Last night I attended a Council Coordinated Key 3 meeting and got the scoop on all sorts of stuff affecting our units. 

We're definitely in the midst of recharter season so that was a big focus for all of us Commissioners who were there.  We've had some trouble communicating effectively with our Registrar about the problems with submitted recharters (missing a signature, missing a copy of Youth Protection training card, etc.) so my DE and I worked out a plan for this year.  I hope we're able to stay on top of those issues and get those recharters taken care of quickly this year.

Even though it's winter, we all started talking about summer camp opportunities for Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts.  Our usage of our Council camps has been getting better, especially by our Troops, but the potential really lies in getting our Packs out camping.  Not only will it help with Scout retention and increase revenue, more importantly, we're fulfilling the promise we make to Scouts when they sign up that we're going to take them camping and have fun.

Our Council will be selling Camp Cards for the first time this year.  For just $5, you can buy a card with over $50 in value at local participating stores.  They've gotten a few big local chains to sign on as sponsors so the cards should be applicable for our units and their communities no matter where they are in our diverse council.  I'm really interested to see how well these sell as opposed to popcorn.  For every card sold, the boy gets 1/2 of the money ($2.50) towards the cost of camp.  Apparently Councils in the Southeast Region who started this program 10 years ago actually earn more money annually from this than popcorn - with no detrimental effect on popcorn sales later in the year.  Should be interesting to see how it goes.

All in all it was a good meeting and I felt like I came away with new information, reminders, and some action items.  It's nice to have these 4 times a year to keep us all on the same page.  Tonight is Roundtable (thankfully my wife isn't a big Valentine's Day person) so I'll have another post tomorrow.

Hope you all have a great Scouting day!

It's now Monday morning (morning of the 6th day of this year's 100 days) so I can now look back on a great Scouting weekend and lots of great stuff ahead.

As I mentioned at the end of my post, Saturday (Day 4) was our Council's College of Commissioner Science.  This year was my third year in a row of attending so I took 6 classes from the Doctorate program.  Earning a Doctorate in Commissioner Science requires more than 6 courses - it actually requires either a project or a thesis - so I ended the day with a nice patch an a certificate signifying that I completed courses in "Advanced Studies."  It was nice of them to provide that to those of us who wouldn't otherwise finish anything that day.  I was particularly interested in our last two courses of the day - "Preventing Commissioner Burnout" and "Balancing Scouting and Family."  I wonder if those two courses shouldn't be offered with the Bachelors' program or maybe every year for that matter.

Sunday (Day 5) was Scout Sunday for our Troop.  As in years past, our Pack and Troop come together to celebrate our relationship with our chartered organization (a church).  During the service, both the Cubmaster and I presented on the state of the Pack and the Troop.  We also showed slideshows so that the congregation can see some of what we've done in the last year.  The congregation is elderly and I think they really appreciate seeing our activities, outings, and events.  After the service, our units host a small brunch reception downstairs for everyone to share some fellowship.  It's during this time that we get lots of kind comments from members of the congregation about their time in Scouting, their kids' time in Scouting, or how glad they are that Scouts is still around.  Yesterday, one woman thanked me for giving my time as a leader for the Troop.  She explained with tears in her eyes how her son lost his father at 7 years old and the leaders of the Troop were like his fathers - taking him under their wings and helping him to grow.  She also told me that it was only with their help and assistance that he reached the rank of Eagle.  I found myself getting a little choked up too and told her that I hoped her son will get involved as a leader and provide a great experience for the next generation.

We tell ourselves all the time that we are doing this for the boys but sometimes, I think we forget.  As a Commissioner, I hear and see units where adults think the unit belongs to them and become dictators, scaring families away. Then there are others where Packs and Troops chartered at the same place won't talk to each other because of long standing feuds between adults.  Sometimes, if you hear that stuff enough, you can forget how much good Scouting does in our communities.  Hearing that woman's story about her son cleared away all the "junk" and was a strikingly clear reminder of why I volunteer as a Scouter.  My mother, father, and a number of other good men and women volunteered their time and efforts to help me enjoy the Scouting program from Tiger to Eagle.  More than any other organization, Scouting has made me the person I am today and I owe it to the next generation to try and give them the same great experience.  I can only hope they enjoy it as much as I do.

