Canceled Wood Badge Course

[CNYScouter]

I received a letter yesterday that explains why I hadn't heard about the Wood Badge course I have sign up for.

It has been canceled due to lack of participants.

 

NE-III-174

Aug. 19-21, 2005

Aug. 9-11, 2005

 

I am greatly disappointed as I was looking forward to taking this.

I couldn't make it 2 years ago when it was offered for the first time in our council in over 10 years.

 

I'm checking with near-by councils to see if there any openings in their courses.

 

It seems this is happening a great deal in my council.

Over the last few years I have seen the follwing courses canceled due to lack of participants:

 

The last BALOO training was 3 years ago when I took it.

 

The last WEBELOS Leader outdoor training was 2 years ago when I took it. This was the first time it was held in 3 years.

 

The council hasn't held a Train the trainer (I forgot the new name)course in 2 years

 

Our district has stopped having training at monthly Roundtable because no one would sign up.

 

The only training that been full is the SM training although the year I took the WEBELOS Outdoor training I was told that is was almost canceled but they had a group sign up at the last minute that gave them enough to hold it.

 

Is any one else seeing this happen in their area?

 

CNYScouter

 

[EagleWB]

CNYScouter,

I'm not sure where you are but NEPA Council has a course Sept 9, 10, 11 and Oct 1,2,3. Last I heard they had 43 signed up for the course. The max is 48, I think.

Our Council has not had to cancel too many courses, but it seems they have their ups and downs. I don't know if people don't want to commit the time or if they have too many commitments already.

 

[nldscout]

What district are you in CNYScouter?

 

[theysawyoucomin']

CNY SCouter,

 

Call Twin Rivers Council office in Albany, NY.

I personally know they have enough for a course but I don't think it is closed.

I hope you live this side of Rochester 'cause the Empire State is a long sucker.

WB is going to be held at Camp Wakpominee. It is by Lake George. near a newly burst dam! It's a nice place. The course director is a great lady. I taught her how to make ice cream in two ziplock bags. Call Today it begins in August. Bring a buddy to car pool!

Good luck

[theysawyoucomin']

Twin rivers phone # is 518 869 6436

 

Good luck CNY

[Eamonn]

Wood Badge courses in our neck of the woods are cluster courses. Our Council along with five other Councils takes turns hosting the course.

The old Cub Scout Wood Badge was only as far as I know offered by the Region. In our area very few Cub Scouters took the course.

When the new course came along, we had high hopes that we could hold two courses a year, instead of the one that we had offered for eons.

Sad to report it just isn't working, for some reason we can't manage to fill two courses a year. Partly because some of the Councils in the cluster are very small.

It is a real shame when a course does get canceled.

A year or two back a very good friend of mine was to be a Course Director.

One requirement is that you must attend the Course Director conference. In our case this is held at camp Alpine in New Jersey and costs $225. A cost which is not passed on to the participants. He attended the conference along with his course mentor and the staff member.

He recruited a staff, with members coming from all over the area the cluster covers. Some staffers had a 3 hour drive each way in order to attend the course development weekends. These staffers paid to attend the weekends, again a cost that isn't passed on to the participants.

The host council sent out mailed invitations.

Then after all this there just wasn't enough participants to get the course off the ground.

The staff had been working on this for about six months, they had taken vacation time and it was all for nothing.

It really is sad.

Eamonn.

[SR540Beaver]

CNYScouter,

 

I too was wondering what council you are from and how big it is. Obviously, larger councils have a larger base to draw from for getting enough participants. Our concil holds a spring and a fall WB course. They tried a year or so ago to hold one that was a week long during the summer. Having spent some time next door to you in Vermont, I know that the August "heat" is nothing like here in Oklahoma. Personally, there is no way in the world that I'd sign up for a week long course in Oklahoma in the summer. Heat is relative to where you live. Also, many people are vacationing in the summer. I'm willing to bet that your council might have better attendance if they held the course in the spring or fall. Hopefully you can find a course in a nearby council.

[nldscout]

I am also from CNY's council, and I can tell you the problem was advertising.

 

When I took WB here 2 yrs ago, it was talked up all the time at every chance that leaders gathered. This time we heard nothing except when the first flyer came out.

 

 

[theysawyoucomin']

I forwarded a link to this discussion to the course director. Did you call the council office? How far is it to drive?