mdeckerz

Well, I went to my son's troop meeting last night. The tally from last weekend's work at the fair will be around $8,000, close to the most the troop has ever made. (It was a very nice and sunny week-end and the fair was packed with people.) I asked the SM about whether we have council approval for this event and he doesn't know. He said the TC chair would know, and he's been out of town on an extended work-related trip. One of you suggested looking for a new troop for my son, and believe me, that thought has crossed my mind. But notwithstanding their approach to fundraising, there's a lot to like about this troop, not the least of which is that my son has loads of friends there and he's having a great time. He's a very social kid, and I think if we made him switch troops, he'd start to lose interest in scouting fast. That's the last thing I'd want. There's been a spiritied exchange of e-mails regarding the fair among a number of troop parents. When I started to bring it up with the SM last night, he suggested we "let the dust settle" before we advance the debate. Probably a wise approach. After all, we have a whole year before this comes up again. Before my son bridged in March, I was the Pack Committee Chair for his Cub Scout pack. It was a pretty time-consuming job, and I was hoping to take a break from a formal scouter role for a year or two before getting more involved with his troop. This experience has motivated me to perhaps get involved sooner, to hopefully have more influence on the troop's decisions. So much for a break. Thanks, everyone, for your input and discussion. I'll keep you informed as this progresses. P.S. In case you hadn't figured it out, "beeratscouts?" is my beautiful and loving wife.

Boys 14 and older work in the soda booths, but not the beer booths. The fair operators and the state don't allow boys under 14 to work at all.

Thanks for all the continued responses. When I take my son to his troop meeting tomorrow, I'm sure I'll run into the TC chair, SM and other leaders. I'll ask about whether council has approved this fundraiser. Apparently, selling soda only may not be an an option. The people that run the fair offer the soda and beer as a package deal. I suppose we could team up with another organization and we could take the soda and give them the beer. Another issue is that much more of our money comes from the beer because that's where people give tips. I've been talking about this with some other troop parents, and most think I am crazy for even raising these questions. The typical attitude is that they'd rather spend one weekend a year at a sunny fair than spend multiple weekends sitting outside a grocery store selling popcorn for much less money. Also, I think the amount of money the troop raises is more than some can bear to walk away from. The troop has a trailer loaded with high-quality camping and cooking gear, a fleet of kayaks and canoes, a portable climbing wall also mounted on a trailer and loads of other stuff paid for over the years with money from this fundraiser. Parents look at that and say "how can we walk away from this gold mine?"

Thank you.

I started a thread here yesterday called "Is this a good idea?" about some questions I have regarding our Troop's fundraiser, and now the thread appears to be gone. It had about a dozen replies. What happened?

Thanks for responding. I will ask whether the troop has received approval from the council for this fundraiser. That's a good point. As for whose "name" we work under, I'm not sure of that either. I am told that the check for our weekend wages is paid to an "intermediary" who then forwards the money to the troop. The tips are all cash, so I'm sure they go directly to the treasurer. Our scoutmaster has told me that officially, this is not a troop event, but merely a fundraiser conducted by "friends of the troop." I don't know about that since all the planning is done at troop and troop committee meetings, and all families with boys in the troop are required to participate. One of the things that bothers me is that the people who put on the fair insist that we wear the fair's uniform (plain white shirt and khaki pants), not scout uniforms, and that we are not permitted to have signs or anything else that identifies us as a scout troop, although some of us mention to the customers that we represent a boy scout troop. Another thing that bothers me is that this year, my wife was working in a soda booth with two scouts and one of our assistant scoutmasters who was working in a beer booth stopped by to visit carrying a beer---at 10:00 a.m.

I'm glad I found this forum. It looks like a good place to share ideas about scouting. My son bridged over to Boy Scouts last March and joined a well-established troop that has produced many eagles and is very well equipped. One of the reasons thay have so many resources is that they have tapped into a very lucrative fundraising source that has raised some questions in my mind. Every year, the troop provides staffing at beer and soda booths at a local fair. For one weekend, scouters, parents and scouts 14 and older work in the beer and soda booths and earn wages and tips, which go through an intermediary to the troop treasury. Only adults work in the beer booths. Adults and boys work together in the soda booths. The amount the troop earns from this event varies from year to year, but in good years they have raised as much as $8,000 in a single weekend. As you can guess, this covers all the troop's annual expenses with plenty left over. I have several issues with this approach to fundraising, but my main concern is with the beer booths and whether this might violate BSA's alcohol policy. As I said, no scouts work in the beer booths, but many parents and leaders do. Some have been known to "partake" during their duty. What do you all think? Is this fundraising activity OK?

Hello. I'm glad to find this forum. I live in Maryland and my son is a Boy Scout. I am a former scout--I never got too high in rank, but I had a great time--and I was the Pack Committee Chair when my son was a Cub Scout. I have a quick question for you all which I will post on the "open discussion" forum.