EagleInKY

As far as tents go, smaller is better when it comes to keeping warm. I've got a 3-season Eureka that can get downright balmy, even when the temp drops down in the 20s. The reason is that it's only 5x7. Now, that's not a lot of room for gear and you have to change clothes sitting down. But you have to decide what your preferences are - staying warm for the whole night, or having plenty of room to change comfortably in. Personally, I'll take the warm night.

Congrats Chipmunk. I hope to be not far behind you. I used to be an Antelope, too!

I don't think I could put it any better than FScouter, so let me just re-iterate his points. There is nothing in the requirements about fundraising being mandatory. In fact, the only mention of fundraising is that the project cannot be "just" a fundraiser. There are many quality Eagle projects that can be done without the need of fundraising. My project, for example, was completely funded by the church (our CO). But I saved them many $$$ on labor. I had to handle invoices and get them to the church treasurer, but I never had to worry about funds. Consider this. Which is a more "worthy" project. Raising $500 to build a few picnic tables that will be weathered and worn in a few years. Or, building a fireplace, walking path, flower bed, etc., that may costs $1000s of dollars, but is paid for by a doner or the recipient. The first can be done in a weekend with a few friends after receiving donatins. The second requires learning skills, sourcing materials, putting together a rather large team, etc. I contend that the second is a much more challenging project, even though no fundraising is required. Fscouter said it best, "If Mom and Dad write a check, that shows nothing and he will have to demonstrate leadership and responsibility through other aspects of the project. " The fundraising requirement in your council is misguided and technically wrong (as in violates BSA policy).

Our website is finally up! The content will be supplied by the scouts. They will each have access to add stories and entries, but an adult must review and approve before it's public. The members area has Troopmaster reports, committee meeting notes, activity details, etc. The calendar is a free perl-based calendar that I found on scouter.com. I customized it up a bit to fit our design. Enjoy! http://www.troop153bsa.org

CA, Your post brought tears to my eyes. It was a beautiful tribute that your troop did. I hope this serves as an inspiration to your scouts and a catalyst for growth and maturing to all of them. May God bless each of you through this time.

EagleScout316, You're profile says you are in Central Illinois. If so, you are just a few hours away from the mecca of trailers - Northern Indiana. From Indy on up, there are a host of trailer manufacturers. Typically, the further north you go, the cheaper they get. But you have to balance that against the time and gas it takes to get there.

Paul Anka? Barry Manilow? Come on guys, we're talking about 5th graders, not our 25th wedding anniverary. Personally, I would go for an upbeat song, but it's your call. Green Day - Good Riddance (Time of your life) VITAMIN C - Graduation (Friends Forever) Sheryl Crow - Soak up the Sun Kelly Clarkson - A Moment Like This Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband - Dream Big And for some that are at least within their parent's generation - Rod Stewart - Forever Young Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes - Time of Our Lives (From Dirty Dancing) REO Speedwagon - Time for me to Fly Journey - Don't Stop Believin' Steppenwolf - Born to be Wild !!! If Christian music works for you, then Michael W. Smith - Friends are Friends Forever Several songs by Switchfoot Or, you can go the patriotic route. Our kids loved Lee Greenwood's Proud to be an American. We used that for their B&G Slideshow.

Good luck Eric. Keep up the work on your Eagle. We need more good men in Washington.

It's not a statistically valid sampling, but I have had a few parents of special needs kids tell me that their doctor/counselor/social worker encouraged Boy Scouts. I believe it is because of the social skills development and the fact that it is not purely competition-based.

Ditto all the others. We have a couple of boys in our Web II group that is just participating without any expectation to advance. They're looking forward to joining Boy Scouts in the spring with their friends.

Red River Gorge - Kentucky Smoky Mountains - Tennessee

I agree with Trevorum. Adults can wear medals for special occasions.

