Scoutmaster Teddy

Awesome! Welcome to the circle.

I've been thinking of using the logs. We track a lot - service hours, camping nights, paddling miles, hiking miles, backpacking miles, etc., on Troop Web Host. My idea to is bring to the PLC (again) is to start holding the scouts accountable for record keeping, even if it is just a duplicate record. 

On 4/9/2018 at 5:28 PM, TMSM said:

I have been taking grief (mainly from new parents) that I need more ASMs. The 4 other troops in our area have 10 -12 ASMs for troops of 30-40. I get it that dads want to be part of scouting but most just want Webelos 3 so I make them wait a year to make sure  they get how Boys Scouts work. Am I off here? Do I need more? What do 10 ASMs do that helps the Scouts maintain responsibility?

 

I get grief from parents also. Their "beef" comes from canceling and rescheduling campouts because I have 7 ASMs for 18 Scouts and I'm often the only adult who registers. I end up begging for their help or reaching out to retired Scoutmasters and current committee members. I need ASMs who can camp. I understand people are busy, but some of them resist anything after 5 pm Friday.

We circle up and sing vespers, joining hands right arm over left, and end with three shakes.

2 hours ago, qwazse said:

 

• O/A will continue to have only one lodge per council.

As far as the specific name for troops of female youth, she said they are still taking suggestions. I used "BSA4G" and she was taken aback. I explained, and I think she liked the sound of it. But it clearly shows she's not reading this forum. I'll try to send a link her way.

Those are my notes. Hope they help.

I'm still dying to know what will happen to the OA. I understand that women are allowed in - I get that. The OA's youth leaders are males. Adult advisers are mixed, of course. Female Chiefs or a separate inner organization?

@ScottishNaomi Welcome!

5 hours ago, Chisos said:

Wow.  You mean they went in and added some nights so they'd qualify to be on the ballot?  I'd be livid at that!

I couldn't sleep for a few days. A Scout is Trustworthy, right? That should go for adult scouts also.

3 hours ago, an_old_DC said:

@Scoutmaster Teddy the Election Team should have had an Adult Advisor with them for the election. All of them should have been from another troop.

Yep, that's the rule. An adult from the Lodge was going to be there anyway. The two Scouts from another troop had to cancel so we made do. We had the Chief's and the Election Team Adviser's blessing. My Troop is located at the far Southern end of our council. Sometimes it's hard to get people down there with us Southerners. Ya'll know that.

My lodge, Konepaka Ketiwa #38, instituted election team training after last year's problems. I heard there was an election that the SM required a two-thirds vote and another had an election with a lot less than half of the active scouts present. This is a mandatory training. Even though I am in the Order I had an adult member from outside of troop present for my troop's election. I even delayed my Troop's election for two weeks after I found that someone "edited" the camping nights on our Troop Web Host site for an adult and their scout. 

Whoa.... I was off-topic and made some generalities. Merit badges press my hot button. I was wrong to generalize all young instructors as bad. I failed to rationalize in a controlled manner.

I have seen some outstanding young MB instructors in camps. What sets me off is instructing by reading thru the pamphlets an hour or two a day and calling it instruction. My problems lie mostly with the Citizenship badges. Sit, listen, fill in the blanks. For the most part I enjoy sitting in on the skills badges - aquatics, camping, pioneering, etc. It's the classroom badges that press my buttons.

Apologies for any offense taken. I'll "do my best" to be more specific.

8 hours ago, cyphertext said:

I don't think you can do that...  If the MB counselor is registered and approved by your council advancement committee, then you have no legitimate reason to not issue the Scout the blue card.  

Perhaps. But I will "do my best" to talk them out of it. I've seen Eagle-required merit badges taught by kids at summer camp. Just because they are over 18 and in college doesn't mean much to me. Merit badge mills pound information for a few hours and cal it complete. It's el toro poo-poo. I should have the right to deny certain merit badges from being taken at these events.

