CubPack28

We use it for our Cub Pack and for the same reasons. It is so easy to use, we can send out one update a week if we choose to, select who it goes to by Den or Pack or Committee, and don't have to do anything with it. It also now has the capability of allowing Scouts to sign up and pay for an event they want to attend, without having to wait until the next meeting....really good when deadlines are fast approaching..

It's well worth the expense.

Pack 28 CC

I found this information. I am guessing because you said that this is a Pack camping trip, that you are going to a Council camp and using a certified range instructor? If so, and the Council has approved, there is no reason that siblings may not participate in the bb activities. When our sons went to resident camp and my daughters were visiting, they were invited to participate in the bb range as well.As long as you have Council's approval, you all are covered under the insurance umbrella while you are at camp.

Check with your council to make sure, but that is my understanding.

Pack 28 CC

Youth members of Cub Scouting are permitted to participate in the shooting activities named in here only.

Archery and BB gun shooting are restricted to day camps, Cub Scout/Webelos Scout resident camps, council-managed family camping programs, or to council activities where there are properly trained supervisors and all standards for BSA shooting sports are enforced. Archery and BB gun shooting are not to be done at the pack level.

Cub Scouts are not permitted to use any other type of handgun or firearm.

Pack Overnighters

Pack overnighters are pack-organized overnight events involving more than one family from a single pack, focused on age-appropriate Cub Scout activities and conducted at council-approved sites. If nonmembers (siblings) participate, the event must be structured to accommodate them. BSA health and safety and Youth Protection guidelines apply. In most cases, each youth member will be under the supervision of a parent or guardian. In all cases, each youth participant is responsible to a specific adult.

I did outdoor trainingas an Instructor and Leader when I was involved in GS, and we had the same problem with getting leaders to take outdoor camping.

I am signed up , along with three other adults in our Pack to take Baloo and Webelos Outdoor training in April here. We had a whole den of Webelos this year who did not get outside to hike or camp and we will not have that happen again. It's a shame that it did this year, but we had a leader who isn't interested in the Outdoors and the Den has suffered for it. We are hoping to get them outside in the spring and early summer, before summer camps, so that they at least get some experiences. After all, that's what Scouting is all about....

Yes, we did yesterday. Lots of hot dogs sold and eaten, lots of really cool cars this year, lots of yelling and cheering for the Leaders during their division races.....crayola car was a huge hit!

Boys had a great time, lots of trophies given out, and lots of really good times had.

It was our first year doing the derby, so it was an experiment of sorts to see how things went, trying to encourage more involvement by the families in the Pack, and everyone had a really good time.

There were some problems with the derby in previous years, with a previous CM, so we hoped for a good turnout and a good series of races for the boys, and we did that....They loved having a leader run off....in fact, it was one of their favorite parts of yesterday.

Anyway, we hope to build on this year for next year.

I used to be a Bear,

A good ole Bear too,

And now I've finished Bearing,

I don't know what to do,

I'm growing old and feeble,

and I can bear no more

So I'm going to work my ticket if I can

Back to Gilwell, happy land,

I'm going to work my ticket if I can

NE II-176

I used to be a Bear

Hi Basementdweller,

I had a similar situation last year, before I became CC in our Pack. We had a Wolf leader that signed up with her son, took on the leadership of the small den, and then repeatedly did not show up. Of course, the parents sat around, wondering what was going on, the boys ( one of them, one of my sons) suffered, was talking about quitting. We wound up recruiting one of the other parents in the den, but she wouldn't take on the den until this year, so they met with my Tigers. The Wolf Den worked on their stuff, with my guidance, and I helped the Den parents in my Tiger den, work through their time with shared responsibility. It wasn't ideal by any stretch, but it kept the boys in both dens interested, gave the boys in the Wolf Den consistant, fun meetings, and a chance to be the older boys who knew more than the Tigers and could be "leaders" of a sort to the younger boys and we got through the rest of the year.....

I applaud you for trying to handle a tough situation. And someone should have had the courtesy to say thank you for doing what you did.

I would not welcome that Leader back without a good reason for her absence last year, but that is me and my Pack. We expect our Leaders to be just that....Leaders.

It is one thing to have two dens meet together to get through a week because of an illness or unexpected problem, it is another to have the situation that you and I have dealt with, with no support from your Pack or Cubmaster.

In our Pack now, if for some reason, a Den Leader can't make it, they have to let me know, and we will have the CM or ACM come fill in for a night for them. We also have Den Coaches available this year, but it is a first for us. Thankfully, we haven't had that happen but it is in place if it should.

