Armymutt

Had a meeting on Saturday with a guy that I believe is an ADC. Things are kind of confusing here. Anyway, after 2 hours over lunch, I think we reached a conclusion. Now to figure out the details - been radio silence since then. I'm excited to be able to serve the Scouts while I'm away from home. Some people think I'm crazy for doing the CC job for my pack remotely while also doing the commissioner job. I don't have anything else to do in the evenings, beyond saying good night to my family over the phone. Might as well get involved. Any tips? I've asked for a strong unit and a weak unit so that I can see what works around here and what doesn't.

I think a balance is needed. I live in a military community and there are all sorts of combinations of personalities and uniforms. I've seen adults with just the knots from youth and I've seen adults with huge patches covering almost the entire right side of their shirt. For me, I look at what will inspire the Scouts and other leaders. I wear my Eagle and AOL knots, as well as training knots. The training knots are intended to inspire other leaders to get involved in all Scouting has to offer, enabling them to better serve. I wear my lodge flap because it is a sign of brotherhood. I wear my Philmont arrowhead because it is the third most dear emblem I have earned, the others being my Eagle Scout medal and my Combat Infantry Badge. I want my uniform to inspire adults to contribute more and, more importantly, remind older Scouts that they need to come back into the program once they have their lives established and share their knowledge and experience with the next generation.

Right, but I wouldn't consider members of the military to be a "local tribe" in England any more than I would consider the Mohawk to be a local tribe because some of their chiefs visited London.

I'm not sure how this will work for Scouts in TAC and FEC.

A friend of mine picked up a kid's Cub Scout memory book as part of a junk sale. I'm trying to help her find the owner. The kid's name is Jonathan Teller. He earned his Wolf in 1958. She found it in Dutchess County, NY. There is a news article that mentions Good Shepherd (there are both Lutheran and Catholic churches by that name there). It also references Pack 98 and Troop 98. It says he was born 7-29-49. I know we have some folks dating back to that era here. Any ideas?

We're having our rank advancement ceremony this weekend. I couldn't find anything that worked with our setting, so I wrote this. If anyone wants to use it, feel free. Webelos The Webelos rank represents the final Cub Scout rank on the trail to the Arrow of Light. When you became a member of the Webelos Den, you traded your Cub Scout blue uniform for the tan uniform of the Scout. To this uniform, you added the Webelos colors – red, green, and yellow. These colors represent your past and future. The yellow stands for the Cub Scout program. As a Cub Scout, you have learned many things, duty to God, duty to your community, and the outdoors. The red and the green represent your future – Scouts BSA and Venturing. On these colors you pinned reminders of the Webelos Adventures you have had. You will notice the Webelos badge is made up of part of the badge of the Scout rank and a blue W. The Webelos badge represents the transition to being a Scout. You are now beginning the journey to the Arrow of Light. You will continue to learn more about the things you did as a Cub Scout. In addition, you will begin the transition to being a member of a Scout troop. Take these final months of your Cub Scout life to learn as much as you can about being a Scout. By doing so, you will begin to live up to the Boy Scout motto: Be Prepared. (Present badges)

I'm telling my parents to not buy the Cub Scout handbooks. At $25 a year, it's another expense that really isn't needed. Scoutbook has all the requirements and a little Google time will clarify any questions. My kids haven't opened theirs on their own at all. The Boy Scout handbook is probably more useful as it isn't a one year and done thing.

I did this for my COR. Apparently our council hasn't updated anything. She has a Silver Beaver along with a bunch of other knots. Nada in the awards section.

It started with me knocking over something and it wouldn't stay when I put it back up. I still need to clean out the detached garage, but I'm waiting on my shed to be built - since April. Got hit by a drunk driver in 2019 - SUV vs motorcycle. Header pipe impaled my left midfoot. My wife hates camping and isn't a big fan of road trips either. We are taking a different route of living in the country and trying to create insulation around us. Relying on our jobs to fund that. Never thought about the airBNB thing. I have trust issues.

I'd like to do the AT, but that's probably a dream at this point. Just walking around my garage cleaning it for 10 hours yesterday caused my injured foot and ankle to swell. Maybe PT will eventually fix it. I always wonder what through hikers do for a living. The couple with the 5 year old for example. There's no way the Army or my wife's job would be cool with us disappearing for 209 days. Even the Scouts in '36 - where did they find 121 days to do it? I guess the missed some school?

It's not me that needs convincing. Gotta get it past the District folks.

I haven't figure out how to register anyone in a dual roll outside of Scoutbook. I'm the Cubmaster and Lion DL simply because the Treasurer and other Lion parent is new to Scouting. Our past CC was also last year's Tiger DL and now Wolf DL. The committee wants to put me in for the DL award as the Lion DL, but there is a line for the CM to sign off as well. Might be awkward.

