Eagle94-A1

I admit I liked themed competition camporees. This year, my council camporee's theme was Wilderness Survival, and the competition was interesting. We had everything from plant ID, to survival shelter building where they dumped water on the shelter, to no match and no flint and steel firestarting ( don't know if anyone used the waterbottle and water method, but know of 3 patrols that used batteries an 000 steel wool ) to geocaching/first aid, to Tomahawk Throwing. Everyone had a blast, especially the Cubs who ended up on the Tomahawk range As others said, while competiions should focus

CM & WD, One local tribe in my old stomping grounds had individual houses similar to your pic. But the community meeting place, was more substantial. Quinnipissa Lodge 479 built a replica of the Caddo House, and use it for their ceremonies. I like it

I've bad expereince with just giving stuff to scouts. I've seen folks donate money for equipment or outright give them equipment, and it was not taken care of. Heck my son's troop is having some issues with tents being damaged, and they did some fundraising to get them. I like having some skin in the game, whether is is traditional fundraising, i.e. popcorn, spaghetti dinners etc, or having them work events. I remember picking up garbage at one event every year, and that is what paid for me to stay in the troop and do campouts after my father walked out. I cut grass, picked up garbage. and was

CM&WD, One of the challenges of putting on good training, especially outdoor training, is the prep work. To do it correctly, and I stress correctly it takes 6-9 months of prepwork i.e. finding a date that can get the most people to attend, recruiting qualified staff, organizing who does what etc. I know the council I grew up in did the training 2 SMF, and later IOLS 2 times a year with one group of districts hosting the spring course, and another group of districts hosting the fall course. My "troop" had 6 patrols of 8 or 9 from all over the council, and the fall course had a similar

After 7 years as a Boy Scout who attended Brownsea 22, the old Scoutmaster Fundamentals Course, which is now divided into SM Specific and IOLS ( and SF had a 3rd module on the "Model Troop Meeting" ) the only thing that I learned new was the paperwork side of things, i.e. the need for tour permits, getting Safe Swim Defense certified, etc. Like some others, I could have taught the course, especially the outdoor portion. When I was training chair, one of the things I did was get folks I knew who needed IOLS to be " trained" but already had the knowledge, skills, and abilitities to help st

I admit, I've never done WB, but I've done Brownsea 22 and staffed JLT. I was told both courses are 'Woodbadge Lite" since the material is nearly identical, and Scouts don't do tickets. In fact one of the JLT staffers, who turned 18 after the course and went to WB told me when I asked him about the course, "I wouldn't waste my time going right now since everything taught at WB we taugh at JLT. I'd wait until you got out of Scouts for a while, and come back in and need a refresher." Back then, the courses took what Scouts should know as First Class or higher Scouts, and applied it in a no-n

Do not know how much it's going to cost, but the CO for my son's troop is going to build a building specifcally for Scouting on the new property. The building is suppose to be large enough for both the pack and troop to meet at the same time. Kinda helps when the IH is doing double duty as an ASM, and the #1 deacon who is heading up the new facility layout is also the committee chairman. Most of the troops in my neck of the woods have their own rooms, usually the basements, of the COs. One such troop has stuff going back to Harding Administration!

Unfortunately paying a fee for scout camp use is the norm in my neck of the woods. I had to pay useage fees for day camp and various camporees. It is incorporated into the event budget, so it's in the fee for the event, and most folks do not notice. You may say I've drunk the council Kool Aid, but I'm for it because the camp usage fees are used to take care of the camp in addition to the designated council budget funds. So the more the local council camps are used, the more money that camp gets. And that is a good thing compared to before. When I first got into the council, the there was

TG IMHO is probably THE most important job in the troop that uses a New Scout Patrol (NSP) because his job is to get the Scouts up to speed and train the PL to do the job without. Essentially his job is wo work his way out of a job.

My district tried somethinglike that, specifically it would go down theunit number list to decide who runs the leaders' crackerbarrels. It was a failure. I admit I really want the youth participating in cemporee events instead of running them. But those Scouts WILLING to host and run should have full power to decide hwo things are going to be. My answer would be 'See you nect year."

To paraphrase Yoda, knots and beads matter not. If the Scouts don't know how to use something, and there is no one else to teach them, then obviously you gotta do what you gotta do.

OUTSTANDING YOUNG MAN!

