ElyriaLeader

Way back when rocks were new, the troop I was in had set it up that whichever patrol earned the "Top Notch Patrol" award (I know...sounds corny but to us it was the holy grail!) the scoutmaster himself would cook the first meal of the next outing for the winning patrol (He was a REALLY good cook!) the areas of interest were: uniform inspections - each boy started with 10 pts. every descrepancy was -1 pt., inspections were every other troop meeting. merit badge completion - 5 pts per badge completed scout spirit (patrol flag, cheer, participation) - awarded by SM/ASM as they deemed appropriate. In addition to the meal the patrol was given "The Banner" (a ribbon with "Top Notch" on it) to attach to the patrol flag staff for the month, and a small engraved plate was attached to a plaque that listed the winners for the year, 3 years of plaques adorned the wall. It may not seem like much but it kept us on our toes.

I've pulled my share of items from the curb for this project or that, Still wondering what the folks who took the carpet from MY garbage thought when they unrolled it (the dog had a REALLY bad case of the trots!)

Let me adjust my new asbestos suit (because someone's gonna flame me here!) B-P outfitted the scouts in military style field wear, why? - it was the most durable/readily available clothing that was actually designed for the outdoors at the time, and allowed a (here comes the word) "uniform" appearance. He taught close order drill (marching to the non-military types) as a "method" of working together, A lot of the things he taught were based on military training, did that make the scouts a paramilitary organization? NO! and this still holds true today. So does this mean we can't use military terms such as "class A or B uniform" why not? as long as we're not sending "our" patrols out on combat missions we should be able to borrow anything that helps us from anywhere! whether it be uniforms, training techniques, terminology. So ends my rant.....bring on the flamethrowers and WMD's!

My favorite "and was your head present when they asked you that?"

There were a number of things that should never have been done there, I think that "the powers that be" were actually hoping that the money spent there would save the base, the bright side is that we can now freely look for ET and his brethren around East Loring Lake (you know... the one that glows in the dark)

And yes I did canoe the Allagash....

I was abducted alright,but it was by our Uncle Samuel who thought I could use some soul searching in the Maine backwoods for a few years in the late 80's early 90's at LAFB, just something about being out on the flightline around 3 AM, temperature around XX (insert # above 50)below zero, looking up at the northern lights.

I did the parent meeting path, explaining that anything that they do with their scouts that can be signed off should be, and either give me or E-Mail me a list of what they did, I check it off in (insert -Tiger/Wolf/Bear/Webelo)Trax, and also note it in my personal logbook with the date completed, the entries also have a check box for "award recieved" in my logbook just in case a boy wasn't at the meeting when the award was scheduled to be given I can see he still needs to recieve it. In return I print out the summary from the Trax program and let the parents look it over each meeting so they can double check it against their scouts book. This system has served me pretty well so far (my boys are W1's now) YIS

It's always a sad day when you have to go to court just have someplace to let your sons (and daughters) enjoy the fellowship of scouting in nature.

And all this time I thought the red beret was just another one of those ""dreams"" I had back in the 70's

I also think ScoutNut has the right idea, it really should be up to the surviving members of the family as to what they would like. Stay cool GW, I'm not advocating hiding death behind a shroud, it is a part of life that has to be dealt with, but each person has to deal with the feelings it brings in their own way, maybe a den discussion with the groups parents, and possibly a clergy member in attendance about ""losing someone close to you and how you would feel"" would help to shed a little light on this perceived ""dark"" subject. Just my $.02 because as we all know, no amount of discussion will make the loss any easier for the scout in question, but lots of love, and support from friends and family will help the pain pass just that little bit sooner. YIS

Hmmmm....might have been the ""artistic freedom"" that was used during the filming of the forementioned historical document. Pretty sure the ET's were at Loring due to the proliferation of three headed fish and glowing trees that hummed in harmony surrounding the bunker.

Packsaddle was going good until he said that the aliens were at area 51, everyone knows they were taken to Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton Oh. for examination, then later transferred to the permanently sealed bunker that was in the special weapons area at Loring AFB in Maine. So as in all the visitations LNT has been followed, but not by the visitors, just the government.

I have 10 Webelo 1''s ,and have been working with these boys since they were Tigers. One of the first things we did as a den (tiger) was write up a code of conduct. We still use this code, and the boys have made ammendments to it throughout the levels of scouting, but it states clearly what behavior is expected during the meetings, and what happens to a scout who violates the code. The first item on the code is "if the sign is up, the mouth is closed, and ears are turned on" (the boys wrote the code..not me) so they understand that when I give the sign (I don''t yell "signs up") they do the same and settle down, this keeps things to a more mild level of chaos. As for parents helping out, I have sign up sheets that I pass out for different activites...such as "lead achievement XX class", "bring snack on date XX","bring supplies for meeting date XX (see list A)" (provide a supply list), "coordinate trip to XX with XX", "lead game XX" (provide game rules), ETC. you get the idea. Since I started doing this, I have had the lists filled up, and parents asking me if they can do other things for the boys. I also have 2 assistant DL''s and a Den Chief, and we all take turns leading things. But it did not start out this way..it started like you are now...so have faith and keep asking for the help! You are doing a great service for the boys, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise, it''s a great feeling when the kids see you outside of scouting and proudly tell their friends "that''s my scout leader" (which has even resulted in new boys joining the pack when the parents overhear this and approach me.) YIS

Maybe I missed it in all the posts but, if the man in question is not the boys biological father, or not married to the mother (thus the step father) or has no legal claims of custody in regards to the boy. Then it is all a moot point...he has no rights concerning the boy and scouting.

