cubiemom 10 Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 How do you handle the fact that our boys have not been awarded their bobcat badges yet or any other thing yet. I have took it upon myself to have all the parents fill out a copy of my speadsheet and to turn it in to me so that I may turn it into the cm so that hopefully they are awarded their bobcat badges their wolf rank if they completed it, the arrrow points and the beltloops. I hope the pack realizes that they are going to have to award alot of things for the boys in not alot of time. We were hoping that they would be awarded at the B&G but can they be awarded both the bobcat and the wolf at the same time. And how to you handle awards like the emergency preparedness award and that when not all boys in the den earned them. And one more question how can we earn the 75th ann. award when our pack wont celebrate it. Have asked many times but no one wants to do anything about it our B&G theme is animals and no one would hear it about that we should have it on the 75th ann. HELP! Link to post Share on other sites
EagleInKY 14 Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 Cubie - My apologies, but I struggled following what is going on in your pack. Most packs I'm aware of follow a process like this. Den Leaders provide the CM (or designated advancement person) a list of completed work (Bobcat, belt loops, special awards, etc.). Usually, this is provided at the monthly pack leaders meeting, which is usually a couple of weeks before the pack meeting. Then the CM or adv. person goes to the scout shop and purchases the awards and has them ready for the pack meeting. Link to post Share on other sites
cubiemom 10 Posted February 4, 2005 Author Share Posted February 4, 2005 Eagle, our DL's are not keeping track of what the boys are completing much less turning it in. Did I say they are disorganized (DL's) and that the CM isnt really all that great this year since she is moving on next year even though she has not formally told the pack so. Everyone knows or atleast heard that she is not coming back. So she hasn't really done a good job this year of making sure the dens turn in their info. Link to post Share on other sites
EagleInKY 14 Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 Okay, not to sound sarcastic, but.... if the den leaders aren't keeping track of progress and the cubmaster is unorganized, how do you expect advancement to ever be recognized? In Cubs, the parents are responsible for the signoff, the den leader for tracking it, and the cubmaster for awarding it. This changes some with Webelos, in that the signoff becomes more the Webelos leader's responsibility. It changes drastically in Boy Scouts, when the parent's have no sign-off authority. Link to post Share on other sites
Laurie 10 Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 This is a tough spot to be in, and it is this very type of issue that got me involved awhile back. Often, there are too few leaders, and speaking as a CM, I know that much can fall to a CM that shouldn't, and that can be overwhelming. However, the boys are the most important thing about Cubs. Would you be willing to ask for, collect, and then follow through on advancement reports? Do you know of a parent who might be organized enough and willing to take on this one area? It is very doable, I do it and have for two years, but I'd recommend it be done by a person who has just that one responsibility because it's an important job that can be time consuming. As for 75th anniversary, are the boys going to have skits or songs or any type of up front time? If so, that could be a way to add something by the den. What about a desert contest? These are common, and maybe your den would enjoy making a Cub Scout themed birthday cake as a den in addition to the other part of the contest. There are ways to make this work, none ideal, but this is when creativity comes into play. Good luck, and try to have fun with the boys, in spite of things not being what you'd like for them to be. Link to post Share on other sites
ScoutNut 147 Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 Does your Pack have an Advancement Person? If not that is one reason things have fallen through. Also, it's been 5 months now since the beginning of this scouting year. What has been everyone been doing at the past 5 Pack meetings? Have any of the other boys &/or their families said anything about things not received? Are advancements, patches, beads, etc ever discussed at the monthly Pack Committee meetings? That would be the time for each Den Leader to hand the Advancement Person a list of what is needed for the upcoming Pack meeting. For "special" awards that are only earned by a few scouts you do the same thing that you would do if the whole Den earned them. You recognize them for their efforts in front of their peers at a Pack meeting & present them with the award they have earned. Link to post Share on other sites
cubiemom 10 Posted February 4, 2005 Author Share Posted February 4, 2005 Eagle, what do we do if say by summertime they are not awarded what they should have been. Do we go to council about this by then? I have told the parents in atleast my den that i would keep track of the boys achievement, electives, awards, and beltloops if they just give me the info each meeting we meet hopefully atleast once a month but the DL's seemed upset at this. This is why I am looking for a new pack. DL's wont give up on being DL's again next year for the next rank. Laurie, DL's dont seem to care about celebrating the 75th have tried on both the pack and den level to get them to do anything. it just doesnt seem right that my son cant earn the 75th award because of the pack and den not wanting to do anything. anyone have any suggestions. Link to post Share on other sites
SemperParatus 1 Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 To get over the present hurdle, while you locate a new pack... Speak to the den leader and cubmaster. Turn in to the both of them the copies of the advancement records you have been keeping, along with a list of the awards you expect to be awarded. Tell them you expect that the awards will be made at the next pack meeting (hopefully that is the Blue & Gold). Follow-up with them one or two weeks before the meeting to make sure no one has forgotten and that the awards have, in fact, been obtained for presentation. In a well-run pack, you should not have to do any of this (it should be as EIKY lays out), but you are obviously not in a well-run pack. There is no problem with being awarded the Bobcat and Wolf badges at the same time. There is no problem with certain den members earning certain awards not earned by others. A boy should be presented with all awards that he has earned as promptly as possible. Good luck. Link to post Share on other sites
EagleInKY 14 Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 Semper answered for me... Link to post Share on other sites
