NE-IV-88-Beaver

While they seemed to focus on the Venture Scouts on the float, it was hard to miss the 300 Eagle Scouts marching with it. They got a good deal of play as well. It's a shame that the flyover cut the coverage short. Another good plug for Scouting in general were the Scouts from all phases acting as standard bearers before each unit in the parade. All in all, a very positive day for Scouting in 2010!!

Ahhhhhhhhhhh......to look back to when I was just old and feeble, what I now call the good old days!!!

"The boy did not "fail" the BOR, they only postponed their decision to give the boy more time to work throught his POR. Had they "completed" the BOR, even if he "failed", they would still have to award the rank." If he failed, why would they award the rank? That doesn't make any sense. Why bother to have one if that is the case? Have it, they fail, give them the reasons, outline the steps necessary to satisfy opportunities for improvement and give them the time to do it! I thought that was the way it was supposed to work. "There is a reason why the SM isn't in on the BOR's. If they find something awry, they can ask the SM what he recommends on the situation before making their decision. The SM has his part in the process and the CC/Comm have their part and because there are two different requirements, there's two different obligations and responsibilities occuring here. Remember, these requirements are only by TRADITION in this order. There's no requirement that says the SM Conference must preceed a BOR. After all a BOR's can be held at any time!" I believe that the requirement is for the SM Conference to proceed the BOR if the BOR is being held for the purpose of the Scout's advancement in rank. BOR's can be held for other purposes "at any time". Do yourself and your boys a favor and discontinue the policy of having anyone other than the SM sign off on the successful completion of POR's and Scout Spirit. This is your job and doesn't have anything to do with having a "boy-led" program. This is your time to evaluate and coach in how well that particular boy is functioning in that "boy-led" program.

"Actually, no. Not in our district. The chair asks, "anyone have any concerns?". " And isn't that a method of voting?

A "good" CC should be able to read his committee and realize whether or not there is consensus on an issue or that a vote may be needed to determine everyone's position. Often, taking a vote will bring a debate to an end and the meeting can be put back on track. It also eliminates the possibility of confusing which side of an issue that someone is truly on. My committee may go for several months without having an issue contentious enough to require a vote or there may be a single meeting where several votes are necessary. To say that a committee can't vote is mind-boggling to me! We vote at an Eagle Board of Review, don't we? Isn't getting the consensus, in fact, a form of voting, whether it is formal or not? We shouldn't limit ourselves in doing whatever is necessary to get the job done!!!

If they completed a merit badge at camp, there should be a signed off card for that badge. In answer to your question about first aid, they need to see a counselor to get signed off. The counselor may elect to accept the certification for meeting some of the requirements but is not required to.

Always great to see this type of publicity as opposed to the kind out of New Hampshire last week.

Unbelievable!!! Nominations had to be in to the committee just 9 days after BHO took office. I'm hard pressed to remember the specifics of that period that warranted this honor other than just his being inaugurated.

From kittle - "The question asked of the Cub Master was only if their Pack met during the summer, which the answer was yes. Then was asked if my son attended those meeting, which the answer was yes. I am an ASM with the Troop and have been helping this new Pack get started and going strong as they are a very small Pack from a very small town. I went to any meeting with him that I did not have to work. Part of the problem is that the SM never wrote down in the records when my son started as Den Chief." Obviously we don't know for sure what the problem was, but from the above I would be willing to hazard a guess that the question came up as to whether said Scout completed his POR time as Den Chief because dens were probably not meeting during summer months. If this was the case, it should have been anticipated and an agreement made between the Scout and Scoutmaster as to what his requirement time frame would be (to count summer or not).

OGE - I'm in agreement with you on Social Security. Just some rough calculations show that they're giving me in one year what I gave them in three years. So I have to collect for at least 13+ years to get my and my employer's contributions back. Now I'd like to think that if I'd saved it myself, and invested it half-way wisely, it would have earned at least enough in interest or dividends to buy me another 5 years. So now I'm up to collecting for at least 18 years before I'm getting any money that wasn't mine to begin with. Somehow, I fail to see how that qualifies as an "entitlement", either.

