ScoutNut

Like Madkins007 stated, 45 scouts is NOT small! We have about 35 and we have a pretty good parent (& former parent) volunteer group. Get to know your families. Find out which ones seem to have a grasp for the program & ask them face-to-face to do a particular job. It works. The parents aren't dummies. They know that there are jobs that need to be filled. Some of them have even considered doing those jobs, but chickened out when it came time for them to wave their hand. Find these folks, talk to them & help them to say YES! A good tip on finding a willing volunteer - look for Girl Scouts. If a family has a girl in Scouts too, they are more likely to volunteer their time. A Girl Scout leader with cookie sale experience is a great find for a Popcorn Kernal!

BSA already has a policy - From the Guide to Safe Scouting : BEWARE OF LIGHTNING The summits of mountains, crests of ridges, slopes above timberline, and large meadows are extremely hazardous places to be during lightning storms. If you are caught in such an exposed place, quickly descend to a lower elevation, away from the direction of the approaching storm, and squat down, keeping your head low. A dense forest located in a depression provides the best protection. Avoid taking shelter under isolated trees or trees much taller than adjacent trees. Stay away from water, metal objects, and other substances that will conduct electricity long distances. By squatting with your feet close together, you have minimal contact with the ground, thus reducing danger from ground currents. If the threat of lightning strikes is great, your group should not huddle together but spread out at least 15 feet apart. If one member of your group is jolted, the rest of you can tend to him. Whenever lightning is nearby, take off backpacks with either external or internal metal frames. In tents, stay at least a few inches from metal tent poles. LIGHTNING SAFETY RULES Stay away from open doors and windows, fireplaces, radiators, stoves, metal pipes, sinks, and plug-in electrical appliances. Don't use hair dryers, electric toothbrushes, or electric razors. Don't use the telephone; lightning may strike telephone wires outside. Don't take laundry off the clothesline. Don't work on fences, telephone lines, power lines, pipelines, or structural steel fabrications. Don't handle flammable materials in open containers. Don't use metal objects, such as fishing rods and golf clubs. Golfers wearing cleated shoes are particularly good lightning rods. Stop tractor work, especially when the tractor is pulling metal equipment, and dismount. Tractors and other implements in metallic contact with the ground are often struck by lightning. Get out of the water and off small boats. Stay in the car if you are traveling. Automobiles offer excellent lightning protection. When no shelter is available, avoid the highest object in the area. If only isolated trees are nearby, the best protection is to crouch in the open, keeping twice as far away from isolated trees as the trees are high. Avoid hilltops, open spaces, wire fences, metal clotheslines, exposed sheds, and any electrically conducted elevated objects.

BSA has Cub Scout Roundtable Helps. They are similar to regular program helps. Get yourself a set. Talk to the old Roundtable Commish & get pointers. Also talk to your District Commish & District Training Chair they should be able to help you out. Did you regularly attend Roundtables? If you did, how did you like them? Were there any parts that you thought could have been done better or differently? Was there anything that you always wished they would add? If you did not attend Roundtables, why didn't you? What should the Roundtable have offered to get you there? What should the Roundtable offer to keep you coming back? After you have answered all of these questions & did a bit of research, you will discover that you need help! This is not a 1 person job. Think of all of the Scouter's that you have met in your District. There must be at least 2 who you think would be crazy enough to come on board as Roundtable Staff! Round 'em up & hog tie the varmints in time to plan a Wild West Roundtable!

