Day 32 – Feeling good!

Day 32 already, wow.  Seems like I just started this crazy ride and we’re already this far!  I have to say that I’m loving this journey – and I’m glad that so many of you at least take a peek at what I have to say!  I have discovered a whole new dimension of Scouting – and I will continue to explore it and enjoy!

I’m feeling really good today about Scouting in general.  Last night the Mrs. and I held our second Roundtable as Commissioners – and it went very well, in my opinion!  We had a few more people attend (first good thing) and we had some very good discussions.  I think we’re on the right track, at least!  I hope those that attended enjoyed it as well…

We’re finding that we don’t need to have as much material ready as I thought we would.  What was supposed to be an hour meeting turned into almost two hours!  No one complained, as it was all good information and discussion.

One of the things brought up was training, and how very soon all registered leaders will need to be fully trained in their registered positions in order to recharter with the unit.  Does anyone know what training a Roundtable Commissioner needs to take to be considered ‘trained’?  I would very much like to take the appropriate training not only for myself, but for all those who come to Roundtables.  The Mrs. and I really want to improve the program for all leaders however we’re able.

The Troop is, in my opinion, heading in the right direction once again – and I think we’re making progress on the Roundtable side of things.  I’m feeling good….really good about Scouting right now.

Here’s hoping each and every one of you have a wonderful weekend!

‘The Scoutmaster teaches boys to play the game by doing so himself.’
– Robert Baden-Powell

Day 29 – Back at it

After the day I had yesterday at work, I swore I wasn’t even turning on my laptop at home – and I stuck to it (mostly).  So there is your explanation for why there is no Day 28 post.  I did lots of Scouting stuff, though!  So without further ado:

Day 28:  Held our Troop meeting as usual.  Only 5 of the 12 boys attended – so that’s a bit of a disappointment, especially since I handed out quite a bit of important information for upcoming events (summer camp, troop elections, etc…).  Regardless, the boys that did make it were able to get lots accomplished as we’re now working on getting everyone back on track advancement-wise and everything-else-wise as well.

Day 29: Worked with the Mrs. on planning the Roundtable this Thursday.  Asked one of my Asst. Scoutmasters if he’d be able to give a quick overview of Leave No Trace.  Sadly, he’s unavailable but is going to leave me some material to cover.  My bad for not planning further in advance.  On a good note, I’m already working on guests for the April Roundtable, so I shouldn’t have this issue anymore.

I also updated Troopmaster with all the adult leader’s training, and got up to date in TroopLedger.

I’m still trying to come up with something for a podcast – I’m not sure quite yet what exactly it is I want to do, and I’m honestly not in a big rush with this one, as I have a steep learning curve ahead of me to make anything I would consider ‘quality’ as far as a podcast would go.

Day 27 – Playing around

Yesterday was a wonderfully relaxing family day.  I sure do appreciate those days, especially since last month was totally nuts.  Anyone else have a super crazy February as far as Scouting goes?  I’m thankful things have slowed down (so now I can play!)

Today I wound up reviewing what’s happening tomorrow at the Troop meeting.  I think we’ve got a good plan in place to help the newer boys advance, and also a plan for the older boys to keep them interested and engaged.  Only time will tell, I suppose and getting our Troop back on track can’t happen in one meeting.  I am getting pumped to see our new plan in action, though.  We may be a small Troop, but we can be an excellent one regardless!

I also started reading and playing with podcasts.  Man, it’s really odd to listen to your own voice over and over again as you try to find the right words.  I don’t ever seem to be happy with what I’m saying – or even more importantly – HOW I’m saying it.  Anyone else go through this?  Does it get better?

I know this first test podcast is gonna be rough.  I’m not only learning how to talk into a microphone, I’m also learning how to properly organize my thoughts and get them to come out without a bunch of ‘ahhh’s and ‘uhhhh’s.  Are there any tips/tricks?  Should I write it all out, or just use bulleted notes?  Advice is appreciated.  I know several of you out there that hopefully peek at this have some experience in this realm – HELP!

