Committee chair timeline: August
August is almost here. Summer is flying by, fall is in sight, and with it, a ramp-up in Scouting activity. Here are some things the committee chair needs to be on top of as we get busier: Many troops...
View ArticleIs your Scouting knowledge obsolete?
We tend to think of Scouting as a perpetual program – something that’s always been there and always will, without much changing. The ideals, the oath and law, the principle of the boys running the...
View ArticleCommittee chair timeline: September
Now that school has started, many troops that scale back in the summer are in full swing again or are about to, and a new year of camping and activities is underway. Since starting this series of...
View ArticleMicromanaging: a bad idea
We’ve all been there, I’m sure. We’ve worked for, or with, someone who quite figuratively can’t see the forest for the trees. Someone who fusses over every small detail of a project, process or...
View ArticleCommittee chair timeline: October
October’s here. Across the great deciduous forests of the north, the leaves are changing and crisp camping weather is here. Sunsets are earlier too, leaving less time to set up camp in daylight and...
View ArticleThe moving target of social media
Back when most of us were teenagers, what we now know as “social media” consisted of long hours tying up the family telephone chatting with our friends, or perhaps time spent cruising the boulevards or...
View ArticleWe have to get it right!
What if the coach of a basketball team let eight or nine players play at a time? Or let them shoot into both baskets? Have you ever seen a baseball game where the batter could swing at as many pitches...
View ArticleWhat are you asking your committee?
There are two basic definitions of the term committee. One, a legal definition, refers to someone who has been placed in the charge of another person by reason of insanity. While Scouting can sometimes...
View ArticleCommittee chair timeline: January
Happy New Year! I hope you had a great holiday season and maybe enjoyed a little break from weekly Scouting, or perhaps a change of routine if your troop planned any special activities. You’ll be back...
View ArticleUpdate on Boy Scout program changes
A bit over a year ago, we wrote about the five-year BSA 4-1-1 Strategic Plan that looked at all aspects of the Boy Scouts of America and provided ways for volunteers and professionals to provide input...
View Article“And,” not “or”
We’re into the time when our Webelos brethren have made or are making the decision about continuing on in Boy Scouting. There’s always a range of interest levels among our incoming Scouts. In my...
View ArticleA warm Scouting handshake
Last week we discussed some of the ways we can overcome the hesitation that Scouts and families may have at joining a troop. After as much as five years in Cub Scouts, preparing to become Boy Scouts,...
View ArticleWho’s driving the car?
There are a lot of ways to visualize how Boy Scouting works. We can look in the handbooks and training literature and read all about the patrol method, how elected patrol leaders make the decisions and...
View ArticleCommittee chair timeline: Every month
If you’ve been reading for a while, you’ve picked up on our monthly summary of things the committee chair needs to give attention to for the following month. We finished up the year last month with the...
View ArticleScrub your jargon
Have you ever listened to a talk, attended a training session or even tried to read an article or paper that contained unexplained abbreviations and terminology that you were unfamiliar with? If so,...
View ArticleHow to lead millionaires
Having more money than we could ever imagine is a dream far from the reality of most Scouters. Indeed, most of us give up a lot – not only our time, but our money and other resources – because we …...
View ArticleAdvancement True or False
There’s a lot of misinformation flying around in our world today. Entire websites such as Snopes and Politifact are dedicated to determining the credibility of news reports, claims and rumors that are...
View ArticleLet boys be boys!
For most kids, play dates can be fun. You get dropped off at a friend’s house, play a few games, maybe have lunch or a snack that Mom prepared, the go play in the backyard, watch TV or play video …...
View ArticleThe role of “other” adults, part 1
Nearly all of us grew up with our sons in Scouting, starting first with Cub Scouts. We remember the pleas for help from the Cub parents. You were always in need of a parent to head up the next outing …...
View ArticleThe role of “other” adults, part 2
When I first volunteered with the troop committee, there was a lot of interaction between the Scouts and adults on campouts. At one low point in our membership (a trend that was not surprising in...
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