In February (refer to my Mid-Feb column) David Rice, a DE in Illowa Council, IL, had asked: “What would District Commissioners and Unit Commissioners like to receive from their District Executive?” I responded, and David wrote back to give me some background on why he’d asked that particular question… Dear Andy, Thank you for your […]

Here’s a question asked of our Webmaster and long-time Scouter, Michael Bowman, and his excellent—in my opinion—answer: Our Pack is rather large, and therefore unable to present all awards and advancements during a Pack meeting. Because of this, our Den Leaders are presenting Bobcats, recognition beads & various other awards within the Den meetings. Do […]

Here’s another request that I’m delighted to honor… Dear Andy, I’m seeking permission to use excerpts from your column as part of my training course. I’ll be teaching “US 203–Just for ADC’s” at our University of Scouting, and I’d like to use some of the questions-and-answers in your column as discussion points. (Theodore Kakowski, CS […]

Dear Andy, Does a Scout have to have a Court of Honor to get his Eagle? I have Scout who doesn’t want a Court of Honor; he just wants to get it and not make a big deal over it. But he’s being told he must have Court of Honor. (Percy Shackles, Missouri) A Boy […]

I started this column just over two years ago, and since then, my notoriety’s been spreading. A number of councils around the country are reproducing this column or parts of it on a regular basis on their websites or in their printed newsletters. I’m honored that this is happening. Here are two of the more […]

The other day, Mike Bowman, our esteemed Webmaster, was asked an “Ask Andy”-type question that he shared with me, along with his outstanding response – a response definitely worth repeating. So, here it is… Mike – Our Troop seems to have more and more Scouts who are coming back after a year or two of […]

Hi Andy, I need a clarification and some sort of written policy guidelines to back up what you said about owning unit equipment in your October issue (#18)… Back when I went through our local council Commissioner’s College in the early 90’s, the question of ownership of Troop equipment came up but it was answered […]

Dear Andy, I’m in California, and I’ve heard there’s a new “Tri-Challenge Award,” sponsored by the Ventura County Council (California) High Adventure Team. I’ve not been able to find much information on how to qualify for this award. The HAT site at http://www.vccbsa.org/ didn’t list any awards at all. Can you point me to any […]

Bright as a penny, the brand-new Boy Scout, in his crisp new Scout uniform, came to his first Troop meeting. He had just graduated from his Cub Scout Pack, where he had earned his Arrow of Light, now proudly sewn by his mom to the bottom of his left shirt pocket. And he was ready. […]

“THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED” I’m not sure what day it was, or even whether it happened on a single day or not. But, somewhere, somehow, the music died. My “Scouting career” spans more than 50 years – but there’s a “hole” in the middle of more than twenty years between when I joined as […]