The reason they aren't "registered in the right position" is because in order to recharter, you must fill the CC, Sec, and Treas, but not necessarily all of the DL positions. Since we only have a small number willing to serve, we have to charter them in the committee jobs, plus the CM and ACM. Some then fulfill other roles. It would be great if parents actually volunteered, but we seem to have a high number of stay-at-home parents who don't have any extra time and very few people who work full time and have enough time to devote to the program.

If we have a committee member who is also serving as a Den Leader, are they eligible for the Den Leader Award? Since committee functions don't really take place during Den or Pack meetings, we have a couple of people who filled the committee space so we can recharter, but they are also den leaders. I suppose we can send the application up and see what District or Council says, right?

Sounds like they have a forester involved. That generally means a forestry plan exists, otherwise, why have a professional? It's a bit like hiring an engineer to build a house and believe that there are no plans. Unless the council bylaws indicate a bid process is required, I don't see that as a legitimate gripe. However, that does bring into question the argument against logging. Would the complainers be ok is there was a bidding process? Joel Armas seems to be a little over emotional. I also wouldn't call the harvesting of 9 trees per acre as a liquidation of the forested areas.

I'm curious why Tiffany Armas thinks the logging is being done inappropriately. No where does it say that the council doesn't have a forestry management plan. Here in NC, logging is a standard practice. Our pines are another crop. My land was logged about 12 years ago according to the county forester. There's not much evidence, other than some really low stumps. Historical satellite photos show the roads they made, but there's little sign of them today. Our council has an area that they sell timber from - that's paying a large portion of our settlement bill. Having attended Camp Robert Drake, Camp Joy, and Camp Vandeventer in IL as a kid. A storm shelter is a necessity. The mention of laying in a ravine during a tornado warning brought back some unpleasant memories.

I stopped by the council office today and talked to her. She said just cross them off the paper when we give it to the commissioner. Easy enough!

Had a parent tell us tonight that their Scout isn't going to continue effective immediately. We already submitted the recharter online, but haven't turned it in to the council - meeting our commissioner this weekend. Anyone know if there is a way to remove the Scout so we don't get charged?

What diocese are you in? The Diocese of Raleigh sees Scouting as an integral part of the church. It's amazing to see the variation across the country. Here is the most recent release from the diocese: https://dioceseofraleigh.org/scouting/catholic-scouting

No, but I like this. I have been trying to get our Pack Meetings to be something to look forward to, but I'm not a showman. We normally do the flags, pledge, oath, and law, then greeting. After that, the CC makes any announcements. We might have a den skit, then advancement. Then, it's kind of dead air for a minute and we retire the colors. Would be nice if I could get the parents to get involved. We tried to go with a monthly theme, but it's not working out.

My grand plans for sustaining the growth in my Pack are coming to a halt. Friday I found out that the Army has decided that I need to move to a different job than I planned to take this summer. The new one is 9 hours away. Depending on many factors, I'll be there by myself and my wife will step down from being the committee chair. I have one person in mind to replace me as Cubmaster, but no clear CCs. My kids will still be in the Pack as long as it exists. I may see if I can swap into a committee position that doesn't require attending weekday meetings. Our committee meetings are all done online, so maybe I can be the treasurer. Thoughts? My bigger disappointment is the OA. I am really active in our chapter and am trying to get our ceremonies team back on track/in existence. On the far end, I won't have much to do in the evenings. Hopefully I can find a unit that will let me be a leader of some sort.

To me, this wouldn't work. I need it to be a regular thing if I'm going to stay interested. I am very subject to inertia. Even the 3 weeks off for Christmas is causing me to lose interest in the Pack. Something else filled that Tuesday night void and now I have to re-spin back up. Working on my son's PWD car is helping, but I'm going to need more help to make the January pack meeting fun.

We do the same - monthly except summer. The Pack meetings are pretty short - a skit, a little talk, and awards. Flag ceremony to give each den a chance to do one as needed. Until I get more help in doing them, they will remain short and to the point. I'm an outdoors person, not a showman. My ACM is even more introverted, so it's unlikely to change soon.

I think the BSA is right to a degree. They had no way of vetting volunteers for most of the history of Scouting. All of that should have been done where the rubber meets the road. Once the information reached BSA's level, it should have acted to revoke the charter and make sure the local police were notified. Ultimate responsibility should lie with the COs.

The no alcohol thing threw a wrench into my plans at the last B&G. At home, we parboil our brats in beer before grilling them. I had several cans of Bud on the counter ready to go and then realized that we couldn't have alcohol at Scouting events. I have a mom that smokes and I had to remind her several times about smoking on the Cuboree. I can't wait for her daughter to turn 11. She's nice, but I really hate having to babysit 30-somethings.