Shutterbug

Thank you for all the replies, guys! Sounds like it's a "no" then---they switched me over to cubmaster before the ink had dried on the pack committee minutes in November! That's fine. Just thought I'd double-check to be sure, and I wasn't sure where to turn. It's not THAT important to me, I was just a bit disappointed that it wasn't possible now due to a technicality. I appreciate all the guidance! As for whether or not I'm in it for the "bling" or the boys, I'm actually a little offended you would even question that, perdidochas. It appears as though the BSA program---especially Cub Scouts---has a big basis in recognition awards. And that's true for leaders too, as evidenced by the number of patches and pins on all the leader uniforms at our monthly roundtable. Everyone likes to be---and deserves to be---recognized for their efforts. I had a simple question and wasn't really looking for judgment over my motives. As I stated in my original post, most of the extra work I did in order to earn the awards (lots of parent communication, attending roundtable, planning extra outdoor activities, etc.) has really helped our program be more successful and fun this year, and I don't regret any of the work I've put in. Clearly, BSA designed the award to encourage leaders to do the right things to make their Cub Scout program work as it was intended. And yes, ScoutNut is right to point out that I'm not running the Tiger program as intended. Our previous cubmaster explained the program to us incorrectly at the initial meeting, so the other parents immediately said they didn't want anything to do with leading, leaving me + the other guy in charge. By the time I figured out how the Tiger den was supposed to be run, we were already two months into the program and everyone was content to sit back while I ran things. My busy season for work is in the fall and I was dealing with a family crisis situation, so I didn't have time to delegate to the other parents and follow up with them to make sure things were organized. By the time things calmed down in my world, our Tigers had earned their badges and, by then, it was too late to change the formula they (and their parents) had become accustomed to. So here we are. The boys have had a great time while working towards their achievements, and that's all that matters.

So, I've been the den leader for my son's Tiger den since the beginning of the school year. I've been diligently tracking and planning super fun activities for the boys every two weeks, as well as doing everything necessary to earn the den leader training award knot. Halfway through the year, our cubmaster stepped down and, because I said I would "help", and no other parent responded to the plea for volunteers, I was named cubmaster by default. It was awkward since I am brand new to the program, but I've tried to embrace the position, while still keeping up with my den responsibilities. Was discussing something with the committee chair recently and it came up that I am not registered as our den's leader. I'm listed as assistant den leader because, evidently you can't be registered as a cubmaster AND den leader? Is this true? She stated something about Journey to Excellence doesn't let them dual-register leaders. The person they've registered as our den leader originally volunteered to be den leader, but then dropped the ball for the first two meetings (he did no training, no parent communication, no meeting planning---he had no clue what the Cub Scout program was about or what we should be working on), so I took over as den leader. He's done nothing for the den since I stepped up, despite my repeated attempts to involve him in planning and training. It stings that he could get recognized for all of my hard work, and that I will receive nothing. It has taken an incredible amount of work and time commitment to juggle the responsibilities of both positions, and get up to speed on the Cub Scouts program in general. Of course, I've been doing everything for the boys' sake, and all the extra work has contributed to our very successful and fun year, but I have to admit I was looking forward to earning my first piece of "bling" for my uniform and I'm a little disappointed I now don't qualify to earn it because of a paperwork issue. Looks like there's no assistant den leader awards, and the cubmaster awards start at 3 years of tenure. A scout is trustworthy...so I'm not going to just buy the knot because I'm not the registered den leader and didn't officially earn it, according to the paperwork (http://www.scouting.org/filestore/training/pdf/511-052_WB.pdf). But, before I give up on this and move on, is it really true you can't be the registered cubmaster and a den leader at the same time?

So do you just sprinkle them throughout the meeting, pulling a new one out each time? Or do you pull one at the beginning and teach it, then use it for the rest of the night when the kids should cheer for something? I think our roundtable commissioners do it after the leader recognition awards (so, in a pack meeting, it would correlate to the recognition section of the meeting). But that's the only time they pull one.

This may be a silly question, but I cannot for the life of me figure out how to incorporate the cheers/applauses into a den/pack meeting. These fun little devices are all over the Leader How-To Guide, meeting plans, and Internet resources, but I haven't found a good explanation for how to work this into a meeting. I've seen them used at District Roundtables, but it seems very awkward and the roundtable leaders tend to gloss over them---they do one just once during a meeting and move on quickly. I love the Cheer detergent box they use---everyone screams when it's opened---but the cheers themselves are super lame and awkward. It's more fun to pull them out of the box. Is that the thing? Our pack doesn't use cheers currently, but I was just elected to be the new Cubmaster and I'd love to incorporate them because it seems like a fun part of the scouting program.

Okay, thank you! Just didn't want to mess something up on our first trip! It's just about 10 minutes away from school too, so I figured it wasn't that big of a deal, but just wanted to be sure. Thank you guys again!

Hello! This is my first time posting, but I've been lurking for a few months. You guys are a wealth of information! Hoping you can help clarify something for me. I'm the Den Leader for a small group of Tiger Cubs. In a few weeks, we will be taking a Go-See-It to do a tour at a TV station, but the station had to schedule it during the workday because they have to work around schedules and newscasts. Our den usually meets in the evening because we have several parents that work outside of the home. We might have one or two kids who may need transportation to the Go-See-It. (Yes, I know Tiger Cubs technically need an adult partner at the event...but this is such a special trip and we have several stay-at-home-moms in our den that will be there to help...I figured if we had just one or two cubs without an adult partner, we could make it work.) These kids are good friends with my son, and we've hosted playdates with them in the past (before Cub Scouts), so I'm sure the parents would be fine with their child just tagging along with my son and me. However, I know that the Youth Protection guidelines say I need another adult to satisfy the two-deep leadership rule. Does that still apply during the transportation to the event?