27) Venturing Silver Award (Silver knot on Green/White BG)

26)Den Leader Award (Gold knot on blue BG) (This message has been edited by ElyriaLeader)(This message has been edited by ElyriaLeader)

Wow....Brave guy...2 bear dens! The program helps are a great way to plan out your meetings to make sure they get all the requirements out of the way, as for activities and games and such...you already found the best source (this website)and the forums great contributors. Like everyone else said keep it simple and fun....oh and don''t show any fear...they''ll eat you alive! Just kidding, now that you''ve taken control of the dens you NEED to have some of the other parents belly up to the table to help out, whether it''s leading an activity/project, printing out handouts, bringing a snack, whatever...just because you took the leadership role does NOT mean you have to do it all! Talk to the parents and make it VERY clear that if you do not have their help that you will not continue to run the dens. Just my 2 cents.

Hi Ohio_Scouter, Lorain County is still here, Although there seems to be some elected officials that are trying to put the County and themselves up for sale. But thats neither here nor there... Scouts are still very active here, so I'm having a great time helping them, we just had a "Cubs & bugs " adventure weekend that drew in excess of 350 Cubs out to Firelands Scout Reservation for a myriad of activities, it was geared more towards the younger boys so it gave some of the Webelos and younger Boy Scouts a chance to help teach/lead younger Cubs, a wonderful thing to see!

We do show the boys what the full and proper uniform is,some of the boys do wear the entire uniform, but some of the families have a hard time even getting the shirt. While I would love to have the boys all wear a full uniform ( I remember going to Sears with my mother to get scout uniforms as a child, including the later "beret" as a boy scout) I also know the financial realities these days that would cause me to lose some fine scouts.

I'm a Webelos 1 leader we have 3 den meetings a month during the school year 1 pack meeting each month during the school year we have some type of Fri,Sat,Sun outing 4 times a year(every 3 months) we all try to attend resident camp each summer we try to attend 1 webelos adventure weekend at camp each summer no formal den meetings during summer break

"He climbs the rather large soapbox and proclaims.." Maybe instead of just looking at the Webelos dens at bridging time the SM's or a recruiting coordinater should start being more visible to the packs to establish more of a rapport with the leaders AND the boys. When I became a tiger leader (was it that long ago?) the SM's of the surrounding troops were these mystical figures shrouded in fog that came down from on high to pluck deserving webelos into their fold .... or so it seemed, I was one of the lucky ones and was befriended by a longtime scouter, who took me to meet those exalted beings.I found out that we all had a lot in common, among them was a desire to see the boys grow into mature, intelligent (although this is sometimes questioned), well rounded young men, so I took this desire, and communicated it to the SM's and thus was born the relationships I have with the SM's of my surrounding troops. I have 10 boys in my den and all the SM's know that there are no guarantees, but they do have an idea of how many will be coming to them because they have all talked to my boys on a personal level (the fog has been lifted!). Another plus of this is that because my boys already know these SM's by name (Mr. Smith troop 1, Mr. Jones troop 2) they feel comfortable talking to them and letting the SM's know what they want from scouting. "He steps down from the rather large soapbox...allowing the next person to take the floor." YIS

Gunny,sit back,relax,thismight take a while, As a WDL with a group of 1st years I welcome having a den chief, actually I might end up with 2 from different troops (I'm so lucky!) and I use my den chiefs a great deal (the Webelos love learning from them, and look up to/respect them a great deal) but the bottom line is this..when you talk to the cub leaders, if they have not used den chiefs in the past you're going to have sell them on what the boys can do for them,some of the cub leaders don't know what an asset these boys are...most of them think "great...what do I have to do for/with him?". As far as "being used", I am up front with all the SM's I deal with (I don't have a "sponser troop" thus there a several troops vying for my boys) that there is no guarantee of anyone coming to a particular troop in return for their scouts service to my den or our participation in troop/den activities, will all my boys go to the same troop?....I can say for a fact...no. In fact because I am having the boys interact with all the troops available to them, some of the boys are already voicing their choice of unit to the others .. why? ... because to them, that troop feels like the right "fit" to that boy, some will go to a certain unit to join siblings, but I have told all the boys again, and again, "what troop you choose is up to you, I don't want you to join a unit just because your best friend did, I want you to join the unit that "feels right" to you, because in the end you will all be boy scouts" and this includes my own son who is telling me he might like to try a unit other than the one I thought he would go to. The bottom line of it is this ... if you support the cubs in your area, they will come to you, maybe not En Masse, but I would rather have 20 boys crossover to 5 troops and keep them all in scouting, than have 20 boys crossover to 1 troop and lose 10 of them because they didn't feel like they fit in. Whew!..I will once again step down from my rather tall soapbox, and let the next person take the floor. YIS

As far as the uniforms go...our pack only asks for the boys to wear the shirts w/necker, They recieve the necker and handbook at the advancement ceremony (parents pay for the handbook),the adult leadership wears full uniforms. As for the meetings....I guess I'm one of the "CRAZIES", my boys meet weekly (just like the troops they will be going to) this includes the pack meeting, we have a planned activity weekend every third month, and the boys attend resident camp in the summer (well...9 out of 10 did). The boys are having fun and advancing, I have the parents support because I have told them from the start that I want the boys to try and support a similar schedule to the one they will have at the troop level so that they won't cross over and go "whoah....thats a lot of stuff!!" I feel it will make the transition easier for the boys...still doing similar things...just more boy led leadership than cubs. I will now step down from my rather lofty soapbox and open the floor to the next speaker.

Just wanted to say hello to everyone in the forums,I've been lurking about in scouting both as a scout years ago (Cub,Webelo,AOL,1st class)as a leader for my Son (Tigers through to 1st year Webelos so far) and an advisor for my Daughters crew.