Cubmaster Randy

Calico I have swam the "Killian Triangle" as well. Our small troop would do it as a summer camp tradition. We would normally have 6 or 7 guys do it each year. (70-90% of campers). Back in the day, all you needed was two buddies. One to row and one to man the pole and we would alternate and help each other out. I remember doing it a couple of times one year, but 14 is very remarkable I have not done it as an adult at Woodruff yet. The mandatory practices take a bite out of my afternoon naps

We have used a "Cub-o-matic" machine, small bridge, and even a time machine for bridging between cub scout years. This was done at the last pack meeting of the years. The cubs emerged from the machine and had changed their kneckers and were given the new books for the upcoming rank. Webelos 1 were given another gift such as a "den rope" since they used the same books and kneckers. Webelos II had already crossed over to Troops by this point Rank Awards were presented when earned and usually involved painting their faces with different colors Webelos crossovers are a totally separate event.

We have an active COR and he is our chief point of contact when dealing with the other units at our church, although our unit leaders do communicate well too . He has a yearly town hall meeting for everyone, as well as a key 2 meeting in August to go over the years events with the leadership of the different units. There is one overall committee made up of members from each of the units and the church leadership to organize the infrastructure and joint website.There are various subcommittees that works year round to coordinate our joint activities such as the Great Day of Service, Scout Sunday, God and Country program, fund raising, and any other joint unit events that may come up. Other than that we operate as autonomous units having our own activities We do have a procedure for requesting space. This includes a key point of contact from each unit so the church secretary does not get inundated with requests from everyone.

i have a pair of 5.11 in olive green. I've had them for 6 years and they are still in fairly good shape. I love the all the pockets, one of the reasons i bought them. Certainly worth the investment

I feel very fortunate that i have 37 UC's which only 6 have more than one unit out of the 53 units in my district. Most of them regularly visit their units. Now if i can only get them to input the information into the UVTS It is a lot easier to sign up a commissioner for one unit than to multiple units. When i tell them it is an hour a week, i mean it. Alas, my work is not done as I need sign up a 5 more to cover some new units and to replace some others. Crossover is here and i have my eyes on some ex CC's DL's and CM's

you may be able to order them from national. They appear to have inventory http://www.scoutstuff.org/BSASupply/default.aspx?cat01RTL&ctgy=PRODUCTS&c2=UNIFORMS&c3=INSIGNIA&c4=&LV=3

Our district put togther some Questions to Ask at Troop Visits regardless of the size 1. How often has your Troop achieved Quality Unit status in the last 5 years? 2. How are new Scouts handled? Are they mixed in with existing patrols or put into a new patrol? 3. How many registered leaders are there? What is their attendance history at regular meetings and on outings? 4. What is the boy:leader ratio at meetings and on outings? 5. Do you have an active outdoor program? How many days/year are spent camping? Where? What are the plans for summer camp? 6. What is your philosophy on uniforms? 7. How are new Scouts going to learn what to do as Boy Scouts (camping skills, patrol activities, advancement, etc.)? Will they have an experienced adult leader working with them? 8. What is a typical Troop meeting like? Do you work on merit badges? Do you play a lot of games? 9. What is your philosophy regarding advancement (at what pace are the ranks earned)? 10. What kind of program do you have for the older Scouts? Are there any High Adventure activities? 11. What kind of fundraising do you have? 12. What are the financial obligations for each Scout? a) at signup b) per campout c) summer camp d) dues e) other 13. Do you pay for or subsidize training for the boys (Junior Leader Training, Den Chief training, etc.)? 14. Does your Troop have a limitation on size? 15. Do you have written policies? 16. Is your Troop "boy-run" or "adult-run?" 17. Are Troop meetings and activities planned: - by the boys? - for a full year? - at a patrol leaders meeting? 18. What kind of equipment do you have? Is it in good shape? Do you have enough if (quantity) Webelos were to join your Troop? 19. Are your Scouts able to balance Boy Scouts with other activities such as sports, band, church, etc.? 20. How active is your Troop at District and Council events? 21. How many current leaders are trained in: - Youth Protection? - Scoutmaster Fundamentals? - Woodbadge? 22. What are the expectations/requirements of new adults/parents to this Troop - as assistant leaders, committee members, special event chairpersons, event workers, merit badge counselors? 23. Does the Troop pay for any/all adult leader registration and training? 24. How many leaders routinely attend Round Table? 25. How do you feel about a Scout (and parent) visiting a meeting unannounced?

