Pack212Scouter

It was a decent movie, not great, not bad. Not really a good representation of Boy Scout summer camp, but the humor was relative and familiar to camp for the most part. As for the song, I personally love it and so do my Scout kids.

Our Pack doesn't budget much for AOL outside of the presentation program. Each family chooses and pays for the plaque that they want and for however extravagant reception the families want.

We have several winter activites, although we don't always do all of them. We have a Webelos Winter Camp, were we rent the OA lodge and surrounding shelters for the first weekend in January and do some pin-work and a hike (The lodge has a small kitchen and central heat, the shelters have woodstoves. this one runs about $20pp with all meals included). We have done cave overnighters (we have a couple of caves in the area that have an overnight program and you can sleep in the cave in bunks, the program is around $50pp). We also have done ski trips to some local ski areas, both as a day event and as an overnighter where we rent rooms.( The ski option is a little more expensive, running about $100pp for an overnighter)

My brother got be a set of the Jambo shoulder loops while he was there this summer (yes I know that you are only supposed to wear them if you attended, but they are a cool collectors item). Anyway, the package that he got me there only had one loop when I opened it. Does anyone have any idea if there is a way to contact someone about this?

Boomerscout, gotta watch those generalities. I'm not a non-profit lawyer, but to the best of my knowlege, any local rules apply to how the non-profit organization handles the money, not how it is handled by the person collecting it, varying depending on whether it is collected as the non-profit, or as a member of the non-profit. There are a lot of legal variables that a blanket statement cannot cover.(This message has been edited by pack212scouter)

We hold the meeting in place of a regular Den meeting on a God & Country night. The first couple of times we ran it straight through (4 weeks for God & Me, 6 weeks for God & Family, plus a review night). The majority of the comments from Scout families was that it was too much bible study and not enough Scouts. The last few times we replace one meeting a month with a G&C meeting. This has worked out great for us. First off, it doesn't shut out any Scouts not wanting to participate for two months. Secondly, it lets Scouts stay active Scouting. The reason that we run it every two years for Wolf-Webelos, no Tigers, is twofold. First although Tigers can do God & Me, the Tiger program is very stuctured on a monthly system. Secondly, this gives each Scout a chance to earn both the God & Me and the God & Family award without repeating any of the programs.

In the matter od Popcorn sales, our unit prefers that the parent deposit any cash collected and then turn it in with one check. There are a couple of good reasons for and on against. Against it is the possibility that they might use the funds, but that is equally a risk with cash laying around. The reasons for it are twofold, it eliminates the risk of cash getting lost in the house, and in the case of our Pack, we really don't want the Committee Chair having to transport $70,000 to the bank in cash!

We run the God & Country program as a Pack every two years for Wolf-Webelos. Our church views Scouting as part of their youth program and outreach. We present the Protestant PRAY program to the youth. Youth are not required to attend on those nights and if the family desires, we will get them into a different religious award program.

Yes you should be concerned. Anytime someone owes teh unit that much money its an issue! Now that said, she may honestly be having a hard time getting it to you. Or she may have used the money and is trying to get it together to give to you and is too embarased to say so. Or she might have just out and out stole it. Of the three scenarios, I would guess that the second is probably the more accurate in my experience. That said, the unit needs to try to recoup that money, but your options are limited. You can keep badgering, you can see if your CO can help with it, you can use legal action, but that would probably be your CO who in most cases wouldn't bother for $400. I certainly would not recharter the lad until something is figured out.

We don't have one, but I think it would be a good idea. To me the Membership Chair would be someone who ran the recruitment drives (or at least organized them), school night, roundup, and made sure that the unit had all the proper Registrations, medical forms, etc; and helped with recharter. The later part would be the more important to me, as the Cubmaster can handle the first part easily enough.

I think that other than the economy, the presentation of these high adventure bases has changed and that affects it. What I have heard locally is "You can go to Philmont and backpack...you can go to Northern Tier and canoe...you can go to Sea Base and swim..." The boys hear this and think "I can do that here cheaper." The presentation needs to be "You can go here and do these things in a location that is really different and cool." It's not about the backpacking or the canoeing, or the swimming (yeah I know they sail, SCUBA, etc). It is about the adventure, and I think alot of that has been lost in the presentations that I have seen.

