The Bloggers
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Gloves are an important part of your winter gear. If you are like me, your hands and your feet are the most important part of staying warm. Once my hands and feet get cold.. that's it.. I want to go home.
Its that time of the year when we break out the winter gear and head out for some chilly, exciting winter camping adventures. I thought it was a good time to throw out some things to consider when getting out there in the cold.
Happy New Year! Starting the New Year off right for me becomes more and more important each year. I'm not sure what it is, probably just part of the ageing process and gaining a better understanding of what is important [to me].
To be early is to be on time…" This is a saying that is often heard around Scouting and pardon me in this post, but one of my pet peeves. I absolutely hate, yeah.. strong word.. but I hate this saying.
As I was driving home from work I was listening to a local Classical Music station.. it sooths me. What I like about the Classical station and most talk radio stations is that they do not play a lot of advertisements.
Introduction to Leadership Skills Training (ILST), for some of you it means JLT others remember TLT.. either way it amounts to training your youth leaders to make their troop better. Each year we conduct our youth training with the goal of getting the youth leaders of the troop all on the same page, giving them…
Character is that which reveals moral purpose, exposing the class of things a man chooses or avoids. – Aristotle In other words, what we do shows our true Character. For good or ill, how we behave is truly the mark of who we are.
There was a lot of hub bub over a decision that the outdoor retailer REI made to close it's stores nation wide on "Black Friday" encouraging their customers and employees to get outside on the that day and have an adventure.
Yes… Triangle Thingies.. that's what they are called. What do they do? Well, if you are like me and want to have an enjoyable time when you get into camp you find ways to stream line your set up and take down.
Show me a team that is not performing at a high level and I will show you a lack of vision. The mark of a high performance team is a team that is heading in the same direction with the same purpose and goals oriented toward seeing a vision become real.
If you play a game that has a desired outcome or purpose it is important that you first know what that purpose is and then have some way of knowing if you achieved the results you were looking for. By and large that is the reason we have an Eagle Scout Board of Review.
Hey all… Needless to say it's been a real busy time here and I have let my posting slide.. know that you have heard that before and I make no apology. After all, you understand what is important and not so much.
Here is a short video I shot today of a first look at my new Warbonnet Outdoors XLC. The XLC hammock is an improvement of the Blackbird hammock. XL standing for "Extra Large" is 1 foot longer than the Blackbird giving the hammock a more comfortable and flatter lay for larger hangers.
Somewhere around 1972 a new term hit the world of behavior science and changing the way we punish undesirable behavior. The consequence of that change in thought removed the ability for leaders, judges, and people in authority to make decisions.
A Scout Troop is a family.. and it's either living or dying. It's either growing or shrinking, viable or withering on the vine. There are many reasons for this, but the point of the matter is that if we are not watching for it we will let units fail.
Here is a video I shot a while ago about taking care of your gear out in the woods. This is the method I use for keeping my pack and gear high and dry and clean. Have A Great Scouting Day!
This post is not going to sit well with some folks, but be that as it may, it is a message that I feel is an important part of the Character, Citizenship, and Overall fitness of the Scouts that we are trying to develop.
There is a nice article in Bryan on Scouting today with comments and discussion on the blog about Scouts being on a first name basis with their adult leaders. I know it may be bad form to take this discussion from Bryan and use it here, so I apologize up front and if you will…
We often focus on membership when it comes to the retention and recruiting issue. This is absolutely a header in the discussion. However a better indication of unit health is your participation percentages. That is how many of your registered Scouts are participating in your activities.
We are now in the heart of recruiting season in Scouting. Actually all year is recruiting season for Scouting, there are no set guidelines as to when your unit brings new Scouts on board.. all year long is the best time to introduce boys to Scouting.
Here is a quick review of the Luci EMRG lantern. A new product from MPowerd. This versatile little lantern will easily fit on your backpack, pocket, glove box or first aid kit. With 4 different light settings it is perfect for reading in camp, marking your location, or providing an emergency light source wherever it's…
In my last post I talked about Scouting's message. If you look at the mission statement of the World Organization of the Scouting Movement (WOSM) it states; "The Mission of Scouting is to contribute to the education of young people, through a value system based on the Scout Promise and Law, to help build a…
If you pay attention to more than just your monthly camp outs and weekly meetings you will have seen or are noticing a very loud message in Scouting. Over the past few years Scouting has turned up the volume on its message of Peace.
There are those times as a Scoutmaster that leave you inspired. The other night I had one of those moments as I began to share my Scoutmaster minute with the Troop. Like most Troops, we have young men that make up the membership of the unit.
I had a great opportunity to teach a class at NOAC this year. The class was part of a three class block on making Order of the Arrow Troop Representatives successful. I taught the last block which wrapped up the session.
At the Wednesday show at the National Order of the Arrow Conference (NOAC) the National Chief rolled out a social media blitz. Staying with the theme "It Starts with Us", the National Chief challenged.. no Dared each person in the Breslin Arena to remember that to change the world we must first love one another.
