ScoutNut

>>"The COR is a good person to coordinate packs and troops under the same charter org. He has a right to be there and I don't think people would be offended if he was there.">"If you have different charter orgs, you have a harder battle to fight."

Yep, our old Scoutmaster was 20+ years, our current Scoutmaster is 5+. The Scoutmaster of another Troop I know of was 10+. His replacement is at 7+. I know of many long term Scoutmasters. In our Pack, the Cubmaster is 10+ years. I was a leader of my son's den from 2nd grade Wolf, thru 5th grade Webelos. When he was in 4th grade, the 1st grade Tigers needed a leader, or there would have been no Tiger den that year. So I took that on as well, and stayed with the Tiger den for another 11+ years. Son came back to the Pack as a Den Chief when he was 11 years old, in 6th grade, and left when he was a 20 year old Assistant Den Leader. Our Unit Commissioner has been with the Pack, and Troop, (in various roles) since his son was in 1st grade. He is now a great-grandfather.

You can not reach a destination, any destination, without the journey to get there. In Scouting, we give our Scouts the opportunities to mature, learn, and grow into great young folks, with a wider view of the world. What ever "destinations" they reach, or not reach, they still manage to learn, and grow, along the way. Every Scout takes something from the experience.

There often many reasons why a leader's son is the one acting up. Especially in the younger group, one of the main reasons is to attract his parent's attention. Kids want their parent to volunteer to be a leader because they think it will be something they can do "together". They are to young to realize that a leader must give their attention to all of the kids (and adults too). As others have mentioned, because a leader is spending his time leading the whole group, chasing down his own kid(s), is often on a back burner. Many times the behavior of the "leader's kid" is not significantly worse than any of the others. It is just that he is held to a higher standard. As the saying goes - it takes a village. Do everyone a favor, if you (parent or leader) see a child (Scout or sibling) acting up at a meeting, do something about it. Corral the child, talk to him quietly about his behavior, redirect him, give him a task. Doing nothing only encourages the child to continue.

What is your REGISTERED position?

As you said - the SCOUT did NOT make the contribution, the parents did. The parents get to wear the patch, not their son.

I forget now Seattle, what is your position with the Pack? Are you Unit Commissioner, den leader, Cubmaster, Committee Chair, all of the above? As a member of the Pack, you can request that the Troop ask the Life Scout if he would like to serve as a Den Chief for the Pack. It is up to the Scout himself to agree, or not. However, unless you are the den leader for the specific den that the Scout would be working with, it is not your call to decide what his responsibilities will be. That should be worked out mainly between the Den Chief, and the den leader. A Den Chief is a member of a DEN'S leadership team. He is not an activity helper for the entire PAck.

Tiger Cubs are G-R-R-R-R-R-E-A-T!!! I was a Tiger den leader for about 11 years. I am also on the District/Council Cub Scout Training staff, and often do the Tiger training breakout. Most of the families in Tiger are brand new to Scouting, and have no idea what to expect, or how to go about anything. I really, really, doubt that you will have everyone trying to run things their way (or any way). Most of them, especially at the beginning, will be trying hard not to be noticed by you, so that they don't get asked to do anything! Just remember that if there are 6 Tigers in your den, it really consists of 12 members, and you must plan for 12 members. The Tiger and his adult are a TEAM. Make sure the adults do everything their Tiger does. That means they do the flag ceremonies, say the pledge/motto/Law/Promise/etc, sing songs, play games, do crafts, and more. Your job as the Tiger den leader is to introduce the Tiger Teams to the Wonderful World of Cub Scouts! Instill in them from the get-go a love for Scouting, and a feeling that the Pack is one big, close, family, and you will have set the hook that reels in the next Pack volunteers! Read your son's Tiger Handbook from cover to cover, and have FUN!

>>"We asked for a meeting with the Council Board and were told that the Board did not take comments from the floor but would read a letter if we submitted it. In the meanwhile, our DE and 2 Field Directors spoke with us but just provided the party line (obviously did not have any power). We were "granted" a meeting with a few Board members.......The meeting did not address our concerns. We did not feel that they even listened to our concerns."

Nothing cheap, or simple, about buying all that wood, cutting, grinding, etc. Much simpler to ask your local grocer to donate a package or two of foam meat trays. Purchase a large package of straws, a package of printer paper, and a roll of duct tape, from the $1 store. A sheet of printer paper can be cut into 2-4 sails (depending on the size of the foam "boat". Boats, and sails, can be decorated with crayons. Straw "masts" are attached to the boats with duct tape. Sails are also attached to the masts with duct tape. Minimal cost, minimal prep, and it can all be prepped, and assembled, right there on race day. Lots of fun for everyone.

Was this instruction during a regular Troop meeting? Who was in charge of the meeting? Why was the meeting area not "policed" prior to everyone leaving? Do you have a Troop Quartermaster? If so, what are his duties? What are Patrol 5's reasons for not cleaning up per the SPL? Why didn't the SPL follow up with Patrol 5 to make sure the gear was returned and the area cleaned up? What does the CO have to say about the state the meeting place was left in?

