briveigh

We don't really have an AC, we only have a CM and ACM. I am working on possibly taking over the CM position at the beginning of the year, and if I do, I hope to change a lot of thing, including have an AC. Currently, the boys are only given their awards at various pack meetings through the year, not at the next pack meeting like they are supposed to. Also, (and this really bothers me) when they get their awards, they are handed to them in a ziplock baggy (mostly because there are a ton for each child due to the lenghth of time) and pretty much just told what they are receiving as they are walking up to the CM. I am in a position right now of working on taking some things over, so hopefully I can get some of these things changed over the next few months. Our kids don't really have the fun that cub scouts are supposed to have, nor do they have the sense of acheivement like they should, and our pack is slowing suffocation. I'm hoping to help bring it back soon.

The cub master purchases them, and then either the parent reimburses him, or it's taken out of the scout's account from fundraising. They are handed out a few meetings, not at every pack meeting as per BSA policy (which I just learned a few weeks ago, son is a wolf). Most pack meetings are business meetings which really bothers me now that I know that's not how it's supposed to be. I may be becoming the CM at the beginning of the calendar year, so hopefully I can get some changes in place, and maybe even before then. We do the standard popcorn sales, and a camp card fundraiser. A certain percentage of sales goes into an account for the scout, and the pack gets the other. The parents are resposible for dues, again, if the scout has $ in their acct, it can come from there. My son was the top seller for the pack last year, so he was able to do a lot of things with the funds he accumilated (probably spelled that wrong). We have no pack council, again, something I'm hoping to change. We have about 25-30 boys, we lose quite a few due to the disorganization of our pack, and it's almost gone, so needs some drastic changes.

In our pack, the parents purchase all patches and rewards except for the rank badges. I have heard of other packs where the pack purchases all awards, patches, belt loops, and pins. So what does your pack do?

That is what I was thinking it would be, since wolves cannot attend the week long camps on their own. My son attended Day Camp(I know this isn't a resident camp), and Partner and Pal camp over the summer, and there are 2 other council overnight events coming up in Oct. So he has/will get that elective.

In the wolf handbook one of the electives is to Attend a Resident Camp in Your Area. What constitutes a resident camp? Is it any overnight camp?

I have taken all of the Fast Track and Leader specific training available at Myscouting.org. That's what got the bug in my ear that things were running right. The den leaders will help, we offered to help the current CM, and we talked to the bear DL who said he has also asked to help. The current Webelos II DL is also the current ACM. Our current CM said the pack would pay for my husband and I to get BALOO trained, which will be in November at the local council's POW WOW. The CM and ACM as far as I know are the only 2 BALOO trained in our pack. My uncle is a Park Ranger for the county, and I actually went to the main park that he is stationed at today to talk to him about some things our pack could do for the parks, and also since he is a bird finatic, if he would be willing to do some bird walks next spring. I am excited because he is 1 of only 2 people in our state certified to band hummingbirds and he said he would do a banding time for just our pack/den, whoever we could get to go.

I understand where you both of you are coming from, my intitial goal is to fix things for the kids. Except for Christmas, raingutter regada, pinewood derby and the blue and gold banquet, they pack meetings are business meetings. Until I started doing all the research to help my husband this year with the wolf den, I didn't know it was supposed to be different. I want the kids to be able to get their recognitions at more than these meetings also (currently those are the only times they get their patches, pins etc). I want to build in more cohesion with the pack, and let the kids have more fun. I don't think this is possible with the current CM, so I hoping that once I get in the CM position, I get get others to step into a committee position. I'm hoping that maybe I can talk our current CM into letting me coordinate den meetings as we transition so they can start running as they should. My husband and I have been looking at skits (which we didn't know we were supposed to do at pack meetings), and trying to come up with some simple ones for our wolves to do, hoping that other dens will get the idea. I didn't know that pack activities were supposed to be scheduled prior to the start of the fall meetings. We don't ever have anything planned, and it's just pulled out of hats at the last minute. For example we were told about a trip to the Virginia Creeper trail that our CM wants to take on Sept 21st (granted, we were told at the beginning), but we still as of yet have been told the cost, I do know, because I have called and talked to the CM myself. He has not given out the info. Our next meeting won't be until the 10th, 1 1/2 weeks prior to the trip. We will have a bad turnout because of the lack of information until the last minute, but he will claim that it is because the parents just won't do anything. So he carries that attitude, which is due to his lack of planning, and lets that affect the entire year. I know we have another parent, who my husband and myself have talked to, that wants to take a larger roll, but not the CM possition, so I may be able to get him to become the CC. So I guess I going at it backwards from what you are suggesting, but I think in this situation it may be the best way.

Here is what I have so far, just did the border Friday (not perfect, but first time doing it...lol). Nothing besides the border is attached yet, and I actually got a big Cub Scout badge to possibly put in the middle instead of the fleur de les. I'm waiting to go farther yet until after our first meeting after recruitment. Yes we only have 4 in our den, we lost a lot last year, again, like I said, we have a lot of issues with our pack, the I am working on resolving this year. http://s216.photobucket.com/albums/cc187/koltonjb/?action=view&current=001.jpg

My husband was the den leader of our son's Tiger Den last year, and is the Wolf Den leader this year. Our current Cub Master added me on as the asst den leader this year, since I have joined my husban with leading the meetings. I may be becoming the Cub Master in the next year, I haven't made up my mind yet. Our current CM's son moved up to Boy Scouts last year, so he is ready to move on, and pretty much only sticking around because no one else will step up. Our ACM's son will be moving up in the spring. I'm still stradling the fence, mostly because I know there are a lot of issues that need to be corrected, also that it is a lot of responsibility. Currently there is no Pack Council (not sure if there has ever been one), the CM and ACM do everything. My plan is over the next few months is to shadow our curren CM, attend RT, and possibly, if they are willing to allow me, attend Pack meetings of other packs in the area, and learn from their CM, and find out how they are operating. I don't want to go into this blindly. I am the type of person that when I go into something like this, I try to learn everything I can. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

There are too many issues with our pack to mention, and I may be becoming the Cubmaster soon, so I hope I can get them corrected. Anywhoo, I am currently the assistant den leader of my son's wolf den, and we have made a den flag. I am hoping to get the other dens to also make a den flag (until I started doing research, I had never heard of a den flag, so no one else had either). I was wondering what awards your pack gives to the dens on a monthly basis. I have read about attendance awards and uniform awards for dens with the most cubs in uniform. Are there any other ideas, and and what kind of things do you give for these that they can add to their flags.