featherswillfly

Apologies accepted but none needed. OK guys I don't think you're understanding the problem quiet yet. Here goes the church owns Pack 2 and Troop 2. Bank owns Troop 1. At one time there was only Pack 2 and Troop 1. There was some discontentment for some parents with Troop 1. They turn to their church who just happened to be the very same as Pack 2's CO. Still with me? Ok now it gets nasty. These discontent parents start Troop 2 who is chartered by the same church as Pack 2, so now the church owns both PACK 2 and TROOP 2. At the point this all takes place there were 2 people who held positions on both Pack 2's committee as just committee members. These same 2 people also held positions with Troop 1 as SM and CC. Still with me. This was done because the Pack 2 was having some very serious internal problems. They went to help with a district commissioners encouragment and all was fine. I should also say the relations was encouraged by the existing preist and this preist was a committee member for Troop 1 as well. So you see ther was alot of things that were going well and working at that time. Well the preist had to leave due to family problems. Hence a new preist who knows nothing of the internal problems or history. The discontent parents (who by the way were discontent because they had 2 boys with Troop 1 that were unbelieveable disciplinary problems but thats another story) see a weak spot in the church and decide a new Troop is to be formed. Unfortunatly the church asked no questions nor did the parish council or for that matter neither did our own scout council. Bad communications!! So now to get rid of the SM and CC who are on both Pack and Troop charters the church parish council comes up with a policy explicitly to get rid of the SM and CC of Troop 1. Ok all that was nasty but it's behind us. Today this policy is not working for parents who are in the position such as this mother who is willing and capable of being on the 2 charters as advancements. She is a stay at home mom and very involved with her 4 boys. You must understand this policy ONLY pertains to BOY SCOUT positions NOT other committees for other groups. Please don't go back into the mess to figure it out. It's been done and is a dead subject. The problem is how can this parent help both Pack 2 and Troop 1 in advancements.

Thankyou for clearing up that confusion for me. But I still have the problem of filling an advancements position. I have a very capable and willing parent to do this who has three boys with us, what can we do? She feels she needs to stay involved with the younger son because the pack does some things that are questioned (I won't go there). But she also knows she really needs to help us, having 3 sons within one troop. I still need a solution guys. And yes there is a father, but how much can you ask of a family. He works shiftwork and is very limited. He also helps with anything else we ask. Hes out.

If the only two positions you can be officially are CR and CC how come council people tell us if you want to be in OA as some type of Advisor you have to be tied to a troop. This is two positions. Or alot of times we have been told you can be listed as a multiple on the Charter. This is confusing. Would someone tell me where in writing I can find the answers I seek.

OGE I believe you will come close to going right by me. You will go through Augusta which is 20 minutes from me. Your uncle lives within our district which is called K-valley District. A stop at Beantown absolutly a must. It would be a pleasure to meet you if the circumstances allow.

Thank you Paul you have confirmed everthing I've heard. Was this expensive? Did you have certian things from a list you had to go buy?

Thats a great idea Paul and we did that and it worked wonderfully. But when another group of adults didn't like the way things were going (obviously not their way) they went to the church council with a concocted story and got the council to come up with this policy. Hind sight being what it's worth the church has now discovered they screwed up and now can't get out of the mess they created.

I'm looking for some information to this program. All I know is in our area you go to Wood badge by invitation. I have been invited 3 times but have been very hesitant because of the time involved, usually 2 or 3 weekends with no exceptions. This is very difficult for me because I have 2 very active teenagers. It's my understanding that it is more training and basically adults form patrols and become the so called scout. There also seems to be a very close bond with the adults in these patrols. Everyone says it's worth the time. I have times issues and I also understand it can be expensive. Feathers

OGE how are you coming into Maine from PA.? Looking at our Maine map I think you might be coming very close to where I live. Will you be coming through Rumford and Farmington?

Yes I do know the area, I live only 20 minutes from the Kennebec River that flows through Augusta. I hope you enjoy all the sights you'll see. If you need any other information let me know. It would be nice to meet you. I read alot of your threads on here and you seem to have a wealth of knowledge when it comes to Scouting.

Where I live it is only 7:30 am and I've been watching for about 1/2 an hour, where are all of you from? There is 563 people in here. During the day here there is usually only about 150 to 200 people. You all must be out west? I'm from Maine. Just curious.

In our area there is now one pack and two troops. The pack and one of the troops is owned by a Catholic Church. The other troop is owned by a bank. Problem: The church has come up with their own policy that a person cannot hold two positions not just within it's own group but outside it's group. What has happened is we have a family that has four boys whom are very active in Scouting. The parents are right with them every step, very supporting. Our troop has three of these brothers. Their mother is the advancements for the pack. She still has one son who is a wolf is cubs. She has one son who is a Life, one son is Second Class, and one son is Tenderfoot with us. She very much would like to be our advancements. She is willing and very capable of being our advancememnts too but can't due to this Charter's policy. Any thoughts? Our hands are tied. We also have three other sets of brothers in our troop with parents in the same dilema. We are in a position where our leaders are very stretched and parents are willing to take positions (committee) without being on our Charter. We really can't and shouldn't do this. Any help is greatly appreciated. The church is VERY unwilling to change (politics).

You know after a fun filled weekend the adults always say we had more fun than the kids. We also use the patrol method when we go to summer camp. A duty roster is made up before we even leave. Duties such as camp clean-up, the ever dreaded tilly duty always a favorite, fireman, cook for cooking in the campsite, and mailman. It means so much more to the boys when they get awards at the end of the week for campsite inspections or scout spirit or coming up with the best bribe for the camp commissioner (homemade jerky always works).

