Promoting Scouting? Who's job is it?

We have all heard the slogan, "Outing is half of Scouting". It is very true, of course. Most boys are in Scouting for the outings. Now, let's take the last half of Scoutng and apply it to a different word that is equally important - promoting. I think Boy Scouting could use a lot more promoting. Think about it. Membership is down nationally. Councils have a hard time meeting their goals. Many troops are having a hard time recruiting members.

Promotion is essential for success in today's world. A business advertises to bring customers through its doors. A new video game is promoted and sells millions of copies. Promotion is done nationally, locally, and even through word of mouth.

But when do we see Boy Scouting being promoted? Almost never, at least around these parts of the country. However, I see plenty of negative news about the BSA in the newspapers, on the internet, and on the national news. What kind of opinion does the pubic form about Scouting when that is all they see or hear?

And where is the National BSA during all of this? They seem to be comfortable sitting silently behind their desks in Texas, making the occasional public statement. They need to get out of those padded office chairs and start talking to people working with the boys more often.

Those of us invovled with the Scouting program know it is one of the best programs available for a young man to belong to. But with all the negative news and stories over the last few years there are now many boys and parents who may have the impression that Scouting is a thing of the past.

Hogwash! I say. Boy Scouting and its ideals are more important now then ever. But we need to get the word out about it, and what the program offers boys and their families.

So, who's job is it to promote Scouting? Most troops and packs do not have the money, people, or skills to do it. I would think it is the council's responsibility to do local promotions. But it must be the regions and national offices responability to promote Scouting on a larger scale. If they don't, then who will? The national office needs to promote Boy Scouting in addition to Cub Scouting! I am so sick of seeing so much effort going to the Cubs, and almost nothing going toward the older boy programs. (Unfortunately, if a boy quits during Cub Scouting it is very difficult to get him involved with Boy Scouting.)

Okay, that is enough of my ranting and raving for now. I welcome welcome your comments and opinions. Do not be afraid to leave a comment.

Board of Reviews

The Board of Review. Terrifying to the new Tenderfoot Scout. Confusing to the new committee member. How does the Scout prepare? What are the board members supposed to cover and ask?

I have been scoutmaster long enough to see a lot of people come and go on the committee. Many times the new committee members are confused when it comes to serving on their first board of review. I usually let the more experienced committee members instruct the newer ones about what to do or say. However, during the past 25 years I saw they could use a suggestions or two so I made a Board of Review sheet for them to use during the BOR. It seems to have helped them quite a bit during the years. In fact, I think newer members now think it is a sheet required to be filled out during a BOR. I have to correct them that it is a sheet of suggestions to cover for our own troop use, it is not a national requirement form.

So, what does the sheet have on it? It has seven areas I suggest the BOR to talk about with the Scout.

Participation. How has the Scout been doing with attendance at meetings, outings and fundraisers? If he has not been showing up for funtions then it is time for them to ask about the reasons behind the poor attendance. Many times the Scout has valid reasons, but sometimes he does not. Sometimes the board will discover things that the scoutmaster does not know about. It is also a good time to praise the Scout who has a great attendance record.

Scout Spirit and ideals. Does the Scout know the Scout Oath, Law, Motto, and Slogan? Does he know what they mean? Does he try to live by them? Of course, the board members better know and understand these oaths themselves or it may look akward if the Scout catches them in a mistake of understanding.

Merit badges and advancement. First of all, this is not a re-test of the badges! My suggestion is to ask which merit badges were fun to earn and why? Which ones were difficult? Did he find any of the skills learned while earning the badges to be useful in everyday life? Keep the questions about general topics.

Service Projects. Did he participate in the troop's service projects and/or help out with other troop members Eagle projects? What were the purpose of the projects? Did he learn anything while doing them?

Leadership. What position of leadership did he hold in the troop since the last board of review? Was it difficult or easy? What type of leader was he? What were his duties? Did he do them well? Most of the time the BOR members really don't know much about how the Scout did with a leadership position because the members do not regululy attend troop meetings and outings. However, they should ask the Scout questions, and also talk with the scoutmaster before the BOR.

Religious principles. Of course, a Scout must have a belief in God. How does he practice his faith? What does he believe is his duty to God? We have to be careful with this topic because there are Scouts of many different religions. We don't want to make the Scout feel uncomfortable with the wrong questions. However, I think we do need to touch on this subject and not ignore it as if it is unimportant.

Goals. Everone needs goals. What goals has the Scout set for himself, both in and out of Scouting? Does he have a goal to complete his next rank? Does he have leadership goals? Is there a goal to attend a high adventure base and a national jamboree? Does he have any goals in school? How does he entend to meet those goals?

Of course, the BOR members can bring up other subjects also. But these few areas cover a lot of territory. If asked correctly, they can begin a great dialog between the board and the Scout.

A copy of this form can be found on our troop's website at:
http://melrosetroop68.org/advancement.html
Leave a comment if you have any other suggestions that you think would be good topics for a board of review to cover.

