Buffalo Skipper

Oh yea, and one more thing, Santa. If you are under GTOW, how about throwing on a couple of Dutch Ovens for the patrols....

I see the Den Chief as a more challenging responsibility, if done right. As such, I have usually seen this as a position for an older, more mature scout (rank nonwithstanding). However, after my son crossed from Webelos to the troop, he wanted to work with the Webelos den. At first I was reluctant for the obvious reasons, but I decided to give in, and I am glad that I did. He has faithfully served the den for ten months now, and has done a stellar job. He has only missed 2 meetings--better than any of the webelos. That Webelos den meets with the 4th grade Webelos at the same time, so both dens have benefitted from his contributions, but he was officially paired with the Webelos 2 group. Now that crossover is approaching, he has expressed an interest in staying with the younger group, and I think he will. I have been as proud of his service to his den as I have been of what he has done with his patrol and troop.

IM Kathy, did the Webelos IIs not participate in any troop activity? The requirement is to plan and carry out a joint troop-pack activity; it need not be his troop. If it isn't his troop, there is nothing which says he cannot assist in planning from the pack end. Our troop assists 2 different packs in numerous activities throughout the year. School Night for Scouting, joint campout (with the Webelos), Pinewood Derby, Blue and Gold (serving, crossover ceremony and clean-up), and once a year we do a large scale service project for our charter partner. I think that too many leaders and parents read too much into this. It need not be complicated, and joint activities need not be handled like Eagle projects; something simpler is completely effective. I know this was discussed in another thread, but if the Den Chief Service award is earned, it a great idea to have this presented at a pack meeting (or the Blue and Gold). The service provided is to the pack, not the troop, so it is a great opportunity to have him recognized directly by those whom he has served. We currently have a den chief serving dens in each of our charter's 2 packs. One a Webelos, and the other a Tiger Den. The tiger DC wants to stay with the den through crossover, but he will have to join a Venturing crew to do that as he will age out after the beginning of their Webelos I year. Our troop is growning, and hopefully we will be able to provide more Den Chiefs to the dens in our packs. It would certainly facilitate the stronger relationship which all the leaders are working to forge.

Sounds like this was resolved in exactly the way it should have been--SM saying not to worry about it, as it is taken care of. In the long run, wouldn't it be nice if all problems were resolved so easily.

I finally got mine. We have a bit of a cold snap (lows in the 30s, highs below 60) this week, so I am looking forward to wearing it to our next meeting and our PLC (Green Bar) hike. BSA patch is sewn on, but I have not chosen a large patch for the back yet. I am considering the 100th anniversery patch.

We actually had a scout (from my Webelos den) complete the requirements for the Video Game BL. He was the first in the Pack. Last Thursday, when he was presented this at the pack meeting, the other scouts were stunned, and though it was a joke. The Cubmaster made a warm remark that now that the cat was out of the bag, he expected a run on this one next month. The next day, I was up at the Scout Store, and they did have all the new BLs displayed, complete with the "new" sinage over the hanger. If I recall, they were out of one, but I don't recall which.

Hearing all this talk of scout huts makes me thankful of the many things our troop does have. My Christmas wish is for our Flamingo Patrol to finally choose a color. First they were pink, then they were magenta, but their lack of a permant color is incicative of their lack of organization and decisive leadership. I wish for them success as they grow with our new expanded patrols in the coming months.

Very Nice! Obviously no date yet, but will there be both circulated and uncirculated coins? What will be the cost of the uncirculated coins?

So, if you could ask Santa for one thing for your units (Troop, Pack, Crew or Ship) what would it be? New tents? Tarps? Peace on your committee?

Thanks much for the tips. We will keep it in mind.

I can say that I have wanted a Jac-shirt since I was a scout. My wife has promised me one for Christmas this year. Two days after that the troop is going to Winter Camp, and I am looking forward to sporting it then. Any tips on care for wool garmets? We don't have many around here.