Our PLC develops monthly themes during the annual planning process. They use the program helps to assist them in generating ideas, but they do not limit themselves to those ideas. Some themes are consistent from year-to-year, while others tie into activities that are planned. Here is this year's themes: Jan - Winter Camping Feb - Community Service/Do a Good Turn Mar - Cooking Apr - Camping (great timing to fit with first year program) May - Water Safety (tied in with canoe trip) Jun - Summer Camp Prep (enuf said) Jul - Auto Mechanics (tied in with big custom auto show in town each year) Aug - Forestry Sep - Pioneering Oct - Wilderness Survial (gonna try that shoebox campout idea) Nov - First Aid (We do this every year) Dec - Citizenship

i think Eamonn adequately captured the essence of many troop planning sessions. The SM and SPL have to forcefeed ideas, and so the PLC ends up not embracing the plan as their own. Then it becomes a hassle as activities come up where there is not a lot of support. I also see a general lack of ability to "sell a vision" at this young age. The Patrol Leaders plan out an activity in the PLC - mostly driven by the SPL. They then go to their patrols and rattle off what the plan is like it's a sylabus for their English class. I try to get them to get excited about it, but they just don't seem to have the ability. (I think a lot of this is because I have a young troop and the PLs haven't had a lot of experience nor have they really had a good example/pattern to follow, but we're working on that).

We don't have any boys old enough yet to fill this position, but I do have a pretty good understanding of it. I see it as a transition period between youth and adult-hood. I remember when I was a JASM I was treated more-or-less like any other adult leader. Nowadays, we have to continue to treat you as a youth when it comes to YPT issues (we can't share a tent with you, for example). But we can still treat you as an adult in other ways - eating with adults, setting your tent up with the "adult patrol", coming to SM meetings, etc. We can also give you responsibilities similar to adults. I know of some troops that do just what theyoungeagle said, which in effect is making them the "NSP ASM". I would suggest talking to your SM and ask what adult tasks you could possibly take on. With your background, I'm sure you could add value a lot of ways. The biggest caution/concern would be to make sure you don't overstep your boundaries and do the SPL's job. Best of luck!

No, I would not like it. Yes, I would support it, just as I support all BSA policies. What would I do? I could see us developing our own "troop uniform". It would probably be similar to that described by Kudu.

I've had some luck recruiting the people that want to work behind the scenes. For example, a mom that wanted to help coordinate our B&G banquet was later asked to be on the committee year round. She agreed. You sometimes have to look for the "not so obvious" people. The obvious ones are the ones that are already volunteering for PTA, Soccer, Church and are helping out their den leader. Look for those that don't want to stand up in front of the kids, but may have good organization skills, or may work better in a small group.

Wow, the whole set. That would be cool to have. I would check Ebay. I've never seen a whole set on there, but I have seen several Rockwells. It may give you an idea.

Rixkidz - I believe you are correct on item 1. You are definitely correct on item 2. The AOL rank patch is to be worn until he turns 18. At that time he takes it off and puts on the AOL square knot. The same goes for the Eagle rank patch when he earns it. Contrary to what some have said (and I've seen practiced), adults do not wear the Eagle patch.

I once supported PETA, of course back then I thought it stood for "People Eating Tasty Animals". :-)

Ah yes, it's that time of year again. I really, need to work on that physically fit stuff too. Put on a few pounds this year. I need to take 20 or so off. I really need to have the doc look at my knees too. Hiking has become awfully painful as of late. I've tried self-diagnosis to this point with no luck. I'm going to finish my woodbadge ticket, the clock is ticking and my 18 months are running out. I've finished most of the work, just need to do the paperwork. I am going to delegate and share the workload with my ASMs more. A year ago I didn't have a dependable corps of leaders and had to do much of the (adult) work myself. I've successfully moved a great deal of the load off to the boys, now I need to share more with the other adults. I recruited three more ASMs this year, and it's time to share the load. We're starting it off with our first ever SM Roundtable meeting this Friday evening.

I got a lightweight hammock and a clip-on LED light. Nothing too exciting. (I won't take my new driver on campouts). #1 son got a new backpack and some miscellaneous gear.

DE's driven by numbers drive me crazy. I have a great relationship with our DE. He gives our pack and troop a lot of good press and always sends good prospects our way. But he has been hounding me lately about starting a venture crew. We only have a few guys old enough to participate and frankly, they aren't that interested. Adult leadership is a little thin in this area as well. I don't think the CO will go along, but the DE is going to try and sell it to them anyway. Time will tell.

I think if we did it this way, we'd still be setting up for last month's campout. Our older boys are usually the slowest. Those poor Tenderfoot's would never get to sleep. Whenever it is possible (which is most of the time), we set up in patrols, not in rank order. He should suggest they use the patrol method to set up camp, and allow each patrol to set up how they want to.

Semper dude, you kill me. Thanks for the laugh before the holidays!