Scouting Promos on CD or DVD

Okay all you Scouters out there,

During the last few months I have left messages on various groups when I have uploaded various BSA commercials and videos to my youtube acount.
( http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=stevejb68 )

Quite a few of you have asked me how you could get copies of these videos to use within your troops, districts, and councils. My first response usually was to check with your local council. Unfortunately, it seems there are districts and councils out there that do not seem to have access to these videos, which is a shame. Why doesn't the National Office make these videos easily accessable to everyone to promote Scouting? After all, I don't see the videos used by the National Office on television or anywhere else.

When people have not been able to get them from their council I have offered to send them a CD of videos (320x240 in size) in exchange for their council strip patch. I don't feel like I can in good concience take money for the videos because they are not mine. An exchange of a patch for a CD I have no problem with, and neither has anyone else.

Lately, I have had people ask about getting the videos on DVD. You ask, and this time you will receive! I have compiled a DVD of 16 Scouting promos, commercials, and videos. The DVD includes:
Scouting commericals featuring - Trustworthy, Helpful, Obedient, Thrifty, and Reverent.
Scouting commercials featuring - Baby Talk, Jim Lovell, and Steve Young
Scouting shows including - The Scout Zone, What Parents Say, a promo for the 2007 world jamboree, and the five Scouting Inspirational films.

I would like to offer those of you who are interested a chance to get either a CD or a DVD of these videos to use within your troops and districts. I will do the same patch exchange for the CD of the videos.

The DVD's take more time to burn (DVD-R), and of course they cost more in materials. I patch would not be a very good trade on my part for this DVD. However, I don't feel I should be charging for something that I am sure the BSA owns the copyrights to. And then there are the shipping costs. The dvd's and cases will cost more to ship then a simple CD. (I will ship them in a DVD case, not a cd case.) If you wish to have one of these DVD's write me and we will see what we can work out.

Don't forget to keep watching the videos on youtube or our troop's website. It is great to see the number of hits rise each week. It proves to me that there is a need to get these videos out where people and boys can see them.

Steve B

25 Years as Scoutmaster

Well, it has finally happened. I guess you could even call it a milestone. I have been the scoutmaster of Melrose Troop 68 for 25 years! A quarter of a century. Over half of my life. I thought I was scoutmaster for a long time when boys started joining the troop who were born after I became scoutmaster. Now I have parents of Scouts who are younger then I am.

When I look back at those 25 years I have a lot of great memories. Oh, there are a few memories that are not so great, but I can honestly say that I have enjoyed most of my time spent with the program.

As this milestone approached I began to think about all the time I have spent on Scouting, and what the statistics would look like. I would like to use this blog to share those stats with you.

I have been to 18 week-long summer camps. I have been to Philmont Scout Ranch six times, five on a trek and one for scoutmaster training. I have been to the High Knoll Trail of Virginia, and Charles Sommers Canoe Base in the BWCA. In 2001, I was the scoutmaster of Troop 1417 at the BSA National Jamboree.

I have attended nearly 270 monthly troop outings. Over 170 of these were weekend camping trips and activities. I have been to 25 troop yearly planning sessions, over 270 committee meetings, and close to 275 patrol leader council meetings. I have lost track of how many district roundtables I have attended.

There has been over 100 courts of honor held during those years. I have seen fifteen Boy Scouts from Troop 68 receive the rank of Eagle Scout. Twenty-two other Scouts made it to the rank of Life Scout. Nearly 250 boys have had me as their scoutmaster.

These statistics represent the time I have spent with the Scouts of Troop 68. They do not include the time spent on the district, council, or national level.

After 25 years I can honestly say that I have enjoyed, and been honored, to spend this time with the Boy Scouts of Melrose. I would like to thank them, their parents, and everyone who has helped with the troop over the years.

The Scoutmaster Conference

The Scoutmaster Conference. There seems to be a lot of conversation, in some circles, about what this should actual be about, and what it should include. The BSA books seem to be a little vague about it and only give a few general thoughts on the subject. Some new Scout leaders seem to be confused when it comes time to have a conference with a boy.

I have been doing them for 25 years. I would like to share what I do during a conference. As you read this you may agree with some things, and you may disagree with others. The way I do it works for me, and it has worked for the Scouts who have done a conference with me. It helps them to think about some things, and helps to prepare them for their board of reviews. My assistant scoutmaster usually does the Tenderfoot through First Class Scouts, while I take care of the Star, Life, and Eagle candidates.

Okay, before I begin, here is a couple points I want you to keep in mind. A Scoutmaster Conference can be held at any time a Boy Scout needs one, not only when he is finishing a rank. The points I list here are my points for the conference requirement for the ranks. Another requirement for any rank is "Show Scout Spirit". I take time during the scoutmaster conference to cover this requirement also.

