rrclark1

Thanks for those that have replied so far. I'm going to go into a little more detail on why the questions are being asked. First please know that Committee Chairman, Scoutmaster and myself (Assistant Scoutmaster)are fully trained. We have a couple other trained ASMs. The scoutmaster and myself are Woodbadge trained and have received our beads. 1. Meetings - Our current format is: PLC 15 minutes before the meeting Flags Oath Announcements Patrol Meeting/work on skills Merit Badge classes (usually two run at the same time) Game Scoutmaster Minute Retire Flags We're having more and more scouts and parents leave the meetings early. Most of the time it's when the game is going to take place. The explanation is that the scout has a lot of homework and needs to get home. The easy solution I think is that the schedule gets rearranges so the game in the middle of the meeting. This I would hope keep the scouts to stay to the end with other important scout skills or badges they are working on. 2. Participation is a concern. Our troop is around 40. Getting scouts on camp outs is not the easiest. The last district camporee we had 14. Most of the time it is the younger scouts that are attending. As mentioned before having scouts stay for the entire meeting is becoming a problem. Participation on troop activities, camp outs and Eagle projects are not always the best. Keeping the scouts interested and involved is another area we need to focus on. 3. The last area is on youth leadership. There are scouts that just want the position in name only to get the leadership needed to advance. Others that have matured and look like they could do a good job don't want the positions (Specifically SPL). This is frustrating. When I was a youth we fought hard to become SPL. But this is about all leadership positions. We have a good troop. There have been 31 Eagle Scouts that have come out of it. The Scoutmaster is in his third year at the position. We have an outstanding Troop Committee Chairman. And there are a number of parents that help in different areas. There have been good suggestions so far. If you have more to add after reading this, they would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!

Our troop is experiencing some difficulties and we're look for some ideas and suggestion. Our Scoutmaster has three questions he wants to ask. They are: 1. What is the format for your meetings? 2. How does your troop define involvement and/or participation for scouts? 3. What are the expectations for scout leadership positions in your troop and how are they run? After there are a number of replies, I'll go into more detail some of the challenges our troop is facing. Thanks in advance! Yours In Scouting, Richard Clark Assistant Scoutmaster Omaha, NE

Good Evening Scouters!!! For the past year and a half I have been working on a fundraiser for the Batchelder Family Scout Museum & Education Center which collects and displays historic items of the Mid-America Council. With this project we can generate funds to help preserve and properly display the artifacts of our council's past. The fundraiser has now come to fruition and I am proud to announce it: https://macsecure.waittinteractive.com/forms/form50.aspx There will be seven RWS's created for this set. Each patch will represent previous councils that now make up the current day Mid-America Council with the dates they were in existence. They include the following: Omaha Council - Current patch available for 2010 Fort Dodge Council - 2011 Southwest Iowa Council - 2012 Covered Wagon Council - 2013 Sergeant Floyd Council - 2014 Prairie Gold Council - 2015 Mid-America Council - 2016 The current RWS available is the Omaha Council. A different RWS will be issued each year starting today and leading up to the Mid-America Council's Centennial in 2016! There will only be 1,000 issued per strip. So for collectors, this will be a neat opportunity The donation for the the RWS's is $5.00 each and there is a fifty cent shipping and handling fee per patch. 100% of the proceeds go to the Batchelder Family Scout Museum & Education Center. That will help us to better preserve and display the historic items that make up the Mid-America Council. The museum was opened in 2007 from a generous gift by Anne Batchelder who sadly passed away in 2009. Since becoming Chairman of the museum in 2008 our wonderful committee has worked hard on developing building up the museum. An activity program was created for scouts to learn about the museum, then answer a few questions to earn the special BFSM Activity Patch! From January to May 2010 3/4 of our museum was on display at the Durham Museum in Omaha for a special BSA Centennial exhibit. Progress was made in improving the BFSM & EC from that experience. This fundraiser helps to move it forward another step. Please help us improve the Batchelder Family Scout Museum! Museum Link - http://www.mac-bsa.org/mac_history.aspx PATCHES FOR TRADE I do have some personal patches to trade: CSP's: Lewis & Clark Council (first CSP) Aloha Council Western Los Angeles County Council (80th Anniversary CSP) 2 Sioux Council Other: 4th Kildare Scouts - Naas Ireland (circular Camp US Omaha 2004 patch) Scans are available upon request. Let's trade and support the Batchelder Family Scout Museum & Education Center!!! Yours In Scouting, Richard Richard Clark Chairman Batchelder Family Scout Museum & Education Center Durham Scout Center 12401 West Maple Road Omaha, NE 68164 Richard's Phone (402) 650-6720 (cell)

