Quote of the Week

If youth are denied opportunities to test their own strength, then the leadership foundation will be weak and unready. Equally as serious, however, is thrusting unprepared youth leaders into situations in which they fail because the demands of that situation exceed their experience and capacity. -- Robert L. Backman (Ensign, July 1973, p 84)

It always rains on tents. Rainstorms will travel thousands of miles, against prevailing winds for the opportunity to rain on a tent. -- Dave Barry

Sorry i know it says Quote of the Week but sometimes you just stumble upon multiple quotes when searching that you just have to use.

Yours in Scouting Service
Mark W
Junior Assistant Scoutmaster
Troop 1616

Happy Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day

Thanks to all the men and women who have served or are currently serving this great country.

Thanks to all those families who have loved ones or have lost loved ones in the line of duty.

We Troop 1616 and the rest of the scouting community proudly support you and the sacrifices that you have made to make this country a great one.

Yours in Scouting Service
Mark W
Junior Assistant Scoutmaster
Troop 1616

After Meeting Review

After Meeting Review
Cub Scout Crossover Night 1
May 26, 2008

Yes I know that this seems a little late for most crossover ceremonies because I know the standard is usually sometime in February or March maybe even April but definitely not may. It just happens that this is the best time for the cub scout units up here on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska. The Crossover went great, probably should have rehearsed for it a little more but all in all it went absolutely fabulous. This was the event that took place instead of a regular meeting, yeah that probably isn't the best solution but it is what it is.

Thanks to all the new Cub Scouts and their parents for making the decision to join Troop 1616.

Yours in Scouting Service
Mark W
Junior Assistant Scoutmaster
Troop 1616

Spring Camporee 2008

Spring Camporee 2008
Tustumena District, Great Alaska Council
May 16 to May 17
May 16

Friday night was arrival and setup night. The major thing was the adults interfering too much in unloading and setting up of the campsite. I expect the adults to be their to assist but it should be the responsible of the SPL for the campout to ensure the site is setup properly and all camp chores are completed. I will be talking to the SPL about the duties of a SPL during a campout in the hear future so he knows that he needs to take a more active participation level in activities. Friday night was Order of the Arrow Tap outs and unit elections. Three people from my troop went through tap outs and those were Leif D, Olen D, and Tony D. After that we a a dutch oven desert, played capture the flag with another unit at the camporee and went to bed.

May 17

Troop wake up time was 7:00 and everybody in the Troop was out of their tents by 7:50, the SPL was one of the last people out of tents which is disappointing to me as the JASM for the weekend because of the fact that it should have been him to wake up the scouts and not me. During this time we cooked dinner and had breakfast done by 8:45 because we started at approximately 7:15 even without the SPL. Cleanup was done by the adults because the adults had the idea of dismissing everyone from the site before cleanup was done. I know that I should probably not be complaining about not having to do dishes but the fact remains that it should have been the youth's responsibility for making sure camp was cleaned up. One of the older scouts did a excellent job cooking and did not have to participate in cleaning but everyone else in the Troop should have assisted in this task. After this their were about six or seven different stations to work through and earn points at, I am not going to spend time explaining each activity but i will say that all the activities put together took about 2 hours to complete. After this competition period came lunch preparation for the Dutch Oven potluck later that afternoon. My Troop decided to do gumbo but forgot the okra so we ended up we a fairly good tasting stew. After the dutch oven competition we had approximately 45 minutes of free time and then site pack up and awards. Our Troop to first place in the camporee and got a ribbon for participation. After this came time for departure. The adults did most of the packing into vehicles which disappointed me again because the youth should have to show some level of responsibility for Troop gear too.

Yours in Scouting Service
Mark W
Junior Assistant Scoutmaster
Troop 1616

Tuesday Meeting Review

Troop 1616 After Meeting review
May 13, 2008

The reason why this one is so late is because of homework and having a scouting meeting or activity everyday from tuesday all the way to saturday. Hopefully I will get posts out about the scout activities that happened but I may not. This meeting is the last meeting the regular SPL is not going to show up which is going to give me a chance to take a step back and work on leadership development instead of being in the middle of everything. Being on the frontlines is fun and exciting but it is not my job to be in that position anymore I am a advisor and need to start doing this job more often. Their was one major issue and that was a scout who will not be named showed up to teach a activity but was not ready to teach and I as the JASM had to step in and take over the activity. I was not irritated about it because he let me take charge of the group but the scout should have known that he was not comfortable with the skill and (A) should have not accepted to job assignment or (B) should have asked for assistance in preparing the activity. Everything except for this including the pack inspections went great. We did not have any major gear issues which is a great thing for the Troop.

