Parades

[shortridge]

After attending a local Christmas parade tonight with my daughter, I found myself wondering: Where were the Boy Scouts? There were two Cub packs, but no one older than 10. There were honor guards and flagbearers, but they were from the state police and JROTC. Not a single piece of khaki to be seen. The same thing was evident at a Fourth of July parade I attended this summer, but I chalked that up to the local troop being off at camp that week.

 

I know that some older boys are generally turned off by parades and riding on floats - that's kid stuff, y'know? But a sharply-turned out troop, marching well, would seem to be a source of pride - not to mention a good recruitment tool.

 

What out-of-the-box tricks & techniques have you found to get Scouts out and marching? Are parades just destined to be kid stuff from now on? Or are your Boy Scouts usually not in the parade because they're handing out hot chocolate and cookies to freezing watchers?

[Bob White]

When you consider that there are thousands of communities in the country with scouting units, aren't you jumping to a very unsubstantiated conclusion by assuming that since there are no Scouts in your parades that no one has scouts that participate in parades?

 

Have you asked you local scout leaders why there are no troops present at your local parades? They would probable have a better chance of knowing the reasons than people on the internet who do not live in your community.

 

Just a thought.

[scottteng]

Most of them are not into marching very much. At our local parade they are much more likely to have a stand selling snacks and drinks to raise funds for what they do do which is go camping in strange, interesting and sometimes expensive places.

[SctDad]

I would say try approaching the local troops and see if they had something else planned. I know that last year, my Cub were not in the parade because we were at day camp. The local BS Troop has not participated, because they have not been very active.

 

Personally I think that it would be nice to see at least a Scout Color Guard with the Flags at the parade. Then you could probably take the extra ones and sell the hot chocolate to the cold people.

 

We used to always march in the parades in my hometown. Christmas and Memorial Day. In my later years, I went from marching in the parade to riding on the fire trucks for the FD that I was on at the time.

 

Look into it, maybe they might need some help.

[skeptic]

While I would love to think that the comment about cool is not pertinent, I am afraid it may be too close to the truth. I have noticed over the years that fewer and fewer units seem to have even a slight clue as to what it means to be respectful during flag ceremonies, much less how to actually march and do parade maneuvers. When I was a scout and explorer back in the dark ages we did the good old O'Grady drills and had a color guard unit with the white leggings and even plugged special parade rifles. We were sponsored by a VFW post, and they were serious about us looking good.

 

I have tried a few times to get my own boys to do some semblance of proper marching, but they seem to have very little interest. While I am sure there are likely a few extremely spiffy units out there, they likely are not very common. Just to get them to stand at attention for more than 30 seconds is a challenge.

 

A few years back I mentioned trying to put together an Eagle/NESA honor guard team for local flag presentations. The leaders of the other units all said it would never happen; that it would take too much time and commitment from the older scouts. March in a parade? Not likely!

 

JMG(grumpy)O

[DeanRx]

Sorry to see that no Troop in your community turned out.

 

We are going to be in a holiday parade this weekend w/ our Pack. I'll keep an eye out to see if any BS units are there.

 

We have a float and "walk" with our flags and pack banner.

 

Can't have them "march" you know... "BSA is NOT a para military organization".... Some folks seems to have forgotten our roots.

[IM_Kathy]

the town we live in has maybe had 1 time when any scouts (girl, cub, boy) were in the parade as "scouts" but knowing the kids that are in those programs I can spot them all in the parade.

 

My girl scout's from the unit are either with their ball team, church, or their high school band. But then Girl Scout policies really restrict some of the normal parade normalities... no throwing things, having to have grab bars, etc...

 

the same goes with the cub and boy scouts in this town... they don't have as strict of rules, but they are always with their ball team, church group, or their band.

 

now my son's troop is in another town... they did have a float in the 4th of July parade. Although it was not nearly as full as it could be because of the same reasons for the parade in our town, but that troop is a lot larger and so there are several scouts that don't play sports and aren't in high school yet to march with the band.

