Chippewa29

I'm heading up to summer camp for the week starting tomorrow. I know that I'll stay fairly busy helping out with the Scouts, but I'm looking for some ideas on a project or two I could work on while I'm up there. Any suggestions?

Banning Solitaire? Absolutely not. Like I'm sure most troops do, we watch the Scouts and if we notice one isolating himself, we work with the other Scouts to get him interacting again. The only time I've seen kids playing Solitaire, they're sitting talking with the other Scouts waiting for their turn on the chess board, etc. The last time we had a Scout bring a Gameboy on a campout, his dad let him sit out in their car (it was winter and we were in a cabin) and play his game by himself for 2-3 hours. When I said something to the dad about it, his reply was "if I didn't let him bring his Gameboy, he wouldn't have come to the campout." At that point, I asked his dad why did he bother paying for his son to come if he didn't want to be there and was just going to isolate himself from everyone? Dad just played enabler on that one. I've had multiple parents wonder how their sons would survive without their video games for the weekend. Amazing how many of them are shocked when their kid actually has a good time and has fun with the other Scouts. As you can guess, I am not a fan of video games at all.

We have a rule in our troop about no electronics (other than flashlights or cameras) on campouts. There really is no reason for the Scouts (or adults) to have electronics on the campouts. Myself (and a few other adults) that bring our cell phones with us generally leave them in our cars. That way, we can get to them in case of an emergency. We relish the chance to actually get away from everything for a day or two. As for the Scouts, if they bring their gameboys, then they tend to sit in their tents or under their dining flys and isolate themselves. These games require very little human interaction. Campouts like these are a wonderful chance for Scouts (and adults) to develop interpersonal skills and how to really deal with each other. There are no real positives to having the games on a campout. Sometimes, the kids will bring a chess board or playing cards or some other "old school" type of game. The interaction between the Scouts while playing these games is incredible. We adults (and sometimes the Scouts) will often play Euchre (requires four players). The playful banter that goes on during these games is much more rewarding than sitting in silence while watching a DVD. Video games may be fun, but they reduce human interaction. As far as Scouts needing a cell phone "for emergencies", they don't need one at all. On my first campout back in the early 80's, the son-in-law of one of our ASM's was killed in a car accident that Friday night. His wife called the camp office where we were staying to send a message to have him call home. He called from the camp office and got the bad news. Obviously, he and his son left the campout soon after to take care of things at home. That is about as big of an outside (away from camp) emergency as you will have to deal with. This situation was handled just fine without a cell phone. As far as cell phones go, I think people are so scared to "get away from it all", they feel they must have their phones at all times. Mom doesn't need to call dad to find out how junior did on the hike that morning. Junior can tell mom when he gets home the next day. Does dad really need to know his daughter's dance competition results ten minutes after it happens? I don't mean to sound cruel, but sometimes good news can wait a day or two.

I've seen multiple ceremonies and other occasions where Scouts line up via rank. If a 17 year old Life Scout has a problem with a 15 year old Eagle being in front of him in line, then that's his problem. If he wants to be in the front so badly, then he needs to get off his rear end and finish up his Eagle. Age or seniority doesn't necessarily mean that you've accomplished anything.

Lots of good points already, but I really have to agree with Hunt. Consolidating units would make a lot of sense. There are four packs within ten minutes of my troop that have less than 15 Cubs (including Webelos). They all have trouble getting leaders and the amount of administrative work could be shared and cut in half if some of these units would merge. These packs could probably put on a much higher quality program if they merged and shared resources. Whoever mentioned capping the number of Scouts in a troop also had a great idea. If the troop is so large the youth can't run the troop, then split up the troop into leadable pieces.

