Pack38Scouter

Please stop ... and allow me to withdraw my comment that seems to touch off other sensitive issues other than its original intent ... to get everyone to rally behind Mike Lahoff. No malice is behind my post other than its good intention. My apologies to Ed. My prayers and best wishes for full and complete recovery to Mike Lahoff ... from a fellow scouter. No more ... no less ... and no hidden meanings! Good luck to all in your scouting journey! YIS

Ed ... I am, on the other hand, somewhat disappointed. Of the 808 active users that I am starring at, we can only muster 13 well-wishes, prayers and concerns! We have well over 230 folks who have viewed this thread. Come on Scouters ... let's cheer on our fellow brother and get him back on his feet soon! Let seek the blessings from the highest authority from your respective religion and pray for Mike Lahoff full and speedy recovery and nothing less! Let's make this thread longer than that 12 pages in the "Politics Forum." Everyone who is reading this should join in ... Scouts and/or Scouters. Let Mr. Lahoff knows that he is volunteering for an organization full of volunteers who care and who are behind him 110% during his recovery! YIS

No KoreaScouter ... but not bad of an idea. One problem though ... the only people who know the tune are the "older" crowd ... I mean "older crowd"! Yep ... even some of the late 20's and early 30's parents don't know it! I had to play Roy Roger's song on the background so that the boys and the "younger parents" would know the tune and follow along! Either way, our 2nd-Webelos got a kick out of it. Hopefully, we get the same reaction from this year 2nd-year.

I guess that I am not surprised to see a lot of responses (150 to 300) and postings to touchy issues such as "gay" and "atheist" ... it's human instinct to be antagonists. Sometimes, some of these topics will get 10 responses in an hour. Yet Ed Mori's news of Mike Lahoff tragedy on the "Open Discussions" Forum gets only 14 well-wishes and prayers in the last 3 days. Ed is forwarding all concerns, well-wishes, and prayers ... forwarding them Mike Lahoff. I'm just amazed at the overwhelming responses to Ed's thread! ... I know ... I know ... sarcasms get me nowhere! If I were in Mike's shoes ... I would love to see my family, friends, and fellows scouts and scouters rallying behind me for my pursuit to recovery. Nothing would give me more strength to fight the difficult battle ahead of me then to see the love from everyone! So take breather from the bickering and send Mike's your prayers! If not online with Scouter (for the atheists in the house) ... then online with the Almighty One (with each respective religion)(for the rest of us). YIS(This message has been edited by Pack38Scouter)

Ed, If you are going to see Mr. Lahoff and his family, on the behalf of the Scouters and Scouts in the Sam Houston Area Council, please send our prayers and thoughts to them. We pray that he will have a speedy and full recovery. Many thanks. YIS Long ps: I challenge everyone on this Scouter Forum and all over the world to continue to contribute and keep filling this thread with well-wishes and prayers . Hopefully, Ed can eventually print it out and forward it to Mr. Lahoff and his family. Many thanks.(This message has been edited by Pack38Scouter)

Forgot one thing ... http://www.3n.net/people/jjenkin/pwdcars.htm http://www.maximum-velocity.com/ http://www.rahul.net/mcgrew/derby/photos/ are some of the web sites that will give you and your son an idea on a design. YIS

Welcome to Scouting and the Scouter Forum: Try http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22pinewood+derby+tips%22 My favorites are: http://members.aol.com/randywoo/pine/index.htm http://members.aol.com/StanDCmr/lbw_apl.html http://www.clarksgreen251.com/tips.htm http://www.simplyweb.net/bosworth/ http://www.three-peaks.net/pinecar.htm http://royalrangers.ag.org/royal-rangers/pinewood_tnt/pinewood_tnt.cfm http://www.3n.net/people/jjenkin/pwd.htm http://p982.messagingproducts.com/pinetip.html Bottom line ... lube, polish, and debur the axles and make sure that the car weighs 5 oz. Reduce the friction and have the max 5 oz ... and it will allow your Tiger's car to be competitive. Of course there are other things that you could do to make it more competitive, but remember the one single most important thing about pinewood derby ... to have fun building the car with your son! My oldest son and I have been building it for the past 5 years. Eventhough we went from where you are right now (Tiger/parent who don't have a clue how to build one ... resulting in the car not finishing the race ...) to an informed pair of pinewood builders whose cars are somewhat competitive (He has his own entry and I have mine in the "open class"), we enjoy the time that we spent designing and building the cars. Good Luck ... have fun YIS ps: Don't spend the money to purchase those tips and tricks! The ones on the Net is more than good enough!(This message has been edited by Pack38Scouter)(This message has been edited by Pack38Scouter)

Here is our Pack's farewell song to our Webelos last year. We would recognize the Webelos at B&G (this is not their AOL ... that's separate) and the whole Pack (all 120 scouts and about 250+ parents and siblings) sang the song to them! It was great! Apologies to Dale Evans and Roy Rogers! "Webelos Happy Trails" (Sing to the tune Happy Trails by Dale Evans ) Happy trails to you, until we meet again. Happy trails to you, keep smilin' until then. Were proud of you and all that you have done here. Just think of us, remember all our fun cheers. Happy trails to you, 'till we meet again. Scout trails are happy ones, Hope youll have some fun. It's the way you ride the trail that counts, It'll be a happy one for you. Happy trails to you, until we meet again. Happy trails to you, keep smilin' until then. Were going to miss you when we are together. The fun, the sun, and camping in bad weather. Happy trails to you, see you all in Scout. Happy trails to you, until we meet again. Happy trails to you, keep learning until then. Were going to miss you when we are together. Just think of us, well be with you forever. Happy trails to you, 'till we meet again. Happy trails to you!

