Ticket Update 2013

  In looking at posts from last year, I found a post about my 2012 Goals that I created.  These are based around my Wood Badge Training.  I realized that I have not communicated an update for a very very long time.

Please read the post so you get the gist of what I was trying to carry out with these ticket items.

1)Lose Weight: Target date missed by a mile.  I really wanted to lose weight.  I am basically the same as I was then.  I went on Medifast for 90 days and really lost weight.  However, in the end, I did not meet my goal.  I know what I need to do, I just need to do it.

2) Get new Cubmaster  & Ast Cubmaster.  I got a Cubmaster and she’s off to Wood Badge 2013. (Which as of this posting the 2nd weekend is this weekend. She is an Owl!)  I did not get an ACM, but that’s ok.   The switchover was on April 6th.

3) Training Plan for Pioneer District.  I am still working on that.  This weekend actually we are holding ITOLS at the Camporee.  The District stopped doing that about 10 years ago.  The Council via a Task Force is working on getting more people Trained.  So, this is a work in process.  I am happy with the way this is going overall.   I have also teamed-up with another District to put on/host a Cubscout Den/Pack Training Day in the fall.  They did it last year and I was very happy of how it went.

4) The Bobwhite Patrol of W1-492-11 and getting their Beads!  Very happy to report that six out of seven earned their Beads.  One Bobwhite went onto staff W1-492-12 as a Troop Guide.  Very happy!

As for the other goals that were not a Ticket Item.  I have signed up as a Merit Badge Counselor for Ham Radio, Chess and Graphic Arts.  I am playing more with my Ham Radio.  Last year during a Cubmaster Hike during JOTA I brought the Radio with me and we worked a few stations.

So, two of my ticket items were met and finished.  Two are needing work.   Wood Badge  is never over.  You complete a ticket, create a new one and move on.

The Scout Rank

With anything, there is a starting point.  In Cubscouts, it is the Bobcat Rank.  It’s the rank that helps the Cubscout start to understand the culture of Scouting.  He continues on this path with much guidance in the beginning and less so as he reaches the Arrow of Light Rank.

In Boyscout, the joining rank is called Scout.  It is much like the Bobcat Rank, but it really symbolizes the official break from Cubscouts.  While the Arrow of Light ceremony is the celebration of that achievement. The Scout rank seals the deal.

Tonight, Elliot and his buddy achieved the rank of Scout in Troop 432.  He’s off to Tenderfoot.  I was not there for this, due to work.  But, that’s ok.  It’s his journey.  I am just as proud of him as I was when he earned Bobcat, Tiger, Wolf, Bear, Webelos & Arrow of Light.   But, this rank he did on his own.  Ok, with a little coaching because he does not know the rules.  I told him, he needed to ask for the Scoutmaster Conference.  He did.

Now, I get to tell him to go ask his Patrol Leader or the Senior Patrol Leader!

<update 10:11pm PST> Just got off the phone with him. Said the Troop meeting was boring. But, then said, they played Simon Sez, Chopped Wood, worked on stoves. Said they are working on something called a Chit….Like Whittlin Chit? Yeah…but with an Axe. Dad, you can’t Chop Wood with a Knife! (Oh…whoops) He finally got Totin Chit said.

JOTT and National Trail Days

In the coming Months there are two events that EVERY SCOUT GROUP should take part in.
The first is Jamboree on the Trail.  It is on May 11th.   I have written about this event many times over the years.  I also was part of my reason to create and start the Cubmaster’s Hike.

I really like the Jamboree on the Trail since it’s a unoffical World Jamboree that started in Canada.  I have gotten the Pack 221 Scouts out on this day a couple of times.   There are so many reasons to get OUTSIDE and see nature.  It’s one of the main purposes of Scouting.  During my first Board of Review on my first night at Elliot’s new Troop, a question was put to the 2nd Class Scout who was going for his 1st Class Rank.   “What do you like about Scouting?”   Answer: “I like Camping.  I don’t do it enough with my family.”   Hiking will help with Nature-Deficit Disorder!

The second Outdoors Event that you can earn a Patch for, is National Trails Day.  It’s more of a USA Day and not a World Jamboree.  It is also not Scout Centered.  This is set for Saturday June 1st.  There is a lot more organization with this Patch.   JOTT does not have anything really planned like National Trails Day.  JOTT just wants you on the trail or nature having a good time.  National Trails has a lot of events planned.  It’s only in the USA however.  You can still create your own if you wanted.  I would suggest looking at the article by Bryan on Scouting for more info.

The great thing about both of these events is that it helps you connect to nature.  Look at your Scout Handbook and look at what requirements this will help with.  Hiking, Forrester, Wildlife Conservation, Naturalist and so many others.

If you’re not in Scouting….go out for a hike.  Just make sure that you bring the 10 Essentials, know where your going, coming home and let others know what you’re doing.  I don’t want to see you on the TV for getting lost!