Our Pack has a scholarship fund for those in need, however as far as dues, we have a specific policy. If they need a Scholarship, we cover it (I know not all Packs are able to do this). If they just are not paying, then we give them until after the conclusion of Popcorn sales (End of Oct) to pay their dues, that way they can use popcorn income (Scout gets 25% of the gross that he sells, they are also required to sell if they are scholarshipped). If they are not payed after that, they do not get Nov/Dec awards and we don't recharter them in January. We make sure not to shock them though. Come Nov they get an "account statement" showing what is owed.

I wish we'd see more information on this...The reason could be much the opposite. I used to live out west in the 70's and mineral rights were a big deal if you wanted to keep a company from coming in a doing what they wanted on or under your property. I would hope that this means that BSA though far enough ahead to protect the property. As for the High Adventure Base, I have heard that it has been pushed back to a 2014 opening, as they want to concentrate on Jambo 2013 first. That being the case, I would anticipate applications to open around Fall 2012 or Spring 2013(This message has been edited by pack212scouter)

It's quite interesting to read all the variations in what "should" be done. Our Council for instance has the Scout-O-Rama campout (which Packs are invited to) in mid-March and our District Cub-O-Ree is in mid-October. In both instances it is not unuasual for nightime temperatures to drop to 30 degress or even slightly cooler. I think that this big thing that you have to consider is is cold weather camping unusual in your area? For instance in central Alaska, you might not ever camp if you required the temp to stay above 40 or 50 at night. In Florida or southern California it might be considered extreme if the temperature got to 50. the second thing to consider is do your families and/or Pack have proper gear for this temperature. This may or may not be an issue. One additional thing to consider is age. Our Pack for instance does a Webelos Winter Camp. It is cabin camping, however some Webelos and adults choose to camp out on cots in the covered screened porch. They do this will no issues every year when the temps drop below freezing.(This message has been edited by pack212scouter)

We use PackMaster and SOAR. Integration is pretty smooth and it is easy to set up. SOAR has it's advantages and disadvantages. It is very easy to set up, learn and use. There is some limitation in how custom your website can look. One huge advantage is that all of your roster imports from PackMaster, including awards, emails, etc. When contacting them, use email. They are usually very fast responding to emails.(This message has been edited by pack212scouter)

We are a large Pack, but we also run with several ACMs. Much like Eagle's Pack, we have an ACM for Wolves & Bears who is usually the current CM's successor (We try to get a new CM every 2-3 years to prevent burnout). We also have a Tiger ACM to look over the Tiger Dens, this person usually just came out of Tigers and has the experience fresh in their mind. We also have a Webelos ACM who is responsible for coordinating the Webelos Dens and making sure that they are on track for a smooth transition to Boy Scouts, this is usually someone who has already has a Scout go through Webelos into Boy Scouts.

A lot of money, yes. But it doesn't take much for one to get there anymore. It is mostly pre-graded, yes. However you are talking about 10,000 acres of infrastructure...water, sewer, power, internet, roads. You are talking about them being usuable on a continueing basis. Not just for two weeks. Not even for just two weeks every four years. You are talking about a national summer camp running 30,000 Scouts a year through, PLUS the High Adventure Base with maybe another 30,000? You are also taking about things such as the bridge, not necessary you say? This is West Virginia, try getting 5,000 Scouts across a roaring drainage area after a storm. There is also the construction of three lakes. Then there is the High Adventure Base, the training center, etc. Now add in the fact that it is being done "green" which also increases costs. This is a major project, not your local forest site with 20 campsites.

He's a Cub Scout, not a Marine Sniper, and he is not being trained as one. If he shot in a free shoot under qualified adult supervision for 50 minutes a day, he blew the requirements out of the water, especially if he hit the target on a regular basis. Does it mean that he is ready to pick up your 30-06 and shoot a buck, no. What it means is exactly what it says "Demonstrate...good BB gun shooting techniques..."