Hi Everyone, Well, I need to start doing some major work in our Scouting museum regarding clothing and want to ask for experiences, suggestions and tips. We have many older uniforms. One goes back to the late 20's from what I can tell. But many from the 50's, 60's, 70's. This also includes a navy blue Sea Scout uniform that was just donated in the past week or so. It is pretty dirty and needs major cleaning. It came with a white sailors hat, but it's pretty discolored. So here goes the questions: 1. For uniforms, do we just dry clean? What is the best approach? 2. What about neckerchiefs? Can they be washed or dry cleaned as well? (I realize age will come into play to a point). 3. Regarding items that are discolored (i.e. the Sea Scout hat), can it be bleached or cleaned in some way to restore it? We're getting to a point where major changes will be occurring (hopefully) with our museum. I would like to make sure that we're taking care of the clothing properly and having it in great shape for when we can display them. I've been the chairman for our museum for two years now. We've come a long way, but we're about to take some leaps and bounds forward hopefully. Any tips, tricks and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Yours In Scouting, Richard

My son has become a Troop Guide for a new patrol of Scouts that just started last night. I went and picked up his Troop Guide patch and patrol patches for the patrol that he is in. However, I wanted to check and see - do Troop Guides wear patrol patches for the patrol their helping or just their TG patch? Thanks in advance! Richard

Scout Sunday was today. I didn't know if I should wear all of my medals or not: Eagle Parvuli Dei Ad Altre Dei Pop Pius XII I'm an Assistant Scoutmaster and decided to wear all of them. One person stated that I needed to have the medals pinned on the knot itself that I have on the uniform. I had never heard that before and it would be impossible for the religious awards since I have three. Does anyone know the "official" policy for placement of medals on uniforms for formal occasions? Thanks in advance! Yours In Scouting, Richard