Yours in Scouting Service
Mark W
Junior Assistant Scoutmaster
Troop 1616

Mothers Day

The Scouter's Wife and the Scout's Mother

If your laundry routine includes inspecting for red shoulder tabs ... you might be a Scouter's wife or a Scout's mother.

If a dab of Coleman fuel behind each ear is more alluring to your husband than Chanel No. 5 ... you might be a Scouter's wife.

If your laundry routine includes inspecting for blue cards in shirt pockets .. you might be a Scout's mother.

If a Thursday night family dinner consists of Whoppers in the car in the church parking lot .. you might be a Scouter's wife and a Scout's mother.

If you cook a nice pot roast for supper for the Scoutmaster because he came straight from work to a PLC meeting at your house, and then heat up the leftovers for your husband when he gets home, ... you might be a Scouter's wife.

If your only real vacation in 5 years involves driving from Maryland to Philmont with a carload of boys ... you might be a Scouter's wife.

If your husband plans a "night out with the boys", and you know that it will be a night _outdoors_ with boys ... you might be a Scouter's wife.

If your most memorable vacation with your husband was being the only woman in a crew of nine men and boys on the Allagash River in Maine .. you might be a Scouter's wife.

If you spend your honeymoon wearing green shorts and knee socks ... you might be a new Scouter's wife.

If your husband mutters in his sleep about a ticket, and you know we hasn't just caught speeding .. you might be a Scouter's wife.

If you've converted your dining room into an office, and your garage looks like L.L. Bean's attic .. you might be a Scouter's wife.

If your husband's tan line starts just above his knees, and ends three inches below his knees ... you might be a Scouter's wife.

If you have shelves of coffee mugs, and you don't drink coffee ... you might be a Scouter's wife.

If your best china cup has a 1865 Camporee logo on it .. you might be a Scouter's wife.

If your husband has disappeared, and you know you can always find him at Price Club trying to get a deal on #10 cans of peaches for cobbler ... you might be a Scouter's wife.

If you tell your husband you are expecting to hear the pitter-patter of little feet, and he thinks the PLC meeting is at your house tonight ... you might be a Scouter's wife.

If your husband brings home three rolls of red-white-and-blue ribbon to be sewn into Mothers' ribbons, and says "Don't worry, the Court of Honor isn't until tomorrow night and we only need 15 made" .. . and you don't have a sewing machine ... and you get it done ... you might be a Scouter's wife.

If you just _know_ that the sun room will be finished, right after the next Goshen Bears workend ... you might be a Scouter's wife.

If your family car seats 8, even though there are only 4 in your family ... you might be a Scouter's wife.

If the money collected for your memorial is used to but an air compressor for Scout Camp, and everyone thinks that is just right ... you were a Scouter's wife.

If you keep your Mother's ribbon, with the Eagle pin, with you _forever_, .. you were a Scouter's mother.

Copywrite: Chuck & Nancy May, June 1996.

Congratulations to all those mothers of Scouts and Wifes of Scouters for all your family members to participate and share the gift of scouting with the rest of the world. Without you their would be no scouting community. Thank you Very much.

I wanted to especially thank my own mom, Jennifer.