Beavah- Nice string of topics lately. As for those young kids, I was one of them. Back in the 80's, you didn't have to do ten events before becoming first class. You only had to be in for about six months. I got to be friends with the guys a year ahead of me (all First or Second Class when I joined) and raced to try and catch them. Of course, they scrambled to try and keep me from catching them. I made Life in 16 months (minimum time back then). My parents didn't pressure me nor did any adult in the troop. I just had some people that inspired me and Scouting fit my personality very well. When I hit life, I wasn't even 12 1/2 yet. There were three guys I chased. The oldest one, who was 13 1/2 at the time, had gotten his life about six months before me. The other two were 13 or 13 1/2 and got their Life rank within a month of me. What happened from there is where the story gets interesting. A month after getting my Life, all four of us went through our Ordeal with the OA. I had already been SPL (yes, we were a very young troop) and was currently a PL. I chose to get active in the OA, got elected to a leadership position, and found some older guys to mentor me. Of the other three guys, one transferred to an Explorer post less than a year later and the the other two over the next year or so dropped out of Scouts without getting their Eagle awards. One never graduated from high school and the other managed to get in trouble as well. What I'm trying to say is that if you have a young Scout that is burning it up, then find a new way to challenge him. For me, being active in the OA was a great way to expand my horizons and get a bigger picture of what was out there. In addition, it kept me humble. I realized that I was a big fish in a small pond and there were other guys who were going to teach me a lot if I kept my mouth shut and listened. I credit the OA for really instilling a love of Scouting in me and probably keeping me active all the way through my youth. If you don't have some Scouts in your troop that can mentor this young man, then hopefully, you can find another avenue to keep his interest and also keep him humble.

Funny, I was coming to the forum to post this issue when I saw Beavah's thread. I know this is similar, but I think it needs it owns thread. About three times a year, my troop will take a long distance trip to go white water rafting or some other high adventure trip (summer) or museum (winter). It seems that we have some parents in our troop that see these trips as a chance to take a family vacation. Not only does dad come, but mom and/or a sibling or two. We've even had a couple of times where a family has invited extended family members or family friends to join us. Often, there won't be a Scout on the trip who doesn't have a parent with them. When we go on these trips, the patrol method is non-existent and kids defer to their parents before the troop leadership (youth or adult). There has even been times when a family will leave the troop for part of the outing because they "want to do their own thing". I often feel like a fifth wheel on these trips. Is it just me, or does this seem too much like Cub Scouts? These trips are fun, but they don't seem like they are helping the kids develop or the troop become a more cohesive unit.

When you are recruiting and you know they are looking at another troop, you have to walk a fine line with what you say. I don't want to bad mouth other troops, because for the most part, they are running the same program and the Scout can get a quality Scouting experience from them (of course, not as good as my troop 1. A local troop has had some real issues with their SM wanting to make every decision. When speaking to a WL about that, I told him to really check things out and get all the facts. Every troop has its good and bad points. From there, you can decide what is best for you and your Scouts. 2. When recruiting against one of the mega troops, I tell the Webelos and parents that the other troop runs a very good program and they can have a quality Scouting experience. They can go there and hop along for the ride. My troop is looking for people (Scouts and adults) that really want to make an impact and help create a great troop. I've had Webelos leaders that told me they joined us because they wanted to make an impact and be really involved. On the other hand, I've had WL that told me the parents would rather just plug their kids into the other troop and not be involved. 3. When a WL or parent tells me about all these great activities this other troop does, I tell them that most Scout troops doing 80% the same things and that the real guage of how well a Scout will enjoy the program is the other Scouts in the troop. When Webelos come to visit, we try to get them mixed in with our Scouts to see how much they like each other. 4. In the couple of occasions where a WL has flat out told me another troop has problems, I just say that I don't know their situation and that the WL is smart in any case to check out multiple troops and really consider their various options.

Organizations that depend heavily on human resources (like Scouting) develop personalities and exhibit traits similar to humans themselves. Successful people are ones that are continuously trying to learn, grow, and improve themselves. Organizations that rely on the "we've always done it this way and we don't think we should change" are actually sliding backwards. About 5-6 years ago, not too long after I had taken over as SM, I started to outline some changes I wanted to make to the troop committee. Their response was "this is the way we've done it for years...." At the time, my troop had about eight Scouts (up from a low of three a year or two earlier) and we had a bad reputation in our area. Fortunately, over time, they realized we needed to change and things have gotten better. My troop is now at a point again where we need to make some changes to keep from slipping backwards. We are a much better troop now than we were before, but we still have a long way to go. Fortunately, this time around, I have a core group of leaders (not to mention some older Scouts) that understand we need to improve and are thinking of ways for us to change and become better. I think this will help us start moving forward again.

