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danbrew

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Posts posted by danbrew

  1. As for purpose, I had always understood that Service was their big claim, but in practice, it seems intended as a way to keep some of the older boys involved in Scouting.  In theory, they are supposed to reamin active with their Troops, but I have seen some get so involved in OA stuff, that they really didn't participate much with the Troop, so that's harder to see in practice.

     

    Amen.  I've been a Scoutmaster for three years now and have wholeheartedly supported the OA.  I see lots of great things happening with the OA in our area, and the additional friendships & activities that our OA conduct really seem to help our Scouts become better Scouters.  I always kind of thought that the Scoutmasters that didn't support the OA were the grouchy old guys that have been around for years and years and years and it was their way or the highway.  But... I'm seeing more and more of our senior Scouts choosing OA activities vs. Troop activities... and that kind of bugs me a little.  Older Scouts mentored and taught these current older Scouts when they were younger.  If there are no older Scouts on the campouts, aren't the newer Scouts being disadvantaged? I think so.

     

    It's becoming more and more common for our older Scouts to defer to OA activities vs. Troop activities.  I'm really at a loss as to "what to do about it" as I do want to support the OA.  I certainly don't want to overtly call this out as a problem as I do see that the OA provides value.  But I can certainly understand why some would struggle with the value of the OA and fight against losing "their" Scouts.

  2. Some good comments here.  Don't buy a pack for OLS.  Heck, don't buy a pack for Cub Scout camping.  And, really, I'd bet that the camping that 99.99948382% of troops out there conduct won't require you to have a pack.

     

    Here's pretty much how it works in our council - you drive to wherever you're doing OLS and you bring a duffle bag or some other bag with your stuff in it.  You walk, maybe, 50'.  For Cub Scout camping, you car camp at local council properties or maybe a state park.  For Boy Scout camping? Maybe you walk 100' for virtually all campouts.  Yes, we're a "city" troop - Three Fires Council in Northern Illinois.  In ten years of Scouting I can count on one hand the # of camping trips that I've gone on that a pack would be required.

     

    Most of the time you'll have your stuff in the car/truck/trailer and can go right up to the campsite.

     

    If your troop gets into High Adventure treks, sure, you'll need a pack.  We're sending a crew to Philmont this summer and we all went out an get packs.

     

    But I'd bet that you probably don't "need" a pack if you're like most Scouters.

     

  3. That one in New York sounds nice.  You know, if I had $4.5M laying around.  But then there's this part: 

     

    "The easement was also enacted to limit future development opportunities to the base camp area and to allow for limited public recreational access to portions of the property. Contact Fountains for more information."

     

    Now I have no idea what that property is really "worth" - but having that kind of easement on it? Pfffttttt.  There goes the opportunity to build your dream house on the land you just paid $4.5M for.  And, hey, who are those guys down there in my lake? Oh, right, right, there's a public access easement.  Pffffftttt again.

  4. We have a group of Scouts do research on area camps and then present the results to the troop, including the promotional videos that each camp offers (most do have these).  The Scouts put together a matrix of # of merit badges, # of additional offerings (COPE, ATV, etc.), waterfront activities, etc. and then we distribute this to all of the Scouts and they vote on the camp.

     

    We are in the Chicago area and we've gone to Camp Tesomas in Rhinelander several times - excellent camp.  We're going to Tomahawk Scout Reservation in 2016, also an excellent camp.

     

    Ultimately the Scouts have to decide - as Scoutmaster I do my best to keep the adults out of the decision making process, although I

    think about dining halls and amenities for the adults.  In an ideal world, the camp the Scouts pick will offer some of those adult amenities like internet access and decent cell phone coverage.  If so, great.  If not, maybe that adult goes to town for a few hours to take care of work that can't wait for them to take off a week. 

     

    I go back and forth on the dining hall issue - you really want to implement the patrol method, cooking every meal at camp is a good way to go about it, although I can see the viewpoint that cooking three meals a day for each patrol can take some time at a camp.  So... we do tend to lean towards those with a dining hall and the Scouts like that.  I could probably push the issue a bit with them, but the Scouts get that dining halls are easier and will probably have better food.

