ScoutNut

">>So what your saying is the GSUSA council took my daughters money when the troop folded?????"

This appears to be a local award. The only patch info I could find was for the CT Yankee Council. Their "lamps" were curved segment patches that went around the primary circular patch. If you have one long strip with the three different colored lamps spaced along it, I suggest cutting it into three pieces, each with one lamp. These can be sewn on under/over/adjacent to the main patch.

Part of the problem with having different sub-groups of a GS Troop doing different things is that a GS Troop often just isn't big enough to make that viable. Add to that the fact that many parents are not willing to take on the responsibility (and training) for extra activities, and assume that the Troop leader will just do twice as much, makes sub-group activity a rare thing. Another difference between the programs is that GSUSA council summer camp is rarely a Troop activity. Councils offer a variety of themed camp programs, and girls sign up individually for the one that interests them. Special trips are the same. Similarity - Religious emblems. GSUSA encourages girls to earn the Religious Emblem of their faith, and to wear it on their uniform vest/sash. As with BSA, girls are expected to get parental permission, and work on their emblem programs outside of GS Troop time. GSUSA has also come out with the "My Promise My Faith" awards. These awards can be earned each year, and are for girls who want to explore their faith in the context of Scouting, and the Girl Scout Law.

>>"one of them says I haven't gone backpacking in forever ... Do you suck it up and make it happen? Or, do you go with the majority who will probably just want to go skating and maybe shopping one Saturday afternoon?">> I don't know if any other Troops would blow off what the majority of the Troop wants to do in favor of what a single girl wants, but our Troop would not. The GIRLS make the decisions. If on the same weekend, 6 out of 7 girls want to go skating, and 1 girl wants to go backpacking, our girls would talk it out among themselves, and if that 1 girl could not convince 3 others to change their vote to backpacking then skating it would be. Backpacking would be put on the back burner until there was sufficient girl support. It seems only fair to me, however, your definition of fair might vary. Our Troop never turned away anyone, adult, or youth. We had both male, and female leaders. While the majority of the girls were all from our local parish school, we did have some from the local public schools as well. All of our girls were in the same grade. We did at one point take in the girls from the grade ahead of our girls because their leader quit. They stayed with us for 2 years and then, when they bridged to the next level, they started their own Troop again (a parent finally stepped up). We did a lot of different things with the girls. Including camping, canoeing, horseback riding, sledding, and skiing, and service projects of all kinds. Girl Scout Troops/Groups are more independently run than BSA units are. That is because they are not "owned" by a CO. Every unit is an independent entity. >>"BTW where did all that cookie and dues money go?????"

Basement, you can disagree all you want. It doe not change the facts. Most of the "differences" you state between BSA and GSUSA are not differences between the National programs at all. They are problems at the LOCAL level.

>>"differences in the GSA to BSA">"Local option for membership.....Because of the color of our skin, School she attends, home address and age. My daughter has been denied membership in several troops."

Den Chief is a LEADERSHIP POSITION with both a Troop, and Pack, not a "program". A leadership position that definitely requires more of a commitment than other Scout leadership positions. For instance, your plan to have a Den Chief attend your Pack/den meeting from 6:30-7pm only, and then to get driven (by more than one person) to their 7pm Troop meeting, still makes the Scout 10-15 minutes late for his Troop meeting. Attending only one (or one half) den meeting per month, or only an occasional special appearance (1-3 times per year), is hardly showing leadership. I would think that a SM would be hard pressed to approve 0.5-4 hours time,as having fulfilled a four month Position of Responsibility. A Den Chief is part of the leadership team for a specific den, and as such should be coordinating his activities with the den leader (not with the Pack's UC/CC/CM/etc), and his SM/SPL. The den leader and the Den Chief work together to fit their schedules, and make the best use of the Den Chief's time/skills.

"Scout signup night" and "recruiting" events are, for us, two separate activities. Scout are "recruited" all year long. We invite interested families to our Pack meetings, and various events during the year. The current Pack families talk to their friends, and their sons talk to their friends. We have information tables, with displays, at school registration day, and other school/parish events during the year. For the families that don't join up during the year, or like to join at the beginning of the school year, we do a Scout Signup night after school starts. These families (99% of them) already know they want to join Cub Scouts, they just need more specific info, to fill the forms, and to pay. As we have families coming in at different times during our allocated time frame, our signup night is run very similar to Basement's. We have leaders ready to talk to groups of families, usually by grade. They are given calendars, newsletters, fliers, etc, and then sent on to the registration table where they do the forms/payments.

>>"Often I have a bone to pick with craft projects selected by lady leaders."

>>"My biggest question is about partner being his stand in Akela when mom can't be at the meeting."

>>""Individual scouts" have an absolute right to shop around and that's what BSA promotes. But the "pack" does not shop around."

>>"As a parent, I think I'm going to transition my son from blue to tan when he actually earns the Webelos badge."

double post(This message has been edited by ScoutNut)

triple post?(This message has been edited by ScoutNut)

>>"Rather commonly the Girl Scouts doesn't like to have men in their program ---- even fathers."