Congratulations , The time sure does go by fast Keep up the good work Brent(This message has been edited by Cubmaster Randy)

I also participated in a week long course. As far as our as our patrol project went, after we came up with our idea and got it approved, we requested the items that we wanted from the QM. The QM team got us what they could as far as the items we needed for the presentation. If they could not get us an item, we had to adjust We did not have access to any electronics, so we made do with the resources that we had or could get. We worked on it when we could, mostly in our free time (between taps and reveille when we were not writing our tickets) In hind site, Having staffed a couple of courses since then, that were not week long, I can say all the patrols in our course did a great job, even in comparism to the patrols that were in the 2 weekend format. Although, We did not have the ability to do a formal takeaway that we could give out, the purpose of the patrol project was kept if not magnified

After looking at the tall timbers website and the sam houston website, It looks like the division commissioner is a commissioner overseeing several districts. We use the term service Area here and he wears a asst. council commissioner patch

The only required ticket item is to have one on diversity. No, they should not be making it mandatory, but You could always add a 6th ticket item if you want

I have been going to Woodruff since 2003 with the pack and We have been to Woodruff the last couple of years with the troop. We will be there week 3 this year Water level is not be a problem. Even in the middle of the drought,they released a lot of the water from the lake during the winter to do repairs and maintenence, the water level came back in plenty of time for camp. Expect a great experience Expect a busy camp, Good first year program If you have any adult leaders that need SM training, Sue puts on a great course Dont forget to earn your SM merit badge Polar Bear Plunge on Thursday morning is a blast

Yes, I would be upset too, However, Have you spoken with the person you had recruited? Does he even want to do the position that the DC wants him to do? We are all volunteers, but if I volunteer for a job, it is for what I volunteered for. If someone else wants me to do something else, they had better talk with me about what they want me to do instead Have you spoken with the DC after he harvested your recruit? and how that came off to you and how that is not the way to build a team?. I am not familar with the particlulars of the situation or the whoms, so maybe what he thought he was doing what was right. But it did was the wrong way I would want to have those conversations before I went off and resigned. Otherwise I would be overreacting

You said your son would like really like for you to be his den leader. Would he be open for you to be up front at the pack meetings instead You cannot register for both positions. The only postion you can dual register for is COR , Well Tiger Cub Adult partner too Doing both is another matter altogether. You might feel you are getting pulled in 2 different directions depending on how much your cubmaster relies on his ACM and/or if your ADL is up to par.(This is more for next year as the adult partners should be able to handle the den this year. The Tiger Cub den leaders responsiblities vary from a wolf/bear because of sharedleadership Keep in mind that you are probably being groomed to take over in 18 months as the Cubmaster. Is this the track you are prepared to do. Both postions are rewarding.

Actually, The district or council "giveback" item is not required anymore and is totally optional. The ticket items should be geared toward your primary registration.

My sister works and attends an Assemblies of God church. She told me about the RR program The Royal Ranger program is as similar as it is not to the BSA program. It is quite possible that the young boy may have learned many of the skills needed to earn the BSA awards but it is a totaly separate program and the requirments are not exactly the same ( i would not want to add or subtract from a BSA requirement) You can check out their website http://royalrangers.ag.org/ if you want to learn more about them

I just redid it. Took me 15 minutes..and they were all green. EagleScout thanks for the suggestions s about the committee chair and finding people with a strong connection to their career maybe there is hope for me...

If I had enough food for her and her family, I'd let her eat. If I did not then I would send her down the to the street. You have been very accomodating, probably to much so, and she has not respected your time or efforts. So what if she blames you, your not her personal concierge. Sorry if I sound harsh, but this touches a nerve with me right now

We did this when I was Cubmaster. Before me they used to turn the kid upside down. That is against GTSS, so I dont suggest that I don't see it as adding to the requirements as they have earned the badge and has been presented with it. Since Mom or Dad is going to sew it on, they can be the judge if he did or not do the good turn. Does it hurt to Do a good turn daily?

It took me 57 months and I still did not have all green, although I was pretty close too I thought the lesson was do your best and you may or may not ever have a full fully functioning committee as people are always moving or having changes in their personal life and that is a reality in the real world or Maybe I should not be a district chairman LOL

