AdvanceOn

1. Chance to interact with other leaders. 2. There is always a program but it is always crammed in with too much other stuff. The DE and the Roundtable leader do not seem to communicate with each other on the agenda so we end up with them competing for time. 3. So far, nothing. I'm the advancement coord. for the troop. Except for our troop, that has our chair, myself, SM, and at least one ASM in attendance, all the other attendees are SMs or occasionally ASMs so the focus is much more on hiking, camping, etc. Not to say this information isn't important for me as well, just no real focus on advancement specific issues. I usually am the "expert" when it comes to information about advancement, merit badges, Troopmaster, etc. 4. Our RT leader (boy scout side) is a 73 year old Eagle Scout! He's behind the times in many ways (especially when it comes to women!) but he LOVES scouting and really tries to instill that in the leaders. He's trying to get the units back to the basics of scouting. 5. I really hate not knowing what the topic is for the night. They had a drug awareness program one night that had we known about we would have tried to get other leaders (and parents) to attend. 6. I would like to see an agenda with time allotments. I would also like to other people besides SMs and ASMs attending. If the group got large then there might be times to break into position specific networking sessions. 7. It's close for me. I would probably travel up to an hour, although it would be a lot easier to bag it if it was that far away. 8. Since joining the troop in March of 2001 I have attended EVERY RT. Our troop always has at least two attendees and usually has four regulars. 9. attend regularly. These are good questions. I complain about our RT structure -- there are definitely things that could be improved -- but overall it is one of the best places to keep connected with other troops and district people.

What about the Scoutmaster and/or advancement coordinator providing some assistance? Unfortunately, even though this is a leadership project there are still many adults out there who will see him as just a kid. Maybe with some adult backup he'll somewhere with this director. Also, has your son tried to talk with anyone else involved with the science museum? I'm guessing that this is a "board run" organization so he may need to go over this director's head. He may even find that one or more of the board members was in Scouts and will have a clue about the significance of this project. Hope he gets things worked out. His project sounds interesting. Melodee

Thanks for the ideas. Our troop already sells popcorn with half the proceeds going into the individual scout accounts. What we're hoping to do though is come up with some significant fundraising to pay for all our troop campouts/activities and some of the high adventure trips that they're planning. I'll definitely share your ideas with our PLC and committee. Thanks again. Melodee

Hello all: Our troop has done very little fundraising but is hoping to increase this effort to reduce the out-of-pocket costs to families as we increase our high adventure activities. My questions to you -- 1)What kind of fundraising do your units do? 2)How do you successfully work around all the other fundraising? 3) How do you split the money between troop fund and scout fund? 4) Does your troop fundraise for all troop activities or is it only for the high adventure fees (i.e., do the scouts continue to pay the food and patch costs for camporees and regular campouts or is that covered too?)? Thanks for your ideas. We're having a committee meeting and the boys are having a PLC meeting next week where this will be discussed. I'd love to go in with your ideas to spur the discussion forward (rather than into the rut of "I hate fundraising."). Melodee

sctmom: I'm sorry those troops don't seem to have a clue about the importance of contact and recruitment. Our troop has made multiple efforts to recruit boys. We had three dens visit our troop recently. We also invited three dens to a Webelos day-long event in the fall. I prepared hand outs for all the parents with information about when/where the troop meets, how much dues is, what the uniform requirements are, who to contact with questions, etc. I have made occasional contact with each den leader checking to see if they know if they have boys who will be crossing over into our troop, letting them know when our crossover will be, asking if they have any questions, etc. Additionally, I ALWAYS tell the den leader, parent, or whoever I'm speaking with that picking a troop is a personal choice of the boy and parent. While we would love to have them join our troop our main goal is for them to join A troop and continue in boy scouting. I guess what I'm really trying to say is that I agree with you completely about the importance of recruiting. It doesn't have to be aggressive and in-your-face, just friendly and available. I would also encourage all troops to recruit year round. By that I mean, participate in cub scout events whenever possible. Invite the Webelos and parents to appropriate boy scout activities during the year. If the only time the Webelos and parents see your troop is in January and February then they're not getting a very accurate picture (or are they?). --Melodee

Sctmom: Oh, that was a joke?! We carry duct tape everywhere we go! Melodee

Sctmom: I like your suggestion. Unfortunately, our pack held it's B&G in a pretty tight space. We were always looking for ways to keep the kids seated, not milling around! Seems like your idea would work nicely at a district roundup if Boy Scouts (and others) are included. We're actually looking to get our Boy Scouts more involved in our cub scout round ups so I may incorporate this activity. Melodee

I don't know anything about merit badge college but I know I have had some of the same concerns about summer camp merit badges. Before my time as advancement coordinator for our troop (so I don't know all the details) one 1st year scout attended summer camp (joined troop end of March, camp in July) and "earned" the camping merit badge!? When I look at the requirements I don't see how this was remotely possible. How do y'all (or maybe I should say youn's since I'm in PA now) feel about the topic-specific merit badge camps? My kids are skipping summer camp and instead are attending aviation camp. They'll earn up to six merit badges (Aviation, orienteering, first aid, and some others that I don't remember off-hand). There is also a technology and construction merit badge camp offered. None of our scouts has ever attended these camps, my boys will be the first. Any opinions? Melodee

If your troop isn't using the troop meeting plan you might want to check it out. When a boy needs to do a presentation he would request being put on the agenda, the SPL would check the meeting plan to see when he can be scheduled. My son is now SPL for our troop and is using the troop meeting plans (my husband has actually turned the plan into a template on the computer so it is a breeze to use). This has helped the troop stay on time and get done what they need to. It also helps reduce the last minute, "OH, yeah, I need to give a presentation." Sort of on the same vein -- many boys do a bad job of scheduling these presentations (and preparing for them). As part of this "new" system that we have set up, Scouts are being asked to make presentations on a regular basis. For example, an older scout was asked to do a presentation on winter first aid a couple of weeks ago. He was supposed to prepare, have visual aids, and actually make the presentation during the troop meeting. Can't remember if this specific scout needed communications merit badge, but he would have met some of the requirements by doing this in the troop meeting. Sorry to ramble. Our troop is still struggling with incorporating merit badge work and advancement work into the troop meetings so when I see something working I get excited! --Melodee