How to Train a Leader Reflection Pt#4

There is just so much to know about being a Den Leader that it can really be daunting.   I so wish I was a Vulcan and could Mind-Meld with the incoming Den Leader.  One of the better sites, though a tad outdated in some of it’s listed requirements of Training, from Merit Badge.org.  This is outside the Planning Guides for the Pack & Den for lesson plans.

As it really stands now, the BSA considers the Den Leaders & Cubmaster as Direct Contact Leaders.  Not the Committee or Committee Chair. They need training.  Youth Protection Training is a fact and you cannot be a Leader without it.   This training is all about how to put on a program for the youth.  Right now, all online training will in the eyes of the BSA, will cover you to be considered “Trained” for your position.  There is no BALOO or OWLS online.  Training online is good for only one thing.  Getting some information to the person who needs it.  It is really just a basic introduction to Scouting.  Real Training needs to be in front of a skilled Scouter Trainer.  Someone who knows the position and has been through the fire.

Training is also ongoing.  Do you want a surgeon operating on you that has skills from when they graduated in 1975?  NO!  You want the latest info crammed into their head!  Same for Scouting.  On going training is University of Scouting, BALOO, OWLS and even Nap on Safely!

I have basically taken all the training that there is for Cubscout Leaders.  I have also taken First Aid, AED & CPR training from the Red Cross and recertified!  I also took Wilderness First Aid.  Now THAT is a very fun class!  I would suggest the Red Cross version over the WMI version only because it is $100 cheaper!

As part of my goal as Cubmaster, I worked to get my Den Leaders and Committee Members “TRAINED!”  They are, basically.  A few have taken it upon themselves to go to the University of Scouting for the past few years.  EVERYONE NEEDS TO GO!

That to me along with not getting people to BALOO & OWLS (outside my one Webelos II Den Leader who crossed over last year) was a big failure for me.   I generally believe that the Den Leaders are great people.  They DO their Best!  Between Family, Work, Scouts, Scout related meetings/outings and sports, they just were crunched for time.   As I have said, some made it.

The new Cubmaster is right now in the middle of the W1-492-13 Wood Badge Course.  To which, I think the program will greatly benefit from.  I am very happy that she is going.  The Pack is paying for her to go.  I paid for myself.

My hope for this Pack is that more Adult Leaders take In-Person Training.  That they take BALOO and OWLS.  That they all go to U of Scouting.

Up Next is “What I tell the New Den Leaders!”

Infastructure Reflection Pt#3

Every Scout Unit has a Committee.  The Pack is no different.  The BSA National Website has this to say about a Pack Committee:
“A strong pack committee will have members assigned to such areas as record keeping and correspondence, finances, advancement, training, public relations, and membership and registration. The pack committee chair decides how the responsibilities should be divided and gives committee members assignments.”

In our Pack, it’s really the Chair, Treasurer and myself.  The Cubmaster.  There are others who help with projects such as Wreath Sales and Blue & Gold.  Many of the Den Leaders take on other projects but their main job is their Den.

It’s a tad lope-sided since the work is really done by a few.  While the Parents who were not a Den Leader did help out as Committee Members, many I think were pulled away by other work commitments, charity work or just did not get that .  I suspect that some are also not sure about what to do or nervous about what it all entails.

I need to  point out that the Webelos II Families really put in a lot of work during their son’s time in the Pack.  I saw it.  It is hard sometimes for the parents to see what goes on behind the scene that “helps the Pack GO.”  We have tried to include as many as we can.  My hope is that those who are still in the Pack, step-up and keep going forward.  This next year is a rebuilding year.  Forming, Norming, Storming & Performing!

I can say that there are a few key people who put their best foot forward to help carry it forward for the Scouts.  If it were not for them, this Pack would have had a lot more issues than just the Program.  We worked out both fundraising and financial based issues.  Much of this was cobbled together after looking at how other Scout Units handle their affairs.  This also included a Pack Parent Guide.  Again, these internal operating documents are a good Wood Badge ticket item.

It was in the last two years of the Pack, that we actually had an Annual Planning Meeting.  The first was about 2-3 hours.  The last was about five hours.  This is part of the Pack Journey to Excellence program.

The Annual Planning Meeting really did help create a set list of events and Pack Meetings we wanted to hold and carry out.  It really is a vital part of the Scout Unit.  Figuring out this part of the infrastructure is a catalyst to recruiting new Scouts, but also showing the Parents you know whats going on.  It will help recruit them to be a Den Leader or Committee Member.  Even your replacement.

While the Pack Committee is vastly different in what going on from a Troop Committee, there are a lot of overlapping policy and rules that are just the same.  For that, I will point you to two resources that has helped me a lot.  The first is a blog from Bobwhite Blather.  The link provided shows all the posts about a Troop Committee.  The next one is of him appearing on Scoutcircle.org.  Scout Circle is a spin-off of the Scoutmastercg.com website.