There are moments in your life where vision is realized, made clear, and action set in motion. We have lived moments that have greater meaning, cause us to be moved, and in the words that resonate through out the Order of the Arrow, we "Seek a Higher Vision".
Leaders must have a critical eye. They must develop a habit of looking for opportunities to improve themselves and their team. With a critical eye they will start seeing those opportunities. Now, when I say opportunities, I am not suggesting that the leader look for all the things that are wrong.
I have always been a fan of training. I think that training makes us better. The more you know, the better equipped you are to lead. In Scouting the more you know about the program, the more you know about skills, and the more you know about working with young people, the better you will…
This year for the third time in the history of the Order of the Arrow a patch may be worn on the Sash. This patch represents the Centuries of Service Award available for all Arrowmen to earn this year. The program started in July of 2014 and will conclude in December of 2015.
One of the fun traditions of Scouting is patch trading. I have been acquiring patches now since about 1978. I would like to say that I have a ton of patches, but I really don't. You see, I did like most Scouts and Scouters do and did, I got a patch for going to Camporee…
We just got home and got cleaned up from this years District Camporee. It was a good event, not without it's ups and downs and for one Troop, disappointment. This morning we stood and watched as Troops received ribbons for placing in events and then the Camporee Top Troop.
As in the business world, Scouting is something that can and is ranked and rated. The things that we do in Scouting, in keeping with all great organizations that have a purpose and direction, a vision, measure what they do to stay focused and on track.
While it is true that we don't need no stinking badges… We do have a need for patches and lots of them. If you follow me on Facebook, you may have noticed that I am in a patch phase. Well truth be told, I have been a patch guy for a long time, but until…
Its never late to learn, you are never to old to figure things out… you don't know it all. You know what famous person this quote is from? Yeah..me neither.. I just wrote it, but I am sure that there are lots of great leaders out there that share my sentiment when I say there…
Hey gang.. Been awhile.. certainly got away from my blogging goals over the last couple weeks. No real excuse other than to say other things have taken priority. The Troop obviously, Staffing Wood Badge once again, and of course family life.
Dr. E. Urner Goodman is the man that founded the Order of the Arrow. His story is one of love of Scouting and of teaching young men to grow into men of Character. I stumbled on this video the other day and thought it is worth sharing.
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country."- John F. Kennedy "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others."
Like most units, our Troop has a new Scout Patrol that has started their Scouting adventure in earnest. They crossed over in February, like most Webelos and went on their first camp out with the Troop that following week. The Troop went to Camp Meriwether to do some Shot Gun Shooting and start working their…
Watching an old episode of Bonanza the other day and as with most of the stories, the guys with the white hats typically come out on top while the bad guys in their black hats seem to have the opportunity to listen to Mr.
Over the past two weeks we have had a wonderful Scouting experience learning about the fantastic people that we have in Scouting. Our Council Court of Honor was held a few weeks back honoring those that received their Silver Beaver award this year.
Today we took advantage of a nice sunny day to get some gear tweekin' in. Part of our addiction to camping gear is first recognizing that I have this addiction and second that I need to get out and play with it.
One of the most frequent excuses I hear from Scouters is that they do not have enough time. Time for family, work, sports, scouting, hobbies, church, volunteering, etc. There's just not enough time. Well folks, there is plenty of tim e..
It's Wood Badge Wednesday time again. In this post I want to share a bit about my Scouting Hero William "Green Bar Bill" Hillcourt. Everyone knows that William Hillcourt wrote books for the Boy Scouts of America, but few are aware of all of the work that he did for Scouting in America, in fact…
A couple ways of thinking about backpacking food. First. Quick and easy.. boil water Second. Pre cook and reheat. And third, make it from scratch. When we are talking about Quick and easy we throw freeze dried or dehydrated meals in to the mix.
I often talk about Character with our Scouts and on this blog. To me Character is the Great Non Negotiable. Character is that which once you give it away, you can not get it back. Character can never be taken from you, but you can freely give it away.
Hey, it's been a crazy week and now I am heading out of town for a little mini vacation with the wife. So we will get back to blogging this weekend. A couple things I am looking forward to this weekend (after our vacation),, We gave new Scouts crossing over on Saturday and then Sunday…
The Movement has already, in the comparatively short period of its existence, established itself onto a wide and so strong a footing as to show most encouraging promise of what may be possible to it in the coming years. Its aim is to produce healthy, happy, helpful citizens, of both sexes, to eradicate the prevailing…
This weekend I took to the mountain for the 4th Annual Yeti Winter Hang with the Cascade Hangers. It is a great Hammock hanging event where we talk gear, hang out, and have a lot of fun. Clearly a non Scouting event, but the gear, the camping, and the fun are reason enough for every…
I am the assistant Scribe for Wood Badge Course W1-492-15. This is my third time staffing Wood Badge and I am super excited to once again have the opportunity to help the participants get the very most out of their Wood Badge experience.
