VentureScoutNY

VA, some things you may have to agree to digagree about. I see too many friendships come to an end because of political beliefs. I agree, a debate would be good to have. It's what sets us Americans apart from all the wackos in other countries, who can not be civil and disagree without killing eachother... Good for you though on knowing the issues and making an effort to resolve things between your fellow scouts. acco I'm going to have to re-word that... Any 20 year old that isn't a liberal can just see the truth long before the 40 year old can. All depends on when that light bulb turns on. Last time I checked I had a heart YIS

I can see how Scouting can be a "gene" in some way's, and in some way's it is not. It all depends on the child or scout that either likes the program or not. Does family have a guiding hand in enlightening their child about scouts? The sure do. And that is the true with everything. My parents do not follow sports, I have aunts and uncles and friends that do, but since my parents and dad especially don't, neither do I. When it comes to scouting, my mom was a den leader, and thats about it. My dad was never a leader, and I think he made it to 2nd class as a scout. Some uncles here and there were Boy Scouts, and some Explorers. I did not have parents that forced me to be involved, I just liked it, than I loved it. Now; yea, I'd say its in my blood. YIS

The official Venturing uniform includes The Kelly Green shirt with grey pants, venturing socks, venturing brimmed hat or twill cap and belt. You can find it here: http://www.scoutstuff.org/cgi/catalog Goodluck! YIS

Thanks for the Responses. I will probably be asking the Scoutmaster when I get a chance about my fellow Eagle Scouts coming along. Proud Eagle, I will make sure they know what they are getting into. Knowing them better than I know myself soemtimes I know they would look forward to helping out in any way that they can to ensure that all of the young scouts on the Trip really get a lot out of the whole experience. Whether or not we all go with the Troop, or camp out nearby and meet up with them there, I know this will be a great Trip!

Ok, so I am attending the Jamboree as a guest. I am camping with my former Troop somewhere in the great state of Virginia. I am as most of you know an Eagle Scout and Venturer. My two best friends are also fellow Eagle Scouts. One of them is 20 and the other is 21. They are no longer registered scouters in any way. They would like to go camping with me and the Troop, and also visit the Jamboree. How can they jump aboard and camp with my troop? (we are not camping in a scout camp, probably state park). I am thinking I should just talk to the Scoutmaster of the Troop and find out the details of guests camping with the Troop, since they are not registered with any Troop, or Crew. Is this the best route to take?

This is my 2 cents on Merit badges at summer camp. Read on if your interested. The first merit badge I worked on was at summer camp, and a young scout around 1995. This was the first time I had ever stayed away from home and was looking forward to spending the week with some of my best buddies doing scout craft and going on adventures. When I got there, it was totally not what I had expected. Now, after attending many camps as a youth I realize my experience at this camp was not the same as my experiences at other camps later on. My comments on the Merit badge program comes from my first experince, I will refer to the camp as Camp Hell. When I arrived at Camp Hell, a scheduel was put into my hands as to the merit badge classes I would be attending. I was having a rough time as it was adjusting to being far away from home, and now I had a scheduel of not fun and games, but classes? I should have been more prepared as to what THIS summer camp was. To me from day one I could tell it was all about merit badges. That's not a bad thing, but it wasn't about the learning , it was about the taking. It was about who could get the most. By the end of 3 days we were close to ending the first aid merit badge, and I knew nothing about first aid. I thought how could this be? Can it really be this easy? To make a long story short due to a death in my family at home I left Camp Hell after 4 days. They didn't have to pull me away kicking and screaming. I couldn't wait to get out. I felt like I was at school the whole time anyway. There were no big adventures, not a lot of real scouting craft or knowledge, just a bunch of classes. When I got home I decided I would never go to summer camp again with my stubborn 12 year old attitude. I slowly began working on my merit badges with counselors all over Long Island. By the time I was close to reaching Eagle Scout, I had finished every one of my merit badges away from summer camp. I have attended many summer camps during scouting, but never for merit badges, only for adventures, hiking ect... I do not regret not earning my merit badges at summer camp, in fact I believe I have benefited. Instead of being handed a scheduel, I made my own. I got the oppertunity to contact and meet new scouters all throughout the two counties on Long Island. I am not saying that earning merit badges at Summer Camp is of no value. Depending on the the camp, and the scout, it can be great fun! I am just speaking from my own experience and one specific camp. Other summer camps I have attened have run very good merit badge programs and do not let scouts pass by without knowing the material. YIS

Boy Scouts of America Monoply Game!!!!