"(and I personally don't think a Scout is a Scout only during specific hours)." All members of the Boy Scout of America means adults too. I take it that you neither smoke or drink even outside of scouting activities? While re-reading the replies to this thread, some things start to stand out to me. T216 states that while he does not know how frequently this scout drinks the issue to him is that it is "recurring behavior". The way he knows it is "recurring" is because the dad acknowledged the boy "has had a beer and will probably have one again". To me that is one beer with the possibility of one more. T216 states that "the boy is not a drunk who is getting into trouble. But he is partying with beer." How do you go from - I don't know how much he drinks & he has had a beer - to partying with beer? T216 also states that "i do suspect a couple of others who may be drinking more than "just trying it once" - and we plan to talk with them about drinking and scouts too." No mention here of holding up their advancement? How about talking to their parents? Or telling the DE about them? T216 then says "We're not singling out this one scout, other than his being close to wanting to go before Eagle review board". So it IS OK to do underage drinking & pass BOR's for advancement as long as that BOR is NOT for Eagle? I'm starting to get the feeling that this Troop just might be singling out this one boy to make an object lesson of. His name has been gossiped about around town & the council. All to show that they want to keep the sterling, ultra high quality of Eagle candidates (only) bright. Well, while Eagle is the highest rank a Boy Scout can achieve, it is still a RANK. The same as Life or Tenderfoot. It is achieved by first earning 6 other ranks and then completing some final requirements. Boys who achieve the rank of Eagle are NOT GODS. They are still BOYS. Boys who have completed a LOT of hard work, but still boys. With all of the foibles & problems that come with ANY teenager. What is the old saw about throwing stones in glass houses? How many Eagle Scouts here can truthfully state that they NEVER took a drink of alcohol while they were underage? How about more than 1 or even 2 drinks? How many can truthfully state that they NEVER smoked a cigarette before their 18th birthday? Or had an older buddy buy them a pack? How about you T216? I know I will get flamed for this, but IMO, stop polishing your Eagle & gossiping about this "good kid" (T216's words). Do a program in your Troop meeting about the problems with underage drinking. Do some role playing, invite a community service officer, invite a youth counselor, invite the parents. Have ALL the boys sign a pledge to not drink & to not drive with another youth who has been drinking. And, if you must hold up advancement, hold up EVERYONE'S. Until you can run the program & get the signatures.

Per YP training - In Scouting - Suspected instances of abuse should be reported to the SE to investigate. Out of Scouting - It depends on the laws of your state. Check your on-line YP to see what your state requires. Here in Illinois we are required to report to the proper authorities. To NOT do so would be criminal. As others have said, the parents are enabling their son's underage drinking. That is against the law & police departments DO enforce it. We have had a few instances in recent years here where parents have purchased beer for high school parties. The parents have been arrested, fined & in one instance I believe even jailed. I can't help but wonder about your "close-knit neighborhood troop". If it is common knowledge that underage drinking is rampant in your community, & that this boy is involved with his parents consent, why is it that no one has done anything about this before? Also if it is that rampant, & a lot of the scouts go to the same school as this boy, then I would also bet that more scouts than just that one are drinking. They may not have their parents behind them, but I would bet they sneek a "cold one" now & again too.

It is not up to the Committee who should, or should not, be the SPL for the Troop. A behaviour contract & a conversation by the SM might be a good idea.

If you want Den Chiefs, you get them where you can. You should start with your affiliated Troop and then go on from there. Is someone in your Pack trying to say that Den Chiefs can ONLY come from your affiliated Troop? I guess that means that they don't really want Den Chiefs at all!

"should we promote the idea of "shopping" around for the best Troop to our Webelos 2 Scouts and their parents?" Yes - For all of the reasons given by Wingnut. If a boy and his family "shops around" for a Troop they like, the boy is more likely to stay in that Troop & in Scouting. If their Cub leaders force them to join a Troop that they do not feel comfortable in and that is not a decent fit for the boy, the boy will most likely drop out of Scouts by the end of the first year. Then you will have lost a boy to Scouting completely.

Sorry Cubmaster Mike, I stand by what I said. The various different Religious Emblems are NOT BSA awards. They are the awards of the various different religious organizations that the BSA ALLOWS to be worn on their uniform. The BSA has approved the wearing of SOME of the Religious Emblems that are out there available to be earned. The Emblem programs that they have approved are listed on the National BSA site - http://www.scouting.org/awards/religious/index.html The BSA Religious Award square knot is worn on the uniform to reflect the fact that a Religious Award has been earned. It is NOT, however, the same as the Religious Emblem (which is usually a medal) itself. The Emblem medal itself can usually only be purchased thru the religious organization or a religious company such as PRAY Publishing. Although, some councils have made arrangements to handle the purchase of some of the Emblems thru them, it is usually more trouble than it is worth (for the council & the buyer) & easier to buy them direct. The Religious Emblems should also be awarded to the boys by the religious organization itself in their own ceremony. This is usually done on (or around) Scout Sunday / Sabbath. The BSA square knot should be awarded to the boys at the Pack meeting directly after they have finished earning their Religious Emblem. Only one square knot can be worn, no matter how many Emblems are earned. However, most Scout Shops carry "knot devices" which are mini pins that are worn on the knot to represent the level (Cub, WEBELOS, Boy Scout) the Scout was at when he earned a Religious Award.

Den Chiefs are Boy Scouts. The position of Den Chief is a Position of Responsibility / Leadership position for the Scout. They take training for their position from your council the same as the Den Leaders do. It is usually an all day training on a Saturday. They are NOT maids or gofers. They are LEADERS and as such are part of the leadership team of your Den and should be helping you to plan and run Den activites. All of that being said, like any other leader, some are good at what they do and some are not so good. You will probably have to help a brand new Den Chief along a bit before they get their "leader legs". If a Den Chief is truly more of a bother than a help you should contact his Scoutmaster & request someone else. A good Den Chief is a wonderful thing.