 

so not seeing a scout in uniform at the parade does not mean that there aren't scouts in that town.

[John-in-KC]

For the older teen members of Scouting, I have to agree with IM_Kathy. If they're in band... that parade may be curricular in nature. Ditto teams and vocal ensembles.

 

One other thing is a lot of chambers of commerce don't do as much as they should about getting pre-parade publicity to non-profits. You see the businesses, which are connected with the Chambers, doing things.

[shortridge]

BobWhite,

 

I would respectfully request that you re-read the original post.

 

Nowhere did I "jump to a very unsubstantiated conclusion." It's clear that extrapolating local conditions surrounding a once-a-year event to the national level would be futile.

 

Neither did I ask why certain local troops weren't marching; you're right, that would be a silly question to ask of an international Internet forum. My question, "Where were the Boy Scouts?" was a rhetorical device. The exact questions I directed to the forum regarded ways that members have bolstered parade participation.

[scoutingagain]

The unit I serve has always been in the community's Memorial Day and Veteran's Day parade.

 

It is an expectation that has always been there and they boys tend to be in their uniform best.

 

Now as far as marching goes, we had one dad with former military experience try and get the boys to march to cadence once and the Committee Chair had a mild freak out, ranting about how scout units are not military and should not march. She is long gone. And the question of marching has recently resurfaced.

 

Just a few months ago a rep from the VFW hall stopped by a meeting. They told us they really appreciate the scouts participation, but wondered why we didn't march. It was a bit of an embarassment to explain why(not wanting to appear military and all). Having explored this a bit further at the local level we have decided to try marching again and the VFW has agreed to supply some instruction on basic drills. We'll see how it goes next May.

 

But we've never had an issue with participation. We have had some issue with individual scouts at the High School level, but generally the Jr. High Schoolers show up. Many of the High Schoolers are in the HS Band or other organization that also participate in the parade and they march with their peers in other organizations.

 

SA

[OldGreyEagle]

While it is true that scouts are non-military, so are most high school marching bands but some march with precision that makes my staff sargeant Marine father proud. Doing close order drill for punishment is a lot different then spending some meeting time getting in step before a parade.

[moxieman]

My old troop, now my brother's troop, is in a small town. Most of the youth are also active in either a team sport or marching band. This leaves few scouts to march/walk as a troop. However, we've got a good rapport with the band teacher. Scouts who are band members are welcome to march in the band in scout uniform rather than band uniform.

 

I remember one year where it was just one other leader and I carrying our troop/US flags for the troop. Parade watchers would call to us asking where our scouts were? We'd reply, keep your eyes on the JR/SR High Bands behind us!

[oldsm]

My troop has marched for years in our local Memorial Day parade. It is expected.

 

The PLC flat-out tell the boys (and their parents) that the only acceptable excuses are being in the HIGH SCHOOL band (which is curricular - the middle school is optional), severe illness, or the family is out of town.

 

The sports teams (soccer, little league, karate, etc.) have enough people to represent them in the parade. Those units just walk as a mob. Our scouts take pride in keeping their rows and columns straight and generally try to march to the beat of whichever band they can hear. They do take pride in being the best marching unit in the parade.

[Bob White]

shortridge

I think if you reread your opening post you will see that it does indeed suggest that you believe Boy Scouts do not participate in parades because you do not see them participate in your LOCAL parades.

 

The answer to your question of "What out-of-the-box tricks & techniques have you found to get Scouts out and marching?" would depend on first knowing why they are not. And the answer to that would likely vary from unit to unit and community to community.

 

What specifically have you found out from the units in your community as to why they do not march in parades? You cannot find a solution unless you actually know what the problem is.

 

Does the unit you serve march in parades?

 

(This message has been edited by Bob White)

[evmori]

shortridge

I think if you reread your opening post you will see that it does indeed suggest that you believe Boy Scouts do not participate in parades because you do not see them participate in your LOCAL parades.

 

I musta read a different post because the only thing I read was LOCAL units weren't participating in the local parades. I know in my area, Cub & Boy Scout units participate regularly in parades.