The Batchelder Family Scout Museum was a gift to the Mid-America Council. Anne Stuart Batchelder donated a large sum to the council so the museum could be built. The museum is an addition to the Durham Scout Center in Omaha, NE. Within the building is our Scout Shop. It currently is being remodeled and moved from a council owned to a National Scout Shop. My understanding with the manager is that the museum will not be able to sell Museum fundraiser items in the shop unless National will be selling them. That is also a drawback for our shop. In the past they would order and sell different items (ie. Atlas, nature books etc.) They can only sell what National (Scoutstuff.org) sells. So what we will need to do is possibly have our fundraisers run through our Scouter Services office. I'm hoping to use our council website, but that may not pan out. We'll see. With our activity program (Scouts earning a neat museum patch after going through the museum and answer some questions) it was posted on the digital ribbon board outside the Durham Scout Center. The council's weekly e-mail blast has been advertising for a couple weeks. I have also contacted all District Executives, District Commissioners and District Committee members through e-mail. There was also an opportunity in January where I spoke to all of the council DE's at a leadership meeting regarding the museum. I have requested from all districts any camping or activity patches, programs etc for current activities. That will help us to better maintain the items that come out throughout the council. So I have been getting the exposure out there. At the same time I have also been putting out ads on Craigs List in the Items Wanted section hoping to draw interest in donating needed items to the museum. There are many items that are out there that the museum doesn't have. So I'm trying to reach out with collectors, Craig's List, and purchasing (within reason) from Ebay. One of the displays that I've put out in the museum shows the different Red & White Strips (full and community strips as well)and CSPs. We have an Omaha Red & Kahki, Covered Wagon RWS, Mid-America Council RWS, Prairie Gold RWS. We do not have a Sergeant Floyd RWS which has been difficult. I have come across two, but do not have the funds ($700.00 +). Southwest Iowa it appears did not have a RWS (unless it Council Executives did, but I've yet to see one). Instead they used community strips. At the same time they also did have a hat shaped patch that said Southwest Iowa Council. This patch was worn on the uniform pocket. I found an image, but have been unable to get one for the museum so far. Here are the councils that have all been merged in Mid-America: Omaha First Class Fort Dodge - later renamed Prairie Gold Area Sergeant Floyd - merged into Prairie Gold Area Prairie Gold Area Mid-America OA Lodges that are part of Kit-Ke-Hak-O-Kut: Cha-Pa #97 merged into Kit-Ke-Hak-O-Kut 1964 Pohawk #445 merged into Kit-Ke-Hak-O-Kut 1964 Wahpeton #438 merged into Miniconjou 1973 War Eagle #474 merged into Miniconjou 1973 Miniconjou #438 merged into Kit-Ke-Hak-O-Kut 2000 Kit-Ke-Hak-O-Kut #97 I have been doing a lot of work on this front for OA first flaps of all the lodges that have now made up Kit-Ke-Hak-O-Kut. So far we have four first flaps. The two that we're missing is War Eagle (Ebay recently had it for $1,100.00) and Wahpeton (Ebay recently had it for 620.00). One of the possible fundraisers as well as getting exposure is hosting a Trade-O-Ree. I've never been to one and don't really know how to put one on. But this could be a good thing. Our council I guess may have done one over twenty years ago. Collecting is not a real big deal here...yet. We have collectors, but the younger boys are not into that much. I also have another possible fundraiser to help us. This will be presented at our next committee meeting which will be this coming Thursday (3/19). Once I know what the committee thinks, I'll let you know. The suggestion is sponsoring merit badge clinics are great ideas. This is something that I do want to do. It will take a little bit of time to get that set up. It's getting close to a year since I took this role as the chairman. I've enjoyed it and learned a lot. We've also made great strides. There is still a ton to do. Of course this is all volunteer. At the same time this is something that people need to be aware of. The more exposure about the museum, the more we'll get to do. That will include (going back to the original reason for this thread) getting improved and larger cabinets. Enough of the book - I'm history! Richard Richard Clark Chairman - Batchelder Family Scout Museum Mid-America Council, B.S.A. Omaha, NE (402) 650-6720 (cell)

Thank you for all of the great suggestions and information. There has been a little bit of movement regarding the cabinets and fire extinguisher. First, the fire marshal came into the scout office/museum a couple weeks ago and stated that the extinguisher that was across from the museum was fine. They were not going to require one in that area. Personally I don't like it. If the marshal is not going to make a requirement, then I will have a hard time selling to the council about getting a fire extinguisher in the museum. I've done a lot of research and finally had it dawn on me last week that we could purchase ratchet locks for the our existing cabinets. It would at least secure what we have. If someone wants it bad enough, they'll break in and take it. But at least we'll have some form of security. Our council gets a discount at a local hardware store in town. That will help us out a lot and make the cost reasonable for the 17 + cabinets we have. It's a first step. We don't have the funds to purchase new cabinets yet. So at least securing what we have is a good thing. I am working on a number of fund raisers that should help us out. Please I will be working on grants this year as well. The suggestion of working with college students is a great idea and one that I will look into. We do have a couple museums here in town that are good resources. So things are coming along. Thanks again for your input!