When I do a conference with a Boy Scout it usually goes for more then the 15 "recommended" minutes. I try to get the Scout to discuss ten points (which I am about to discuss). And sometimes, actually many times, he will have something to say. It is our job as scoutmasters to encourage that dialog and try to keep our mouths shut while he is talking. Listen to him, and then guide him. It is not uncommon for a conference to last an hour or more when I am with a Scout for his Eagle Rank scoutmaster conference. The boys are okay with this, they know what to expect. (So don't write me about holding such a long conference.)

That being said, here we go...

A) The first two points of my conference are actually five things. The Scout should know the Scout Oath, Law, Motto, Slogan, and Outdoor Code. He should be able to recite them. He need to know what they mean, and be able to explain to me what they mean. I will ask him what two parts of the Scout Law he finds difficult to follow, and which ones he finds the easiest to do. What did he do for a good turn that day? What should he "Be Prepared" for?

B) We will look at his attendance at meetings and his participation on troop outings. Our troop recommends that a Scout attends two thirds of troop meetings and at least half of the outings. If he has a great attendance record I compliment him on doing well. If he is lacking, then we discuss why he has not been attending, and what he will do about it. Each rank has a participation requirement after all.

C) A Scout is thrifty. Are his dues paid up to date? Has he participated in troop fundraisers? Does he do his duty to the troop by doing his best when the troop has a fundraiser, or does he sit back and let the other guys do the work? Raising money for the troop is the whole troop's responsibility, not the job of just a few.

D) Attitude, and setting a good example, is another point that we cover. Does he like being in Scouts? If not, then why is he a member? Does he set a good example for other boys in the troop? Or is he a Scout who needs to work on that area? Older Scouts can set good examples for younger Scouts, but younger Scouts can also do the same for the older boys.

E) Is his uniform up to date? I often have the uniform checklist and conduct a quick inspection. I ask him to correct the incorrect things on his uniform before he attends his board of review. Our troop does not expect a boy to be full uniform from head to toe. However, we do expect him to pass the inspection with a score of 75 (out of a 100) or higher.

F) Service to others is an important part of the Boy Scout program. Has he participated in troop service and community projects? What has he done outside of Scouting to help the community? Did he just do his hours of service as required by the rank, or did he continue serving in other ways?

G) We will check his advancement progress. How long has it been since he finished his last ranked? If it has been quite awhile, we will discuss the reasons for it. Has he taken advantage of advancement opportunities when he has had the chance? We also review the requirements for his next rank and check how far along he is along that trail.

H) Leadership is a very important requirement of the last three Boy Scout ranks. We will look back and see how his leadership has been. I ask him how he thinks he has done. How can he improve? What did he do in his last troop office? Does he think he completed the tasks of that office? Did he do them well? What other leadership responsibilities does he have in the troop?

I) The final point is setting goals. When does he plan to attain his next rank? What smaller goals are needed to meet the larger goal. Were his previous goals met on time? If not, then why weren't they? Does he have any goals outside of Scouting? Can Scouting help him achieve those goals?

Of course, like many conversations, we get sidetracked a lot during a scoutmaster conference. I don't see a problem with that. It gives the Scout and Scoutmaster a chance to get to know each other a little better. Maybe share some points of interest. After a few minutes I try to guide the conversation back to the things we need to discuss.

Well, that pretty much sums it up. I hope this gives you some ideas as you conduct your own Scoutmaster Conferences.

Ten Reasons To Be An Adult Leader

It is that time of year. Boys around the country will be joining Boy Scouting for the first time this month. And new parents will be asked to help their troop by becoming an adult leader. There are many reasons not to be a leader, but let me give you ten reasons why you should become a Scouter. (These are not in any sort of order.)

1) Be a positive influence in a boy's life. I think we can agree that there are many youth out there who can benefit from more of this in today's world.

2) Learn new skills. You are never too old to learn a new skill. And to tell the truth, I don't think a person can ever learn too many skills.

3) Teach boys new skills. There are few things in life that will make you feel more proud then when you watch a boy or young man using a skill that you have helped them to master.

4) Make new friends. Not only will you form friendships with the boys, but you will also form new friendships with other Scouters.

5) Help your community. You provide this service through your unit's service projects and by helping boys grow up to be better adults.

6) Spend time in the Great Outdoors. You really do need to get out of that recycled-air, stressed-filled office enviroment at least once a month.

7) Have a good laugh. Working with Scout age boys can be fun and funny in many ways. Just remember to laugh with the boys, not at the boys.

8) Go traveling. There are thousands of places to go that provide a great Scout Outing. And do not forget the opportunities to go to a National Jamboree, Philmont, or the other high adventure bases.

9) Get some exercise. We could all use more exercise. Just try keeping up with a group of Boy Scouts.

10) Be a kid again! Scouting gives adults the chance to have just as much fun as the Scouts themselves. Make sure that you do!

Well, those are ten of my reasons for being an adult Scout Leader. I am sure that some of you reading this could add some more to the list. I invite you to leave a comment and add those reasons.