That's a great way to put it. The math I like to use is for the Scout to have the uniform for two years before they grow out of it. The pants are about $40 and the shirt is about $28. The patches are another $12, so the total cost of a new uniform set is about $80. I don't count the Scout hat, belt, or neckerchief since those don't have to be replaced as the Scout gets older (I still wear my original troop neckerchief from 24 years ago). If a Scout comes to 40 troop meetings a year (my troop has 46) and ten campouts (we have 12), that comes to 50 wears per year, or 100 wears in two years (more if he is more active or wears the uniform for other Scout events). It comes out to $0.80 per wear. That sounds pretty darn reasonable to me. By the way, if the Scout doesn't grow as quickly, he can probably stretch that uniform out for up to another year.

Like a couple of other people have said, its all a matter of priorities. At a troop committee meeting a couple of years ago, we had a big discussion on the uniform (really, the cost of the uniform). One of the mom's complained that she was a single mom raising two kids and $40 was too much to spend for a pair of Scout pants. She garnered a lot of sympathy for her situation. However, after the meeting, some of us were just standing around talking when she was telling us how she wanted to teach her kids about "good music" and took her 12 and 9 year old sons to go see Lynard Skynard the week before. The tickets for this show were about $40 a piece. This same Mom a few weeks later, paid over $200 for her son to play football. Another parent that has complained about uniform cost spent the money for his kids to buy a Wii gaming system when it came out last year. Its all a matter of priorities. The other argument I've gotten from parents is that they are afraid to spend that money and then have the uniform get torn from being used outdoors. I bought my latest uniform in 1995. Yes, the shirt is getting worn a bit, but it is still in good shape. I just got a pair of switchbacks because after 11 years, the zipper in my pants broke (the rest of the pants are in great shape). I estimate that I wore the shirt and pants I bought in 1995 to about 80-90 campouts, over 400 troop meetings, plus service projects, recruiting visits, etc. Overall, I've probably worn it close to 600 times. I have nothing else in my closet that has gotten anywhere near that much wear. For the parents concerned about their sons outgrowing their uniforms, I just tell them to buy the uniform a size too big. Even with a good growth spurt, that should last the Scout about two years at least. If he is active and wears it to our tweleve campouts and roughly 46 troop meetings a year, that is about 55-60 uses.

Owl- Thanks for the post and letter. I've scene the scenario a few times in the past with my troop. We've always had a policy of no electronic devices on campouts or at meetings. Last year, we had some of the kids bring their hand held games to play after the meetings, but when they got to the point of refusing to go home because they were playing a game, the parents put a quick stop to it. At times when I've caught a Scout with an electronic device, I've made him hand it over to me and I give it back to the parent the next time I see them. If the parent isn't the one picking up the Scout, then I keep it until the next meeting (amazing how that parent always shows up the next meeting). Fortunately, when I've confiscated a game, the message is very clear and they all refrain from bringing their games. I don't like the video games for exactly the reason described in the letter. One thing we like to say is that we live video games instead of play them on a campout. There are a couple of parents in my troop that refuse to buy any kind of video games for their sons. They can play them at a friend's house or at an arcade, but not at home. Amazingly, these kids don't seem to be "missing out" by not owning a video game. Sometimes, parents just need to suck it up and stand up to their kids and say no. When I was a youngster, my brother and I had a video game system. My parents monitored how much we were on it and if it looked like we were getting too hooked, they made us turn it off. During the summer, they would make us go outside and play instead of sitting in and playing the video games. Once I joined the Scouts, I didn't miss it at all because I was having too much fun going out and exploring with my Scout buddies.

My troop currently has about 20 Scouts, with about 16-18 adults either as ASM or committee. Personally, I feel the ideal troop size is 4-5 patrols of 8-10 Scouts, with an adult ASM to act as patrol advisor for each patrol, plus an ASM for other assorted duties. From what I've absored over the years, once you have 40 Scouts, you'll have a nice spread from new crossovers to those about to age out. From an adult perspective, you'll be able to fill all of your positions and have all the resources a troop twice the size has. From a balance of resources versus personal touch (something lost in large troops), that 40 or so Scouts seems to be just about right. Once the troop gets past that size, its hard for the SPL to control and thus it becomes more of an adult led situation. From my perspective as SM, the last thing I would ever delegate to my ASM's would be the SM conferences. Also, I think its important to know all the kids and at least one of their parents. Once you get past 40 or so kids, that gets really hard. From the patrol perspective, 4-5 patrols is a nice size so that there is room for competition, without one patrol dominating. Obviously, troops can be very successful from different sizes. I've known Scouts that had great experiences in troops with 60, 80, 100 kids. They wouldn't have gotten that big if they didn't provide a good program. Also, there is a troop in my district where they limit themselves to 18 Scouts (two patrols of 8, plus SPL and ASPL). They believe in having a fairly small group and have a very good program. On the other hand, I've gone into detail about the mega troop with 110+ Scouts. You always know when they are coming, because its like an army regiment pulling into camp (they have 4-5 good sized trailers to haul all their stuff). They produce a lot of Eagles, do tons of fun things, and have attracted some Scouters from other parts of the district because of the vast resources they have. From what I have heard, they have three ASPL that each are in charge of 3 or 4 patrols (in effect, each running his own troop), while the SPL just acts as the liason between the PLC and the troop committee. The downside to this troop is they lose 30-40 kids a year. Also, the kids can be active for a couple of years and not know some of the other kids that are also active. A Scout doesn't get a SM conference with the SM until he goes for his First Class or Star. In reality, you can have a great program with many different sizes. It just depends on what you want.