     

    As an aside, we have a Scout that can't make our scheduled summer camp and is instead going with another area troop to their camp.  He tells me that he is working on 7 Eagle required merit badges at that camp.  I lol'd a bit and told him that was very unlikely and that he should probably do a little research on the camp to ensure he wasn't disappointed.  He lol'd right back at me and told me, no, he was sure he could work on 7 Eagle required merit badges at that camp.  Guess what? I did some research on the camp and, sure enough, they offer a program where a Scout could work on on 7 merit badges from 6:30a until 5:45p.  Ummmm... I was astounded.  Yes, some of the Eagle required have prerequisites.  But, still, 7? Holy cow.  While I'm not the world's most experienced Scouter, I've typically seen four or five.  I know there are a lot of folks out there that will say "we have a rule that a boy can only do..." and those that try to limit Eagle badges at camp.  I understand the sentiment there, but if the boy does the prereqs and has a MB counselor sign off on them, well, that's what the Guide to Advancement says.  So while I am a little surprised, I'm not planning on getting in the way of it. 

  5. I take lots of photos on our trips, being a big believer that photos of Scouts having fun helps to keep the family connected and if mom (and dad) know their sons are having a good time, they'll be more inclined to be supportive of Scouting. Nine times out of ten I put some some thought into the photo/compositions/settings on the camera and try to get good shots (tip - I dig portraits showing a good close up of a smiling Scout - and parents dig 'em too).

     

    Anyway, not a whole lot of thought went into this one. It was spur of the moment and turned out great. No retouching to this photo - came right out of the camera on mostly auto settings. Canon G16 shot raw.

     

    Scout descending 80' silo. Nice.

     

    IMG_0033-XL.jpg

    • Upvote 1
  6. As a district membership chair, I'm thrilled that you guys are doing such a great job on your recruiting events. Fantastic! Kudos to you for doing it and, especially, doing it without losing money. So you made a little extra this year. Would your COR rather you lose just a little bit of money every year? Money that would otherwise be needed to put on a good program?

     

    While true that your CO and COR should have some insight into the expenses (and revenue) for the unit, as long as the surplus goes towards the unit, good for you. It would be a different story if somebody said, "Hey, we made some money on this. Let's go buy some drinks and have a night out for the adults."

  7. Somebody else already said this but I think it important to reinforce. The CC (or Treasurer for that matter) does not have the ability to unilaterally decide where to spend the Troop's money. The troop committee and the treasurer make the call.

     

    Said again, the Troop's money. Not the CC's money. How were those funds raised? By the boys either through dues or money-earning projects to support the Troop.

     

    From the BSA Troop Committee Guidebook for Successful Troop Operation (ISBN 0-8395-4505-3):

    Troop Finances
    Proper Management of the troop's finances will allow your troop to achieve its program goals. The recording, disbursing, and budgeting of troop funds, along with unit money-earning project assistance,
    is the responsibility of the troop committee and its treasurer
    .

     

    I would have a problem with money raised for the boys of one troop being given away - even if for another Scout unit - but especially given the circumstances describes by the OP.

     

  8. This was headed by one of the parents who swears in front of the boys' date=' often smells of alcohol at functions, belittles the majority of boys and parents in attendance, and openly opposes diversity. This parent is a registered adult./QUOTE']

     

    Sheesh. What a nightmare. I'd have a talk with the IH about the issue. This parent is undermining the entire Troop and the youth effort of the Chartered Org. Forget about Scouting values for a moment - is swearing, drinking, and belittling part of the values the church teach to their youth? Probably not. The drinking issue? I've got a problem with that - remember leaders all serve as roll models. This parent does not sound like a great role model. Further, what happens if/when he does something stupid? The church is going to have huge exposure from a liability perspective. What happens if somebody gets hurt when you've got this drunk leader running around? Heads will roll and deep pockets (the Church) will be be a target.

     

    If you think it worth saving, I'd go have a straight talk with the IH. If he's receptive and is willing to lay down the law, great. Everybody is happy. If he won't do this, it's time to shop around.

  9. We were cleaning out a room in the church where our Troop stores stuff a few weeks ago and I came across this... I've shared this with a few folks and people either really like it or, ah, are not too enthusiastic about it.

     

    I brought it home to show my wife, thinking that she would not like it one bit, and she surprised me. She said "You can fill that out and give it to me and I'm gonna frame it and put it up in my office." Didn't see that coming.