Overall, a well run Committee can easily support a Scout Unit.  Our Pack Committee has weathered many a stormy situation and has learned and grown from it.

It’s the Program Reflection Pt#2

My original plan for being the Cubmaster was for just two years and then become the Webelos Den Leader for the remaining time.  My goal was to get the Pack on course and pointed in the correct path and step-down.  I am not sure when it was during my tenure as Cubmaster, but I realized that what the Pack needed was consistency.  I do not know much of the history of the Pack before 2008 and how it operated, but it was not strong.

I took over as Cubmaster in April 2009 and attended Wood Badge in the fall.  I was beaded in March 2010.  Yes, it was a quick set of items for the Ticket, but they were completed.  It was geared towards the Pack and making it stronger and more traditional.

What my Wood Badge Ticket and University of Scouting classes have taught me is that consistency is a good thing and having a program is very important.  Getting out and doing things creates fun and retention.  Without that, you have nothing.

With all of this change, Committee Meetings started to happen more often.   I kept pushing them and getting us together.  Winging it isn’t an option.  Sometimes it would just be a few Den Leaders or Committee Members.  Now, it’s both.

The planning started to happen because I wanted to have Summertime Pack Events, Bike Rodeo, Raingutter Regatta, Den Chiefs, Hikes, Outings, Overnights.  One of the best things to come out of all this was my quest to have the Scouts earn the Emergency preparedness Pin.  While no one in the Pack since I have started has earned it, we incorporated a lot of fun into the Pack Meetings.  One of our most fun is the First Aid Pack Meeting.  We have had Combat Medics, Ambulances, Boy Scouts, Search & Rescue come to help put it on.  Some of the Scouts still have & use their Emergency Kit that they made the first year.

The photo is of a Pack Meeting that was “geared” toward cooperation and imagination.  The goal was to have the boxes, tubes, tape and other items made into a Robot.  The Scouts were broken up into groups that had Tigers, Wolves, Bears, Webelos I & II.  It was not a Den vs Den set-up.  Scouts had to work with others that they did not know.  They had to help each other.  This group actually used a Scout and built a Cyborg.  They used their imagination and cooperated to get a task done.  I took this right out of the Pack Meeting plans and also Wood Badge.  A Game with a Purpose.

These style events is what I wanted to do.  It continued for the next four years with events like this.  I even started holding Pack Meetings outside.  This is after the U of Scouting class that I took called “Putting the OUTing in scOUTing!”  Map & Compass with a Geocache style hunt.

Yes, I did want to be Webelos Den Leader, but I found that being the Cubmaster help me with creating consistency within the Pack.  It also helped me recruit Tiger Cubs and Tiger Den Leaders and volunteers.

The program was happening and it attracted a lot of boys to the Pack.  I believe when Elliot started there was about 25-30 Scouts.  At the time of the 2013 Crossover, there are 57.  A lot of boys have come, crossover, or dropped but the Pack has grown.

Program Program Program

My Reflection Pt#1

Within Wood Badge and any training, there is a Stop, Start and Continue section.  It is also called Rose, Buds & Thorns at the Troop level.  After many courses there is a 360.  This is my Start, Stop, Continue, Rose, Bud, Thorn and 360 of my past five years as I see it.

My goal within Cubscouts really was to follow my son and make sure that he had a good time.  It was also a way to include time with him.  That was and still is important.  I quickly realized I did not have a clue about being a Tiger Den Leader was all about.  The Training I took both in person and online were of no great help.  I took to the Interwebs and found a whole host of places to get what I needed.

This is after I quickly realized that there is a Tiger Handbook and that there are requirements!  Mind you, this was all before the new Den Meeting plans came out from National.  Had I seen those, I would have incorporated them.  Looking back at it now, the Tigers got to KGW TV Station, a Fire Station and California Pizza Kitchen for fun.  The latter was for the Nutrition aspect of the requirements.  Plus, it was a good Go-See-it. 

The one website that I latched onto was The Boyscout Trail.  I used this as my guide.  It had games, songs and skits just to name a few.  I emailed this out to every parent and it was my bible.  I still use it to this day.

It was towards the end of the Tiger Year that I discovered Roundtable.  I have gone ever since.  Only to miss a few due to Wood Badge, Wood Badge beadings and work.  It was there, during the Cubscout Roundtable Breakout that I learned a lot of what I needed to know.  It put me on the path of making a good year for the Tigers.

Discovering the Tiger Den Leader Knot, helped me focus on what I needed to know and do.

Looking back, I realize how tough a Tiger Den Leader can have it when they know nothing about Scouting.  It has been my goal to make it easier for them.  Hence, the Tiger Den Leader Knot to me is very important.

Next up: Being Cubmaster