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In this segment, we'll talk about what's new in popcorn sales and great tactics for selling lots of product to fund your pack's activities, as well as develop self-confidence in your boys. We'll visit with Doug Dent, vice president of marketing for Trail's End popcorn.
Pockets are in play for part 1 of the August 2009 Cubcast. Play the podcast to hear ideas on ways to implement the September theme of "Cub Scout Pockets," as well as thoughts on how to use the theme for advancement, support the monthly core purposes of character development and fun and adventure, and instill…
Sergeant Major Vern Wilfinger was awarded the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal for his volunteer service to the civilian community while serving as an Assistant Scoutmaster for Troop 27 in East Peoria. Sergeant Major Wilfinger has been a member of Troop 27 since April 1999.
As has been talked about on the BSA Innovation Engine and on many sites online the BSA has decided to pilot a new field uniform made by Under Armour. The reason for this is so that the program's uniform ill appeal to kids who are embarrassed to be seen in the traditional scout uniform.
Tensegrity structures have fascinated designers since they were invented by Kenneth Snelson in the 1940s. Robbert Spikman, studying Industrial design at the Technical University Eindhoven in the Netherlands, designed this LED desk lamp using a tensegrity tower, and made from paper structural members (with the help of the step-by-step instructions from Ropes and Poles ).
The Boy Scouts of Melrose would like to provide this (comical) public service announcement video to help you prepare yourself and your family when you are out having fun this summer. The Scouts demonstrate the three levels of pickpockets that you may find when walking the streets or mingling in large crowds: the beginner, the…
1. http://ow.ly/h05l ScoutSigns: New BSA Rank Requirements Coming http://ow.ly/h05l 87 Clicks 2. http://ow.ly/15GxdZ Homeschooling and Scouting http://ow.ly/15GxdZ 69 Clicks 3. http://ow.ly/djkD BSA Immunization Exemption Request form http://ow.ly/djkD New form and great solution to a common problem. 63 Clicks 4. http://ow.ly/b4f4 Um, tasty and funny!
The National Order of the Arrow Conference (NOAC) kicked off today at Indiana University. If you aren't one of the approximately 7,000 arrowmen in attendance, you can still get a feel for what is happening! The NOAC Staff is producing a website called NOAC 2009 Live!
With the current economic climate, the availability of jobs is getting less and when a job does become available, competition for the post is often fierce. Therefore, when companies are looking at candidate's Curriculum Vitaes, they are not only looking at the person's suitability and qualifications for the job they've applied for, but what they…
Greg's Fish Shack was dedicated at Ingersoll Scout Reservation during a ceremony witnessed by more than 100 Scouts, Scouters, and friends and family of Greg Tripp. Greg, an Eagle Scout and ScoutReach Executive on the W.D. Boyce Council staff, tragically passed away in 2003 from a brain aneurysm on Thanksgiving Day, but the legacy he…
Hello fellow Scouters, My wife makes an incredible chicken pot pie. A few years ago, I converted it to a Dutch oven recipe, so I could have it at campouts. So here's an easy chicken pot pie recipe you can make at your next campout.
The Hopkinto Cub Scout Pack 26 came by the HCMA TV studio for a tour and filmed this recruitment video.
Lots of hints for Join Scouting Night this month Bobcat Ceremony ideas Bill Smith, the RT Guy, writes about Family Involvement Jim Jones talks about No Empty Pockets BSA Family Award is the Special Opportunity Activities for Webelos Communicator & Citizen Read it and have fun.
As a Scout leader we teach our Scouts to "Be Prepared".. then we ask, Be prepared for what.. the reply.. "Anything" Typically translates to lots of stuff going into the pack which means more weight. We try to keep the packs of our Scouts down to around 25% of their body weight.
Here are the top 10 most viewed posts for July 2009 (other than those solely about monthly theme items): New Cub Scout Belt Loops Coming 2009-2010 Program Helps Kindergarten Lions: Pilot Description 2009-2010 Program Helps Full Download No More Monthly Themes: An Update No More Monthly Themes: Roundtable Planning Guide Parent Information Guide Confirmation of…
The trees are green. The fish are jumping. The water is pleasant. It must be summer in the land of Friday's patch. Friday's patch featured the pleasant green-and-blue hues that people in cooler climes associate with summer. But notice that it didn't feature the scorching reds and oranges the rest of us deal with during…
Hey Scouts and Scouters.. I am always wanting to share what's in my pack, ideas, tips, and love to suggest good reading. Here is a must have for every backpacker.. no matter what your skill level is. If you are an expert...