CNY- Some great suggestions on your part. I've actually done some of them in the past. We have no den chiefs. Most of the kids in my troop are involved in sports, band, church, etc. and we're lucky if we see them every week at troop meetings. We've tried to get kids to be den chiefs, but its been very tough for them to block out an extra night per week. I have taken Scouts with me on recruiting visits. Sometimes, its worked out pretty well. This year, two weeks after leaving a message for a Webelos leader about attending their den meeting, I'd get a call at 9pm saying "go ahead and stop by tomorrow night since its our last den meeting before the crossover." I've also subtley suggested the benefits of a smaller troop by saying that we currently have 20 Scouts and our goal is to get to 40. My attitude is that if I don't know all the kids and at least one of their parents, the troop is too big. I've also told people that are looking at us versus a huge troop that if they just want to go along for the ride, join the other troop. If they want to really make an impact and help us build a great troop, then join us. I've actually gotten a couple of kids and parents that are big contributors to our troop because of that. By the way, my troop is actually hosting some Webelo I this May at a campout in our area. We won't have any big sound systems (unless you count a couple of kids in the troop), but we'll have a lot of fun and build some relationships. That should set us up much better for next year. Thank you for all your suggestions, everyone.

You have three strong candidates who want to be SM? Wow. I'm impressed by that. Most troops, its who doesn't step backward when they ask for a volunteer I believe that what the Scouts want should be a very strong consideration (probably the biggest one) in deciding on the SM. My only suggestion would be that the PLC interview each candidate and write down why or why not they feel that candidate should be SM. They may have some good perspectives on each of the candidates that won't come up from the adult conversation.

CNY- By the "bells and whistles", the biggest thing is their professional sound system they use for their campfires. It actually belongs to the troop. They've been known to put up a big screen at a campout and show a DVD as part of the campfire on Saturday night. They'll also have adults (and some older Scouts) go out a day or two before a campout to start setting up displays and pioneering villages. Its almost like a trade show exhibit hall. I'm all for promoting Scouting (they do it probably better than anyone), but when a 10 year old kid sees the big sound system and the show that is put on for them by 110 Scouts and about 25-30 ASM, its very hard to convince the Scout that they can do all the same fun stuff in my troop as they would in the big troop. We do about 90% of the same things they do, in regards to activities, but they put on a show that is very difficult to compete against. The competition between the troops in my area for Webelos crossing over is pretty tough, but with this mega troop now getting about 6-8 out of the pool of about 50-60 Webelos that cross over each year, that means less for the "local" troops. Please don't get me wrong. This mega troop runs a great program (they even run their own summer camp with MB counselors from the troop) and does things by the book. I've known some of the adults in their troop for years and they are great guys that really want to help the kids out. My personal feeling (a sentiment shared by a couple of the adults in the mega troop) is that if they are losing 30-40 Scouts a year (they've been at the same number for several years now), are they really doing the kids a service by being that large and losing the equivalant of a solid sized troop each year? Would the Scouts be better served if that troop split into two or three troops? I know that the SM of the troop only does SM conferences for Star and above. He delegates the SM conferences for lower ranks to his ASM's. Once again, the SM is a great guy, but shouldn't the Scouts have the chance to get to know the SM before they turn First Class? I've ranted long enough. This may need to be another thread. I respect the fact that this mega troop puts on their activity for Webelos each fall. They are great at promoting Scouting. I also applaud them for being able to use this as a fund raiser for their troop. However, my issue becomes when they use the event to start recruiting in other areas outside of their own when there is more than enough quality troops to fulfill the Scouting needs of those Webelos.