"didnt the President, while on the campaign trail, have solutions for most if not all these ills? Can't he just put into place the solutions that he promised?" OGE - That's kind of the point, isn't it! What happened to all of those solutions? Just call some of dem good ol' boys in from the Hill, tell 'em what the fixes are and get 'em going. That's the "change" that we were looking for, so now's the time to deliver the goods. Stop blaming the other side for blocking the Prez's plans when he hasn't really told us what they are. I'm still waiting for the first detailed plan to emanate from the White House.

Aw right Gern, you got me! You're right, he should multi-task. Let him pick two problems and get them solved! That would seem to be better than just using a scatter-shot approach in bringing all of these problems to the forefront without putting forth any concrete solutions. And yes, there must be some priorities established. What issues cause the most concern to the American people, you know the people that all of da folks (sorry, Beav) in Washington are supposed to be representing?

President Obama seemed to be swept into the highest office in the land with his cry for "Change, Change, Change". What would be a real change would be if he rolled up his sleeves, took the bull by the horns, actually came up with a real plan for change on his own and then put together a group to actually see it pushed through. So far, IMHO, it seems that all he has done is identified obvious problems, that we all see, and asked for the "clowns" in Congress to come up with a plan to correct them, in a lot of cases the same clowns who passed the legislation that either created the problem or allowed it to continue and flourish. Last night on SNL they opened with an Obama skit with a checklist on problems solved and unfortunately there wasn't a single item that could be checked off as completed. What's the tie-in with the subject at hand - that's why I object to him going to Copenhagen to promote an event scheduled for 2016. Instead stay here and put some effort into solving our current problems; Oprah, Michelle and a video from BHO probably would have been more than sufficient. President Obama, please do what you were elected to do and govern! Pick one problem and get it solved, stop flitting from one to another and creating more turmoil. I'm a sixty-something guy who has never seen so many problems brought up in such a short time in office and yet, not a single effective solution put in place. And all of this from a conservative registered Democrat, perhaps that's an oxymoron in itself!

Went to one a few years back that had a number of the original Norman Rockwell Scout paintings most of which had found their way onto the cover of Boy's Life. I found it very worth-while. I think you will too if you enjoy that type of artwork.

I think that you got the gist of my message correctly, fighterpilot. That is an important distinction that some units miss. And a belated wecome to the forum as well!

They can only be registered in one position in the troop, even though they could in fact fill two roles. Registration would determine whether or not they are actually committee members. ASM's are tricky at this point because as an ASM they can't serve on a Board of Review whereas they could as a committee member. An important point to remember so an advancement report doesn't get rejected.

Good post, John-in-KC. The opportunities are there if we look for them. I'm a firm believer in having the Scouts work out the learning process on their own. The official position is Merit Badge Counselor, not Merit Badge Teacher. IMHO a counselor's job is to review the requirements and clarify expectations, point them in the right direction, give them some coaching when necessary, and review what they have done to fulfill the requirements, not teach them and lead them through the whole process, step by step. As Merit Badge Counselor Coordinator for my district, I unfortunately find that there are fewer and fewer adults willing to counsel district-wide, most are troop only. This is a real reversal over the last 25 years. More and more units feel that they need to cover all of the merit badges in-house rather than giving their Scouts the opportunity to meet and interact with some new and interesting individuals. When my sons were going through the program, most of their counselors were at least 20 miles away. Their life experiences in working with counselors that they didn't know were well worth the time and effort on my part getting them there. On the safety side of this, I knew most of the counselors through district activities. IMO, it would be great if more of our troops bought into that philosophy, our Scouts would wind up better prepared for life in the world today.

"Adult uniformed leaders" is not a very descriptive term. As Committee Chairman, I'm often in uniform. Scoutmasters and Assistant Scoutmasters can not serve on the Troop Committee. They may attend the meetings but can not vote.

meschen - The DE doesn't recruit or assign Unit Commissioners, that is the job of the District Commissioner. It has been suggested that MamaCM contact the District Commissioner and that would be a good move on her part. Another point that hasn't been mentioned is that many districts have a group of trainers that are ready and willing to step in to lend assistance when a pack is in trouble. The District Commissioner should be able to tell MamaCM whether or not that type of assistance is available to help her get her group organized since she is starting with very little background in the Scouting program. Having your DE as a neighbor will be a tremendous help as you sort things out.

