cheffy

Since I've become Scoutmaster I've given every Eagle a custom turned wood pen with an Eagle Scout pin attached. Most of the wood has come from some portion of their project. Everything from Buckthorn on a trail clearing project to olive that was sent back from some Troop members serving in Iraq. Since I do the work myself it has a personal touch. The Buck knife someone mentioned is very nice also.

anarchist, You situation and set up sound very simular to ours. Our past QM did an OK job and there was some breakdown in the transition. the new QM is very gung ho and so is our new SPL. I do think the new mind set for the rest of the Troop to follow will take some time but I think it will be a change for the better. The QM goes tothe PLC tonight and then will present the new procedure to the committee since seveal committee members think the trailer is theirs to borrow from. That stops today!

The plan was put together by the QM, SPL and the SM. It gets run by the PLC tomorrow. Part of the problem is that the worst offenders on "trashing" the are the adults and Patrol leaders. I did mention the idea of patrol items besides patrol boxes and it seems to have gone over well. the only exception is tents since there are times when we have to blend patrols. I'm thinking this will work.

The Troop I'm with is quite large( 65+). The job of Quareter master is quite daunting if you get my drift. We have a new QM who wants to make some changes in how things are done. I agree with his ideas but I'm going to ask if anyone here has other ideas or anything to add. The QM wants to limit who has access to the Troop trailer to only the QM Asst. QM and the SM. On campouts he wants to set up a table and chair at the trailer door. when the boys need something they will have to report to him and he will record who is taking what. Then the Asst. QM will get it out of the tra

I'm going to hijack the topic here and ask a simular question. what would you do if the Troop took video of an event, did not use names or other identifiers except Troop number and then posted it on you tube?

I need a little help here. In the past at summer camp they had a one page 8/12 x 11 copy of a merit badge card. All the AM had to do was sign one and copy what he needed. I'm looking for something like this. It will save signing my name 200+ times. The camp we are going to will accept these but I can't find such an form and didn't save one from last year.

I've used Decal connection.com for some other stickers and PSA logos. On their main page go to the vinal stickers link. It links to another area of the same company. They do an excellent job and I would highly recommend them. Blazeing fast service!!(This message has been edited by cheffy)

OK. Thanks for all the advice. Here's is what we are doing. I have contacted the Scout and asked him to "reflect" on on he performed his duties in his POR. Asked him if he thought he was really active in the Troop and set an example for others to follow. After that he should call and set up a SM conf. Basically told him these things may come up in a BOR and he should be prepared.

his POR was scribe. Let's face it, it's not the most sought after POR. Due to Troop size we did not have a replacement for quite awhile. We kept him in the position until something better came along. Yeah I probably should have yanked him out of it early on but you always want to feel that there is hope for a change.

Maybe I'm posting on the wrong forum but here goes. We have an Eagle candidate in the Troop that is giving me as Scoutmaster a real challenge/headache. He has finished his project and his write up is in it's final stages. The issues are.. His POR is Scribe. he has held this positio for over a year and has not taken it seriously and never really done the job. we have had several discussions with him about this but no change. his meeting attendance and trooop involvement are lackluster. He only shows up when he needs to get something signed off or when he needs help with his pro

Beavah, You hit it on the head with that reply, I'll give you the long story. The boys wanted to work on cinamatography MB. So we have a campout and every patrol makes a movie. We kept the movies in good Scout fashion(no guns,death etc). They actually came out very good and that nights cracker barrel was oscar night. Kind of fun. Well the guys are proud of their work and some posted it on youtube. Someone in the Troop found out and overreacted. Asked to have the videos pulled. Mind you none of the videos had names of Scouts attached and were I.d.ed only as "Dragons productio

Lisabob, If you are going down to Wright-Patterson, check with Bowling Green University. They have a flight school. Also there is a glider Club near Gregory Mi. that offers weekend events. If you take to the guys they will usually even let you camp on site. If not Camp Munhucke is just down the road. HTH

Do any Troops out ther have a photo/video policy. We are having some issues in our troop about what can and cannot be pt on a web site. Someone came up with a vague BSA policy in reference to Council "employees" taking photos but none of us can find any "Offical" BSA guidelines. Thanks for any help

