ScoutNut

If you are starting a new TROOP, then a group of Webelos, or rising 6th graders, is a good start. However, if, as you seem to suggest, you want to start a new PACK, then starting with just Webelos is going to be a tough road. Not only is it harder to recruit at the 4/5th grade level, but your entire Pack has one foot out the door with no one coming in to replace them. As for feeding local Troops, any 5th grade Webelos you recruit in Aug/Sept are not going to be able to cross to a Troop until the end of 5th grade (unless you have some that hit 11 years old before that). Most Troops will not take in brand new, and very inexperienced, Scouts at the beginning of summer. Aside from the logistics of adding numbers to their Summer Camp list (unlikely), many are gearing down their activities and do not hold weekly meetings. The result is that these Scouts will not be actively involved in Scouting until school, and Troop meetings, start up again in Aug/Sept. The odds of them staying in the Troop at that point are much lower. It makes better sense to start at the bottom, and build a good foundation. If I were starting a Pack from scratch I would start with recruiting the heck out of those new 1st graders. Tigers are eager to join, and up for anything. If you utilize Shared Leadership, along with a few experienced leaders to guide/encourage/enthuse, you can "grow" your own "crop" of volunteers each year for the following years.

Contact your Service Unit/Area's council professional person. If you get no answers, keep going up the chain of command at your council until you get some.

>>"we came up with a plan to also offer the volunteers to be merit badge counselors as a way to ease them back into scouting."

Aside from being really old news, what exactly does GSUSA's realignment have to do with the topic? Girls Scouts can do pretty much what ever they, and their leaders, want to do. How old/what level they are also has an impact on what they can do. Some Troops are very outdoors oriented, others not so much. I know of one Troop of older girls that held a progressive dinner. They planned out a dinner where each course was at a different members house. Each member was in charge of their part of the dinner. Just about every GS Troop does service of some kind throughout the year. Throughout their 12 years as youth in the GSUSA program, our girls camped in lodges, tents, and even a railroad car, swam, hiked, canoed, rode horses, went bowling, flew kites, learned about zoo management, went cross country skiing, learned manners, cooked over fires, played games, went sledding, sang songs, did science experiments, planted gardens, learned about trees, ran programs at the library, had sleepovers, visited museums, played dress up, learned first aid, worked with younger Scouts (girls and boys), helped with the food pantry Christmas baskets, did skits, shot arrows, danced, made holiday cards/placemats for Meals On Wheels, visited an animal shelter, went to plays, had picnics, made lots of "stuff", earned all of their religious emblems, snowshoeing, made candy, wall climbing, and much, much, more. They all also earned the Girl Scout Silver, and Gold Awards (Bronze cam out when they were working on their Silver so they missed that), and are now Lifetime Girl Scouts.

Just a note - BSA requires that a Pack overnighter be planned/run by a BALOO trained individual. Most councils will not approve a Tour Plan for the campout if there is no BALOO trained adult leading the event. Most of your questions should have been (will be) answered when you attended BALOO training.

>> >>"This is something that we do from the moment they join as a Tiger, to when they age out at 18, or 21. >> And you stop there why? "

Perhaps this quote from the 2011 Guide to Advancement will help - 9.0.2.14 Risk Management and Eagle Scout Service Projects All Eagle Scout service projects constitute official Scouting activity and thus are subject to Boy Scouts of America policies and procedures. Projects are considered part of a units program and are treated as such with regard to policies, procedures, and requirements regarding Youth Protection, two-deep leadership, etc. The health and safety of those working on Eagle projects must be integrated into project execution. This can be found here - http://scouting.org/scoutsource/GuideToAdvancement/EagleScoutRank.aspx#90214

"The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Scout Law." This is something that we do from the moment they join as a Tiger, to when they age out at 18, or 21. Even if you broadened the very specific, and narrow, topic, from just volunteering with BSA, to include volunteering in general, I do not feel that there is enough there to create a merit badge on, or indeed a reason to try. Scouts learn about volunteering, and service, by doing hands-on service all through their Scouting careers. Scouts do not need to be "educated" on the volunteer opportunities of Scouting specifically.

>>"there must be some way to get the SM removed before he hurts other boys."

There is already American Business, and Salesmanship. If you want to add another merit badge in that vein then I would suggest Marketing, or Public Relations. I don't see the point, or the need, for a merit badge specifically for the business end of Scouting.

Not something I would recommend to any of my units either. I feel that flag ceremonies, and flag retirements, are service opportunities, not money-earning opportunities.

>>"Raising funds via popcorn sales is not effortless!"

>>"A WDL with substantial backpacking, climbing, hunting or military experience probably has the skills and confidence to make those Webelos years exciting.">"An untrained person who thinks they should be repeating the Bear year of Cub Scouts probably doesn't have a clue. "

>>"I wanted to go to a community service group (the local base's officer council) and invite them to volunteer with the CS packs in the district."

>>"Our recruiting night is also our first pack meeting/activity of the new school year. We have a snappy recruiting event which is just as good at involving existing Scouts in the program as it is at recruiting new boys.">"The availability of the popcorn sale was mostly just mentioned as part of the recruiting night. It was presented in more detail at the first den meetings."

