cardinal50

Took early retirement from UPS. Served as a volunteer live-in caretaker at our council's wilderness camp for about 8 years until they decided to sell it to the local park district. Moved to Lake Cumberland area and now work six days a week at a boat dealership. (Some retirement,eh?)

Took early retirement from UPS. Served as a volunteer live-in caretaker at our council's wilderness camp for about 8 years until they decided to sell it to the local park district. Moved to Lake Cumberland area and now work six days a week at a boat dealership. (Some retirement,eh?)

I'm the one who spun this thread. I didn't know I had to post a minimum number of responses in a 24 hour period:-). I agree with BadenP that non-registered scouters should not even appear in uniform. Am I proud to wear a uniform when performing my scouting duties? You bet I am. I'm proud of the bsa, even with it's flaws. I follow it's guidelines as written and if I don't agree with them, I try to effect change through proper channels, just like we teach the boys(like in being obedient?). During a period of time when my boys left scouting until I got back involved, it never occured to me to w

BadenP seems to think that any adult that wears a uniform who is not in a direct contact position with youth are merely feeding their egos or reliving their childhood. The BSA is a uniformed organization. I'm a Unit Commissioner and wear my uniform at every Scouting function as I feel I should set an example. I encourage all the adults in the units I serve to wear the complete uniform as it serves a two-fold function. First, it encourages the boys to wear theirs. Secondly, it's a outward and visible sign to the community at large that scouting is, indeed, present in the community on a dai

Good they finally came to their senses. back in the late 80's our scout troop was allowed to set up these coffee stands at the rest stops on I-71 in south-west Ohio. We would set up on friday, and saturday nights. 9pm to 6am. on holiday weekends. we always had at least 4 adults and any boys that wanted to show up. Everyone was in full uniform. You wouldn't believe the money our troop raked in doing this. Many a cup of coffee yielded a $20 donation along with compliments from the truckers.

This shirt appears to be the older wool blend uniform they had the closeout on earlier in the year. I see the wool blend slacks are also still available. Maybe they realized the Centennial Uniforms don't look good on formal occasions and decided to retain the wools.

Another good thing about this location is the proximity to rail transportation. Amtrak's Cardinal, trains 50 & 51 travel through the New River Gorge between Chicago and New York City via Washington DC. It only runs three times a week currently but I'll bet if scouts start clamoring to arrive by train, Amtrak would consider going to a daily schedule with longer trains. I know many troops use Amtrak to get to Philmont. Dave

MY GOODNESS! That's probably the best promotional video I've seen for BSA. National should hire this scout to do their PR Dave

It appears that many of the people who post here have a great amount of experience, training and education in a number of professional fields.It is great that they would share their vast knowledge of the proper way to present Scouting with those of us ordinary Joes who never went to college or had anyone to mentor us. I have a vision of what Scouting can do for our young men. I have employed the ideals of Scouting as my personal touchstone for conducting my life as an adult. I learned much from WB that I needed to know because I never had anyone to teach, mentor, or encourage me when I was you

Several times, I have contacted the PR people at a company to voice my displeasure for the condition of their flag. In these cases, the flags were literally in shreds. My own company's Facilities Manager always looked nervous when I visited his office because, chances were, the flags were ready to be replaced. Once, I suggested that he could launder them once in a while and they would be presentable longer but he said he'd rather just replace them, which he did, even when they were just slightly dingy. As luck would have it, I was in charge of supply requisition so I always had a nice supply o

If using dry ice, I wouldn't use too much. At my Woodbadge course, my patrol made ice cream on site for the feast. We had requested dry ice from the quartermaster. and used it in the cooler to keep the ice cream. When it came time to serve it, you couldn't chop it with an axe. We had to clean a saw REALLY well and saw it into portions.

Welcome brother. Stay active. The more you do, the greater your memories will be. You'll find much good information here. If you're like me, you'll loose a lot of sleep just keeping up with everything here. Happy Scouting. Dave

I am a commissioner for a troop that has been asked to conduct a a flag ceremony at our local Civil War battlefield. We are retiring the flags and installing new ones. The old flags will be given to local dignitaries. The troop has no trouble with the appropriate ceremony for the Stars and Stripes. the issue is how to handle the Stars and Bars that fly over the Confederate cemetery. (By the way, we're in the "southern" portion of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.) Obviously, we can't do a pledge of allegiance or the customary salute. How do we do a respectful ceremony and honor the fallen soldiers

