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You probably know the name George Meany. You might know that his name is associated with labor unions. Meany was the president of the American Federation of Labor, an association of labor unions, who proposed the merger with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, a similar association, forming the AFL-CIO in the 1950s. Meany served as
A couple months ago, we wrote about just what constitutes a Scout campout. Scout camping, as you're aware, is different from ordinary-folks camping because it aims to fulfill a purpose besides recreation and just getting outside. Scout camping is where the values of Scouting come to life and is the end result of a month's
Today is June 1, 2015 – a date that a lot of Scouters have been anticipating, either with excitement or dread. It's the day on which the biggest overhaul of the Cub Scouting program in recent memory takes place. The rollout of the Cub Scout Adventure Program, an outcome of the 2011 strategtic plan, includes
Last week I attended the Dayton Hamvention®, the largest annual gathering of Amateur Radio operators in the world. Amateur, or "ham", radio and Scouting grew up almost in parallel at roughly the same time. Scouting just observed its hundredth anniversary a few years ago, while radio as a hobby started gaining in popularity in the
To err is human. We're all familiar with the observation that Alexander Pope made in his writings on criticism. So why do we get all bent out of shape when things go wrong? With adults it's one thing – by now, you think, they should know better – but especially when our Scouts mess something up,
Leaders are often responsible for seeing that those who they lead deliver results, and it's no different in Scouting. Our youth leaders must work together to achieve common goals. The leaders that the Scouts elect are directly responsible for not only the welfare of those who elected them, but for seeing that everyone does what's
When my niece got married a few months ago, one of the songs she and her new husband chose was the Wedding Song, written by Paul Stookey of the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary. We're probably all familiar with it – one of the stanzas starts out Well, a man shall leave his mother
Now that many troops and packs are winding down the most active part of their program year and are looking forward to scaling back a bit over the summer, and as adult leadership and committee assignments often change, it's a good idea to review how you do business, from a business standpoint. While most Scouting
Wrapping up our series on the upcoming changes to the Cub Scout program, this time we'll discuss what is changing with the requirements for the Arrow of Light award. Although these changes take effect on June 1 of this year, bear in mind that current Webelos Scouts can continue to use the current Arrow of
The BSA's Advancement Team has completed its biennial review and revision of the Guide to Advancement. The complete document can be downloaded here. As usual, there are several significant changes and clarifications, and most of the changes pertain to the Boy Scout program. Here's a summary: There's a clarification that merit badge worksheets and other
Do you attend your district Roundtable? When I was first recruited to be a den leader, our Cubmaster told me that, besides basic leader training, I needed to attend Roundtable each month. I viewed it as part of my commitment to the boys in my den, and found it to be really valuable as a
As former district training chair, I strongly believe in the value of training and the necessity of a good training program for our adult volunteers. I acknowledge that training is never perfect, and that leaders who complete basic training are not experts in their position. Training "wets the sponge" and sets new leaders off in
Do you ever feel like your leadership efforts are like the engine of a locomotive, but it seems like you're working a lot harder than you have to in order to get somewhere? Some organizations seem to operate that way. It can take a lot of effort and a long time to achieve results that
My wife frequently tells me that I look for ways to say no – that I'm always finding reasons why something can't be done. In reality, I'm going through a list of obstacles in my head that need to be overcome in order to turn that no into a yes. We tend to do the
Last month we took a look at the changes to the Webelos program coming in June 2015, with an eye toward the required Adventures that'll require some nontrivial advance planning on the part of the Webelos den leader. This month we'll dive into the rather lengthy list of elective Adventures that the Scouts can choose
People buy and sell cars all the time. But this wasn't just any car. In the fall of 1998, shortly after my older son (who is now in medical school) came home from the second grade and told mom and dad that he wanted to join Cub Scouts, I bought a brand-new car, a small