We had a great Troop meeting last night despite the fact that our SPL wasn't able to attend.  Representatives from our Order of the Arrow Chapter were on hand and conducted an election for our unit.  We had four eligble Scouts and all four of them were elected.  They're all deserving and I look forward to seeing what they can bring to our Lodge and, specifically, our Chapter.

With our SPL out for the night, our ASPL filled in.  He had served as SPL previously but never really understood that it was his job to plan, organize, and run the meetings.  He'll be stepping into the SPL role again at our April COH so this was a good test of what's to come.  He had spoken with the SPL and came with a plan.  When the elections and the remainder of his plan ended early, we talked it over and decided to let our New Scout Patrol work on 2nd Class requirements while the "older guys" did some Merit Badge work.  While I know some people don't like working on Merit Badges during Troop meetings, we allowed our Scouts to find counselors from our adults present and either start or try to finish up MB's they've been working on.  Our COH is in early April so we need to light a fire under a few of our guys to finish up a few simple things in time.

I left feeling like the night had gone well.  We did some planning for Scout Sunday (this Sunday for us), our upcoming trip to Washington, D.C. (next weekend), the NSP knocked out a Leave No Trace discussion and the older guys took care of some MB requirements.  Most importantly, our ASPL did a good job and I feel a lot better about him stepping up in a couple months.

Didn't do a whole lot of Scouting today as I've got something every day for the next few days.  I did, however, put together our Tour Plan for our DC trip and emailed it to our Committee Chair for his signature.  I really like that we use the .pdf format and digitally sign it then email it to Council.  Makes it so much easier!

Tomorrow is our College of Commissioner Science and I'll be taking the Doctorate classes this year.  Sunday is Scout Sunday and Monday is our Council Key 3 meeting so I should have plenty to post moving forward.

Last night I had the great opportunity to give a short talk on the connections between the Boy Scouts/Order of the Arrow and Freemasonry.  I had spoken on the same topic at my local masonic lodge (Lansdowne #711) back in November and was approached afterwards by a Brother from Concord Lodge #625 who asked me to talk on the same topic at his lodge.  Without knowing it, he scheduled me to present the program on February 8th - the 102nd birthday of the Boy Scouts of America.  I thought it was rather fitting that I speak to that topic on that day and so I presented last night to an almost full-house at Concord Lodge.  As expected, there were a large number of men who had been Scouts at one time or another, some who are Eagle Scouts, a few members of the OA, and even a Vigil Honor member.  I received many kind words afterwards and it was great to see that so many of the men were able to reflect on their own Scouting careers.  In a few of the conversations I had after lodge had closed, we discussed how there was no surprise that we had been in a room full of former Scouts as it seems good organizations tend to bring out like-minded good people.

As much as I enjoyed last night, I was slightly torn about doing it.  I had committed to the evening almost two months prior and had no concerns until about 2 weeks ago when I got an email informing me that not one - but two of my fellow Wood Badge Eagle Patrol (NE-V-138) members would be receiving their beads, neckers, and woggles on February 8th.  One of those two made a long trip to be at my beading ceremony and I really felt like I owed it to her to attend.  Unfortunately, I couldn't do both and my Patrol buddies understood with the late notice.  I still felt (and feel) bad that I wasn't there last night to congratulate them in person.

Thus begins my 2012 "100 Days of Scouting" posts.  I hope that other Scouters are participating again this year as I thoroughly enjoyed reading their posts and tweets last year.

Here's to a great Scouting year!

