GopherJudy

CTBoyScout101, Hi! I forgot to mention it to the SM tonight but I just e-mailed him the link. I'm sorry I forgot. I'll let you know as soon as he gets back to me. Take care & have a great day! Judy

SWScouter, When the troop that was signing up, how many of the adults were leaders? I think it's a little ridiculous to have more adults than Scouts! When the boys were Webelos you have to have a parent go camping but when the boy crosses over to Boy Scouts he's "free" from having his parent have to go camping with him, unless the parent is a leader! They have to let the boys grow up & take on more responsibility. If the parents like to camp so much, they could go camping as a family at a campground that's near where they live or further away if they choose. They shouldn't be using the campouts as a mini-vacation! Judy

Shouldn't the priority be that as many boys as possible go camping? I thought in Boy Scouts the boys are to be more independent & not have to have their parents at every campout. I think that it's more important for all the boys that can go, go camping with all the leaders that are able to go & then if there's room for any parent's it should be first come, first picked or by a lottery. Let's say they have room for 5 parents, all of the parents who want to go can write their name on a piece of paper, put it into a hat & then have someone, maybe have the SPL pick out 5 pieces of paper & those 5 parents get to go. Then on the next trip do another lottery but the 1st five parents that went aren't allowed to put their names in the hat. Keep a list of the parents that were picked & continue til all of the parents have been picked & then all of the names can go back into the hat. If for some reason a parent can't go at the last minute & another one is able to, make the adjustments on the list of parents who can go. I can't see having 25 Scouts, plus leaders and 25 parents going campout & the parents don't even do anything to help! My son just went on his 1st Boy Scout camping trip over the weekend & I didn't go. They recommended that the parents of the new boys didn't go so they could see how the boys would be without their parents. Sounds like a good idea to me! Of course 1 parent from the NSP went to keep an eye on his son & his nephew, they are a handful but it defeated the purpose. My son said that the father contantly yelled at them. Now this is the 1st time that my son has ever been on a campout without me, I'm his only parent because my husband, their father, died 8 years ago when Mark was 2.5 year old & Lori was 5.5 months old. I was the AWDL & took all the required training plus WLOT & went to a Council Pow Wow, etc. & the fact that I've always loved camping but I knew it was important for Mark to go without me. I'm a little more qualified than that parent, who really only wanted to babysit the 2 boys & that's the only reason he signed up to volunteer, to go on the campout as I would be there to help, assist & guide everyone. Good Luck! Judy

Scoutndad, I'm so glad to hear that your interview with the boy went well & that his mom didn't give you a hard time & that the boy's dad was there. Maybe the boy will change his mind about crossing over & becoming a Boy Scout but at least that's something that you don't have to worry about! Take care. Judy

Scoutndad, How did everything go with the interview for the one Scout today? I hope that all went well & you don't have a headache from it! Judy

Hi & welcome aboard! Good luck with your bigger & boy-run troop! Judy

CTBoyScout101, At my son's next troop meeting I will tell his SM about this & give him your e-mail addy & the site link. I'll e-mail it to him also but I think he might still be having computer problems! Take care & have a great day! Judy

Scoutndad, I've read everything here & I can't think of anything to add so I wish you the best of luck on Sunday with this Scout. Let us know how it turns out! I sure hope that it goes well so that he can advance. Good Luck Judy

Thanks CTBoyScout101 but my son, a new Boy Scout just crossed over from Webelos, & his troop are going somewhere else. I'll have to mention this place to the SM for another time. It looks like a great place to camp! Judy

Hmmm! I'll have to ask the CM & see what he has to say about the uniforms. OGE thanks for the Lost in Space link! Judy

My son said there was a Troop Guide there & showing the boys things. I'm glad that there will be someone working with the boys & the PL & APL to guide them. A month is a good "term of office" for the new boys, gives everyone a chance. That's so true of the younger boys & the high school boys! Mark said that 1 of the boys is so cool! This was since our troop visit in January! Sometimes you have to think like a child again, which at times is very easy for me to do! Mark has his 2nd troop meeting this Tuesday & then on the weekend he has his 1st Boy Scout overnight campout! He's excited! Thanks meamemg & orennoah! Judy

