends are capable of. I see 7 year olds play games in teams everyday and they love it. We should really be meeting at least twice a month but if I suggested that it would just be me and my son at the meetings so I'll do the best I can based on my situation.

I plan to read it. Washington is so corrupt now. We have a president who is currently rewriting or throwing out legislation of which he is not legally allowed to do. The corruption is on both sides of the aisle. Politicians are elected and then pass legislation based not on the will of the majority but on perpetuating their power in Washington. Power of the people needs to be returned to the states. Good thread.

This question is an offshoot of another question I posted so thought I'd start a new thread. Sort of a long background, hope it's not too boring...

I'm a Tiger den leader, 9 boys around 7 yrs old. I noticed their very little formality to the pack. I researched and have initiated a come to attention routine and with scouting the command is Alert. So I call Line Up, the boys form a line with their right hand on the next boys shoulder. I then call Scout, Alert and they assume an Attention stance...salute...at ease and so on. There is one boy who buys in and does it perfectly and my son does as well. The other boy is quiet and my son is very personable and outgoing communication wise. So I asked the pack leader to obtain the Denner and assist Denner cords, which he did, and I awarded my son the Denner and the other boy the assist Denner cords this Monday. I advised everyone, boys and their parents, these are temporary positions and if others would like some leadership responsibility they too could have a turn. Btw, we were asked to do a formal flag ceremony at the pack meeting. I made the call outs and these two boys carried out the commands nearly flawlessly. Other dens who had done this at past meetings, older boys too, had done pretty lame, simplistic routines. My den received a round of applause which I had never heard before.

Anyways, while preparing for our Blue and Gold skit, the two Denners were trying their best and doing well, as usual. The others were on the scale of extremely meek to two who are were flat out disruptive, obstinate and defiant. I had to sit one down. My question is if I feel no one else is capable and or interested in a Denner role, should I remove the two from their positions and appoint two others, regardless?

Thanks for the replies. As it turns out, the pack leader did pick them up for me and gave them to me at the pack meeting. I made my son the Denner and another boy the assistant Denner. They both have shown the most leadership so far and deserve the first turn. Some of the other parents gave sort of a cold reception to it at the den meeting even though I told everyone it is a temporary position and boys who are interested in increased leadership (helping out) etc. could have an opportunity in a month or so. I think full uniforms are important, shirts tucked in etc and I'm enforcing it. There are several boys who just flat out refuse to cooperate and show little to no teamwork. I'm still thinking about how or even if I want to give them opportunity to wear the cords with their poor attitude and effort.

I'm thinking of initiating a denner position in my Tiger cub den. Do the funds to purchase it come from teh pack fund or do I have to pass the hat in the den meeting. The pack has paid for all other emblems, patch's, loops, pins etc. Seems like they should pick this up too.