I had to take one of the my scouts to the ER while at summer camp a long time ago. He was OK, but had to get a prescription filled. I didn't have the money or his insurance card with me, so I dropped him off at camp, got money and the insurance info, and headed backinto town for his 'script. It was a nasty evening, heavy rain, poor visibility, etc. On the way back to camp after picking up the prescription, someone shot out across the road in front of me, causing me to hydroplane onto the side of the road in order to avoid hitting them. They kept on going as if nothing happened. And i am stuck

If this is going on a tangent, please bear with me as I am not trying to. I stated that my friend may be right in taking 5 years or more to get a troop to be fully independent of the adults. I know some of the issues I'm seeing with my son's troop are the following 1) SPL is not mature enough, doesn't have the self-confidence for the job, nor the respect from some of the "older" Scouts. Part of that is the fact that the troop is so young, oldest scout is 14, and we've had an influx of new scouts in the past 18 months. Troop has tripled in size since when my son joined and has 2 NSPs. W

When did BALOO, OWLS, and ITOLS become online courses? And why am I not surprised the new training modules won't be available until AFTER the new program goes into effect. Thankfully the literature came out on time!

I know we have. One unit is because they need to leave Saturday nite. Hopefully their new bishop and SM will get them active once again. One unit has not replied directly, just ignores callls and emails. Heck they were suppose to run an event at camporee, and never informed anyone on the camporee staff that they were not going. I found out via a Facebook post that they were not going to camporee the monday before camporee! However one post on FB stated they believed there was too much politics on the district level, and they cannot get minimum number of Scouts for a patrol to go to council ca

Don't know about other training staff, but I ran into a bunch of AIA staffers at our section conclave. Top notch folks. So wish I was going.

I've seen special "Staff" hats used before, but those were ti ID the folks working the event, you could ask questions about the event, and enforce some of the policies ( "WHATCHA MEAN I CAN'T KEEP MY CAR IN THE CAMPSITE.?!?!?!?!"and the caps are for being screamed at.) Why can't folks realize that the program is for the Scouts and not the adults.

GBB recommended for new troops or troops getting back to the patrol method, that the Sm act mroe like the SPL to get the Scouts trained. He basically showed them how to do it. Over a 6 month period, he gradually stepped back from that role and started the Scouts onthe pacth to runnign everything. I am actyually thinking it may take 5 years to get it running. A good friend who started a troop took 5 years to get it where the boys were running things completely. Oldest son's troop is having some issues, but is boy run.

My thoughts. 1) While training is important, it is not the "be all, end all solution." I had some extremely knowledgable, extremely pro Patrol Method scouters AND SCOUTS (emphasis) teach ITOLS with me, and one of those staffers also did SM and ASM Specific. We had one gentlemen in both of those classes we taught, and 4 years later is STILL not using the Patrol Method. He also got a bunch of counseling and mentoring to boot. But " Scouting has to change with the times." 2) Someone mentioned "indoctrination" and talked about starting out in Cub Scouts. I second that as I have constant

My council was the one that piloted the PWC at the Pamilco Sea Base. I honestly do not know all the details, except that it was a long, detailed, paperfilled process that had to go through national to be approved as a pilot program. I think it took over a year to jump through the hoops, but don't quote me on it. Now from one of the participants, when they got to do the PWC, it was a BLAST! but they had to go through a lot of classroom work before getting there.

At one point we had a fire ban in NC for so long that we had NSPs that didn't even know how to build one! And when we were able to get a firebuilding event at camporee ( It's good to have the firemarshall as an SM ) one 1 patrol was able to build the fire, cook the noodle, and tie it in a square knot! Even then, they could not do it in the 30 minutes allocated. It took them 31 minutes and they lost 10 points. My son's troop had a tradition, and the fireban stopped it. One meal HAD to be cooked over an open flame/wood coals. They stopped it for a while, and haven't started it back up yet.

We went out of council last year, the older Scouts decided on it. All of the Scout that wen loved it so much, they persuaded those who didn't go to go back this year. What the guys who have been to the local council and the OOC camps liked were the nite time activities, bikes allowed for travelling, BMX track, skateboard area, and the waterslide. All the guys who have only been ot the OOC camp loved the waterslide and BMX tracks. Now what I look for is a camp that doesn't focus solely on MBs. One ASM looks for a camp with poor wireless reception so work wont try an call him in on T

I still use it on occasion. i have a Whisperlite Int. so I'll burn anything.