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Personally, I would have had a SM Confrence with the boy and discussed the abuse of rocks, trees, and bushes. I would try and dig into what's buggin the kid. In the past I've had to have conversations with a boy here a there, only to have a conversation with the mom or dad on return from an outing. Don't assume the parents see what we see, they either have blinders on or the boy doesn't act the same way for them. I believe it's important that the adult figures of a child are on the same page and seem to come from the same direction. This helps re-inforce what the community would consider social norms. For example. I had a boy that acted out around one of my ASMs. He hated the man. I had my own issues with him, too, but couldn't let on about that. I had a talk with the boy, then with his single mom. Her and I decided to "attack" the issue together. We both sat down with they kid and discussed his behavior and what was and was not acceptable. He understood that what he was doing didn't work at the meetings or at home, so he made some changes. Generally, when ever I have a talk with a boy about behavior, I have a talk with mom or dad about what we discussed. If the boy and I come to an agreement, we discuss that agreement with mom and or dad and that's the end of the "issue" usually. I'm not one to dwell on the negative. Now when a kid does something right, good, positive, then I gush about it to everyone that will listen. I like having the boy in earshot while I brag about what he's done. A kid will walk a mile out of his way to you to get a pat on the back, run a mile in the opposite direction to get corrected.

Be proud of your lodge, which ever territory you're in. Who knows, showing your lodge pride in another lodge/chapter might make one boy re-think his dedication to the Order.

At first reading of this post, the thing that came to mind was "Good 'oL boys club" syndrome. Years ago in my old council, before they required fresh blood on WB Staff, and a new CD each course, there were many in the council who thought of the WB Staff as the Good Ol Boys Club and would do anything to NOT show support for the participants or the course. Reading a little further it looks like you may have "overpowered" your fellow scouters with your enthusiasm. I'd say, if this was the case, that you should try to back off on the WB excitement for those you think are resisting you. Taken in little doses over time, they will succumb, but WB via Fire hose may be a better analogy of what they're feeling.

I would say for the most part my parents are aware of what it takes to get the job done as far as program for the boys. When they ask that wonderful question "what can I do to help" it's all over with. ha! We lay out for them what we believe to be necessary for thier son to have a quality program. Let's face it, most parents want thier sons to earn the rank of Eagle and that's all they know about the program when they start. We explain that if that is thier desire, the only way for that to happen is if they are involved in the operations of the troop committee or it's leadership. I'd say we have at least 80% participation by the parents at some level or another. The other 20% are the boys who don't fully participate, and that directly correlates to the commitment thier parents have made to the unit. We re-shuffle our troop committee annually and assign new jobs to new parents, more difficult jobs to more seasoned parents, and we try to give the SM a break now and then on outings. I'm the SM, and sometimes I just cannot make the outings, so I need a break. I have some moms that want to help out, so they're attending SM/ASM training next month in order to get the ok from me to attend outings as a leader (same requirement I have for the dads, I'm an equal opportunity abuser). I've got 3 ASM patrol advisors (1 for each), 1 ASM activities and 1 ASM Physical arrangements. We'll allow an adult to become an ASM if they take the training (leader specific and outing leader basic at a minimum, WB is appreciated) and commit to leading at least one outing during the year (they get to play SM for the weekend). On top of that we require the entire troop (boys and adults) refresh YPT yearly. They all hate it, but they're trained none the less.

I've had to cancel outings for a few reasons, and weather considerations were one of them. I like to postpone if possible. I have a recent example. Last month we were scheduled to have a desert outing (So Cal). The weekend we were supposed to go, the rain started on Tuesday and wasn't supposed to stop until the following Tuesday. We decided to postpone on week. We're glad we did, the desert came alive with blooms and bugs and critters and we had an awesome trip. We would have been miseralbe otherwise. I'm not out camping to prove to my boys that I can, I'm camping to give them a fun activity that we can use to suplement our overall program. Other times we've had to cancel were due to conditions of our local mountians. Namely fire hazard closures or actual forest fires. Our philosophy is this. We should be prepared to deal with less than perfect weather should we be caught off guard, etc. (has happened on plenty of occasions) but we don't necessarily have to prove we'll be willing to setup a campsite in a storm or put the lives of our boys and ourselves at risk to say we'll camp in any weather.

Eamonn, Bless your wife and your family. I will certainly keep you all in my thoughts and prayers. You're friend can probably handle things at the district committee, you have other more important things to deal with.

Great job! Welcome Home Beaver. Your challenge now (other than the ticket of course) is to infect others with that "just got back from Gillwell" feeling.

Don't mince your words, tell us what you really think!

I think it's a good LOGO and will help convey the message. Remember this is a LOGO and not a PATCH. There's a big difference usually. I congratulate the young man that won this contest and everyone that participated in it. Now that we have the LOGO, we can start designing PATCHES to show it off, and the sky's the limit.