Santa Is An Eagle Scout Santa is an Eagle Scout, it's very plain to see. Just listen to this little poem and you'll agree Santa navigates by the stars on Christmas Eve. After all, his first merit badge was Astronomy. To fly his sleigh with finesse, Santa took Aviation merit badge next. Santa and his reindeer have a friendly alliance. He learned it all while earning Veterinarian Science. Engineering merit badge was very hard for Santa Claus. Going down a chimney is an engineering feat, if there ever was. Santa's service project was for all the boys and girls. He delivers toys all around the world. And lastly, Santa's work on Communication merit badge was out of sight That's when he thought of the phrase "Merry Christmas and to all a good night" written by Todd McMahon Merry Christmas everyone, I wish you all a safe and Happy Holiday! YIS

"Decenmber 7th, 1941, a date that will live in infamy..." Sixty three years ago today, the Japanese planes attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor. This suprise attack left more than 2,300 Americans dead, and 5 ships that sank. It damaged many other ships and destroyed more than 180 airfcraft. Most people have learned the history of this attack and the war after, but it seems that my generation is beginning to forget about what happened. Many world war two veterans pass away each day, and every day we lose more Hero's. Take a minute out of your day to remember those who were killed at Pearl Harbor, and those who served their country. Do not forget them, fly the flag proudly, and honor our Veterans.

Welcome to the forums! You are joing the company of some great people!

I'm so excited BP! I want to thank you on behalf of all the scouters interested in these campaign hats for going out of your way to get them, and providing them for all of us at an affordable price. Thanks again! A scout salute to you!

AOL Eagle Scout OA

I'm looking forward to seeing the movie, I saw the upcoming attractions, and YES there were real CUBS in Official uniforms. Good advertisment for the program! There is also a movie about a pine wood derby coming out sometime soon as well, with scouts in official unifroms too! Could this be a trend...hope so! YIS

Thanks for sharing. "Michael Bradle, a 40-year-old Lampasas, Texas, businessman and former Eagle Scout who's in charge of fundraising." Former Eagle Scout? Once an Eagle always an Eagle, no such thing as a former Eagle Scout.

Thankfully my Red Wool Jacket is a family heirloom... I was actually just looking at the BSA catalog the other day, and never really noticed the price of the current jackets. My jaw dropped when I saw the $150+ price. So for anyone interested in buying one, either go to Ebay for a used one, or save $10 a month for about a year and 4 months and you can have a new one Goodluck! YIS

Tonight on the Bill O'reilly show the issue of the Pentagon not standing up for the Scouts is hot. He had an representative for the American Legion on his show and the American Legion has sent letters to the Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and both houses of Congress to stand up for the Scouts on the issue of US military Bases not sponsoring Scouting untis. He will be discussing at the end of the program more about the issue, tune in! FOX News Channel YIS

Just a quick question about the current Eagle Scout Medals... On the back of my Eagle Scout Medal, which I recieved in 03 the letters "CFJ" appear on the back bottom of the Eagle. I asked a few fellow Eagle Scouts that also earned the honor around the same time I did, and it is on their's as well. I had asked someone this question I can remember at my COH, but forgot about it till recently. What do these letters mean? YIS

BP, I'm interested in buying a few. Which style is closest to the BSA Campaign hat? USMC or Army? I thought they were the same... Anyone know the difference? YIS

Why are the Pros that handle the funds not being trained to do so? How can they be expected to do a good job if they do not have the training? Shouldn't all the money jobs be left to the Finance Director; or do only some councils not have this position? (Hopefully these are not "dumb" questions, I am on the learning path to understanding what the pros do, in order to one day become one.)

