ScoutNut

As RJ does, we set a goal for each scout. Some make it, some go way over and some go under. Our goal is $350 per boy in sales. This works out to $105 profit to the Pack per boy. Popcorn is our only money earning and we fund our entire program with it - no Pack dues.

With an unplanned B&G coming up in a week, forget the fancy themes and stick to an old fashioned Birthday Party! Does the Pack have any money to spend on decorations and food? You can always make it a pot-luck and assign every family a dish. Or go with simple hot dogs, chips, slaw and a big birthday cake for dessert. Decorate with blue and yellow balloons and streamers. Give the boys their awards in $1 store treat bags (along with a party favor also from the $1 store). If you have the capability, show some of those scouting videos from YouTube on the 100 year worldwide celebration. Throw in a relay race of some kind and a few audience participation things and there you have it! If you have any boys who are receiving rank do a face painting or color changing ceremony. These are quick and easy. Good Luck!

Good Grief! 8 boys (not counting yours) and just you running the whole thing! You have 16 parents. Out of those 16 pick a few who seem to have a good brain in their noggin and who seem to care about ALL of the boys. Go up to each one individualy and convince them to step up for the kids.

"Have yourself or an advancement chair go den to den and review each Cub's book, updating at least their advancement requirements." Nope - I don't think so. There is no way that I would be chasing down every scout in the Pack to check their books. That chore is up to the DEN LEADER. The DL then puts together a den advancement/award report and gives it to the Advancement Chair so that the Advancement Chair can purchase the awards and put them together for the Pack meeting. I might chase down a Den Leader, but not every boy in the Pack!

"- receive AOL at next pack meeting (probably no ceremony)" There is NEVER any good reason to give an award out, especially such an important award, without a ceremony! If the 5th grade Webelos parents planned this event, than this parent had input and probably knew the date before you did. At your committee meeting assure them you are not excluding their son, but that large events like this can not be re-scheduled. It is their choice, not yours, as to weather their son attends. Will this be your Pack meeting for March? Have you had your Pack meeting for February yet? Make sure that the boy gets a ceremony to celebrate his AOL and Crossover as close to the current date as possible. This might even mean holding the ceremonies as part of their first Troop meeting.

In Cub Scouts the rank awards are turned in on the advancement form ( http://www.scouting.org/forms/34403.pdf ) in order to be able to purchase the awards. The leaders in each den should be keeping track of what their boys are doing, AND signing off in their books (parents should also be signing off in books). Aside from AOL, many councils do not keep real good records of Cub advancement awards. In Cub Scouts it is not necessary for a boy to earn the rank award of his current level in order to move to the next level. The only award that is "necessary" is AOL (and Webelos because you have to have earned Webelos to earn AOL), and that is only necessary if a boy crosses to a Troop before the end of fifth grade or 11 years old. The Tiger program has changed a LOT in 7 years. You need to go to the BSA National web site, MYSCOUTING - http://www.scouting.org/nav/enter.jsp?s=ms And do Fast Start & Youth Protection training. They also have Committee Challenge online which should help you get an idea of what goes on. All Pack leadership should be fully trained as soon as possible. Contact your District Training Chair and see if they can bring the training to your Pack leaders. For your Tigers, talk to your Tiger Partners, look in their Tiger Handbooks. Was the ex-CM acting as Tiger den leader? Between the parents and who ever was den leader, they should have signed off in the Handbooks for things that were accomplished. You know what you did in the few meetings you attended. You know what you worked on at home with your son. Ask the Tiger Teams what outings and den activities they did that you missed. Has your son and the rest of the Tigers earned their Bobcat yet? If not, that must be earned BEFORE the Tiger rank can be awarded. If your Tiger Teams would read their Tiger Handbook they would get a real good idea of the program and should be ready and willing to set up and run meetings using the Shared Leadership method of Tigers. As for the rest of the Pack, your new CM should make sure that every den has leadership and that they are running good programs for their boys. The CM needs to talk to your CO about providing a COR & CC and helping with the Pack's restructuring. Your Unit Commissioner will help too. You state that you have a big Pack campout coming up. Hopefully with all of the nonsense going on someone took BALOO training. It is your BALOO trained person who should be running all Pack campouts.