For anyone who was following my blog, it probably seems like I fell off the face of the earth after summer camp.  August was a really quiet month for Scout stuff and as things ramped up in September, I sorta forgot to get back in the habit of posting.  Whoops.  So here's a recap:

The Troop took what was probably too long of a break between summer camp and the first meeting in September.  In any event, we got back into the swing of things quickly and had a nice weekend camping trip at Camp Rodney in North East, Maryland.  It's only an hour drive for us and the boys really like the camp.  It poured rain but everyone was in good spirits and enjoyed themselves thoroughly.  I was particularly proud of one of our Scouts who took the New Scout Patrol under his wing and instructed them for their Fireman Chit.

We only had a couple meetings before our October 6th Court of Honor.  With all the hard work our guys did at summer camp and over the last 6 months, we got to award a ton of stuff.  90 merit badges, about 14 rank advancements, SCUBA BSA, BSA Snorkeling, Honor Camper Award, and even a Polar Bear Swim Club award.  Normally we would have handed out the Rank Advancements as soon as they passed their Boards of Review but they did them all the week before the CoH so we presented them at the ceremony.  We also installed our new SPL, ASPL, Patrol Leaders, and all the other Positions of Responsibility.  I'm really excited to see what our new SPL can do.  He was installed on a Thursday evening and was at his first weekend of NYLT by Friday evening.  I can't wait to send more of 'em to NYLT!

Our Troop is now 18 Scouts strong.  We fit just fine in the basement of our Chartering Organization, a local church.  The problem is that on the last Thursday night of every month, the Pack meets in the same place.  When we were smaller, we could fit in two small rooms and share the building.  Now we're actually too big.  So thanks to good relations with our local American Legion, we met there and will probably do so whenever the Pack meets at the church. 

As with many of you, we've already gotten out to sell popcorn and have a couple more weekends of setting up booths, and going door-to-door.  We even sold at our town's Community Day this year.  Just as Popcorn winds down, we have our District Camporee the first weekend of November.  The 2nd and 3rd Saturdays of November are set aside for Scouting for Food bag distribution and collection (respectively).

Thanks to some good planning, we've got our December, January, and February camping trips planned already.  I'm looking forward to February as we're going to Washington, D.C. for the weekend where we'll sleep on the USS Barry: http://www.hnsa.org/ships/barry.htm

Personally, I'm also looking at my other Scouting calendar as District Commissioner.  Recruiting, Popcorn, Camporee, Scouting for Food, and Rechartering will be the big themes for the next few months.  I've got a good corps of Commissioners so it's not all on me.  I just need to recruit more so we can serve and support all our District's units.

I've also got a lot of things to look forward to.  I'll be going to the 2013 Jamboree as an ASM with one of our Cradle of Liberty Council Troops.  It'll be my first National Jamboree and I'm thrilled.  Also, I was just told last night that I may be on the staff of a 2012 Wood Badge course and I'm smiling just thinking about it.  Lastly, I'm serving on the staff of an IOLS training course later this month and am looking forward to getting some leaders trained.

Finally, I was asked by one of my fellow WB Patrol mates to do his beading ceremony for him.  Last night I performed my first beading and judging from the feedback, I did alright.  It was special for a number of reasons, the first being that I got to bead one of my Patrol mates.  Second, it was the first beading I've ever done.  Third, I presented the regalia with the help of "Wild" Bill Guarnere of Band of Brothers fame, Easy Company, 506th PIR, 101st Airborne.  I did the reading and then would hand the regalia to Bill who put it on our honoree.  As a student of American history, I was honored and privileged to work with Bill during the ceremony and hope to meet him again soon.

So yeah, it's a busy Scouting season but it's been great.  I got a lead from BeAScout.org this weekend and we've got a young man coming to visit our Troop for the first time this week.  I really hope he joins and gets to enjoy this as much as I do!

I'm writing this a little later than I anticipated because, frankly, the month of August just got away from me.  We went to camp on 7/24 so it's been almost a month at this point.  Let's see if I can recall our week of camp...

