Crew21_Adv

Fellow Scouters and nldScouts, I'd like to make just a few comments, regarding statements about Troops making the mistake or the Troop Committee "screwing up" the process. Be cautious about transferring blame from the youth to the Troop Committee. Our Troop Committee and Eagle Advisor has attempted to watch all Scouts and specifically the newest Life Scouts. However, regardless how dynamic and diverse our program is. There will be some youth that become disinterested for a variety of reasons. Within my own troop, we recently had one outstanding youth. The committ

Lisabob, I'll betcha a patch! Here is a realistic question.... One of the biggest questions they will ask, would be about liability. Regardless of what organization the CO/COR may be. Most CO/CORs will automatically assume Venturing Boy Scouts of America will precisely equate to undisciplined 6 year old Tigers tearing things up and jumping off of things. They will probably pitch a scenario to you. "So if one of these 6 year old Venturer jumps off the table and slices his leg clear off. Will I (or their Chartering Organization) get sued?" If you are selling the p

Shortridge, Greetings! You have received excellent advice from many volunteers, and maybe one or two professionals here in our forum. (Still not many professionals blog on the Scouting sites; so that what they may state, will not be used as an official BSA statement) A friend of mine had stated. Becoming a professional Scouter has taken most of the fun out of it. He stated it has its benefits, getting to meet many great youth and adults. But that the enjoyment a volunteer Scouter has, is lessened when it becomes a job. I've been told that most professional Scoute

T&C44, Greetings! As ScoutNut posted. I use the dyetub webpage. It can be modified, already has scouting related templates. I regularly use them for my District Training Staff, along with a patch. Without promoting a single business. The dyetub templates appears to be related to the Classb.com T-shirts. So in the future, if you cannot remember the dyetub.com template page. Go to ClassB and you may find the the templates there. Good Luck! Scouting Forever and Venture On! Crew21 Adv

Eagle92 and Fellow Scouters, Greetings! I know this topic is about lodge flaps. But I too have seen a few young DEs begin their career. Some young men or young ladies have never been Scouts, but they were recreation/physical education majors in college. Few of them saw their new Scouting job as just a job. Most of them, saw Scouting as a beginning of a career. If they were going to be around for a couple of years or a few decades. They made the attempt to get the most out of Scouting. At the ordeal weekends that I've been to. I've personally never seen our new DEs

Fellow Scouters, Greetings! I have done some hiking around our great Nation (not all the time, not 100's of hikes, but a few). Personally, I enjoy the city historic hikes, reading the bronze placards, and trying to figure out who the statue is, and why the city and state thought he or she was important. What I would like to state. There are some outstanding "Historic Trails Awards" endorsed by the BSA and local councils. Equally there are many Hike Awards, established by local troops, local cities, and local historic committees. Sometimes, for a few Scouters and p

Fellow Scouters, Concur. In the former curriculum. There was an air of mystery. Staffers were asked not to divulge course agendas, beyond what was stated each day by the SPL at the PLC. It created a path of communications for Scouts to rely on the Patrol Leader and Patrol Leaders rely on their SPL. The PLC agenda was precisely scripted. "It will be revealed to you at the appropriate time" and "Ask your Patrol Leader" were standard answers to questions regarding what was on the schedule. Even on the afternoon of day one, thirty minutes after the patrol (of seven individ

Lisabob, Greetings! I have created a simulated fire lay for similar indoor ceremonies. From 6 feet away, in darker lighting it tends to create a realistic appearance. Obtain a 4' x 8' sheet of peg board, and cut in half to a 4 x 4. Secure the fire lay to the other fuel logs by wire and chicken wire. Then wire to the peg board. Circle all white flickering Christmas lights, thru the center. Between the Christmas lights and wooden logs, and still in the center of the fake fire lay. Place yellow and orange cellophane wrapping paper, between the logs and over the Chr