#190-Rain What a rough ending to July! Some tragedy and heroics, the Program Helps is online, a cool patch, hotspots at campsites, a bunch of cool tweets, a neat online brochure, ?Made In America?, ten things every Cubmaster needs, feedback, and a bunch more.
#190-Rain What a rough ending to July! Some tragedy and heroics, the Program Helps is online, a cool patch, hotspots at campsites, a bunch of cool tweets, a neat online brochure, "Made In America", ten things every Cubmaster needs, feedback, and a bunch more.
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is pleased to partner with the Boy Scouts of America to increase the level of citizen preparedness across the country. DHS has asked the Boy Scouts of America to build upon the foundation of the Ready campaign and to help citizens across the country prepare for emergencies…
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4 Vote On Idea There are several awards that a youth can earn more than once; i.e the BSA Lifeguard, 50-miler, etc. When doing the data entry these can only be put in once. It would be nice for the youth if the system recognized that they earned awards more than one time.
My 30 nights of camping for summer 2009 have finished. Just got back from Wyoming yesterday and you can see our trek route and pictures here. I led a group of 9 from our church, but it included four boy scouts.
Back in April on the Leader's Campfire show number 62 , there was a trivia show. At the end of the show, a competition was launched for listeners to answer the questions that the show's participants weren't able to answer. All the questions came from the BSA's 1984 Boy Scout Handbook.
We had a wonderful, if somewhat damp, week at summer camp and our Scouts arrived home happily tired from having a great time. Merit Badge work is a big part of summer camp so there are usually some conversations about the quality of instruction and the effort extended by Scouts in completing requirements.
Baloo's Bugle is a cool monthly unofficial publication with games, activities, ceremonies, puzzles, crafts, and other ideas for den and pack meetings. This one covers the September " Cub Scout Pockets " theme. For Webelos Scout den meetings, this Bugle also has activities for the Communicator and Citizen Webelos activity badges.
Getting ready for summer we are looking at the merit badges offered at camp. It has been a long standing rule of mine that Scouts in their first year at camp take at least one Eagle Required merit badge. Something like Environmental Science or First Aid.
Here's a book that should be at the top of your summer reading list. No, it's not the latest legal thriller by John Grisham or romance novel from Danielle Steel. It's the new Boy Scout Handbook , and it's available now.
Maintaining a written log is one of the requirements of the Standard Patrol Award at our summer camp. A few years ago we expanded on the idea and now a Patrol Logbook is kept year-round. Every night at camp ends with the Patrols gathering to record their thoughts in the Patrol Log.
Cornhusker Council President, Bob Morrow, announced the promotion of the Cornhusker Scout Executive It is with both pride and sadness that I announce the promotion of our Scout Executive, Mike Hale, to Associate Regional Director of Program for the Central Region.
My first reaction to this title was "yeah, right". I've been a camper all my life spending a thousand or more nights under canvas or on the trail. My camping education started forty years ago with Colin Fletcher's book 'The Complete Walker' and expanded to the classics written by Horace Kephart, Nessmuk and Bradford Angier.
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8 Vote On Idea I'm pulling every month Training status per unit, membership, advancement, & tour permit and putting it together for the staff. This is all information that is available online and should be on the flash page. I've attached a sample of the membership one.
I think that all of the Troop had a great time during the trip. It was really fun to see the scouts go from barely somewhat experienced to a moderate level of experience. The Trip difficulty level in my opinion definitely suited the experience level of the boys.
6 Vote On Idea Need support from IT for those of us who have 64-bit Windows. Most new laptops come with 64-bit operating systems. However when trying to install Scoutnet 8.0 it will not install with the larger operating system.
When the number of recipients of a particular square knot is so small that the BSA can publish the list in its entirety, you know you're dealing with a prestigious award. Such is the case with the Order of the Arrow Distinguished Service Award , a knot given to men and women who serve the OA…
New Dutch Oven Recipe for All scouts
The Northern Star Council has an interesting website called Scouting: Good For Life . In addition to some local videos and commercials it lists ten reasons that Scouting is good for you life and family. Here is their list: Scouts are Leaders More than two thirds of Scouts say there have been real life situations were…
According to a post on the National Capital Area Council Website , the National Council has decided not to pursue a permanent National Scout Jamboree site at Goshen Scout Reservation. We regret to inform you that the Boy Scouts of America has decided to withdraw its interest in Goshen Scout Reservation as the permanent site for…
Understanding the environment where you are headed, rather than where you are, is a key to planning. Being prepared is looking forward to the possibilities and ensuring you have gear, skills, and confidence to be successful. The more skills and confidence you have, the less gear you need - as long as you don't get over-confident…
OK, I'm not going to go on about the song sung by The Beatles and Barrett Strong ! Yesterday I got round to finalising the Scout Troop's money for the last term. Now for reasons too boring to go into here, I look after the Troop's subs money.