From the 12 Steps from Life to Eagle, on the back of the Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project Workbook - "If the candidate does not meet the requirements, he is asked to return and told the reasons for his failure to qualify. A discussion should be held with him as to how he may meet the requirements within a given period. Should the applicant disagree with the decision, the appeal procedures should be explained to him. A follow-up letter must be sent to the Scout confirming the agreements reached on the action(s) necessary for the advancement. If the Scout chooses to appeal, the board should provide the name and address of the person he is to contact." From BSA Board of Review Training - "When can appeals occur? First, if the troop leader or troop committee does not recommend a Scout for a board of review or fails to sign an Eagle rank application, the Scout (or other interested party) may appeal that decision to the next highest level. Second, if a board of review does not find favorably for the candidate, the Scout may also appeal to the next highest level. This appeal can be taken by the Scout, his leader, or the Scout's parents. An appeal from a local board of review would be taken to the district advancement committee, and from there to the council advancement committee, and finally to the National Boy Scout Committee. When an appeal is made, the committee to whom the appeal is addressed will promptly review the facts. All parties must be interviewed by the committee, hopefully without confrontation. A written report with all details will be prepared by the reviewing committee and forwarded to the National Boy Scout Committee. Appeals to the National Boy Scout Committee are made only through the local council. There is no direct appeal. In Eagle matters, a copy of the Scout's Eagle Scout Rank Application must accompany the national appeal." As per the second quote, you, as his parent, are allowed to make the appeal. It does not sound like the proper procedure was followed at all down the line. Call your Council NOW and find out who to talk to about an appeal of an Eagle BOR.

BW - Are you saying that BSA National, which CLEARLY states in a number of BSA publications - "As the Venturer meets requirements for the Star and Life ranks, a Board of Review will be conducted by the crew or SHIP COMMITTEE." is WRONG?

From "The Boy Scout Advancement Book" found online at BSA National Web site - http://www.scouting.org/boyscouts/resources/32215/eligibility.html#ven "He must meet the requirements as prescribed in the official Boy Scout Handbook and the current Boy Scout Requirements book. The Venturer may fulfill leadership requirements by serving as president, vice president, secretary, or treasurer of his crew, or as boatswain, boatswain's mate, yeoman, purser, or storekeeper for his ship." "The Scoutmaster conference will be conducted by the Advisor or Skipper. As the Venturer meets requirements for the Star and Life ranks, A BOARD OF REVIEW WILL BE CONDUCTED BY THE CREW OR SHIP COMMITTEE. The Eagle board of review should follow the procedures established by the local council." The emphasis is mine. From this it is clear that Sea Scouts would run a BOR for Boy Scout advancement.

Sounds pretty close. Just remember Varsity Scouts are members of a TEAM, not a Troop patrol. They are also older boys age 14-18. Here are some BSA Fact Sheets that might help - Varsity Scouting - http://www.scouting.org/factsheets/02-923.html http://www.scouting.org/boyscouts/resources/18-068/ Venturing - http://www.scouting.org/factsheets/02-388.html

Vicki, he did not state the church is LDS. He stated that, LIKE LDS, their church has rules that they must follow. Yes, LDS has rules, but they do make sure there is sufficient leadership because the leaders are appointed by the church. In your case, the church is effectively tying your Pack's CC's hands and stopping them from recruiting leaders instead of fulfilling their function as CO and ensuring the Pack has sufficient leadership. As the CC of the Troop you can not even solicit help from your Boy Scout parents because of the CO's volunteerism rules. As a Webelos den leader there is not a whole lot you can do. This is up to the Pack's CC, CM, COR and CO, with some assistance from the UC and DE.

Source, from what you have said - It was not a sexual thing. There was no Youth Protection issue. The ASM has admitted to it. The SM knows about the incident. The SM is working with the ASM and the parents of the boys involved to find a solution. It sounds to me like it is being handled appropriately enough. Without any more info on the incident and exactly what you are concerned about, unless you are the ASM involved, or the parent of one of the boys involved, I would say that there is nothing here for you to get involved in. The situation is being handled.

A Varsity Team is a separately chartered BSA unit whose focus is sports. They are primarily used in the LDS Church's Boy Scout program. A Venture Patrol is patrol in a Boy Scout Troop that is for the older scouts and usually consists of more adventurous activities. A Venturing Crew and Sea Scout Ship are separately chartered BSA units that are coed and include ages 14-21 as youth members.

Don't forget that starting in October of 2008 (the GSUSA year is Oct-Sept) GSUSA will begin the total restructuring of it's program. Here's hoping it goes smoother than their last program changes.

Per Crossramwedge - "The school is a private school and in fact is heavily backed and supported by the CO. It is located on the CO's property." Since the CO is a church, to me this sounds like it is the church's school. Very rarely will you have a church let an entirely different private organization set up a school on church property, and then "heavily back and support" it.