Yours in Scouting Service
Mark W
Junior Assistant Socutmaster
Troop 1616

Picture of the Week

Reminder: Get out There and Do a Good Turn Daily

Quote of the Week

Quote 1
If youth are denied opportunities to test their own strength, then the leadership foundation will be weak and unready. Equally as serious, however, is thrusting unprepared youth leaders into situations in which they fail because the demands of that situation exceed their experience and capacity. -- Robert L. Backman (Ensign, July 1973, p 84)

Quote 2
One hundred years from now it will not matter what your bank account was, the sort of house you lived in, or the kind of car you drove; but the world may be different because you were important in the life of a child.- Author Unkown

Yours in Scouting Service
Mark W
Junior Assistant Scoutmaster
Troop 1616

After Meeting Review

After Meeting Review Troop 1616
May 6, 2008

The meeting on May 6, 2008 went fine. The one person who was suppose to run the dutch oven activity did not show up and did not contact me about why they did not show up to the meeting that night. I decided to investigate this issue on Wednesday and found out that it was due to family matters. I was perfectly fine with the the reason why the scout was not able to attend but was slightly disappointed that the scout did not call to inform me about his decision not to attend. The reason why this is important is because what if I was depending on that activity to take up the majority of the meeting, what would I do especially if I had no preparation time for the activity, I can't just cancel the meeting but would be placed in a very hard position. I am not saying that I do not accept that scouts will miss meetings even when they are assigned a specific job but the point I am getting across is that communication between me and scout would have gone a long ways in preventing this situation from developing. The meeting went fine and I split the time between the other two activities. Those two activities were the meal plan for the district camporee which is coming up on the 16 and 17 of may and the other activity was that of a first aid demonstration. I decided not to do a relay which was the original plan due to the fact that only 4 scouts showed up. I know that this seems too small to hold a meeting but the average Troop meeting usually has approximately 10 scouts anyway. In the first aid demonstration I focused on the treatment of fractures. I walked the scouts through upper arm, lower arm, upper leg, lower leg, wrist, and ankle fractures. I did not do neck and spine suspected fractures because those are advanced first aid skills, which do not need to be taught at the boy scout level especially when most of the scouts attending the meeting were not even Tenderfoot Rank yet. The scout who was chosen to lead the meal planning and that person is Zach did a average job in leading the activity. The one thing I think that Zach needs to work on is engaging the really young scouts in planning and logistics and activities. Everybody dislikes these activities but they are necessary in order to ensure the smooth flow of information to the Troop.

Yours in Scouting Service
Mark W
Junior Assistant Scoutmaster
Troop 1616

Quote of the Week

Leadership consists not in degrees of technique but in traits of character; it requires moral rather than athletic or intellectual effort, and it imposes on both leader and follower alike the burdens of self-restraint.
- Lewis H. Lapham

Meeting Review

After Meeting Review Troop 1616
April 29, 2008

This meeting for me was a little bit more stressful and I did not act very mature at the very beginning when my parents dropped me off because I was irritate and frustrated at my parents for being behind schedule for my standards and about the stressful situation that I was walking into. I snapped at the beginning of the meeting and apologize for that immature behavior. I will work on expressing stress in a more mature way in the next couple of week.s It should not have again.

After that blow up at the beginning of the meeting I was able to regain control of the situation and everything worked out according to plan. Tony who was serving as a Senior Patrol Leader for the week did a wonderful job at completing his job. I should have given him more time to prepare the fire building contest or I should have made sure that he was more comfortable with the situation by asking him more questions during the phone conversation before the meeting about how the meeting needs to work. This is my responsibility and Tony did not have any fault and did a excellent job during the meeting. I was only able to do the opening ceremony, announcements, and the closing ceremony due to the fact that our scoutmaster was not present and we needed someone who was fairly familiar with the summer camp program at camp gorsuch. Basically it came down to the fact that I was probably the most informed about this year's summer camp beside our scoutmaster because I and the scoutmaster have been conversing heavily about this subject.

Thanks to Tony and the other adult leaders who made this meeting possible. I apologize again for the blow up at the beginning of the meeting which was totally unecessary after reviewing the situation. Sometimes I just get too caught up in the fine details and forget the big picture.

