thrifty

our pack has done it several different ways the past few years. The Webelos 1 parents are responsible for B&G every year with anyone else that wants to volunteer. The year before us got a caterer and it was nice so we did the exact same thing. The food was dropped off to the church basement. Chicken, spaghetti, rolls etc.. $10/person, scouts were free. All money covered costs. I don't recall the price but the next year there was a chef in the group so they had a similar meal but he cooked everything in the church kitchen. The year after that it was decided that a big meal w

Lake Erie formerly Greater Cleveland. Not going to lose any sleep over it, I just find it interesting. I wonder why they aren't in our council because I would think the council is aware of them. Or maybe not. We have popcorn and maple syrup! The troops in the area also have their pancakes, spaghetti or other fundraisers because popcorn doesn't sell enough to support the troop. We do ok.

well, it seems like everyone is selling camp cards except us. Interesting.

what's a camp card? I assume its one of those plastic cards that has coupons to various local vendors? Our school athletics program does something like that. I don't see anything wrong with this. Assuming I am correct in what they are, my opinion is that you are advertising the fundraiser on social media. The customers are still dealing directly with you or another parent/scout/leader when purchasing the card. Our troop and many others in the area advertise our fundraisers on our local media websites. Our troop doesn't post pics of the scouts online, its just usually a flier and

Good to hear. As far as I'm concerned this should be where the BSA devotes more of its energy. I know that in our area the term Explorers has recently been used for short term classes with specialists in Engineering or other careers but I am most familiar with the Law Enforcement and Fire programs. My son is enjoying his LE explorer post more than his troop because the post meetings are fun and active. My brother has 20+ years in law enforcement and still says the time he spent with his post was inspirational and important to his career. I live in the suburb of a large midwest city.

This isn't your question but I thought I would share this. Our CC does not destroy any of the forms when they are outdated. She hand delivers those forms back to the parents. It may seem like a small detail, any of these forms could be photocopied or the details could be written down but I think it shows responsibility and accountability for the details entrusted to her. Maybe the parents care about the paperwork, maybe they don't, but they gave it to her and she gives it back so they can dispose of it instead of wondering or assuming that she did.

The pack didn't do much of anything in the past. Someone finally decided to do the arrow similar to Eagle87's pic above without the plaque. Its simple, cheap and we just used various bits and electrical tape. Presenting the arrow and describing what the individual colors represented added some flair so family members understood what it all meant. My son is a 14yo Life scout and his arrow still hangs in his room. I would assume that eventually that arrow will be delegated to a cardboard box in the basement until he's an adult and wants to see it again. Personally, I think its important to

Never heard of the fire buckets. Our tents have a laminated sheet in each tent identifying that there are no fires in tents. If you want buckets, try asking Firehouse Subs if you have one near you. Their pickles come in red buckets and they sell them cheap after emptying. Individual stores have been known to donate the buckets upon request. Otherwise the $2 goes towards helping firemen. https://www.firehousesubs.com/ The buckets have print on them but you could easily paint WATER or SAND over the print if you wanted.

How much drama could there be if everyone was onboard with the decision? Of course there would be drama with the objectors but it also lets everyone know where the CO and/or troop leadership stands on any future changes. Backdoor meetings and whispers between leaders certainly doesn't build respect or trust.

I don't disagree but many COs don't have any involvement with the packs or troops other than providing meeting space. It wasn't our CO that wanted a girl troop, it was the leaders with daughters that wanted the girl troop and asked for one. Every leader and committee member in our troop has a child in the troop. Some adult leaders actively petitioned for the girl troop and their voices were heard. Being involved with committee meetings would have been the only opportunity for anti-girl parents to voice their opinions. If parents are not actively involved in the troop, decisions will be ma

somewhere (facebook maybe) I saw a post where the pack used orange pill bottles. Got them donated new from a local pharmacy or something. Of course I wonder if the child proof cap would prevent them from opening? hmm.

fyi - WSJ day passes are now available. I was able to get ours last night. https://www.2019wsj.org/attend/day-visitors/?fbclid=IwAR0KipxPhJIj4OXNMTnsv6VJu6ud9IEykS3qfHf0HCCuC56w9vpNCTRrcHM

Yes sounds like fun, too far for us though. I am aware of activities at West Point and Annapolis. Troop has been to a West Point activity, had fun but it was very crowded. Navy's is STEM related, haven't done it yet. https://www.facebook.com/ScoutmastersCouncil/ https://www.facebook.com/USNABoyScoutJamboree/ Coastguard also. don't know anything about this one. http://coastguard.dodlive.mil/2017/01/boy-scouts-get-hands-on-experience-at-coast-guard-academy/

