TT Scouter support network

“Free to include? Heck you are free to dispense intirely with his script. There is no set script for an Eagle Court Of Honor but there are quite a few good ones out there.

I combined a few to make one ceremony but I'm getting a little tired of it and have been wanting to do something different. Problem is after eight Eagles it's become the new troop tradition to use that format. I can email it to you later tonight if you like.

Eaglescout.org has a few online here:
http://www.eaglescout.org/finale/coh/coh.html

There is also a book out there about Eagle COHs.

There is one that I saw that is a modified "picture" ceremony that really shows the impact of volunteers. Basicly the "picture" ceremony calls up representatives of the BSA, locla council, district, troop, and the Scouts Church and School.

Well, in the one I saw they started a trail to Eagle where they first call up the Eagle and his Family, then they call up the Scouts Pastor/Father/Priest and then representatives of the local Scouting council and district. At that point they chronicle the Scouts path through Scouting and call up every person who helped him along the way like merit badge counselors, Assistant Scoutmasters, advisors and if he was a Cub Scout they get called up too. So by the time the Scout gets his Eagle pinned on him he has this crowd of people standing behind him. It's pretty impressive to see and it also recognises folks who probably wouldn't be that helped the boy on his way.

Only problen is that there wasn't anyone sitting in the audience at the end of the ceremony. lol.
last edited: 12/21/05 2:47:42 PM”

“Congrats on your son making Eagle Scout! That is quite an honor.”

“Thanks Buck. I am just a little proud of that rascal. Between cars and girls I wasn't sure he would make it to Eagle.

HPM - yeah, I am kind of tired of the same old ceremony. My son is the 81st Eagle in the troop. (Our troop has been around for quite some time.) Everyone does the same old ceremony. I like the "picture" idea. ChuckD sent me something that describes something similar.

I am also thinking about doing a short slide presentation about his trail to Eagle using just scout related pictures. I don't know. It might be like looking at someone else's vacation pictures.”

“OK fellow scouters, if you choose to read on then get your handkerchiefs out first, and don't say I didn't warn you! I thought about posting this, decided not to... then saw Creek Dancer's post & reconsidered & thought I'd share.

So.. here goes. This past Saturday was the final Eagle COH for the last two of my scouts who helped form my troop. They're the last since all the boys are 18 YO now. My local community didn't have a Troop, so the boys from our little community used to go to a neighboring town to join a troop there if they wanted to move on from Cubs. Long story short, I was Asst. Cubmaster, we had 16 boys who were all bridging & wanted to move on, so I spoke a lot w their parents & we all decided to start our own troop w those 16 boys. As you might imagine, there was a pretty close relationship between me, as Scoutmaster, & the other leaders with that core group of boys & their parents. We were all in this together!

Our troop was, from the beginning, a "high adventure" kind on of Troop. We have wonderful areas all around us here in Northern CA, so we went backpacking every month, rain, snow, whatever, either in the Sierra or along the coast. We did things most troops only dream of, snow camping, John Muir Trail, 50 milers that turned into 75 milers because THE BOYS wanted to push on & climb the next mountain! BUT... one of those original boys was not perfectly cut out for this type of activity, and struggled quite a bit from time to time. Ironically, his Dad was a former Eagle Scout & was bound & determined to see his son make Eagle, so helped out & pushed / supported his son as much as anyone could imagine. His dream was to see his son also earn his Eagle.

Well, this particular Dad developed cancer a while back, and has been having a pretty rough time lately.

When I saw him (the Dad) show up on Saturday, he looked better than I'd seen him looking in a long time. The ceremony progressed, he had a small speaking role to the audience, then took his seat in the front row. We then began a couple presentations on the Eagle Projects these two boys performed, and... Dad passed out & fell off his chair. We had some trained health care professionals with us, they assessed him & asked that we call 911 immediately. Well, of course we stopped the ceremony while all this was going on, the ambulance arrived & took him off to the local hospital.