Fellow Scouters, I would certainly expect the courses at PTC are worthwhile. I believe the conference cost are fair. For myself. I have received a few invitations. But never able to attend (yet) for many reasons. Timing is everything. In another post I have confessed I was a single father for a few years. Other years, I've committed my entire vacation time to Summer Camp participant and staff, as well as chairing or staffing other unit, district and council events. Other years, when my calendar was not as committed, I could not stretch the paycheck far enough for th

SilverFox and Fellow Wood Badgers, Greetings! Here are my experiences with the Wood Badge Reunions. I have staffed a few Wood Badge courses in a few councils. Two specific councils ran their Reunions very well. Both councils had their reunion chaired by the Course Director of that year. I've only attended weeklong courses, which usually started on Sunday. One council held the reunion the day prior to Day One, or Pre-Course Staff Day Three (which would be Saturday). All the Wood Badgers present from council would enter Gilwell Feild, a few announcements, certifica

Dampcamper, Could the current Scoutmaster perform better in another, less intensive, Troop Committee position? The Scoutmaster usually works for the Troop Committee. (I tried to look for the Troop Organization Chart in some Scouting literature, but was unable to find the actual resource.) The IH and COR approve the charter, and the COR and Troop Committee Chair endorse each adult leader application. One method may be to recommend the current Scoutmaster to another vital, but not direct leadership position. Let them know that an ASM may be recently trained and has time to devo

Fellow Scouters, Greetings! My opinion... I have seen similar and small request to attend a mutual event bloom into exaggerated problems. I've seen at least two situations (and have heard of a few more), where Chartering Organizations and the Scout Units had totally different expectations. Both organizations (the CO and the Pack/Troop) left disappointed with each other, and by end of the Scout year, the Pack and Troop had to seek another Chartering Organization. Over the years as a Cubmaster and Scoutmaster, I have been blamed for damage to portions of the buildings,

Fellow Posters, Based on the question by evansmc... We have assumed that the fiance is neither the parent or legal guardian. This is the problem only during accommodations. From the G2SS, here is what it says. Separate accommodations. When camping, no youth is permitted to sleep in the tent of an adult other than his own parent or guardian. We have offered a few different resolutions. I can empathize with the single parent. In today's world, many of Scouting parents probably can empathize as well. The young son, may (or may not) enjoy the company of the mot

evansm and Fellow Scouters, Greetings! I concur with most all of our fellow posters. The DE should be able to obtain the answer. But I've got a great idea, which I'll address at the end. District and Council camps are specifically arranged for the Cub Scout, Boy Scout or Venturing membership. The opportunity to attend a Scout camp is for the Scout, not necessarily for the "family". Without creating a large controversy. There seems to be a difference in the definition in family. To bring it closer to home.... Just a few years ago, I too was a single parent

Fellow Scouters, I try to remain open minded regarding this topic, observing all views, and taking debates, advice and wise comments with a grain of salt and using them to best serve all the boys in my units. Reading this post, I sometimes wonder if I am reading from a different handbook. Some members of this forum seem to believe that a Scout has earned Eagle when he has completed all their minimum requirements. I believe I've read posters comment how this Scout referred to in this topic has already earned Eagle, before the EBOR even has taken place. Then why does the appl

Horizon, Greetings! I think you may be misunderstanding some of our posters. The time limit is a small factor. Consider it this way. If a 13 y/o or 15 y/o Life Scout does not show any Scout Spirit. "Of course, Scout spirit is a part of this discussion. The Eagle candidate's spirit should be such that he is an example to other Scouts." What if the young man does not demonstrate any Scout Spirit? A discussion of the Eagle Scout Service Project should come up. "This is an occasion to review the Scout's Eagle service project, but not an occasion to criticize

uz2bnowl and Fellow Scouters, Greetings! uz2bnowl asked, "Why should this boy make Eagle?" I'll give my opinion at the end my post. I too have also thought about the scope of Eagle Scout candidates. Comparing the Life Scout who has suffered, and studied, and camped, and wrote, and mentored, and taught, and planned, and led, to the Life Scout who was just there. But in the end; when the are grown adults, they will be able to look back and know what kinds of Scouts they were. You are describing my troop's most recent Eagle. Good young man, we can barely remember h

