JillKB

Has anyone heard anything about or used Scout Manage? www.scoutmanage.com

Has anyone purchased software to manage their unit? Are you glad you bought it? Do you have recommendations on which program to purchase or not purchase? Anything else we should consider before making a decision on this? Thanks for your input!

I have had the same dilemma regarding the sale of the individual, unlabeled bags. We've done it out of necessity... because a show & sell is just not going to work if you are only selling full boxes... but I've always felt a little funny about it.

Does anyone know of any cheers that involve an eagle? How about a popcorn cheer?

This should be a pretty easy question yet I'm finding conflicting answers to it... so I wanted to see if anyone here knew for sure... regarding a Pack Committee....is the Cubmaster considered a part of the committee (is he/she a committee member)?

We have boys who have been active in our pack and have never sold Trails End popcorn... which we don't feel is fair. We have heard about packs who require the boys to sell a minimum or else the family has to pay the pack the money the boys would have generated. Has anyone ever tried this? Did it work out? What were your minimums and the consequences for not meeting them? And how did it go over with the parents? Is it something you'd recommend doing?

I have the Race To Scouting Offical Tool Kit For Packs dated 2005 and I can't seem to find any type of slide show on it.

Lisabob - Do you have descriptions for any of the videos you listed? My scout shop isn't responding to my question about recruitment videos. Another scout shop I buy from sometimes said they didn't have anything in stock & I should contact national. And national said there isn't anything even available. So now that you've given me part numbers I'd like to try and order again.... but descriptions would help me know if they are the types of videos I'm looking for.

Does anyone know if there is a video/DVD that could be used during recruitment night for Cubs that would give the parents an overview of the scouting program and motivate them to join? National supply is telling me there isn't and I just find that hard to believe. It just seems like such an obvious thing that BSA would want to produce for units to use... since recruitment is so vital to our survival.

As I've already stated, the Lions program, at least as it is being run in our council, is DEFINITELY co-ed. I don't know if any girls actually enrolled, but the flyers were distributed in school to ALL kindergartners in our school district. As I said I'd do, I asked my Sr. District Executive for more info. He said that Lions is a pilot program in the Northeast Region, and therefore there is no public information out there yet. He said he'd give me what info he had on it....I will see him at roundtable Thursday so I will let you know what I find out about it.

It isn't a rumor...the program is definitely still in trial but the Lions are DEFINITELY co-ed. Our pack is not doing it but two other packs in our council are doing it and I've had conversations with one of their Cubmasters about how things were going for them. I don't know what the reason, but neither our council or national are publicizing it on their sites or otherwise (and believe me, I've searched). They're probably afraid of a reaction similar to what I've experienced on this forum. I'll contact our council for details & see what they're willing to share.

ScoutNut - I think you did a great job of explaining it and being fair. Thank you for doing so in a calm, level-headed manner. (I was starting to wonder if I was on a political forum rather than a scout forum.)

The program existed way before I arrived and could get along just fine without me. I am also not of the opinion that my time invested into scouting gives me any right to bend any rules. Don't twist my words. I have a great amount of respect for the BSA and it is very important to me to follow the rules. In order to know if you are properly following the rules sometimes you have to ask questions...am I going to be condemned for asking the question? I'm simply asking for documentation that the BSA forbids or even discourages sibling particpation in pack/den activities.

Lisabob - Lions is a pilot program in our area and this is the first year. It is co-ed and is for kindergarteners. Our pack is not doing it this year but there are 2 other packs in our area that do have Lion Dens. I'm not sure how many there are nationally. And I have no idea what they expect these girls to do after the Lion year because as of now, they can't continue on into Tigers. But when they are Lions, they are registered in that Pack and participate in all Pack activities...including Pack meetings. Neither national or our council has made any information public on this program yet. And like I said, I have mixed feelings about it but there's no denying that the girls are being integrated from both ends (younger and older).

Part of joining is filling out an application, paying dues to support the program, and following the rules. While siblings may attend the designated family programs such as campouts and pack meetings, they should not be recieving patches for achievements because they are not members of the organization. resqman- Although you are entitled to your opinion, it seems contrary to what our council practices. Siblings DO receive patches for participating in council sponsored events such as day camp, tiger safari, winterfest, etc. even though they are not registered members. I would have to assume that our council is following BSA guidelines in handling their programs in this manner. And as far as participating in den meetings, do you have any BSA documentation that shows that Joey's 3 year old little sister absolutely SHOULD NOT be invited to sit down and make a toilet paper tube tiger with the boys because she is not a registered Tiger? (laughing)

