Basementdweller

Nope not any more It is a popularity contest....had a neighboring Scout Master APPOINT his first year Grandson to the OA. he was a tenderfoot. Grandpa is going it get his eagle. What I have seen of the OA 90% are sash and dash.

What do you think a budget is supposed to be???????? We have X amount of dollars in our budget......of that we spend A on Advancement.....B on Pinewood Derby and Trophys.....C on Pack meeting Refreshements.....D on Den materials......E on training......F on Blue and Gold......G scholarship.....H on Pack Recharter fees....I Raingutter regattta on and on and on.. After all that is added up we need to have X dollars to provide our program. We sell popcorn, wash car windows during church for tips, sell flower bulbs and usually get enough to do it. We can't afford Scout night at the major league ball park or pro hockey game or many of the big council or district events......we leave that up to the families. On one of the sports outings we could easily out spend our entire yearly budget. Just because X is a small number doe not mean we don't have a budget...... I am providing a program with what is available.

Brent that is why the sheet is so ridiculous. I don't understand what you find so hard to believe, look at the requirements on the sheet. It is silly, Do you want a paragraph with a bunch of I did's.....because that is what happened. We have a budget, is easy enough. NOTHING TO DO WITH PARENTS succession plan.....pretty simple....recruit new tiger leader from incoming families the previous tiger leader becomes the wolf leader who becomes the bear leader who becomes ACM. CM remains as does the committee with no change. pretty simple me. the den leader is back the parent/scout is gone. NOTHING TO DO WITH PARENTS Day camp was put on with the help of the troop NOTHING TO DO WITH PARENTS leaders are 100% trained NOTHING TO DO WITH PARENTS The SM and I are taking the webelos to resident camp no parents volunteered. Conservation and Public service project are available for participation

pretty easy. 1. the only boys who didn't advance were the ones that dropped. with that we were 90% 2. We retain 90% of our youth...only lost 4 webs this year to sports 3. We nearly doubled the size or our pack 4. We hike monthly and family camp twice a year, plus our conservation projects 5. 100% of our leadership is completely trained. we have two leaders baloo and owl trained 6. Resident camp webs go out of council and the cubs we do our own thing 7. We do earth day weekend, three projects total, then a local creek clean up and park work day 8. Succession plan for 2011-12 was done in january 9. We transition 75% of our webelos into the troop.....way up from previous years I took this real personal, my goal was to crossover 10 boys and it ended up only being 7, a personal failure. 10. Budget for 2011-12 was done in January 11. Committee meets monthly year round 12. Annual assessment form?????????? no clue

Day camp is $75 and requires a 60 mile a day round trip in rush hour cross town traffic. The big van we drives get 8 miles to the gallon that means $30 per day in gas X 5 days that is $150. so our cost approaches $90 per scout. Remember who I serve.....that is a bunch of money to most of them.(This message has been edited by Basementdweller)

It could be a patrol activity as long as they didn't pitch a tent.

Eagle 92 mentions this program in the thread I spun this off for..... Why bother to participate??? Is it about the patch on the uniform????? We do all 13 points, budget, succesion, service, camping and outdoors. I will not have national dictate my program too me. Like many here I find the Council and district programs are too expensive and horribly run. So we put on our own webelos woods for our pack and a neighboring pack with the help of the troop. We put on our own day camp at a local park.... District told me that our local day camp does not count. I really don't care about quality unit.....I don't care what color the District thinks our pack is......I don't care what the district committee does. I care about my scouts, they are having fun, it is affordable and their parents see the value in continuing it. Oh, and while they are having fun they might actually learn something.

Had a tour permit denied because of location........In our council farmer bobs back 40 won't get approved, but oddly enough backpacking in the national forest will??????????? As for the approved location. By all means put on the day camp yourself......You could do it at a local park for next to zero cost. the only thing you couldn't do is bb and archery. You wouldn't even need baloo if it was a day camp. We do a webelos advancement weekend one a year that way. 10 bucks a scout compared to the councils 75. very nice in deed

So are recent Eagles better or worse than older Eagles?????? So is an Eagle scout who murders.....better or worse at 18, 30, 40 or 60 years of age????? I think it is irrelevant. He is a dirt bag and cocky his interview is pathetic. I would cringe if I was his attorney after reading that. I don't think all that much of the Eagle rank any more......Seen some really terrible families receive it and some horribly weak scouts who now get to call themselves eagles. I am an Eagle........(This message has been edited by Basementdweller)

Bullying is over rated. I had my head dunked in the toilet for years, my trumpet case packed with snow, my locker glued shut, called everything but smart in high school. My revenge was showing up to the class reunion with a nice truck, and beautiful wife. Amazing how those football jocks look after 25 years.....and how pathetic they are reliving the football years.......I am glad my live didn't peak at 17 and I am still creating fantasic memories. Bullying is an excuse for bad or lack of parenting. Guess dad should have paid a little closer attention to JR.