My pack committee chair forwarded this to me; I thought I would share it with everyone here. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34455093/ns/us_news-wonderful_world/?gt1=43001/from/ET

Looks like this is an old thread, but I will make a suggestion anyway. Try Standing Indian Campground (Kimsey Creek Group Camp). This is located just west of Franklin NC near a little community called Rainbow Springs (on Google Earth). It is near the headwaters of the Nantahala river in the Nantahala National Forest. The group camp is right along the river at the far end of the campground, removed from the RV area. What makes this camp unique is that it has hot showers. If this is too fancy for you, just a mile or so up the unpaved road which goes around Albert Mountain is Hurricane Primitive camp. The hiking trails in the area are numberous and much less traveled than those in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park; the AT crosses the road twice (south and north of Albert Mountain). See the map at http://ncnatural.com/NCUSFS/Nantahala/nantfac.html. Merit Badges are not offered, but this is not far from the areas of gem mining (Geology), and just the other side of Albert mountain is an experiemental forest laboratory (Forestry and Fish and Wildlife Management) station. Certainly there is plenty of hiking, even an opportunity to hike local trails and the AT. The Smoky Mountain Railroad is just an 45 minute drive north (Railroading). If you want to be creative, this could be one of the best areas to conduct your own Summer Camp. This is probably too late to use this year, but hopefully others may find it useful. Our family camped at Standing Indian 2 summers ago--it was the best little gem of a campgound and area we have ever found. Don't think I haven't though about bringing the troop up here for a camp before. I would love for our troop to evolve into being able to do something like this.(This message has been edited by Buffalo Skipper)

We are an old troop but our dynamic is not too far from yours. We currently have 2 patrols of 5 active each. This, to me is the minimum for a patrol. Until you have enough active to divide the one patrol into 2 groups of 5 regularly active members, I would not seek out 2 patrols. When you do reach that, I might consider not having an SPL, mainly because of the inexperience of the scouts. Having 2 patrols is hardly having one scout step away from patrols to manage 2 PLs. Our dynamic is different with a couple of 14/15 year olds, but if I were in your boat, I would probably keep the 2 young patrols with out an SPL until there is additional growth. My 2.

I have no objection to his attending NJ, in fact, I truly hope it will be a good experience for him. And December is not too late to be told about it. But we weren't told about it. We found out by accident, only because we were passing information on an unconnected activity. I am disappointed that neither this scout nor his father though it important enough to inform us, when they have been registered and making payments for nearly a year for this. In a way it reinforces my concerns that this scout is not a real team player. Back in October when the PLC was chosing a summer camp to attend, this scout made a real stink about NOT going to Camp Daniel Boone (the last week of July, our second camp this summer), he insisted that it didn't sound interesting to him, and he wanted to go to a different camp. He fought it tooth and nail--much stronger than your typical 12 year old. Our other scout who is attending the NJ made announced he was abstaining from the discussion and vote because the week we were going to this camp was when the contingent would be at NJ. However our "problem" scout, knowing that he would not be able to attend still campaigned against the trip. I just find his behavior puzzling.

A side note update. At our court of honor last night, our treasurer was talking to this scouts's father about summer camp. We are attending 2 camps this year, one the local camp June 27-July 3 and the second out of council the last week of July. The father mentioned off handedly that his son cannot attend the second summer camp because he is going to the NJ. I certainly have no problem with that, but it is December, and isn't this a little late to tell the troop he is going? I was shocked, and still don't quite know how to react to this. I haven't spoken to the scout about it, as I was told after the event. I am not quite sure what to say when I do see him next.

Specifically, I am interested in learning about the one at the Museum. I have a parent who wants to take her son (and anyone else in the troop who wants to go) to some kind of large scale MB bonanza or some such. I am not in favor of these kinds of events, but I do not feel it is fair to say no until I know more about it and know to what I am saing no. I found the schedule on the website also, but that does not sound anything like what this mom is describing. So long as it is the mom who is asking, the answer will remain "No." If the scout comes to me to talk about it, I will certainly consider it.

Has anyone heard of a merit badge "extravaganza" held at the National Scout Museum? I will turn this into a more defined discussion if I hear back from anyone on this. I did a quick search online, but I must have used the wrong keywords as I can't find anything on this.