Well I guess I didn't realize I was going to cause such a debate. My original post was simply because I had heard that someone elses daughter had been awarded things...and that part didn't make sense to me so I was curious about it. I wasn't implying that I believe she should actually be considered a cub scout. I will tell you that I am the Committee Chair as well as a Tiger Leader. My husband is also a Tiger leader. My oldest son just crossed over into boy scouting. So the whole family is very active in scouts and it is almost a necessity that my daughter accompany us to our den and pack meetings. She is only 3 and is not old enough to understand that she's not really a tiger. She wears a pack shirt (not a tiger shirt) and she calls herself a "cub scout girl". When she gets older we will definitely try Girl Scouts, but even then I'm sure she'll continue to be included in our cub scouting activities. Luckily, our council is very family friendly. Siblings can participate in council events...even day camp....and siblings receive patches for council events. Because I'm running the den I pay for most of the craft supplies, etc. myself so she's not costing the pack anything. And when the boys earned their Tiger badge I presented her with a "Cinderella patch". I probably spend 15 hours a week (probably more) on running our pack....and I have to say that if council or national or whoever had a problem with my daughter participating at the level that she currently at, that would be the end of my cub scouting career. I really have mixed feelings about it, but I also believe that national is working on integrating girls into cub scouting just as they are in Canada and other countries. We've got the older girls coming in through Venturing and now the younger girls coming in through Lions. It may take another 10 years but I think that's the direction we're headed.... like it or not.

Our popcorn sale fell short this year....with just a few boys that really sold... and a whole lot who didn't bother to sell at all. We were thinking of trying something where say dues are $35 for the year if you sell at least $200 in popcorn, or $65 a year if you choose not to sell....I haven't sat down yet to work out the exact figures. But I'm wondering if anyone has tried anything like this??? I've heard of packs who had a required amount of popcorn sales per boy. I asked them what they did if the boys didn't sell the required amount. They said that if no effort was made then they didn't give them their awards. I don't know if I'd have the guts to do that...but something definitely needs to be done to motivate these parents.

We need to have a serious meeting with our parents to explain to them what our budget is and the fact that most of their registration fee is never seen by the Pack. We definitely need them to get out there and participate in our fundraisers to a much greater extent than they currently are doing. I was wondering if anyone had any handouts, etc. that I could use to demonstrate the "real cost of scouting" for a pack?? I'm looking for some things that are simple but really motivating...that will set off that lightbulb in their heads and say "Oh, I guess scouting isn't a free ride and we need to pull our weight a little more". Thanks!

My daughter tags along with our Tiger Den and does everything the Tigers do. This will continue through all the ranks as my son progresses. I was told by a Scoutmaster that there was another leader in our council who's daughter did the same thing and actually earned awards, etc. I don't see how that's possible unless she was registered. I was wondering if anyone else had had this experience with their daughters and if anyone know exactly what BSA policy is at this point.

Our pack sells popcorn in the fall but if we're going to meet our budget this year we need to raise a good amount of money this spring. Any suggestions on fundraisers that have been a positive experience for your scouts and filled up that bank account at the same time?

You're right Mark...it's a typo. He won't be 11 until May.

No need for panic John. Don't get the wrong idea when I say "pushing him"...it's his choice. But with a little bit of effort over his holiday break from school he could finish this up without any problem.

First of all, I certainly appreciate everyone's feedback. I looked into it a little further yesterday after reading your comments. One of the boys is already 11, so that solves that problem. The other one won't be 10 until May. We're trying to push him to finish his Arrow of Light before our Blue & Gold. Both boys have been active in scouts for several years but seem to be there more for the fun & not to earn anything. Part of this blame is on the parents & part on the den leader. This particular den leader is a really nice guy but has never been a go-getter. As a parent of one of these Webelos 2, I have been working with my own son at home to supplement what he earned in his den. The parent's of these 2 boys who have not achieved Arrow of Light have not worked with their boys outside of the den. Also, these 2 boys didn't attend the camps as Webelos so they missed out on a lot there. I definitely believe that those earning AOL should receive special recognition. My big concern at this point has become that everyone at least be able to cross over.

As I stated in my previous post about Blue & Gold crossover gifts, we have 6 boys bridging to Boy Scouts...but 2 of them will probably not receive Arrow of Light. We've never had this happen before. Any ideas on how to handle this during Blue & Gold Ceremonies?

We have 6 Webelos crossing over to boys scouts....2 of them will probably not qualify for Arrow of Light. We usually give the boys some kind of gift. Last year they were given neon boy scout lights...which most of us considered very tacky. I've searched the net for some kind of affordable ($20 - $30), tasteful gift to give these boys and not had much success. Any ideas??? (I don't mind giving the boys earning Arrow of Light something different than the other 2.)