Since I was the "lead" person in many respects, I went over to Mom & suggested that, out of respect for all that had happened, that if she wanted we wouyld curtail the ceremony & finish at some other time, if appropriate. She said, NO, keep right on going, that's what "Dad" would have wanted.

So... we continued the ceremony, and I pinned the young man, knowing that in many respects what kept his Dad alive was knowing his son had earned his Eagle.

That, my friends, was quite a day!”

“Wow.
I'm afraid to ask but Dad is....?”

“Not sure of the details HPM, but he is still in the hospital & apparantly holding his own for the time being.

Quite honestly, this affected me so much I didn't want to call their house & ask... it's a close enough group that I'm sure I'll hear something when the family is ready to discuss.”

“I understand.
Well I hope for the best for them.”

“I sure hope he is okay and that he can come home for Christmas. I will remember him in my prayers.

My hat is off to you wanderer for your support of these boys. I am sure you and the other leaders had a major impact on their lives. Of all the decisions I made regarding my son, getting him involved in scouts was definately one of the best decisions.”

“I think in some respects it's actually selfish to be involved in scouting as a leader! I've found it well worth my time, personally, the positive impact you see scouting has on those young men, especially over the long haul when you've worked with them from the time they were little cubs to watch them go off to college, whew!

At Saturday's COH, one of the boys presented me with his Mentor's pin, I wasn't expecting it, and to tell the truth his presentation almost brought a tear to me eye. My reaction was obvious, so I turned to the audience & made some comments like... "and for any of you who think it's not worth your time to step up & become a volunteer leader...." As always, I'd like to see more adults committed to helping out.”

“When is you COH Creek Dancer? If you still want some samples, send me an email. I put together a brief "Trail to Eagle" Powerpoint for this last one I can send if you're interested, nothing special, just a little overview.”

“The COH is January 7. I would love to see the presentation you put together! My e-mail addy is in my profile. This is great. Thanks so much.

I love the idea of the mentor's pin. I will mention that to my son as an idea.”

“CreekDancer, check your email. I sent it but can't get a confirmation from Yahoo for some reason, the attachment is 5 MB so I don't want to clog your email system if you already recieved it! Lemme know, & good luck w your son's COH!”

“Tonight I am teaching LNT Guidelines and the proper adjustment and use of Trekking Poles to two different groups.”

“KILLER.....if you have any sort of typed up information you can share...I have to teach to Scout groups all the time....”

“I can send you the PDF file if you wish.

I don't have anything written for the trekking pole thing. I just show them proper adjustment and use of them. There is a scout that has "bad knees" (so he says... he is too young!) so I figured this might give him more confidince. It went over well.”

“Hey Jimmy san - remember that conversation we had about scouts being ill prepared due to parent lack of gear shopping knowledge?

No, after those couple of glasses of wine you may not. :-) And I know the parents of your "troop?" are ok but here it goes for any other Boy Scout leaders out there.

Just to throw it out here I thought it would be a great cause if someone wanted to donate unwanted gear to a boy scout troop. You know the stuff that sits in the corner while you take your new tent on a trip. (read, backpack, stove, sleeping bag.....)

I don't know exactly how this would work or if there is already a network for this but give it some thought. Maybe just posting a thread would be sufficient. I have some stuff.”

“The guys (ON THEIR OWN!!!) initiated plans for a backpacking trip. I was blown away. I have been struggling like you can only imagine to have the guys run this Varsity Team. When they came out and said, "Let's go here, hike in, camp, and see this observation tower in the wildlife refuge." ... well, I was blown away.

Anyway, most don't have all the gear they need or would want. I have them on a program to build their gear list. We worked out a generic gear list and then sorted it/categorized it (with my coaching). Then they went off and tried to find the lightest and cheapest thing they could find that would fill the need. Most had some good ideas. I wrote a newsletter talking about "the big 4" (pack, sleeping bag, tent, and clothing) items they may have to buy. Most are short on gear, but time will tell if they will go to their parents or use their Scout account money. I have offered my services to review gear they want to purchase in advance.