When many people think of "camping" they think of gassing up the RV and loading it up with groceries, beverages, maybe the ATVs, video games and sports gear, and heading to the lake, a KOA or a state park and plugging in for a weekend or a week. To a lot of Scouts and Scouters,
Scouting volunteers know that the Scouting program is all about youth. We are here specifically to support and provide a Scouting experience for the Scouts. And while we may have some fun along the way, the program isn't in place just so the adults can enjoy themselves. I heard a story this week on the
I got an e-mail from a reader: I'm the advancement coordinator for our troop. Recently I was running the "Scouts Not Advancing" report in Troopmaster and noticed that we have a good number of Scouts who haven't advanced in rank in 18 months or more. One of our committee members told me that an assistant
With the renewed emphasis on leadership – something Scouting has always produced as a by-product of our program – we're compelled to examine just what we mean by leadership. It's been said that leadership is all about getting results. That's truly the bottom line, when you think about it. Without leadership, people and organizations would
If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be ‘meetings.' The humorist Dave Barry pretty much had his finger on the pulse of things with that observation. Economists seem to have a good grasp on the
I was watching the birds fly around in my back yard the other morning. Among others, we have a pair of cardinals who have returned for the last couple years. Here's a picture my wife took as they relaxed in our magnolia tree. I'm not absolutely sure it's the same birds but a friend told
Spring has sprung, or is in the process of springing, in much of the country, and with it comes the national pastime. Major leaguers have been warming up in sun country for a couple weeks, and our young people are dusting off their spikes and swinging for the fences as youth baseball leagues get ready
I doubt there's anyone who hasn't felt frustration at how poorly or inefficiently our Scouts go about doing tasks at one point or another. We all know how to set up a tent – and could beat almost any Scout in a competition – how to cook in the outdoors, how to lead a meeting,
In our continuing series on changes coming this year to the Cub Scout program, this month I'll preview the Webelos changes along with some pointers on how to do some advance preparation for some of the Adventures. As always, be sure to consult the BSA's Program Updates website for the official word on the changes
This week, a couple questions from readers: Requiring parents to register Can a troop require that parents of Scouts register as adult members? Our troop insists that one parent of each Scout register as an assistant Scoutmaster or a troop committee member, and charges the adult registration fee as part of the Scout's registration. The
Recently, a friend let me read a letter of recommendation written by his son's high school baseball coach. His son is applying to college and the letter was to introduce him to the head coaches at the various schools. It spoke of his strong skills and talent on the field, his exemplary work ethic, and
Of all the things that terrify people, the one at the top of the list for most is public speaking. So much so, in fact, that a lot of people would rather have a root canal than get up and give a speech to a group. For anyone in a leadership position, though, being able
It's been said that the Boy Scouts of America is the largest user of dead trees anywhere in the world. The number of printed publications has been legendary – handbooks, pamphlets, forms, guidebooks, magazines – seemingly one for every purpose and sometimes several. The BSA seems to have adopted the same philosophy with websites. There
On Scout Sunday, I visited the Blue & Gold Banquet of a Cub Scout pack that I am the commissioner for. The pack is well-run, with exciting and interesting activities planned in advance throughout the year. Most of the Scouts received advancement recognition or awards of some kind, and all dens took part in the
I recently attended a presentation on the new Cub Scout Adventure program. Aimed at Scouters who will be implementing the program starting later this year, it was conducted by a member of the national task force that created the new program. He offered insights into how the committee arrived at its findings and what it
In our continuing series on changes coming this year to the Cub Scout program, this month I'll preview the Bear changes along with some pointers on how to do some advance preparation for some of the Adventures. As always, be sure to consult the BSA's Program Updates website for the official word on the changes
We had a successful University of Scouting training event in our field-service council¹ yesterday. Every other year, two of our field-service councils conduct a University of Scouting. Attendance was up, by my observation, and there was much good solid information passed along to and shared among the Scouters who attended.