Day 24 – podcasts

So yesterday and today, I’ve been working on our church website – trying to figure out how to make our sermons into podcasts.  Well, it took me a little bit of time and a little bit of effort – but I finally got it tonight and I’m very proud of myself!  Yea me!

That being said, I’ve also been listening to some of the wonderful Scouting podcasts that are available.  PTC Media has several great podcasts – like the SMM (Scoutmaster’s Minute) and The Leader’s Campfire.

Now, here’s where I can get myself into trouble.  I start thinking ‘gee, I bet I could do a podcast, too!’.  Well, yea – I could.  I think.  Trouble is, do I have the time?  I’m not sure.  Do I have the content?  Maybe – not sure about that either.  I have enough material to blog – does that translate into a podcast?  I have years of Scouting experience and lots of training – does that translate into good material?  Geeze, I just don’t know.

I think for now I’m going to put the podcast idea on the shelf.  See how I feel about it in a month or two, and if I still feel as strongly as I do now about it I will pursue it.

Last couple of days I’ve been doing the following Scouting things:

• Set up Troopmaster Web and created all the usernames and passwords for everyone.  I see this as a great tool to get our data up to date and keep it up to date much more quickly than I was ever able to do alone.
• Started working on this month’s Roundtable with the Mrs.  One of us won’t be there as there’s a meeting for future high schoolers that night, and my oldest son needs to be there.  So we need to have this Roundtable ready to roll for whichever one of us is going to run the show.
• Listened to several Scouting podcasts.  Totally enjoy listening to other’s opinions and enthusiasm!

Day 17 – Camps, Camps and more Camps!

Yesterday was a busy day for me and Scouting.  It was mostly just downloading documents and getting all of my ducks in a row.  We’ve got three major camping events coming up, and I need to be on top of them all.

I downloaded Base Camp reservation form.  We’re planning on rock climbing, archery, ropes course and my favorite – Space Shuttle simulator!  What’s Base Camp?  Here:  http://www.explorebasecamp.org/.

I’m putting together info on Base Camp, Ripley Rendezvous and Tomahawk – lists of known costs, when they’re due – and other costs that we haven’t figured out yet (food, transportation, etc).  We may need to fund-raise for some of these.

Had to conduct a little damage control from the chartered organization post the other day.  Our Scout Executive reads this blog and became concerned about the Troop and the Chartered Organization.  Rest assured, we’re all doing fine, and I’m working on things to make our relationship stronger.  But how cool is it that our Scout Executive reads this?  Love it!

Bummed out that  our Troop won’t be participating in this year’s Klondike Derby.  We only had 4 boys show up to the meeting and they decided that 4 wasn’t enough to go.  I’ll try and get a patch still, somehow.  Will spend Saturday with the family for some long-needed time together.

I missed my first Commissioner/District meeting for our new District – had my daughter’s band concert which was excellent!  I’m very proud of the hard work they put into that program, and it shows!  Great job guys and gals!

Scout on!

100 Days of Scouting – Day 13

I’ve missed day 11 and 12 – and for good reason!  I was busy doing what Scoutmasters do best – being out with the Troop on an outing!  So this one might be a little long, but I’m sure you can all understand.

Day 11 – Wound up leaving work early as I wasn’t feeling well (lots of stuff going around).  Went home and rested.  Had to run to town to find a converter for my truck so the lights on the Troop trailer would work.  I apparently haven’t hauled it with my truck yet – didn’t really realize that.  Met the rest of the guys at 6pm, and headed off to Camp Barnum.  With the recent warm weather we’ve had, the driveway to camp was all ice, and pretty tricky to get all the way up to the cabin.  Once we were there, though, it was a great time.  Friday night, the boys unpacked, played games and had a few snacks.  Got the duty roster set up and the rest of the weekend’s schedule figured out.  Typical Friday night fare for this camp, really.