An interesting question. It has evolved over the years. When he started, it was because I wanted to get him involved in something and I liked the Scouting values and leadership development. Then he stayed in Cubs because of the fun activities. After a short while, he found his niche in Scouting when he realized that he lived for the outdoors.

It really depends on how the unit feels. My personal feeling align pretty closely with what our unit does. We set Scout dues based on the next year's anticipated expenses. We use Scout accounts, so the little that the unit keeps goes to any additional overhead, the remainder usually gets spent on community service projects. We actually seperate the account into several sub-accounts so that the money's purpose is more obvious. Our general fund carries enough in the account to cover awards and expenses until the next fall; we have a Scout account account; we have a recharter account where those funds are seperated out immediately for the next recharter; we have a scholarship account; and we have a capital expense account. The scholarship account usually stays as heavily funded as we can keep it (We spent $1400 out of it this year, so we are now keeping it as close to $3000 as possible). Additionally, the capital expense account grows every year until those expenditures are done. The biggest thing that you might want to consider is that you don't want to spend down to the last cent. Our unit did that once many years ago and almost got shut down by our CO. You should carry enough over your estimated expenses to cover any potential shortfalls. You could have to replace non-unit equipment damaged by accident or you could incur an unplanned expense such as the additional $5 per Scout that BSA thew on at recharter last spring.

Our Pack incorperates songs into Pack Meetings. They will never admit it publicly, but the boys love it. We usually have one or two silly songs (Baby Shark, No Banannas in the Sky, and the like) and close with the Cub Scout Vespers song.(This message has been edited by pack212scouter)

Without Bobcat, they can still work on things with the rest of the Den, they just cannot earn anything until their Bobcat is complete. Something that you need to be aware of is that most of the Bobcat does not need to be memorized, all that they have to do is show and tell what it means. Bobcat has two purposes, first to familiarize the Scout and their parent with the Cub Scout program, second to get them a quick rank for positive feedback. Don't make this too hard for them.

LOL...I assume that your being sarcastic, since that's not allowed! As for making an appointment before Pack leadership dropping in, that is highly suspect. If it was in her home, them she might have that right, however she is now on school property and Pack leadership is responsible to the school. I certainly would not follow such rules. For one thing, dropping in unannounced is a great way to see what is really going on. Sounds like she wants to run it her way and to devil with everyone else. With an attitude like that it would no surprise me to see some G2SS violations out of her. I know it is a long ways off, but Webelos should take significantly more effort than this. If she breezes them through Webelos like this, it would not surprise me to see a neer 100% drop the first year of Boy Scouts when they discover that Scouting does indeed occasionally require real work.

You aren't the only Pack Our CO provides meeting rooms and requires that we meet on-site for both supervision reasons and accountablity. Additionally our Council wants a tour permit any time a Den meets somewhere other than it's regularly scheduled location. So, as a result, regular Den Meetings need to be on campus. After two years as Cubmaster and four in the Pack, I much prefer this scenario. It gives the Cubmasters a chance to look in on every Den Meeting at least once or twice a month and intercept any problems that are brewing. It gives us a chance to disseminate information to the Dens & Leaders on a one-on-one basis. And it provides a central point for parents to have contact with Pack leadership.(This message has been edited by pack212scouter)

I don't have any done yet, but I have some Bears that will probably be done before Christmas break. It is certainly possible if they are active and concentrate on advancement requirements, and especially if they went to resident camp and/or day camp. We ask our Dens to break up advancement with Belt Loops for some fun. It sounds to me like boys may be dropping because Cub Scouts feels too much like school and homework in this Den. I would be worried, but it sounds like you are in a corner with this Den. You only have one leader? So no backup. If you drop her (or rather your CO would really have to be to one to remove her) then you may vary well have the Den fold anyway. The bottom line is that in Cub Scouts it is parent signed advancement, so proof is really not needed. If they say that they have done something, you pretty much have to take their word for it. Something that you might consider doing is if you have access to your District Executive or Unit Commissioner, see if they would meet with the two of you and explain the need for fun in the program to retain boys. It might get through to her better if it comes from "professional" Scouters.(This message has been edited by pack212scouter)