qwazse

Can anyone lay out the history of the Troop Guide and Instructor positions? I don't recall them being available when I was a scout.

Well then, don't tell them that I thought their by-law was ridiculous! And, if any of baggss's youth are reading this page, I'm sorry if I sounded judgmental! But,do review your by-laws every year or so. Younger youth tend to be overly strict about public displays of affection, and older youth can be overly permissive. The challenge is to find that balance where everyone can respect one another.

Thanks for the details. All of the press releases made things a little fuzzy, and I'm sorry I brought up the religion issue because clearly it has allowed tangents that may not apply to scouts affected by this issue.

And, I assume those daughters aren't Venturers! I don't think it's a problem if you are a registered MC in one of the troops you are assigned to UC, Obviously the leaders of that troop may have a different opinion.

Still not getting your point. If the scouts see the JASM patch, and the boy is a stand-up guy, won't it lend credence to THAT patch? If the boy turns out to be a slacker, doesn't that mar either patch to a degree? Obviously, I'm showing my bias. What I think this troop needs now is one PL and APL, and the older boy as their troop guide/recruiter/instructor. If their numbers double anytime soon, they can decide which of those three boys are best for SPL and who among them and these other boys should be PLs.

E92, you are thinking like a DE. STOP IT!!!! You can be more direct than you are being as UC. Take a moment with the troop's key three and say, "Most years, I dole out advice from the cheap seats, but this year I'm gonna offer you all an evaluation from a parent's and kid's perspective. This is a rare year when I'm able to do that since I'm close to so many of the cross-overs. You can take it or leave it, but here it is ..." Tell them what you know. Tell them you think that they should dig deep and make some changes, but if they don't you'll support them as best you can. If they think there's to many conflicts with you promoting your son's troop, they can ask for a new commish" Would it be nice if the boys in your community were served by every troop in the neighborhood having a strong program? Yes! But if there is one troop coming on strong while another folds, is it a crisis? Not really.

I think your on the right track with your registration scheme. But the main reason a UC usually has a son in the troop he's registered in (as an MC or ASM), and that makes for a whole lot of conflicting interests if that's the troop he's assigned to commish. I think most commissioners I've met do the two-shirt thing.

An unenviable mess. But, if the CO is aware of and satisfied with the situation, you're kinda stuck.

Rat, although I agree that SPL is challenging if you have to run herd over three or more PLs, this isn't even a two patrol troop. Who cares what patch is on the boy's sleeve?

It's not stretching the requirements to request that - because of your extreme claustrophobia - counseling sessions be held as far away from within four walls as possible. The boy could earn Disability Awareness in the process of getting Camping.

A former Vietnamese scout told me that their 1st class journey was an all-night solo "camp out" on a stump in the jungle. Unknown to the scout, they arranged for the dad to keep an eye on things just a few feet away (close enough to intimidate big cats, but far enough to be completely unnoticed until morning.)

Back in my day, JASMs did guide the troop. Since the boy is all about faith-based stuff, maybe he can be the troop chaplain's aid. He could do a presentations for boys and parents about religious awards. Whatever, put him to work and encourage him to chip away at his next palm.

Don't forget road trips. I've seen scouts from Michigan on the Minister Creek Trail in PA. But for more ideas you might want to put your youth in touch with these guys: http://www.michiganscouting.org/WaterAndWoods/News/WWnewVOA2014. When I started as an advisor my VOA put my youth on to some great activities and opportunities.

RS, I would suggest you allocate your gear to be tended to by individual scouts, that way your QM report to the CO would read something like: Piece of Gear, Quantity, Last known Condition, Stewardship (scout's name) That way they could go chase down every patrol box from every patrol leader and every spoon from every first year if they so choose. It's not a bad strategy ... every scout that's able contributing to the troops storage space. You'll likely loose stuff. But you could possibly start a tradition of troop graduates signing off on gear they've returned in good condition.

Welcome and enjoy advising that crew. Thanks for your service to our youth!

There probably is a middle ground. Make a plan listing what advancement related tasks you'd like to do when. A few of them might involve driving to visit a MB counselor or going to a project site. You may need a buddy or an adult with you. Ask your folks if they can be that buddy and ride with you on your learners permit to do scouting. Earn their trust. Demonstrate your skill. In a few months, they may relent. If they don't you'll have accumulate some precious hours with your folks that you will cherish years down the road.

Arrange to be with his SM four miles into the middle of nowhere. Scout and patrol have to hike there to present his gear and cook lunch for you. Tell him to bring his blue card and you can complete your interview their. Really, you could do anything. He can always choose a different MBC.

Now that our council has expanded our VOA cabinet is relying on phone conferences. Each youth officer is more than an hour away from the others. We tried video but that had a host of problems. (Didn't work for everybody, sometimes not for anybody. When it did work didn't help the discussion advance much.) Except for 15 minutes of fumbling because the wrong # was circulated, our first phone conference of the year seemed to go well, and I'm looking forward to hearing our VOA President improve as the year goes forward. Besides making sure everyone has the right number , Does anyone have tips/tricks for managing phone conferences?

Yep. Most of my crew is clueless. We try to require it if a youth is on the VOA, but even then you're herding cats. Now that we're phoning in cabinet meetings, there is no way of policing uniform compliance. (Unless somebody invents uniforms that are cell-phones which only operate when the wearer has them on properly!)

There's another thread here somewhere. But the general thinking is that the voting pool from whom a youth is elected into O/A should range from the 11 to 17 year-olds members of the unit. (In my troop, doing right by the cross-overs is critical to being elected.) Members of Crews do not have an 11-13 y/o constituency in their own unit. Regardless of the logic you choose to use, it's up to the young Arrowmen to enact change in their order. Rant here, and be sure no change will be made. Appeal to them to bring it up at NOAC and other conclaves, and perhaps you will begin to see movement on this issue via their good graces.

They are revamping Bronze, Gold, and Silver awards. The expert awards (Ranger, Trust, Quest, Quartermaster) are unchanged.

Contact your local sportsmans club to see if they host any youth NRA certifications. Field sports with a mix of large and small caliber rifles, shotgun, and pistol can be done in a 1/2 day on that kind of budget. Cycling trails. See if anyone has a family farm near a scenic trail. Dutch oven cooking can be a big draw. An evening at the go-cart track.

Kayaking, Rocket Launches, Jai Alai, Fishing, Coconut Harvesting, Salsa Dancing, Kite Building, Costal Search and Rescue, RC Airplanes, Dog training, Hog Hunting, Invasive species removal (Python, Lionfish, African Crocs ...)

That's ridiculous. First of all the youth make the rules on public displays of affection. That implies that dating couples are part of crew life. Secondly, part of a healthy dating relationship is learning to "turn off" the intimacy switch so that you can feel like part of the group without being "owned" by your partner! Venturing is designed so the couples can hash out the ethics of dating. Thirdly, there is nothing like being in a tandem kayak for a few hours to actually find out how compatible you really are. Not allowing dating couples just to avoid adults like BD having to lay down the law about sleeping arrangements is a little extreme. (By the way, baggss, welcome to the forums!)

Looks sharp! Congrats to your crew for settling on a uniform. Do you fundraise to offset costs?