eagle_scout98

ever thought about starting another Venture Crew in your area? You could "set it straight" right away with that and possibly move into adult leadership with that once you turn 21.

I will feign some ignorance here since I was a Scout during the 90s and have continued on since then but I had a patrol all through my Scouting time and know pleny of units that have patrols in their Troops. So, feigning ignorance, I have to ask if the general thoughts behind patrols are any different than they were when my dad was in Scouts (late 60s and early 70s). The only thing I think that may be different, basing it off of my views on the local Troops, is that patrols don't go off and do things on their own as much as they could. I also don't think that the idea of a Venture patrol is used as much as it could be. Now, is this something that we need to create a whole separate subgroup with its own rules, training, manuals and fees? Personally, I don't think so. I think we merely need to reinforce the idea of the patrol method within the current training we have. I have not taken the Scoutmaster specific training (yet anyways) but I think that would be a great place to start. Unit commissioners can also do a good job of coaching units on the patrol method. As you put it prairie, I'm not looking for an arguement, just my thoughts.

I would say that while it shouldn't be something the Scout puts together for a day or weekend just to get the merit badge but they don't necessarily have to incorporate. A lot of youth could start a business (let's use yard work) without incorporating. They can still advertise, get clients and have invoices and expense.

I've been doing some research at the request of others since we have gotten back from a weekend campout where the lows were in the 20s. There was discussion on the "Polar Bear Award" as it pertains to camping at temperatures below freezing. My question is: Is this a council based award or a national award? So far, all I have found is some councils versions (pretty much the same but still unique) and not thing on a national scope. And by "award" I mean patch given to someone who completes the requirements. Not something you would hand out at a COH as an 'award' earned. Thanks for the insight.

Thanks for all the great information. I have two questions. What is a Coke Wagon? How do you go about selling mulch? Thanks!

I agree with eagle-pete. We sang the Wood Badge song ALL the time at Wood Badge. It was one of the first things we were taught. So I sing with it all the time even though I haven't finished my ticket yet. "I used to be a Fox and a good old Fox to but now I'm finished Foxing, I don't know what to do! I'm growing old and feeble and I can Fox no more so I'm going to work my ticket if I can!"

Amongst my other Scouting duties, I am the Committee Chair for a Venture Crew. The Crew is going to Philmont next year and we have promised them many fundraising opportunities (about half the kids are from low income type situations). We are currently selling popcorn and will be bagging groceries next month. I'm hitting a wall coming up with other good fundraisers. What has worked for you in the past? Thanks.

Check out this website: http://adventure.oa-bsa.org/index.php?p=trailcrew There are a lot of good links off of that site. The one thing that I was told when I expressed an interest is that it is youth only (16 through 20).

I agree with Fuzzy Bear that delegation and recruiting are important. About 1/2 of what I do could be made easier by some delegation or recruiting (or recruiting to then delegate). My only issue with the delegation is that I've gotten burned in the past by people not following through. I've ended up doing it all myself anyway, so why not just do it?

I agree with everyone else in that there is no limit on how many hats you can/should wear. It is up to you and what you feel you can do while keeping everything else in order. I have been involved in Scouting for about 22 years straight, both as a youth and an adult leader. Here is what I do/have done: I am Boy Scout Roundtable Commissioner I am Committee Chair for a Venture Crew I am the District's Family FOS Chairman for 2007 (and probably beyond) I am coordinating the first of (hopefully) many District Crossover ceremony's I have taught many training sessions. I have taken many training sessions (including Wood Badge - Foxes Rule!) I am one of several on our Life to Eagle Committee and regularly help to conduct Eagle Board of Reviews and Project reviews. I may be planning our 2007 Fall Camporee I try to be involved in Order of the Arrow I am on the Finance Committee on the District Commitee I am planning a Golf Fundraiser for next year (also first of many I hope) I am looking to start 1-2 additional Venture Crews I am working on setting up an informal Venturing Huddle (roundtable for venturing). I will be taking Merit Badge Counselor training to become a merit badge counselor I have joined our Council's Eagle Alumni Association (haven't found out yet what that means) I will be one of the adult leaders on a Philmont trek next summer (which entails a lot of training/trips with the youth leading up to it - good bye weekends) I think there is more but I just can't remember anything else. I have been married for about 18 months and don't have kids (yet). While I do all of the above I still spend plenty of time with my wife and I do travel for work occasionally. I still get our 1/2 acre yard mowed and tripped every week. I still get to church (when I'm not on a trip) and I am on Church Council. I do know that once we do start having kids I will probably slow down a bit but then I'm sure it will pick up more if we have boys and they are in Cub Scouts/Boy Scouts. The point is right now I have a lot of free time and my wife is okay with it (I even got her to be an Associate Advisor for the Crew). But I do realize that I will need to focus on other things later and will need to back off of Scouting. I did have a DE tell me the other day he didn't want me doing something. Not because I couldn't do it or would be bad at it but he didn't want me to have to do it. Do what you want and are comfortable with.

