5yearscouter

Well around here, you won't get the belt loop award to give the scout unless you get the actual loop at the council day camp. So if the RM doesn't sign off on it, the HQ when passing out the belt loops won't give you one to give the boy. If that makes sense? You can't buy the archery or bbgun belt loops or pins. They come as part of your day camp or resident camp awards like the camp participant patch or certificates or whatever. if you go to the council office to try to get the belt loop, they won't give them to you. The only exception was Webelos Encampment, the belt loops and pins for archery and bbgun you could get at council--with the RM's signature on a special advancement form. Now if you can just go buy them, then sure buy them for whoever you want....

Well we didn't get an error report that listed all the errors, but an audit of the advancement summary for all scouts sure found errors. Not sure what's up with that.

Well since the Cub Scout Sports and Acadmics Pin for Archery can only be given out at a council camp, then yes, the Archery Rangemaster does get to "sign off" on the Tigers earning the pin. I actually wish Day camp would "tighten up" on some of the stuff they say you earned. I'm still aaaarrrrrrggggghhhh about all the boys being told at cub scout day camp that they earned the weather belt loop and pin. First Req of weather belt loop = make a poster of the water cycle. I don't see that as a vague thing--but they define it as an adult makes a poster and at day camp the boys look at the poster and talk about the poster. Second Req = make a weather station to record the temperature, wind, etc for one week. So the camp staff has a weather station they've set up, they talk about it, they show the boys how to write the temperature and wind on a chart, that has been filled out by day camp for the last week (and the prior 3 weeks of day camp). But the boys didn't do any of the stuff for that. I didn't even look at req #3 at this point. But the boys tell their parents, their parents say cool you'll get that at the pack meeting right? so the den leaders say sure. I get to go buy all these belt loops and pins and Iknow the boys didn't do the work the way it was intended....

Well our cheating to get badges ahead of the actual awarding of the badge was done so long ago, it doesn't even register as a misdemeanor--the people who originally did it are long gone. our box of badges has been around a very long time since the unit has been around over 80 years. New units I would suspect that along with getting the unit up to speed and ready for scouts in a timely manner, all sorts of things are bought at the scout shop, and that first court of honor is always so interesting to try to get the paperwork right to match the badges when you don't know what you are doing. They should just give you 2-3 of every rank badge just to take the stress off the brand new advancement chair for that first court of honor in a new unit!

The first thing you tell all the leaders you can get to listen is for them to go into their myscouting account and make sure their membership ID number is listed in their account and save the profile. then wait a bit and try pulling up their training under their id number on my scouting training verification. then check your report again and see if any N's turned into Y's. Training required for all: YPT This is Scouting and depending on who you talk to Fast start for their position SM ASM also need Scoutmaster Specific Intro to Outdoor Leader Skills Troop Committee of all kinds need the all above and Troop Committee Challenge CM and ACM also need Cubmaster Specific training Den Leaders also need their Den (or tiger or webelos)Leader Specific COR should also have Chartered Org Rep training. there is a chart here for our council http://www.grandcanyonbsa.org/OrgHeaders/62/Training%20Matrix%2006_08_12.pdf but it doesn't list the This is Scouting or Fast Start at all.

Yes it's great to print a copy for each star or life scout so they can audit their own records and see how close they match with what is available on scoutnet. Shortly after you hit submit on the internet advancement report it updates the boys records. It's not as important to have perfect records for a cub scout, but it's handy to have. I ask each parent when their son is ready to cross over to a boy scout troop if they want a copy of their son's records and print one off for them. If you find an error like wrong date, you just log in, update the date and submit the report, sign and turn it in at the scout shop. If you find an error like something has a date that shouldn't have a date, I reset the date to 1/1/2000 or something else like that to stick out. Then I go find who at council office is correcting reports and get them to remove the record-- in cubs that is an easy process. Haven't had to do it with boy scouts. In boy scouts I find missing merit badges, but haven't yet found a merit badge entered in error for something that they haven't really earned There is a glitch in the belt loops recording that is now on internet advancement. IT will take belt loop dates occassionally. There is not a place to put the pins. A suggestion if you want to get scoutnet certified is that you have to first get them to admit to you what the file upload has to look like, order of data. But if there is any way you can get it to kick back to you after an upload anything that didn't upload correctly and give an error report, that would be great. See troopmaster (I haven't uploaded from packmaster ever) does't give an error report. the records of the scout just doesn't get uploaded and you don't know it. The issue is usually that the name and middle initial(or middle name spelled out) has to match the upload exactly with what is recorded in scoutnet. So if the software records have the scout down as George smith, but council has George W. smith or George William Smith then the records won't upload correctly. It should match up data based on membership ID number, but it's not that smart.