Yours in Scouting Service
Mark W
Junior Assistant Scoutmaster
Troop 1616

PLC Meeting

Patrol Leaders Council Meeting
April 27, 2008

This Patrol Leaders Council meeting is the first youth based planning meeting this Troop has had for a long time. The reason this occurred this way was because of the fact that the adults did not want to give as much power to the youth as they should have. I am not going to name specific people at fault but the fact remains that not letting the youth do their job as a member of the Patrol Leader's Council is the same as just giving out requirements. I do not believe the youth are at fault because the adults allowed this to happen because they felt the youth leaders that were used were not capable in their position but I have found that fact to be untrue. Back to the meeting, the PLC group accomplished planning 5 meetings and assigning tasks to the various people who could easily complete the assignment. This took approximately a 1 and 40 minutes to complete. The other 20 minutes of the 2 hour PLC meeting was spent working on outing issues and upcoming important dates briefing.

Yours in Scouting Service
Mark W
Junior Assistant Scoutmaster
Troop 1616

Scout-O-Rama

Scout-O-Rama
April 26, 2008

Well this previous saturday morning I woke up to find that 4 inches of new snow had accumulated on the ground, my Troop was suppose to do a outside display of a pioneering tower for this promotional scouting event. The fortunate thing for the Troop was just as we were finishing clearing the snow off the mall parking lot, the mall manager who is a really nice guy shows up and offers that as long as we put down tarps on the carpet we can build the pioneering tower inside. For me this was absolutely fabulous because it meant that my stress level could go way down. The reason why my stress level went down was because I did not have to worry about a slippery surface or cold weather. Throughout the day I basically served as a critiquor and safety officer instead of actually building the tower. The reason why they had me do this was because of the fact that I was the most senior scout at the event. The SPL did not show up to the event so the running of the event fell to me as the JASM.

Troop 1616 Meeting Review
April 24, 2008

This nights meeting overall was a success because of the fact that each person performed their job as they should have. The adults barely made any comments or only made comment when asked by the youth leaders. I as the JASM was incharge due to a extended absence from the SPL, our Troop currently does not have a ASPL but is going to get one as soon as the SPL comes back, this ASPL will serve in that position for a month or two and then will become the SPL for the Troop. The reason why that person should be ASPL for a month or two is to get experience in the position of a senior leader of the Troop. This meeting was the final prep meeting for Scout-O-Rama which is coming up on this coming saturday. I hope a fair amount of people show up because of the fact that the unit has spent a fair amount of time planning and preparing for this event.

Yours in Scouting Service
Mark W
Junior Assistant Scoutmaster
Troop 1616

A Eagle's Charge

The Eagle Scout Charge

The foremost responsibility of an Eagle Scout is to live with honor. To an Eagle Scout, honor is the foundation of all character. He knows that "A Scout is trustworthy" is the very first point of the Scout Law for good reason. An Eagle Scout lives honorably, not only because honor is important to him but because of the vital significance of the example he sets for other Scouts. Living honorably reflects credit on his home, his church, his troop, and his community. May the white of the Eagle badge remind you to always live with honor.

The second obligation of an Eagle Scout is loyalty. A Scout is true to his family, Scout leaders, friends, school, and nation. His loyalty to his troop and brother Scouts makes him pitch in and carry his share of the load. All of these help to build the loyalty which means devotion to community, to country, to one's own ideals, and to God. Let the blue of the Eagle badge always inspire your loyalty.

The third obligation of the Eagle Scout is to be courageous. Courage has always been a quality by which men measure themselves and others. To a Scout, bravery means not only the courage to face physical danger, but the determination to stand up for the right. Trusting in God, with faith in his fellowman, he looks forward to each day, seeking his share of the world's work to do. Let the red in the Eagle badge remind you always of courage.

The fourth obligation of an Eagle Scout is to be cheerful. To remind the Eagle Scout to always wear a smile, the red, white, and blue ribbon is attached to the scroll of the Second Class Scout award, which has its ends turned up in a smile.

The final responsibility of an Eagle Scout is service. The Eagle Scout extends a helping hand to those who still toil up Scouting's trail, just as others helped him in his climb to the Eagle. The performance of the daily Good Turn takes on a new meaning when he enters a more adult life continuing service to others. The Eagle stands as protector of the weak and helpless. He aids and comforts the unfortunate and the oppressed. He upholds the rights of others while defending his own. He will always "Be Prepared" to put forth his best.

You deserve much credit for having achieved Scouting's highest award. But wear your award with humility, ever mindful that the Eagle Scout is looked up to as an example. May the Scout Oath and the Scout Law be your guide for tomorrow and onward.