MamaCM - Some packs do have individual Scouts accounts for their boys, normally giving them some portion of any fund-raising dollars that the boys have raised. It is not unusual for the monies in these accounts to be transferred over to the troop that these Webelos join. This is based on there being a formal plan in place though, not just being done on a whim for a particular group of boys. Before these three boys leave with $1000, you should be shown evidence that a formal plan was in place and that there are, in fact, individual Scout accounts established. This is important information for you to have because a portion of the $2000 left could be committed to those accounts, thus leaving you with a lot less than you thought that you were going to have access to for the operation of the pack. I know that it is easy for all of us strangers out here to be saying what you ought to be doing but you've got a problem. The treasurer is probably going to be writing that check before the records are turned over to you. That probability makes it imperative that you contact your COR right away. Hopefully the troop that they are going to is sponsored by the same church as the pack. At least than the pack stands a chance of getting the money back if it shouldn't have gone with these three boys. Good luck with your new endeavor! Hopefully this episode is only a bump in the road for you and that you get lots of enjoyment out of your association with the Scouting movement.

Thankfully all chapters are not like that!! Like most chapters, we often have more adults than youth at our chapter meetings ............. but the Chapter Adviser gets a minute at the end of the meeting, other than that, the officers are running their meeting. Note - their meeting, not ours! I enjoyed attending chapter meetings particularly while I was District Chairman. I was sure that I wouldn't be asked to say anything, unlike any other meeting that I attended during that time. If you are a member of a chapter like the one described by ntrog8r, please invite the offending adults out for that proverbial cup of coffee and ask them to "please back off, chill out, and let the youth do their thing!"

Many council camps have put pavilions in each campsite for safety reasons. The reason given in my council was that they were to be used as a gathering spot during thunder storms. In the past, with severe lightning in the area, they had tried to gather everyone under the main dining pavilions which could get quite cramped for space. Getting everyone under a pavilion also gets everyone out of their tents to prevent them being struck by falling tree branches during the storm, obviously tents don't offer a great deal of protection. The pavilion in the campsite takes the place of tarps that we had set up as a central gathering spot for all of the normal activities mentioned by others above.

Excellent thoughts, Hal! I'll join you in saying that prayer.

If my memory serves me correctly, the original expansion of the Webelos was to a full two-year program. It was then found that the number of boys bridging over into Boy Scouts was dropping off. National then scaled the Webelos program back to eighteen months and encouraged bridging to be held between December and February. This change would allow the new Scouts to be fully indoctrinated into a troop before summer camp, enabling them to attend this sometimes daunting experience as seasoned Scouts. In districts and councils that made this change, the bridging and retention numbers went up. In my own district, it took about four years to really accomplish this change. The staff running the Webelos' Camporee in the late spring were the main group opposed to the change as it did away with their big AOL ceremony. It finally came to the point of telling them that the Webelos' Camporee was going on the district calendar in the fall and if they couldn't deal with it, a new staff would be recruited. After that, it was an easy transition to get almost all of our packs doing bridging ceremonies within the suggested months, with most of them incorporating it into their Blue and Gold Banquet. This meant that most of the Webelos had bridged prior to our Scout Camporee and had a big activity to participate in right away. Within a year, we found that our numbers were heading in the right direction. While I mention numbers and sound almost like a professional, I'm not. The numbers that were and are important to me represent youth taking advantage of and enjoying the program of which we are all a part.

Apparently our old Wood Badge beads (got mine in 1997) aren't worth a lot in today's Scouting program! I looked up the requirements today to be able to serve on NYLT adult staff and they state that you must have taken WB21C or served on WB21C staff, not just be Wood Badge trained. Doesn't matter that I've served on Brownsea JLT staff for over 20 years. Requirements for SM and SA for the 2010 Jamboree stated that they must have taken WB21C. I feel so worthless! If our training was so pathetic as not to qualify us to staff any future programs, why did they take our name, beads, woggles, and neckerchiefs as their own? If WB21C is so advanced and elite, why didn't they come up with something different to distinguish them from us old WB types? I guess they figured that we'd all eventually die off and then there wouldn't be any need for further discrimination and the regalia would again be pure. Just a minor rant.............I feel better now!