One parent said they really appreciated the newsletter. I will probably have to loan out gear from my closet to some of the guys, but those that know me will realize that I can outfit about 4-5 people top to bottom. Basically I have enough gear to take my family of 5 backpacking (three kids and two adults) so I can draw from this gear.

dhutch1, this was a really great idea. I did remember it despite my shamefully drunken state at your house (I am a true lightweight). I didn’t want to pursue it until I knew the guys wanted to go down this road. They may want to do sports or climbing or cycling, etc rather than backpacking. It’s a boy-run program. Scouting isn’t about being a travel-agent/baby-sitter to young men. It’s about developing leaders and leadership skills via a structured program by serving as a facilitator/moderator in the activities the young men initiate. For now I am going to leave assessing the readiness of the team as a task the team will have to undertake. Once they know what they lack I’ll leave it to them to get what they need (either directly getting it or seeking someone like me to coach them with ideas).

This trip they want to do is pretty basic. The trails are open and clean, made for cross country skiing in the winter so they are really wide. It’s a great area, however, and they will have a blast as will I. I have hiked the area extensively so I am confident they will not have a bad experience. I think it’s critical that their first time out as a team they don’t have a bad experience. What’s important is that they initiate the idea, take action to make it happen, and then see the results of their planning and efforts… their trip… the feeling of empowerment, responsibility, and leadership.

At this point I am thrilled that they initiated this on their own as a group and asked me for my help. I swear there were times I was about to give up. I know as an adult Coach I have a lot to learn about scouting, but now I realize that it can work given time, patience, and commitment.”

“Just to throw it out here I thought it would be a great cause if someone wanted to donate unwanted gear to a boy scout troop. You know the stuff that sits in the corner while you take your new tent on a trip. (read, backpack, stove, sleeping bag.....)



I have tried in our Troop and Pack to develop a once a year outdoor gear auction with no luck. I thought this would be a great way for the younger boys to sell their out grown gear and buy something that fits both themselves and their needs. A lot of parents don't want to spend a lot on that Tiger cub until they see if he likes it. If he does like it he will out grow that youth bag when he is 10 or 11. If you put this stuff on a garage sale you will get $2.00 for the sleeping bag. Why not let the other scouts get a "deal" on this stuff and help them out in the process. I would even go to gear stores and ask for donations. Thats what Scouters do isn't it?
As far as Boy Scouts some of the older boys will want to upgrade their equipment also. This would be a great way to recoupe some of their money.
I just can't get any body else in our group to bite on this idea.”

“Outamatches I've done the gear auction thing a few times but it never really flies for us. One or two kids actually take advantage of it, most just ignore it.

We finally decided to just scrap the whole idea and now when guys have gear they want to get rid of they just bring it in set an asking price and we put the stuff in our storage area. If it doesn't move in a couple of weeks they just take it home.”

“Our boys put the gear up for sale on the troop website. Some moms got together and came up with a clothing exchange. Those Scout pants are expensive!”

“We do have an "experienced" uniform bank. Very helpful to have.”

“Hey, I forgot to mention that Ben's Eagle Scout COH went very well. We used the "picture" idea, and he also awarded the mentor pin to one of his leaders. He choked up as he was talking about how much this particular leader had an impact on his trail to Eagle. We used the "John Wayne" theme to describe the virtues of the oath. Thanks to everyone for the suggestions.”

“http://community.webshots.com/album/547774028AURLOL

A few pics of a great group of Scouts and their Fearless Leader on the FL Trail this weekend.”

“Who is that masked man?”

“You let your scouts hike with some stranger from the internet?”

“T shirts!!!!
We had our Klondike Derby this weekend. The windchill was -24. I think some of our boys had T shirts on about 4 layers down.”

“They've met TTer's before.

You should have seen them when they tried to go swimming.

