chrisg478

December is always a really busy time of the year for everybody so I wouldn't get too stressed out just yet. Send out a reminder about the next den meeting or activity via e-mail/text/tweet/IM or whatever your pack uses and then see how many show up. My guess is most of them will be back.

As far as getting the boys caught up - I know this is going to sound kind of hard in todays "everybody gets a trophy" world. But, If the kid doesn't show up for an activity he just doesn't get to do that activity. If it is an activity that counts towards his rank or some other award by all means offer him and his parent the information on how to complete that activity on their own. But if they choose not to follow up that is on them. If the parent has an issue with that remind them that this is a FAMILY based program and while you will certainly do what you can to help the boys earn their rank the parents are going to have to help as well.

There is no rule that says boys have to complete their rank by Blue and Gold or any date other then the end of the school year. So while you might have 7/14 complete their requirements by B&G, the other 7 can continue working towards their rank until they finish or the end of the school year in your area. You would just award them their Bear badge at a pack meeting or other pack event. And sometimes seeing their friends get awards when they don't lights a fire under some kids and/or their parents. If they don't complete the requirements for their rank by the end of the school year then they don't get their patch and they move on to Webelos with the rest of the den. Life goes on.

On a more positive note - To earn the Bear rank you must complete 12 out of 24 achievements. You must pick 1 achievement from the "God" group, 3 from the "Country" group, 4 from the family group, and 4 from the self group. If you choose to do more than 12 achievements the extras count towards your arrow points. What I am trying to say is the boys can complete their rank by doing DIFFERENT achievements.

I assume you are going to continue having meetings after Blue and Gold. I believe the whittling chip and bird feeder activity fill requirements for 2 achievements in the "self" group. So pick two other achievements from that group to do at den meetings in March. The 2 that missed whittling chip and the ones that missed the bird feeder activity will earn another achievement toward their rank and the kids that have already earned their rank will earn one more elective without anyone repeating an activity or you having to plan extra meetings or activities.

Sometimes I think we forget what Cub Scouts is all about. Sometimes we put way too much emphasis on earning badges and awards.

Cub Scouts is supposed to be about having fun with friends and family. It's about getting outdoors and learning about the world around us. It's about doing new exciting things that other kids don't get to do. Yes we want boys to earn their ranks. But you (or your husband) shouldn't have to jump through hoops to get everyone their rank. Like someone else here said, concentrate on the boys who are showing up and that everybody (including your husband and you) is having fun.

For 2015

My hope is that I have set a good example for my Training Team and the person who will become the new Training Coordinator.

I hope they continue to provide quality training events to the volunteers in our area. I hope those events continue to be as much fun and entertaining as they have been for the last 4 years.

I hope the Cub Scout pack I have been UC for continues to grow and that they overcome the problems they encountered last year.

I hope the Boy Scout Troop I have been UC for continues to grow and further implement the patrol method in their programs with their new Scoutmaster. .

My dream is that our local council leadership will remember that this a volunteer run organization and the professional scouters job is to support the volunteers. Council needs to learn the value of the volunteers thoughts and ideas.

My fear is that another awesome professional scouter and friend will loose his job because of the unrealistic expectations of our council leadership. I fear my district will be loosing a lot of good volunteers this year (including me) because we have relied on the same people to do everything for far too long. I fear the volunteers in my district will have less and less support at a time when they need more support than ever.

I look forward to "cutting back" on Scouting in 2015. While I plan to keep a foot in the door by helping with some trainings and activities this year, I am dropping all my scouting jobs except for Campmaster. I have been in Scouting for 16+ years and I have had some awesome experiences. But I have been "in charge" of something in Scouting for most of those years. I am tired. In 2015 it is someone else's turn to "be in charge".

Not necessarily make a profit but stay within your budget. And our council figures a 10% contingency fee in the budget for every event to cover some of councils costs.

Here is how I look at it.