GernBlansten said: But OGE, LNT isn't always about leaving no trace after you've gone, its about reducing your impact even while you are there. Visual impact. Clearing a ridge that overlooks a beautiful meadow only to see colors not found in nature dotting the landscape diminishes the experience for the observer. I suggest natural colors, then carry a fluorescent signaling cloth for the times you need to be seen. I reply: Consider the Lilys of the field. Are they not found clothed in bright hues? Off the top of my head, I can't recall any tents or garments that were of a color not f

At our district events in my old council, we held a non-denominational Christian service and arranged for a RC priest to celebrate Mass for our Catholic brothers or we arranged transportation for them to the nearest RC Church to attend to their obligation. We did this on Friday evenings before campfire. This was all, of course, voluntary. I'm fairly sure we didn't have any other faiths represented in our district at that time. If we had others, I'm confident we would have had a discussion with them in order to accommodate their desires. Often, some of the Catholic boys chose to attend the "Pro

As a commissioner, I've always worn and promoted the uniform. However, in my area, south central Kentucky, most of the scouts couldn't afford the old uniforms. How can I expect proper uniforms that cost what most familys pay here for two weeks groceries. I guess the best I can expect is for the boys to wear troop/pack t-shirts and somewhat matching blue jeans. Sad. Dave

Thanks to all of you for your advice. Obviously, as unit commissioner, it's not up to me to decide the ultimate arrangement. however, I feel the new SM will be facing this issue and I needed some ideas to present to him if asked. I knew with all the great scouters here, I'd get some good responses. You didn't let me down. I've always felt that an effective commissioner is one who is wise enough to consider the good advice of those who are "in the trenches" so to speak. I've worked with some commissioners who "knew it all." They weren't very effective or welcomed by their units. Your

Welcome to Scouting and the forum! you'll find a wealth of information here. Yours in Scouting, Dave

I'm just getting back into scouting after about a decade hiatus. I'm serving as a UC since I have most of my experience in Commissioner Service. Having come from a major metropolitan area, I've always worked with existing scout troops. Now I'm Serving in a rural area and, for the first time, I'm going to experience the formation of a new troop comprised of crossing over Webelos. One drawback(I guess) is that it is "sponsored " by a group of interested parents. On the plus side, it has a good beginning group of trained adult leaders and committee members which have a can-do attitude, A potentia

Aquaticeagle said: I don't think they will either. Don't you think that is hypocritical? I respond: No. I'm trying to figure out if you are upset by hypocrisy in general, hypocrisy specifically on the part of BSA, or by BSA's ban of homosexual members. Would you be appeased if BSA opened membership to gays?

I apologize for attributing the BSA policy's definition of physically fit to you. However, my opinion still stands. I assume that since you are not interested in kicking people out of scouting who drink responsibly or smoke an occasional cigar,then you feel the BSA should accept gays with open arms. To answer your original question: my opinion is that the BSA is never going to ban those who smoke or drink any alcohol.At least not those adults who do it outside of scouting.

Aquaticeagle said: Take care of your body so that it will serve you well for an entire lifetime. That means eating nutritious foods, getting enough sleep, and exercising regularly to build strength and endurance. it also means avoiding harmful drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and anything else that can harm your health." I add: based on your interpretation, BSA should ban people so poor they're unable to get nutritious foods or those with sleep disorders that prevent them from getting enough sleep or anyone who's a couch potato. Maybe the gay groups should start their own youth program.

Unlike homosexuality, smoking and alcohol consumption has historically been somewhat acceptable within reason. I'll confess I smoke but do so in private and not at scout functions. Yes it's bad and I've tried to quit several times. I guess I should try again. As for alcohol, I see nothing wrong with responsible adult consumption. Never before or during a scouting activity. (although sometimes I needed a beer after some adult meetings-out of uniform of course.) I know I would certainly miss the Eucharist at church.(Yes, I know my options re: communion.)

My take is that BSA requires a belief in a higher power in the universe, interpreted by most people as a god or God. Period. It should be up to a boy's guardian(s) to make that determination and to guide the boy insofar as what his duty to this "higher power" is. That satisfies the requirement. If this cannot be done, most likely the boy will be better served by some other youth organization. Many boys have gone on to be exceptional people and citizens without the benefit of BSA.(I think.)

Regardless as to whether or not a scout should be required to recite the Scout Oath and Law, I cannot believe that anyone thinks that a scout is incapable of memorizing something as short and straight-forward as the Oath and Law( barring a learning diability.)They aren't exactly Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address. Mercy!!!. They should be repeated at every meeting, youth and adult by every scout and scouter. How can we expect them (and us) to live by them if they/we can't even remember them? Just my humble opinion, Dave