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Today I: - worked with the Treasurer on some budget ideas - updated the online sign up for the March Campout - emailed various Scouts and Scouters about all sorts of things, including Webelos, supplies, sick Scout, Merit Badge Cards, Cross Over dates, New Scout Patrols - exchanged information with a local Scoutmaster about a topic from Roundtable....
Sorry this is late all... I did not plan to do any Scouting on Day 4. My son and I traveled to his new college to learn about their School of Music, Music Education program. It was an incredible day filled with lots of information, several concerts and some placement tests and auditions that my…
Today I: - chatted with a fellow Scouter and planned some Scout Nation recording next week - emailed the CC about the Committee Meeting last night - met with a new Scoutmaster and talked show at the meeting after the meeting - went to District Roundtable...sat on a panel about Grubmasters and shared our practices -talked to a Life…
Well the 100 Days of Scouting Project is off to a great start yet again. So far I've seen 6-8 Scouters joining the project. And I am sure several more will follow. I had a mountain top experience last night at our Troop's Court of Honor.
And welcome back to 100 days of Scouting (I will be doing a bonus 101st day in honor of 101 years) What I did today: - our February Court of Honor was tonight. I spent an incredible evening with 100+ Scouts, Scouters and families.
Today is February 8th, the birthday of the BSA. Today is also the official end of the 100th Anniversary Celebration. It was an incredible year filled with exciting things from the local to national to international level for me. I stood on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium with several hundred other Scouts at a…
It is my pleasure to announce a new venture for me, podcasting. I was asked by fellow Scoutmaster and good friend Scoutmaster Shawn (of True North fame) to be on his show a while back. It went very well and a new show was born.
A fellow Scout Blogger posted about Benefits of a small Troop. Being a Scoutmaster of 118....I thought I would respond here. To be fair I kept the original post and replied in italics...visit Scoutmaster Musings...we might disagree here but he put out an excellent resource for many Scouts and Scouters: the original post follows...
Usually I try to make my Scoutmaster Minutes something...thoughtful, meaningful...as one old SPL said...drop some knowledge. But we need to remember the fun and that should include the Scoutmaster Minute...here is one from a campfire at Summer Camp last year...
At the last Troop Meeting of the year I issued a challenge in my Scoutmaster Minute, 2010 was a Year of Celebration or the BSA, let's make 2011 a Year of Service for Troop 199. At the PLC meeting last Tuesday, the PLC did just that and voted to make 2011 a Year of Service.
So starts the new year. What do you have in store for 2011? Camping? Hiking? Working on Eagle? Some personal items of note in 2011: - weight loss...serious, long term commitment - career choice...my dream is to teach, I start taking the next steps towards that dream - life change...my son will graduate High School and attend Indiana…
So it is that time to reflect on the year that was...I wanted to touch on some highlights of the year for the Troop: - we camped 12 months of the year: among the campouts we had a Lock In, backpacking trip, rock climbing, wilderness survival, Adventure Park trip, Ski Trip, geocaching, did a COPE Course…
When I first got married my wife and I did not have a lot of money. I was working a part-time job and my wife was a waitress in a very small town in Northern New York, about 20 minutes from Canada and 7 hours from New York City.
Every December the Troop plans a Lock In as the monthly 'campout'. It has been an annual tradition for YEARS and all the Scouts (and visitors) love it. Last night (this morning) was the Lock In. We had 157 Scouts, Scouters, Webelos, Parents and friends join us.
So the Holidays are upon us. It is that time of year where Scouting goes FULL BORE and then takes a break. Or that is how it seems to me? There's wreath/tree sales, Popcorn wrap up, Holiday Parties, last minute services like Food Collection for Thanksgiving and Toy Collections for needy children, some "I gotta…
Last night at the meeting we played a Troop Game, Kim's Game. For those not in the know...it is a memory game. 30 items are placed on a table and covered. Each team (we used Patrols) are allowed 30 seconds to see the table and then write down all the items.
