The Webelos Den Leader’s letter that appeared in my Mid-August column sparked considerable interest, and letters! Here are some very interesting additional points-of-view… Dear Andy, About that Webelos Den Leader, one more item: Where was their Unit Commissioner in all of this? There are so many avenues of help for this leader, I have to […]

Just in case you’re a last-minute traveler, here’s a great letter just received, about Hawaii – Dear Andy, Just read the latest issue of your GREAT online publication, and thought I should provide some information for Scouts and families coming to visit Hawaii – Yes there are awards that Scouts can earn in Hawaii – […]

NEWS FLASH: SCOUTS DON’T “BOO”! I read in the newspaper the other day that, when it was announced that President Bush would be unable to attend the Scout National Jamboree on a predetermined day, due to storm and lightning activity in the area, Scouts were heard to “boo,” even though this was merely a postponement; […]

Hello Andy, I need help for with a merit badge for summer camp. For Oceanography, requirement 7b. I understand the series of models, but I don’t get how to show the growth of an atoll from a fringing reef through a barrier reef and how to describe the Darwinian theory of coral reef formation. I […]

Dear Andy, I’m a pretty new Scoutmaster, and striving to create structure in the Troop. But I have adult leaders putting their two-cents-worth in, without being willing to step up and ask what they can do to help me out. Secondly, I have one adult leader who’s been going against the grain—All he does is […]

I wasn’t five minutes into my first visit with a new Troop I had been asked to cover as a Commissioner when Ed, their Scoutmaster, started bragging… “Yep, Andy, this Troop’s advancement-focused. Why, we have merit badge classes right in our Troop meetings, and every time we go on a hike or campout, we tell […]

The Webelos Scout who didn’t visit a Troop with his Den and consequently didn’t complete the requirements for his Arrow of Light continues to be on your mind! Here are some more Scouters’ thoughts on this… Dear Andy, I was reading in your April ’05 issue about the concern for visiting a Troop. Is it […]

Hi Andy, Is there a written restriction that disallows a Pack Committee Chairman from being it’s sister Troop’s Scoutmaster? (Jim Viser, UC, Colonial Virginia Council, Suffolk, VA) Yup, there sure is a “written restriction” on being chair of one unit and SM of another… It’s called…(are your ready)…divorce papers! Actually, despite the significant negative impact […]

Hi Andy, First, I want to thank you for your informative column. I’ve learned many things here that I’d think I should have learned in leader training, but didn’t! My question has to do with the appropriateness of a specific service project that was recently promoted by our Troop’s ASM. Our state law now makes […]

Nope, ol’ Andy here hasn’t been “on vacation,” although that’s never a bad idea! If you’re a regular reader, you know that our Website’s server “died” and our estimable and stalwart Webmaster, Mike Bowman, needed to find a replacement and then get it up and running. He’s been successful (in large part thanks to readers […]