Along the same line of thinking, our troop goes to a camporee and the SPL goes to the cracker barrel. Here he would get info such as the next days events, OA events, and other meetings through out the weekend. This helps the boys learn communications. Also each patrol member has a certian job assigned to him for the weekend on the duty roster such as fire builder, cook, waterman, dish washer, etc.... Boys also cook and eat separatly as patrols, sleep as patrols and compete throughout the weekend as patrols. As adults going to a camporee weekend we try to encourage patrol method by doing it too. The adults also have their patrol, cook, eat, sleep, as a patrol. We try to set an example. Although at times when it comes to a campsite inspections it is sometimes the adults who have been found in violation of something. The boys really get a kick out of it. The patrol is the best method.

Thank you for getting rid of that as quickly as you did.

There is a new person who has posted a site to go to and it is nothing but FILTH and GARBAGE!!! Is there anyway to get rid of them and the site they posted? Go to the posting of "s0n of g0d".

Dear Scouters, April is our Youth Protection month. Every year our troop does this program when new boys crossover. We do the program with the parents and boys. My problem is this. This year we have no new boys coming to us. I still feel a refresher course in this topic is a good idea. The boys do not however want to watch the same video tapes over again. I need something new that the boys and parents haven't seen. You know same topic just presented differently. Most families will say "Oh we've seen that we don't need to go." but we all still want to keep this in front of us for safety. We have gotten the latest video out for older boys too, we used that last year. Suggestions please!!

Dear Grekonsz family, Congratulations on your son coming to this point in his life. I hope that you folks will post just how this whole situation gets resolved. I believe that everyone here will learn a few lessons from your situation no matter how your son makes his choice. Yours in Scouting, Feathers

Het there greknosz, You may come join our area. Our district advancements chair is of Indian decent and has very long black hair. We have many a SM with long hair, beards, and earrings. Congratulations ahead of time for getting your Eagle. Best advice "follow your heart" you'll never go wrong.

Thanks to eveyone who replied to me . I've just printed off all the ideas and am headed to the meeting with them. Thanks again everyone!!!!

I am just got a call to be on the committee for our annual Spring Camporee. We are looking for ideas for the theme. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. We are from Maine.

Just a quick note on laser tag. Our troop has done this several times. We do have one boy who is sensitive to the laser lights and it can cause sezures. Also the room to which we go into for the game of tag is very dusty and can trigger breathing problems. Be aware of your scouts medical problems.

NONE

This is going to be a very long process. I don't want to discourage you but it will take many meetings. I can say this because our committee just completed this task a year or so ago. It will make your life easier. I would suggest trying to get your hands on as many other Troops Bylaws and Policies as you can. Look them over and decide what ones fit your needs. You will find that you don't need what every other troop needs. We actually have 12 sections to ours, they are as follows: 1. Bylaws and Policies 2. Membership and Training of the Committee 3. Meetings 4. Voting 5. Committee Positions 6. Merit Badge Counselors 7. Camping Leadership 8. Fundraising and Finances 9. Service Projects 10.Uniforms 11.Behavior Expectations 12.Medications We also have what we call New Parents Informational Packet wich includes the following: Section A 1. Charter information 2. Adult leaders & phone numbers 3. Committee Members & numbers Section B 1. Introduction 2. Youth Protection 3. Parent responsibilities 4. Communication 5. Behavior Contract Section C 1. Advancement 2. Service projects 3. Merit Badges Section D 1. Finances In addition to these we also have a behavior contract which the parent must read with their child and there are 4 signatures on. The boy and parents sign, then the Scoutmaster and finally the Troop Committee Chair will sign. This puts everyone on the same page with the same expectations. When we go camping or on a trip the boys are reminded of their contract as the parents are too. We have only had to use these a couple of times. It took many meetings and months for use to get these in place but it is worth the time. If I can help you any further let me know and I'll give you my e-mail address. I hope this helps you. Yours in Scouting featherswillfly

MY my my the things we find to discuss. You know I wouldn't want to cast a vote as to what whether I would stay or leave. It seems it wouldn't really make a difference. You could piss people off either way. But I will say to any and all who are listening, you should try a poll in the prisons and see just how many of the so called perverts are homosexuals you might be surprised. A very large percentage of todays perverts are straight men or men who traditionally prefer women. I myself am a survivor from one of these perverts and he was NOT homosexual. There are many homosexuals who would not dream of touching a child. But there are many many so called straight people who prey on our children. Take away a persons sexual preference. Judge him on his actions alone.

The people before me have spoken wise words. Get your Unit Commissioner, District Commissioner, and the Districtrict Executive all involved in that order. Take one step at a time and if there are no results take the next step. I get the feeling the you are going up against a man. Don't get me wrong BUT some of the gentlemen in this great organization are from the good old boys club and having a woman on board put them on the defensive. This does not pertain to all men. But I have come across this problem as well. I have been a committee chair for 6 years. This happened to me and it was not pleasant. Unfortunatly the unit commissioner was from the same club. I ended up being able to overcome this person because I was lucky enough to have a great committee for back up. This person and his wife and two challenging sons(one of which we actually had to suspend from the troop) left and started their own troop. YEAH!!!! So if you can stand the pressure and you see it's worth working for, keep trying, people such as yourself are the future of scouting. Sometimes other people will draw strength from you. Good Luck