As I believe I said in my post, if the youth did everything right and it was an oversight of the DAC and/or miscommunication then it should be on the DAC. WE SHOULD NOT PUNISH THE YOUTH FOR AN ADULT MISTAKE. However, compromising is a slippery slope. If adults compromise on little things or let little things go by the wayside, what does that teach? In theory youth will learn that they don't have to do all the work because the little things will be 'compromised' on. Plus, what happens if more and more and more is compromised on? People can say, well we let x go why don't we just let this go as well. Again, this is all my opinion and the main point of my post is the first paragrah and this: find out who really was at fault and move forward. Let the adult take responsibility if it was their mistake and let the youth do the same.

Den Chief is an awesome position for a youth to hold. Unfortunately it seems to be seldom used. At least in our District. Having boys serve as Den Chiefs can not only help the Den Pack to succeed but can also help to get more boys into Boy Scouts. You may even be able to retain older boys if you give them this opportunity as a specialized opportunity. Wouldn't it be great if a 15 or 16 year old Eagle Scout served as a Den Chief? I don't see an issue with the one boy calling himself a 'Den Cheif for a weekend' but I would approach him and ask him if he wanted to be a Den Cheif. Listed below are the requirements for the Den Chief Service Award (the braids they can wear). 1. Serve the pack faithfully for 1 full year. 2. Attend a den chief training (if available within year of service) OR be trained by the assistant Cubmaster and den leader. 3. Know the purposes of Cub Scouting. 4. Help Cub Scouts achieve the purposes of Cub Scouting. 5. Be the activities assistant in den meetings. 6. Set a good example by attitude and uniforming. 7. Be a friend to the boys in the den. 8. Take part in weekly meetings. 9. Assist the den at the monthly pack program. 10. Know the importance of the monthly theme. 11. Meet as needed with the adult members of the den, pack or troop. 12. Complete FOUR of these projects: a. Serve as a staff member of a Cub Scout special event, such as a Scouting show, bicycle rodeo, etc. b. Serve as a staff member of a Cub Scout Day camp or resident camp. c. Advance one Boy Scout rank. d. Assist in recruiting three new Cub Scouts. e. Assist three Webelos Scouts to join a troop. f. Help to plan and carry out a joint pack-troop activity. g. Recommend to your Scoutmaster another Boy Scout to be a den chief. Taken from the Den Chief Handbook, always check for the most recent requirements. The braids worn by Scouts while serving as a Den Chief is Blue & Gold or as a Webelos Den Chief (Red, Blue & Gold) Each of these are worn over the left shoulder, (under the epaulet and under the arm). A Scout that has earned the Den Chief Service Award, and is serving as a Den Chief or Webelos Den Chief, may wear both braids.

As has been stated before, a discussion needs to be held with the DAC and/or the CAC to see what counts as approval or not. If the youth went ahead in good faith that the DAC had approved the project then that is not the Scout's fault. This comment bothers me. 'But we make compromises on all kinds of little stuff like this all the time.' Do we want to compromise and Eagle award? What does that say about Scouting. "Don't worry, we will just compromise, you don't have to do it right?"

If the Scout has made a mistake and he was the only one then he may be out of luck. If the DAC screwed up because he didn't sign but gave all of the approval through other means then it shouldn't be the boy's fault. DON'T PUNISH THE YOUTH FOR MISTAKES ADULTS MAKE. The youth move through the program with the understanding that the adults will direct them in the right ways.

Eagledad - what you are doing sounds awesome. I commend you for teaching those types of leadership skills and making holding a leadership position important and mean something. The issue of adding requirements comes up frequently in our District. Here is what it always seems to boil down to. If the SM or other adult leader is denying rank advancement or merit badge completion because the Scout hasn't completed requirements that they have added then that is wrong. I see no problem with a Troop having the expectation that the boys will go to training because it is the right thing to do. But if the leaders do not sign off on the requirement and deny them their Star rank (or other rank) because they did not attend a non-mandatory training session then that is wrong.