This was my first chance to vote in a Presidential Election. I am away at school, so I filled out my absentee ballot about 2 weeks ago and sent it home to NY. It makes me glad to think I could be apart of the election process. YIS

Good stories! Especially the can of beans. Young boys are always amazed at putting cans full of anything into the fire and waiting for a bang! There are so many stories in my head, but one especailly comes to mind. My troop was camping on a cold night in upstate New York. One of the dads on the trip brought a bag of charcoal with him for us to use with our new dutch oven. We had never used charcoal before while camping. All of the coal was dumped into the fire ring earlier that day, and the bag was left out. At the end of the night, as the seniors were cleaning some things up around the site, and telling stories by the fire; the rest of the younger scouts were getting into their tents. A tenderfoot scout went up to the SM and asked him where to put the huge empty charcoal bag, he said in a somewhat sarcastic voice "where do we put all of the garbage?" (Now, where do you think most young scouts throw there trash?) The tenderfoot scout takes the bag and lays it right over the fire. All of a sudden one of the seniors yells "NO!!" Suddenly there were giant chunks of the bag taking flight all over the site, and some landing on the tops of the nearby tents! Scouts rushed out in their socks and teeshirts grabbing at the pieces so they would not burn their tents! Since than, I have never thrown anything but wood into a fire YIS

Surfing through the Web I ran into this, thought I'd share for those of you who haven't read it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following message was found among B.-P.'s papers after his death. To Boy Scouts: Dear Scouts, - If you have ever seen the play Peter Pan you will remember how the pirate chief was always making his dying speech because he was afraid that possibly when the time came for him to die he might not have time to get it off his chest. It is much the same with me, and so, although I am not at this moment dying, I shall be doing so one of these days and I want to send you a parting word of good-bye. Remember, it is the last you will ever hear from me, so think it over. I have had a most happy life and I want each one of you to have as happy a life too. I believe that God put us in this jolly world to be happy and enjoy life. Happiness doesn't come from being rich, nor merely from being successful in your career, nor by self-indulgence. One step towards happiness is to make yourself healthy and strong while you are a boy, so that you can be useful and so can enjoy life when you are a man. Nature study will show you how full of beautiful and wonderful things God has made the world for you to enjoy. Be contented with what you have got and make the best of it. Look on the bright side of things instead of the gloomy one. But the real way to get happiness is by giving out happiness to other people. Try and leave this world a little better than you found it and when your turn comes to die, you can die happy in feeling that at any rate you have not wasted your time but have done your best. "Be Prepared" in this way, to live happy and to die happy - stick to your Scout promise always - even after you have ceased to be a boy - and God help you to do it. Your Friend, Baden-Powell.

"To give this scout credit for that position how strick are you? Does the Scout just have a title for credit or does the Scout really have to work for the credit?" Well...it's not about being strict, it's about following the rules and doing the job. A scout cannot "serve" in a position unless he actually does something. Some Troops, I know, do not always adhere to the rules, and let some scouts slide by without doing much. I can not begin to explain how wrong this is, and how it does nothing to teach the scout responsibility or scout spirit. These positions Scouts must hold are not equal to being the Queen of England... they are not just figureheads, its not about the title, its about the job, the learning, and the experience. YIS

It all depends on what your Crew allows. Since Crews can make their own uniforming guidelines you have to check with them. The pants are very expensive, I'm surprised you had two pairs anyway! I have seen the unofficial knots, they do seem like they would go better with the Venturing unifrom, but I could never get around to finding them. I've gotten used to the official ones. YIS

In the days following 9/11 my Troop participated in fundraising for the effort at ground zero. We collected food, gloves, masks, ect... We set up in front of store fronts with boxes for people to donate whatever they could. All of our scouts were in unifrom. A woman pulled up to the side walk and waved me to come over to her car (many people drove up, called a scout over, handed him money and drove away). So I walked over to her window, and she was shuffling through her purse. I had not noticed at first, but when she looked up at me she was in tears. She said her son was in the World Trade Center and was still missing. She held my hand and told me what a wonderful thing we were doing for our country. She wiped the tears from her eyes, and gave me a twenty dollar bill and said godbless you. I will always remmeber that day. For me, that is what Scouting is all about, that is what makes it all worth it. YIS