SWScouter

ASM59 wrote, "I tend to let one of the other Scoutmasters attend to any direction or discipline that my son may need. In doing so, no one can say there is favoritism and my son does not feel like I am riding him the whole time on outings." I think this can be a two edged sword. On the one hand, it may accomplish what ASM59 suggests, but on the other, it may appear that the son is favored because the son seems to get away without discipline while the other boys don't. I think this warrants a careful balance. SWScouter

So if "Bob, Ed and the gentleman from New Jersey" are getting together for a group hug, who's gonna ride shotgun?

What a bunch of hot air, you guys are so full of, " !" Oh man I'm getting lost in the punctuation.

Bob White, do you mean 1972, not 1976? I remember that the program switched on me and I still have my scout belt with 8 (I think) skill awards on it. By 1976, I was about done with boy scouts as a youth. SWScouter

Thanks for the responses, I found them helpful and interesting.

In another thread about LDS scouts and accidents, it was mentioned how LDS scouters are called to service by their bishop. I mentioned how that really would only apply to LDS unit scouters. It was mentioned that maybe, an LDS scouter might be called to a district position at a stake level. How could this be since, I imagine, whoever is in charge of the LDS stake, probably doesn't have any responsibility for district or council positions. So, for scouter positions in a unit, the COR has control over who will be that CO's scouters and what positions they will hold. It's easy to see how an LDS bishop can assign LDS adults to positions in the ward's units. Who is responsible for assigning scouters to district or council positions? Who has control over who will or won't be a scouter at that level, is it the DE? Besides being a WL, I am on the Cub Roundtable Staff. I just filled out a registration form and gave it to the DE. There really wasn't any recruitment involved, I basically just said I would like to do it and someone said great. SWScouter

Lynda J wrote, Currently our District Advancement is LDS. He has no kids and knows he will serve in this position for 2 years. He is a nice guy but isn't doing a great job. For one he doesn't really understand the program. And there isn't that connection with scouting that makes it a part of your heart and soul. This is just another assigned job. I know this is off topic but it's my understanding that LDS scouters are only assigned positions by their bishop for serving their ward's units. District or council positions would be on that person's own volition. This tends to make sense since district or council positions fall outside of the ward's jurisdiction. But then, what do I know? SWScouter

Hi, You might try calling the District Executive for the Mesa District of the Grand Canyon Council. See http://www.grandcanyonbsa.org/Me838mesadistrictleadership.php for his name and number. SWScouter

One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet, is that since the BSA programs are part of the LDS boy youth ministry, there probably is a lot more LDS boys in scouts that wouldn't be in scouts if they weren't LDS. By that, I mean there will probably be more boys per unit capita who would rather be doing something else instead of scouting. What the impact, if any, this may have on safety I really don't want to speculate on. SWScouter

When I add 10, 3, 4, and 2 up, I get 11. Oops, I meant 1011. But then, I understand binary. It seems there's a mixed basis in this discussion.

What is a PLS?

Hey Trevorum, were you born a poor black child?

I have an iPod, I'm using it right now. Last winter, my daughter and I were preparing for a backpacking trip down (and up) the Grand Canyon. We were doing a lot of day hikes. One time, we (I) planned to do a hike with our packs. We got to the park and I started to get ready. Dear Daughter says she isn't going to hike and wants me to take her home. I say I'm going, she can come with me or sit around and wait for me. She hedges. I get my pack on and she decides she would rather hike than sit by herself for an hour but wasn't about to carry her pack. She was planning on carrying my iPod. I said no pack, no iPod, she carried both. She flew, I knew she was ready for the canyon. These little portable devices can be great bargaining tools. SWScouter

The Grand Canyon Council in AZ offers units a Merit and Honor award above and beyond the Quality Unit award. Basically, these awards take the QU awards and raise the bar. OGE, would earning these awards be similar to your unit accreditation idea? The Grand Canyon Council Merit & Honor Unit awards can be found at http://www.grandcanyonbsa.org/Su456form.php?Cat_IDz=9 just below the QU award applications. SWScouter

Just a quick note on term retire since it has been used incorrectly a couple times so far in this thread. To retire the colors means that the flag is being retired from service and will not be used again. Frequently, the flag is burned during a retirement ceremony. One retrieves the colors at the end of the day or the end of the meeting. I hope this helps, SWScouter

Eamonn, My wife likes to go the the Model Home sales around here. She always buys a lot of books at them for 50 cents each. One time she came back with a Boy Scout handbook. She's got a lot of Grisham and Patterson books among others. I like Grisham too, and have read quite a lot of his books but not all, maybe after a few more Model Home sales. I started reading the James Patterson books since we have a lot of them. I like them a lot. A lot of his books have been made into movies, like Grisham's, for example, Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider. Patterson's books have lots of chapters. That means each chapter is only a few pages long. I never like to break from reading mid chapter. I can break at most any time with Patterson, that may be a good thing at the jamboree. SWScouter

Hi, As far as I know, there really isn't a hard rule on when a boy must bridge from Webelos to Boy Scouts. I think though that the boy should cross over at least by the time he finishes 5th grade. A boy can join boy scouts if: -he as completed fifth grade -or he is eleven -or he is at least 10 and has earned the Arrow of Light SWScouter

For charging batteries, I bought a cheap inverter for $15 at Fry's Electronics. If you have access to a vehicle, you can plug any of your chargers (cell phone, camera, camcorder) in it and charge them up. It works great. You may see if anyone you know at Jamboree will have a laptop with a CD burner on it. That way, just get a cardreader to plug your card in the laptop and burn the pictures to CD, then you can clear the card and start over. SWScouter

Scoutldr, by "universal arrow" I figured John-in-KC meant the pocket device. In the 2005 catalog, it is on page "Order of the Arrow 1" below the OA Laser Picture frame and sells for $3.60. In the Insignia Guide, it is called the, "Order of the Arrow membership emblem" and in the OA Handbook it is called the "Universal Arrow Ribbon." Also, there are two exceptions to nothing being authorized to be worn on the OA sash. The exceptions are the 50th or 60th anniversary awards by those who earned them. They are to be warn on the shoulder portion of the sash above the bar at the point of the arrow. SWScouter

Of course, they also came up with the mini-sashes where we all used to have our Universal Arrows.... Used to? I still wear mine, the same one I received in the early 70s. You can still buy them, they are in the catalog. SWScouter

Ain't that the truth.

I should have said Varsity Scout Team, not Crew. I apologize for the mistake. SWScouter

Eamonn, You might take a look at starting a Varsity Crew. It's for boys 14-18 and has the same advancement as Boy Scouts but with a more high adventure bent. Varsity crews have squads, similar to how troops have patrols. The Varsity Scout program tends to be more for the LDS but it may work for what you seem to be looking for. Also, it may appear that you are "poaching" the older boys from the troops, which, I know is a concern of yours. SWScouter

Truth is an elephant of immense size and proportions and we can only experientially know it. So, that is the whole truth and nothing but the jumbo truth. Or is it the tusker truth or maybe the tembo truth. If truth is an elephant are all pachyderms truth or is a rhino just a small truth? A tusk is just a big fancy tooth, truth be told.

Ed Mori writes, "According to the statement, there is only one thing needed - attitude" The statement written by Bob White, "the attitude they bring to the position more so than the aptitude." I don't see how the statement excludes aptitude. It does, however, say that attitude is more important than aptitude. Perhaps OldGreyEagle is on to something, Ed does seem to have the aptitude for demeaning Bob White's posts, or is that attitude... SWScouter