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Volunteer - I have so walked in your shoes.... in fact it sounds like you are in my district! Honestly, I think the concerns you share are very real to you and your fellow scouters. May I offer this - I would suspect you are fairly new to scouting as I had these simialr feelings when I was new to how it all worked also. EXACTLY the same concerns and feelings. I learned to deal with it by expecting nothing and then whatever I got was a pleasant surprise. As it turned out this made our DE more beneficial to me as we each had realistic expectations and he didn't feel as though I was

The DE is there for the exact reason stated above. Kudos to those of you who understand this - it is difficult for us volunteers to grasp at times. In our district the result of low attendance is a direct result of poor promotion by the volunteers (yes me included), lack of volunteers, and a weak previous district committee. Our new chair is doing a great job of accountability on everyone's part! DE included. I would also suspect there are some rogue units and volunteers in your district hurting the overall program. Sometimes, we as leaders have to remind everyone our focus on on the

Do enough to get by is different than playing ball and doing scouts. By enforcing your attendance rules you are forcing teh scout and his parents to choose one over the other - when in fact they can do both and if you limit thier abilities to earn awards because they were not there - I can almost gaurantee they will make a choice - and not scouts. 6 months active - so if from June to Aug they attend 3 of your planned 6 mtgs and none of the meetings in Sept to Nov - they attended 6 meetings where likely the activity was just fun - vs 12 that were fun and educational. Or none from Sep

So a scout attends sports and is choosing sports over Scouting? I'm sorry I don't get this one.... Scouting is about giving our youth the ability to experience different things while at the same time forming leadership skills and good morals. Obtaining a sense of community and involvement in our community extends beyond the reach of our Pack. In fact if, we stayed just within the bounds of our pack we would not accomplish any of the scouting ideas - would we? Scouts who as you say "choose" to play sports are making friends, enjoying social interaction, developing coordination and

Eamonn - you describe the definition of insanity - continue to do the same thign and expect different results - right? You are spot on also ad I agree wiht everything you have said thus part of my rub. Council President lives locally and I go to church with him and used to be affiliated with him in another unit. He knows but I suspect he has relied on the District Key 3 to handle it and I think he will. Just learned today that the DE may have convinced the new District Chair that this is all a result of the council not supporting us liek other districts - which is totally wrong. O

John - "they" already tried that...in an attempt to hurt us both. Fortunately, the "powers that be" were aware and stood behind us both. It was a great learning experience that strenghtened my belief in the BSA, my christian faith, and my relationship with the young man. Hence, why I am so passionate about wanting to help him now.

John - short answer - 1 of the few people the guy trust because others have stabbed him in the back numerous times. Long answer - cubmaster, unit commissioner, roundtable commissioner. Our key 3 has a new dist chair whom I think will do well and have come to jesus meetings once he is able to get his head wrapped around things. Old District Chair had positive attributes but come to jesus meetings were not one of them. Dist Commissioner is in another county and also limited by job. But does a great job and I think si just wating to let the new committee get up to speed. AS said

I appreciate everyone's replies thus far. Each of you make great points and I agree with pretty muech everything offered. If you will allow - let me add a few things now and see if this takes a different route. Again - this is a pretty good DE - are there better I'm sure - are there worse absolutely. He has shown much growht in 2 years and let's most things roll off his back. Thus, the reason I respect him. He really isn't that bad just aggravating at times. He are specifics. 1st date cahnge was the District Pinewood derby which remained the same weekend but on friday night

I know from time to time we all have challenges with our DE's. Ours is a decent guy who means well and whom I respect and have befriended. He usually works hard but as most young people makes bad decisions from time to time. I try to support him publically and help him recognize these things privately. He's not bad. However, since about April he has taken it upon himself to start changing dates of events and activities that have been planned prior. Our council sends out a yearly planning calendar and "we" (cubmasters in our area) use this to plan our year and promote events in counci

Several points here - also please know that I would like to make you think rather than tell you how to handle. That is the most appealing aspect of this forum to me. Last post hit one nail right on with training. Are you trained? Is the CM/ACM trained? Is the committee trained? I say no or this problem likely would not exist. Secondly, I am a CM and have been in a similar albeit different situation in the past. Here are where my thoughts took me. 1. The Bible says in Romans that we are to submit to those in authority and that they serve in that position because God allows

I've seen a few similar cases like this as has most of us. First, you must realize that there are 2 sides to every story - I'm sure you present what you feel is the truth as does the other lady. I would really like to hear the other side as well. We are all to quick to say things like "cussing" and other less desireable attributes to impune the other party. What's the real deal here and how did it get to this point. There are likely many wrongs on both sides for anything to ever get to this point.