     

    i-cxnG2x2-XL.jpg

  10. When my son was a bear we started with soap and plastic knives. It was a mess. While we were able to quickly clean up the big slivers of soap we then wiped down the tables and sprayed some general purpose cleaners on the tables. Uh, yeah. Won't do that again. Lots of soapy water and bubbles. lol.

  11. This has been a hot topic for years within our Council. Anyone else??????? We have two camps within our council that are good camps but seem better suited to younger Scouts (IMO). For the last three years we have attended summer camp at Tesomas and have enjoyed it but our troop gets the stink eye from some of the council leaders for going out of council. I say it's up to the boys and the leaders where we go. Thoughts?????

     

    Tesomas ROCKS. We've been there three times and plan on going back next summer as well. The boys all universally made the call to schedule our visit while we were at the camp the prior year. Now, having said that, we're investigating alternatives for 2015 as it would be kind of nice to try something new. We probably will go out of council as the council camps don't have dining halls. We could talk all day long about the patrol method and eating as a patrol, yet we factor in the time required for that. You can easily eat up (ha ha) 3 or more hours per days planning and cleaning up after meals.

  12. This is, unfortunately, a common occurrence. Agree completely with those that suggestion you can't effectively do both - it will lead to burnout and the program will suffer. It may have to happen for a short period of time, though. If so, a top priority should be putting together an org chart with a succession plan.

  13. I'm guessing here, but would imagine that in most cases "the troop" (or pack or crew) is not a legal entity in the eyes of the Secretary of State of the home state. Given that, "the troop" can't own anything. It is not a legal person or entity in the legal world. Which is undoubtedly where unresolved questions in this area would end up. So... who owns it? IMHO, the Chartered Organization. They're the ones that are going to be on the hook if there is any mishap and people start getting sued.

     

    Suppose you lean towards "the troop" as the answer. Ok, who is the troop? The Scoutmaster? The COR? The boys? What if one or more (or a majority) want to leave the troop. Can they take stuff with them? I would say no. Having said that, suppose you have a church or civic group where everybody has decided to leave the troop and go and form their own troop (or join another). Would that chartered org want to keep all that stuff? Probably not.

     

  14. The way I see the Martin / Zimmerman case is that both parties had multiple chances to avoid a fatal encounter and BOTH probably disregarded those opportunities. Why? Was it race? Maybe. Was it good old fashion male machismo? More likely. Was it a wanna be cop / Lone ranger runs up against a tough attitude, take no crap teenager? Most likely. Probably that third one with some life experience racial assumptions from both parties as icing on the top of the powder keg. Do I think Zimmerman is innocent, heck no. Do I think given the facts as they are known and the charge(s) the prosecution went with there was any other ruling than not guilty because the state could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt? Nope, not a chance. Do I think both men (yes Martin was a man in the physical sense) moved towards a confrontation instead of away from one? Yup... problem was, one of them was bringing a snack to a gun fight and had no way of knowing it at the time.

     

    You know, there's another perspective as well. Perhaps George Zimmerman was a homeowner that volunteered in his community. A community that had suffered a rash of robberies in the weeks/months leading up to this incident. You said Martin 'brought a snack to a gunfight'. Really? How about the MMA style fighting that he brought to a fight? Had Zimmerman not had that gun he'd be dead instead of Martin. What do you think the likely outcome if Martin had tried that beat down on a cop? Seems pretty clear that Martin was headed for prison or an early grave regardless.

     

    As far as I'm concerned - and surprising as all get out - the jury arrived at a just verdict.

     

    It's all over and done with, yet I'd bet many hadn't heard any of this: http://theconservativetreehouse.com/2012/05/24/update-26-part-2-trayvon-martin-shooting-a-year-of-drug-use-culminates-in-predictable-violence/. It's on the internet - it MUST be true. lol.

     

    And, getting back on subject, I'll give President Obama the benefit of the doubt and believe his comments were intended to slow the racial fires that were brewing.