My son looked at 4 different troops and visited their open houses. I was already familar with all of them and knew their leadership and reputations from my work at the district level. Any one of them, I would have supported him joining. When I asked him which ones he wanted to take a second look at, he told me he did not like any of them. The troops mentioned about all have between 70 and 100 members each, and I had already been asked if I would start a new troop, I asked him if he wanted me to do that. He did, so we ended up forming our a new troop. We started with 6 last March. With the recent crossovers, we are now at 18 I agree with GNX. You'll know quickly if the troop is boy led. Here are some questions for you to ask to get a feel for the troop. Ultimitly it should be your son's choice 1. How often has your Troop achieved Quality Unit status in the last 5 years? 2. How are new Scouts handled? Are they mixed in with existing patrols or put into a new patrol? 3. How many registered leaders are there? What is their attendance history at regular meetings and on outings? 4. What is the boy:leader ratio at meetings and on outings? 5. Do you have an active outdoor program? How many days/year are spent camping? Where? What are the plans for summer camp? 6. What is your philosophy on uniforms? 7. How are new Scouts going to learn what to do as Boy Scouts (camping skills, patrol activities, advancement, etc.)? Will they have an experienced adult leader working with them? 8. What is a typical Troop meeting like? Do you work on merit badges? Do you play a lot of games? 9. What is your philosophy regarding advancement (at what pace are the ranks earned)? 10. What kind of program do you have for the older Scouts? Are there any High Adventure activities? 11. What kind of fundraising do you have? 12. What are the financial obligations for each Scout? a) at signup b) per campout c) summer camp d) dues e) other 13. Do you pay for or subsidize training for the boys (Junior Leader Training, Den Chief training, etc.)? 14. Does your Troop have a limitation on size? 15. Do you have written policies? 16. Is your Troop "boy-run" or "adult-run?" 17. Are Troop meetings and activities planned: - by the boys? - for a full year? - at a patrol leaders meeting? 18. What kind of equipment do you have? Is it in good shape? Do you have enough if (quantity) Webelos were to join your Troop? 19. Are your Scouts able to balance Boy Scouts with other activities such as sports, band, church, etc.? 20. How active is your Troop at District and Council events? 21. How many current leaders are trained in: - Youth Protection? - Scoutmaster Fundamentals? - Woodbadge? 22. What are the expectations/requirements of new adults/parents to this Troop - as assistant leaders, committee members, special event chairpersons, event workers, merit badge counselors? 23. Does the Troop pay for any/all adult leader registration and training? 24. How many leaders routinely attend Round Table? 25. How do you feel about a Scout (and parent) visiting a meeting unannounced?

There is a national syllabus, but I am not going to say that all districts/councils follow it. We do talk about the requirements that our council has, but if you come from a different council, we just say that you may want to check with your council , It only focuses on taking your cub scout pack outdoors and activities for a cub pack to do in a safe manner. I've had conversations during the lunch prep about pack cooking vs family cooking, We have a assortment of different styles with our packs. I prefer den cooking. that way if one family does not have cooking gear, they dont feel left out, but takes away the headache of trying to get 120 people fed Our schedule does talk about planning, but nothing about primitive camping. We would have a hard time getting some of the parents to do that . Anway, save that for boy scouts 60 0700 0800 Setup Registration Gathering Activity 15 0800 0815 Opening Assembly 25 0815 0840 Aims and Purposes 45 0840 0925 Planning 15 0925 0940 Break 30 0940 1010 Lunch Prep 45 1010 1055 Equipment 15 1100 1115 Campfire Planning 30 1115 1145 Lunch (quick break) 15 1145 1200 Campfire 45 1200 1245 Health and Safety 45 1245 1330 Program 15 1330 1345 Break 10 1350 1400 Round Robin, Intro and travel 20 1400 1420 Round Robin, Session 1 Fire Safety, Stoves, Lanterns 20 1425 1445 Round Robin, Session 2 First Aid & Sanitation 20 1450 1510 Round Robin, Session 3 Nature Hikes & Games 20 1515 1535 Round Robin, Session 4 Cub Scout Cooking 10 1540 1550 Wrap Up 10 1550 1600 Recognition

I am not aware of any requirments that Cubs have to do in order to go on a campout. A list of items to bring can be distributed and the the cubs are not usually included in the planning of a campout. Not sure if I understand your question

You can try the summary page of the scout trax program for belt loops and pins. Print it out in 11x17 pieces of paper and mount to poster board http://www.geocities.com/~pack215/cub-tracker.html

Warren: Personally, I think that any of those items might work. But as we and others have said, You need to start with YOUR vision The district website would have been perfect for a giveback item. Givebacks are now not required, but as of last summer they were still optional. Not sure about today. Check with your TG If you see in your vision the need to improve communciations and a Pack newsletter will help, then it can be a good item. If you want to be able to teach the boys knots and a knot board will help, then you could include it. It's your ticket, these items will get you from where you are today to where you want to go. Have you read "Alice in Wonderland"? Think back and remember the conversation between the Cheshire cat and Alice when she came to a fork in the road and she asked him which way she should go?