I have called Tipisa and left a message. Will check again tomorrow. Checked with our council about a fire suppression system. The building was built in the in 1995 which was before there were city requirements. It is grandfathered in and does not need to have a suppression system. The museum was added to the existing building so the council again does not have to do anything. The argument is that they have extinguishers throughout the building. Currently there are not any in the museum or in the back room. Looks like I will have to petition for some. I'll be lucky if I get one. NONE of the facility has any sprinkler system. None. I can't believe that even in the mid-90's that this would not of been included. So if the building has a fire there will be a lot more damage inflicted due to the council choosing not to spend the money for a fire suppression system.... It scares me of losing the museum items. If we had better cabinets for storage I would be a little more comfortable, but right now it's a big risk. I guess we should: Be Prepared

Hello, I'm the chairman for a scout museum that opened in 2007. I was asked to head the museum & committee up last year (volunteer). It's been a lot of fun and I've enjoyed working on it. There has been a lot of work and changes made in the past year which I'm proud of. We've just implemented an Activity Program for Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts/Ventures. They go through the museum and then complete the activity packet. Upon completion they earn the new activity patch we've created for our museum. We have some great things hapening. What I want ask is about display cabinets. Currently we have cabinets that do not lock, are not environmentally controlled, can not display uniforms and other items of height. Some cabinets have broken glass or mirrors. Others only have one door. They were donations and I we do appreciate what we have. But we need to make improvements. As you can see I face some issues at this time. We need to get better cabinets. Ultimately I would like ones that have storage areas for items not on display, are tall, can be secured, environmentally controlled, do not need to be attached to a wall and are not overly costly. That last item is going to be the kicker. We do not have much in funds and need to raise money in order to operate. I am starting to work on possibilities for funds raising. The museum has also purchased a membership with the our state's museum association. There are possibilities for grants and help on how putting displays together etc. If you have any ideas, suggestions or people of contact that might be helpful, I would greatly appreciate it. Also, I have another question. Our museum and storage room does not have any kind of fire suppression system. I don't know how or why this was not done. As I stated earlier, I became the chairman last spring, a year after the museum opened. Do other Scout museums not have fire suppression systems? Thank you for your time. Richard

Here is information from the Mid-America Council regarding the Little Sioux Scout Ranch. This was released today and sent out in their mass e-mail: Little Sioux Scout Ranch Grand Reopening Remembering the Past/Rebuilding for the Future Hopefully everyone has heard about the grand re-opening celebration to be held at the Little Sioux Scout Ranch on May 2, 2009! Ceremonies begin at 10 a.m. on May 2 and are free to the public. Saturday, day-only activities for youth and Scouts are $5.00 per person. Youth and adult camping is available for all registered Packs, Troops and Crews from May 1-3 and is $15.00 per person. Register online or download the form if you are registering for more than 25 people. Saturday day-only activities currently scheduled include an obstacle course, a monkey bridge, an orienteering booth, a GPS course, hands-on rope making, a cooking demonstration and handicap awareness. There will also be a time capsule that each Scout organization will have the opportunity to contribute one small item to be buried for future Scouters to discover. With all of the rebuilding that is going on, you will also have the opportunity to tour many of the new facilities that have been and are being constructed. There are also plans for live entertainment, presentations, awards and so much more throughout the day. If you are planning on attending the Ohwahnasee, Trailblazer & Goldenrod three-district spring camporee as part of the grand re-opening, please fill out this registration form only and do not fill out the grand re-opening registration. Storm Stories Returns to The Weather Channel Storm Stories, the series that chronicles the true stories of survivors and rescuers battling amazing weather events, returns to The Weather Channel. On Thursday, February 26, an episode will air of the "Boy Scouts Tornado" that hit the Little Sioux Scout Ranch in western Iowa last June, catching everyone off guard. Click here to read the Weather Channel's press release. Volunteer at Little Sioux Scout Ranch The Mid-America Council will be implementing a new campmaster program at Little Sioux Scout Ranch. This person will be the camp host on weekends when troop, district or council events are going on. The camp host will assist the units with check-in, registration, explaining rules of camp, and be the go-to person if they need anything. Read more. To register as a campmaster, click here. Richard Clark Chairman - Batchelder Family Scout Museum Mid-America Council, B.S.A. Omaha, NE