When I'm in the Great Outdoors, I don't want to be lugging around numerous giant duffels, along with a backpack. Compression/stuff sacks work fine for sleeping bags as long as you do not store them in there permanently.

>>"I stand corrected (re: Webelos I vs. Webelos II), three months for Webelos emblem, six months Arrow of Light. Start pushing it in June right after school gets out and I guess you could ram the entire Webelos program down the boy's throat in as little as nine months.">"Your boys may be different, but if I was in a Boy Scout troop I would be rather leery of an entire den bridging over in 9-months. The exceptional one or two, sure.">"Most do not have the emotional maturity at 10 years old - in the middle of 4th grade - to be in Boy Scouts.">"Your situation may be unique in this regards. But, from my armchair, I think you are doing the boys a disservice by pushing them."

>>"Webelos II's can put a "II" behind their rank!"

Yes. You DO know that you are not able to add requirements? If he has completed all of the BSA National Eagle requirements he should be given a BOR, and/or given the particulars of what he must do to send in a protest if you refuse him a BOR.

>>"Regardless of Web's II being a continuation of Web's I - there is still the demarcation between the two, in that Web's I's are not (according to National) supposed do certain things that the II's can. In short, National identifies them as separate levels."

>>"They are not closing any camps!!! The area 2 camping committee is looking at the usage of camps this summer and will determine future actions based on these results.">"Plus as far as gas, most of our camps are quite close to each other i.e. P.B.S.R., Northwoods, and Cole Canoe base are within 20 miles of each other. Camp Rotary and Lost Lake are also within 20 miles of each other.">"In reality we do not need the sercice center buildings because all our events will have to be paid for online and our DEs will work from home."

Cruel, no. However, I agree that the reward would be better given when it has been earned - at the campout. If you want to recognize them again at the meeting, how about something like a necker slide in an orienteering theme, a necker slide in an ice cream theme, a tree limb slice w/date/accomplishment burned/written in, etc. BTW - Just curious, what exactly do you mean when you say they "got ice cream"? Is is a full blown out ice cream social sundae type of thing, or is it a frozen ice cream bar?

This was addressed in the the "old" Cub Scout Leader Book, I can't find it in the 2010 version. However, that could be because, with the new Cub Scout program, all Cubs are expected/required to have completed their rank awards by February. In the pre-2010 version, it stated that if your Cubs had not finished the requirements for the rank award of their current Cub level by the end of the school year they could have a few more weeks to work on it, but ONLY on the rank award. No work on electives, or any other awards for the "old" level, or the "new" one. Basically, Cub Scouts is an age appropriate program, and you can not go back and earn awards for a younger age, or work in more than one level at a time.

>>"the way things are run and done in the OA are pretty much the same as the things done in Scouts, maybe a step up in responsibility. I have actually told people that the boys should be doing the stuff the OA claims they do anyway.......With all that being said, My boys will not be involved unless I am a member also"

Trail's End also has a full line of incentives, including a college scholarship program for Scouts selling $2,500 and over. It definitely sounds like it was your council's decision not to spend money on incentives. It should be interesting to see what kind of program they have worked out with Campmasters.

Keep in mind that just because the Pack schedules an activity, does not mean that everyone is REQUIRED to attend. If the den is holding their own outing at the same time as the Pack, and the den folks prefer to attend one (does not matter which) over the other, so be it. People attend what they want to attend. Having all pertinent calendars available when putting together the Pack calendar of activities for the coming year helps tremendously. It also helps the den leaders plan their program when they have the Pack calendar well in advance so that they know what to plan around. All of that aside - You should all (pack and den leaders) be planning the coming year TOGETHER. Doing it TOGETHER eliminates the possibility of overlapping activities.

I would say that Advancement Chair is not as hard to fill, as it is hard to keep filled. What with the "cat herding" to get things reported (especially at the Pack level), time needed to do the work and keep it up to date, and then having to pay out-of-pocket and wait to be reimbursed, this job can burn you out fast.

The position rather depends on the unit, and it's needs. Any position can be hard to fill. Treasurer is a good one as the person needs a certain amount of financial knowledge, ability to use spreadsheets, and the time to put into it. Tiger den leader is another position that is both very important, and hard to fill. The last hard to fill position would be Committee Chair. Finding a CC who knows what the job is, and actually does it is not easy.

My council sold Campmasters for a few years while we were having some servicing issues with Trail's End. It is not bad, but Trail's End definitely tastes better. I am surprised that the only incentives your council offered were a "few gift cards and a big watergun". Campmasters has a full line of incentives that increase in quality/worth as your sales level increases (from a balsa wood glider to a Coleman Camp package). Perhaps they decided to forgo the incentives from Campmasters and just do their own. Check out the Campmasters website for info - http://campmasters.org/