Not all of us have ideal Packs, it is something that we strive to improve, but it does take everyone on the same page to make that happen and it is not always as easy or black and white as we would like .

Best wishes to you as you continue on your Scouting journey.

Pack 28

We just had to deal with this. My daughter is a member of a new Venture Crew. She was the first girl in our council to take DC training. She was given the PoR patch by her crew, and the cords were presented by the Pack, surrounded by the boys in the Den she serves.

When she earns the Service Award, she will be presented that during a Pack meeting as well, since she served the boys in that Den.

Since she was the first girl ever in our Council to take the training for DC, they made a big deal out of it at Pow Wow.

So far, she's loving her experiences working with the boys in an official capacity and the boys really like having her there to help out.

Pack 28 CC

I agree with the poster who asked where this Tiger Cub's partner was during this?

As far as addressing it, you most certainly do have to , we have done that by having both Pack and Den rules, regarding proper meeting behavior and outdoor behavior. The boys all had input into them and those are what we made the rules as it were.

You, as the Cub Master, also have a responsibility to those that your Cub's will come into contact with , while in public, and you would do both yourself and the Cub a favor by having a talk with the parents and the Cub, along with him making an apology to the Leader.

Good luck,

Pack28 CC

Hello Chief Thundercloud,

It's a shame that your Trading Post is no longer there. I would like to do something similar in our Pack.

Do you plan to start the TP again, or are you going to let it go for now?

Pack 28 CC

Some concrete questions: What pieces of Pinewood Derby, Raingutter Regatta, family camping, outdoor outings that fulfill rank requirements or electives, Christmas party, Blue & Gold, and Graduation are program and should be planned by the Cubmaster/Den Leaders? What pieces are Committee? What roles do the Cubmaster/Committee play in promoting and getting Scouts to Council events such as Cuboree, Day Camps, etc? Who finds adult leaders willing to attend? -asked Hopalong

Hi Hopalong,

In our Pack, and I am the Committee Chair in the Pack, what falls as our /my responsibilities of the things that you listed are the following-securing a location for those events you listed, ordering kits for the PWD cars and boats for the regatta, approving locations for the campouts and overnights, payment of fees ( treasurer with committee approval of the expense). Blue and Gold is the B&G Committee's responsibility, but absent them, it is mine ultimately to locate a place to hold it, and to secure any caterers or vendors etc.

I also secure the trophies for the Regatta and the PWD races, and secure payment by the treasurer to the vendor.

We ( the Committee) approve expenses, develop and approve the budget for the Pack, and work on securing the funding to make that budget work for the pack, chair fundraisers, etc..my job as the CC is to make sure that the Program is being done by both the Den Leaders and the Cub Master/Asst. CM's as well.

But Program and the actual running of it is all theirs, as long as they are following the Guide to Safe Scouting, and the camp site is approved by Council, and we have the money, it is theirs to organize, plan, and carry out.

We also have an Awards and Recognitions person, and that person is the one responsible for securing the boys awards and rank advancements as needed. The Den Leaders report to her what things the boys have completed each month.

Since we have a newsletter, the Council program offerings are included in that to let the parents know about them, but it is the parent's responsibility to get them to them, or the Den Leader's to arrange transportation if they are going to something like a Haunted Harvest festival together as a Den....

Our Overnights out of town are usually arranged by the Committee only as far as payment of the reservations goes and confirming the # of boys and adults attending, but transport is the problem of the CM or DL...

Your CM should attend your Committee meetings to let you know what plans he has for the Pack Meetings for the coming months, to let you know what the Pack /Dens are doing, in need of, and to make suggestions for any upcoming items. He does not however get a vote on approval or not.

Program is his/her department and that includes making sure that the Dens are operating as they should, making sure that the Pack meetings are held monthyl according to the theme of the month, giving out awards and rank advancements are his to take care of unless he is not there, then the Asst. CM fills in for him, Pack Camping overnights are his to plan and carry out, therefore he must take care of having the right amount of adults and provide us with a list of those attending that particular outing.

End of the Year? - we are a year round program, although we do have a welcome to Summer Time Program barbeque at the end of June to kick off our Summer activities....

I hope this helps some......

Cub Pack 28 CC

I'm new here, so I'm not sure how much my answer is going to count, but I am the CC for our Pack.

Our Dues are 55.00 for new Scouts, and 50.00 for returning Scouts. Our Pack fees include their registration with BSA, insurance, Boys Life subscription is mandatory in our Pack for all Scouts, it also pays for their PWD car kits, Blue and Gold Luncheon fee, all awards and insignia except for starter insignia which is purchased by the parents and their books. We pay for their new neckerchiefs and slides when they move up at the end of the year, and sometimes their books if we have the money. We include a donation to FOS in our registration fees as well.