This was the first time in a long, long time that our Troop didn't go to our in-Council camp.  The Scouts chose to go to the camp of a close council (Bucks County #777) so our drive to Ockanickon Scout Reservation was about half as long as our usual trip to Resica Falls.  We got situated in our site and actually did our medical re-checks in the site itself with staff.  I was happy not to be standing in a long line at the health lodge, that's for sure.  Swim tests went well, and all but one Scout made the attempt.  I think two Scouts stopped during their tests and worked on becoming Swimmers the rest of the week.  I give them credit because they tried - that's all I ask.  I was disappointed in one of our older Scouts who refused to try.  Last summer was his 3rd or 4th summer camp and only with the help of about a half dozen Scouts and Adults from our Troop and a very patient lifeguard was he able to complete the BSA swimmer test.  I know the lifeguard took it easy on him but it was the only thing holding him back from 1st Class and he actually was trying.  Before camp this year he promised me he'd at least try the test and then changed his mind at the last minute.  The rest of us did well and before long, the boys were getting their feel for the camp.

Monday brought a torrential downpour that lasted a few hours and soaked almost everyone.  Luckily, very few of our tents leaked and most of our gear was spared.  I heard a few of the new Scouts complain that they were getting bored and I think it was because they weren't able to bring their Nintendo DS's along (Wouldn't you know, they survived the whole week without them?).  Once the rains passed, we had great weather for the rest of the week.  A passing shower here or there but on the whole, we had sunny, warm, and breezy days that made for good camping (and napping) weather.

The Scouts did great at camp.  Our SPL started off a little shaky (overslept, wasn't putting the Troop first) but by the end of the week he seemed to have it down pretty well.  The Patrol Leaders followed similar patterns and after overcoming some first day forgetfulness, they all got with the program before long.  I was really proud of our Troop (both the Scouts and Adults) because we actually separated the Scout and Adult sides of the site.  The Scouts had to ask permission to enter the Adults side (and vice versa) which, I think, cut down on Scouts visiting their Dads instead of going off for fun.  A couple of our Dads who have struggled with the idea of a Boy Led Troop started to realize the responsibility belonged to their sons in most instances.  I'm not going to assume they're "cured" of doing things for their sons but I think it planted the right idea. 

Looking at my last post, it seems I had prepared 74 MB blue cards before departing.  I must have filled out another 30 or so at camp.  By the end of the week, we had some pretty good results:

• Our Scouts earned a total of 81 Merit Badges at camp and also brought home 14 "partials"
• 5 Scouts and 1 Adult earned Snorkeling BSA
• 3 Scouts earned SCUBA BSA
• 1 Scout earned the Polar Bear Club Award
• 17 Scouts and 8 Adults earned the Duty to God Award
• 6 Scouts participated in the Dan Beard Program and each completed 15 requirements towards the Tenderfoot, 2nd Class, and 1st Class ranks.  They also earned their Totin' Chip cards.
• The Troop earned the Clean Camp Award
• Our New Scout Patrol earned the Honor Patrol Award

 Needless to say, I was proud of the Scouts for all their hard work.  I also owe a lot of thanks to the adult leaders who joined me for our time at camp and really helped things run smoothly.  We didn't really have any incidents and there were no trips to the E.R. so I'm considering it a successful year of summer camp!

Looking ahead, it's going to be a busy fall on a lot of fronts.  The Troop has lots planned (camping trips, Popcorn sales, Scouting for Food, fundraising) and so does our District (Camporee, training events, Roundtables, etc.).  My calendar is starting to fill up and I'm realizing now how much I've appreciated all these quiet weekends in August.  Tomorrow night brings our annual Council-Wide Roundtable which I'm looking forward to.  I get to see a lot of familiar faces and catch up with folks I haven't seen in some time.  Hopefully everyone else has had a few weeks of relative relaxation and they're all ready to jump back in with both feet.

Considering all that's coming up, I'm sure I'll have plenty to post soon.  Until then, Happy Scouting!

Just as my Scouting responsibilities slowed down in the early summer, so did my blogging/tweeting.  I haven't posted in some time now and thought that as the Troop is going to Summer Camp tomorrow, today would be a good reason to post something.