Scouting and Soccer...that's a good one. Our SE held out a piece of paper at a meeting a year ago or so, read "Scouting and Soccer"... looked around the audience, saw absolutely no enthusiasm, wadded up the piece of paper and tossed it behind him. The crowd went wild. Looking at the numbers, most Scoutreach activities focus on the latino community here in So Cal. Unfortunately, since the $$ are drying up faster than a lake in Death Valley, we've lost probably 30,000 Scoutreach youth this last year, and that's just in my neck of the woods. My troop is about 15% hispanic at this time, it was about 25% at one point. Having active energized hispanic leadership helps the recruitment, I think parents are more willing to let thier sons be involved, and become involved themselves, if they see a friendly face among the crowd. When we had an active hispanic ASM, we had a larger % of hispanic boys and families involved. When he moved on, so did they for the most part. Last year I was on WB Staff, we had one woman out of 48 participants that spoke almost no english. She was spoon fed by one of the staff, a new DE that spoke fluent spanish. We're hoping her husband attends this year. We're ready for him.

Eamonn, you're technically correct, Halo (and all it's sequels) is a war game and its a lot of fun to boot. I get my boys together sometimes for some Poker and video games. The boys look forward to it and my wife and I go through a bunch of pizzas, chips, cookies and gallons of soda. By the time I get them all sugared up, it's time to ship 'em home. It's good to be King! Beavah, I read the email I was sent to say that Laser Tag was still under review and not expressly forbidden. From the looks of your info, RM is not liking Laser Tag and most likely will not approve it. I dont' know why I'm so worried about it, I've never done Laser Tag or Paint Ball, when I was a kid, we had rubber band guns, and if you were best friends with the neighborhood paperboy, you had unlimited ammo.

The city never used the building, the CoL built the building in 1928, and deeded it back to the City at no cost. The original contract stated that the council would build the building and in turn the city would lease the land to the council in perpetuity for $1 / year. If the City want's to rent the building to the Scouts, they should at least pay fair market price for it. I'm sure it's worth mucho dinero, but then CoL would be playing the same game the city is playing, and 2 wrongs don't make a wright.

Wow, congrats. I'm really glad it wasn't just my pack that had drama at one time. It's unfortuante that more often than not, you have to publish a 20 page book of rules and regs prior to a race so all questions or potential points of contention are in writing.

Is training enough? No, but it's a start. IMHO I think training provides us with a common ground, a foundation for building a great team and providing an exceptional program in order to foster growth of the Aims of Scouting. Is knowing what the methods are sufficient to ensure success? No, but again gives the leadership of the unit a common ground on which to build. It's been my observation that every unit is very different. Each one delivers the program a little bit differently than the others. That, IMO, had a lot to do with how the adult leaders interpret thier training, the Aims and Methods, and thier experiences. Also it depends on how those doing the training delvier the material. There's a whole lotta variables. Do we follow or enact program? I think we develop a program based on our individual unit's needs, dependant on our style of leadership and our vision of what the program should be. I don't think any of the units in our area do things the same. Close, but not the same by any means.

Hello all, Just got this email from our SE. Seems the question of how Laser Tag is to be an acceptable activity is still being mulled over. I've got some kids that bug me on a monthly basis about paint ball, but now I've got proof that it's not just me that says no! At least we'll have Laser Tag at some point. Quote: Bob [Mazucca] had asked that I report to you on questions related to BSA restricted activities that were raised during the recent Metro Scout Executives Meeting held at the Florida Sea Base. The questions were related to the following activities; surfing, laser tag and paint ball.  SURFING - I am pleased to report that surfing is an approved activity for Boy Scouts, Varsity Scouts and Venturers. This is shown on the age appropriate activities listing which appears as the first appendix of the Guide to Safe Scouting.  LASER TAG - Laser tag is currently under consideration to become an approved activity with stringent guidelines but I do not have a date to share with you at this time.  PAINT BALL - Paint ball was just recently reviewed (including a live demonstration of the activity) and remains a prohibited activity. James J. Terry, Jr. Assistant Chief Scout Executive/ Chief Financial Officer Boy Scouts of America

I don't have any big numbers for you, but I can tell you of my most recent. I had a young man turn in his Eagle Application today. He turns 18 on Sunday. We finished up 2 Eagle Required MB's on Sunday last. His procrastination has made me a nervous wreck and he doesn't seem to understand why I'm making him turn in his Eagle app today instead of tomorrow.

Oops, I'm a liar, it is 12 by July 1, 2010. Sorry for the confusion. copied from our council website. ELIGIBILITY: Boy Scouts and Varsity Scouts must be at least First Class Scouts. They must have completed the sixth grade or be at least 12 years of age by July 1, 2010, but not have reached their 18th birthday by August 4, 2010. All Boy Scouts and Varsity Scouts selected to to attend must participate in all pre-Jamboree training experiences; file a complete Personal Health and Medical Record, prior to the pre-Jamboree training; have been active in a troop or team for at least six months prior to July 1, 2010; and be approved by the California Inland Empire Jamboree Committee. Personally, I don't know if most 12 year olds are mature enough to make this trip without parents along, but who knows, I remember my first summer camp at 11 and what fun I had.