Mine is a Girl Scout memory, being female! I didn't get to join until I was in the 6th grade & a Junior Girl Scout, back in the days when you wore the green dress, socks, belt, beret, purse & sash! I remember I got to hold the flag in the Memorial Day parade in town & I was very excited & proud! My fondest memory of Mark is when he received his Bear Badge & he was grinning from ear to ear because he was so proud of himself! Mark is shy at times & is a very cautious, thinking boy, even as a toddler. To see what he's accomplished in Cub Scouts & now he's a Boy Scout is amazing because I know he wouldn't have done those things if he wasn't in Scouts! I'm glad that I was able to a part of it too being an ADL & AWDL! Now, memorable moments I left for the den! On our first campout as Webelos I's it started raining on the day we were going to go home. It started early & was rather heavy so the boys didn't go on the morning hike. We were all working together to get the tents down & everything into the DL's Blazer. We also had a cabin that some of the parents & their sons slept in & we had other things in the cabin too! Well, while I was taking something out of the cabin to put in the Blazer I slipped in the mud & fell on my side! I was wet & muddy & I looked like I don't know what. Too bad nobody took a photo! I was helped up, I got cleaned off as best as I could & it was good for a laugh later! The other "legacy" I left for the boys & parents is when the boys were playing softball. I asked the DL if I could have a pinch runner since I'm "slightly" overweight & don't run! He told me that when I got to 1st base I could have a runner. Well, I smacked the ball that was pitched to me, rather proud of myself for that, but then I ran about 10 feet, felt lightheaded, everything was spinning & felt weird & then I fell, landed on my right knee & then rolled onto my back! What an attractive sight that was! I was told that I fell very gracefully, my arms were outstretched & I looked like a ballerina! Another photo op missed! I was good for a laugh! Judy

My son & his Webelos II den crossed over to Boy Scouts on March 20th & had their 1st troop meeting on March 22nd. They are a NSP & they elected one of the boys to be PL & he picked his APL. Now, my question is, do the new PL & APL have a training book to read? Does the SM go over the training with them? How long does the position last? Are there any guidelines for them? I'm asking this as a general question & not because of who was elected PL. I like the boy who was elected PL & I'm sure he'll do a great job but I was just wondering since they're new, is there any info that is available to guide them as a PL & the other boys who will have a turn as a PL. Thanks! Judy

Torveaux, Are the prices for the popcorn different for different areas? I know that the we sell the GS cookies for $3.50 a box & someone told me that they paid $4.25 a box in either Maine or Connecticut. I'll have to ask the CM about getting approval for wearing the uniform for fundraising. I don't think Mark would have done well with the candy fundraiser if I took him around & he said he's doing this as a fundraiser for his Cub Scout Pack & he wasn't in his uniform, people wouldn't believe him. To tell you the truth if a boy came to my door fundraising for the Scouts & I didnt know him & he wasn't in uniform, I don't think I'd believe him & probably wouldn't buy from him. I'll have to ask. Judy

Packsaddle, I know, I was a kid when Lost in Space was on! I knew that's what the robot said but wasn't the robot Dr. Smiths'? I was trying to make a joke & that was the best I could come up with! Actually, my jokes are lost in space! Judy

Old Grey Eagle, Thanks! I guess they're not BSA uniform pants! Judy

Scoutldr & anarchist, I had no idea about that. We don't do the popcorn fundraiser, I asked & was told that it was optional. I personally think candy would sell better than popcorn but then again I am a chocoholic! Judy

Eagledad, I have a question, can you please tell me what a BDU is? I'm not that familiar with all the lingo! My son just crossed over to Boy Scouts so I have to learn new terminology! Thanks! Judy

Dr. Smith oops I mean anarchist is there really such a ruling? Whenever my kids have a door to door fundraiser they wear their uniforms or when they're standing outside a store like my daughter's cookie booth sale, they wear their uniform. If there is such a rule that the boys can only wear their uniform for popcorn I've never heard of it! I'll go back to my gopher hole right now! LOL!! Judy

We have 2 different fundraisers when the flyer is worded a certain way. With our candy fundraiser, each boy is "required" to sell to boxes of candy (52 candy bars in each box) or the family can donate $25.00. For our comedy club fundraiser (a great adult night out!) each boy has to sell 2 tickets at $30.00 each (which included the show, dinner & soft drinks) or the family donated $25.00. I'm not sure if I have these worded exactly like on the flyers but I hope you get the gist of what I'm saying! For the candy fundraiser there are awards given out to the boy who sold the most candy in each den & then a prize for the boy who sold the most in the pack! Needless to say the boys who received a prize were very happy, especially my son Mark who sold 6 boxes of candy (that's 312 candy bars & no I didn't buy them all!) He won for his den & the pack & he practically ran up to get his prize when it was announced that he won for the pack! I took Mark around in his Scout uniform & we go to all the houses on my parents' block & the next block & 99% of the people buy at least 1 bar, some bought 5 at a time! I do the same for my daughter Lori when she has to sell Girl Scout cookies. They know they have to do their fair share. It also helps that some of the people on my parents' block have lived there a long time & knew me when I was a child! We also do a car wash fundraiser & not everyone does that but it sure is a lot of fun! We just would find out the times that they could be there so we had boys & parents there for the whole time. Usually they were there for about an hour or 2. The boys have a great time trying to soak the CM after he's squirted them with the hose! Of course that's when we're waiting for cars to be washed! The CM & I had great "water fights" when there were no cars to be washed & we were totally drenched! I was told I was a good sport about this, I didn't mind getting wet because a lot of the other moms didn't want to get wet at all! My kids don't complain about going door to door & as I said, I go with them. It's not like when I was in 6th grade & selling Girl Scout cookies for 50 cents a box (back in 1969) & could go around by myself! I just think that all of the boys should do their fair share of fundraising. We had some parents question what the money was being used for & then the treasurer printed up where the money goes. They understood a little better. I tell my kids that nothing's free in this world except my love for them. Again, good luck in getting a higher percentage of boys participating in fundraising. Judy