Our esteemed Eagles are merely people after all. Why is it a surprise that a percentage of them are criminals????? Sure he said the oath and law probably on a weekly basis. It is merely words to be repeated. Sadly I know a number of dead beat Eagles, Twenty and Thirty something eagles that live at home with their parents, playing video games and getting stoned, a couple work as gas station attendants, other are on disability for addiction, classic isn't it. They turn up at district and council events from time to time. How do you explain a stoner Eagle to your wolf den????? Eagle's are just people after all

Fair enough......accidents happen. Scouts play with fire....knives and such. I am wondering what he did. Never heard of council considering banning a kid for life.

It is easy to pat your self on the back for being the most active troop in the council. You and son jump in the car and go do that activity and the troop participated. Try that with 10 or 20 boys. Remember it is boy lead. I would call the boys and find out why the dropped out and see what you can do to get them to rejoin. I would recruit, recruit recruit. 1800 people there has to be 5 or 6 boys scout age that would be interested in scouting. you just need to find them. Cooking the books is a violation of the scout law and I would not do it. I would go lone scout or find a troop in a nearby town before I would cook the books

acco40 Why can't you believe the responses? We are guardians of our charges after all. As a parent of a scout, I believe that the Troop leadership are guardians of my son when I am not present. They have his best interest in mind and will keep him safe from most obvious threats. I consider this young man a threat to my son. I would not want him in my sons troop. With that said, this young man may or may not be a threat. we don't know what happened for council to get involved and maybe remove him from scouting for life. I am guessing it was pretty serious, this isn't a stolen knife or candy bar, this was life threatening or something sexual. all we know is that it was unscoutlike. Run the law. For with holding the information from the new troop Trustworthy.....ahhh no Loyal......ahhh no again, not to scouting helpful.... nope, not to the new SM. but possibly the scout Friendly... Nope your sticking the new troop with a lemon courteous... no, calling letting the SM know would be courteous, Not so much for the scout kind........ We gotta ask kind to who, the perp or the scout he hurts in the future obedient.... Yes your transferring the records Cheerful.... Glad he is gone????? Thrifty..... Irrelevant Brave....... No tell the new SM the deal is tougher than hiding it. Clean ...... Yes probably if you your thinking giving him a clean slate Reverent.... God is forgiving, so possibly Again with out knowing the exactly what happened, I don't know what I would do. I will ask the group. So is risking your entire program and the damage a known bad scout and his family can cause is it worth the risk????? How many boys and familys are you willing to lose over him? He had his chance and blew it, If I was SM I would not let him join my troop, especially knowing that council considered a lifetime ban, don't care what he did at that point. But that is just me, I have seen what destructive familys and scouts can do to a troop, pack or crew.

Let me see, to over hear someone talking about me in engish or polish????? I think I chose polish that way I don't have bad feelings toward them. I have a couple of questions about how your pack functions and meets. You mentioned a couple of weeks and tiger table. Does the entire pack share a common meeting room on a weekly basis????? If it does I would do everything in my power to find seperate meeting times or spaces. The pack is not supposed to meet in the same room every week, just for pack meeting and special events. Problems like you describe pop up as a result. Rude people are rude people no matter what they speak, Women will be catty right to each others faces, I have found men will be more discrete. I work at a large institution and we have many immigrants, they speak all sorts of languages in the public spaces. Yes it creates jealousy and trust issues, yes they are talking about you, I recorded a bit and had a friend interpret what they were saying. I would handle them just as I would any other rude parent. If they are disruptive, ask them to take the conversation to the hallway. They won't be talking about the other moms any more, I guarantee it.