On the previous posts campout I had one Scout who did not want to go. His buddy/tentmate was sick and couldn't go and he did not really 'know' the other Scouts coming on the Hiking portion of the campout. I took him aside and told him that I did not want anyone to force him…
So I've been having this discussion for months on several different channels (chat, facebook, skype, twitter) and that is Troop size. Some Troops are small (10), others medium (40) and then there is mine, at 123. We can carry on this debate elsewhere, but today I want to illustrate one of the benefits of a…
This is a picture of one of my Eagle Scouts on the front page of the West Point website http://www.usma.edu/ I think it is so cool that on this Veteran's Day one of our own is honored. He is a member of Troop 199, an Eagle Scout, 2x SPL, White Stag staff member and a…
You think you know when it works but you really don't. It seems to be going right, and everything starts to fall in line just like training and you are positive it is working. You talk to the other leaders, post on Twitter and chat on forums about how it is 'working' for you.
Wow, November is here and the year is coming to a close. Sorry for the lack of updates. I try not to randomly post things here and want to make sure they are related to Scouting and not just the usual ramblings in the blogging world.
Note: Over Fall Break one of our Freshman Students took his own life. He felt alone, outside of society and bullied. Two of my Scouts knew him. I also lost my best friend to suicide when I was in High School so I felt it appropriate to speak about it last night at the meeting.
For the past two years parents and Adult Leaders have been asking me the same question: "What can I do?" Well I finally have the answer and I hope this helps: DO nothing, it's as simple as that. DO nothing; but BE a resource, BE a mentor, BE an example.
If you know me then you know my Troop. I am the Scoutmaster for 121 Scouts, some will shrink away at those numbers and others jump at the chance to be part of such a large organization. Some clarifications before we go on: - It is Scout-Led all the way - I do not run a Troop…
Last night we had the first of our Webelos Recruiting meetings. The first part of the meeting we meet with the Webelos and Parents. Then the SPL takes the Webelos away and they are part of the Troop for the rest of the meeting.
Had an interesting discussion on Twitter today with several Scouters I know and respect. Started off with a question: can rank be denied to a Scout that does not wear a uniform? The short answer is: NO, that would be adding to the requirements for rank and Troops/Packs/Crews cannot do that.
At TLT we watched Groundhog Day (some Scouts laugh) and one of the actors, Steven Tobolowsky told a story the other day that I really liked. He said, as a young actor on stage in Buffalo, in the middle of a play, something happened.
LEADERSHIP...there is nothing new under the sun to read about leadership, especially for Scouters. If you've read The Art of War, BPs Aids To Scoutmastership, anything by Reagan, Ike or Green Bar Bill then you know all there is to know about good leadership.
Look around this room! WOW, 70 Scouts and almost 30 Adults all here because they love Scouting. With all these uniforms and all these people it sometimes gets confusing...Mr. Lopresto, can you tell me what the patch on your shoulder says (ASM), Assistant Scoutmaster, Mr.
Saturday is the anniversary of 9/11. Most of you do not remember life before that fateful day, it was a different world we lived in with different worries and fears; hopes and dreams. And different definitions too, see before 9/11 if you asked someone what a hero was they would answer: Superman or SpiderMan, Captain…
Tuesday was a great meeting for some and not for others. We have a Life Scout aging out soon (under 30 days) who has recently returned to finish up his Eagle Rank. He did his Eagle Project and started finishing up his merit badges.
Thanks for the feedback and comments online and off....here are some answers to some questions/comments 1) Yes we use Know/Be/Do and we use the Leading and Teaching EDGE 2) that does include Forming/Storming/Norming/Performing 3) our PLC is the SPL, ASPLs (2), Patrol Leaders (10), Scribe (1), Chaplain Aid (1), Troop Guides (3).
Troop Leader Training... One of the things that the previous Scoutmaster did that I loved was the TLT Weekend. At first it was JLT, then BSA changed focus and redesigned the program. We kept it a weekend though the new program calls for 3 afternoon type classes (or something like that).
