Defining Our Best... Providing a Moral Compass

If asked to lead... where would you go? On what would you focus? Would each step be sure? Would your goal be clear? Leading is a dynamic challenge with innumerable facets. Direction, pace, reason, method, example, and many others. Each demands communication to those that follow; a leader must convey message with meaning. Each is a chance for success or failure. The criticality of that result is never greater than when faced with leading boys and young men. Failure is not an option, since the measure of results will come years later when a young boy has become a man and is faced with a challenge. At that point, he will need his best. Only that best won’t be something he can develop then, at that moment. His best will have been defined and bred in his earlier years by great leaders.

For over 100 years, scouting programs have instilled in youth the values found in the Scout Oath and Scout Law. Today, these values are just as relevant in helping youth grow to their full potential as they were in 1910. Scouting helps youth develop academic skills, self-confidence, ethics, leadership skills, and citizenship skills that influence their adult lives. A scouting program doesn’t include a “how to” guide for living, growing, or behaving. It doesn’t provide boys or adults with a set of rules for living well. What is does provide is an opportunity for great leaders to provide a moral compass today for guiding tomorrow’s men through challenges tomorrow. It plants a seed of justice, of self-assurance, of respect and faith. It provides best-practice activities, events, goals, and youth program methods culled from over 100 years of men taking an interest in the development of boys and leading them to great achievements. The sons of Pack 44 are in good hands... no, they’re in great

hands. They’re in a program lead by loving parents, strong leaders, and a community different for all the right reasons. They’re part of a group with special traditions and unique opportunities. The Pack has undergone significant transformation over the last several years, and particularly within the last six to eight months. It’s poised to catapult forward on that progress, and I’m glad that we’re all a part of it. Our leadership roster is filled with energized parents, many of which are long-term or lifetime Scouters. Administrative procedures have tightened up, leveraging the experience of Council, District, and Stuttgart Community Leaders. Pack finances and fund raising are well established to provide the fiscal support to a first-class Scout program. In short... Pack 44 has defined our BEST and it’s healthier than ever!

Lord Baden Powell, Founder and Chief Scout of the Scout Movement

Pack 44Cubmasters’ Vision

Böblingen, GermanyScout Year 2013/14

“When a boy finds someone who takes an interest in him, he responds and follows.”

Scout Year 2013/14 Goals

• Safety for everyone, everywhere, all the time.

• quality scouting program focused on youth adventure

• Family focus with increased emphasis on reverence

• Identity & Sense of Community

• Annual programming

• Regular Communication

Scout Year 2013/14... Our VisionSafely Expanding Adventure Opportunities: The best part of Scouting is leaping down from just a little higher,

hiking just a little farther, and trying something never imagined. Cubmasters of Pack 44 want that to happen often, and we’ll lay out a program year that provides our Scouts more opportunities to do just that. While doing so, our key focus will always remain the complete safety of all Scouts and their families. A safe environment can provide every boy the best opportunity to find the spirit of adventure inside himself.

God, Country, Family and Scouters: The Cub Scout Promise provides cornerstones on which boys can build a strong moral character. It compels Scouts to do their best, particularly in their religious beliefs, their duty to family, and their relationships with others. The program is designed around giving boys the chance to participate in individual and small group activities in each of these areas. The guidance of Pack 44 Parents and Leaders will ensure these activities are focused, understood and uniquely personal. This next Scout year, our program will include an increased emphasis on reverence to help light a moral compass our sons can carry for life. We’ll help them build their own character. After all... character counts.

Me, Us, and Them: Our Community is different. Scouts are different. Each boy is different. But in the collective difference of those elements, Pack 44 Scouts have binding similarities. They’re fraternal, acceptedly faith-based, earth- and outdoor-focused, and uniquely citizenship driven. The Scouting Program unites boys in measurably stronger ways using an understanding of self difference and a spirit of citizenship that’s historically definable. More than a quarter of military service academy graduates are Scouts, almost 40% of the 112th Congress were Scouts, more than half of all U.S. Astronauts were Scouts, and our Nation has been led by five Scout Presidents(1). Why? Because they’re different. They’re better. They’re Scouts. Pack 44 Cubmasters believe there is good in that difference. We believe it’s OK to have a healthy understanding of difference while respecting qualities and characteristics that do not match. Our program will increase ways that boys can fairly experience being a part of something different. Self-designed den flags, unique roll call yells, more skits, and an increased number of cross-rank pack activities. We’ll discover a spirit of difference and bring it to light. We’ll celebrate being Scouts.

Develop a Plan and Plan for Developments: Pack 44 Cubmasters believe planning is the key to success and the only means to develop mitigation strategies against unforeseen developments. Later this spring we will host a 2013/14 Program Meeting with a goal of developing a calendar of events for the entire scout year; Pack Leaders will be critical participants, and all parents will be invited to observe. We’ll finalize administrative procedures, crunch through budget forecasting, draft Pack Bi-Laws, and confirm leader availability. Then we’ll focus on the important part. Program Development. Pinewood Derby, Bowl-A-Thon, campouts, Scout Sunday, Pack Meetings, and all of the behind-the-scenes support events required to establish a dynamic, flexible first-class program. Getting them on the Pack Calendar will help Scouts understand their opportunities, parents plan family time and support, and Pack Leaders prepare for making each activity successful. Once done, Leaders will communicate with the Pack. You’ve seen our new Newsletter - that’s a start. An improved web presence will follow, along with more frequent Facebook posts and den-focused updates. It’s about moving from wondering what’s next to anticipating it. Because what’s next... is great.

Thank you: We’d like to extend our gratitude for allowing us the privilege of leading your sons. We’re excited to be a part of Pack program changes, but also don’t want to drive forward alone. We encourage all parents to help us understand what you believe is best for Pack 44 Scouts. Please don’t hesitate to send us an e-mail.

“The spirit is there in every boy; it has to be discovered and brought to light.”Lord Baden Powell, Founder and Chief Scout of the Scout Movement

(1) Source: http://www.scouting.org/About/FactSheets/ScoutingFacts.aspx

Your Pack 44 Cubmaster Team

Rob Post, CM Scott Matthews, ACM

Kelly Just, ACM Bill Coffey, ACM pack.44.cubmasters@gmail.com