About six years ago, right about the time I became SM, I had 17 year Life Scout in my troop that was the youngest of three brothers (both had gotten their Eagles in the troop). Our troop at the time consisted of him, a fifteen year old Life Scout, and six Scouts that had crossed over the year before. He seemed very disinterested to say the least. Nice kid who didn't cause any problems, but he wasn't really contributing anything either. I suspected he was sticking around to please his parents. One day, he and I sat down and had a real conversation and were totally open and honest with each other. He admitted to me that he didn't really want to be there and he only kept going because his parents were pressuring him to get his Eagle like his brothers and dad. We talked for about an hour and I asked him a lot of serious questions about what he wanted. I also told him that although its nice to complete your Eagle for your parents or whatever, ultimately it had to be for him. Toward the end, I told him to think about it for the next two weeks and if he decided that he really didn't want to continue in Scouts, I would talk to his parents and get them off his back. Two weeks later, he took me aside and said that he talked to his parents and explained the situation. Apparently, that was a big breakthrough for them. This kid came back to me and said that he had really thought about it and decided that he really wanted to get his Eagle for himself. For the next 7-8 months before he got his Eagle (and turned 18), his attitude was much different and he projected a very positive image for the younger Scouts. After his Eagle COH, he said he was so glad he finished it instead of dropping out. He said he enjoyed his last year in Scouts more than any other. It was in big part because he decided it was something he really wanted to do instead of what his parents wanted. If a parent is really pressuring the kid to get the Eagle, then talk to the kid and the parent. I've always believed the Eagle isn't about the requirements you complete, but the experiences you have and the person you become in the process. If this parent just wants their kid to get the Eagle to put on his college apps, then they don't get it.

Although I am disappointed for not getting better results from our recruiting efforts, I am not discouraged. The connections I made this year (it was the most extensive recruiting we had done in ten years) will pay off in the next couple of years. As for the reason why we didn't get picked by the packs we recruited, they varied. Pack A had ten Webelos. Five went to a troop about 20-25 minutes west of us. The CM of the pack (and father of one of the Webelos) lives in that town and is friends with the troops SM. The other five went to the troop that is a half mile down the road from the neighborhood they live in (we are about three miles away). Pack B had one Webelo join the troop at his church and the other three go to a troop about 20 minutes south (we are about ten minutes north of them) where one of them had a hockey buddy as a member (parents wanted them to stay in the area, but let their sons decide). Pack C's CM told me back in the summer they had no 2nd year Webelos. I invited their Webelos I to a COH (they attended) and was pretty surprised when I found out a few weeks back they had picked up two Webelos II this year and both crossed over to a troop about ten minutes away where they were members of the church. Pack D chose the troop closest to where they meet (although they were only ten minutes from us). Pack E chose a huge troop (120 Scouts; more on them later) about 25 minutes away or they chose the troop about a mile down the road from them (we are about ten minutes away again). I have two packs I'm waiting to hear back from. The first is the pack that has fed into us this entire decade. Their Webelos II leader is burned out and is making no effort toward even letting his kids know about the Boy Scouts. I'm working with the CM and CC (both have kids in my troop) to go around the Webelos leader and recruit the couple of kids directly. The other pack is about five minutes from us and has seven quality kids and two WB-trained adults with them. It is a choice between us and the huge troop 25 minutes away. This huge troop puts on a big event for Webelos every year and gets about 150-200 to show up from our district. It is a very well run event and the kids have a great time. This troop says it is just an event to get Webelos interested in Boy Scouts in general. However, they have been following up after the event with packs in our area. This troop pulls out all the bells and whistles to impress the kids when they visit. Overall, they are a good troop and run a great program, but a lot of kids each year get lost in the shuffle. The other troops in their area have a hard time getting kids to cross over to their troops because they are so overshadowed (they also put on good programs, but without the bells and whistles). Now, this huge troop is recruiting in our area as well and we are running into the same problem. My recruiting pitch to Webelos (and their parents) is that with my troop, they will know everyone and have the chance to really make an impact. We'll keep pushing and hope for better results next year. In the meantime, we'll just focus on making the troop we have that much better.