You are wasting your time trying to be all things to all people. You WILL NOT make everyone happy. So, how do you handle all the individual requests? Be honest even if it's not what they want to hear, work hard and be available, return all phone calls and emails - even if you don't know the answer say you will find it and be sure to get back promptly. Some people will just complain - ;isten and file it away - make notes that reassures them you are listening and take thier complaint seriously - but decide if it's valid later. Again - some people will just complain - they are also l

Just left National Scout Shop - it's confirmed - everything mot just shirts and pants is going up - for example WEBELOS neckerchef going from 6.49 to 9.99, everything going up effective tomorrow per our local manager.

Your son will not miss jambo because he didn't fund raise this time - he will miss it because he is simply not old enough. As for fundraising I think Beavah makes a good point and it is each family's personal decision on how and when to participate. The Scoutmaster likely made all of the troop's requirements known prior to asking you about Spring mulch. Christmas trees - yeah I think you're right probably was too early to have it a requirement but it was your choice to allow your son to participate. Spring mulch - sounds like if he crosses over in a week it's not necessarily a requ

Not sure if it's true but our council has a national scout shop, and heard from local professional last night that unifomr prices are going up real soon. DE said that he was told yesterday and it looks like pants and shirts are going up $10.00 each. That's a pretty big jump....

retention does the boy led troop have a program good enough to keep the Scouts you've got - if so - you'll get more

been there done that! I learned a few things along the way and this is not how I handled it - but in hindsight - it is the way I wished I had handled it - so see this as just my .02 worth... We had a CC who was basically the Treasurer, CM, CC, and everything in between. It was her way or the highway. Period. I would suggest the following as a current CM and UC. Again - IMHO 1. Speak to the CC discetely and relay your concerns in a Scout-like manner; 2. Set guidelines for seeing a change that you both can agree upon. Do not keep score and preserve each other's respect; 3

CNY - please know that I am not familiar with your particular situation and I am only making a broad generalization here.... Why do you not want your CC or CM to know? This just doesn't make sense to me. It seems to me the first step would be to discuss with the Den leader; second step after ample time to address (determined by you) would be to talk to CM and/or CC; third step after ample time would be COR or Unit Commissioner; fourth Step would be to look around at packs. There is nothing to hide here as you have presented it. I just don't get the way parents do thes

"What should I expect?" FUN, FUN, FUN.... Go with an open mind ready to let the boys be boys and enjoy it. If they don't make the birdhouse just right, or miss the target, so be it. Let them enjoy the experience and allow them some freedoms to "enjoy" new things. If it's a worthwhile summer camp you will have things to do pretty much all day into the evening campfire. You should have some time after the fire to sit back and relax before going to bed. Last year we left with 1/2 our Bear requirements done. Not much chance for leaders to step back as Cub Scouting is a fami

When thinking of software I'm assuming you are using a timer? How do these excel sheets import or receive the timing info from your timer. Has he written some type of macro?

I'm not aware of any freebies that are available. And, I have searched the world over. So if you find - please inform me. I've used Grand Prix and DerbyMaster with a FasTrack timer. Both worked equally well although Grand Prix has more bang for the buck. I think I would focus more on finding $50 as the money is well spent and spent only once.

Well - we live in VA and we've decided to drive! Yep - drive! 26 hrs and 1700 miles one way. We both like to see different things and visit different places. We did the same thing out west a couple years ago and had a blast. So, we'll be leaving early and getting home late but taking our time and stopping along the way. I keep thinking of that movie with "Al Bundy" in it driving his step kid home for christmas. Can't recall the name but hopefully our trip will be better than his! I've signed up for Strictly Cubmaster the week on June 7th. Anyone else going then?

Packmaster is AWESOME - makes pack admin much easier as well as setting calendars and sharing with the families of the pack. Activities, awards, and adult management has become much eaasier and less time consuming. Can you tell I like it! By the way, one way to make it easier to set up is have your Council Registrar email you the .csv file for your pack/troop. It will contain all scouts and leaders from your last recharter plus any you've added since the last recharter. from there all you have to do is assign dens/patrols, new scouts/leaders, and advancements. Speaking of advance

Thanks for the great replies - but I know there's more of you guys out there that can add more. Please - keep the advice coming....

Hello all - I recently received an invite to Philmont for the leader training conference. I am excited to have been approved by council because I have only been in cubs for 3 years. Started out as tiger and now in Bears. I was recently asked to take over an ailing pack by the district and my wife and I accepted the challenge together. We have been so blessed by the families and church we serve. I am also a commissioner of a pack and 2 troops. So now, to my question. As a new cubmaster and a unit commissioner can you give me some advice from your experiences at Philmont on c