CC, it sounds like you are just as "spreadsheet happy" as I am! I have a file for receipts where I keep track of the popcorn each Scout has taken/returned, and how much they have paid. I have another file for the booth sales. With one spreadsheet per booth, and a total page. Finally I do a Pack-wide file with all Scouts by den where I enter their take-orders, and prizes. This one also has a sheet with the totals for booth sales that are allocated back to the Scouts. We don't use Scout accounts either, but booth sales allocations are added onto the boys take orders for a grand total sold. This is used for prize levels. We have some boys that do most of their popcorn sales working at booths. Their families then order the balance to bring them up to their sales goal. It works out well for families with multiple Scouts, as well as for the Popcorn Kernel. They usually only have to purchase a few pieces for personal family consumption, and the Pack gets a good group of booth volunteers. Keeping up the spreadsheets might be a bit of a pain, but they make balancing product/$$ a lot easier. They also make filling out council paperwork a lot easier because you have all of your numbers at hand, and all you need to do is transfer the totals to the paperwork. Ahhhh, the towers of popcorn boxes, and the smell of that microwave butter corn in the morning! Being a retired Popcorn Kernel is not a bad thing!

$50 is plenty. Since you do not have any odd costs that would require singles 5's should be good. I would throw in one 10 too. Remind the folks staffing the booths to make a note of any donations. Remember to balance the money after each sale, and do not forget to take out the "kitty". I found it very helpful to write down on the back of the sign up sheet for each location how much of each variety you started the booth with, and how much you had at the end. Then total what the costs were for what was sold, add in donations, and match it to what you have in your cash box. If all goes good, what you sold should match the money you have. Keep the sign up/sales sheets for each booth sale. Remember to write on the sheet where/when each sale was. These sheets will help you balance the product sold to what is left, and what will be needed to fill take orders. They will also be helpful when you are picking next year's locations/times. One other thing. Since you will not be at all of the booth sales, make sure the booth sale volunteers that are there note on the sheet if the Scouts that signed up actually show up. You will need that for allocating booth sale costs at the end of the popcorn sale. I always totaled all booth sales together and came up with an average cost per shift/per boy. That way boys who worked more than one shift got more sales dollars.

You have still not explained what EXACTLY the SM has done to the boys in the Troop to deserve being removed as SM. Why, EXACTLY, are the parents (led by you?) so against this man? Simply your opinion that the SM is wearing to many hats does not cut it. There are many folks out there that wear multiple hats and manage them all well.

What Wing said. However the CO must also follow BSA rules/regs/policies. For instance, a Charter Organization (CO) can not decide to register girls as Cub Scouts. The CO owns the BSA unit it charters.

We sold Campmasters for a couple of years, and then went back to Trail's End. We felt that the quality of Trail's End was significantly better. We also made sure to include $10 choices in our TE products. Last year we had two $10 products, four at $18, two at $20, one at $25, one each at $30/$44/$50, and the military donation at $30. It is a pretty decent spread, which gives customers options.

A 4-hour popcorn shift? The Boy Scouts might make it thru, but the Cubbies would be climbing the walls - literally! I did 2-hour shifts, and it worked out fine. Plus, since 2-3 boys is the MOST you want on a shift, you have slots for more boys.

Girl Scout Troops can not be forced to accept members. Many Troops set a limit on the number of girls they will take. Others will only take girls from a single class at a school. Others are made up of only girls from the local (insert denomination here) church. Still others will only take adult applications from females. While the organization as a whole has broader policies, an individual Troop can set their their own limits based on what the leader, is comfortable with. If a council tried to force a Troop to accept specific members, the Troop Leader can simply quit, and disband the Troop. If one Troop is not to their liking, girls can just shop around, or they can form a new Troop that meets their own specific needs. As for something in writing from GSUSA to that effect - not that I have seen. All I can do is to tell you what I know from personal experience of over 16 years as an adult member of GSUSA. The above does happen all of the time. I have seen it. It is common practice. The local councils allow it to happen.

No right or wrong way. However, it is easier for the little guys to direct the air toward the sail with a straw. It also keeps them a bit further away from the gutter.

Actually, it's not much different from forming a brand new Tiger den when parents are told step up and be a leader or no den for your boys. While the SeattlePioneer Pack might plan out all of the den activities, and program for your dens, including Tiger, not all Cub Scout Packs are the same. Many just throw the new bunch of families in the deep end, and let them fend for themselves. In GSUSA, there are folks that help new Troops get started. School Organizers help new Troops in the school(s) they are responsible for. Service Unit Managers help find a place to meet if a Troop can not meet in a home. Area professionals help with paperwork, training, and getting the resources needed. By attending Service Unit meetings in their area, new leaders can network with, and learn from, other leaders in their area. As with BSA, GSUSA has resources in place to help new units get on their feet. (This message has been edited by ScoutNut)

>>"Personally, I like the chartered partner/unit model --- but of course that's mostly what I'm familiar with.">"I've attended recruiting meetings by GSUSA organizers. They have a tough row to hoe getting new troops started, in my view, and existing troops can be expected to age out and fail as the girls grow older.">"The chartered partner/Troop/Pack model tends to be a durable one, with continuity that can go on for years with some support (like a Unit Commissioner) to help be sure that important things are done."