ChuckSt8er

I'm looking for common practices on getting Den Chiefs from an affiliated Troop versus sourcing them from nearby but non-affiliated Troops. If your affiliated Troop can't meet the demand, do you turn to neighboring Troops? Do you have an open policy where all Troops have equal opportunity to fill DC positions? Does this policy change when the scouts reach their Webelos years? Would the affiliated Troop get preferential treatment as the boys come down the home stretch towards Crossover? Backstory, for perspective: One Bear Den in our Pack has a DC from a neighboring Troop who has stepped up and is doing the job well. Senior Pack leaders are insinuating that our affiliated Troop has 'dibs' on the Webelos year, and that this DC will need to fulfill his POR elsewhere next year. Comments? Insights? I have a strong opinion on the subject, but want to open myself to the wisdom of the crowds and policies of BSA. What sez you? (This message has been edited by chuckst8er)

There have been some questions about unit size - - let me clarify: The Pack has about 70 boys, the Troop has about 50. Beavah - a thoughtful answer to a complex question, but I think (in light of the unit size above) your input helps most. Shortridge, +1 as well.

There have been some questions about unit size - - let me clarify: The Pack has about 70 boys, the Troop has about 50. Beavah - a thoughtful answer to a complex question, but I think (in light of the unit size above) your input helps most. Shortridge, +1 as well.

Not sure if this belongs in this forum or another one, but I'll fire away: An adult in our Unit holds the positions of DL and CC, is an ASM in our affiliated Troop, and has just fielded (and possibly accepted) an offer to become COR. There are some who believe that this level of position holding by one individual is counter to Scouting's leadership model (that inviting more adults to become involved and trained leaders is a good thing), that it may cause a leadership vacuum were this individual to step out of the picture, and that there might be 'transparency' issues if a problem were to arise and only a few individuals knew what was going on (e.g. missing Unit funds, identifying new leaders to join the ranks, etc.) Contrary to this, others might say "Hey, this person has the time, energy and skill set to hold down these position. If they're willing and able to serve, who are we to get in their way?" OK Scouters, Critters and Brothers, what's your/Scouting's opinion?

Before today, I would have never even imagined that this would be a question I'd post here. To me, if you're registered to be a leader (Den, Co, Asst, whatever) at a level, and you put in the time to do the requirements, then you've earned the thread. Leadership is leadership, and we should encourage and reward leaders. But during a training session today, it was suggested that Asst Den Leaders might not be eligible for an award because of the language in the Leader Training Award requirements *technically* would exclude them: Webelos Den Leader Award, Performance Requirements, Requirement #4: Have an assistant Webelos den leader who meets regularly with your Webelos den. Requirement #12: Hold regular den meeting and activity planning sessions with your assistant den leader. Source: usscouts.org, "Scoutings Knots: Webelos Den Leader Award", updated 2/28/08 Now, if we're going to get into minutiae here, a leader only has to complete 7 of the 12 performance requirements to qualify under this section, so technically, an ADL could just try to pick two different requirements. But my real question is whether or not Scouting intentions are to recognize and award the DL, or extend this to the ADL who completes the requirements? Perspective?

Hey all: I have raised my hand to plan our District's PWood for 2009 and am looking for two things: - We seek a baseline for our budget, and are looking for copies of other districts' Pwood budgets for reference. - I'm also looking for any resources for planning District Pinewood derbies. I see boatloads of "how to plan Cub unit derbies", but haven't yet seen one that addresses district events. If you have something that can help, please post a reply and we can figure out how to share this info. Many thanks!

Thanks all. You confirmed what I suspected/knew - - I was just hoping that there was some sort of loophole that I was unaware of, but turns out the rules I was familiar with were indeed the rules. The bad news is that I stood by and kept my mouth shut on this because (a) it literally was my son's first activity with this Den and I wanted him to get to know the rest of the guys and (b) this was also my first activity with this Den and was hesitant to walk in with puffed chest claiming that 'I knew all the rules and they didn't.' The good news is that (a) there were no incidents that happened on this event that would have put the leader/CO at a liability risk and (b) I've signed up to be the Pack Trainer, so I can actually approach these things from a position of knowledge/guidance rather than newbie know-it-all, and we can find other fun ways to build Den fellowship (other than camp-ins) in the future. Thanks for your perspectives on this issue.

As one of the first activities with our new Pack, the Bear den for my older son held a Den-specific overnighter in the downstairs area of our Chartered Organization. Most outings rules were followed (proper sleeping arrangements, BALOO and YPT trained leaders present, first aid available, good structured activities) and the boys all had a blast. I'm pretty sure, however, that there was no tour permit filed for this activity. That said, I'm pretty sure that a Bear Den level overnight activity is outside the bounds of G2SS. Based on the description above, is there a circumstance where this activity might be permitted? I'm pretty sure it's not, but wanted to check with the forum before gently bringing this to the attention of my new fellow leaders. US2BFX

Thanks all - - I had a sense I was on secure ground, but wanted to make sure (ask first, never assume). Once I went through WB last spring, I finally noticed the pattern imprinted on the Tiger/Cub neckerchief slides and said "Hmmm. I'll bet the guys would like making their own real woggles."

Please help the unenlightened. As a future reward for helping some Cubs complete their knot work later this year, I had planned to "reward" them at the end by teaching each one to tie his own woggle (out of colored cord, not leather), which they could wear as a temporary slide. I would appreciate my fellow critters advising me if a homemade rope woggle is strictly a WB totem, or if I'm in the clear. US2BFX

Did a family campout with our Pack at the local Cub Camp. We fed approximately 192 scouts, parents and siblings their breakfast, lunch and dinner, had a wonderful afternoon of den activities/achievements, a magnificent evening program with skits, fun and laughter and a beautiful Sunday Morning service with the sunlight streaming through the trees. We are tired but we are hearty, and we did it all for the boys.

All: In your experience, who leads the planning of family camping outings in Cub Scout Packs? We are a larger pack (100+ boys) and have recently involved an ad-hoc group of experienced parents under the guidance of the BALOO-trained Cubmaster (with support from our unit Quartermaster and outings). This year, the Cubmaster has been only marginally involved; the fall camping trip planning has been led by the Committee Chair with support of a camping committee (mix of parents and Den leaders). What is the norm? What do you do?

People, people, people... One hour a week is the amount of SLEEP you''re supposed to get. Only wearing two hats right now, but they''re keepin'' me busy. The good news is that I''m creating a pretty decent sized wake, and am working hard to have more than one person follow in my footsteps (growing participation in Den & Pack).

So I talked things through with my Chief Operating Officer (wife), who helped me get to this solution: - Ask the parent/scout to bring in samples of their own work in order to inspire others in the Den to achieve/do more, since they clearly have been able to accomplish great things - Ask the parent to help be a guide to the rest of the pack since they have truly raised the bar on what can be achieved; if the parent can be a resource for other parents wanting to earn more S&A pins and belt loops, then their rising tide can help left all our boats. And now, the challenge is what to do with this scout for the rest of the year - - just like the student who excels in class, we don''t want him to get bored. If he''s truly performing to this level, we need to be prepared to put new achievement opportunities in front of him for the balance of the year. I''m getting closer to making peace with this issue, but more perspectives are welcome.

You''re right, not much to do with the internet.