Lisabob, Greetings! What does it take? I don't have a good answer. What is my personal line? I consider myself to be extremely tolerant and forgiving, but I do have my boundaries and they may eventually be crossed. I have only had two boys over many years. One was a discipline problem, the other was just a simple inconvenience. One, the SPL, whom was elected by the older boys, not by the new scout patrol. He was a bully, he fought, and he cursed, through alot of Scoutmaster counseling he was a "Yes man". Always saying what the Troop Committee wanted to hear, but do

lilzog, Greetings! A great campfire activity for a small group of 25 people, would be an interactive story. Probably divided in 4-5 parts. There are many that can be found online, in both Scouting resources, church resources, and youth resources. Use any search engine to look for audience participation story or interactive story. Such as, "When I say 'Train' everyone in group A says 'Choo-Choo! All aboard'. and When I say 'Maiden' everyone in group B says 'Oh Dear, I can't pay the rent!'" And so on, and so on. There are many, many stories. Some are seasonal, some ha

hherifor and fellow Scouters, Greetings! Here are my thoughts. I'm surprised that a request for audit would come from the DE and COR and not from the parents of the Scouts. If the parents are satisfied with the performance of the program and the stewardship of their funds, they would keep their Scouts in that unit. If they were not satisfied, they would remove their Scouts and take them to another unit or register them as Lone Scouts. I can understand the COR asking for an audit, if they contribute funds towards their Scouting program. (I appreciate the CO/COR's, but

uz2bnowl, Greetings! Here is my Wood Badge story. I attended Wood Badge in the 80's. Just prior to email and the internet era. I had been recommended to attend by our District Commissioner, and informed it was an advanced adult Scout leadership course. I submitted my applications three months earlier (via snail mail and personal check), I think my application beat me to the course director by three hours. Essentially. There was little information that my fellow learners could learn about the course, before the course actually began. Now, learners can practically read

Mr Boyce and fellow Scouters, Greetings! I concur with the answers already provided by our fellow Scouters. To offer my opinion..... Finances will always be a part of any organization. Churches are dependent on tithing, public schools are dependent on state taxes, private clubs are dependent on membership fees and dues. Even Red Cross charges fees to teach you First Aid and (waterfront) Lifesaving or "Life Guards". My opinion. Finances had to be in Scouting from the beginning (as with any other organization). But finances was not the primary motivator. Oth

Fellow Scouters, I highly concur with certain John and Lisa's comments. I tried to illustrate that in my comments, but possible was misunderstood. I attempted to state by establishing a peer to peer relationship rather than a Course Director-Learner relationship. Attempting to remove the illusion that the experience would become demeaning. From the beginning of WB 21C, that has been one of the ongoing topics coming back from the CD Conferences. It was best decided the population preferred experienced based, but did not want a demeaning atmosphere. The popular reflections a

Nessmuk, Greetings! Most Scout trainers attempt to establish a reputation of not being a "know it all" or "too busy to be bothered", but an experienced peer to peer relationship. My friends know that I am experienced, but far from an expert. I try to make it known to my newest friends.... That even though I've been Scouting for a while, Geez, I still learn something new every campout or Den meeting, Pack meeting or Troop meeting. So during a day of NLE and Specifics, I can learn from them too (no kidding, I really do learn some unique techniques). Guided discussio

Fellow Scouters, Greetings! As I'm writing a submission to my district and council newsletter on training, concerning this (and other life threatening and serious injuries over the past few years). I have recently learned of this story as well. This ring of fire appeared to be a summer camp prank, stunt or game gone wrong. There is a previous news release, which barely explains in in just a few details. But it appears the junior staff member that was demonstrating this unauthorized game/stunt, poured rubbing alcohol in a circle (on a makeshift table), and igniting the alcohol