ddubois

My wife finally got a reply from the council's Program Director: Xxxxxx, Thank you for your e-mail. I was out at Camp Xxxxxx when you sent the e-mail and did not have a chance to reply back to you timely as there is no service there. We have investigated the incident, and we cannot determine the cause of the window being broken in the parking lot. I have spoken to both the Camp Director from camp and the Range Officer whom worked at camp at length, whom each indicate that they were present that day and that they could not determine how it occurred or what had caused the window to be d

No comment My wife is composing an email, although we're not sure how to word it. Yes The Camp Director, also a volunteer, saw the damage and quickly concluded it was a BB pellet hole in the middle of the shattered window. Our District is currently between DEs, and so, for most of the event so far this week, there has not been any BSA staff on site, and there was none on site when the window was discovered at end of day.

Hi Scouters, I'm not sure what forum to put this in, but here goes. My wife and my older Boy Scout sons are volunteering all week as Staff for the annual Cub Scout Day Camp for our District. This event includes shooting sports. Today, apparently some unknown Cub Scout aimed very poorly, or in some other way discharged a BB gun, into a nearby parking lot, hitting our rear passenger window, breaking it. The bill is going to be nearly $300 for replacement. We give a great deal time of our time to Scouting, but are thrifty with our money, and I'm not comfortable "donating" this cost.

When I was in Aloha Council, it seemed pretty standard to get access to some room after school hours, usually the cafeteria, where we could put on our dog and pony show for maybe half a dozen families, after having had fliers passed out to the students, or maybe announcements made over the PA. This was all arranged, AFAIK, by someone on the professional staff, who secured volunteers at Roundtable to do the actual presentations. In South Florida Council, I've seen a much wider variety of access. One woman has been committee chair for a local Pack for decades, and has a relation with a few

I would rather see experienced Scouters associated with high-functioning unit share their wisdom -- as Roundtable Commissioners, or Unit Commissioners, or New Unit Membership Chairs, or in whatever way they can that can reach the most units/boys -- so that other units can be high-functioning too. I don't find complaining about some facet of their district or council on the forums to be productive, unless it's done specifically to somehow promote some improvement. In my limited experience, most faults at the district level seem to be due to a lack of volunteers to staff it, or knowledge how t

First, let me quote myself from another post, to give some background: So, that said, please advice what I can do to be the most effective Membership Chair I can be? What has worked for you? What do you prioritize? How do you get schools to let you "in", so you sell the program to the kids directly? Specifically, I like actionable items I can tick off and say I've done, or a work product I can demonstrate I have. I would say most of the information I have found in my google searches are either vague job descriptions, or at a bird's eye view level of detail. I do have the Membe

Man, I totally forgot about this thread, and missed most of these replies. FYI, "Have an annual customer satisfaction survey done with current Scout families" is directly from: http://www.scouting.org/Home/Membership/Youth_Recruitment/Membership_Chairman/cubscout.aspx. Granted, that's ostensibly for Cub Scouts, but I find your reply overly dismissive. For the record, all my efforts as membership chair were entirely unsuccessful. I passed out several hundred fliers at 3 different middle schools during their open house. I called and emailed reaching out to three different Pa

Does this forum exist for the purpose of airing grievances, or for sharing actionable wisdom usable for the betterment of Scouting?

Yes, I was on reddit. Can someone walk me through the process when a MB camp / MB college is involved? Are blue cards "supposed to" be issued by the Troop and given to boy in advance of merit badges they will be taking at one of those events? In my experience, some Troops do that, some don't. Are the blue cards "supposed to" be written on by the camp's MBC staff? IME, you don't get that service done for the unit; you just get an email or a print out. So, assuming the unit only gets a printout, is the Troop advancement person or SM supposed to fill out the blue card based on t

I'd like to have a discussions about Merit Badge partials (and maybe blue cards). What has been your and your units experience with boys who get partials? What are best practices for handling them? I understand, in theory, a boy can contact a Scoutmaster and ask for a MBC contact, then arrange for a MBC to help him finish up the incomplete requirements and acquire the MB. From what I have seen in practice, partials never get completed; it's more likely the boy takes the class again a few years down the road and get the MB at that time. My boys have accumulated a large catalog of partials fro

My son's are joining a very small troop, and I've just stepped up to be the Troop Membership Chair. One of my prescribed functions is to "Have an annual customer satisfaction survey done with current Scout families". I am unable to find an existing survey to distribute, and would prefer not reinventing the wheel. Plus, I'm not sure what I would ask. Also, I wonder how useful a survey would really be. I'm thinking maybe this sort of thing might be better done as phone conversations, particularly to reach out to no-longer-active members, to get feedback about what would have kept them in

I am aware of the policy within Guide to Safe Scouting regarding shower usage that states: "Separate accommodations for adults and Scouts required. When camping, no youth is permitted to sleep in the tent of an adult other than his or her own parent or guardian. Councils are strongly encouraged to have separate shower and latrine facilities for females. When separate facilities are not available, separate times for male and female use should be scheduled and posted for showers. Likewise, youth and adults must shower at different times." At a Boy Scout camp, this is staightf

http://www.city-data.com/articles/Goat-Island-Mokuauia-Honolulu-Hawaii-Day.html

Hi Scouters, First time poster here, thanks for the forum to air my questions. I'm a new Cubmaster for a Pack in Hawaii, and this Pack often has camping events at the Malaekahana State Recreation Area. (https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ma...db0c463c7fb9cf). Nearby there is a very lovely federal bird sanctuary on it's own private island with gorgeous views, called Goat Island. (https://www.google.com/maps/place/Go...75e2eb7e0e3f56) On a couple of occasions in the past we have held closing ceremony for our Pack event, and then some adventerous "interested families" would get together