Summer meetings

[dsteele]

Mark:

 

I don't think you implied that I fake being sick to get off work. If I did, I certainly wouldn't reply to stuff on these forums when I do.

 

As to taking the summers off, it was a troop tradition. Let me tell you why I took on the Scoutmaster role in the first place. It has nothing to do with taking the summers off from our usual meeting schedule (which I think all but one troop in the district did and does.) I think the reason most troops in that council take the summer off is that there are about 17 actually nice days in northeast Michigan and everyone is too busy rolling around naked in the grass going "yahoo!" to attend a troop meeting. An exageration, I assure you, but under the surface not too far off the mark.

 

At any rate, shortly after my wife and I joined a church, I got a call from a parent in the church's troop. She was looking for a list of neighboring troops so they could dissolve theirs. The church was Presbyterian. The nearest troop was across the street at the Pentecostal Temple. Philosophically they are very different.

 

Besides, I didn't want my first action as the District Director and new church member to be dropping the 30 year old charter. I became the Committee Chairman. The three remaining boys decided they wanted to keep the troop alive. The CR and I went on 18-20 recruitng calls and got turned down each time. I finally started running troop meetings. I recruited another committee chairman.

 

Three hard years later, I turned the troop over to an assistant scoutmaster who did a great job. There were 25 boys then.

 

BTW -- no one has asked on these boards, but yes, a professional can become a Scoutmaster if he has the permission of the Scout Executive. It's in the Registrar's manual.

 

PS -- I don't recommend it to my friends. There's a fair amount of pressure that comes with it.

 

DS

[sst3rd]

From the beginning, 38 years, we've met throughout the year. May through September our camping trips are at a lake, river, or bay, thus there's fishing , swimming, boating, water skiing, canoeing, and all of the aquatic programs BSA provides. Our Scouts plan it that way, and look forward to it. We don't skip a beat.

It's too hard to start it up again. I've seen these difficulties with Troops and Packs in our area that take the summer off. It's like starting the unit from scratch!!!!

 

sst3rd

[eagle90]

We do not hold regular troop meetings during the summer, as we meet in a school, which is closed. However, we do continue to be busy with our Summer Camp Training day, trip to a ball game, Camp Orientation meeting, Summer Camp, High Adventure trip, and program planning meetings for next year.

 

Although I do love Scouting, it does feel good to be free of weekly meetings for a few months. I think it kind of prevents some burn out too.

[KoreaScouter]

We keep going year-round. It gets whacky in the summer, with many families moving between June-August. Sometimes, our permanent patrols are down to just two Scouts. But, as families come in during the same period, they don't want to wait until September to get back into Scouting. If we ask them to, some will find something else to do.

 

KS

[buffalo2]

Our Troop carries on throughout the summer with a week off after summer camp. We meet on Mondays, so get an occasional holiday weekend off also. I'd have to agree with mk9750 about picking up the pace in summer when you can, lots of opportunities there.

Maybe time to give some more thought to Patrol activities?

We usually end up with taking 2-3 weeks off over Christmas holidays but have noticed that its pretty hard to get back into the swing of things. I can't imagine shuttig down for the summer; would almost seem unfair to those boys working on their First Class progression.

[saltheart]

Our troop always takes the summer off. The Scouts decided years ago that they wanted June, July, and August for themselves.

 

Except for the monthly camping trip, that is...

 

And the planning meetings that would necessarily take place for each camping trip...

 

And the gear preparation meetings that would necessarily take place for each camping tip...

 

And the last minute inspection meeting that would necessarily take place for each camping trip...

 

It was in the late 1970's that one vigilant and observant Scout noticed that the meetings required to put together summer trips amounted to meeting once a week...like regular meetings...the ones they opted not to do so they would have the summer for themselves. He mentioned it to the SM, (me), who just smiled. And he kept his mouth shut. Since that time, every once in a while, one or two Scouts, well schooled in the art of observation, will pick up on the obvious. The look on the face when the light comes on is precious. But each in his place has kept his mouth shut, and just moved forward....smiling.

[Eagle69]

I've tried it both ways, not meeting at all and an every other week schedule. For my troop one was about as successful as the other. With only 6 boys now we will dismiss for the summer after they take a trip in June. In Arkansas it's too hot to camp after mid June until September. I and the other leaders are at it 9 months out of the year and we enjoy a little break as well.

[mk9750]

DSteele,

 

No, no, no no, NO! Wasn't trying to imply anything about you. I was talking about me and my flaws. Sorry if it came off poorly.

 

Eagle69,

 

I understand where you're coming from, I think. But your position would be the rough equivelent of me saying "we take the winters off, because it's too cold to camp in Ohio". We would rather think that this is an important time too, in that we have a responsiblity to teach winter survival skills in case one of our guys were ever out in the winter. I've never been in the south in the summer, so I am just guessing, but I would think that the conditions in each are as severe, although opposite. If so, is there not a reason to expose your guys to extreme camping?