When you fill out an internet advancement report they print at least 4 pages long to waste a bunch of paper. Our big court of honor after the summer camp season the thing is like 8 pages long. We then turn that thing in at the scout shop and the employees do not verify that everything you have in your pile to buy is exactly as listed out on the form. They take the form, initial it and put it in the stack. So you can easily pick up 2 extra of each rank badge. That puts you ahead enough that most of the time you'll never have to make anyone wait. Then be consistent in always turning in the advancement sheets in a timely manner to buy badges as the scouts complete their rank, so you never run out of badges, you always are replenishing your supply.

http://www.doubleknot.com/openrosters/vieworgpagelink.asp?orgkey=62&linkkey=5819 scroll down to the power point presentation about internet advancement and click to view. Then you can at least see what the internet advancement pages look like for entry and recording. there are a few changes since the power point was made, but not many. I like internet advancement useage because I can see at a glance who is registered in my unit in what position--so I notice if someone isn't registered in my troop or pack after I already turned in their application. I can print membership cards if necessary as soon as new leaders or scout applications are processed. I can print a summary by boy of what they've got recorded on scoutnet for advancement, and I can see a summary for the whole unit of what is recorded for each scout. and get those reports as pdfs to safe and email around.

Enjoy your Cliff bars and Honey stingers I think they are called.

Well a quick google says that Austin TX to Payson AZ is 15 hrs 52 minutes. plus time to get to camp. of course there are 2 other routes listed depending on what freeways you want to drive on which gets you up a bit past 17 hrs drive time.

While you can still get awards without the internet advancement, council wants you to use internet advancement for awards. Most recent development on that is that the old 3 part advancement forms are no longer being made available. So if packs can't upload from cub trails directly, then the next best thing is a very easy to read and copy report -- made up with everything in the order it is on internet advancement--so a unit that uses cub trails, if forced to use internet advancement can manually enter the info into internet advancement quickly. do you use internet advancement? I've used it since it became available so I can enter awards into it pretty darned fast regardless of what tracking software we use for the advancement at the pack level.

So you'll have to get them to work on fixing the merit badge counselor list next! I'm Firebird district.

You from San Tan district?

It's not close byat all, but Camp Geronimo, in Arizona has room that week you want to go to camp, you'd have to get two campsites probably. You'd call Grand Canyon council and talk to Diane Hinman. Camp Raymond would be closer for you to drive to probably (straight over on I-40) but it's actually completely full all weeks due to taking all the boys from Camp Lawton in Tucson AZ that was closed due to fire danger. Of course, that's a lot of drive time for you to head over from tx. Camp Geronimo also added an extra week to their schedule to take those locked out of other camps due to fire after Camp Raymond filled, and there is a lot of room that week (July 21st) This info may not help you, but it could I guess help someone else. and I was bored so I went and looked it up.

duplicate post.(This message has been edited by 5yearscouter)

have you read this http://www.scouting.org/filestore/commissioner/pdf/33118_WB.pdf If COR's realized how much power they really do have, well some of them wouldn't want the job, and others might cackle with glee. hehehehehe(This message has been edited by 5yearscouter)

BSA COR training says "The Boy Scouts of America, in its relationship with chartered organizations, depends on the COR to be the liaison between the local council and the organization. As the representative of the organization, you have the responsibility to share information between the council and the organization and vice versa. In fact, you are a voting member of the district and council. The council is a grassroots organization in that there are more CORs than council members at large. So the control of the council belongs to the chartered organizations." Now I've never voted at the district or council level. I do attend district meetings when I can, although not always wearing my COR uniform(since I have several uniforms and belong also to a troop where I am committee, and pack where I am COR--different CO's). I do get an invitation to the Council annual meeting, and some FOS breakfasts. I've never attended but probably should have at least for the free food. hehehehehe

Oh yeah, collecting summer camp med forms is a nightmare and it's my job every year for cubbies to day camp/webelos camp and for the last 2 years for the troop of 60 boys ("luckily" only 31 went to camp to nag about medical forms) I announce it by email, on the troop website, at court of honors, at circle up at the end of meetings, individually to parents, and the last 2 weeks before camp it is phone calls and txts if necessary. We have CVS and Walgreens that have minute clinic type places that will do camp physicals for under $50. sometimes I can rat out some coupons to get it down to $30. I explain to parents if I do not have your son's new medical form in this binder (hold up binder) by June 24th when we leave for camp, you will be sent to see if there is a minute clinic open and hope you can get a med form then for your son. But you'll have to drive your own son up to camp. Camp won't allow us to check in without the forms for each individual. This year I advised that if their son takes medication or has a special condition that leaders need to know about, it's imperative that they get the med form to us a week before we leave for review. and then we make a copy of the med forms one for us and one for the summer camp. If they show up the day we leave they are sent to CVS to make a photo copy and bring it right back. Amazingly enough we had med forms for everyone when we left. but about 4 of them came in that hour before we left. as for refunds, yeah we can't issue refunds, cause council gets the money and keeps it. if we haven't paid all of our $ to camp (like for late additional adults that decide to go) we can use their $ on that so they may get $ or they may not. At least the kid with the heart condition and a million meds went and got his med form from his cardiologist and brought 3 copies of the form. hopefully this year he doesn't go to the hospital about half way thru camp like last year.