     

  15. Hi Coldnote, I hope your son has found a pack by now and is getting to know everyone. As some have said, it's tough to find/join a pack in the summer as most everybody is off on vacation, attending camps, relaxing, etc. I realize Illinois is a big state, but I'm in Illinois too and would be happy to point you in the right direction if you haven't made any progress. I'm in the "Three Fires Council", which is the Fox Valley area - 50 miles west of downtown Chicago. Drop me a line if you need help - danbrew@hotmail.com.

  16. In no particular order, here are some of my thoughts on the Jamboree. I was on staff (high-power rifle range) the entire time and showered most days. I bought a solar shower at the trading post for $25 or so and filled it up and left it in the sun (and rain sometimes) during the day and showered at the end of the day. The first time I used the solar shower the water in the bag was 110 degrees (nifty little thermometer built into the bag) and it was a GREAT shower. I had several days where the water in the bag was 140 degrees. I had to hold the bag under the ambient water shower for a few minutes to cool it. I had great warm showers, great hot water with which to shave, and all and all had no complaints about my shower situation. It would have absolutely sucked to not have that solar shower. There was one day where it was super hot throughout the day and I did a shower sans the solar shower. It was brisk, for sure. I can see this being an issue for future Jamborees.

     

    I was in Base Camp Echo and the food was good. Lunches sucked for the most part. I grabbed an apple or two and a banana at breakfast and brought them along for lunch - wish I had thought to grab a bagel or some bread or something. Breakfast and dinner was very good. Dining hall staff were great - good spirits, great job.

     

    Staff tents? Not bad at all. So much I'm thinking about buying one or two of those wall tents they have for sale. Would be great for those "drive and camp" campouts we seem to do so much of back home. The cots? Discobeds. Surprisingly comfortable. Shoot, I'm thinking of buying one or two of them as well.

     

    We had buses laid on for the shooting sports staff as it was a 90-120 minute walk each way to the range. I was disappointed that the participants had so much walking to do - not because of the physical fitness aspect of it but because of the time involved. I gotta believe this is going to have a huge impact on whether folks return. There was a lot of walking for everybody. I was pleased to see that the trading post sold baby powder. Or better put, my boys were pleased I could buy some baby powder. Pack a big container of it if you attend next time.

     

    Speaking of trading posts? The thing I bought the most? Those Thorlo socks. I brought 5 pair down with me. And a bunch of the green BSA socks. I wore my first five pairs on the first five days. I tried the green socks for one day. Ah, no. Funny, as I use them on troop campouts all the time. But I don't walk that much on troop campouts. An estimate, but I figured I did ten miles of walking each day. As an aside, I lost 10 lbs at Jambo. I was too cheap to send my laundry to Granny's Laundry (really, that was the name of the local concession offering laundry service in Echo base camp). I did the old wash 'em in a bucket. I hung everything out to dry and it was a great sunny day the next day. I was feeling pretty smart until it poured down rain that afternoon while I was still at the rifle range. Damn. I ended up just buying a set of socks for each day. I guess it would have been cheaper to pay the $10 to Granny, but it was essentially a two-day turnaround. Anyhow, I bought new socks. I was a little disappointed that the socks in the trading post were a few dollars cheaper than the same thing they were selling online at ScoutingStuff.org - but only because I had bought five pairs beforehand. Ah, don't look a gift horse in the mouth I guess. I bought a jambo chair (even thought I had brought one of those really cool REI camp chairs portable camp chairs they were selling at the Scout store). The portable chair just wasn't comfortable after a long day on the range. I also bought a lightweight rain jacket and a nifty pair of Jambo shorts.

     

    I traded my Shooting Sports hat for a freaken' awesome hat from an adult Scouter from North Carolina. Thanks man! You know who you are. I'm groovin' to your hat.

     

    The phone charging stations were all solar - in case you wondered why you got a 10th of a charge after 2 or 3 hours on the charging station. Everybody plugged their devices into the outlets in the shower house... ummm... 15 or 20 amps for 20 devices all daisy chained together? Do the math - that didn't work out well either. In Base Camp Echo they had a few real charging stations across from the trading post that had portable batteries with 650 or 850 amp batteries and those did the trick. I don't think that many people even realized they were there.

