Jump to content

InquisitiveScouter

Members
  • Posts

    2486
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    106

Everything posted by InquisitiveScouter

  1. You can try, but it may not be in the system, and so may not be recognized...
  2. Here're some that have worked for me... Go the extra mile: Send out a notice that you will sew on one patch for any Scout or leader who brings their uniform to the meeting. Bring a sewing machine and your box of sewing notions to a meeting and set up shop. Hand or machine sew... it doesn't matter. Offer to teach a Scout how to use the machine or hand sew. Keep track of who you sew on a patch for. They get one and only one, and you might help or guide on the rest. Bring sewing notions on a camping trip! Same idea... Incentivize the behavior you want! We hold a quarterly uniform competition. The Scout in each Patrol with the best uniform for that Patrol wins a prize (like an ice cream sandwich!!) Best in Troop wins an overall prize. Same for Leaders... best wins a prize. You are automatically not in the running 😜 Keep track of who wins. At the end of the year, have a special competition for the Scouts who won during the year. Get a good prize like a new Suunto compass or a 1-liter wide mouth Nalgene water bottle, or some bandages or a good pair of scissors for a First Aid Kit. Or $50 off Scout camp tuition.... (Never announce what the prize is before you have the competition.) Have a pizza and movie meeting night. Price of admission? A complete Scout uniform. (Don't worry about insignia for this!) When you announce this event, a month or so in advance, have a bin of old uniform items handy. If someone doesn't have something, they can take it from there... Yes, the uniform is one of the methods. And if your unit is not wearing uniforms, then you are not fully Scouting.
  3. Check out your local KOA. Sometimes $40 per night for the whole family, accepts pets, and they usually have a swimming pool, and a lot less hassle. Call them... you might even get a discount if you tell them you are a Scouting family on your own https://koa.com/states-provinces/wisconsin/ Some have group sites, and you can camp as a Den or Pack there. KOA's should be on the council approved Cub camping list. ("Cub Scout camping is limited to their council’s designated locations with appropriate facilities.) $180 is outrageous for a family of four at a local Scout camp event, especially when not including meals.
  4. I have counseled this for a few Scouts. One was a trombone player. As he already had experience playing, he was easily able to adopt his embouchure to the different mouthpiece. Bugle (field trumpet), trumpet, or cornet, as the MB pamphlet says... but not trombone or guitar 😜 From the requirements: "*NOTE: A bugle, trumpet, or cornet may be used to meet these requirements."
  5. With 12 newbies, you may wind up with bats in your "bellwether-fry"
  6. You have to order the awards directly from NRA. https://materials.nrahq.org/QualificationAwards/ Packet has certificate, medal, and rocker patch. Reasonable prices, but I do not know if that pricing is for NRA members. Please let us know. --------------------------- As to wear on the uniform? Two pieces of guidance apply from the Guide to Awards and Insignia: One rule that applies would say "No" you do not wear it on the uniform... "Badges of Other Organizations: The general rule is that badges awarded by organizations other than the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) may not be worn on an official uniform. This includes military medals and service ribbons." (page 9) However, another rule could override that one... Special Local Badges and Insignia: Local councils are authorized to adopt special badges and insignia as awards for particular purposes in harmony with national policies and to permit their use upon the official uniform in accordance with the Rules and Regulations, policies, and guidelines of the Boy Scouts of America. (page 7) I would say that the NRA awards are "...in harmony with national policies..." because the BSA relies on NRA programs and qualifications to conduct Shooting Sports using firearms. Check with your local council. https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/33066/33066_Section_1_WEB.pdf
  7. So, another poster here asked to procure a medal. I called my contact in supply. She found none in a system query. After a few phone calls, she discovered that any that were in stock were recalled by National Supply Division a few months ago. (Thanks for the announcement, National!) She had not heard whether there was a new medal in the works, so could not confirm that report. So, if you have a previously-issued National Medal for Outdoor Achievement, then you have a collectors item.
  8. I'll reserve judgment until I read their plan for implementation. There is a chance (albeit a very slight one, IMHO) that national may have an elegant solution. I know, I know... I'm laughing at what I just wrote, too. A Scouter can dream, can't he?
  9. ASPL fulfills SPL duties when SPL is not present. Troop Guide does not...
  10. @scoutldr is correct. "Cub Scout activities afloat are limited to council, district, pack, or den events that do not include moving water or float trips (expeditions)." See in depth Safety Afloat in Guide to Safe Scouting. https://www.scouting.org/health-and-safety/gss/gss02/#j
