clemlaw

>>>>gets 129 posts

I'm a Tiger Den Leader (and soon to be Cubmaster) in my son's Pack, and I'm also back after 30 years. I did re-activate my membership, and I also went to the Fall Fellowship this year, partly to see what's going on, and partly because that was the only place I knew where I could buy a new lodge flap. I doubt if I'll be very active in the lodge until my son becomes a Boy Scout, but for now, I think it's a good way to keep in touch and find out which Troops are the best, when it's time for my son to become a Boy Scout. And if I'm able to help out, I certainly will. For the time being, I'm helping out by paying my dues--which qualifies as an "irksome task". And perhaps I can share a little bit of wisdom as an old timer. Incidentally, I did have one comment on OA sashes. As far as I know, they're really only appropriate for wearing at OA events. I have my new lodge flap on my CS leader uniform, but the sash is put away and won't be worn very often.

>>>>>>Hasn't there been folks who did not attend law school and pass the bar? Thought I read a book and saw a movie about one such guy?

Oops--replied to the wrong thread. As Emily Litella would say, "never mind".(This message has been edited by clemlaw)

>>>>>>When I saw the new JTE requirements state a minimum of 4 campouts a year, I was shocked.

>>>>>when 100 yards away from camp were three black vans with security equipment

>>>>he has called council, got a call from the DE, and the minister at the church and is generally raising a ruckus. I have a meeting with the COR and IH after work....

>>>One way to teach to a test - remember the following: 1) a 2) c 3) d 4) b 5) a etc.

>>>>As an OA member who is a member of the 'blue terror" I have mixed emotions on getting adults active again.

I'm probably about the last Scout who joined Scouts without being a "Scout", and I've also never quite figured out what it is. As we have been reminded repeatedly, it's not a "rank". But I'm not sure exactly what it is. Of course, I never was one, so I wouldn't know. Prior to earning Tenderfoot, there was simply an empty spot on my pocket where my rank insignia was supposed to be. This was remedied in a month or so when I earned the right to wear the Tenderfoot badge. The "Scout" badge was first introduced shortly after I joined, and I don't recall whether there were any requirements at all at the time, other than filling out the application form and showing up. When I joined, the Tenderfoot requirements consisted of the following, to the best of my recollection: 1. Scout Oath, Law, Motto, and Slogan. (As an older Scout pointed out, "motto" is just another word for "slogan", and the BSA decided that it wanted to have two of them.) 2. Pledge of Aleigance and rules for displaying the flag. 3. Six knots: Square knot, sheet bend, two half hitches (I've often wondered why it's not just called "one full hitch"), taut-line hitch, bowline, and clove hitch. After Tenderfoot, I never had to learn another knot, but those six have been adequate for all my tying needs over the years. There might have been one or two other little things, but that was more or less it for Tenderfoot. Incidentally, my Tenderfoot and Second Class badges were rectangular. They switched over to the oval badges looking more or less like the current ones at the same time that the "Scout" badge came out.

I recently came across the following piece of paper when I was digging through some old Scouting stuff, from the 1973 Jamboree: http://www.w0is.com/miscpages/1973JamboreeWideGame.pdf (I am "red O", by the way.) I'm able to share it with all of you because I scanned it, and now it's just a click away. But I doubt if it would have still existed today if we had been walking around with I-phones recording each other's names and addresses. I actually tracked down one of the names on that list, and we exchanged messages on Facebook. It turns out he now lives in my area. So a 37 year old scrap of paper facilitated the exchange of some ones and zeroes. I'm glad that the complete contents of many old books and magazines (including Boys' Life and Scouting) are now available in electronic format, because there's an incredible amount of information that is now available at my fingertips, at no cost. But I'm glad that someone saved all of that paper so that it was available to be converted to electronic format.

Oops--double post.(This message has been edited by clemlaw)

>>>>>SM: The Spirit of Scouting is like that candle that lead you into this room. It provided a limited amount of light, but darkness is still all around. But when you combine the Spirit of Scouting with the three points of the Scout Oath: Duty to God and Country, Duty to Others, and Duty to Self, with the 12 points of the Scout Law, it becomes a blaze that lights the entire room allowing all to see and be seen.

Here's a small hint as to why you are doing so well: >>>>>>a strong Troop down the road

Yes, while I was busy nitpicking about things that they did wrong, I neglected to mention all of the things they did right. I got a paper copy of that flyer at roundtable, which, of course, I promptly lost. But I did e-mail the link to the PDF to everyone in the den, and apparently most of them managed to find the place without getting lost like I did.