     

    Broken bones? No idea how factual this is, but I heard there were 800 broken bones at the Jamboree - many at the BMX site, with a significant percentage at the same place on the course. I get you'll have broken bones at something like this but do wonder if course design had something to do with it. It would have been nice to have somebody step forward and say "um, yeah, lots of broken bones at this part in the course - we're going to change it or close down this part of the course." Now I got no idea whether that would be a realistic thing to do or not, but as both a parent and a Scouter, I'd like to think there was somebody thinking about this. There were also two fatalities at the Jamboree - both older Scouters. One a few days before the Scouts arrived and one during the second week. My understanding is that they were adults with a history of heart problems. Again, no real specific information on these, all rumor, but fairly certain there were two guys that didn't come home. Sympathies and prayers go out to those two guys and their families. I mention this because I've seen some threads that talked about the BMI and weight and health history and all that. Again, no idea whether these were factors in the two deaths, but I think it safe to assume it likely.

     

    We closed the rifle range once or twice when there was nearby lightning. We had one group that had waited in line for an hour or two and had just completed the safety briefing and were put on the line. I was the RSO and had just given the command to "aim and align rifles" (just prior to "load and fire") when we had to call a cease fire. The operations folks told us the kids had to clear the hill and boogie down the hill. No idea where they were supposed to go to seek shelter, perhaps the big tents at the bottom of the hill. The hill, by the way? We all called it cardiac hill because it was a hump to get from the bottom of the hill to the rifle ranges. I could easily see a kid humping to the top of the hill, waiting in line, getting on the range, having the range closed & sent to the bottom of the hill saying "i'm not walking back up there". Unfortunate. Having said that, we sent probably 7500 kids through the high-power range - .223 and .308 rifles. The boys that made the hump early and got there first thing in the morning got to shoot lots. I told the boys that the early bird got the ammo and if there was no line, they were welcome to stay on the line. One kid in particular stands out - he was on the range at least three different days. I did wonder what he was giving up to be there, but he was passionate about shooting. I bet that kid easily shot 500-600 rounds of .308. That's saying a lot since it was in increments of 10 rounds. I did give some thought to saying "come on kid, hit the road, go see the rest of the Jamboree", but at the end of the day, it was his Jamboree and that's what he wanted to do. We had Scouters from around the world - I had boys (and girls) from Australia, UK, Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Spain, Thailand, Taiwan, Bangladesh, and a bunch of other countries I can't recall.

     

    I sat on the bus one morning late in the Jamboree next to a nurse from the skateboard park and she told me they had their share of broken bones - mostly sprains, though. And a lot of collar bones. She told me that she had heard there were many more broken bones at BMX. It's on the internet... it must be true! I'm sure there is an after action report put together by the risk management people. Sure would like to see that as I'm a curious busybody. But I'll bet that'll never see the light of day.

     

    I'll admit that I was a little concerned about my son participating in the BMX events. I saw my son the first day and then that was it. I ran into some kids from his Jambo troop at the beginning of the last week and asked them "Hey, does Jack have a cast?" and they all said "Nope." Phwew. I felt a lot better because I knew his schedule for the remainder of the Jamboree and was pretty sure he didn't have time to fit in a day at the BMX track. When he got home I asked him (he's 13 and a 1st Class Scout) whether he thought about going over to the BMX track and he said, "Dad, I saw a couple of kids with casts on and they got banged up at BMX. I just didn't think it was worth it." I can't tell you how proud I was of my son. We had a good talk about risk/reward and peer pressure and, again, I was so pleased he was thinking it through.

  17. In no particular order, here are some of my thoughts on the Jamboree. I was on staff (high-power rifle range) the entire time and showered most days. I bought a solar shower at the trading post for $25 or so and filled it up and left it in the sun (and rain sometimes) during the day and showered at the end of the day. The first time I used the solar shower the water in the bag was 110 degrees (nifty little thermometer built into the bag) and it was a GREAT shower. I had several days where the water in the bag was 140 degrees. I had to hold the bag under the ambient water shower for a few minutes to cool it. I had great warm showers, great hot water with which to shave, and all and all had no complaints about my shower situation. It would have absolutely sucked to not have that solar shower. There was one day where it was super hot throughout the day and I did a shower sans the solar shower. It was brisk, for sure. I can see this being an issue for future Jamborees.

     

    I was in Base Camp Echo and the food was good. Lunches sucked for the most part. I grabbed an apple or two and a banana at breakfast and brought them along for lunch - wish I had thought to grab a bagel or some bread or something. Breakfast and dinner was very good. Dining hall staff were great - good spirits, great job.

