pmickle1027

I too dont like the term "deathbed eagle" . I have always refered to them as Twilight Eagles. I have been a Scoutmaster for 5 years and in that time have produced 5 eagles. Of those Eagles 3 were twilight eagles.Of them 2 were very active in the Troop, in school and 1 served 2 years on staff at camp. Why did they become three year life scouts I can only guess. The 3rd boy disappeared form the Troop only to return to make eagle( I had many discussions with this forum, my comittee, the eagle BOR chairman and my local scout council to come up with what was the meaning of active and scout spirit). Since that time I have looked at the boys in my Troop and have discussed with them what the Eagle Scout charge means and how they shouldnt wait till they are 17 1/2 to go for it. Why not earn the rank of Eagle eariler and enjoy the rank while they can wear the badge.

" A Scout is Thrifty, a scout works to pay his way and to help others". A scout should work to help the council. Selling $150.00 worth of popcorn per boy is not a problem. Our Troop is not in a rich area yet each year we seem to make this goal, not to mention each boy working fund raisers to pay for their own reregistration. Our boys also work to pay for a third of scout camp. Where would we go to summer camp if the council folds?

As a fellow cny scouter that is just a litte farther down the erie canal i have a few ideas. Try goose pond down in Scranton PA. Also there is Camp Tuscarora in Binghamton, Camp sabattis of Hiawatha seaway council

Sabattis Scout Reservation has been one of our Troops summer camps. Fantastic sceanery, fantastic program for in camp scouts and lots of treks to choose from. The only drawback to some is the lack of a dining hall. More info can be found at cnyscouts.org.

I have been in the same position just recently. OGE gave me some great advice, Scout Spirit is not only done at scout meetings and on Troop campouts. What has this boy been doing for the last couple of years outside of scouting?

NOT A LEADER? DEN CHIEF IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT LEADERSHIP POSITIONS IN THE TROOP!!!!!! INSPIRING CUB SCOUTS AND WEBELOS, MAKING SURE THAT HE IS A POSITIVE IMAGE AND WORKIG WITH THE ADULTS OF THE PACK ONLY TENDS TO CEMENT A PACK TO A TROOP!

Ive worked with both methods and think the election works really well as long as the PLC comes up with a criteria for the election. This years criteria included a minimum rank(1st class), a minimum number of campouts attended, and a minimum attendance record at scout meetings for spl. Patrol leaders criteria was only a little looser.

Bear Mountain State Park in New York, right near West Point has a fantastic but tiny museum dedicated to Dan Beard. Is there any other Boy Scout Museums near New York?

JASMs are older scouts with proven leadership who have been SPLs in the past. In our Troop they must be at least life scout with little left to do for Eagle.

1) mandatory training sounds great to me, but it seems like a way to lose adult volunteers. The Troop requires ypt, but to get the adults to leader specific training is difficult. I personally have completed all that I can, but to take a weekend off to attend the outdoors part is impossible. Most of the adults in my Troop work most weekends so when we take a weekend off its to be with our boys. If it becomes mandatory the council had better get off the dime and start being more flexible with it, for example come to the Troops campout, offer it at scoutcamp( I have been pushing this and actually had to go out of council to find at least ypt at the camp we chose.) As far as dropping a Troop because the adults cant or wont get trained sounds like a great example of scouting spirit to me. Lets do that and just inflate the numbers again.

With this being a whatif I would like to go to summer camp in Alaska. With twenty-three hours of daylight I might just get everything done at scout camp.

1) I agree with everyone. There needs to be a chain of command. 2) I dont like parents night. some years I have lost a third of the Troop. I usally try to get the parents to come up for at least 1 day.

As a Sm that had the Troop handed to him on the second meeting night, I can understand this feeling. I had 1 asm who could only make some meetings and no comittee to speak of. It became a pyramid scheme, I grabbed 1 parent and worked from there.

Now are we talking boy leadership or adult leadership? As far as the boys, its the den chief. Hes the one that makes the first and strongest impression on the cubs. As far as the adults its the whole committee ( without whom I would be toast).

let the boys use their imaginations and set it up as a interpatrol challange.we came up with some ineresting yells "Take the leg"; "Bite hard, Bite Fast, Bite often"; "Eight legged freaks" "Eat some cows"