"Mr. Long can we go swimming?"
"Sure, but I think it'll be more like a quick dip than an actual swim."
"Yea! I'm first I'm first I'm ~splash~ aaaAAAAAARRRRGGHHH!!! KKKKKKKcold!"”

“I was teasing. My son has hiked with SS 2x now.”

“I know. lol”

“Those little dudes backpacked ten miles Sat in near 80 degree weather.
No whineing was heard.
The smallest boy was having a hard time (very first backpacking trip) and an equally small boy offered and took some of his load so he could make it.

HPM has done a great job with these young men.

Very impressive group of guys.”

“Looked up the area we were on at TopoZone, HPM.
That is an Electrical Power Plant we passed.”

“I just posted that on the online maps thread.

lol.”

“Great minds think alike!
LOL”

“HEY STOVIE...how long you been a scouter? Ever take Woodbadge?”

“I'm not a Scout Leader.
Just helping with having another adult there.”

“Do any of you scout leaders have any information or handouts on inexpensive gear for scouts for backpacking? I am going to speak to a group of scouts who are just gearing up for backpacking, and they want to hear about inexpensive gear options. I was going to advise looking at Kelty external frame packs on ebay, and other low costs options. I'm looking for advice, suggestions, printed material.

This is not my son's troop. He is in cub scouts still, in Boise Idaho.
last edited: 2/22/06 5:24:25 PM”

“We usually try the Wal Mart option for the boys that are just starting out - they carry enough at the store here for decent basic low dollar set up. ALPS also has a scout discout program if one of the registered leaders signs up and does group purchases - probably similar to Wal Mart quality.”

“why don't you see if you can get a grant from an area business or through a police department or ymca. thats what our venture crew did. our city police gives money out to youth groups from the sale of confiscated
items. not sure if your county or city has anything like that. also check into church groups as another source. you could also have a fund raiser, just some ideas.”

“OK, here's the obligatory a$$hole response from an old guy.

Why don't you work with them to plan a fundraiser, the proceeds of which will be used to help them "gear-up" for backpacking? That is sorta what I thought Boy Scouts was all about... you know, the old "self reliance" "responsibility" thing that Scouting is supposed to be all about?”

“My talk is not to tell them how to get the money for the equipment. My job is to tell them what equipment to buy that is the best for the money. I'm thinking external frame older kelty packs, blue foam sleeping pads, MSR Whisperlite stove, decent boots, and Eureka or kelty tent. Or if they have the budget go to REI (we have a store in town) and get REI brand. Those are the bigger items they need.”

“Campmor gives breaks to scouters too. If you want I can try and dig up my old "Gear Class" I gave at a Scouting Adult Training course....”

“I'm glad you asked the question Bob. Most of us as adults with jobs seem to have a fixation with spending cash on stuff. The truth is most everything a kid needs can be gotten right out of their own home and the rest from any department store. Very few thing need to come from a gear store.

I have a suggested gear list on out troop website. Please keep in mind we are in Florida, the list is like 7 years old, some of the info is now dated and it is designed for general camping not backpacking specific. Guess I need to get on re-doing that.
http://www.troop623.com/GearList.htm

Most likely, the items that they would need are a good pack and a good sleeping bag and as others have mentioned most of the big gear retailers will cut you a break on a group purchase and there is always ebay. Lots of good stuff on ebay but you need to know what you are buying.

By the time we take the guys backpacking they have already camped several times and have collected their own camping gear kit so the reality is that all they should have to do is trim down their car camping kit to a manageable load for backpacking. I assume this would be the case with the guys you are working with.

Probably the most effective way to do this is to ask three of the kids to pack everything they think they need to hike and bring it to a meeting. Once there, do a pack shakedown with those kids gear.

Also show them that they can build their own gear. Pepsi can stoves, home sewed fleece sleeping bags ect.