     

    Staff tents? Not bad at all. So much I'm thinking about buying one or two of those wall tents they have for sale. Would be great for those "drive and camp" campouts we seem to do so much of back home. The cots? Discobeds. Surprisingly comfortable. Shoot, I'm thinking of buying one or two of them as well.

     

    We had buses laid on for the shooting sports staff as it was a 90-120 minute walk each way to the range. I was disappointed that the participants had so much walking to do - not because of the physical fitness aspect of it but because of the time involved. I gotta believe this is going to have a huge impact on whether folks return. There was a lot of walking for everybody. I was pleased to see that the trading post sold baby powder. Or better put, my boys were pleased I could buy some baby powder. Pack a big container of it if you attend next time.

     

    Speaking of trading posts? The thing I bought the most? Those Thorlo socks. I brought 5 pair down with me. And a bunch of the green BSA socks. I wore my first five pairs on the first five days. I tried the green socks for one day. Ah, no. Funny, as I use them on troop campouts all the time. But I don't walk that much on troop campouts. An estimate, but I figured I did ten miles of walking each day. As an aside, I lost 10 lbs at Jambo. I was too cheap to send my laundry to Granny's Laundry (really, that was the name of the local concession offering laundry service in Echo base camp). I did the old wash 'em in a bucket. I hung everything out to dry and it was a great sunny day the next day. I was feeling pretty smart until it poured down rain that afternoon while I was still at the rifle range. Damn. I ended up just buying a set of socks for each day. I guess it would have been cheaper to pay the $10 to Granny, but it was essentially a two-day turnaround. Anyhow, I bought new socks. I was a little disappointed that the socks in the trading post were a few dollars cheaper than the same thing they were selling online at ScoutingStuff.org - but only because I had bought five pairs beforehand. Ah, don't look a gift horse in the mouth I guess. I bought a jambo chair (even thought I had brought one of those really cool REI camp chairs portable camp chairs they were selling at the Scout store). The portable chair just wasn't comfortable after a long day on the range. I also bought a lightweight rain jacket and a nifty pair of Jambo shorts.

     

    I traded my Shooting Sports hat for a freaken' awesome hat from an adult Scouter from North Carolina. Thanks man! You know who you are. I'm groovin' to your hat.

     

    The phone charging stations were all solar - in case you wondered why you got a 10th of a charge after 2 or 3 hours on the charging station. Everybody plugged their devices into the outlets in the shower house... ummm... 15 or 20 amps for 20 devices all daisy chained together? Do the math - that didn't work out well either. In Base Camp Echo they had a few real charging stations across from the trading post that had portable batteries with 650 or 850 amp batteries and those did the trick. I don't think that many people even realized they were there.

     

    Broken bones? No idea how factual this is, but I heard there were 800 broken bones at the Jamboree - many at the BMX site, with a significant percentage at the same place on the course. I get you'll have broken bones at something like this but do wonder if course design had something to do with it. It would have been nice to have somebody step forward and say "um, yeah, lots of broken bones at this part in the course - we're going to change it or close down this part of the course." Now I got no idea whether that would be a realistic thing to do or not, but as both a parent and a Scouter, I'd like to think there was somebody thinking about this. There were also two fatalities at the Jamboree - both older Scouters. One a few days before the Scouts arrived and one during the second week. My understanding is that they were adults with a history of heart problems. Again, no real specific information on these, all rumor, but fairly certain there were two guys that didn't come home. Sympathies and prayers go out to those two guys and their families. I mention this because I've seen some threads that talked about the BMI and weight and health history and all that. Again, no idea whether these were factors in the two deaths, but I think it safe to assume it likely.

