A Scoutmaster's Blog

The Central Minnesota Council has had a nice incentive to donate a certain amount of money over the last several years during their Friends Of Scouting (FOS) campaigns. Each year they had a special council shoulder patch designed featuring a point of the Scout Law. This year, 2019, this patch set came to an end with the Reverent patch.

I like the patch set overall, although there were a few years I did not care for the patch. There were three years the council came up with printed patches instead of sown patches. I am sure they were trying to save a buck but I think the plan backfired. After those three years they went back to the sown patches. I bet they received quite a few complaints about the “cheap” council strips.

I wonder if they will continue some sort of patch set during the upcoming years. I am a patch collector so a new patch always catches my eye.

What do you think of the Scout Law patch set? Has your council done something similar to this? Let us know by leaving a comment.

This year marks the eleventh year that the Central Minnesota Council has created a special council shoulder patch, featuring a point of the Scout Oath, as an incentive for their annual Friends of Scouting campaign. Of course, that means the point used this year is Clean. A bar of soap with the words “Scout Clean” is the focal point of the patch.

I have collected these patches since they began, placing them in my three ring binders. A few of the Boy Scouts of Troop 68 wear one on their uniform. We are already wondering what next year’s “Reverent” patch is going to look like.

Does your council create special patches for their Friends of Scouting drives? What have they recently done as a theme for the patch? Leave your answer as a comment below.

Friends of Scouting. The annual visit of a council representative to troops and packs throughout the country. The annual visit for the council to ask parents and families to help with the expenses at the district and council level. Some units welcome the council representatives with open arms. Other units, not so much.

I do not mind the F.O.S. visits. I understand the need for the council to visit the units. Oh, there have been a few times over the last few decades that I was upset with the council for one reason or another and almost told them they could forget coming to our troop court of honor, but I never denied them the opportunity to talk to the parents.

There is one thing I look forward to seeing whenever it is time for the Friends of Scouting campaign. I am always curious to see what the incentives will be to entice people to donate at the various levels. The right incentive could just boost that donation up to the next level after all.

The Central Minnesota Council offered a different framed Normal Rockwell print for several years in the 1990’s and early 2000’s. I collected them all. The mugs and tumblers really did not grab my attention very well.

This is the tenth year the the council has offered a special council should patch (csp) for meeting the first level of incentives. Each year has featured a different point of the Scout Law. This being the tenth year so the patch features the theme Brave.

As a collector of shoulder patches this FOS patch has always had my attention. I like the look of this year’s patch. The red color will really stand out on the Boy Scout uniform sleeve, and I like the action picture of Scouts white water rafting. I do not wear these patches on my uniform. I place them in a three ring binder with the other council patches of the Central Minnesota Council and the Noguonabe Lodge that I have collected over the past 40 years.

What does your council offer during its annual Friends of Scouting campaigns? Do they offer any special patches?

Several years ago the Central Minnesota Council added a new incentive to the annual Friends Of Scouting (FOS) campaign. If you met a certain donation level you would receive a specially designed council shoulder patch (CSP). Each year would feature a different point of the Scout Law. Twelve points meant twelve patches that could be collected. Being the patch collector that I am, I was hooked from the very first year.

This year marks the ninth year of this promotion so the 2016 patch has Thrifty as its theme. The csp features a vintage Boy Scout at the bank, ready to add some money to his saving account. There is a “ghost” design on the left side of the patch of a squirrel ready to store his acorn for future use. Even the animal kingdom practices being thrifty.

This means there are only three years left of the Scout Law council shoulder patches. I wonder what the design of the next one, Brave, will look like.

Other incentives of this year’s Central Minnesota Council FOS drive included an electronics cleaning cloth, a Ripley Rendezvous water bottle or frisbee, and an Eagle Scout statuette.

Tonight is Cub Scout Pack 68’s Blue and Gold Banquet. It will be the first one I have attended in five years. Not because I did not want to attend any, but because there have not been any Webelos Scouts to crossover. That, and I was not invited to the last few of them.

I will be attending this year’s event. There still are not any Webelos Scouts to crossover, but the Boy Scouts and I have some things to do. The Boy Scouts will be assisting with the opening and closing ceremonies since the Cub Scouts have not had any time to practice.

I have three reasons to attend the banquet. First, of course, is to present a troop presence along with the Boy Scouts. The second is to present a slideshow I made featuring the pictures I took during the den meetings and Pinewood Derby. I think the boys and parents will get a chuckle out of it. The third reason is to talk about Friends of Scouting. I volunteered to give this presentation to save our district executive a trip to town. He will be coming next week to talk at the troop’s court of honor.

I hope things go well during the Blue and Gold banquet. I also hope the pack holds together and continues to grow. It would be nice to see some Webelos Scouts crossover in a few years.

100 Days of Scouting: Day 43.