Our shooting campouts are always popular but most scouts in our area do not have their own guns or access to guns. My son lost interest in shooting with scouts because he's bored of the .22 after shooting it for several years at campouts, camp and in private. He's only interested now if I mention other guns.

our pack always had old spare pw cards in the closet. anyone that didn't want to keep their car could donate it to the cause. these served as examples to new cubs/parents and were also used as family participation cars after the cub races were over. my 30yo+ cars are part of that collection so they still get run on occasion. Kindness is important but compromising the rules for an individual when everyone else followed them can lead to problems. Our pack always had a few days when cubs with no tools at home or a parent that couldn't help would be able to come in and get their cars ready.

wasn't sure where to put this. Does filling out a youth application count towards BSA membership numbers or local executive recruitment goals of some kind? Took my 14yo Life scout to a Venturing meeting. This crew was advertised as having an emphasis on specific areas that my son has an interest in. The recruitment meeting was poorly planned and very confusing with almost no talk about what they do. Anyway, my son did not want to join the crew based on that meeting and so neither one of us filled out an application. The local BSA executive saw that we were not filling out the pa

you said the plc does not choose these kinds of things. Are adventurous ideas ever submitted? Does the plc know that more adventurous camping is an option? Our troop was full of stale ideas and adult leaders set in their ways. The scouts had been doing the same things for years because that was the only thing they knew. It took a few new vocal scouts to submit fresh ideas they found online to the plc and a few willing adults to start making things happen. Many scouts would not know what Philmont was unless someone told them. My son had never been canoeing before he joined the troop, so

I concur with Parkman's thoughts. The troop my son joined had no chaplain aide, said no prayer before meals and had no sunday services. Our CO has never had any interest in being involved with the scouts either, the church is just a place to meet. Religion was never emphasized in my son's pack or troop (or when I was a cub 30+ years ago). It has only been in the past year that one vocal parent has gotten the troop to say grace and if a scout wants to be a CA, he is welcome to do so. IMO I think the troop leadership just felt that duty to god was best dealt with at home. I was surprised t

our CO is very hands off so they have nothing to do with our bank account. just from experiences with our troop, people are not always going to agree on how money is spent. some adults find it easy to spend money that is not theirs. IMO there will be many questions similar to this one in the future, you have to find what works for your troops but I tend to be cautious and the less people that have their hands in the pot, the better.

most boy scouts in our troop don't wear hats so they just use whatever personal head gear they want if any. Personally I don't see the need for mandatory assigned hats. If the youth don't like them, they won't use them anyway.

Our troop charges $30 above the required fee. This provides a necker, slide, patrol patch and advancement/MBs the first year. All campouts including summercamp are charged separately in advance. Try and network. Does someone's grandfather or someone at the CO own some property where you can camp? What about shooting sports/hunting clubs in the region? beg and borrow equipment in the beginning. many communities have facebook pages devoted to local happenings, post that the new troop is looking for tents and items that might be taking up space in someone's garage. people are ha

We did this. It was only a few parents so it didn't take long at the end but it was fun because the dads didn't have to adhere to all of the usual rules. one dad used rubber tires and that resulted in the car going off track every time to much laughter from the scouts. we also did work days but not at regular scout time. a separate day or two was set aside on the weekend for a few hours in the church basement with various tools so that a scout could work on cars if their family did not have the necessary tools. My son's first pack had a lot of single moms with no tools or knowledge

Don't know anything about boys vs girls. My son's school system pushes students to attend college, not just encourages, but emphasizes college as the goal. My wife and I have several degrees but feel college is not for everyone. The recent highschool graduates of our extended family have gone on to college because that's what they were told they needed to do. Both dropped out the first year after getting sizeable loans. Now both are pursuing law enforcement and possibly EMT. Those seem like skills better suited to them. My son's school had a job fair and not a single trade was ther

I agree with Eagle. Right now on scoutshop.org when I search wolf hat or necker the yellow hat and necker are the only ones that come up. I've also read that the new red color and stock won't appear until the old yellow stock is gone so many wolf cubs would have yellow for the near future. If you have enough yellow to sustain your cubs in the future go ahead and do it. maybe a few years from now you will run out of yellow because kids want to keep them or lose them or some parents buy the new red and you can decide on mixing colors or moving to only red.

depending on your living arrangements you could always try finding a cheap bow, a few arrows and a bale of straw with a paper target on it and he could practice at home. Safety first! Don't know, maybe a MBC would sign off on it if you recorded him doing it with proper distances etc.. Our metroparks have offered introduction archery courses and we have several youth rifle/archery/hunting clubs that do youth programs. it could improve his aim and an instructor might allow him to use the bow and target to attempt his MB requirement. He should be able to attempt to complete the MB a