The Charity Navigator 2009 CEO Compensation Study (pdf) was just released and rates the Chief Scout Executive in the top five highest CEO salaries. From the Study introduction: Charity Navigator has completed its fifth annual CEO Compensation Study. This year's study examined the compensation practices at 5,4481 mid to large sized U.S.
2 Vote On Idea With 100 years of history to draw on, can we compile a today in Scouting History on line calendar. Many of us are out talking everyday to groups of Scouts and supporters. I would have liked to include this information in our dailyu newsletter at Summer Camp.
I finally was able to return to Camp Bear Paw to camp a full week-first time since I received my Eagle medal 33 years ago and I was able to get reacquainted with the same roots and rocks that I tripped over.
Here is a new (Fall 2009) Scouting for Food emblem ($1.19) from BSA Supply Group. This patch would be something cool to give your boys who participate in a Scouting for Food service project . Link Posted in CUB SCOUTS, Patches, Service Projects
Here's an interesting piece from the Outdoor Ed Community blog; Teaching is listening, learning is talking. This wonderful rule of thumb, from the educator and writer, Deborah Meier , reminds us that real learning comes, in large part, from being actively involved in the educational moment.
All week, Arrowmen from across the country have been living it up at the National Order of the Arrow Conference in Bloomington, Ind., that ends today. What were they up to? The agenda included leadership development, sports, games, ceremonies, dance competitions, shows, and lots of pizza.
Looks like the new National Scouting Center and Jamboree site will be in Fayetteville County, WV. Great news for us in Minnesota - it's just 16 hours away instead of 19 to Ft. AP Hill. :-) The new site is located on the west side of the New River and bordered by the communities of McCreery to…
Scouting magazine, the Boy Scouts of America's publication for adult leaders, will debut an eye-catching, cover-to-cover redesign with its September-October 2009 issue. The 97-year-old publication's new look comes as the organization begins its 100th Anniversary celebration. In addition to an expanded editorial focus that delivers targeted leader support, features of the redesign include new columns…
You do not lead by hitting people over the head - that's assault, not leadership. Dwight Eisenhower
4 Vote On Idea Adding the status (R,M,N,T) to the non-unit registrant renewal roster would save hours of time and buckets of frustration when districts are submitting their District Renewal and when registering the Council Board, Members-at-Large, etc. Comments (0) Applications & Registration
5 Vote On Idea I am not sure if this is a possibility already, but I would like to be able to type in a training user code and pull up everyone in my council that has taken that training.
1 Vote On Idea If one of the goals of Scouting is to reach out to ethnic groups from whom our organization lacks representation, how do we sell inclusion when we create a title that separates the program from "traditional" Scouting?
1 Vote On Idea We have Sports and Scouting for Cub Scouts and Varsity/Venturing for older scouts. Can we try a pilot for a Sport-based program for middle schoolers that may not otherwise seek out the values and outdoor based concepts we instill because of their love for sports.
Podcast number 15. Talking about remembering your Group's past whether it is 5 years old or 100 years old. Colin 'Johnny' Walker's Scouting Milestones
As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence. The next best, the people honor and praise. The next, the people fear; and the next, the people hate. ...When the best leader's work is done the people say, 'We did it ourselves!'
The year of 1980 was the first full year of the newly reformed Melrose Boy Scout Troop 68 which had started up in December of 1979. I joined up with the troop in April as a nineteen year old assistant scoutmaster.
Hmm, let's see. There's a seagull, an oilrig, a bottlenose dolphin. That combination could only be found in the site of this week's Name That Council challenge. We've removed all text from the patch above. It's up to you to use the clues found in the patch's images to choose the missing council.
On August 4, 2009, Clinton Valley and Detroit Area Council independently approved a proposal to consolidate their Councils. According to the Southeast Michigan Consolidation Study Group, the consolidation will create a robust, new Boy Scout council serving all of Macomb, Oakland and Wayne Counties.
