ChuckSt8er

Ever start with a a pretty small, manageable idea and have somebody take it places you never imagined? Wow. Many, many thanks from a Fox just startin' to work his ticket. I'll keep you all informed on where this goes.

Short version: Am in the process of writing my ticket for Woodbadge with one of the five items to be written on Diversity. I am a second-year Cubmaster with a thriving, thriving pack (doubled in size, sold 5X more popcorn this year than last, 80+% retention, etc.), but before I move on to my next post, I want to make sure I'm putting the right infrastructure in place to support real, sustainable growth. We have a moderately large (10-15) population of Indian/Pakistani/Middle Eastern families in our Pack. OK, who can guess the next part of this story? My ticket item here has to do

Praise be to the One who watches over us all - - from the youngest Tigers to the most seasoned veterans. Give thanks to all the teams of searchers, leaders, parents, community and scouters the world over who held their collective breaths and now can let it go...

My original approach to this situation was to take the long-term view. My boys, separated by two years, would mean I would spentd roughly 7 years in the Cubmaster's role. I am now in my second year and fully intend to make next year my last as Cubmaster. Why the change of heart? Easy: - I have responsibilities to be a Dad as well as a Cubmaster. Unfortunately, being Cubmaster often takes me away from being there for my son, particularly at Pack events. When my younger son enters Tiger Cubs next year, I'll have two reasons to be in the audience rather than at the podium. - I've com

So here's my deal. I'm a Wolf Scout dad with another one starting Tiger Cubs next year (so I have about 5 1/2 years left with this Pack). I became Cubmaster last year (yes, in my first year) due to a leadership shakeup. Along with a very supportive Committee Chair and decent core of parents, we've doubled the size of the pack from 36 to 75 boys in one year. We've quadrupled our fundraising results, and overall, parent/scout satisfaction with the program is very, very high. So it's time for me to move on and find a replacement. By moving on, I mean finding a new ACM (or two, or

Cubmaster here. One of the things that I initiated last year when we did annual planning was a "visioning" session in which we set out what kind of program we wanted to be in the future. This was an open forum for leaders and parents (though pretty much it was just leaders). I feel that going through this exercise helped unite us, set a clear and common direction, and took the weight off of one or two individuals. We experienced some real pack growth recently (see my "help!" post in this forum); to help deal with this, I asked an experienced Scouter what advice he had for me in managin

Great feedback, and much advice that I'd hadn't previously considered. Many, many thanks. Any more input from other Scouters?

We doubled the size of our pack within the past 2-3 weeks due to some active recruiting. We're now at 70+ boys when previously we were at 35-40 (and the new registrations keep coming!) I seek any and all advice for growing from a medium pack size to a large pack. Advice can be on the programming or the committee/leadership side. The good news is that we're having luck getting new leaders to step up and our dens, while mushrooming, are still relatively manageable (7-8 boys on average). I expect a little chaos and pandemonium as we settle into a new routine, but want to make sure w

No, no, no, no, no. You've all been misled. One hour a week is the amount of SLEEP you get. Sorry for the confusion. You may now return to your daily scouting activities.

OK, now for some fun. Later this month, I (& a parent leader) take a group of 6 boys to their first overnight adventure camp. 5 are recently-crossed wolves, 1 is a recently-crossed bear. I've never done this before for such a long period of time. Any survival tips to make the time more fun for leaders & boys? Sidebar: Your collective comments in this form are all great - - there's a lot of scouting 'good' here. Thanks for the insights already shared, and those yet to come.

OK, I certainly got my well, duh moment. I also got a bit of enlightenment. When they say "convoy", what they mean is cars literally traveling in a group, as a unit. If one stops, then all must stop. This doesn't apply to the informal "let's all meet at the church and drive to point X together" - where all drivers know where they're going, there's a good phone tree in place in case of trouble, etc. Because these cars can be a little bit more autonomous in their starting and stopping, technically they're not a convoy in the defined sense. Thanks, all.

OK, I'm sure there's a really simple explanation to this and my response will be "Well, DUH" but I'll ask anyway. GSS says we're not supposed to travel in convoys, and refers to the "Leadership Requirements for Trips & Outings, Point #2" for reference. Point #2 simply says that you need two deep leadership or one adult and two or more scouts to be "safe" So I get the two deep leadership (or no one on one confined space encounters) thang, but what in the name of pete does this have to do with a convoy? Sorry, don't get it. Guidance, anyone?

...and don't suggest squirt guns. We've beaten that topic into the ground (silly rabbits...) Am looking for a good range of gifts for leaders who have been cubbing for years one through five. What do you all do that's meaningful doesn't raise fiscal eyebrows?

It's an interesting thought, and that might help clarify the behavior that BSA wanted to see, if that was indeed their intent. I guess my disconnect comes from the fact that the rule, when interpreted literally, means one set of things. When placed through the filter of opinion and conjecture, it comes out sounding like something quite different. Thanks everyone for the comments - - they're all articulate and appreciated. I'm all done with tilting at this windmill for now.

I've enjoyed the debate here. I guess what I find most troubling is that there is so much opinion, conventional wisdom and conjecture about the rule that we've forgotten to go back and read the rule ourselves. Once I got past the hyperbole, I re-read it, and I am 100% convinced: Squirt guns are 100% OK under the rules. Laser tag (so long as it only involves infrared devices) are also allowed. However, true lasers of any sort (as a gun sight, pointing tool or otherwise) are not. If this is NOT what the drafters of the rule intended, then they need to be more explicit in what they

OK Beavah, now you've opened Pandora's box. I'm here to tear off the lid (said with a smile and a wink, rather than a sneer, just so we're all on the same page). I'm here to assert that the G2SS does NOT technically prohibit laser tag, because the game does not use lasers! The game, if I understand the websites correctly, uses Infrared beams, which are not harmful to the eye, AS OPPOSED TO REAL LASERS which can permanently damage sight and therefore ARE prohibited by G2SS. There are SOME systems which do use true lasers, but these are mostly confined to commercial/technical/military sy

Guide to Safe Scouting, Sweet 16 of Safety: "Pointing any type of firearm (including paintball, dye, or lasers) at any individual is unauthorized." So, the operative word here is: - Firearm: Waterguns are not a firearm. Can anyone find a reference that would specifically prohibit squirt guns or super soakers? BTW, good point on water balloons. We will have one serious cleanup on our hands if we're serious about leave no trace.

OK, I see the lively discussion on Paintball. I also see the policy umbrella which, depending on which way the wind is blowing, could include or exclude squirt guns/water pistols/super soakers, etc. I also have read the widespread postings on 'personal' scouting and council websites promoting events/activities where squirt guns are used as part of the activity. (Guiding a projectile at a live target.) I am having our Committee Chair (also another Pack's Unit Commissioner) ask the District Executive whether squirt guns are in or out. However, I'm curious to know whether you a

Leaders - - looking for clarification/advice: We have a number of Tigers who need to do "make-up" activities and earn their beads towards their Tiger badge. I was asked by a parent if the Den activities necessarily needed to be completed with other Den members who needed to do similar "make-up" sessions, OR whether these Den Activities could be done on a family by family basis (e.g. Parents could do a scapbook on their own, rather than with other Den members as stated in the handbook, etc.) Any advice/perspective to share?