Thanks hops_scout! I had never gotten that before when I clicked on anything so it confused me! Thanks! Take care! Judy

I wanted to read something entitled "not so safeguarded here" that was on the side of the forum. When I clicked on it, it came up "restricted area" & apparantly there's another password required besides the one that I use for this. Can someone please explain this to me? Thanks! Take care & have a great day! Judy

I feel sorry for you OneHour, we had a family like that in our den with a candy fundraiser we had in September. It's such an easy fundraiser, each case of candy contains 52 bars & each bar is $1.00. When I called the parents of all the boys in the den to let them know I had the candy & If they wanted to come by & pick it up or I'd drop it off & let me know the best time. This one boy's parents are really humdingers! I called & spoke to the mom & I could hear the boy's dad in the background yelling "I'm not taking & selling any candy!" All of the boys in the den sold their required 2 cases, my son Mark sold 6, except for this one boy who's mom returned the 2 cases of candy unopened & said it didn't sell! There were prizes at the den & pack level for who sold the most candy & Mark won den & pack. Well the CM who's also the DL had enough crap from the parents & when it came time for November Pack Night, that boy just had the award cards in his envelope & the CM told the mom that because you refused to participate in the fundraiser, you'll have to buy the awards for your son yourself! Some parents are really stupid & don't realize what the fundraising money covers. Don't the thickheaded parents realize that it would probably cost them less money if their child participates in the fundraisers so the troop has more money? It's mindboggling the way some people think! We don't have Scout Accounts but in your case it might be a good idea, especially if it's the same boy who participate in the fundraisers. They would get a break on the cost of activities & rightly so since they did their share of bringing money into the troop. The other boys aren't doing their fair share of work & they have to realize that money doesn't grow on trees & if they want something they have to work for it! Fundraising shouldn't be optional! Good luck in getting them to understand! Judy

Semper, Thanks! He loved his 1st troop meeting & got his handbook & Scout Rank badge that night. I know he will have a lot of fun, he loved the activities he did as a Cub Scout, fishing, community service, camping as a Webelo, making volcanoes, earning his Whittlin' Chip card, working on his Bear, Webelos & AOL badges etc. He's looking forward to going camping without me! I'm not sad as a "Mom", but said as an AWDL-without a den, who loves to camp! I know he's going to have a blast! Scoutldr, That's great! I've taken quite a bit of photos of den activites, pack nights, camping etc & will organize them into a special photo album for Mark. I always get 2 sets of photos. We made a special photo album for the den leader from my photos & presented it to him at the B&G, along with a special plaque & an iron-on t-shirt that I made from a photo I took of the DL With the boys & the boys autographed the back of the shirt. I told Mark to bring his camera with him on his 1st campout to start a Boy Scout memory book. You said you were your uniform to school, I think back then (I can say that because I started kindergarten in Sept 1962) nobody made fun of you for wearing it. I remember wearing my Junior uniform to school on certain Girl Scout Holidays, can't think of the correct terminology & there wasn't any problem with it. I don't think Scout can wear their uniforms to school nowaday without running into problems, which is a real shame. I know that Mark will have a great time & have many great memories! Judy

OneHour, I have a question for you, how come only about 1/4 of the boys participate in the fundraising? That's not fair to the boys who do the fundraising that the ones who don't aren't pulling their share of the work. In my son's pack, every boy in every den had to participate in whatever our fundraiser was. My son is now a Boy Scout & his 1st troop meeting was last night & we were told that all the boys have to participate in the fundraising as it offsets their cost for camping, etc. I know that fundraising is time consuming & as a single mom with a son now in Boy Scouts & a daughter in Brownies & the fact that my kids get home from school around 3:45pm that there isn't that much time available. There's homework, school projects & scout work that has to be done but I know it's important for the fundraising to be done. Good luck in getting all of the boys to participate in your troop's fundraising! Judy