Borrow from- scoutingaround.com

Yours in Scouting Service
Mark W
Junior Assistant Scoutmaster
Troop 1616

April Outing Review

April Outing- Hidden Lake Campground
April 18 and 18, 2008
Friday April 18, 2008

The Troop meet at the Soldotna Church of Christ which is our charter organization at 5 pm. After determining that the baxter family was either going to arrive late friday night or early saturday morning the Troop leadership made the decision to depart. The Troop departed from the church at 5:30 pm and were all on site by 6:30 pm. Site setup began after we arrived, I would probably have liked the adults to give the youth more space for figuring out how to setup the tent as a group but other than that setup for the Troop went great. After that we had a dinner of hamburgers and hotdogs which were cooked by two youngers scouts. After dinner the Troop hung out around the fire or went exploring until it became to dark to be considered safe. At 10:30 I met with the other three older scouts on the outing and told them that they would each be mentoring a younger scout during the lashings and tower building exercise tomorrow morning and then that the older scouts expect me would have the afternoon to do whatever they want while the new young scouts started work on some basic advancement skills.

Saturday April 19, 2008

The leadership group got up at 6:15 am and woke the rest of the Troop up at 6:30 am. wakeup went fairly smoothly which surprised because the standard wake up time for the Troop is a lot later than this. After this we had younger scouts supervised by me cook breakfeast. This cooking of breakfeast went according to plan and were done on time which was important due to the amount of time it took to finish the lashings activity. I served as a floater walking around the structure the troop was trying to lash together providing insights and information to the rest of the group. Each younger scout would work with the other older scouts to ensure that the lashing was done properly. This activity went fine and I was surprised and impressed by how much Zach stepped up and show leadership and expertise to the rest of the scouts. This showing of leadership this weekend made me realize how dedicated and committed to serving younger scouts Zach is. This person has now shown that he is not only able but willing to help others especially younger members when called upon. Don't get me wrong I was impressed with Tyler and Tony but Zach really stood out based on their performance levels. Hopefully Zach's example will continue to be a positive example for the Troop to follow. The major issue was with a young scout that I will call "Youngling A" even though this is not the person's name it most appropriate because unfortunately I am going to have to criticize. The problem with youngling A is that if you were not exactly on time or with his idea of things are suppose to be run this person would become slightly rude or abnoxious. To me this is somewhat normal for the new scout to exhibit but should be rectified because it makes the doer's life and the leader's life a little rougher than should. Even though it is somewhat of a normal pattern to new scouts i am not saying that it is a appropriate or mature thing to do. Other than this, their were no other major leadership or behavioral issues.

Yours in Scouting Service
Mark W
Junior Assistant Scoutmaster
Troop 1616

April 15, 2008

After Meeting Review Troop 1616
April 15, 2008

The reason why this after meeting review is a full week late is due to me being sick over the weekend and being busy doing homework and working on campout preparation activities. The two goals for the meeting were pack inspections. I really need to probably spend some more time training the older scouts about how to conduct pack inspections but their were not major issues that I saw that could have come up, so I guess it went okay. Probably for quality next time we need to spend at least an additional ten minutes working on pack inspections but other than that it went fine. Next came lashings practice and review. Unfortunately I had to be pulled out for palm rank advancement but was their for the first half and the first half went perfectly fine. Need to figure out a better length for rope when typing lashings with the thicker styles of logs we are going to be using.

Yours in Scouting Service
Mark W
Junior Assistant Scoutmaster
Troop 1616

Uniform Stories and Their Purpose

Some Stories about Wearing the Uniform

Story #1:
We were searching for a youth hostel in Lyon, France. We were dressed in class A uniforms. We were confused and must have looked it. A woman approached us and said her son was a Scout and asked if we needed help. I told her the address we were looking for. She tried explaining it to me, but the directions were complicated. She finally smiled and said "Follow me". She literally took me by the hand, and rode with us on the subway, transferred once to another train, and put us on the correct bus, telling the bus driver where we were to get off, and drawing me a walking map of how to get to the hostel from the bus stop. She really went out of her way to help us. We all thanked her as she disappeared into a crowd. I call her the "Unknown Mom" who helped a Scoutmaster and his Scouts (lost in a "mental fog") find their way. Without the uniforms, she probably would have never approached us.