My training team is made up of volunteers from 3 districts and 1 "professional scouter" (Program Director) to support us. Part of his salary covers the time he spends supporting us.

My council does not charge us to hold training events at our council camps. So while I am getting to use a building and/or some camp sites for free, there are costs associated with that like electricity, part of the Rangers salary, maintenance, etc.

Our Program Director makes copies of handouts and other materials for us to use in our training events. Costs here include paper and toner/ink. He also helps us with food purchases by taking the QM food shopping prior to a training event (IOLS). So there is the cost of the food plus another part of his salary for taking the time to do this.

We use a lot of things from camp to do training. Everything from coffee to dining flies. All of those things have to be replaced sooner or later.

If we need any other materials for training all we have to do is ask. Any reasonable requests have always been granted.

Our Program Director and the camp Ranger are always "available" during our training events. Sometimes they are helping with the training, sometimes they are just in camp, and sometimes they are available by phone but they are always there when we need them.

We typically "make" about $600 for an IOLS/BALOO weekend. We typically spend about $300 - $400 on food and materials for that weekend. I suppose some people would say that gives council a $200-$300 profit. But with all the support we get from our Program Director and Ranger I think at best we are just breaking even.

I know a lot of people who feel that you should not be "making money" for council. But I don't feel we should cost council any extra money either.

How is your Council and/or District planning on rolling out the new Cub Scout Adventures program? Are they planning any trainings or other special events? Holding special Roundtable Breakouts? Or are they just referring people to the program updates web site and other information being put out by National?

One of my scouting jobs is to coordinate adult leader training events for 3 districts in our council. Every year we hold a training event similar to a Pow Wow or U of Scouting (smaller scale) that we call Cub College. For our next Cub College in March I would like to offer either an all day session or several shorter sessions that focus on the new Cub Scout program. Cub Scout leaders are telling me if I offer the program they will come. My planning committee for the event is also excited about the new program and would love to offer a new exciting program for the cub leaders.

My problem is everyone I have talked to at the District/Council level, professional and volunteer, feels there is no need to offer any type of support for Cub Scout Leaders during this transition. "People will figure it out" is what I am hearing. Normally this would not matter to me. I have enough experience running training events I don't need the nay sayers. But this time I need some help and I am not sure where to go.

Since national has not released the training manuals for the new program yet my committee will have to develop our own program to "train" Cub Scout Leaders on the new program. I have seen what national has put on the "program updates" web site and I know there are Webinars coming up in January. We want a hands on, fun, exciting program to get people fired up about the new program. We even though about letting kids participate and actually do some of the activities.

Which brings me back to my original question - How is your District/Council planning on rolling out the new Cub Scout Program?

I used to do something similar with my Tiger Dens. I would lead the first few meetings (2 or 3) to set the example. Then each family would host a den meeting and a go see it. After everyone had a turn the Tigers would pick electives they wanted to do and their adult partner would be responsible for organizing that activity. When I had a large group of Webelos I had the boys pick which activity pins they wanted to earn (after the required ones) and their parents made arrangements for those den meetings. They were some of the best (catapults, volcanoes and carving wood ducks) and worse (parent pulled a no show). den meetings ever. Great way to get parents involved you just need to have a backup plan in case things don't go as planned.

My units (Pack & Troop) are blessed to have their own building to meet in so it is up to each Den Leader what works best for them. This year the Troop meets on Mondays, Bears on Tuesday, Tigers and Wolves on Wed,, Webelos on Thursday. Pack meeting is on the last Wednesday of the month with no den meetings that week. I know units in our area that meet on weekends, Friday nights, or just about any other combination you can think of. The "best" night is the one where you can get most of the boys to attend.

Go with an open mind. Participate. Have fun. Try to go with the flow. And on day 2 remember, it is just a game.

When thinking about your ticket, think about where you are in scouting now and where you would like to be.

Don't worry about specific goals just yet. They will change as you go through the course.