I didn't get an invite this year but have in the past. We went a few years ago and made a vacation out of it. The programs for the youth are great and geared toward their ages and Scout ranks. Don't get too down on the pottery classes for the wife. Mine had a riot. Did stuff she never thought she would do. One of the best days she said was just sitting under a tree by the villa and sending post cards. Our Councils contingent was starting their Trek two days after we got there so we all went to town for dinner. the training was top notch and I still keep in touch with guys fr

AS a side note on Native American culture.. On the way back from a campout we were coming up to one of the Native American casinos. The sign on road said "Casino and Museum. We asked if anyne was working on their Indian Lore MB. A couple of the guys still had requiements from Summer camp to finish. Well we stopped at the museum and we were treated like royalty. The person in charge had been a den leader and thought it was great to get the Scouts involved and gave the boys a guided tour and then called the casino manager and had him buy us all lunch. The boys really got something ou

This is a tad long so bear with me here. Got a call from our former SPL who moved to a different state last summer. He joined a new small (10 familes)troop and is the oldest boy there at 15. He is helping the current spl understand "boy led etc" Great kid going for Eagle this summer. The reason for the call is that there is a boy in the Troop that is ODD and on the last campout took hot fork from a marshmallow and "branded" the boy next to him. The boys in the troop want to do something about this but the bad part is that the kid is the son of the Scoutmaster and the mom is the enti

I was working on staff at the dinner for all the yellow tabs and base brass the night of the opening ceremony. At about 4:45 Gen. Yingling the base commanders phone rings. Next thing he says to Roy williams is "sir, early reports show that you have over 500 men down. What do You want to do." 10 min later the opening show is cancelled. Yes, it was hot. yes there were issues. Both by boys went and said they would do it again in a minute if they could. I'd do it again too.

I'll jump in here and mention one they used at Philmont Training. Glory. The scene where Brodrick is told to loot and burn the village by his superior is a great lesson in making ethical choices.

Try this link, according to BSA 11 of the 12 to walk were involvedin scouting. http://scouting.org/nav/enter.jsp?s=xx&c=ds&terms=scouts+and+apollo+space+missions

OGO, I''m on your side. it makes the patrols think outside the box/usual meals. We do a hugh event like this once a year. My only recommedation is that the patrols know ahead of time what the mandatory ingredients are a few weeks before hand. That will give them time to research recipes and eliminate the DOOOOh factor. In the world of professional cooking, this is called a mystery basket competition. Everyone gets the same ingredients and has 20 min to write a 4 course menu and 3 hrs to prepare it. We also do a one day basic cooking skills campout. it''s eliminated burnt bacon.

Ouer troop does a newsletter ever other month. usually about 6 pages. We are just starting to go paperless. The newsletter will be on the web site in PDF and can be printed from there. There are still some older troop members that want a copy mailed so we do that. With the size of troopwe have we figure we will save about $600 a year by going paperless.

Being from Michigan we have been to a number of summer camps around the State. We had a bad time at Coleand the boys swore to never go back We did Tapico this year. Great sites, T21 program was good. Excellent metal working MB if you can get the boys signed up very early(and double check to make sure they get in) Camp director is very "customer service" kind of guy. We will go back We have heard Great things about Rotary and are going to give it a try in 08. We go in the winter for a ice fishing,snowshoeing,snow tubing campout. The boys love the place.

I''ll stay on in some capacity but I need a break from the top dog position. The last year has taken it''s toll. Troop went from 25 active to 75 active in the last 2 years. Getting adult help has been a bit of a challenge but is starting to come around. Combine that with losing our committee chair and some unreasonable parents that think BSA stands for Babysitters of America. I''m getting a little crispy around the edges. Some of the older boys have asked me to be their Ventureing advisor and I''m thinking of doing that to stay involved. And like I said, it could be a year or more.

After about 10 years in Scouting both as den leader and Scoutmaster I''m feeling the need to step down. Oldest son got Eagle last month and youngest is working on project and should be done by spring. I''ve been asked to help with a Ventureing crew also. I want to step down as ASM but the prospects of who will step up are slim and scary. Any thoughts on grooming a replacment in the next year?

simular story. We halp our Charter Org. do roadside clean up several times a year. It''s a known fact that after the work is done the COR takes everyone to the local ice cream joint. We had one Scout show up for ice cream without doing the work. Said his mom sent him since it was a "Troop event". She wasn''t too happy when we called her to come pick him up. She is one of those who always wants the prize without playing the game.