Day 12 – Got up and the boys made build your own egg mcmuffin-like breakfast sandwiches.  Then it was free time.  Typically at Arctic Blast, that means sliding down the steep hills around the area, but with the recent warm weather – they were either lacking snow or were all ice and full of bumps.  So, they tried to hit the hills, but wound up just playing in what snow was left as the hills hurt just too much.  Lunch was home made chicken noodle dumpling soup.  It was fantastic!  Very hearty and rib-sticking and just the thing to get us through the rest of the day until dinner time.  The boys practiced some morse code for the upcoming Klondike Derby (see pic) and also worked on some advancement.  Then it was back outside for more free time, until one of the boys took an ice chunk to the face, it then it was time to come in and practice some practical first aid.  After that, we practiced lashings – and prepared for dinner.  They boys chose to do a Mexican theme –  so we had tacos and Mexican baked potatoes.  After dinner it was campfire time – and while the boys were getting the fire going, our Committee Chair whipped up a couple of chocolate cakes and topped them with cherry pie filling.  A wonderful treat for the evening!  Some boys were in bed by 10 – others stayed up later and were just talking – so I let them stay up later than usual.

Day 13 – Started out with the threat of some nasty winter weather approaching, but we didn’t see any signs of it so we chose to stick with our plan for the day and have a decent breakfast then pack up and head home.  Everyone was moving a little slower this morning as all the ice and outside fun was even tougher on the boys this year.   French toast and bacon for breakfast.  We then packed up, cleaned the cabin and prepared to head out.  Scary moment when I turned the trailer around – tried to stop on the icy driveway and just kept on going.  I finally got the truck to stop – as I had to make it back to the cabin to lock it up.  Everyone saw what happened, and stayed back even farther on the way out of the driveway.  Got home to a sick wife – and have been doing what I can to make her feel better since.

I’m tired.  Had a great time though, and am proud of all the boys in the Troop who came.  Everyone under First Class got things signed off in the their books (if they remembered to bring them).  I also got to have some good conversations with our Committee Chair on ideas for improving and keeping the Troop a viable and well-oiled operation.  I hope some of you had similar Scouting experiences this weekend as well!  It was really nice to have the ‘outing’ in Scouting this weekend!

FOS – (I won’t ask you for money, I swear)

Stop!  First off, I swear I won’t ask you for any money in this post!  Honest.  So it’s safe to keep reading.

That seems to be how the majority of Scouting parents feel when I step up for the 5 minute spiel I give at the Blue and Gold banquets.  Like ‘oh boy, here c0mes that guy representing the Council asking for money’.  Well yea, I am representing the Council when I’m doing my FOS speech, but that seems to cause most folks to think I don’t know or understand how it really is in Scouting.  Well, I beg to differ.  I’m a Scoutmaster in a rural area – I get it.

Scouting Magazine had a good ‘Front Line Stuff’ about this  – here’s the article:  http://www.scoutingmagazine.org/issues/0001/d-flin.html.  I don’t know how well these ideas would work in my neck of the woods, though.  My Council wants me to keep it short and sweet.  Which, I understand – but at the same time, how can I get my point across to these people that this FOS stuff is actually very important if they don’t want to see the Council costs passed on to us time and time again?  Maybe that’s it.  Maybe I just answered my own question!

I have to give my second FOS presentation tomorrow night.  I think I might just try that approach.  I’m also going to try and challenge each family to give something  – no matter the size.  I need to make sure it doesn’t sound like I’m begging, though.  If you have any good ideas on how to successfully approach parents on FOS, I’d sure appreciate it.  I’ll update the results in one of my 100 Day of Scouting posts.