Story #2:
While on a two week trip in Mexico, we were riding on a train when a large group of Mexican Scouts boarded. They were in full uniform, we were not in uniform at the time. They brushed past us. We were saving our uniform for the jet ride home (We'd already worn them a few days earlier). We went into the next car and put on our Scout shirts. One Mexican Scout saw us and soon we had 40 Mexican Scouts swarming all around us wanting to trade patches and talk with us. Instant friends within seconds.

Story #3:
We were attending a Bruce Springstein concert "Born in the USA", in a park in Paris, France. We were in full class A uniforms hoping Bruce might spot us in the crowd (we were only 30' from right center stage) and also because we were born in the USA and wanted everyone to know it. Some chemically altered concert attendee decided it would be cute to rip the American flag off the shirt of one of our Scouts. When he realized he was surrounded by American Scouts and Scouters, he sheepishly grinned, apologized, and quietly retreated into the crowd.

Story #4:
In Rome, Italy we had stopped one evening for pizza on our way to the Trevi fountain. I thought it would be fun to see the Trevi Fountain lit up at night (we had seen it in daylight the previous day). We were in class A uniforms. This was just days after an American TWA jetliner had been hijacked from the airport in Athens, Greece in 1985. Fringe groups were coming out of the woodwork with anti-American demonstrations. As we ate our pizza some American college students saw our Scout shirts and came over to converse with us. We talked of the recent crisis and about some anti-American sentiment that was surfacing. The students said they were leaving Rome after dinner because they were afraid. I asked them why. They said one of the reasons was the anti-American rally taking place that night at the plaza surrounding Trevi Fountain. My Scouts turned and looked at me questioningly. I decided it would be a better idea to skip Trevi Fountain that night and stay at the hotel writing post cards and watching American re-runs on TV (dubbed in Italian).

Wearing the uniform overseas can be a positive or negative experience, depending on the circumstances. I have always had overwhelmingly positive experiences, with just a few potentially bad ones.

We always wear class A's on airline flights.

-- Thanks to Cliff Golden, Scoutmaster Troop 33; DeKalb, Illinois

Uniforms are not always the most comfortable or cool thing to wear but let me remind you of something. Would you as athlete show up to a game without your uniform if you wanted to play, of course not. So why do you choose to show up to the meeting without one

Yours in Scouting Service
Mark W
Junior Assistant Scoutmaster
Troop 1616

17 Easy Ways to Destroy a Organization

Ways to Kill Almost Any Organization

1. Don't attend meetings, but if you do, arrive late.
2. Be sure to leave before the meeting is closed.
3. Never have anything to say at the meeting - wait until you get outside.
4. When at the meeting, vote to do everything, then go home and do nothing.
5. The next day, find fault with the officers and other members.
6. Take no part in the organization's affairs.
7. Be sure to sit in the back, so you can talk freely to another member.
8. Get all the organization will give you, but don't give the organization anything.
9. Never ask anyone to join the organization.
10. At every opportunity, threaten to resign and try to get others to also.
11. Talk cooperation, but don't cooperate.
12. If asked to help, say you don't have time.
13. Never read anything pertaining to the organization.
14. Never accept an office - it is easier to criticize than do things.
15. If appointed to a committee, never give any time or service to it.
16. If there are finances to pay, just ignore it.
17. Don't do anymore than you have to, and, when others willingly and unselfishly use their ability to help the good cause along, then complain that the organization is run by a clique.

Why does it always seem easier to destroy the organization than make it work. The reason this is, is because of the fact that all you have to do to destroy a organization is to disassociate and fight every decision made which is easier than working on a goal that is going to require so much work from yourself.

Yours in Scouting Service
Mark W
Junior Assistant Scoutmaster
Troop 1616

Picture of the Week

Supper Cheerful Scout- "The Scouting Syndrome"

(Cartoon from- Knots or Not Cartoons via the USSP Website)

Yours in Scouting Service
Mark W
Junior Assistant Scoutmaster
Troop 1616