No matter how we hard tried our Scout Troop planning seemed to be losing the battle for for space on crowded family calendars. Participation in our program was all over the map, some events would be well attended, only a handful of Scouts would show up for others. Patrols were rarely at full strength and […]
Unit Committee
Scoutmaster Podcast 348 – Who Leads Scout Leaders?
If the Scouts are leading themselves who is leading the Scout leaders? This week I’ll field a couple of email questions that ask the question “who leads the Scout leaders?” Scouting is a team sport, while we all work to build consensus it’s not a democracy. It is, as BP said, “a jolly game” that depends […]
Scoutmaster Podcast 332 – Shared Expectations
It is our responsibility to assure there’s a shared expectation… … and our Scouts understand them. Scout aged children are not going to interpret gentle reminders, they’d prefer to have to have things clearly spelled out. They are literalists, they don’t take hints. You can be direct without being unpleasant. There has to be continual engagement and […]
Scoutmaster Podcast 320 – The Garden
Scouting needs gardeners more than managers or officers. Scouting isn’t the science of management or military discipline, it’s much more like a garden. Gardeners prepare the ground, plant the seed, keep the weeds away, make sure there is plenty of water and sunshine and step back. Scouting is just like that. We know our Scouts need […]
Podcast 318 – Troop Leader Guidebook Vol. 2 PART TWO
No 11-year-old boy joins Scouting to get his character developed… … and few boys join to attend troop meetings, wear the Scout uniform, or sit before boards of review. Instead, they sign up for fun and adventure. Last month Walter Underwood joined me on podcast 313 to review the first volume of the Troop Leader Guidebook. We got […]
Scoutmaster Podcast 311 – Scout Camping
What constitutes a night of Scout camping? You’ll find the qualifier “under the auspices of Scouting” or something similar in advancement requirements that describe nights of camping. What, exactly, does this mean? I’ll give you my best answer to this and other email questions that we’ll discuss in this podcast. You don’t want to miss […]
Podcast 296 – Choosing a New Scoutmaster
How do you decide who is right for the job? I think it’s a mistake to select a new Scoutmaster as you would hire an employee with interviews, applications, etc. This is something very, very different. I wouldn’t choose a new Scoutmaster based on knowledge of the outdoors, training, or experience because those are very insignificant aspects of […]
Recruiting Scouts at a “Scout-O-Rama”
From The Valley Breeze, Providence, Rhode Island Eighty families and more than 300 visitors total turned out for the first Scout-O-Rama at Notte Park and Camp Meehan on Sunday. Scout leaders said 17 people signed up to be a Scout during the event, making this a “huge success” and their largest recruitment effort ever. Fifty-six […]
Podcast 287 – Small Troops
When is a group of Scouts a Troop, and when are they a patrol? We begin answering that question by forgetting everything we think we know and building a logical approach, by serving the interests of the individual Scout rather than the interest of an organizational chart. Small troops are going to function a little differently […]
Scoutmaster Podcast 271
What does learning to ride a bike have to do with Scouting? Listen to my answer to an email question from a new Scoutmaster to find out, I answer several other questions on this podcast about records, troop size and youth leader accountability. LINKS IN THIS PODCAST Sponsored By ScoutmasterCG.com Backers Get The SCOUTMASTERCG APP Podcast Archive […]
Great Scout Fundraiser Idea (Really!)
I’ve been contacted by a number of companies who offer Scout fundraiser opportunities and I’ve turned them all down until today. When Paul Geatches from Country Meats contacted me I had my guard up. Most of the opportunities I hear about don’t meet two very basic personal criteria; value for money, and pricing that corresponds to a […]
Scoutmaster Podcast 260 Paperwork!
Scouts and paperwork can be like oil and water! In this week’s podcast an update on our 2016 trip to Kandersteg, I’ll answer email questions about handling permission slips (get in touch and tell me how you handle paperwork and deadlines), youth leaders, and avoiding homesickness. LINKS Working with Homesick Scouts Homesickness on podcast 76 Helping Homesick Scouts […]
Podcast 255 – High Adventure!
… you know you’d like to go! Getting a high adventure trip off the ground sounds difficult, but you can make it happen for your Scouts. This week I’ll discuss some of the things you need to do to set up high adventure, and answer email questions about attendance at outings, and advise a new […]
10 Point Scout Troop Checkup
Active, aware, Scouters all ask themselves how well they are delivering the Scouting program. There are any number of ways to measure metrics, the Journey to Excellence being the most familiar and widely used tool. I am going to suggest ten questions a Scout troop can ask of itself that do not have metric answers. Hopefully the answers would help […]
Scouting and Money
A reader asks: I would really like to hear how various troops handle money. While I am certain there is no “one” right way to handle Scouting and money, I feel we can learn from sharing each other’s methods. How is the money collected, who collects it and when is it collected? How much is […]
Scoutmaster Podcast 219 – Brick Mason Knife Safety?
Sponsored By ScoutmasterCG.com Backers Some great email questions regarding aquatics awards, finances, and working with adult volunteers along with a visit from our old friend Brick Mason! Resources mentioned in this podcast – my Scout accounts article, FISCAL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR BSA UNITS from the BSA. Podcast Archive Get The SCOUTMASTERCG APP Podcast: Play in new window […]
Fall 2013 Voice of the Scout Survey Results
The results of the Boy Scouts of America Fall 2013 Voice of the Scout survey have been published in this executive summary and infographic. You can also access the published results of all VoS surveys. How it Works A Voice of the Scout (VoS) survey is conducted every six months. Invitations are emailed to seven different […]
Scout Accounts
If your Troop, Pack, or Crew assigns proceeds from fundraising to individual Scout accounts you may have been taken aback by this statement in the Fiscal Policies And Procedures For BSA Units FAQ I shared last week Can my unit credit amounts from fundraising to an individual toward their expenses? No. The IRS has stated that crediting […]
Answers to Questions about Scouting Finances
Decisive answers to questions about Scouting finances can be difficult to find. While researching an answer to an email question I found this PDF document: Fiscal Policies And Procedures For BSA Units dated August 2013, that provides answers to most common Scouting financial questions. The short story is there are very specific policies that are applied in concert with national, state, and […]
How Should We Respond to a Scout Who Wants to Quit?
There he is, waiting for our reply; how do we respond to a Scout who wants to quit? Not every boy is going to maintain an active interest in Scouts, it doesn’t automatically mean that anything is wrong with them, the program, or ourselves. I expect that every Scout will have a tough time once […]
November ScoutCircle – Webelos to Scouts
Here’s this month’s ScoutCircle, a solo appearance! Here’s the resources we discussed The New Parents Quick Guide Webelos_to_Scout – BSA information webelos-to-scout-transition-plan-1 Heart of America Council WebToScout Webelos to Scout Transition: A Parents’ Guide
Membership Resolution Approved
The Boy Scouts of America Statement: “For 103 years, the Boy Scouts of America has been a part of the fabric of this nation, with a focus on working together to deliver the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training. “Based on growing input from within the Scouting family, the BSA […]
Messages from BSA National Executive and BSA National President
National Executive Wayne Brock’s message on the policy resolution; Anticipation and emotions are high as we prepare for the membership standards vote this week. Regardless of which way the vote goes, the important question for each of us is, where will we stand after the ballots are counted? To help provide some perspective, I’d like […]
Scouting’s Past Marks our Path to the Future
After it’s founding Scouting quickly and spontaneously spread around the world. Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of this burgeoning worldwide movement, would look back at those years and recall*: Scouting was not a year old before other countries had formed their branches. In twenty-one short years the Scout and Guide training has spread to forty-two different countries about the […]
