mrjohns2

Awesome! Do you have 4 other girls ages 11-17? My 2 cents after being a girl troop SM for 2 years and now CC. Don’t make them a patrol of the boy troop. Let them be their own troop. Please.

That is awesome!

I had about 7 to start, but they were very formulaic and required me to only do 5.

Bouncing around on awards center, commissioner awards, and the training awards page it looks like the Scouter's Training Award is for Unit Scouters and District Committee members only.

<re-read, agreed with @David CO's critique, deleted>

This is not true. Many schools in our council allow this. It may be a local thing for you and for me.

It is my understanding the bankruptcy documents say 2023. With that said, a few weeks ago I got a survey from national if there should be a jamboree in 2022, 2023, or 2024 if I recall. I don't know if anyone knows for sure.

What would you talk about? That I should self insure? That I shouldn't volunteer if it involves risk?

Many people I know at work have an umbrella of at least $1MM and they are not involved in coaching or Scouting. Many sport coaches I know do the same. Friends of my daughters come over to the house all the time. It all depends on your level of risk tolerance, future earning potential, and current net worth. Not that I am wealthy, but the fact I have a good salaried job that could be garnished until retirement. Not the future life I am looking forward to.

Our troop is still relatively small and new. If we hit a 25% increase in sales, we get a lot of benefits. For us, that is $2000. When we hit $2000, all of the sales will be at 41% share AND we get 3 adults free for camp. With the value of adults, we will be getting 65% share. So, it is very worthwhile foe our troop. I can see where hitting a 25% increase would be hard for some, so they will be at the 35% level.

How are your packs getting the word out about join nights? We did a table at school open houses, but had very few interested.

This is how industrial safety is managed. We call it “the relentless pursuit of zero”! We set targets, expectations, etc. is it hard? Yes. Is it based on behaviors? Yes. Do people hate following the rules? Yes. Do we get bette? Yes.

Same here. I just felt it was prudent.

Agreed, not a lot known. I am very sure 4H and Girl Scouts would have at least 2 orders of magnitude less camping then BSA.

For Cubs, it is every year plus your Den can do a “Protect Yourself” adventure instead of Cyber Chip. So, 2x per year. For Scouts, it is at Scout and Tenderfoot.

I saw the hiking umbrellas. Seems so... unconventional. Maybe a rain coat, with a skirt, I mean a kilt, and an umbrella. 🙂

Well, there is info in every handbook. It is required to be covered in every cub rank and at least 2x in Scouts. It goes on and on about how abuse happens and how to prevent it. So, other than putting it on all flyers, it is pretty well covered. 100-015.pdf (scouting.org)

It took me a long time to get to the the spot of agreeing with this, but the forum was a big part. I am not sure if it was @ThenNow or just a combination of others and my thoughts, but I got there. This is how I think of it. BSA starts and moves along through time. We can see the cases of CSB and IVF file dates. So, at first, they get word of people that should be in the IVF for CSB. Ok, they fill out the form and put it in the file cabinet. Then, they get 10, then 100, then 200. Soon, the file cabinet is full. They didn't step back and say "something is up". Then they have to buy a new cabinet, they fill that one, they get another and another and another. They didn't step back and say "something is up". When they get to 10,000, then 20,000, then require a new room for the file cabinets. They didn't step back and say "something is up". It did start out small and just a bad thing to happen a few times. When it got to the hundreds upon hundreds and thousands upon thousands, they needed to say "somethings rotten in the state of Denmark." It was a chance to find out what draws the perpetrators, the volume of abuse, etc. It would be the same if there was a string of scouts cutting off a finger or 2. One would think when they got to 1000 fingers amputated, they would think something is wrong with the system and take action.

@David CO Sometimes, things end up being what you weren't trying to do. You may not think that your troop was a safe place, that you didn't adopt any of the scouts, and that it wasn't a big brother program. Some of your scouts might disagree. For some, a safe place is somewhere that people don't hit them and yell at them for no reason. A place where people listen when they talk and a place that gives them even a tiny bit of time and attention.

There are laws that allow people with certain disabilities in Wisconsin shoot with cross bows during normal bow season. I guess that could be covered. Growing up in a very liberal family, I have enjoyed being involved with shooting sports. I feel like there is a lot there from a background standpoint. Complicated to get into with broad DEI context.

No issues here. All Scoutbook issues are best resolved in the Scoutbook forums as there are tons of people ready to pounce on the issue.

Even a list of the committee structure would help. The same thing is missing from my council. Very opaque. I always wonder if groups like that sit around and say "the same people always do all the work, I wonder why no one else volunteers!"

My mom was the den leader. All of the cubs in my den were from my same school. It was 4 blocks from my house. We would walk home together (without adults!). Dues were collected in a coffee can. I think it was 50 cents a meeting. I had a pair of pants, but I only wore them to pack meetings. No one else had pants. My dad was an electrician, and at the time, my mom was a stay at home mom. So, we weren't wealthy, but my dad found them important. It may have been that he couldn't afford them as a Cub, so he wanted me to have them. Man, I feel like a grandpa, but I am only 44!

It is funny how long it takes (or took me, at least) to "see" beyond one's own group. I remember once I was a Wolf, there were a bunch of dens (10 or so). I couldn't tell you how much of each or what others. I know I was in Den 1 because we had a cheer of "we're number 1" and we had foam hands cut from carpeting foam.

The rain kilt is like a poncho for your lower half! Does anyone have a recommended brand? The one shown looks like a blue tarp sari.