Our troop is working hard for the troop to be boy led. It's been taking some time. One of the things that I noticed since my son joined the troop was the lack of patrol and troop pride. That is starting to change. The patrols now have their own yells and are competing against one another in competitions and games. Another thing that we're going to start working on is creating patrol flags. What size (dimensions) should the patrol flags be? What is the best way to attach them to the staffs? I'm assuming either tying them or stapling? Should they have their own stand? Mind you, it's been 20 years since I did anything like this and our troop didn't have patrol flag. Our jamboree troop did. We did see one troop at our fall camporee last year have patrol flags. They all had the same dimensions and looked sharp. Any suggestion and ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Hi Shortridge! Thank you very much for all of the suggestions and insight. It helps a lot. Yes, this is for my council's Hometown News committee for the 2010 National Scout Jamboree. I am in the Mid-America Council. We cover three states (Nebraska, Western Iowa and part of South Dakota. There are 13 districts. I know that we will have several troops from different towns. Depending on who signs up for hometown news, we'll need to try to work with the local media. I'm good friends with the editor of our council's newspaper. She should have several contacts for me to work with and build some business relationships with. Also, the gentleman that passed away, he sent me several documents "in case" I needed to send anything out. It was almost as if he knew.... A couple of the documents contain a schedule with the names of professional he had work with the boys for the last Jamboree (2005). I'll work on contacting them and see what I can do. Our council requires Communications and Journalism Merit Badge to be a correspondent. Personally, I feel the photography part needs to be stressed. My son just took the photography merit badge and it seems like that would be good background for a HT correspondent. I'm not sure adding another requirement would be healthy. But I would like to at least encourage a little work in photography before attending the jamboree. The Jamboree Contingent Chair has talked with me and would like me to continue working on HN unless it gets to be too much. I'm also an Assistant Scoutmaster for the Jamboree. Personally, I think it will be fine. I appreciate the support and encouragement Shortridge. Originally I was to be an "assistant" or "apprentice" to learn and get experience. That way down the road, I might be able to run the program. With Steve passing away, I'm definitely going to get initiated! I'm looking forward to it. The good thing is that we've got a year and a half before we head to Jamboree. So we've got a good amount of time to get everything in shape for the boys. Thanks again for the advice and suggestions!!!

Hi Shortridge, No, I do not have a journalism or public relations background. I've been a music teacher, special education teacher, agent recruiting & selection consultant, trainer, network specialist and now an implementation specialist. I have close to ten years in computers. Through all of my experience, I've had to create a lot of documentation for training, and creating programs. At the present time I'm the chairman for our council's museum and have created the mission statement and guidelines for the museum. Also, I currently write articles for our council's newspaper for both the museum and for the Jamboree recruiting efforts. So I don't have professional training specifically in journalism or public relations, but I do have some skills that will help. Your pov's would be greatly appreciated. However, I wonder if the council should find someone else to continue this? I don't want this to fall through, but at the same time want to make sure the boys get the best training/information to be good correspondents at the Jamboree. Thanks!

Well, I got to attend a jamboree 20 years ago as a youth. Had the time of my life. Was patrol leader, bugler and hometown news correspondent. Lost my ID to get into a private conference with Steven Spielberg the day he was arriving. Went back and got a new ID and had a professional photographer invite me to cover Spielberg's arrival at the arena by choppper. I got a great shot that was published and it's a great memory. I write that to give a little background. Now to the present. I'm on the Jamboree planning committee for my council. In fact I chose to be on the Hometown News committee as an assistant. We require the Journalism and Communications Merit Badges in order to be a correspondent. Sadly, the chairman who had been running HN for many years passed away a couple weeks ago. I will now be assuming the role as chairman for Hometown News. I was left only a couple documents prior to Steve's death. The person heading up the Jamboree for our council has not contacted me even though I've sent several e-mails and tried to contact him. So today I tried looking on-line for resources and found very little in the way of Hometown News. I left a message for our council professional working with the planning committee. He did get back with me this evening and will see what he can find for me. From what I know of this person, he does not do things in a timely manner. So I am not holding my breath. Does anyone have resources (national) regarding HN? Any guidelines, rules, procedures, anything would be greatly appreciated. Even if it's from the last jamboree, it would be helpful so I can have a foundation on what I will need to do. Thanks in advance!