33 minutes ago, ItsBrian said:

No one will show up then 

Only my Scouts. But that's okay. We can do them all in the Troop.

2 hours ago, DuctTape said:

One of the problems is the BSA *does* just hand out mBs just for showing up at mb colleges and summer camps. 

That's one reason why I'm considering disallowing Eagle-required MBs at MB mills.

I've been following him since day one. His videos are well-made and interesting.

I will not count cabin-camping nor lock-ins (such as sleeping in the Church) as camping. Many enemies I have made - no sleep I have lost. That goes for fathers and sons sleeping in cars wanting OA camping nights. No sir. No how. 

13 minutes ago, blw2 said:

 

have they changed the shirt yet, so it doesn't say BOY Scouts of America?

 

Back to Scouts, USA perhaps?

17 hours ago, HelpfulTracks said:

The is a very good approach.

Last year I was to oversee 2 different elections in one night, with different elections teams. We scheduled one for the first half of the meeting and the other for the second half.

When I arrived, the adult OA member who had brought several of the team, talked the troop onto go ahead and holding the election. Initially, I was fine with that. But after the meeting, as I was talking to the Scoutmaster, he told me the adult leader insisted that everyone turn in a ballot because they only had a little over 50% of their troop there, otherwise they couldn't hold the election. Although the adult OA member was wrong, the SM had no idea.

So all of his brand new crossovers turned in blank ballots. Out of 7 Scouts on the ballot, 2 were elected, 2 more would have been had the election been run properly. The SM was not happy. There were proposed bylaws changes to prevent this in the future.

Same thing happened to me as Scoutmaster. Another Troop in our Council never had an election even though Scouts were eligible. Apparently the Troop had no idea how to ask for an election. Council Office, Commissioner, other OA members - have you heard of it? Our election team last year told me that the Scouts had to have one more than one-half. Twelve Scouts voted - six "ayes" and six "nays." So, we voted again. I used my phone to read of copy of the OA's election guidance and set the election straight. Now we have new Lodge Bylaws that designate only trained OA members may conduct elections.

I was just offered an extra adult spot my lodge was awarded. I'm pretty excited.

New hires in my sector, Illinois Higher Ed, now have to work longer than I. I can retire at 55 in December 2018. Less than a year left!! The pension will not be great, but we have saved the last 20 years and have no debt. I have served with 4 DE's in the last 5 years. We just lost #4 to the railroad. BNSF. They pay entry-level transportation management trainees more than my council pays trained DE's .

Our Asst. SE left to work as a sales rep for a glass company.

I'm not sure if we have any Lord Baden-Powell spotters here. If you watch the Netflix series "The Crown," you will see a photo of our founder proudly displayed on the mantle. Season 2, Episode 5, around the 41:00 mark.

That is all. Happy new Year!

Scoutmaster Teddy

4 hours ago, Oldscout448 said:

So why exactly do we need to " toe-the-line with PC" ?

You will be labeled with the en-vogue buzzword.

I was denied logging in with my oft-used name and password. I had to reset my password twice to get in. Hopefully that was just a glitch with my account.

16 hours ago, WisconsinMomma said:

 

The chili supper sounds like a lot of fun!

It is fun! And it's also a learning experience. We make 55 to 60 gallons of beef chili and 10 gallons for the vegetarians (bad hunters). The boys sell tickets door-to-door. During the event they take shifts washing dishes, greeting customers, making cold cut sandwiches, and stocking the serving line. We usually have 350 or more customers that one evening. Most of the ingredients are donated, leaving us with a good amount of money.

How do you cover chartering?  Is that extra?  What kind of fundraisers does your Troop do? 

We charge the Scouts and Adults the usual yearly registration fee. We have scholarships available for yearly registration and summer camp for boys who need assistance.The COR picks up any other fees.

Fundraising: Annual Chili Supper- big hit! We hold the event every early November.  The Farm King Corporation gives us a large yearly donation. The Scouts get a 30% commission on the Chili Supper ticket sales for their camp and scouting-related expenses.