ASM416

I will, after more than 6 years, finish my BSA leaders training. I will also do all that is possible to but out, and help my fellow leaders but out and let the boys run the show. That physically fit one sounds good, maybe I'll work on that too ;-)

Our advancement Chairman on out committee takes care of all advancement and general record keeping. This includes applications and such. He is going to be our CC as of January but will still keep this roll. Tim

KurtB writes: "Torveaux - I agree. The Tan shirt is too plain. The cubs spnd up to 4 years earning awards to put on the uniform, and then it is all gone (just to look like a Boy Scout)." Isn't one of the purposes of the Webelo program to bridge the gap from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts? If this is the case, then whats so wrong with looking like a boy scout. Especially since they will, if all goes well, not just look like Boy scouts but be Boy Scouts! Maybe I feel this way because I was never a Cub Scout and have spent 10 years wearing Boy Scout uniforms. Just a thought, sorry if it opens a can of worms!! Tim

I was chatting with my DE at our last camporee. He mentioned something called a "brush" that one could get for a hat. He described it as a feather of different colors representing different positions or ranks. Its been a couple months, but I think he said scouts in other countries use, or have used these. Has anyone heard of this? I have done some web searches and cannot find anything. Maybe I am using incorrect terminology, but I would like to find them. Thanks for any help! Tim

Great idea! It shows the scouts true leadership abilities without the safety net of an adult standing nearby. What better test that trying to lead a group of boys on a camp out. It would also increase the number of patrol activities. I don't know about everyone else, but they are significantly lacking in my troop and others in the area. Tim

If it does not state "as a second class scout" it can be completed at any time. Scouts in our troop work on all the requirements at the same time. Most of the focus is on working toward the next rank, but we never stop a boy from working on a requirement early. Hope that helped! Tim

Oops, that was supposed to be 8'x20'. Fingers must not be working well tonight!

Thanks to both of you for your advise! anarchist, You had a lot to contribute, I am almost overwhelmed! To answer your questions, our room is probably about 8'x2' with the door halfway down one of the long sides. There is a "nook" off one of the short walls (were we keep the spiders). This area is probably about 4'x8'. It has some duct work running through it and is a bit of a challenge to make useful. It does work well for storing large stuff that doesn't fit into anything. We have 1 shelf, bakers type, about 8' high, 4' wide. We also have 3 lockable cabinets, the locker type from the military, 1 desk and 1 file cabinet (4 drawers i think) and a long folding table. We also are already in possession of 6 plastic containers, the kind with interlocking lids like they use in drug stores. As far as what does the stuff look like. We have everything from 6 chef kits that we use all the time to 50 year old folding army shovels to canvas army tents and shelters that have been sitting for years. We even have an old arctic survival tent that we set up and used a couple winters ago. Large and heavy but still worked great! We also have a lot of stuff in old steamer trunks that I haven't even seen yet. We are also planning some kitchen/patrol boxes like you mentioned. As far as the other packs, we have our PLC working to get our troop program to were it needs to be. We are coming off many years of a SM run troop. Once we are in better shape we plan to talk with some other packs. Thanks again! Tim

Hello all! I have been reading for a little while now but this is my first post. I am an ASM for a troop that is almost 50 years old. As you can imagine we also have 50 years worth of "stuff" in our storage room. We also have, over the years, gone from being a large troop to having 9 scouts and crossing our fingers until we get some new scouts from our recently revived cub pack. Anyways, we are in the process of cleaning, organizing and most importantly.....throwing stuff out! What I am looking for are suggestions on the following things: 1. We have large amounts of great equipment mixed together with older equipment of questionable quality. Imagine 50 years of accumulated "stuff". Any suggestions on how to decide what to keep and what not too keep? 2. Looking for some storage ideas. How do you organize your equipment room? How do you keep inventory? I have been thinking of plastic totes as a place to start. We also have the scouts working on some patrol boxes. 3. We have large numbers of tents, tarps, ground clothes, dinning flies and other assorted items. The original containers for which are gone, broken or never existed. What is the best way to store these? Any suggestions would be great! Thanks for your anticipated help! Tim