100 Days of Scouting – Day 8

Day 8:

• Took Den Chief fast start training online, so I can see how it is before I have my newly appointed Den Chiefs take it.  It was pretty good!
• Our District Executive called me and asked if my wife and I would be willing to do another FOS presentation on Thursday.  We agreed to do it since we were already invited and planning on attending.  This will be our second FOS presentation so far this year.
• Researched options for sharing Troopmaster data.  We have an adult who volunteered to be our Advancement Chair, so I have to figure out how to get him all set up.  DotNet or Web option.  Anyone wanna chime in on that one?
• Attended my youngest son’s Wolf Cub den meeting.  They finished up the final requirements for earning their Wolf badge before the Blue and Gold coming up.  Good job boys!

 

100 Days of Scouting – Day 7

Day 7:

• Took part in a Troop Committee meeting (more on that below)
• Helped conduct our monthly PLC meeting.
• Contacted the local Council to confirm the date and cost for the rental of Camp Newman for our Arctic Blast weekend.
• Contacted our Committee Chair about providing transportation to those who need a ride to Arctic Blast.
• Completed the online tour permit application and submitted it for approval.

Mondays are one of my busiest Scouting days, as we either have a Troop meeting or a monthly PLC meeting.  Tonight we had a PLC, but before that we had a Troop Committee Meeting that was really good.

Reader’s Digest version of the story is that there was a whole lot of rumors going around our small community about my wife and I not being very Scout-like with the Troop’s finances.  It’s all been hammered out now and we’re both still here – but the damage had already been done.  I became very apathetic towards the entire Troop for a while – not wanting to give much effort into it due to the fact that it seemed no one trusted us.  Why should I keep giving all my time and effort to their kids when they continually throw me under the bus? Needless to say, it hurt the whole program and many boys left due to the meetings being boring and unorganized.

So tonight our Committee Chair held a Troop Committee meeting for the first time in months.  It was sorely needed, and we hammered out all the necessary things.  We’ll have an Advancement Chair and Safety and Medical Coordinator for the first time ever!  Being a small unit, I’ve assumed both of those roles in the past, so I think it will take a little adjustment on my part to let go of some of this responsibility – but I’m up for the challenge!

Finally, at the PLC I discussed Troop elections.  We’ve done yearly elections the last 2 years, and I’m leaning towards elections every 6 months now instead.  What do your units do for elections?  Pros / Cons of doing it that way?  I’d appreciate your input on this one, as I’m interested to see if one way is more common than another.

Until tomorrow, where I’ll have more Cub Scout stuff to report on. . .

100 Days of Scouting – Days 5 and 6

Day 5:

Spent the day on a Cub Scout field trip.  We visited:

• Northern Star Council’s newest indoor adventure base – Base Camp.  Was very impressed with the facilities and it looks like our Troop may try and go there for a day sometime in April.
• MN Air National Guard Museum.  I geeked out more than the kids here, as I’m a pretty big history and aviation buff.  Wanna visit there again in the summer when I can tour all the planes outside.  Kids had a blast sitting in the simulators and planes.
• 133rd Airlift Wing‘s fire department.  The boys got to eat lunch here, and then try on all of the gear.  They also got to sit in one of the trucks and learn about what they do here.
• Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport’s fire station #1.  This place is big!  They boys got to sit in a bunch of trucks and learned all about what the firemen and women do at this station on a daily basis.  By the end of this, they were all getting pretty rammy (Wolf Cubs, after all).
• After the field trip, my family took me out to dinner for my birthday.  Then it was time to come home and crash.

Day 6:

• Scout Sunday – was ushering at our church and I was the lay reader, so I needed to be in full uniform (minus the socks).  My wife and both sons wore their uniforms too as did the other families who are involved in Scouting that attend our church.  I even wound up calling them all forward this morning and letting the congregation know what we’ve been up to and what we have on our plates for the next month.  At the end of service, we closed with Scout Vespers.  Best part of the service – being up front singing vespers and seeing an 80-something year old Scouter singing Vespers with his eyes shut – he still knows the words – and I’m sure he was 15 again around some campfire while we were singing that.  Really made my day.
• Nothing else Scout related today – after all, it’s my birthday!

Keep on Scouting!