Welcome Beth! From what I can tell, Cub Express is a local achievement/elective/belt loop workshop type of activity. We do not do them in my neck of the woods. Does your Pack buy & award Mother's pins? What are they currently displayed on? We make, & present, a Mother's pin ribbon with the first rank award. I usually buy the felt squares (we use dark blue for Cubs) at fabric or craft shops. I believe I get 3 ribbons out of 1 square. You can get bags of pin backs at the craft store. I cut one end of the ribbon to a point & cut 2 small slits in the other end. The flat/slitted end is folded over & the pin & opener part of the pin back are pushed thru the slits leaving the rest of the pin back inside the fold. A little hot glue (what would we do without it!) on the flat back of the pin back & around the edges of the fold to seal it & you have a Mother's pin ribbon. As others have said - Training & Program Helps! Also flexibility. Discipline might take some patience & consistency on your part. A good start is to have the boys themselves put together their own set of Den Rules & Consequences (with a bit of help from you of course!). Find out if your Council has a website, most do nowadays. Check it out often to find out what is going on in both your Council & your District. You can usually access Cub Scout Fast Start Training & Youth Protection Training from your council website. Sign up for any council/district newsletters. Your District should be having their yearly Kick-Off meeting in the next few weeks (it IS August already-wow!), find out when & where & make a point to attend. Don't forget FUN Pack meetings keep a boy interested too!

It sounds like your Pack is one of those that all meet together at the same place & time. I can't say I am a fan of that type, but it seems to work for some. Our Troop meets every Thursday, from 7:30 until 9pm. Our Dens all meet on different nights, at different times, basically whenever is good for the Den Leaders. There is one Den that meets on Thursday, but it's meetings are over by 7:30 so there is no conflict. Our Pack meetings are generally on a Tuesday, but sometimes we have Friday or Saturday meetings if they are due to run later. We have never really had a sports problem with the Friday meetings for the Pack. For the Troop, it depends on the boys ages & what they are into. Sports are pretty much played all the time, so a Friday might not be any more likely to run into a problem than any other night. Dating would probably only be an issue for those 16+. I would say that the con's would out weigh the pro's (personally I can't see ANY!) for having Pack & Troop meetings at the same time & place. IMO, keep them separate.

I know of no way to make a den that wants to be exclusive sound like it is not. It seems like you have to make a choice. Either you have an exclusively homeschooled den & loose the boys who are NOT homeschooled. or You have a mixed den and loose the boys who ARE homeschooled. Since it is really your Charter Organizations call, maybe you should run it by them and see what their thoughts on the matter are. You might also suggest to the homeschool group that they consider chartering their own scout unit(s). There are many homeschool groups that do. That is the whole point of the Charter Organization. Charter Orgs manage their units and control their program of activities to support their own goals and objectives.

I have no basic problem with a strictly homeschool den. I understand that it would be more convenient for them because they are able to do things during the day. Where I have a problem is when you start losing boys because the homeschool den (or other special den) will not accept them. If you have enough boys for 2 complete dens & both dens understand that if the numbers reduce to a certain level the dens will be combined, then I say fine, go for it. However if you have 1 den which refuses to accept any boys not "like" them then you have a problem. I also am not a big fan of a separate, non-English speaking den. How will this den manage at a Pack meeting? How will the non-English speaking leaders know (or care) what is going on in Committee meetings? How will this den be able to participate with the rest of the dens? We have some families who speak limited English. Their kids help translate, the families do their best to learn & help & the rest of the Pack makes a point to not talk "over" them & to make sure they all feel like a part of the Pack "family". Remember, these are all issues that they must face at school as well. There are no schools in our area that provide non-English only classrooms.

This year's recruitment theme is "Race to Scouting". Why not use that. Have a Cardboard Derby race. Either a relay type or one-on-one. You can supply the boxes & the materials & the kids & their parents make their cars.

I think that having a separate den for any special group would entirely depend on how many total boys you have at that level. Having a "special" den of 10 boys and a "regular" den of 2 or 3 is not good. You also should try to avoid looking like some boys/families are getting special treatment. You are a Pack too, and all of the boys should be part of that larger "family". The health of the ENTIRE Pack should be of foremost concern to your Committee. IMO, I would try to avoid specialized dens. Scouting is for all boys & they should learn how to interact with other folks. If you have families who are only Spanish speaking, I would sign up some leaders who are bi-lingual.