  11. You are welcome! Here is an article that may further clarify: https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2014/03/13/interpreting-under-the-auspices-in-national-outdoor-awards-requirements/ P.S. So any boating, swimming, cycling, camping, hiking, etc., done as a Cub Scout counts!
  12. You can enter their miles in Scoutbook, to keep track for later awards in Scouts, BSA. Those miles count towards National Outdoor Achievement Award! Best Wishes!
  13. Many existing CO's are watching these developments intently. I had conversations with two different COR's yesterday regarding this very issue. Both have said their CO's are on the verge of walking away, due to what they perceive as a lack of integrity and trustworthiness from local council and national BSA. After the sexual abuse scandal/bankruptcy, this is the next shoe to fully drop... Might the individual registration requirements be a move toward dropping the CO structure?
  14. I love your post. Here are a few observations and words of wisdom for all... - The Scouts in your unit need you. Being a unit leader is the most important adult position in Scouting. Be, know, do. - When you wear the uniform, or identify yourself as a Scouter, you become an ambassador of the ideals and the movement. Unfortunately, people judge the movement from your words and actions. - Although you wear the uniform, and you are an ambassador, you are not responsible for the actions of others, nor are you accountable to explain them. Do not try. - You will always find those who do not demonstrate our core values: The Scout Oath and Scout Law. Distance yourself from them. Find a group of adults who agree to hold each other mutually accountable, and you and your unit will flourish. - The Boy Scouts of America is a corporation; Scouting is a movement. The two are separable, in spite of the attempts of the former to monopolize the latter in our country. (If the BSA goes Chapter 7, what will you do?) - The more integrity, service, and excellence you are able to achieve, and the closer you align your life with the ideals of Scouting, the more those who do not have those traits or ideals will hold you in disdain. When they hold power, they will attempt to marginalize you. This is true in any endeavor. (See Proverbs 29:27) When that happens to you, go back to the first point.
  15. Although nothing has been announced, I believe they are going to axe this one. There are so few Scouts who earn it, so National may be taking the stance that the demand has not justified the expensive of production and marketing. Dad brag: My Eagle Scout son completed this late last December (completing Wilderness First Aid training was his last hurdle). Most people have no idea how challenging this award is... When we went to order the medal, we hit the same wall... our local Scout Shop folks said there were none available from National Supply, and it appears to be discontinued. So, I had to call up the most knowledgeable supply person I knew (she works in another council we used to be in). She had the ability to query other inventories of shops, found one in stock in a distant council, and had it shipped to us. (I wish Scouting had more people like her.) Yeah, the medal and ribbon are a bit flimsy. But, IMHO, there should be a knot for this one...
  16. Probably nothing that would have helped... good on you for wanting to dive in and potentially set things right. Many times, "discretion is the better part of valor."
  17. The patch and the medal are two different awards. The patch is the National Outdoor Achievement Award (NOAA), and it has six separate areas of requirements for which you may earn a segment: Camping, Aquatics, Hiking, Riding, Adventure, and Conservation. The National Medal for Outdoor Achievement (NMOA) is much more difficult, and includes several NOAA (with devices) as requirements.
  18. It's PA law here. All volunteers must have that, a PA State Police check, and a PA Child Services check. All three documents must be on file at the council office (and with your CO), and be renewed every 5 years.
  19. FBI fingerprint background check, $23.25 for volunteers. https://www.dhs.pa.gov/KeepKidsSafe/Clearances/Pages/FBI-Fingerprinting.aspx Now, this is a result of the state of PA contracting with the company to do state employee fingerprinting at $25.25 a head. Volunteers (who pay for their own) get a $2 discount.
  20. Just another rotation in the death spiral towards Chapter 7?
  21. Sounds like what we do with Unit Scouter Reserve already, but now the fee could be less... Expect units to latch on to this one for money savings until National & Councils find a way to close that loophole, as MBCs are district/council positions, and do not require approval by the COR. P.S. Look for the "Adults registered solely as Merit Badge Counselors may not accompany units on overnight events." prohibition in the near future...
  22. OK, so, does this mean membership fees will be un-coupled from the unit re-charter process? I'm thinking through that one, and do not really see a down side, yet... But wondering about the implementation of it.
  23. Wonder what the impact will be to our local MBC rolls? I expect minimal, as most MBCs I know are already registered as leaders. But I am sure those folks who are not involved with Scouting in other roles will not pay for being a MBC.
×
×
  • Create New...