fotoscout

Bob, was that an endorsement of Hops having his baseball team do the project? foto

I have to wonder if you're being taken advantage of by doing this project. On the surface it's a nice payback to the community, but, is there an organization responsible for doing this work around the ball field complex? If you take on this effort, what other enhancement will the responsible organization do to satisfy their obligation to maintain the complex? Shouldn't they be doing there own fundraising and upgrades/maintenance to the facility? Are you setting a precedent, for ball field work to be done by other volunteer organizations in the future? Most of the work you listed is whats commonly done by parents and coaches on "field day" at our baseball complex. I would be happier to see you try and motivate your baseball team to do this work, instead of having your fellow Scouts get involved with it.

There is a guideline of about $1000 for Cub Packs and $2500 for BS Units. I don't have the literature with me so my numbers may be off by a few hundered, but that is the ball park.

It sounds like a soup sandwich!

I saw a Coleman 12x16 Screenhouse advertised for about $125, last week. When I get home tonight I'll let you know which store had it. It's lightweight, and easy. With some zipper lube, and a bit of "training", I would think that this kind of thing will serve you well. As was noted here, the carports are resonalbly priced at Costco and Sams, they come with a front, back and sides. The problem is of course that you need somewhere to store this thing, and it's heavy & bulky. For protection from the rain you can't beat the tarps. (You can buy green ones!!!) They are cheap, and easily stored. The boys can even become Tarp Engineers! You really don't have much of a choice if you are looking for protection from the mosquitoes as well as the rain.

Along with the local Girl Scout Council and Civil Air Patrol, we placed 180,000 flags this morning. What a privilege! foto

It may be semantics, but I would argue that the rank badge is a goal of both the program and the individuals. After all, one of the criteria of a healthy program is advancement. One of the criteria for the Quality Unit Award is advancement. These are both goals, aren't they?

I think that the greatest fault with our training system is that it often fails to present itself for what it is, sure its an opportunity to pickup factual details about the program, but I think its intended to be more than that. Its an opportunity to meet people and exchange thoughts with people who are doing the same job in scouting that you are doing, and you can do this with a knowledgeable / experienced leader present. Its an opportunity for newcomers to see the program modeled for them. Its an opportunity to develop a relationship with some of more experienced leaders, the same people that you might want to solicit information or direction from in the future. And finally its an opportunity to learn how the system works and where you can turn for help when necessary. The dialog is important. With each subsequent training class the dialog changes because the attendees are a little more experienced and further along in the program. There is a feel of the program that I dont think can be learned by just reading the books. People need to look beyond the presentation, and ask themselves, did I get something out of this? Most often the answer is yes, although the person may not have gotten what they expected.

You can contact your DE at the local Council Office if you dont know who your UC is. Given half a chance he or she can be a great help to you. Typically the UC would in interface with your unit via the CM, SM, or CC. If youre not serving in one of those positions I would suggest that you let one of them know before contacting the UC.

kjamma4, That's why it's important to plan out the year. No surprises, and no unknowns as the year comes to a close. The parents of my boys understand VERY clearly that we will not be doing all of the achievements in the den meetings. If the parent stubbornly refuses to work with the boy to complete his achievements there is not much you can do other than to give that boy some special attention when you have the time. Herms - yep that's fine by me! But don't tell me that your kid is bored stiff with Cub Scouts because he's done it all already, and not interested in the meetings. If you choose to let them run free during the summer you run the risk of creating a very difficult year for yourself. Channel them, direct them in a way that will allow all the boys to be engaged with your program.

And how would you Remedy the situation. Let me count the ways 1. Have little Johnny assist with the meeting, all the while saying Im bored, I already did this. 2. Have little Johnny assist with the meeting, all the while sapping some of the adventure from the activity by constantly talking about whats coming next. 3. Have little Johnny do the achievement a second time, while he simultaneously disrupts the meeting. 4. Have little Johnny play quietly in a corner of the room, feeling like hes being punished. 5. Have little Johnny go home. These are just the first few thoughts that came to mind, and Im only talking about one achievement at one meeting. None of us have the time to plan for a whole diversionary program to keep little Johnny busy all year if he insists on completing his achievements during the summer. Little Johnny shouldnt become a special case because he (or his Mommy) want the badge in September. One of the greatest responsibilities that we have as leaders is to PLAN a yearly program where the boys share in the Cub Scout experience. Allowing the boys to randomly and freely complete all their achievements at will, removes any vestige of an organized year long program. Why have a den if your goal isnt to conduct the program. The boys can gather anywhere to say the Pledge of Allegiance, and do crafts. Its the focus on the Cub Scout program that makes it a Den.

I have to agree with OneHour, Im not comfortable with the boy earning his badge during the summer. CS is not intended to be lone wolf adventure. The boys (and familys) share in doing activities as well as achievements. What motivation would a boy have to come to weekly den meetings if hes already completed the program. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know..to have fun! But the larger motivation is the badge. The badge is the common goal and the thing the boys look forward to the most. Early in the year, I decide which achievements will be done at den meetings and which will be done at home. The boys are free to do the home achievements at their own pace, and receive their beads ASAP after completion. The den achievements we share amongst the parents. These are planned to be FUN and engaging for the boys. It also serves to keep the parents involved. We are a den, we do things together, and that includes receiving the badge at B&G. I dont and wont suggest that the boys dive into their Wolf achievements during the summer. If someone wants to immerse himself in the book, Ill might suggest that he work on electives, but this would not be my first choice because they cannot be awarded or wear the arrowpoints until they have earned the Wolf Badge. If you are in need of something for the boys to do during the summer, I'd suggest that you have them earn Tiger Tracks (tiger electives). This way you'll be able to give them something at your first pack meeting in September!