I didn't read your second question on deposits. If the boy that moved still wants to go and attend with his original unit, he could meet them at thier first stop along the way. Transportation could be an issue and he will need a chaparone more than likely, but it has happened and happens a lot. Moving his "spot" to another council is not an option IMO, and if he did not want to attend with the old council contingent, he'd need to have his spot filled before he'd get his depost back in our council.

Lisabob, I attended as a youth (1977, Morraine St. Park, PA), the cost was $767 and really took a lot of soul searching from my dad to fit it into the family budget. I will never forget that experience and still talk about it. Years later he told me it was a stretch, and to pay for only one of his 6 kids to go was a bit lopsided, but being a Scoutmaster for my two oldest brothers and knowing the value of the program, he said it was the best $767 he ever spent. I thought he was just glad to have me out of the house. In 2005 our West Coast Jambo participation cost between $1900 and $2300 depending on the extras. Plus all the other stuff (uniforms, patches, equipment), this could turn out to be a $3000 10 day festival for the boys. In order for parents to see the value, sometimes you have to go outside and get an experienced scout or scouter with some perspective. Try reaching out to Scouts or Scouters outside your unit and have them speak to the parents about what Jamboree is and how it will make thier boys better. You may want to mention to them that the 2010 Jamboree will be the capstone event of the 100th anniversary celbrations. There will be a lot of history written in that week. The adult leaders are all trained and there are specific guidelines for selecting Scoutmasters and Assistants. The Jamboree Troops will spend some time together prior to the trip and have regular monthly meetings, outings and possibly mini practice jamborees to work out all of the kinks. They will be a real unit by the time they head out to Jambo. Parents will have time to get to know the leaders as well before the event, which will help put thier minds at ease. Criteria for boys? They have to fit the age and rank requirements (13 yo and 1st class). Above that I would think it would be required that they live the oath and law, and have scout spirit, be recommended by thier Scoutmaster. Then it's all about first come first served. If you have anyone interested, they should get thier name in the hat now, waiting until the forms come out is way too late in my opinion. This event is going to sell quickly, and usually that means that those in the know (district and council scouters with kids in the program) will get first dibbs. Also there is a great video online that kinda builds the excitement. http://www.scouting.org/jamboree/2010/ Hopefully they won't question why, at the end of the video, it says "safest Jambo ever". I shudder to think what that may portend in 2010. In my council, they are now taking $200 deposits for youth and adults to start the process. The deposits are fully refundable, and are meant to weed out the free application putter inners that never follow through with anything. We're taking 6 troops and they'll be full by June 1. And yes, I've got my deposit in, as well as one for my son, he'll be 19. I would love for him to attend as a leader.

Attended 21st Century - 9 Served Staff '07 - 10 (Troop Guide's rule) Serving Staff '08 - 10 (It's becoming a habbit)

Our troop policy is not more than 25% if a boy is under 14. The parent is to carry the rest of the weight for them. If a boy is sturdy at 14, if he's judged to be physically strong enough, he can take up to 30%. We don't want them overloaded and thinking backpacking is a negative thing. Typically an 11 year old boy will not even be able to carry his 10 essentials before hitting his maximum weight. Mom or Dad need to come along for the walk and take some of his load, usually his sleeping bag and pad. Many troops don't want mom or dad to take an active part in the outings, and that's ok too, but someone's got to carry the things young scouts cannot carry for themselves. Good luck with Bacpacking.

Holy Macaroni! "What a difference a day makes" just doesn't do this whole mess justice. The Pack is water under the bridge and you should not linger on that subject, it will just anger you and make you bitter toward Scouting which had nothing to do with it honestly. You were dealing with people, and people are inherently imperfect. People make mistakes all the time. People are...people after all. Don't let this episode turn your stomach on Scouting. Scouting was not to blame for what happened, it was something that could have happened in a little league team as well. When you get adults together in a volunteer situation where this is a hierarchy, there are bound to be those that think they should be created lord of all they survey, right? And usually those that are focused on gaining power have such blinders on to the youth they are serving, they get left on the side lines with no program and feeling the pain of divisive adults. Keep your love for the youth, scale down your exposure and move on to another unit with your son. You can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear no matter how much you may want to. Let your CO clean up the mess they just made and be happy knowing that you don't have to deal with it. Good luck with your new endeavors.

You can also try Craig Murray's site, he's put out some of the most high quality patches I've ever seen. He's a great scouters too. http://www.sageventure.com/store/patches.html

I think someone's sneaking in here from National and scoping our ideas. The Rose Parade Float idea is ON THE TABLE! Wooo Hoooo! There are many other very exciting high profile activities being planned for the 100th anniversary of the BSA. I had a regional meeting yesterday in the OC and they layed out the National strategy and what they would provide local councils to help facilitate big blow out celebrations. I even got to meet Bob Mazzuca, the new CSE. This is going to be an awesome couple of years for the BSA. I hope you're all ready for it. I am (I hope).

The logo contest will be great. They had over 4000 entries. They're going to announce the winners pretty soon. Nat'l is encouraging councils to use the logos created along with the essays as table decorations at upcomming Council dinners or other such events. Very cool stuff.