CaveEagle

I agree with you point about a local identity. Our Troops Activity T-shirt has our town name and CO printed prominantly on the front and back. We also just had a "Troop" identified patch made for the temp position on the pocket. This patch also names the CO.

CE

evmori..

you must be kidding! I get outraged whenever my chunky pb get put into the fridge.

Our Council recommends that only the Jelly is to be chilled. The pb should be room or ambient temparature.

BTW this topic is much more relavent to scouting.

CE

I understand the logic regarding not soliciting donations on behalf of the BSA and keeping it for the unit, but that is not what I have seen. In fact I don't think I have ever seen a unit raising money for the "BSA". It is always "Troop XX" or "Pack XX" written on the signs.

I also do not think Units should be out "asking" for free money. But if a private or corporate organization wants to support the community through scouting I think that is OK.

In one "hypothetical" example: A scouter's Employer offers an annual Grant to any NFP volunteer organization that the employee/volunteer contributes a minimum # of hours to annually. The Employer actually prefers that the money go to a local organization tied to that employee/volunteer. The Employer wants to see the money go directly to the community where they do business.

Anything wrong with this?

CE

Since we are on the Gettysburg subject, I am looking for some advice.

Our group is heading there in two weeks. We will be driving there on a Thursday and Camping Th, Fri & Sat Nights at the McMillan woods Site. Any suggestions as to which order we should hike the trails and the historic walk? Should we go to the visitor center first / last or middle? What about the Cyclorama? I liked the suggestion about renting the pool at the Y, but that might be hard to get in mid July. Are there any other point of interest that we should try to catch?

CE

I certainly agree that we should be encouraging scouts to "earn" money to pay for the program. My question is: How do we disallow Units from soliciting donations, when the FOS program is doing exactly that.

CE

Camp La-No-Che Central Florida '81

Camp Tuscany TAC/Italy '83

Camp Freedom TAC/Germany '86

CE

RE: "Do we have good reason for using jackknives now that locking blades are affordable and readily available?"

I would be very careful teaching cubs their knife skills with lock-bladed knives. Many young boys will not have the finger strength or the dexterity to close some lock-bladed knives safely.

I just picked up one of my lock-bladed swiss army knives and found it impossible to "unlock" the blade without holding my fingers in the path of the folding blade.

I do agree that the Lockable blades can prevent many injuries, but they present their own problems and could promote bad habits.

Teach the boys proper skills and watch them closely for a while!

CE

Lately, I have seen the Expedition hat on more scouters that any other hat. I will also note that I see it worn more with the "Field" uniform than with an activity shirt / Class-B (just to irritate FOG)

I rarely wear any hat with the field uniform, because I don't like any of the approved options. Is there anyone out there that would be against making the Expedition hat part of the field uniform.

CE

Who is resposible for planning district camping events?

My old council would form a committee for each event. My current council has troops "host" camporees. After 3 yrs of observing the "troop" hosted events, I am not impressed. We actually had a district camporee cancelled last year because nobody "stepped up" to host the event.

Our unit (

wow, what a throwback.

You just surfaced a memory I had nearly forgotten. I can remember learning to tie a with my old wolf (I think) book and one of my Dad's old ties.

CE

I have seen some cub scouters wearing the same cap as their boys. You can wear any of the hats in the BSA catelog for "scouters". My preference is for the "Indiana Jones" style hat with the adult-leader pin.

I recommend getting a BSA insignia guide from your scout shop the next time you are there. Life is challenging if you are actually trying to follow the rules. I keep a copy in my scouting briefcase and refer to it often.

CE

Re: "to the others who have posted that Venturing is little more than a partol that can go hunting and use pistols -- I suggest you spend a few moments reading the Quest or Ranger requirements."

I have already stated that I think the Venturing program has a lot of potential. My only criticism is the motives and the execution being presented in my unit / council.

During a recent Univ. of Scouting, I attended a "Venturing for Scoutmasters" class. I was urged to concider a Venturing Crew "for our troop". We had been concidering the idea of a Venturing patrol, but were strongly urged to move toward the Crew route. We were told "there is no good reason not to have a Venturing Crew".

In our unit, some of the older (14-15) are into the idea of a Venturing crew, because percieve it to be a more "elite" level of scouting. It seems attractive to some boys to separate themselves from the younger scouts for whatever reason. This is not a healthy reason to start a crew.

I have an incredible amount of respect for the Venturers out there that are independant and are recruiting kids into the scouting program. The prospect of "adding on" a venturing crew to a relatively new troop (

John,

That was an "un-official" POR patch that someone had made. Unless the BSA has recently endorsed this position it is not legit.

I , for one, think it is a great idea! I know that maintaining a troop website takes a fair amount of work and is a great asset to any unit.

If anyone knows where to get the patch, let us know.

CE

Eamon,

I have been listening and learning as much as possible about the Venturing program for the last few years. There has been a lot of talk in our troop about starting a Venturing Crew and I have not decided to support the idea yet. I am fairly optimistic about the programs potential in the world of scouting. I do, however have some concerns that keep nagging at me.

Two of my concerns (I believe) were touched on in your post.

The idea that we need a "Crew" for our older boys to experience high adventure "Venturing Stuff". There are actually very few things that you cannot do as a Boy Scout. This degrades scouting and contributes to the image issue. I know that we can't hunt or shoot pistols, but if that is the only objective of a crew, I would not choose to support it.

I also do not understand why a venturer is allowed to continue to work towards the rank of Eagle Scout if they are not active in a troop? If a boy wants to leave a troop to pursue activities in Venturing, that's fine, but make your choice and deal with it. The Eagle award will diminish in value if a boy is not expected to participate in a troop as a leader of younger boys.