Late last summer, our district professionals spoke at our kickoff roundtable and told us that less than 50% of Webelos the past two years had crossed over into Boy Scouts. In fact, over a third of the Webelos II leaders had never been contacted by a Scout troop. Much to their credit, our pros put together a plan to make sure no one got overlooked. I handle the recruiting for my troop. I contacted eight different packs that are within 15 minutes of my troop (about 50-60 second year Webelos between them). A couple came to visit, but so far, we've only had one new Scout cross over. For some reason, Webelos leaders this year were not very good about getting out in the fall to visit troops (despite several invites from myself and other troops). I've made four visits to den meetings to speak with the Webelos and parents. In the past month, I've had each of these packs (totalling about 30 Webelos) call me and say thanks for coming, but their kids chose another troop. Don't think that I'm going to gripe hear. Before I went to visit these dens, the Webelos Leader told me that not even half the kids were planning on joining the Boy Scouts. During my visit, I told the kids (and parents) what it was really like to be a Scout. Yes, I told them that it would be a lot of fun. I also told them it would be a lot of work and that it wouldn't always be easy. They needed to know that troop meetings can be fun, but sometimes they are boring and don't go over really well. I emphasixed to them about making a six month commitment (like a sports season) to really learn what Scouting is about. Apparently, my speech went over well. Instead of half crossing over, all but one or two kids from those packs have crossed over. Each of the leaders has contacted me afterward to say how my speaking to the kids made a big differece. Unfortunately, they also told me my troop was the second choice of all those kids (no silver medal in this race). While I would have loved to have all those kids join my troop (there were a lot of quality kids and parents among them), it is good to hear the kids are moving on in the program. I just hope they take my idea about making a six month commitment seriously. If they do, I'm sure that most of them will end up sticking around for a long time. Yes, I'm disappointed that despite all the efforts I put in the recruit for the troop, we only have one new Scout to show for it (fortunately, he's a great kid). However, I hope my efforts have contributed to the overall greater good.

I love the idea of Scouts doing actual work to earn the money for a Scout trip. I spent many summer hours mowing lawns, cleaning out gutters, babysitting, and doing other types of jobs for people in the community. I even had one woman who paid me to rebuild the retaining wall on the lake at the edge of her yard. Not being smart enough, I hauled those heavy bricks around without gloves and rubbed my finger prints off (they of course grew back in a few weeks). I went to two National Jamborees and one World Jamboree by doing this. I think it was a big part of my development to put in this "back breaking" work and actually earn the money myself. As long as things are safe, I think its great for Scouts to band together as a temporary workforce and do some work together. You never know where it might lead. A guy I went to school with was in another troop. To earn money for trips, he started mowing lawns in his neighborhood. These days, he owns a very successful lawn and landscaping service.

Last Sunday, my troop held its first Eagle COH in about 4 1/2 years. It for two Scouts that are part of the group we've rebuilt the troop around in recent years. Things went really well, the Scouts were well uniformed (I'm still amazed at why the Scouts can't wear a full uniform for troop meetings and campouts, but I digress), and our local State Rep gave a very nice presentation without turning it into an campaign speech. It was definitely nice to see the troop come together to celebrate the achievments of these two Scouts. As we currently have four Life Scouts in the troop, we should be having more Eagle COH in the next couple of years. We haven't done things perfectly in recent years, but we are moving forward in a positive direction. I don't see this as the end, but more life the beginning of great things to come. The two who just received their Eagles have both turned 18 recently, but they still come to troop meetings almost every week and want to help out before they head off to college in the fall. They've had a great Scouting experience and want to give back. I wanted to thank the Scouter.com community for all the helpful advice they've given over the years to help my troop get this far. Yes, you can definitely pat yourselves on the back.

