oldisnewagain1

6. ...and when he does run it him/herself, listen to the DE complain no one is coming or the event was poorly attended. 7. Next year the DE will complain that no one wants to get involved in district planning

1. Plan the event 2. Calculate all the costs 3. Determine the cost for each participant so the event breaks even 4. Have the DE overrule your committee and charge double (or more) for each participant so the event makes money

No matter how the vote goes, nothing will change for our troop. (Unless my CO gets upset and then we will just find another CO.)

But there lies the problem does anyone "earn" the James West? As I understand the requirements; 1.Be a registered Scout or Scouter 2.Make, or made in your name, a contribution of $1000 or more to the local council's West Fellowship Fund. Am I missing something here?

Thank you all for your comments especially when it comes to the James West.

Has anyone ever "respectively declined" an adult award (like a James West)?

This begs the question, can you ever be beyond the DE's radar (especially during FOS)?

I was a paramedic and an instructor for First Responder and EMT. (Not that my council would use my experience.)(This message has been edited by oldisnewagain1)

Well, we prefer something a bit lighter and more suited for a colder climate http://www.junglehammock.com/ My son has been using the NX-200, at 3 lbs, as a four season hammock. The last campout, a couple of weeks ago, he stayed " toasty warm" at 15 degrees .

ScoutNut: Like many Troops we always schedule someone from council in to do a FOS presentation at an event like a Court of Honor. My objection is when I contacted to do another FOS because my troop has not met our quota. Don't get me wrong, I don't speak up against FOS in my troop but more and more I hear from parents wanting their donation to stay with the troop only. They do not feel that the council does enough for the boys.

Ask your DE for an actual accounting of the council budget and you will really see how much comes back to the units. Sadly, in our case only 2% of the budget is for programing. When asked, our DE offered up the Commissioner's service as an example of where our FOS was going. (ummm...but they are all volunteer) I really find it difficult to increase my FOS when my company hasn't seen a raise of any kind in the past 8 years.

...cause a man in a kilt is a man and a half

The answer is quite simple, the Troop does whatever the PLC decides. If they want to join a District/Council event, we do but if they don't like the sound of it they plan an alternative event.

Second class (sorry for the delay in answering) "I don't care a fig whether a Scout wears uniform or not so long as his heart is in his work and he carries out the Scout Law." This quote comes from an article LRBP wrote in the August 1913 issue of "The Scouter" which you can find here. http://www.thedump.scoutscan.com/outlook.html The series is a good read.

>Is scouting for extroverts? No, I met many an introvert in Scouting. The funny thing is most Scouts that age out are no longer introverts when they leave

Lets see... Boy lead - check Good troop committee - check Youth trained - check Adults trained - check Adults ready to help out - check Troop is growing - check Journey to Excellance - gold A supportive council - Ack! Kryponite...growing weak...

...back when cooking over an open fire was common place At Summer Camp, one day of the week was designated as patrol meals cooked in the campsite. My Scoutmaster would always remind us to "soap the pot" for easy clean up of the outside of the pot. In one patrol, shortly after the meal, many a Scout running for the latrine. When asked about the meal, the patrol cook said that the meal cooked long enough and there was no raw meat in their stew. The one thing he didn't understand, as he scrubbed the blackened pot, was why the food stuck to the bottom. The Scoutmaster was perplexed, and ask the Scout why he thought the stew wouldn't stick to the pot. That when the cause of the "gastric event" was discovered, the Scout "soaped the pot" placing a coating of liquid soap to the inside (not outside) of the pot before cooking the meal.

"What would a pack leader (CM, CC, ACM) wear for a slide with a neckerchief?" ...a different slide ever meeting http://channelingwhittlinjim.blogspot.com(This message has been edited by oldisnewagain1)

(Tongue-in-cheek) How do you make a good roundtable? Cut off the corners Perhaps, Roundtables should be online. I find these kind of discussions and the forums in general to be a better round table than the real thing. I can come and read at my own leisure without advanced event juggling. Best of all, I don't have to explain to the "keeper of the family calendar" that I'll be out at another Scout meeting. Oddly enough, through these forums, I often know lots of upcoming info before my DE gets the word from the SE or National.

I'm so thrilled to to be beaded last night with my whole patrol at a spring camporee. Even though two of us had a long car rides, (I'm out of council and in a different state), it was completely worth it to be with my fellow bears. BEAR NE-II-192

"Dare I ask what ya'll wear under them?" That's easy...socks and shoes

I would agree sr40beaver that overbooking would make resources and staff thin but in the case of the first camp, the camp was half empty. One factor I forgot to meantion, the second camp with the better facilities and food, costs less than the first camp per scout. (Also adults, within reason, were free as opposed to the first camp who wanted to charge each adult the same as a scout.)

sublimation, let me give our experience with two camps The first summer camp was, one of two camps in our somewhat newly merged council, our home each summer for a good many years. In resent years, the staff tried there best with what they had but there was an underlying sense of low moral. Perhaps this was because no one stayed in the CD position for much more than a couple of years. Perhaps it was because the camp was in need of major work and there was no funding in place for any renovations. Great staff moved on to other camps. The food wasn't good and there wasn't enough of it. (One summer we had the troop picture before dinner, at the camp staff request, then entered the dinning hall to find the kitchen had run out of dinners.) Well, both camps in our council were closed last year, in a cost cutting measure, and we found ourselves in a camp in a different council that summer. This camp had been around just as long as the first camp but their facilities were in good shape. The campsite, in which we stayed, was brand new having just been built that spring by their "service" group of volunteers. (The old site was retired.) The staff was a bit more wooden but would go out of their way to fulfill any request of the troop. I could put in a site request at the office and before I could walk back, the requested item was at the campsite. No Scout got shut out of a merit badge class as the camp added extra classes as needed. The food was my highlight. Even the pickiest 11 year old never left the mess hall hungry and I never had to use the last resort PBJ. This camp offered an incentive to hold prices at the 2011 rate if we booked early for 2012. (My council hadn't decided at that time if they would open camp in 2012.) When I asked the PLC what they wanted to do regarding summer camp the choice was very clear - the second camp. A month of so later, my council decided to open in 2012 one camp (but had not decided which camp) for two weeks of Boy Scout camp. Details on camp would follow months later. Too late for us to stay in council.

A slippery slope for sure... If it was me, I approach him with these questions and CC the course director; Help me visualize the project. Would you explain it? When will you begin the project? How long will it take to complete? Will you need others to help you prepare or help during the presentation? What materials will you need to prepare and present the presentation? What steps will you need to take before the presentation? What is your backup plan? (Hey, projectors have been known to fail at the worst times.) Who knows he might see some issues with his plan or have all the answers that will calm your fears.

Could a Scouter be registered in two different councils? For example, a Scoutmaster in the town he (or she) lives and they were a venture advisor where they work? Is it possible to be alumni in a third?