anarchist 10 Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 Boys can get two awards at one Pack meeting ...plus loop and arrow points etc... In our Pack awards are a big part of every Pack meeting. We rotate dens but typically we give any awards and patches to the tigers, then the wolves, bears and Webelos... Den Leaders have notified me the 'awards guy' (I am not the advancement chair...but I go by the Scout shop couple times a week due to my work). I have the awards bagged in snack-size Zip Locks (to help the boys not lose everything from the meeting to home) and the CM calls each boy receiving a rank award and their parents (den members are called up with parents...pictures etc and dismissed...boys recieving awards from the next den are called up w/parents etc....) we then give out miscellaneous patches individually or den by den as called for... you call up the boys who earn special We make a big thing of advancement...it is good for the boys to know their work is appreciated (it is the main reason I started being the "awards guy"... so they would get their awards). Are you using the immediate recognition system? It's great for motivating some boys. Link to post Share on other sites
SR540Beaver 116 Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 cubiemom, Speaking as a former Pack Committee Chair, let me say that most people do not realize that the Committee Chair is "top dog" in A Pack or Troop. Not the most visible like a Cubmaster or ScoutMaster, but the one at the top. I don't think you mentioned if you held a position or not. I don't remember you ever bringing up the CC in your post. If you don't have one, volunteer for the job. The job is to make sure the unit functions in an effecient manner and that everyone else is doing their job. It sounds like the first order of business would be to recruit an advancement person. Hold a parents meeting and explain the process to everyone that they should be participating with their sons on doing advancement requirements, reporting it to the DL's who will record it and bring it to the advancement person at the monthly committee meeting. The advancement person will get the awards and pass the awards and list of who earned them to the CM prior to the Pack Meeting where the CM will award them. There is a process and a method to the madness. The Pack Committee training is free and if you talk really nice to your District Trainer, he/she will probably come to your Pack and hold a special training just for you guys. Link to post Share on other sites
ScoutNut 147 Posted February 5, 2005 Share Posted February 5, 2005 For the 75 Anniversary - The requirement says to participate in a pack, district or council celebration. Give your council a call and see if there is something the council, or one of the districts, is planning. Explain that your pack is not celebrating the 75th. Maybe you could visit another pack's Blue & Gold 75th celebration. This would help your son earn the award and help you in your search for a new pack too! Remember, you have until Dec 31, 2005, to earn the award. (This message has been edited by ScoutNut) Link to post Share on other sites
Rixkidz 10 Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 Be assertive! I am a the Adv chair (mainly because we didnt really have one that did it before) for our pack.. This is about the boys!! 1st thing if your leaders are overwhelmed and are not checking the books, have a parent volunteer to get the books at a den meeting and go thru them to check things off. then as a parent go to the committee meeting and present your dens advancement request! Once you start to get the leaders organized (with help of a parents)GET packmaster software and get a copy to each den leader (I love this software).. then before the committee meeting you can print out the advancement forms and present it to the Adv chair at the Pack level so they can BUY the advancements. No Pack can be successful WITHOUT more parental assistance. Regretfully as with any volunteer organization you will get the same people helping all the time.. but after all, this is for our kids, and you NEED to make it as memorable as possible. WE need to step up to the plate and get involved.. A few places for advancement (any help) assistance is: http://www.geocities.com/~pack215/home.html http://insanescouter.com/ http://www.creighton.edu/~bsteph/pack114/ I started in the pack as just the treasurer, but realized we needed help with Advancements, Re-Charter, Packmaster management, and a few more.. my hubby is a Webelos Leader and a woodbadge grad... We have chosen to be more involved to ensure that the Pack continues on. But if all else fails, contact your unit commissioner if you can not get the assistance from the CC or CM... Link to post Share on other sites
knottyfox 10 Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 There is a bunch of training available for every position in Scouting. Yep, even for the cub scout pack committee. These jobs are crucial for the pack to be successful. This is currently my 2nd time around in a Pack as my son's are aged 10 years apart. Immediatly upon my 2nd time around, I started to award all the boys something each month. The first month the other Den Leaders thought it was silly to do such. The following month, I did the same and gave each of them a catalog of patches to follow along. The Den Leaders asked the Cubmaster if this was OK to give out patches each month and I replied "Yep". Now the boys are excited each month and are counting the patches they now have. The parents love it, the den leaders love it and the boys adore it! What I am saying here is the pack leadership should award the boys their due in a short period of time! Between the times they have not recieved an award, give them something else! We have 9 Pack meetings a year plus 3 summer time gatherings. Total of 12 items per boy. My biggest resource is patchsales.com any stock patch is $0.88 apiece. Gather the money from the parents if need be. Hope this helps! Knotty Fox Link to post Share on other sites
Torveaux 10 Posted February 18, 2005 Share Posted February 18, 2005 cubiemom, You can come to our Blue and Gold. For some reason it is always held in May, not February. "That's how we've always done it." (until next year when the new order takes over! We are having a 75th theme, but I get frustrated with some of the same lackluster behaviors that are being passed along. Badges of rank are not awarded until the B&G, though the boys can be recognized in the meetings. There is also little interest, though some support, in earning non-required badges/awards. Fortunately, I have another son and by the time he gets to be a Tiger (he's 4) I will have fixed the major problems with our Pack. (I am not generally lacking in confidence.) Link to post Share on other sites
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