Personally, I agree with separating recruitment and unit popcorn kickoff. They are two separate events. Nothing wrong with mentioning at your beginning of the school year Scout signup night (recruitment is done year round not just for one night) that the Pack sells popcorn to fund it's program. However to hit them with all the popcorn info at that time is over kill. It also means that you have to do it all over again, and they have to sit thru it all over again, when it is presented to the entire Pack. On a side note - Make sure that before you go and set up a booth sale at any location (especially a government location) that you get permission from the site owner/manager. It will not make a very good impression on the Scout families (old or new), or the general public, if you are kicked out or fined.

I also thought it was rather funny that on the video Mr Excitement (as Twocub so nicely names him!) stresses that all deadlines will absolutely be met, and that everything (publications, training, etc) will be ready, in place, online, on the shelves, on time. Then you look at the plan itself, and you see that deadlines have already been changed a number of times. So much for absolutes, and the possibility of at least one groundbreaking thing coming out of this!

Yep, the title of the Plan (411) did make me chuckle a bit. Here they are, claiming to be trying to make Scouting relevant, and "cool" to youth again, and they use as a title a term that is only really relevant to older parents who know what a land line telephone is, and had to call "Information" to get someone's phone number. It might have made more sense to title it "Google"!

Sorry Twocub, but Requirement 2F does NOT state - Teach the Cub Scout how to run a flag up and down a pole. It says only - Participate in an outdoor flag ceremony. Those that are actually there, at the flag ceremony (not watching a video), are indeed participating in the ceremony. They are (usually) standing in some kind of formation, they are standing at attention, saluting when appropriate, reciting the Pledge/Promise/Law/etc, and then being dismissed. That is definitely "participating". There are other Requirements in Wolf Achievement 2 (Your Flag) that deal with teaching the Wolf Cub skills such as how to raise a US flag on a flagpole, and how to fold a flag. Requirement 2F - specifically - does not. Now, does it make sense to combine Wolf Requirements - 2A, 2C, 2E, and 2G, along with Requirement 2F? Certainly it does. However it is not necessary, or required, to do so.

Keep in mind that the completion criteria for Cub Scouts is to "Do Your Best". I believe that after 6 outdoor flag ceremonies the achievement can be considered completed by the 2nd grade Wolf Cubs that attended camp.

I don't know if you are in Blackhawk Area Council, but their 2012-2013 Program Planning Packet might help - http://www.blackhawkscouting.org/Units/Resources/ Check out - 04 Boy Scout Planning Portfolio. Although individual district calendars might be lagging behind, most councils have at least a basic council calendar for the 2012/13 program year up on their website by now. Also sign up for all council, and district newsletters. As for volunteers, you can not charter, or re-charter, without enough volunteers. Since you have been basically a one-man-show, many folks just assume that is how it is supposed to be, and so will not not move out of their comfort zone (or off of their backside!) for you. How well do you know the Pack/Troop families? Pick the folks that you think will do the best job, and have a personal, one-on-one talk with each of them. Lay out the facts, including the fact that you can/will not continue to do this all on your own, but that you will be there to help them, help the boys. Sell the program. Sell their part in it. Good Luck!

Sounds like you and your son have it all figured out fine. Congratulations to both of you!

Actually it is called the BSA Den and Pack Meeting Resource Guide - http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/CubScouts/Leaders/DenLeaderResources/DenandPackMeetingResourceGuide.aspx Can't say I am a big fan, especially at the Tiger level. However it does give the brand new leader a resource for ideas. For the Tiger level, aside from taking the BSA training, most of what you need to know is in your Tiger Handbook. Read it from cover to cover. Get to know your Pack leaders, and your Pack. Use Shared Leadership. Have FUN. Make sure all of your Tiger Teams (Tiger/Adult Partner) have FUN. Have MORE FUN! Happy Scouting for you and your son!

Have your son call your local council and ask for contact info for the person in charge of approving Eagle projects. That is who he should ask these questions of. Many councils assign Eagle Mentors to Scouts working toward Eagle. Have him ask about that also. If he does not already have one, he should get an Eagle packet from your council. That should include (along with all forms/apps/etc) council rules/guidelines, and council/district contact info.

You don't have to spend "buckets" to have a good Pack program, or even a fun Pack campout. For Pack campouts we camp at local State/County parks that have group sites for youth organizations at very reduced prices. There are also lots of local resources to take advantage of. We hike, visit nature centers, fish, bike, have Ranger led activities, and even visit local Scouting museums. We charge $5 per family, with the Pack picking up the rest of the cost. Bulk stores are great for low cost food shopping. Our Pack attends two professional sporting events each year. Both are with "minor/feeder" leagues so tickets are quite a bit lower. We also utilize group ticket pricing which cuts the cost even more. The Pack pays for a bus so that no one has to drive and spend money on gas and parking. As one poster mentioned, Pack programs, like Pack volunteers, are cyclical, and Packs have a greater turnover of leaders than Troops. What one group does, might not be carried over completely, or at all, by the next two, three, four groups of new leaders, and new families. All current leaders can do is to try to set a good, fun, level of programming, and hope that it becomes a Pack "tradition" that is carried on.