1 Vote On Idea When viewing the list of Position Descriptions or Giving Categories in Campaign Setup or the PD list, they are quite lengthy, and many are no longer used. They cannot be deleted because they were used in the past.
As I mentioned in our last post, this summer has been our busiest ever . We blew away every record we ever held week after week. It was more than we expected and we experienced some bottlenecks as our quantity of orders exploded.
Welcome to another edition of the Gear Head Friday! This Friday we will discuss how to plan your gear and how you organize and take stock at home. For many people a gear list is essential to packing correctly for any trip.
0 Vote On Idea Add a gardening belt loop. Comments (0) Cub Scouting , belt loop
1 Vote On Idea Our SE likes to thank the parents of Scouts which requires entering them into the system this results in duplicate listings per household. It would be great if we could specify head of household on a prospect record and link all records with the same address together.
The book The Scoutmaster Minute by Ron Wendel is subtitled "Your handbook for inspiring moments". The first thing you notice is that the subtitle seems pretty accurate. It's a tiny book size that easily fits into a pants pocket. The 128 pages are filled with 155 short stories, poems, and historical references that can be…
At ScoutStuff.org you can purchase 100 merit badge blue cards for $7.00 - then you get to fill them out by hand. These work great for a scout or three requesting to start merit badges, but when summer camp comes around and 100 or more merit badge requests come up it gets painful.
Movement is a medicine for creating change in a person's physical, emotional, and mental states. ~Carol Welch Exercise is a dirty word. Every time I hear it, I wash my mouth out with chocolate. ~Author Unknown The body of man is a machine which winds its own springs.
As an American, I will do my best to Be clean in my outdoor manners. Be careful with fire. Be considerate in the outdoors. and Be conservation minded. This is the outdoor code which all scouts should follow whenever they are enjoying the outdoors even when they are not n scout outings.
New Active Game for Cub Scouts
Around The Scouting Campfire #8: Damp Camping The show begins with Buttons arriving home from an overnight camping trip. A very wet overnight camping trip. He talks with Scoutmaster Steve about a couple of the things he and his troop did during the damp outing.
The summer has been busy with Scouting and family activities but I finally felt it was time to add another episode to the Around The Scouting Campfire podcast. The show begins with Buttons arriving home from an overnight camping trip.
5 Vote On Idea Shows like Ace of Cakes are becoming quite popular. We should solicit this show to create a masterpiece cake to celebrate the 100th birthday of the BSA. It might also be great publicity to solicit shows like Oprah to do a show on the Boy Scouts during the week of our…
When I was about 10 or 12, I built a solar food dehydrator - a white box with plastic lid and ventilation holes in the ends. The sun heated it up and the hot, moist air escaped. It worked great for slices of apple, pear, and banana that I strung on fishing line inside it.
Strategic Guru Inc., a Triangle-based marketing and communications firm, announced that Chief Brainstormer Carolyn Rhinebarger was the featured presenter to the Boy Scouts of America Occoneechee Council offices in Raleigh last week. Her talk, entitled The Truth About Social Media Marketing, illuminated the issues surrounding the fast-changing world of social media.
Officials with the Great Rivers Council of the Boy Scouts of America have notified Gov. Jay Nixon that he has been selected to receive the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award (DESA). Of those Scouts who have attained the rank of Eagle Scout, fewer than one in 1,000 have received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award.
Gone to camp... Enjoying the finer parts of Scouting and helping to deliver the promise to a troop of outstanding young men! I will check in with a full report next week! Have a Great Scouting Day!
Chances are you have discovered Facebook already. Facebook? Come on are you serious? Yes. If you are in the 40+ crowd you may not 'do' Facebook in the same way that ten or twelve years ago you didn't 'do' email or cell phones.
I recently moved up to a Flickr Pro account so I am playing around with some of the features, one of which is the ability to embed slideshows into blogs and websites. I thought for the first one I would start with the pictures from my first trek to Philmont Scout Ranch with the Boy…
Congratulations to New Eagle Scout Robert Rubano, 47 Years Young Robert Rubano, Scoutmaster of Troop 24 in New Dorp, Staten Island, finally earned the Eagle Scout rank, almost 30 years past his 18th birthday, the cut-off for such an achievement.