Well, my own Eagle COH was 30+ years ago, so maybe I'm hopelessly out of date. I might have gotten a few small gifts from close friends or family, but I don't recall it being a major gift giving occasion. But perhaps things have changed. I believe the DE was there, but I don't think there were any other representatives from other units. It's a nice touch that you were invited, and your presence will certainly be apprciated. But I don't think any gift is expected. I guess the only exception would be is if he is a former member of your Pack. (And that might require some detective work, since the leaders when he was a member are probably gone now.) If that's the case, then a memento from the Pack might be appropriate. After all, he's one of "your" Cub Scouts who made Eagle. In that situation, one possibility would be a framed collection of the badges that he earned in your Pack (Tiger, Wolf, etc.) along with the Unit Number patches. And I'm embarassed, because I just realized I should have sent an invite to "Cubmaster, Pack 194" 30+ years ago.

I hate to nitpick, because it was a great event, thanks to the scouters who helped organize it, and the staff and volunteers from the Sheriff's department who put it on. Obviously a lot of work went into this event, but you wouldn't tell it from the "marketing". I respectfully submit the following example of a poor flyer: http://northwest.nsbsa.org/ramsey-co-safety-day-2011.pdf First of all, it doesn't say exactly what the event was. I assumed (correctly) that this would qualify for the Tiger Cub police station visit. In fact, it was perfect for that. I saw a few other Tiger dens, but not very many. If they had mentioned this on the flyer, it probably would have been very helpful for Tiger leaders. Before we went, I assumed (incorrectly) that we would spend a lot of time outside looking at various police vehicles in the parking lot, seeing different demonstrations, etc. It turns out everything was inside. So it would have been helpful if they had included enough description so that we would know how to dress. (We erred on the side of caution and dressed as if we were going to be outside all morning, but it meant lugging around a lot of un-needed hats, gloves, etc.) And I assumed (correctly) that it was mostly a Cub Scout event, but the flyer doesn't say so. I suppose if a group of Boy Scouts had shown up, maybe they would have tweaked the program to fit their needs, but I'm really not positive. But the flyer merely states that "advancement opportunities abound" (and they did, for Tigers). Finally, the map was inadequate. In fact, it would have been better if they had left the map off entirely, which would have forced me to get directions myself. I had to turn around once because the name of the cross street was cut off. (If you look closely, you can see that it starts with "H", which was enough for me to eventually figure it out. If someone had sketched a map by hand, it would have been a lot better. Again, I don't mean to nitpick, because it was a great event, and the person who made the flyer didn't get paid to do so. But a little more thought would have made it a much more successful advertisement.

>>>>You guys talk about troop wide vs Council wide. We don't have council wide.. We only have troop wide vs district wide.

Hi, Carlos, and welcome to the forum! Page 78 of the Tiger book states, "a Tiger Cub may complete electives while working on achievements, but he can't receive a Tiger Track bead until he has earned his Tiger Cub badge." So in my opinion, once he has finished the 15 required achievements, he can get the beads retroactively for any elective he has done ever since he became a Tiger Cub, which would be the day that he signed up. In fact, if he signed up in the middle of the year, I would probably stretch the rules and say that it goes back to the date the rest of the den started. On the other hand, if he played a game with his family when he was 2 years old, I would say that probably doesn't count. The beads are cheap, so I don't have any qualms about handing them out liberally. In fact, now that the Tigers in my den are finishing up, I'll probably encourage all of the families to go through the book and see which ones they already completed, even without knowing it. That way, they'll get a few beads just for reading the book, and it will also probably encourage them to do other ones that they haven't done yet.

>>>>Then, report back here: what badge(s) did you sign up to counsel?

>>>>>YP is about covering someone's butt not protecting children.

>>>>>I tried to recruit a MBC from outside of scouting not too long ago. Great guy, good with kids, would be a real asset. Til he heard about all the stuff scouting expects him to do, just so kids can earn a badge. Turned him off.

>>>>>>I was an active Certified Firefighter/ Emergency Medical Technition/

>>>>>Training isn't required, and yeh can point 'em to the online module.

The original poster doesn't say where he's located. If he's in the South, then I would agree with the others and come up with ways to get the camping going again as soon as possible. On the other hand, if he's here in the frozen North, then I'm not sure if it's a good idea to take the troop winter camping if they haven't done any camping at all for 7 months. If they have realized the error of their ways, and they're getting to ready to start camping again in the spring, then I wouldn't worry too much about this one cancellation. But I agree that seven months is too long. At a very minimum, there should have been at least one fall campout.