     

    We closed the rifle range once or twice when there was nearby lightning. We had one group that had waited in line for an hour or two and had just completed the safety briefing and were put on the line. I was the RSO and had just given the command to "aim and align rifles" (just prior to "load and fire") when we had to call a cease fire. The operations folks told us the kids had to clear the hill and boogie down the hill. No idea where they were supposed to go to seek shelter, perhaps the big tents at the bottom of the hill. The hill, by the way? We all called it cardiac hill because it was a hump to get from the bottom of the hill to the rifle ranges. I could easily see a kid humping to the top of the hill, waiting in line, getting on the range, having the range closed & sent to the bottom of the hill saying "i'm not walking back up there". Unfortunate. Having said that, we sent probably 7500 kids through the high-power range - .223 and .308 rifles. The boys that made the hump early and got there first thing in the morning got to shoot lots. I told the boys that the early bird got the ammo and if there was no line, they were welcome to stay on the line. One kid in particular stands out - he was on the range at least three different days. I did wonder what he was giving up to be there, but he was passionate about shooting. I bet that kid easily shot 500-600 rounds of .308. That's saying a lot since it was in increments of 10 rounds. I did give some thought to saying "come on kid, hit the road, go see the rest of the Jamboree", but at the end of the day, it was his Jamboree and that's what he wanted to do. We had Scouters from around the world - I had boys (and girls) from Australia, UK, Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Spain, Thailand, Taiwan, Bangladesh, and a bunch of other countries I can't recall.

     

     

    • Upvote 1
  18. I still and forever will contend that the folks who have or say woodbadge is life changing have led very sheltered and shallow lives.....

     

    No hardships or tough choices......

     

    Ya we had a bunch of folks that were in tears at the end of the course......I didn't get it........

     

    Honestly I never felt like crying after a management course ended......

    Me too. The course itself. I'm pretty much a cynical black and white kind of guy and not much fazes me. However... the experience I described above was life changing - for both me and the boys. Me because it made me a little more aware of how fortunate I am. Them because it may give them different options in life. The positive point I was trying to make is I would have never considered going to spend a year "in the projects" without Wood Badge. Ok, it wasn't a Cabrini-Green or anything, but it also wasn't the nice little suburban life I've carved out for myself either.
  19. Yeah, it's been an experience... that's for sure. I logged into the dashboard last week for both my medical and my son's medical and the dashboard said there were problems with both - many unanswered questions. I'm positive that I answered the questions when I did it online - and had saved PDF versions of the documents, so I KNOW I did it correctly. Yet, there were missing answers. That's ok, I ran through the medical screens again and answered the questions. The dashboard then said that the medical forms were complete. I got an email this morning that said there were problems with my med so I went back to the dashboard - it said all was well. I figured that the email was probably teed up from the missing answers.

     

    My son is doing the whitewater rafting - the first attempt at paying the $50 fee led to nothing but frustration - the tool would let me add the quantity to the shopping cart, but I couldn't pay for it. I sent an email off the the jamboree folks and never heard back. I waited a week and tried it again and was able to get through the shopping cart experience. I printed the ticket - no name, no jambo #. Just a barcode. I reached out to a local scouter who had successfully registered her son for whitewater and she said after you've paid, completely exit the jamboree site and go back in and do it again. I did - and it looked like it was gonna charge me another $50. Yikes! When I clicked on the link it then popped up with a completed order and then I clicked on 'print ticket' and got the ticket with my son's name & number on it. Go figure.

    lol. Yeah, but things have gotten a lot better here...!
  20. Yeah, it's been an experience... that's for sure. I logged into the dashboard last week for both my medical and my son's medical and the dashboard said there were problems with both - many unanswered questions. I'm positive that I answered the questions when I did it online - and had saved PDF versions of the documents, so I KNOW I did it correctly. Yet, there were missing answers. That's ok, I ran through the medical screens again and answered the questions. The dashboard then said that the medical forms were complete. I got an email this morning that said there were problems with my med so I went back to the dashboard - it said all was well. I figured that the email was probably teed up from the missing answers.

     

    My son is doing the whitewater rafting - the first attempt at paying the $50 fee led to nothing but frustration - the tool would let me add the quantity to the shopping cart, but I couldn't pay for it. I sent an email off the the jamboree folks and never heard back. I waited a week and tried it again and was able to get through the shopping cart experience. I printed the ticket - no name, no jambo #. Just a barcode. I reached out to a local scouter who had successfully registered her son for whitewater and she said after you've paid, completely exit the jamboree site and go back in and do it again. I did - and it looked like it was gonna charge me another $50. Yikes! When I clicked on the link it then popped up with a completed order and then I clicked on 'print ticket' and got the ticket with my son's name & number on it. Go figure.

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