We're headed to Ockanickon Scout Reservation which is the camp operated by Bucks County Council, BSA.  Our Troop has gone to our own council camp every year as far as I know.  We took a vote last summer and decided to try another camp this year, with the idea being we would go to our council camp every even year (2010, 2012, 2014, etc.) and to an out-of-council camp every odd year (2011, 2013, 2015).  I got a little resistance to the idea from our older Scouts but they've come around by now.  Our younger Scouts made no argument whatsoever.  Our Adults never complained either and frankly, some of them are glad we're trying another camp.  I hope everyone feels that way come this time next weekend when we're headed home.

Two years ago, when I was still an ASM, I think we took 4 Scouts and 4 Adults to camp.  Last year, we took 11 Scouts and 5 Adults.  This year, we're taking 17 Scouts and 8 Adults.  Quite a change and it's a trend that I hope we keep up.  With the potential for 10-11 new Scouts from our associated Pack, we could be close to 30 by this time next year.  It'll be exciting.  But in the meanwhile, this year will be a good step in the process for our experienced Scouts to lead the way at camp and get the new guys adapted.

I've filled out 74 Merit Badge blue cards as per the Scouts' schedules.  I think they'll probably come home with about 2/3 of those completed which will make for a great Fall Court of Honor.  We'll have 6 Scouts at the First Year (Dan Beard) Program and I wouldn't be surprised if most of them were 2nd Class by this Fall.  I've got some older Scouts who will hit Life after picking up some more Merit Badges too.  I hope I get to do a couple SM Conferences and move some guys along during the week.

The medical forms are triple-checked, the MB blue cards are ready, and my laundry is done.  Time to finish packing!  Hopefully I'll post within a few days of getting back next week to review our time at Summer Camp.  Let's hope the weather cools off for us!

Oh, and on a side-note, I'm still doing C25k and recently completed W8D1.  I should have done W8D2 last night but it was so absurdly hot and humid that I decided against it.  I plan to do it tonight instead.  I'm taking my sneakers to camp and hope to get in a couple runs to stay with the program while I'm away.  I signed up for my first 5k on 8/11 so I can't fall behind now.  I definitely need to thank some Scouters for providing me with the motivation to get healthy, and that includes the #100DaysStrong group and the Scout Nation Fit Club.  Cheers!

I was admittedly a little nervous today as I went out to the track to run the Couch to 5k Week5/Run3.  It's the first run in the program where there are no walking breaks.  I felt pretty good after Thursday's run (before the Troop meeting) where it called for 8 minute run, 5 minute walk, 8 minute run.  At least there was a nice break in there to slow things down a bit.  But today was no stopping.  I got out of the car and after about 30 seconds of stretching, I walked onto the track and started the iPhone app.  It counted down my 5 minute warmup walk and just as a fast-paced Drive-By Truckers song started up, the voice from the app said, "Run."  I took off and was feeling pretty good.  I try to "zone-out" when I'm running and hope the time passes without me realizing it.  Unfortunately, I normally find myself concentrating on my breathing, whether I'm swinging my arms, the song playing, and inevitably, how much further I have to run.  It's so tempting to pull the iPhone out of my pocket and see how much time is left.  It can be motivating when you've been running longer than you thought but it can also be demoralizing when you think you must be close to the end and realize you haven't gone as far as predicted.  So today I did my best to avoid looking but curiosity finally got the better of me and I took a look.  Amazingly, I saw that I only had 6 minutes and 15 seconds left until the end.  Wow!  I can do that!  So with renewed determination, I picked up the pace a bit and set in for the duration.  Finally, after a looooong 6:15, the voice from the app said, "Cool down walk."  Phew.  I was pretty tuckered out but really pleased at the same time.  When I started the c25k program 5-6 weeks ago, I couldn't believe how out of shape I was and how winded I got doing the 60 second runs.  To have run 20 minutes straight was a sign that I'm doing something right.  Granted, I didn't break any land-speed records doing it but I did it nonetheless.