CE

eagle54,

How far back is your reference to scouts not earning merit badges before 2nd class?

I attended my first summer camp at age 11 (scout). At this camp I earned: archery, leathercraft and swimming. This experience really fired me up and gave me a real sence of accoplishment even though I did not earn tenderfoot for a few months afterwards.

My main reason for posting is to comment of the "trail to eagle" program. In our area it is called "first year camper". I was very disapointed when a group of boys that were all in my Weblo den (all AOL) were "forced" to participate in the "First Year Camper" program with the other new scouts. The boys spent the whole week reviewing things that they already had signed of for AOL. When I reviewed their handbooks, there was absolutely nothing new signed off for any of them. Needles to say, they were pretty discouraged and I am having a harder time convincing them to go to summer camp this year.

Now that there are no "skill awards" in the program, the younger scouts don't get a lot of recognition for their participation. I know some very active scouts / tenderfoots that show up for the COH and walk away feeling left out.

Are there really that many troops that are neglecting their new scouts that summer camps need to provide this service?

CE

GKMom,

Your situation is very disturbing. I think you have gotten some very great advice here. I pray that you are able to keep your son in scouting. It really sounds like this SM has some sort of personal problem with either your son or your husband. I have been aware of situations where an adult leader did not think a boy was "Eagle material" and would use just about any excuse to keep them from the "Life" rank. (some justified, some not) How is the SM dealing with other scouts, such as the "bully" you refered to. If the "bully" kid is advancing in rank, this should also be pointed out to your CC, DE, District Advancement Chair.

I suspect that the SM is not being straight with you. His issue with your boy is beyond the "assertiveness" complaint. Sometimes a personality conflict can not be overcome. Is it wise to continue working for a boss that just doesn't like you when there's another job offer on the table? Remember that you probably only have another couple of years for your son to benifit from scouting (as a scout). Don't waste any more time banging your son's head against this wall.

BTW: Don't forget to let your Chartered Org. Rep. know why you are leaving. If this guy has really been around for 20 years, this is probably not the first time he has forced a kid out of the troop.

All the Best....

CE

Thanks for the great info !

Anybody else?

CE

Jason, I if you look aroung you will find a broad variety in the degree and flavor of reverence in scout groups. At our last coucil run summer camp the camp staff led a blessing before every meal. Leadership training that I have attended teaches Scouters to put together a Non-Denominational "Scouts Own" service and encourages leaders to offer this during our campouts. And this is in the Northeast (which about as liberal as you can get).

I have seen some scout groups that are very focussed on the religeous aspect of scouting. There are also some that treat reverence toward God as an afterthought (if at all).

I beleive that this is a strength of the BSA. A Chartered Organization (many of which are religeous organizations) has the freedom to set the tone of their troop. By appointing a Committee Chair and Scoutmaster, the CO can promote their goals through the scouting program.

CE

Jason, I have seen many SMs or ASMs that did not have boys in the troop. My troop was on an Army base overseas, and 2 of the 3 scoutmasters I knew were relatively young GIs that had backgrounds in scouting and wanted to help out with our troop.

It is good that you already understand that some parents might question your motives (and they should). None of us are above scrutiny. You should just be patient with them and be extra carefull to follow the "2-deep" Adult leader rules. All Adult leaders bear responsibility to ESTABLISH trust with the troop/family.

BTW: A troops committee must approve any new ASM. Make sure you talk to the right people and explain your position. A suggestion might be to offer yourself up to me a Merit Badge Counselor for the troop first. This would give the group a chance to get to know you before you ask to be an ASM.

You did not mention the ages of you girls but they are probably >9. When they reach 14, you could start looking for s Venturing Crew. My girls (8&10) are currently in girl scouts, but I am already looking into Veturing because I would like to be more involved in their scouting.

Good Scouting!

CE

Looking to plan a 50 miler for next spring. Relatively new to NY State and wondered if anyone on the forum had been involved in a 50 miler in NY, PA, or CT. We deffinetly want to include paddling, hiking and possibly biking.

I have had plenty of "suggestions" such as the Delaware River or the Appalachian Trail. I am looking for a reply from someone who has actually done one in our area with good results.

CE

I have tried to update my profile 3 time without success.

I love to hear your solution if you find one.

CE

The BSA has promoted Explorers, and now Venturing to allow opportunities for girls that are into scouting.

I know this may be a rediculous point, but has anyone pressured the Girl Scouts change their program to accomodate boys?

CE

That sounds like a great project. Make sure you include some type of a plaque or sign to let the public know who, when and why. I did not leave such an item (for my Eagle project) because it felt like bragging at the time. I have since seen several examples of markers that have been left to draw attention to completed Eagle Service Projects. If done tastefully, will highlight the impact of scouting in the community and will impress countless people.

CE

The BSA Insignia guide covers awards from other organizations and countries. You should probably go check it out yourself, but from memory it states: awards from other organizations or countries should only be worn during events that interact with the respective organization our country.

One noted exception would be the Youth or Adult Religion (God & Country etc.) Award, which is not awarded by the BSA.

CE

Re: (because you only wear your sash at OA functions or representing the OA)

The first boy from our young troop just finnished his ordeal and showed up for our COH with his Flap / Ribbon and Sash on. One of our leaders told the boy he should take it off accept for OA Functions. When asked the policy, I referes to the latest BSA insignia guide which only decribes how the sash should be worn and that it not be worn with the merit badge sash.

If the sash should not be worn to COHs, where is this stated?

Also the Insignia guide does forbid the wearing of two badges with the same meaning. If the sash is worn then the ribbon should not?

CE