... from Troop 632 (Pensacola, FL) Web Site ... very well illustrated! http://members.aol.com/troop632/trailhead/toggle.htm Oh ... well ... Bob White beats me to it ... (This message has been edited by Pack38Scouter)

"The One-Minute Scoutmaster" (by Winston R. Davis ... on Roger Knapp's web site ... off-take of the One-Minute Manager): http://www.rogerknapp.com/download/oneminSM.htm (This message has been edited by Pack38Scouter)

http://www.google.com/search?q=%22den+ceremonies%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8 (This message has been edited by Pack38Scouter)

http://www.geocities.com/~pack215/pwd-skit.html http://www.3n.net/people/jjenkin/pwdskit.htm and here is one that we came up with (off take of the "Go Cart" skit): Derby Car (old derby car with front wheels can slide in and out of the axle slots easily) Cub 1: Oh, this derby car is giving me a lot of trouble and I dont know what to do? Its not running right. Cub 2: Did you sand it properly? Cub 1: Yep, first with 400 grits and then 600 grits. Cub 3: Did you deburr it? Cub 1: Yep. Cub 4: Did polish your axle? Cub 1: Shinny like a mirror with red jeweler's rouge. Cub 2: So whats wrong? Cub 1: The front wheels just wont go into the axle slots. Cub 3: May be Mr./Mrs. (Cubmaster) could show you how they go on. Cub 1: Mr./Mrs. (Cubmaster) could help me put on the wheels? Cubmaster proceeds to slide the wheels into the axles and hold the car. Cub 1: Oh, that's perfect now! All that I needed was a good NUT to hold it together! (This message has been edited by Pack38Scouter)

Season Greetings from overcast 50 degrees skies over Houston, Texas. No snow ... again! But 32 degrees weather tonight will help make Christmas Eve feels right! Wishing all Scouters on this forum ... a prosperous New Year and another memorable scouting year! Thank you for your scouting suggestions, tips and friendship for the last six months ... looking forward for more guidance in the coming new year and in our scouting journey. Have a safe and healthy Holidays YIS

mk ... actually I was referring to the size of average size of troops within our areas! We here in Texas tend to have "large" size in everything! Our Pack is about 120-130 boys strong and our brother Pack (we were one once ... 6 years ago) is about 110-120 boys strong. I think that our District averages about 35 a troop. I usually tell my parents that the size of the troop does not necessary constitute a good troop. A good troop is the one that your son will enjoy his scouting experience with ... of course having a great patrol method program is the added bonus! The larger troop ... tend to require more work to get organized. I personally prefer 20-30 boys ... or about 4-5 patrols. You are correct ... the smaller the troop the easier for the troop to be "on the move." Coordinating 50, 60, 70+ boys for a campout can take a lifetime! I rather have 20-30 active boys than 70 and on 20-30% active. May be I should rephrase it to say ... 30 active scouts ... Thanks. But then again ... every scouter has his/her comfort zone. That reminds of a story that a friend here at work told me about his son and him. He is a Scoutmaster and a trainer for a long time. He uses this story at the Webelos training whenever he gets a chance to. Anyway, he and his son were driving home from his son's Transition Campout with one of the local troops in their area. He asked his son if he has chosen a troop to join. His son beamingly replied, "Yes, Dad. I want to join Troop xxx, but Dad? Which troop are you going to join?"

sst3rd ... first of all, we are Webelos (We'll Be Loyal Scouts) and we really do not know what the troops has to offer! That is why troops need to have a proactive recruiting efforts to educate the Webelos and Webelos parents about scouting. Take a look at the link "Selecting a troop; what criteria to look for" (there are other discussion about joining a troop ... lost Webelos ... etc... that you can get a lot of points-of-view). There a lot good information about what a troop should do and what a Webelos is looking for. We have two troops in our immediately area. They don't do any active recruiting and assumed that the Packs will naturally feed into them. Last two years they realized that the Webelos are going to another troop near by in another District. This year ... they are attempting to make some effort in recruiting. There is nothing underhanded about recruiting. You are trying to build your troop and if your troop has a great program to offer, why shouldn't it be advertised out there so that other boys with the similar interests may join? IT'S free-enterprise! I visited one troop two days ago and talked to a scout who commuted about 20 miles each week to be with this troop! Take a look at the checklist that I posted on the "Selecting a troop; what criteria to look for." Compose your letter or package that will answer most if not all those questions and toss in some selling points about your troop ... especially things that you will be doing in the future. Trust me ... the Webelos and his parent will appreciate it. Invite them to a campout and a meeting or two. Offer help to the Pack ... pinewood derby, Blue & Gold, bike rally, den chiefs ... etc. Last and not the very least ... when the Webelos come and visit ... make them feel that they are who they are ... your most important guests! Don't put on a show for them ... just go about your normal troop meeting but do make it to where they can participate ...! Don't over sell yourself ... if you told them that they will get a trip to the moon if they join your Troop ... you had better figure out a way to fundraise $20 million for the Russian Space program! Remember one thing Webelos program is nothing short of Boy Scout 101! This is when we, as parents, are starting to let the string go. So go court after the Webelos 1 as well as Webelos 2! Get the Webelos 1 excited ... so that they will stay in and continue up. They may not join your troop, but at least they will still be in Scouting! Once you start your recruiting, the troop that this Pack normally feeds in will start to recruit as well. It's a win-win situation. The troops will force themselves to have a good program to attract new scouts or they will self-destruct. The Pack will have more than one Troop to choose from. The Webelos will have choices and we will have more boys staying in scouting! Good luck ... YIS