AdvanceOn

1. Chance to interact with other leaders. 2. There is always a program but it is always crammed in with too much other stuff. The DE and the Roundtable leader do not seem to communicate with each other on the agenda so we end up with them competing for time. 3. So far, nothing. I'm the advancement coord. for the troop. Except for our troop, that has our chair, myself, SM, and at least one ASM in attendance, all the other attendees are SMs or occasionally ASMs so the focus is much more on hiking, camping, etc. Not to say this information isn't important for me as well, just no real focus on

What about the Scoutmaster and/or advancement coordinator providing some assistance? Unfortunately, even though this is a leadership project there are still many adults out there who will see him as just a kid. Maybe with some adult backup he'll somewhere with this director. Also, has your son tried to talk with anyone else involved with the science museum? I'm guessing that this is a "board run" organization so he may need to go over this director's head. He may even find that one or more of the board members was in Scouts and will have a clue about the significance of this project.

Thanks for the ideas. Our troop already sells popcorn with half the proceeds going into the individual scout accounts. What we're hoping to do though is come up with some significant fundraising to pay for all our troop campouts/activities and some of the high adventure trips that they're planning. I'll definitely share your ideas with our PLC and committee. Thanks again. Melodee

Hello all: Our troop has done very little fundraising but is hoping to increase this effort to reduce the out-of-pocket costs to families as we increase our high adventure activities. My questions to you -- 1)What kind of fundraising do your units do? 2)How do you successfully work around all the other fundraising? 3) How do you split the money between troop fund and scout fund? 4) Does your troop fundraise for all troop activities or is it only for the high adventure fees (i.e., do the scouts continue to pay the food and patch costs for camporees and regular campou

sctmom: I'm sorry those troops don't seem to have a clue about the importance of contact and recruitment. Our troop has made multiple efforts to recruit boys. We had three dens visit our troop recently. We also invited three dens to a Webelos day-long event in the fall. I prepared hand outs for all the parents with information about when/where the troop meets, how much dues is, what the uniform requirements are, who to contact with questions, etc. I have made occasional contact with each den leader checking to see if they know if they have boys who will be crossing over int

Sctmom: Oh, that was a joke?! We carry duct tape everywhere we go! Melodee

Sctmom: I like your suggestion. Unfortunately, our pack held it's B&G in a pretty tight space. We were always looking for ways to keep the kids seated, not milling around! Seems like your idea would work nicely at a district roundup if Boy Scouts (and others) are included. We're actually looking to get our Boy Scouts more involved in our cub scout round ups so I may incorporate this activity. Melodee

I don't know anything about merit badge college but I know I have had some of the same concerns about summer camp merit badges. Before my time as advancement coordinator for our troop (so I don't know all the details) one 1st year scout attended summer camp (joined troop end of March, camp in July) and "earned" the camping merit badge!? When I look at the requirements I don't see how this was remotely possible. How do y'all (or maybe I should say youn's since I'm in PA now) feel about the topic-specific merit badge camps? My kids are skipping summer camp and instead are attending aviation

If your troop isn't using the troop meeting plan you might want to check it out. When a boy needs to do a presentation he would request being put on the agenda, the SPL would check the meeting plan to see when he can be scheduled. My son is now SPL for our troop and is using the troop meeting plans (my husband has actually turned the plan into a template on the computer so it is a breeze to use). This has helped the troop stay on time and get done what they need to. It also helps reduce the last minute, "OH, yeah, I need to give a presentation." Sort of on the same vein -- many boys do a

Here is a website tothe company that I have my disk from. They have some downloadable evaluation copies of different puzzle construction kits. http://www.crosswordkit.com/download.htm Hope this information helps. Melodee

I made my own Word Find one year for the Blue & Gold. I had a freeware/shareware disk with a variety of puzzle making programs. I have also made crossword puzzles. If I bought it I could have done a lot more. You might want to do a search for such a program on the web. You can also make your own word search using your word processor. Using the table function would probably make it easier to line up letters correctly. Type in the words you want to use then add miscellaneous letters around them to hide them. I used words associated with Scouts and the Blue & Gold. All the kids

I agree with Rooster on the flag. Why in the world would you remove it from the uniform? How would the World Brotherhood replace the trained strip or the Scout rank badge? All the World Brotherhood crest is showing that BSA is a member of this world organization. Not sure where you're coming from but it sure doesn't sound like Boy Scouts. Melodee

We do similar for our Scoutmaster conferences and BORs. One thing that we are also doing is increasing the expectations for complete uniforming at each level of advancement. I.e., at the lower rank levels we will cut some slack for missing items, located incorrectly, etc. but always point these out to the boys and keep track on our BOR form. When they come up again for the next BOR we can check to see if they've fixed the problem. In 100% of the cases so far each boy has fixed the problem and is recognized for this accomplishment. We have never had a boy show up for a BOR out of uniform b

We have three leaders who went through Wood Badge together and recently completed their tickets. They would like to have a joint beading ceremony that's more than what has typically been done in our district. I know the leaders want to include the troop and our charter organization (they helped pay for our leaders to do Wood Badge)as well as district and community dignitaries and of course, family and friends of each leader. I have never been to a Wood Badge ceremony so I don't have a clue as to what is done. I know that at our district level the beads and certificate are generally h

". . .when Webelos are visiting your troop, make sure the activities involve the Webelos and are age appropriate. " Except that the Webelos participating isn't the actual point of them attending. They are supposed to see what a boy scout troop is like. Our troop will be having Webelos visit this Thursday. Our SPL is planning a regular meeting (they're preparing for a winter camporee) which will include some demonstrations, hands on practicals, and planning the patrol duty rosters. Yes, if there is an opportunity for the Webelos to try a few things fine; and the parents will have an o

nldscout, I LOVE this idea. I think we might expand on it to do a transition for ANY new leader to our troop. Many new leaders, myself included (although I'm "seasoned" now), aren't quite sure what their role is and often the boys don't really know who they are. What a wonderful way to transition any new person into a troop leadership role. This is why I keep coming back and reading all the posts! Melodee

Our troop hasn't been very consistent in uniform inspections however, we are doing a full inspection whenever a boy comes up for a board of review. All the boys were given the criteria in advance so they should know what to expect. The members of the BOR have a checklist and requirements for each of the ranks. For example, the boys who are working on lower ranks are cut some slack if they are missing any part but are told what they are missing and encouraged to get it. Once the boy has advanced to First Class he is expected to be in full uniform (our class A allows for OD BDUs or clean blue je

At our most recent district roundtable this actually came up in discussion. We have been told that this is punishment and is not allowed. In another troop that my son was involved with before we moved -- they used a check off system for "disruptive" behavior during the meetings. Three checks and they did push ups. I found it to be quite arbitrary and didn't like the feel of it. They also had a method of any boy not in uniform had to clean up at the end of the meeting. I didn't mind this one so much since it was clear and explicit and not so much punishment but rather a reinforcement for w