Also as Unit Commissioner, I would expect that YOU would catch it and recommend another course of action or a back up plan to the unit instead of the COR dual registered as ACM.

The computer system isn't supposed to allow that kind of dual registration. I'd call the registrar and ask if the computer system will kick it out or leave the unit without a COR. or spin off and ask someone else here

See I don't want to HAVE to enter all the den meetings and activities and events in order to update everyone in the den at once. cause that means more entry for me right now. sure maybe later I'd add all the pack calendar to the thing, but until I know it's useful and does what I need it to do, I won't take the time to enter everyting. if I'm looking for ease of use, I want to be able to add what was done at a den meeting. I also want the option to click and say that a whole webelos badge/pin or belt loop was completed without having to click on each of the 8 things done. Cause often a pack awards chairman will get a list from a webelos den at the pack level that says these boys finished these badges and I need the badges for Friday's pack meeting. The den leader hasn't had the time, or taken the time, to enter everything into the database individually for each scout. he just knows they did it all at their last overnight campout for forester and he signed all their books and sends the info on to the advancement chair. If advancement chair has to go into each boy, or go into the webelos den activities and click each individual part of each award when they weren't there and don't know which one was done, that's not gonna work. Sure ideal is everyone keeps their online stuff up to date cause they have the iphone app, except the one den leader who doesn't have an iphone or a computer at home. needs to be a contingency plan for that to help you appeal to packs of all sorts of sizes and types. for instance the online excel trax has a spreadsheet that you can put each boy's individual awards. and a worksheet where you can see the whole the den at once for all the achievements. most of the den leaders I have use the worksheet where you can see the whole den at once, and they record things as done all at once for the whole den. they can see at a glance who was absent so they know who did or didn't do the work. need to view your whole den compared to each other without pulling a report of who hasn't earned a particular award. does the report show parts of awards, so they know for instance at day camp everyone did what they needed for the swimming pin, and 2 parts of the swimming belt loop but they didn't kickboard across the pool. so they need to be able to see that detail in a report. perhaps you should have a sample version available with a few fake cubbies entered in dens, with some awards listed and partials of certain awards and let people log into and play with. they can click what boys have done and add activities, and print reports and see what works without having to input everything. then when they log out of the sample, it resets to just the info you had entered as sample data. might help them catch on to the ins and outs of your product easier.

Technically the system is set up to not allow the registration in both positions. The registrar may be able to force the issue. when our ASM became COR, the application wouldn't go thru and it took a call to national and eventually they just had to remove him as ASM first at the national level so the code for COR could be entered. So if he changes to ACM that would make you COR-less. Technically the pack doesn't exist if there is not a COR. This may or may not be an issue for operation of the organization, however, as a UC you should know that it's never a good idea for a pack to be acting without a COR in place. If they are self chartered, the COR may also be Institution Head/Executive Officer of the Parent's of Organization. so you'd be removing someone from both positions potentially. Realize that the unit cannot approve any new leadership without a COR to sign the applications.

Wow that's a hefty bit of change for something that is unproven and just starting out! Almost what packmaster charges and they've been doing it for many many years and you can upload from there to council internet advancement. I want the ability to go into the den and enter everything done at a den meeting or campout for every scout all on the same page. Cause when you have a den of 10, you don't want to have to go into each of the 10 people and click click click to drill down to the level where you can enter stuff. I also start working on webelos Activity pins/badges way before we really think of it as working on webelos rank. to be able to click on any badge at first, would be much easier than clicking on webelos badge, then click on activity pins/badges, then if doing something besides citizen or fitness click on other badges and then finally get to where you can add in the stuff for the scout for what he did at day camp.

any idea when the req will be published? My 16 year old came home from Philmont NAYLE course on Saturday and went straight to his job working at summer camp. but the txt he sent me says that he did all but 3 req for SAR merit badge. ok, I hope he has a list of what those req are, cause I can't find them! and then gotta find someone to be a SAR MB Counselor too!

How much does cub trails cost after that 90 day free trial?