Time now for a couple more questions from readers. Social Security numbers in troop records From a troop committee chair: Troopmaster has a place in the adult records for a leader's social security number. Should we be recording the SSNs of our adults? It seems to me like that's private information. A unit has no
How does your troop program planning go? Some troops take last year's calendar and just copy it, doing the same things each month. Others get together, rack their brains to think of new things to do but generally keep some key activities from year to year and rotate a couple other activities in and out.
Former president Bill Clinton has acquired the title of "Explainer-in-Chief" recently, for his talks and speeches clarifying the current administration's actions and policies. Mr. Clinton has the ability to relate complex subjects in a manner that can speak to a large audience. Regardless of how you may personally feel about Mr. Clinton and his messages,
Waiting at the mall for a table at a restaurant last week, I saw a young boy, probably three years old, spot a piece of paper on the floor. Very matter-of-factly, he walked over and picked up the paper. He was already headed toward the trash can when his mother cautioned him that he shouldn't
The game of Scouting that we play is indeed a game. We hope that our boys are having fun, and one of the best ways to have fun is to play a game. William "Green Bar Bill" Hillcourt was the first to describe Scouting as a game with a purpose.
Last month we presented an article on the changes coming later this year to the Tiger program in Cub Scouting. We'll continue with an overview of changes to the next level, the Wolf program. As I mentioned previously, the website Cub Scout Ideas, edited by Sherry Smotherman-Short, has a great overview of the new program
The end of 2014 brings with it a new resource for the often "hidden" Scouter – merit badge counselors. MBCs tend to escape our notice sometimes because many are not regular Scouters. There's no requirement that a MBC be registered in a unit. Anyone over the age of eighteen with the requisite experience in the subject
I'm truly fortunate to have so many readers and followers here on Bobwhite Blather. I get a little kick out of seeing visitor statistics, a new follower on Twitter or a subscriber to the e-mail list. It's good to know that my fellow Scouters are finding value in what they find here, and keep coming…
It's the time of year when we look back on our past experiences and accomplishments over the previous twelve months and make resolutions on what we're going to change and improve in the year ahead. In Scouting, sometimes our new year's resolutions arise out of our unit's performance on our annual Journey to Excellence evaluation.
I got a draft notice last night. Well, sort of. Our council's Dean of Boy Scouts for University of Scouting e-mailed me to ask if I could teach the Strictly for Committee Chairs class, and I agreed to be drafted into service once again.
We sometimes use the terms interchangeably. We have a boy-led troop with boy-led patrols. They read Boys' Life. "Never do anything a boy can do" is a key piece of advice, and Baden-Powell made frequent references such as "The Scoutmaster teaches boys to play by doing so himself" and "The boy is not governed by
A boy went out to walk his dog after school one chilly December afternoon. He had homework to do, it was getting dark, and his mom was expecting him home for dinner soon. On his walk he spied a patch of red and white cloth on the ground. That looks like a flag, he thought
If you're a regular reader of this website, you've heard about changes coming to the Cub Scout program. Maybe you've read our articles, or those from Scouting Magazine's blog, or attended Cub Scout Roundtable and heard about them from your friendly district Roundtable staff.
Earlier this week, our troop welcomed our newest Eagle Scout, joining two others whose boards of review I participated in last week. The three new Eagles brings our troop's total to 55 over its thirty years of operation. Eagle Scout is the pinnacle of the advancement climb in Boy Scouting, but it's not the actual
One of the most fascinating and fulfilling things about being part of the Scouting movement is watching our young people grow and develop as individuals, team members and leaders. Every time I sit on a board of review (as I did for two new Eagle Scouts last week), I'm reminded that, in one way or
Scouters sometimes get impatient with the way things are working. We're frustrated that committee members aren't getting things done. Youth leaders are clumsy and inept and we don't fully grasp that this is the process of leadership in the learning stages. It's not an uncommon problem. It happens all the time in business, school and
It's been said that change is inevitable, and that nothing worthwhile is accomplished without change. We cannot start to change until we move out of our comfort zone. Cub Scout leaders, prepare to be uncomfortable! We're a little under a year away from the national rollout of the new Cub Scout structure and program, initiated
