I've been putting together a list of all the training that the BSA provides. Some of the training is required, while some is optional. When I finish the list, I'll post it here, but I've got a little ways to go still.
The interesting thing to me in working on it was how few leaders in LDS troops actually do any of it, including the mandatory training. It's mandatory, folks. It would be scary to do an audit and see how many LDS troops are out of compliance. A lot of it is online now, so 'no time in my busy schedule' no longer applies as an excuse.
There are several knots for adults for completing training and for running the troop according to that training. I know a lot of leaders aren't interested in earning awards themselves, but working on these knots helps get you doing what you should be doing anyway. Get yourself and your boys trained, have some Courts of Honor, go on several campouts, be a merit badge counselor, go to roundtable, and hold a yearly planning meeting. Why would you be doing anything else but this?
I like earning awards so the boys know that I'm working on something, not just telling them what to do all the time, but there is a larger purpose. The adult awards are there for the same reason the boys have awards. They provide a path to follow to develop oneself into a better leader.
Fill out the paperwork, and get an award yourself at the next Court of Honor for running the troop like it should be run. If you're not doing what you need to get the awards, there is a major problem, and you need to get your troop in order (starting with yourself).
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Food Drive
Last Sunday a food drive was announced for this Saturday (today). I hadn't heard anything about there being a food drive, so my first thought was that the scouts would be the ones picking up the food.
I later forgot all about it until the 11 year old leader asked me if we needed help with the food drive. I said that as far as I knew we didn't, because we weren't in charge of it. I figured I'd ask the Bishop on Tuesday what the details were just in case, however.
I forgot to ask him.
Friday (yesterday) about noon, I got an email from him asking if we were ready for it. I told him that we would be ready for it, but that until that point, no one had told us anything about it. Occasionally other groups like the Varsities or Elders will be in charge of this kind of project, but deep down inside I knew it was probably us.
So we called all our boys late last night, most of which said they'd be there. Two of them came. We really didn't need much more than that, since there was very little to pick up, due to the lack of advertising. There were no fliers and no multiple weeks of announcements building up to it, not to mention a plethora of other food and supply drives by various community organizations recently that is probably stretching thin the supply of cans of nonperishable food that people bought and then realized they don't like and are thus willing to donate.
I didn't get the final count, since I consolidated the food from my truck into my ASM's truck, and he was going to take it to the food bank, but we probably had about 75 cans or boxes of food, plus a 25 pound bag of flour.
Not bad for a last minute service project.
I later forgot all about it until the 11 year old leader asked me if we needed help with the food drive. I said that as far as I knew we didn't, because we weren't in charge of it. I figured I'd ask the Bishop on Tuesday what the details were just in case, however.
I forgot to ask him.
Friday (yesterday) about noon, I got an email from him asking if we were ready for it. I told him that we would be ready for it, but that until that point, no one had told us anything about it. Occasionally other groups like the Varsities or Elders will be in charge of this kind of project, but deep down inside I knew it was probably us.
So we called all our boys late last night, most of which said they'd be there. Two of them came. We really didn't need much more than that, since there was very little to pick up, due to the lack of advertising. There were no fliers and no multiple weeks of announcements building up to it, not to mention a plethora of other food and supply drives by various community organizations recently that is probably stretching thin the supply of cans of nonperishable food that people bought and then realized they don't like and are thus willing to donate.
I didn't get the final count, since I consolidated the food from my truck into my ASM's truck, and he was going to take it to the food bank, but we probably had about 75 cans or boxes of food, plus a 25 pound bag of flour.
Not bad for a last minute service project.
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