When I got home, I reached up to get a high-five from my wife.  She asked, "You did it?  What was your motivation?"  I think I said something about, "nothing special, just wanted to do it" or something along those lines.  But I realized later that it was that moment that was my motivation.  I knew that when I walked in the door, she was going to ask if I did it or not.  I did NOT want to say that I couldn't do it.  I didn't want to quit and know that I'd have to admit that to someone else.  Not that she would have been disappointed or anything of the sort.  I just wanted to be able to say that I did it.

As I enter the 6th week of this program, I'm beginning to wonder what I'm going to do when I reach the end.  I plan to run a 5k (maybe more than one) but what else?  Keep running on the track for 30 minutes, 3 times a week?  There's another app that is supposed to take someone who "graduates" from c25k called Bridge to 10k.  It's tempting.  But I'm also thinking I might want to find another kind of cardio to mix it up.  I also keep reading that weightlifting is a great way to burn fat and get trim.  Lots of options at this point.

My 9th and final week of c25k will be the week the Troop and I are at Summer Camp.  I guess it's appropriate that I complete it at a Boy Scout camp considering it was the motivation from my fellow Scouters that got me to do this.

Yesterday (Monday) was my 100th day of participating in the 100 Days of Scouting.  As expected, it was much like the majority of the last 100 days and involved trading a couple emails with other Scouters from the Troop and the District.  My email to a fellow District Scouter was to setup a meeting of the Camporee Committee in the next week or so.  The emails I traded with fellow leaders from the Troop were on a variety of topics (as usual).  One was to confirm the Scouts who participated in a community event while I was out of town.  Hopefully they'll be recognized at a Borough Council meeting soon.  The mother of one of our 1st Class Scouts is getting involved in her son's Scouting career which is good to see.  I was also really happy to get an email from one of our ASMs who had been Scoutmaster years ago.  He shared an idea with me for a pre-Summer Camp parents meeting that he did years ago and thought was worthwhile.  I really value his input and I'm glad he suggested it.  Sometime this week I'll put together a list of things to cover at that meeting.

Even though the 100 Days is done, I've still got plenty going on for the Troop and the District.  We've still got plenty of planning for the Fall Camporee to take care of.  The Troop and I will head off to Summer Camp for the last week of July so we've got lots of preparation to do ahead of time.  Personally, I have a few ideas for the next few Troop meetings that I need to share with the SPL and PLC so that we can get things in motion.  The Troop that I serve as Unit Commissioner had some issues at Summer Camp so I'll be visiting them this week to help smooth things over.  August will be a slow month for Scouting so I'll use that time to recharge and prepare for the Fall.

Of course, I'm still participating in the 100 Days Strong.  Tonight I did Week 5/Run1 of C25k.  My knees are feeling a lot better (not even wearing the braces anymore) but my shin splints are acting up.  I had hoped that the new shoes would take care of that.  Actually, I think that they hurt in a different place so I'm not blaming the shoes.  I think it's just the fact that my legs are taking a beating with all my weight bouncing on them.  Hopefully as the weight goes down, the knees and shin splints will feel even better.  Gotta get in shape for Jamboree!  I'm really looking forward to that and wish it wasn't such a long time from now.  I hope to meet up with lots of the other Scouters participating in 100 Days of Scouting and 100 Days Strong.  What's hard to fathom is that there will have been 2 years of 100 Days of Scouting between now and then.  Plenty of time to get even more Scouters involved!

This has been a great exercise and has helped to enlighten me about how much time I give to Scouting.  I know that some give more so I'm not bragging at all.  I'm glad to know that I'm giving back to an organization that gave me so much.  I can only hope to provide as good a program to our Scouts as I received.  It's a challenge, but it's one I'm going to accept.

I plan to post on occasion but not as frequently as I have been.  I doubt anyone will be disappointed with fewer posts and tweets from me.  Hopefully some major events will encourage me to post.  Until then, Happy Scouting!