I am a bit unclear why your CO would be OK with the Pack's charter moving to the CO's school when they don't want the Pack. If your current CO has not provided trained leaders, why would you think the CO's school would? The Pack's CC needs to contact their COR, UC and DE and have a sit down meeting with the CO to see what exactly can be done. If the entire problem is no leadership than the CC and COR need to sit down and pick the best people in the Pack to approach - personally. The mass appeal, hoping for someone to come forward on their own, rarely works. With 60 boys in the Pack there should be at least 1 parent in each den who would make good leader material. BTW - if your CO no longer wants to charter a Pack, and is willing to release the charter completely, the Pack can take their history and Pack number to another CO. I would recommend that the Pack's CC start shopping around for a CO that is not affiliated with their current CO.

We are celebrating Scout Sunday this Sunday (Feb 10). The church will be decorated with banners made by the boys working on their Parvuli Dei Award. All of the altar servers, lectors, etc, will be Scouts or Scouters. All Cubs Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Scout leaders are in full uniform. We all process in carrying the American, CS Pack & BS Troop flags, and sit together in the front (where the pastor can watch the Tigers squirming) with the Troop on one side and the Pack on the other. We have about 30 boys earning religious emblems. During the mass each group of medals will be brought up to be blessed. The leader will describe the award and some of what the boys did to earn it. The boys will be called up and presented with their medal. After mass we hold a continental breakfast in our school/parish hall for the Scouts and their families.

rhetorical - - used for, belonging to, or concerned with mere style or effect - asked merely for effect with no answer expected rhetoric - - verbal communication : discourse Ahhh - But I did see ALL of the above.

I really doubt that anyone here is missing the point. I also really doubt if anyone would actually be in favor of an adult using profanity toward a youth under any circumstances. Th initial question was rather rhetorical. That means that this group has to find SOMETHING to "discuss". Otherwise what fun would it be?

From BSA's Unit Money-Earning Application - http://www.scouting.org/forms/34427.pdf "Selling raffle tickets or other games of chance is a direct violation of the BSA Rules and Regulations, which forbid gambling. The product must not detract from the ideals and principles of the BSA."

I am a bit perplexed over what you want to accomplish here. Is this simply a rant about what happened to you? Are you planning on doing something about the leadership in the Troop? From what I understand from your postings, your son achieved Eagle and both you and he are no longer with this particular Troop. From what you have posted, yes, your son was in a rather dysfunctional Troop. No, dysfunctional Troops\Packs\Crews\etc, are NOT the "norm", but they do exist. Usually they do not exist for very long. As others have said, I do not see the need to go over, and over, all of the bad things that happened to you and your family with this Troop. Yes, they were bad, but they are water under the dam so to speak and are over. Move on and continue your Scouting experience in a functional BSA unit.

So, according to your former DE, it's OK if the folks in your Pack/Troop/etc don't get value for their money spent? Nice guy! Auctions are fine. Raffles are considered gambling and are forbidden by BSA.

While you might all be going individualy, you must purchase the tickets as a group. This is a Pack outing. The bottom line is that each council has the right to decide when a Local Tour Permit is necessary. Each council can very well have a different set of rules concerning Local Tour Permits. To be certain call your council service center. However, it is simple enough to do and costs nothing. So why not file one anyway to cover all bases.

In Girl Scouts, most Summer Camps are an individual thing. You don't just go to camp for a week and swim and do badges. There are lots of different types of programs offered. Each camp program offers different things to do. There are also generally camps of different lengths (weekend, week, 2 weeks, etc). Unless otherwise specified (there are tent only, platform tent, teepee's, etc), the girls usually stay in a lodge and do not do any of their own cooking. Girls sign up for a program that interests them. Some councils provide a bus to camp, others leave the transportation up to the family. Girls can sign up with buddies if they want to. Some councils also offer opportunities for Troop/Group camping during the Summer. edited to add - Daisy level (K-1) usually are restricted to day only. Most of the resident summer camps start with the Brownie(1st or 2nd) level.(This message has been edited by ScoutNut)

Tenure refers to one specific REGISTERED position. You can not, in the same Pack, be a REGISTERED Tiger den leader AND a REGISTERED Wolf den leader. Your training knot would be for which ever ONE of these 2 positions you are REGISTERED in. BIG difference between being registered in and serving in a position. Contact your Council Service Center or check the list of registered members on your Charter.