We are a small pack in that we are in the midst of trying to rebuild and revitalize our Pack after many years of same old , same old..so fundraising is a huge issue. This year's popcorn sales only saw less than half of the boys participating in any way, table sales or take home forms, and those same boys also did both....the rest seem to think that they don't have to fundraise, despite being clearly told otherwise...We historically have not had the parental support in the Committee or Pack meetings, so we are moving to change that, and it appears successfully at the moment.

I did find that the parents had never had the budget discussed with them, so they had no idea what it paid for, why it pays for what it does, how it benefits them and their sons to participate in fundraisers, etc. , and serve on Committees....so hopefully, after our last meeting, things will move in another direction.

We also pay for part of the overnight fees for two events per year for Scouts...and in the spring, we do a candy bar fundraiser for camp fees....

There are a few other things that I am sure that we are leaving off our list of stuff that we pay for with the registration fees, and if I think of them, I will come back and add them.

I know that other packs'in our area are anywhere between 120.00, and 0, but the ones with the 0 Pack dues are usually the ones that sold 13,000.00 worth of popcorn...

Wish that were us.

Pack 28 CC

Thanks Buffalo Skipper....we'd like to be able to give them the uniform pieces at no cost , but since we are just starting out, and we may be having to buy some from ebay or second hand stores, we may have to charge something for the pieces, but maybe we can lower the cost for that too.

I like the idea of giving the discount too, and we will do that if we can get our already existing members to actually donate things.

Cub Pack 28

Thanks Wingnut. I also have been scouring ebay and second hand stores in our area looking for pieces to buy to begin stocking the closet. I lost the bids on ebay, and one of them was a really good supply of shirts in various sizes....maybe next time.

We have scholarships for the registration fees, so we already cover that expense and Boys Life for the Scout if we have a need, so we thought that charging a small amount for the actual uniform would help "invest" the family in the Pack if you understand what I mean.

I really appreciate everyone's help.

Pack 28 CC

As a former Troop Leader for 10 years, along with a Service Unit Manager, trainer for GS, amongst the many other hats that I wore, I left GS two years ago, because of the stance that GS took getting away from camping and outdoor experiences for girls and trying to make it a more cookie cutter , all frills, no substance organization.

I, once was a proud GS, once was a proud leader, and while I don't regret a moment that I spent with well over a two hundred girls during my tenure, we made our memories by spending weekends and more camping, hiking, exploring nature. My former girls now are joining Venturing because GS offers them nothing in regard to what they got when I was there.

I agree with the poster who said that the moms don't want to camp, there is alot of that, but even more concerning is the fact that Leaders, many of them during my time refused to go outdoors with their girls or explore nature. Camping trips to Hershey became chances to "camp" in a hotel.....where is the fun in that?

Anyway, end of my rant, as I said, I don't regret the time that I spent with the girls in my troops, and I know that I gave them my very best.

I wish that GS would learn a few things from BS and Venturing...combining opportunities to be in the outdoors, with adventure and camping and you will have Scouts who are happy ones.

Oh, and my troops had a no electronics policy. The Leader and Assistant Leader had cell phones in case of emergency. Girls will not allowed to bring electronics. A good book, a board game or two, a deck of cards....better yet , some paper and some drawing supplies made for a great weekend.

Thanks AuntiePoo for your reply. I tried doing just as you do, earlier in the year and got no response. In fact, I then had another question thrown at me, and that was could the Pack offer a discount on Pack dues to families with multiple scouts? So, this was the solution to both issues that the Committee came up with. Offering a discount for those families who turn in good condition uniforms, and at the same time, helping out families with multiple scouts a small discount as it is, toward Pack dues.

We were hoping to solve both problems in a way that would benefit the boys in the Pack.

Pack 28 CC

Hi,

I don't want to re-invent the wheel and I'm pretty sure that my attempt at organizing a uniform closet has been done many times in the past, so I am hoping that someone can tell me how they have successfully done theirs.

We'd like to offer the parents a small credit toward their Pack dues in exchange for uniform pants and shirts, and hats in good condition. We are thinking about 5.00 for the shirt, 3.00 for the hats, 10.00 for the shirts.

We'd like to offer the new Scout parents who have a hard time purchasing a new uniform a chance to get one at a discounted cost, so we'd charge them 7.50-10.00 for the shirts, 15.00 for the pants and 5.00 for the hats.

Does that sound reasonable to you? How do you handle the new Scout parents who turn in the pieces at the end of the year? Do you give them the same discount that you gave the other parents?

Thanks for any help with this.....

Pack 28