Here is a website tothe company that I have my disk from. They have some downloadable evaluation copies of different puzzle construction kits. http://www.crosswordkit.com/download.htm Hope this information helps. Melodee

I made my own Word Find one year for the Blue & Gold. I had a freeware/shareware disk with a variety of puzzle making programs. I have also made crossword puzzles. If I bought it I could have done a lot more. You might want to do a search for such a program on the web. You can also make your own word search using your word processor. Using the table function would probably make it easier to line up letters correctly. Type in the words you want to use then add miscellaneous letters around them to hide them. I used words associated with Scouts and the Blue & Gold. All the kids loved it and it reduced some of the running around that we didn't have space for! Hope this helps. If I can find my disk (haven't used it in a long time) I'll try to get you more information. Melodee

I agree with Rooster on the flag. Why in the world would you remove it from the uniform? How would the World Brotherhood replace the trained strip or the Scout rank badge? All the World Brotherhood crest is showing that BSA is a member of this world organization. Not sure where you're coming from but it sure doesn't sound like Boy Scouts. Melodee

We do similar for our Scoutmaster conferences and BORs. One thing that we are also doing is increasing the expectations for complete uniforming at each level of advancement. I.e., at the lower rank levels we will cut some slack for missing items, located incorrectly, etc. but always point these out to the boys and keep track on our BOR form. When they come up again for the next BOR we can check to see if they've fixed the problem. In 100% of the cases so far each boy has fixed the problem and is recognized for this accomplishment. We have never had a boy show up for a BOR out of uniform but we have a policy in place (no uniform = no BOR) just in case. --Melodee

We have three leaders who went through Wood Badge together and recently completed their tickets. They would like to have a joint beading ceremony that's more than what has typically been done in our district. I know the leaders want to include the troop and our charter organization (they helped pay for our leaders to do Wood Badge)as well as district and community dignitaries and of course, family and friends of each leader. I have never been to a Wood Badge ceremony so I don't have a clue as to what is done. I know that at our district level the beads and certificate are generally handed out in a presentation at the district roundtable, very blase and not what we want for these guys. I think Wood Badge should be treated more like the Eagle award. Any suggestions and ideas? How did you receive your beads? How has your troop, district, and/or council handle the awarding of the beads? Thanks, Melodee

". . .when Webelos are visiting your troop, make sure the activities involve the Webelos and are age appropriate. " Except that the Webelos participating isn't the actual point of them attending. They are supposed to see what a boy scout troop is like. Our troop will be having Webelos visit this Thursday. Our SPL is planning a regular meeting (they're preparing for a winter camporee) which will include some demonstrations, hands on practicals, and planning the patrol duty rosters. Yes, if there is an opportunity for the Webelos to try a few things fine; and the parents will have an opportunity to observe and to talk with the leaders. Otherwise, the boys and parents are there to observe. My feeling is the requirement for participate in a boy scout outdoor activity is the event geared more toward participation. That's where the boys should get the hands on. One of the complaints I have heard from a former Webelos den leaders (before I was involved with the troop so I don't know the entire story) was that the boys didn't get a feel of a real troop meeting because the troop didn't do a regular troop meeting during their visit. I want our troop meeting to be the real thing, otherwise the boys and parents won't leave with accurate information about the troop. IMHO it would be a lot easier to just drop the regular troop meeting plans and entertain the Webelos with "age-appropriate" activities but I really don't see that as the point of the requirement. Am I off base? I like the idea of the boys visiting multiple troops if that's an option. In our area that's not really an option. And, as mentioned in one of the other posts -- most of the parents are looking for the closest troop rather than at quality and fit for the boys. We have Webelos parents talking about starting a new troop just because they don't want to drive 15-30 minutes to the meeting location (clearly they don't know what all is required in chartering a troop and just how many people it takes!) Melodee

nldscout, I LOVE this idea. I think we might expand on it to do a transition for ANY new leader to our troop. Many new leaders, myself included (although I'm "seasoned" now), aren't quite sure what their role is and often the boys don't really know who they are. What a wonderful way to transition any new person into a troop leadership role. This is why I keep coming back and reading all the posts! Melodee

Our troop hasn't been very consistent in uniform inspections however, we are doing a full inspection whenever a boy comes up for a board of review. All the boys were given the criteria in advance so they should know what to expect. The members of the BOR have a checklist and requirements for each of the ranks. For example, the boys who are working on lower ranks are cut some slack if they are missing any part but are told what they are missing and encouraged to get it. Once the boy has advanced to First Class he is expected to be in full uniform (our class A allows for OD BDUs or clean blue jeans). His BOR will be stopped if he's not in full uniform. The troop has talked about doing inspections one piece at a time as well. Our Council JLT does that and it definitely keeps the boys on their toes and prepared. Melodee

At our most recent district roundtable this actually came up in discussion. We have been told that this is punishment and is not allowed. In another troop that my son was involved with before we moved -- they used a check off system for "disruptive" behavior during the meetings. Three checks and they did push ups. I found it to be quite arbitrary and didn't like the feel of it. They also had a method of any boy not in uniform had to clean up at the end of the meeting. I didn't mind this one so much since it was clear and explicit and not so much punishment but rather a reinforcement for wearing the uniform (although our roundtable leader disagrees with me on this). Melodee