CyndiA

Oh, I finally figured out what CC means. The CC is the SMs father.

I would like for my boys to be in a Scout troop and to be a part of OA and with some sense of pride and some reason to feel respect for those involved. Something like this would certainly not be out of the blue. By this point, a lot of other things have happened that leave a bad taste in everyone's mouth. I was not in OA. I don't know much about the process. I'm not impressed from what I've seen so far. I don't know why I would want to sink time and effort into driving back and forth and pitching in as needed and asked. If it was something worthwhile, then I'd be glad to do whatever I co

This also makes me wonder why OA is conducted in a cloak of silence. It certainly seems that such matters should be out in the open if this is how things are done.

I do have confirmation. Another SM was at the Round Table where the SM from this troop said that the election was not fair and that it was a popularity contest. She insisted that her child be called out. He was. No. I wasn't there. Yes. I trust the SM that told me when I asked straight up. Do you think the SM or the OA person who agreed to this should be the one or ones to talk to the boys about prodedures in a secret ballot election?

Let me clarify on the mothers here. The SM mother is the one who reportedly "pitched a fit" and had her son tapped for OA. The second mother does not have sons qualified for OA at this time. She heard "somewhere" that the child in question was getting tapped for OA though he did not get the votes. Since I heard the boys talking, there is no doubt in my mind that he did not get the votes. The boys who voted told the boy in question that they did not vote for him. He does not pull his share on camping trips. He can't even tie basic knots. He takes off and leaves the others with c

The mother is the SM.

Thanks Semper! I like the way you put that. The only thing that I'm thinking is that I also need to kind of temper that with something softer for the kid involved. No. He did not earn his way in. But, he did not pitch the fit. He did not insist on being in OA. His mother did that. He will be a part of this group and with (probably) everyone knowing how he got in. The other boys were not keen on him to start with (hence the no vote), but it's really not his fault that his mom forced the issue. The kid is only 12 years old. Hopefully he will make changes and will be a valuable m

Tonight was the OA induction here. One boy was tapped who was not voted in. He recieved 2 (one being his own vote) of 6 or 7 votes at the troop meeting. Yes. The boys did compare notes/votes (though I don't know if they are supposed to do that). A mother from another troop had already mentioned that the "talk" was that the mother of the child pitched a fit and insisted that her son be inducted. When the names were called, this boy was called first and led the line. I am 100 % certain that he did not get the votes to be inducted. There were some very good reasons for the way the voting went whi

Our troop was at the same spot last year. As a parent, I stayed out of the way though sent things asked for and provided transportation and such. A couple of parents asked that I become more active due to some concerns. For example, the boys had not made rank. That was the tip of the iceburg. Initially, I sat in on a couple of meetings. "Boy led troop" consisted of the SM unlocking the door and telling them they were boy led and asking what they planned to do. The meetings consisted mostly of running around outside and rolling on the ground or playing with a tinkertoy type set

Dollar candy bars have worked best for our group. A case of candy runs $24 for 50 bars. They sell for $1 each, so profit is over 50 percent. This is a fairly low income area, but almost everyone can afford a dollar. Some neighbors and friends spring for $10 or $20 in candy while some just buy a single bar. In any case, it does add up with this being our best income maker. Often the candy bars include a coupon. The last coupon was $1.00 off a Subway sandwich. So, the candy bar ended up free for those who bought the candy and also ate at Subway and took advantage of the coupon. C

If at all possible, let the guys practice in small groups (3 to 4). I have mini camp outs at my house. I give the guys $20, take them to the grocery store, and then they eat what they plan, buy, and prepare. If they buy an expensive meat, then they may not have enough for the other meals. If they forget butter for the pie irons, then they have to come in to borrow butter (and they hate to do that). If they burn the potatoes, then they have a lean meal. Once they do a couple of smaller group camp meals (with the back up of the house and kitchen close) and learn the ropes, then they are bet

Be sure to look at the links with advancement. For example, our brand new troop guys went to summer camp. Most of our boys did not take swimming. Then, they did not have the rescue part for first class. Our community pool is an outdoor pool. So, some of the boys ended up having to go across town to finish that one item for first class that would have been covered if swimming had been taken at camp. Also, ask around and see if any badges are next to impossible to earn at camp. Almost all the boys took rifle. None earned the badge with the required x number of shots in the size of a quarter

LOL. You are funny. The recipe sounds good. We will have to give that a try. The boys here made a couple of dishes they liked and would likely have made the same ones from here until they aged out of Scouts (-: That's when I started rounding up some recipes. They look the 3 ring book over and decide on things they think sound good. Then they usually make a meal or two they've tried before and a new one on each trip. Titles help. Glad you had a good one. Thank you much!

Yes. There are some good cookbooks out there. My favorites are the Cee Dub books. They focus on Dutch Oven but have a few other types of recipes plus "tale tales" (or stories from his camping experiences). My concern with the books available is that they are written with adults in mind. Some of the recipes are pretty complex. Authors assume that those using the books will know cooking terms and even ingredients that they likely won't know. The boys here didn't know what I meant by "rock salt" for instance. My book will include that it's not table salt but a chunky salt in a box. I wa

Our troop is new--almost a year now. Both my boys are involved. The older is always voted to the "leadership" spots. The younger is not. In a different group and time, the little guy might shine more obviously, but that's just how this played out. In the first round, only a couple of jobs were voted on--patrol leader and such. On the second round, the group added other jobs--like historian. Little guy accepted historian as basically an appointment. No one wanted the job in effect. He wanted to do "something" but is younger and overshadowed by having an older brother in the troop. He

If those titles don't get you going, then just wait til you see the recipe for baked crickets. Yep. The kind you use for bait when fishing. YUM. Thanks for the second welcome and also for all the great sharing here. I've found lots of wonderful ideas here at Scouter Network.

LOL. That's funny. Hadn't thought of the possibilities. Since we're making every dish, and this book should run around 150 recipes, I will be bigger than the barn if we do a series. If folks have interesting service project ideas, I'd love more new ideas. The Red Cross was excited this morning when I took the cookies made by the boys and drinks bought by the troop. That's for the blood drive. The boys will go after school to help with giving out the snacks and clearing up the tables/chairs after. I try to have something new every month or two. I'm checking on Habitat for Humanit

Hi to all. I've visited this site for quite a while and often and just discovered the message boards. Neat place all round. I'm an active Scout mom with 2 sons. I type up the monthly calendars, buy the scrapbooking materials to keep a journal of activities and look around for service project ideas. Our group cooked at the homeless shelter, washed adoptable puppies at the dog pound, and tomorrow we're taking cookies made by the troop for the local blood drive. The guys aren't old enough to donate blood, but they can donate the snacks and hand those out to blood donators. One of my mai