Kansascity53

Our troop was planning to go to jamboree for three days as visitors and camp at a nearby KOA campground. However, I have read in a few council newsletters I found on the internet that National has a policy that visiting units can only attend jamboree one day and that units are not allowed to camp within 50 miles of AP Hill and tour permits will be rejected for units attempting to do so. Anyone have any insight to these rules and whether going to jamboree as visitors as a unit is a good idea and/or worthwhile?

Our troop is looking for a different summer camp for 2009. Can anyone give me some feedback on their experiences at the following camps: - Raven Knob Scout Reservation (Mt Airy, NC) - Broad Creek Scout Reservation (Camp Spencer, Whiteford, MD) - Camp Minsi (Poconos, PA) - Camp Bonner (Blounts Creek, NC) Thanks.

Can anyone who attended summer camp at Bayport S.R. in Virginia provide some feedback on the quality of the merit badge programs and the first year scout programs? Our troop is looking for a new camp to go to in 2009 and our most important things that the merit badges are not 'given away' with little work and the first year should be very hands on.

We have boys in our Troop who have completed all of the requirements for Tenderfoot, Second Class and First Class but did so in a way where the 2nd and 1st Class requirements were all completed before all of the tenderfoot requirements. All are now 100% completed (except for the SM Conference) so they are now ready for their Tenderfoot BOR. The committee wants to make them then wait two months after the Tenderfoot BOR before going for their 2nd Class BOR and then another 2 or 3 months after their 2nd Class BOR before going for their 1st Class BOR. The Troop has BORs scheduled every month so the wait they are looking to impose is strictly because they think there should be a wait as a BOR three months in a row seems to fast for them. #1 - Is this permissable under BSA rules and regs? #2 - regardless of the answer to #1 has anyone put those types of timframes into real world use?

Our troop is thinking about going to summer camp in 2008 at Forestburg Scout Reservation in NY. Does anyone have any opinions of their summer camp program? (The troop went five or six years ago and those who went said the program was not that great but I heard it has gotten much better recently).

My troop has a handfull of scouts who are ready to work on Star, Life or Eagle but we do not have enough POR's to cover them all. Can anyone give me some examples of Scoutmaster Approved Projects that you have used to further the advancement of scouts who do not have a POR available and want to continue their advancement? Also please let me know which you have used for Eagle and which you have used for Star and Life. Thanks,

My bad on not including my position in my original posts. I am the new Committee Chairman for the troop. Last year (my first after moving up to the troop from Webelos Den Leader) I was an ASM. New to the position of CC I have been doing a lot of research and asking a lot of questions in order to learn about helping to run a troop. I keep getting conflicting information vs. what the troop has been doing for years. Any further input from the forum is appreciated.

Thanks for the input. I should have looked at the requirement to see that it says 'responsibility' and not leadership. I am dealing with a troop that "has been doing it this way a long time and it has worked well for us" mentality. When they said the requirement was leadership I assumed it was. Any suggestions on how to change that mentality? I am out numbered on this.

I have a boy in our troop who is currently Star Scout and is working toward Life. He was Den Cheif as part of his tenure toward Star and is currently Troop Instructor. He was unsuccessful in his BOR for Life because the thinking within the troop and committee is that he did not demonstrate "true' leadership in his role of Instructor (he did what was asked of him by the SPL but did not take any initiative on his own). The BOR members would like to see him in the position of PL before he comes back for another Life BOR. Is this sound thinking by the BOR members or should the scout have been successful in attaining Life Scout based on his tenure in a leadership position even though he did nor doing than leading(he met all other requirements for Life)? Should he be required to be PL to show leadership or should he simply be asked to be more of a leader in his current role? Or is leadership assumed based on him meeting the requirements of his job as Instructor?

The older scouts in our troop are getting bored with our troop meetings. These are really middle age scouts (age 13 and 14 with rank of Star). They feel on the fringe of the older scouts (15 and above) and know all the basis scout skills that are usually the crux of the meeting programs and are getting bored with doing knots and first aid again and again. The 15 and older scouts are in the senior leadership positions so the 13 and 14 year olds don't feel like there is room for them to be teachers to the younger scouts as we have plenty of 15 and older scouts who cover that need. The issue I am looking for help on at this point is what kind of programs are available for the older scouts who are not yet leaders but already know the basics? We are looking to cater to their needs in the short term while we address the long term changes that are needed as far as planning, etc.