We are allowed to sign them up in the Spring, no problems with Council on that one. Few packs however do a Spring recruitment, I suspect that they feel too much pressure to put on a quality Summer program if they bring in Tigers during the Spring.

Can one of you guys tell me if the manufacturer of the Dutch oven makes a difference? Some of these things can be expensive, but some are available at a reasonable price. Lodge seems to make the expensive ones, and then there are a number of other cheaper ones. Does it matter? foto

I've heard rumors of a BSA program with this name (or something close), does anyone have the details?? Foto

Skits and songs are the bread and butter of a campfire, I dont know what else you might add. On the other hand, you might want to check with the leader doing your flag retirement, maybe you can stretch that piece of your program. Flag retirement ceremonies can be choreographed to meet the needs of the group. One thing you can do is to give each person a flag or piece of a flag, and have a slow procession to the fire where each person takes a private moment before placing the flag into the fire. This can be very dramatic, and does take up a fair amount of time.

It's a good point that KA6BSA points out. Only the parent(s) and CS aged boy are covered by your insurance. It's Cub Scout event and of course families are welcome, but the nuance of insurance coverage is important. Here's the part where it gets confusing. Your event is being put on as a recruiting event so the visitors (parent and boy) are covered, not, female sibs or, older or younger male sibs. On the other hand, a female sib attending Pack night would be covered because pack night is a family CS event, or so I'm told! Maybe someone can give us the authoritative answer on this.

Nice job, looks like you put some time into this! A few comments: your program starts at 4:30 and I dont see any mealtime. Youll want to feed them before 8:00! Somaoas and hotdogs around a Pack campfire can be scary to say the least. I must admit that this part of the evening always scares me! Lots of kids of all ages, sticks, flames, parents that refuse to see the danger, a long program, and some hunger, darkness and kids that refuse to admit their scared. It all adds up to a situation that requires great vigilance. Your religious service (not everyone goes to church!!) is scheduled for 60 minutes. If youre doing a Scouts Own, 20-30 minutes are adequate, with 30 being the extreme. If you are leaving the campground and then coming back thats another story. It appears to me that you have much more time scheduled then the material requires. You might want to be prepared to use up some extra time with skits or another story. You start at 4:30 and conclude your formal program at 8:00. Most of your time is spent in an assembled, highly structured setting. You might want to think about some physical activity for the kids to engage in before you move to the program. They will be very excited, and in need of burning off some energy before they can sit quietly for any length of time. You end the campfire with a prayer, it seems redundant since you just finished your religious service 90 minutes ago. Find an appropriate CM minute, and end the program on that note! No more cheers, walk away in silence. You comment about walking the parents back to their cars, Im sure that you are aware of this, but as a reminder, all the kids must have a parents with them for the overnighter, even the Webelos. Good luck, let us know how it turns out.

I would have to agree that our Campfires are turning into "The Camp Show". Lot's of skits, and not much song. Even then, the songs are not ones that everyone can easily sing along with. That's not to say that the campfires aren't fun, because they still are great fun. But it is different and not in the expected mold of a campfire. Usually everyone on the property is invited to participate, CS, BS, Crew, Team, parents, sibs, friends, it doesn't matter. Some participate, most don't. Having spent much time at camp last summer, the best part for me was watching the staff evolve the show. As the summer went on, the personalities and friendships emerged. The results were at times precious. Going back to the original question, I have to wonder..... If WE stop singing the traditional American campfires songs around the campfire, then who will?

Flag placement at our local National Cemetery.

I thought this needed repeating. Its always fun to survive the rain, and I like listening to stories about those who braved the weather as much as anyone else. On the other hand I have great respect for those that pack up and leave when the weather begins to trend in a direction that they are not comfortable with. I am even more impressed with those people who talk about leaving their campsite because of the weather! Safety first, bragging rights much later.

Sounds to me like your well on your way..... I would add a Big Bottle of Aspirin to your gear. Welcome!

I carry 25' and 50' lengths. The stuff is very stong, small and light. It's certainly not climbing rope, but it should be good enough for almost any thing else you might need on the trail. You can always use a 25' piece for the job that requires a 5' length, just be careful to coil up the excess rope and prevent a tripping hazard. It's a nice idea to color code your sections, so that you can go straight to the piece you're looking for.

The nice thing about the overall process of planning, budgeting, and fundraising is that you can be back in the black within one year, if you stick to your plan.

We collect $7.00 per month from Sept.June payable in September. 50% of that collected in each den is available to the DL for materials or costs associated with den activities. The other half goes to the Pack for registration, Boy's Life, insurance and other pack expenses like patches, awards, pinewood derby cars and some money for the B&G. We do the Popcorn fundraiser to supplement our costs. We do have pretty good accountability with our funds. Some people dont pay up for months. I dont think its an avoidance thing, its just stupidity and laziness. Ultimately, everyone pays. We have one family with financial issues. Our plan is to let the Pack pay for them if it comes to that, but so far theyve been able meet their obligation to the Pack. Remember that there is tremendous leeway with respect to Pack financing. I think youll find the responses here are going to be all over the place. Some packs run on a shoestring budget and others run a high end business. Some packs are rabid fundraisers; others refuse to do any fundraising. Just remember that the den leaders should not have to dip into their own pockets to support the den activities. Based on the operation of your pack, each child has some obligation to financially support the Pack. Stay on top of them, have a payment sheet that you can refer back too and show to a parent if they give you a hard time. They belong to the Pack, Scouting isnt a freebee they expect to pay a fee. They expect you to collect the money.