When it comes to re-registering adults, there are a few issues. 1. If an ASM doesn't have regularly position duties, then they should not be registered as an ASM. If they just want to be registered, then they should be a committee member. Some of our committee members have regular duties (chair, secretary, treasurer, etc.) and most of the others help out on an as needed basis. Most of our registered committee members help out with some type of support role during the year. 2. People who have been active in troop in the past should be able to stay registered providing they are either a positive or a neutral. The previous SM in our troop stayed registered for a couple of years after I took over. He would show up once every two or three months and basically stab me in the back. After causing trouble, we wouldn't see him again for a couple of months until he'd show up again for one troop meeting and proceed to tell the other adults everything I was doing wrong. Fortunately, I finally got him to stop showing up at all and things improved quite a bit. On the other hand, years ago we had a former SM that wanted to stay registered. He would come to a few troop meetings a year and maybe help out with one outing a year. He got along with everyone and was great to have around. At one point close to rechartering, during a committee meeting, he tooks sides in a huge debate and was on the "losing" side of that debate. A few weeks later, the head of the "winning" side called him and said his presence was no longer wanted or needed. 3. Some people want to pad their resumes. Back in the late 80's, we had a local police officer who was friends with a parent in the troop and wanted to be a committee member. He paid for his registration, yet never showed up for anything. In fact, he signed his application at home and gave it to his buddy to take to the troop meeting. About a year later, guess who was running for the local Township Board of Trustees? On his campaign flyer, he listed several organizations with whom he was currently active, including the Boy Scouts. After about five years, we had a new committee chair that recognized the name, questioned why he was still registered if he didn't ever show up, and promptly removed him from the roster at recharter. There should always be a good reason why the person is registered. If they aren't currently active, then they should at least make themselves available for an advisory role. What old time Scouter doesn't like to give his/her opinion?

OGE- I got your 25 or 624 reference right away. I had to laugh, as I really like the song. It is actually about writing a song and not being able to find the right words. When it was being written, Robert Lamm got to the line that said "sitting cross legged on the floor" and he couldn't think of anything that went with it. He looked at his watch and it was 3:34 or 3:35 in the morning (25 or 6 to 4). He stuck it in there for the time being since it rhymed. When he came back to it the next day, he decided to keep it. Another number that might be used is one near the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. They could be number 87654321. Or, if anyone lives in a town named Heinz (especially if they had the old community strips), they could be Troop 57.

I am also in my 30's, still single and childless (although keeping my eyes open for the right woman who will appreciate my Scouting involvement). I'm the Scoutmaster of the troop I was in as a youth. I became an ASM when I turned 18 and helped out during the summers while I was in college. When I got into my mid-20's, I started to get more active year-round and by my late-20's I was a "full timer". I took over as SM about six years ago and love it. There have been times over the years when a parent would wonder what a single guy was doing working with kids. I'd explain to them that I was very fortunate to have good Scout leaders as a youth and felt it was important to give back for all I received. I also love to go hiking and camping and get to feed my habit monthly with the troop. Besides, I've never really been into hanging out in the bars like a lot of single people. In Scouting, it is great to have some young, single leaders for several reasons. First of all, their pariticipation is based on helping the whole troop rather than being there for their own son. Never once have I ever been charged with favoring certain Scouts (how many arguments have started because the SM's son supposedly got special treatment). Also, a lot of the parents think its great to have a "cool young guy" teaching their sons the same values they want to teach. For a lot of the Scouts, I was like an older brother or cool uncle. There are a lot of ways a younger non-parent adult can relate to Scouts and present a whole new dimension to the adult association aspect of Scouting. Every troop should actively encourage their alums that stay in the area to continue working with the troop. About the time a Scout ages out, they are often just becoming a really good leader. They obviously have to adjust the way they lead, but they can be valuable resources. If you look back at the early years of Scouting, many of the SM's were young single teachers or ministers.

It was just announced that Gerald Ford, the only Eagle Scout to become President of the United States, has passed away at the age of 93. I don't think it was any coincidence that Richard Nixon appointed Ford as Vice President in 1973. Because of the scandals caused by Spiro Agnew (not to mention the impending Watergate crisis), the country needed a solid, trustworthy man to rise up and lead it. Gerald Ford exemplified the best of Scouting's values in how he conducted himself in both his public and private lives. While there were many people who may have disagreed with him politically, he was well respected by all for his integrity and forthrightness. Something I learned as a Scout many years ago is that there are many times (especially when you are a leader) when you'll have to make a decision based on what's right rather than what is easy or popular. Although it cost him his political career and angered millions of people, President Ford did the right thing in pardoning Richard Nixon. While we are all aware today of the abuses of power Nixon condoned, Ford knew the nation needed to move past Watergate and Vietnam. Once Nixon was pardoned, the U.S. could start the process of healing and restoring its sense of pride. Today, history shows that Gerald Ford did what was right. I wonder how many politicians today would have the courage to do what he did. Today, we should hold our heads high for knowing that Gerald Ford always did his best to live by the values we hold so dearly.