I went to an Area Forum last Saturday and we discussed this topic. One of the people from National said that the average DE has less than 2 years experience in that job. He also admitted that National does a very poor job of training the new people. He claimed that National now recognizes that is a problem and they want to find a way to fix it. Any bets on how long that will take or for the local volunteer to see a difference?

I am a Unit Commissioner for a struggling Cub Scout Pack. Last spring the COR fired the previous Cubmaster. The previous CM and her husband pretty much ran the pack themselves. They had a couple den leaders and a committee chairperson on paper but most of those people were not doing anything. The CC did not even know he was registered as the CC. So when the CM and her husband left there were no leaders for the 10 Cub Scouts left in the pack. After many meetings and long discussions with the parents, the COR and I have recruited a CM, a CC, and Den Leaders for every den except the Tigers (parents are taking turns) and the 1st year Webelos (meeting with Webelos II for now). We convinced them to do a lot of recruiting this fall and now, at least on paper, they have over 30 scouts in the pack. Sounds great right?

Now to the problems - The CC and Webelos II leader will all be leaving the Pack in about 4 months. The CM is leaving next summer. The Cubmaster is already getting frustrated with how much everyone is depending on her to do everything (popcorn, recruiting, record keeping, recharter, etc.). It is obvious she needs more help. The other parents that have been in the program for a while don't want to take on anymore responsibilities than they absolutely have to and most of them are Webelos parents that will be leaving in a few months. The newer parents are reluctant to step up because, well they are new and don't feel like they know enough to be "in charge" of anything. So it is the age old question of how do they get more adults to step up and help? The CM has asked me to help her do a presentation about adult involvement to the parents at the next committee or pack meeting.

So does anyone have any suggestions on what type of presentation we can give to get parents to help out? Something that worked for you in the past?

Recruiting people is not really my strong suit so any suggestions you might have would be helpful.

Getting back to the original question -

Yes there needs to be at least 1 person that has completed BALOO training on any outdoor Cub Scout activity. In my Council, BALOO covers the policies and procedures leaders need to plan a fun and safe activity for everyone involved. It includes our Council's policies on cub camping in addition to what is in the BALOO training manual. My council also has a policy that you do not need a BALOO trained person for the Council's Summer Camp or District Day Camp since the Council and/or District plan all the activities and provide qualified staff.

I have been involved in Scouting for about 15 years now. I have been everything from a parent that wanted to "help" to Den Leader, Cubmaster, District Training Chair and now a Training Coordinator for 3 Districts. I am also a Wood Badger (3 times on staff) but I don't wear my mug on my belt (my pants would get wet).

I have known many "Professional" Scouters over the years. Some have been really good, some have been really bad and some have been so-so. Over the years I have learned not to depend on a professional scouter for anything that I (or another volunteer) can do for myself.

Currently I work closely with one of the good guys.

One of the things that makes him one of the good guys is that he "gets it". He understands that Scouting is about THE BOYS. He also understands Scouting is a VOLUNTEER run organization and his job is to support me and the other volunteers he serves. He knows the importance of setting an example and understands what servant leadership is all about. And since he is one of the good guys I only ask for his help when I truly need it. We get along so well because we both respect and support each other.

There are many professionals that "don't get it" or are in scouting for the wrong reasons. And being a scout professional can be a really difficult job. I would not wish that job on my worst enemy. But the success or failure of your District does not depend on your DE. It depends on the volunteers who choose to support the program and work with the DE to achieve everyone's goals.

We had the same issue with a pack in our District. The DE and District Committee were aware of the problem but did not do anything to correct the situation. Everything worked out ok until the boys finished all the activity pins and AOL requirements by the middle of 4th grade. Most of the boys quit scouting at that point because there was nothing left for them to do with the Pack and they were not old enough to cross-over into a Troop yet.

For your situation - The whole Cub Scout program is changing next year so the kindergartners can be Tigers again, the 1st graders can be Wolves again etc. That would get everybody back on track where they are supposed to be.