". . . if there's no scribe, then no one advances . . ." Uh-oh! One more thing to remind the SPL to bring up at Sunday's PLC. And I thought he was going to get away with it....

...and well you should be proud. Well done.

Eagle77, yes you are right: it takes 3 months and 5 MBs (beyond what was required for Eagle) for the palms. I completed Eagle with 8 "excess" MBs, which immediately counted for palms upon fufilling the time requirements. Once I had earned 2 more MBs I had completed enough for both the first bronze and gold palms. Hope that helps.

I agree with Eagle92 that this ultimately is the responsiblity of the scout. However, if you look at the Patrol Record Book #605241, there are several pages of scout advancement. This book is for the PL, whose responsibilities include assisting members of his patrol advance. Advancement for each troop is going to be different, in terms of their expectations and process. We gently encourage and remind our Scouts ("Brownies") to be completing Tenderfoot requirements. This is done throught the Patrol Leaders. As the scouts progress through the first ranks this happens less, with the expectation that the scout pursue this on his own; by the time the scout is working on First Class, they are expected to make this leap of repsonsiblity on their own. After all a First Class scout should be have the basic skills to thrive on his own. We also have records on Troopmaster, and the tools (reports) provided with this product are key in tracking progress. Spotting scouts who are advancing and progressing regularly is easy; identifying those who may be struggling or floundering is not always so obvious. I look at these reports in one form or another nearly every week, and they give me an idea on whom I should be keeping an eye. Having these tools at my disposal, and seeing that they are up to date saves me a signifiant amount of time which I can then apply to seeing (ovserving) the scouts and leaders in action.

As always, I appreciate all your feedback and responses, wide and varied as they are. First, I am not looking for a perfect fix for this scout. The SPL has tried but just can't seem to crack him, so I want to help without interfering too much. I am fortunate that we have parental sympathy, but I do not know how much his parents are really doing to support him, though they have suggested they may be taking him to a counselor soon. Is he just a stubborn kid? Yea, he is, and I see he is very much like his father in that respect. But is that just his personality, take it or leave it? I don't think so. He certainly is a bright scout, and I feel that he could do much better if he just opened up a little. Not completely, but just a little would be a great start. I don't think his patrol sees him as doing that bad a job. They really haven't really had a good patrol leader since they joined the troop, so they don't have a concept of what they should be expecting. The real problem is that the other patrol, which is mostly made up of first year scouts, is really beginning to excel. I actually want him to continue to be the PL. He is the most motivated of all the scouts in his patrol, and in spite of his hardheadedness, he really is the best candidate for the patrol. As such, I really want to see that he has the tools to succeed, even if that is a rough journey. Servant leadership is something we have not yet covered in our Green Bar training. Some scouts (like our SPL and our other PL) just get it naturally, while others may need it spelled out for them. I will make a point of covering that at our next session. To me servant leadership comes with an understanding of one's place in an organization. mmhardy, I am still looking forward to your reply as well.

I only earned 2 MBs after Eagle, enough for Bronze and Gold Palms. I am proud of them to this day. In the troop I serve, no one in active memory has completed their BOR early enough to follow through with a palm. Then again, I don't think any of our Eagle had enough MBs for a palm. However, that should change in a year or so. We have a Star scout (transfer) who already has enough badges (short of a handfull of Eagle reqd) to have 3 palms. In spite of the "rumors" of him from his original troop, I have found him to be engaging, energetic, have excellent skills, is very respectful, yet is pleasantly mischeivious. In 3 months, he has already had an impact on our other scouts and I hope he will continue to do so. But back to palms. To some scouts, it is just not important. Looking back, it would have been nice to have picked up a silver (and I had many opportunities to do other MBs), but I have no regrets that I did not go that far. Even after earning my palms, I stayed active as a youth for another 5 years (including Sea Exploring). I am sure he will feel fine about his decision.

evmori, When are you going to get it right...It's (dutch oven) dump cake, not pie. Yes, I agree, we do seem to be handily resolving the scouting problems around the net lately. Well done folks.