We do an event up in the north called Klondike. Could you guys not do an event called Tropics? No intention to offend, but I really feel the boys are cheated if not given a full 12 months.

 

I like saltheart's idea. My hope would be that the boys made the decision to add the extra get -togethers, but other than that, however you get to the end result, congratualtions on having a full program.

 

Mark

[saltheart]

Absolutely it was the boys idea...er..should I say "realization". As I said, years ago, when the whole tradition started, it was the Scouts who voted not to hold weekly meetings during the summer. "Fine", I said, "what will you do?" That was when they informed me that they intended to keep the monthly outing schedule going so as to not miss a month of the year when they would be out camping...together, as a troop. "Great", I said, "go for it".

 

Then, shortly thereafter, the SPL contacted me saying the he wanted to schedule a planning meeting for that years June trip. Well, one thing lead to another, and soon he realized that the planning would take as much time and effort as it during the other 9 months. And, the meetings just kept happening. To be sure, only those Scouts who were going on the trip attended, and that was less than the troops full strength of 70-75. But we usually had somewhere between 30-45 Scouts on any given summer trip/event. So the planning and preparation was as in-depth and necessary as during the "regular" Scout year.

 

In the long run, even when the troop as a whole voted to "take the summers off", there were those who wanted to keep the campouts going. The older Scouts came to understand what that meant in terms of "taking the summer off". The younger ones, who wanted to camp, came to learn the same thing, every year. Some years the numbers were higher, some years lower. But the notion of "taking time off" maintained the same meaning.

 

By the way, the question was put to the troop by the SPL each and every year..."shall we take the summer off, or keep the weekly meetings going?" The answer was the same almost every year. I do recall a couple of years when, for whatever reason, the troop voted not to stop, even knowing that many of them would be unavailable due to family commitments and vacations, etc. And I never ceased be amazed.

[Glenn]

Our troop continues to meet once a week and at least one outdoor campout each month. I'd like to see us throw in day treks (hiking/biking/canoeing) on Saturdays once in a while. We tried last summer but could never arrange the bike transportation.

[LauraT7]

Wow! I'm surprised, too, that troops 'take off' in the summer!

 

around here, CUB PACKS will stop meeting for the summer, but will still have activities,to get their quality unit award.

 

Most Troops may have a reduced meeting schedule, but they do still meet and activities INCREASE once school is out.

 

In our troop, we meet year round, the first Monday of the month is PLC and committee meeting, and we meet all the other Mondays. We even meet on monday holidays - although the meetings tend to be low-key on those mondays.

 

Our troop traditionally does something that i think PROMOTES attendance and activity in the summer. Instead of meeting at our CO church - we reserve a shelter in the city park every Monday. troop t's are the 'uniform' of choice, many of the boys can ride their bikes to the meeting, and are often there early or stay late, for a pick-up ball game - or they come from a dip in the city pool - which is on the grounds of this park.

 

our summer meetings center around teaching the younger boys advancement skills, planning for outings and we often try new cooking technics and recepies.

 

We have something, sometime multiple things, going on every weekend. Service projects, 5 eagle projects this summer, A new scout patrol to get up to speed, some special trips, two different summer camps in July(about 2/3 of our boys are attending both camps)community events and fundraisers - and then day trips for badge and advancement work as needed. At least one campout each month for the whole troop - and we are promoting (for the first time) patrol campouts, too.

 

And we're a small troop, too - 28 boys. But we usually get a high turnout for most activities, 25 or more! Looks like a FUN, busy summer!

 

laura T

 

 

[Twocubdad]

Laura! You wound me to the core! OUR Cub Scout pack takes summers off the same way Saltheart's troop takes summers off. True, no den or pack meetings, but we have have at least one pack overnighter, two outings (usually a minor-league ball game, or something similiar), a pack pool party, four days each of Webelos and Cub day camp and four days and three nights at Webelos resident camp. Considering that "summer" isn't as long as it used to be, on average we spend much more time at Scout activities in the summer than we do during the school year.

[MiG-19]

As a Scout, we always met through the Summer, and those were some of the BEST times we had! Here on Okinawa, we go through a lot of Summer turnover in personnel on the Island, but it seems most Troops/Packs continue to meet through the Summer.

BTW, SMT376RichmondKY, I'm a 1979 EKU grad!! It's great to see someone from Richmond on here.

Semper fi,

MiG-19

[matuawarrior]

We still have meetings during the summer. The only increase are the outdoor events. We usually have an activity every other week. Our hiking increases as well as campouts. We normally attend summercamp but his year our district decided not to hold one in the summer.

 

Our district Scout Camp is now in December. It will be held during the school break after Christmas and before Jan. 6th.

 

S0 with no summer camp, Our units are planning their own camps. The PLc is even planning to do a fifty miler this summer or just do five different hikes in five days.

 

Our membership decreases due to off-island trips for vacations but we still have a number of scouts, venturers, webelos who attend our summer activities.

 

Matua

[KoreaScouter]

Hey Matua;

 

How many laps around the island to get 50 miles?!

 

KS