The Patrol System was published by the General Council Boy Scouts of Canada in 1960 and is available in PDF format here (do make sure to check out The Dump ). The next several posts will feature most of the text of this book and some of my ideas about implementing the concepts described nearly fifty…
You had all weekend to consider the mystery patch shown below. Did you figure out the missing council? Make like a dolphin and jump to find out. It was the Bay Area Council , with headquarters in Galveston, Tex. The council's proximity to the Gulf of Mexico's abundant industrial, recreational, and environmental opportunities is beautifully rendered…
A five-member team of high school students from Venturing Crew 202 of Carroll County is the winner of the 19th annual Maryland Envirothon. The Envirothon is an outdoor natural resources competition that challenges students to identify and categorize living resources, perform soil surveys and solve other complex natural resource issues.
Hello fellow Scouters, I learned a great campout cooking technique from our former Cubmaster years ago that I'd like to pass on to you. I love to barbeque, but if the campground I am going to doesn't have a grill, I can make my own out of my existing Dutch oven equipment and enjoy burgers…
0 Vote On Idea My idea is to allow youth in the Exploring program to register in multiple posts at no cost. I think there are a couple of reasons why this is a good idea. If kids can pay only once and check out different programs it would be easier to start Crime Scene…
0 Vote On Idea With the decline monthly of usage for IE 7 and 8 and more and more website are being built with other web platforms, is National working on making Scoutnet more compatible with Firefox, Safari, or Chrome.
-17 Vote On Idea Videogames and Scouting don't mix. Or do they? Our council has used Videogame tournaments as a means to recruit new boys into Scouting for years. First, we find a Troop to host a videogame tournament (non-violent videogame).
The Scouting program relies on volunteers like you to succeed. We at Cracker Barrel recognize this and enjoy showing off some of the nation's best adult volunteers. It's a feature we call Scouter Spotlight, and this week it shines on a great volunteer from New Mexico.
BSA Supply Group now has available Centennial Uniform shorts . These forest green shorts made from Supplex Nylon have deep pockets and an inner mesh lining to accommodate swimming. The new uniform shorts can be worn as part of the adult Cub Scouter uniform or the Webelos Scout uniform (if worn with khaki shirt).
The Centennial Edition of the Boy Scout Handbook unveiled by the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) prepares the 21st century Scout for new technology while celebrating the organization's rich heritage. The 475-page paperback features nostalgic illustrations from the previous 11 editions alongside references to emerging technology and expanded online information.
0 Vote On Idea With the current emphasis in education and business on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) fields, the BSA should research pilot partnerships with tech-based corporations and or educational institutions in select markets. A STEM day or weekend at a corporation or university for youth to explore opportunities could be open to the…
As we move into the summer months, now may be a time to take an inventory of what has transpired in the last "Scouting" year. I will take a personal inventory, and see what went well, what was OK, and what was not so good.
And so it is, here is Show 5...finally... Click HERE to download it...
Wow, what a week... Starting last week, we inched up from 40's in the early week, to mid-70's by Saturday...only to have the temp drop to the 40's on Sunday, with rain, rain, and more rain...all the way through Tuesday...oh, did I mention the snow that was falling when I walked out the door yesterday…
Yesterday, I got my new Brunton Raptor Stoves, just plain awesome. I stopped and got fuel on the way home, so that I could try it out as soon as I got home. I opened the box, screwed on the canister, turned the valve, clicked the piezo-lighter and woosh!...I had flame...just plain cool.
Yup, 2 in a month...imagine that. The next to last show about the Commissioner's Service and a bit more about the troop. Click here to download
Who influences the decisions that you make? Or are you a free thinker who needs little help or advice from anyone? I would say that I am one who uses guidance where needed, giving credit where credit is due. Today is one of those days, not because it's Memorial Day weekend or anything like that…
Last week, I was talking with a friend of mine, he isn't a scouter, so doesn't really understand some of the scouting verbiage. While we were discussing some of our non-scouting topics, he asked about Ethan and how he was doing.
As I progress into the unknown world of scouting, I have made a few observations... 1. I haven't posted in almost a month, and I really needed to get something out... 2. Lack of direction with my posts, and lack of shows....even though I have 3 written, seems kind of moot to record them, as…
Here in Wisconsin, times seem to slow down quite a bit when it comes to activities. Why? I dunno. It may be due to folks just wanting to enjoy the sunshine and warmth, or because folks seem to go 100 MPH during the school year.
It seems that over the last few months, some of my scouting friends from around the country, along with some regular forum posters, have kind of disappeared. Maybe that isn't a good term, but maybe they have "throttled back"...a railroading/model railroading vernacular.