Troop 199 had its elections the other week. The Troop elected a SPL and each Patrol elected a Patrol Leader. The next week the SPL picked his ASPLs, Scribe and Chaplain Aide. The PLs picked their APLs and I picked the Troop Guides.
Had an odd night off the other day and then thought about how much time a Scouter spends on volunteering, so let's take a look. Please comment on your Volunteer Time: Based on a 30 Day month: 4 Tuesday nights (Troop Meetings/PLC) 1 Wednesday night (Committee Meeting) 3 Thursday nights (Roundtable, Eagle BoRs, District Committee…
Busy Scouting Week (again) as we had the Court of Honor on Sunday night, Troop Elections/Meeting on Tuesday, Committee Meeting last night, District Kick Off tonight, Boy Scout Day at the State Fair (with Adventure Base 100) Saturday and 4 different service opportunities AND an Eagle Court of Honor this weekend.
Last night was Troop 199's Annual Pitch In and Court of Honor. With 118 active Scouts we have a large Summer Court of Honor, this year is was 109 Rank Advancements and 407 Merit Badges. Not to mention the Mile Swims, Jambo Call outs, etc.
We spent a whole week together, eating, tenting, swimming, playing and we got close like a family. We also were forced to be with people we may not like, people with different hobbies or thoughts or abilities. Most people use the expression: "we don't see eye to eye" or "we are worlds apart".
Summer Camp was a blast this year. Better than my first one as Scoutmaster. We camped at Adventure Point (called AP) at Camp Ransburg. It is 2.5 miles away from main camp with it's own waterfront and range. It is where Troops can go and run their own program.
Just a quick note to tell you all I am still around. Back from Summer Camp (will have recap soon) and a long work week has put me behind... Please check out www.troop199.org to see updates from several of our Scouts at Jambo2010.
What a crazy month it has been! I have been so busy with work and Scouts that I need just a day to sleep. But we do not have the time to just relax sometimes. We have Summer Camp right around the corner.
I used to be an Eagle... I went through Wood Badge in 2008. I always wanted to do it and finally found the time. I was very glad I did. Not only did I get the usual RECHARGE that many Scouters in the program get, I also made some life long friends.
Last Friday night was a Court of Honor held for a Troop in New York. There was nothing really special about about this CoH, just another program honoring Scouts and Scouters in a 100 year old Troop. It's been done before (maybe at least 200 times for this Troop).
From Tuesday 6/1/10 Meeting: A great American thinker and philosopher once said: "School's out for summer, School's out forever". For some, like our SPL, School is out forever so congrats to all our High School Graduates and good luck next year at college!
Every Memorial Day, the Scouts of Troop 199 gather on Saturday morning at Oaklawn Cemetery to honor our passed Veterans. We take a small American Flag and place it at the headstone of every Veteran there. This year was a little different in that the SPL and Scouts actually ran the entire Service Project.
First off thanks to all you who visited over the past 100 days. And thank you to "Scoutsigns" and all the other 100 Day Scouters (and Scouts) for sharing their journeys as well! As I logged on each day and recapped the previous day of Scouting I thought a) MAN this is more work then…
Friday: Day 98 started like most days, I was already behind and had several Scout things to do before I left for work. - packed for Scout Campout - looked over proposed Schedule, printed it and then left it behind :) - drove 4 Scouts to campout and watched as 34 Scouts (including 14 1st years) put up camp.
At tonight's campfire: Tonight we welcome a new scout from Erie on his 1st campout with the Troop. tonight is also sadly the last campout for J and M as they leave us and move to Iowa. Gentlemen you are always welcome back whenever you want.
The clock continues to countdown this great project: - entered some TroopMaster data - emailed some Scouters about participants in the White Stag program (we have 5 going and 2 on Staff) - sat on an Eagle Board of Review and recommended him to National for Eagle!
As the Project 100 Days draws to an end I reflected on what has come before: - was asked (and agreed) to teach Scoutmaster Specific Training at Summer Camp for Main Camp Scouters this summer - made Facebook friends with several more Wood Badge participants - talked with CC about upcoming project for the Troop - worked on a…