How about actual trained instructors that know the CURRENT material and the G2SS. Don't read directly out of the books, I don't need a training course for that. Give the current proceedure for getting a tour permit and why, Been thru too many courses where I know the material better than the instructor. I loved my IOLS training where the instructor when on and on about the fixed blade ban....hmmmm. He went on and on about minimum tent sizes.....hmmmmmmm. He went on and on about white gas stoves being banned.....hmmmmm. Knots???? Hard to respect the guy who is teaching you knots when you can tie them better than them...... Don't waste my time is a biggy. To attend training I have taken time away from family, pack, troop and crew.

Well, I would call and provide them the facts, including the troop master record. i would let them know that he was expelled the from your troop and what for...... If council is banning him for life then he will never eagle. Just curious what did he do???? PM me if you like.

There are others who posted here that did not have positive wood badge experiences. Yes I went with a positive attitude, It was at my favorite camp and the weather was beautiful, I knew most of the people and considered many of them friends. I was looking forward to a great time. The IOLS course directors loading their patrols with their staff, the screwing around by staff at gillwell. on and on and on and on.....then the collimation of my patrol going home leaving me to haul all the gear out by myself. Yep, the staff were pissed I was still in the campsite hauling gear out near dark, but not a one helped. He was sitting in his golf cart while I struggled with patrol box and dinning fly in the wagon up cardiac hill. He was complaining his dinner was getting cold. the way the tickets were handled......We had some finish in less than 2 months......

It is possible he may have AS. But if he does it is not on any medical form and the leadership is unaware of it. I did my bit. Spoke with the SM and COR last night about what is/was going on and what I witnessed first hand and what was written in his book. I spoke of my concern about his behavior on outings and about pending summer camp. I discussed my doubt about his fulfilling the rank advancement requirements for tenderfoot and his pending second class. I am dropping it because it is none of my business.

Acco I was at the events I questioned, the boy was there an hour never lifted a shovel or moved a wheel barrow, complained the entire time and left with mom who returned with milkshakes for him. He claimed 8 hours of work. it goes on and on. Fair enough, I have seen too much and I am bias. I will keep my mouth shut and watch this young man get his eagle. I will watch silently as they work the ASM's and PL to get the requirements signed off complete or not, knowledge or not. I will watch silently as they have pizza delivered to the camp site for them. I will watch silently as he refuses to participate with his patrol. I will watch silently as they leave resident camp for the safety of the motel and hot tub I will watch silently as he receives his Eagle. I will remember this thread and my fellow scouters who thought I was being unfair and judging this boy unfairly. I will remember that as a leader I have failed. You are correct it really isn't any of my business, Advancement it the concern of the SM.

Your right Calico our Adult leadership is terrible. I guess you missed the part where I caught them working the ASM's and PL's trying to get requirements signed off. then dad coaching him from behind the PL's back. Yes that is all our fault.(This message has been edited by Basementdweller)

They are reasonably priced, might be worth the risk buying one. I stick with the big guys when buying something like a tent. Eureka, Mountain hard ware, Alps, Marmot.

Is it worth it? Do you want to be SM on the Jambo trip? Yes it is worth it Do you like to add bling to your uniform? Yes it is worth it Join the good old woodbadge boys club? Yes it is worth it. Learn anything that will help me deal with a drug addicted mom who drops her boy off at scouts because he needs a male role model. NOPE Deal with boys chosing sports or band over scouting. NOPE Dealing with parents hitting and cussing you and your volunteers. NOpe Dealing with boys chosing world of war craft over the scouting world. Nope A word of advice. Make sure your patrol helps get the campsite tore down before the last giwell, otherwise you will probably end up tearing down and hauling it out yourself. Biggest waste of 6 days and $300, not to mention the unpaid days off work, time away from family and the troop.

Nothing said here is taken personal......this media is just about as impersonal as it gets. I am a little annoyed with Calico......So what is Help???? Where is the mythical he helped or didn't help line?????? The kid is a punk and his family are jerks....there I said it. If I had my way his ass would have been thrown out of the troop after the summer camp debacle. He would go out to eat every night at applebees or a steak house, eat breakfast at IHOP, go swim in the motel pool, soak in the hot tub and then brag to the other scouts about it. Had it been my decision, I would have sent him home. There is no way you could know or understand the complete circumstance as to what is going on. I was asking about IMHO falsifying his scout service records. His refusal to join the troop in the simplest of activities and attitude to the other boys.(This message has been edited by Basementdweller)

we ran 2 heats which mean with sibs and adults we ran 150 races did it in about 2 hours Jerry