Each religious emblem has different requirements based on the religious denomination & the age of the boy. As a general rule of thumb I would say that most take at least 2 months of work to complete. Also, even if the emblem of your religious institution allows parents to be the counselors, most also require that one of their clergy review & sign off on the work. There is usually a back page that must be signed & sent in to be able to purchase the emblem. Check out the link to Pray Pub posted by kittle. You can find out what your particular emblem would be at their site & then visit your Scout Shop to look at the booklet. I do not believe they are shrink wrapped. PLEASE NOTE - These are NOT Boy Scouts of America awards. These awards are created & overseen by the individual religious institutions. The BSA simply allows them to be worn on their official uniform. The purpose of the religious emblems are to bring youth to a greater understanding of, & to grow in, their own faith.

I see no reason it could not be worn as temporary insignia on the right pocket.

The "real value" is not to the scout doing the selling. It is to the person doing the purchasing. BSA is concerned that the purchaser gets something of actual value for their money. They do not want someone subsidizing Scouting or a Scout by paying for a token product or service that has no real value of its own (such as the windshield squeegeeing above). As for the Scout getting value out of a money-earning project, that depends on how it is run. Boys can learn a lot if we teach them & let them do the work, instead of doing it for them. Going door to door with a popcorn sheet is a good example. The boys must know their sale & their product & be able to answer any questions that come up. They learn how to approach people they do not know & talk to them. They learn to keep good records. They learn what to say to encourage people, who do not know them, to buy something from them. They learn perseverence, as they go to 15 houses to make 1 sale. They learn how to count & handle money. They can learn all of the above and more at a Show & Sell Site Sale. They learn merchandising & marketing. How to display the product to catch people's attention. They learn how to create the best type of sign that will bring people to their sale. They learn how, & when, to approach people. They learn public speaking. They learn what variables affect a day's sale for good or bad. Of course, they will not learn all of this in one year. They also will not even realize what it is they are learning. It is a progressive thing. If you have the boys doing most of the work then the parents "putting up a sales sheet in the break room" is just icing on an already great cake!

If you use the official Cub Scout Academics & Sports booklet, the pages have spots for initials next to the requirement. They can also print out the requirements from the web & initial/circle the requirements they have finished. We copy the booklet pages & give them to interested families. The families put the date, scout's name, & level, on the top and initial what has been done. They hand it in to their den leader who gives it to the advancement/award guy to purchase for the next Pack meeting.

You mean, that if you get a family from "their" side of town who wants to join your Pack, they want you to tell them no, that they have to join the other Pack instead? That is ludicrous. I can see asking the family if they have considered joining the Pack closer to them. They might not know it is there. Or, they might know about it and simply not want to join it. You can't force anyone to join a particular Pack. If you do that, odds are the family will NOT join the other Pack. You will lose them to Scouting completely. Contact your Unit Commissioner. He should be able to help you talk to the other Pack.

Positions of Responsibility according to the Boy Scout Handbook : Senior Patrol Leader Asst Senior Patrol Leader Patrol Leader Troop Guide OA Troop Representative Den Chief Scribe Librarian Historian Quartermaster Bugler Junior Asst Scoutmaster Chaplain Aide Instructor

There are no boundaries for BSA units. I have even known a Cub family who moved into another council & kept registered with their old Pack. Families & their boys pick units for many different reasons. Some of these are - Time/day of den/Pack meetings, number of friends in unit, how active the unit is, distance to meeting place, unit leadership, and many more reasons that are not so clear cut. Is it "legal" to tell another Pack they can't recruit on your side of town? Not really, no. You said your town is small, is it big enough to support 2 Packs? If there are enough boys to go around, then it might make more sense to have a joint recruitment drive & let the boys & their families decide which Pack better suits their individual needs. They will end up doing that anyway at some point. Why set up bad feelings in the community?

This Pack better have been made up of ONLY Webelos! The BSA considers fire building an appropriate activity for Webelos and above. NOT for Tiger, Wolves, or Bears.

This sounds rather fishy to me. What about when a BS Troop invites a Webelos Den, or many Webelos Dens, to one of their Den meetings or an overnighter? That is an activity involving 2 or more units. We have never had to request permission from our SE for any Troop/Pack activites. We have District Cub Fun Days 1 or 2x a year where the boys from different Cub Packs get together for fun activites. There are also District Camporees & Klondikes. I am sure that the SE knows about these, because the District comes up with a bit of money to help with the costs. But, I think that is a different thing. I would give your Council Field Director or Asst SE a call and get the particulars verified.