Don't break out your own stuff untill later if at all. The reason I say that is because when those kids see all that shiny fancy gear they get blinders on and they stop considering realistic cost effective alternatives to expensive titanium and silnylon gear. Next thing you know these guys who pretty much have what they need are telling mom and dad that they really need a $100 isobutane stove. I actually never bring my pack to meetings and show what I use simply because of that. They can see my gear on the trail.

I'm actually going to do a contest with the kids to see just how cheaply we can outfit ourselves for backpacking.”

“Original

Revisited”

“Exactly Bit.
But I'm thinking we can do it for less than $300 with a few consessions for existing gear.

Not too many Scout aged kids can float three bills.
last edited: 2/23/06 9:10:31 AM”

“I like the list referenced by BPusher. Also good point about not showing them the good stuff. Actually, I have been using my old 1973 vintage kelty tioga until last summer for family backpacks. I can haul that thing in and fill it with low end stuff as examples. I am thinking the best outlay of money is about as follows:

sturdy boots: $100
synthetic sleeping bag: $100
external frame pack, used from ebay: $50
not every kid need a stove, so skip it for now, and look at the option of a trangia alcohol stove which comes with a cookset for $30 on ebay
nylon pants from Walmart
nylon shirt from walmart
good socks
blue foam sleeping pad: $10
not every kids needs a tent, but some could get a cheap tent, Eureka or Kelty: $100
coated nylon rain poncho
plus misc items
last edited: 2/23/06 10:25:51 AM”

“but what about DONATIONS from someone who has too many tents and sleepy bags?”

“Bob,
I modified your list some. If you haven't looked at what Target and Walmart carry lately you'll be surprised. I keep a spare 20 degree mummy bag in my truck on troop campouts that I bought at Target for $40.

I assume this is build up for a summer trip.

kinda sturdy boots: $30 (Walmart)
synthetic sleeping bag: $40 (Walmart)
Internal frame pack, New from Walmart: $50
nylon pants from Walmart
nylon shirt from walmart
good socks
blue foam sleeping pad: $10
coated nylon rain coat
plus misc items

We never make the boys buy their own tents(but the do use the fund raising money for troop tents) - Our Troop car camping tents may work alright for 3 boys to split for backpacking.

We do a good scout/bad scout routine for pack packing. One scout brings all the wrong stuff and the other has what he needs. They unpack item by item to demonstrate.

They will be very interested in the food. No matter what you do or say some will buy dehydrated or MREs.”

“Hey I dontated three sets of sleeping bag, pack, and pads to my troop. I have donated tents and tarps....IT is cool to see my name on a pack some kid is using happily.”

“I have recently done this exercise with the guys. I can share some of the stuff they developed from a template I offered if you wish. Let me know.”

“Jimmy san, send me whatever you have. The good scout/ bad scout idea is great. I have been keeping a list of dumb things people bring in my college backpacking class. You would not believe it, like a full suitcase in addition to a full backpack, full bars of soap, hard back textbooks, a sleeping bag that the zipper doesn't work for a winter trip, a canned ham, food for 5 when they are cooking for themselves, giant survival knives, cotton clothes head to foot, it goes on and on.

I'll at least mention some fund raising ideas, but the troop leaders may be already working on that. Some include:

troop purchase discounts from Coleman, Camp More, maybe REI
painting address numbers on curbs

getting an addressograph machine and making dog tags at the county fair. I know one kid who turned that into an internet business. His story is at

http://patentpending.blogs.com/patent_pending_blog/2005/12/dogtagsrus.html


making pepsi stoves and selling them

donated gear from old guys in clubs like Rotary, Lions,etc.

selling flower seeds in the spring (I have a blog post on that at http://patentpending.blogs.com/patent_pending_blog/2005/08/introduce_your_.html


It seems like a troop could get a few packs as loaners for new hikers, and get kids started that way. The troop could also acquire a few tents, stoves, and cook sets, and the kids would be pretty well equiped that way for little money. A few good yard sale purchases and donations from Rotary clubs would get that stash started.”