Concerning the topic of Webelos visiting troops: I am experience this right now. My nephew and I are looking at troops in our area to determine which one to join. We have visited four of five so far and this is what we experienced:

1. The fed Troop: This troop is the one our pack "feeds", they also provide all the Den Chiefs for the pack and hosted us at the Klondike Derby this year. One of the committee members greeted us as we entered, gave us some handouts and talked about some of the upcoming events. We all participated in the opening ceremony. My nephew then went off to be involved in a lecture about fishing while the SM greeted the visiting parents and talked about the program, their uniform & clothing donation program for incoming youth, quartermaster inventory, and other aspects of the troop. Possitive: Because the Den Chiefs were familiar to my nephew and we had previously visited for Klondike prep, my nephew was somewhat at ease. It was great to get the information and the assurance that there was alot of equipment that could be borrowed so there was no need to drain the bank account all at once on camp gear. Negative: None of the adult leaders were in uniform.

2. I had sent emails to the SM and CC of four other troops, only two responded, this was one of them. The CC greeted me by name and called over the SPL & ASPL who greeted my nephew. I then was briefly introduced to the SM and an ASM. I was then left to observe as the troop conducted their meeting- lecture, activity, activity, game, activity. Positive: It appeared that they had good structure to their meetings. Also, there were several Webelos that just joined, that helped my nephew feel comfortable. Negative: As a "parent" i did not receive any information beyond what I could observe.

3. I never got an email response from this one. I had to call, and then only got a family member who could not completely confirm the meeting. We were greeted by an ASM who then introduced us to the SM. The troop went about their business and again I was mostly left to observe. They did planning for a campout that weekend, one of the boys who could not attend took my nephew aside and went over some of the Tenderfoot requirements. They then all went outside to play a game. Positive: Great initiative to the boy who worked one-on-one with my nephew. It kept him engaged as troops went about their business. Negative: As a "parent" i did not receive any information beyond what I could observe. Also, there were no other boys my nephews age, I think he was a bit intimidated at first.

4. This was probably the biggest troop of the four, thoughover half were young scouts, eleven and twelve year olds. We were not greeted, we introduced ourselves to someone who looked like an ASM, not sure, couldn't see a uniform. The troop meeting They spent the entirety on planning for a campout that weekend. Positive: Lots of scouts my nephew's age. Negative: I hated that out of the nine older scouts only the SPL, ASPL & TG were in uniform. These boys that were not in uniform were also slouchy in their chairs, were texting on their phones, etc.

So, troops should have an adult to greet visitors as they arrive and turn the youth over to a TG, SPL, or ASPL. Information should be given out and the troop program should be explained. Uniforms are a must.

Hey Doug. So far, my nephew is enjoying all of them. He is pretty easy… Make him laugh at a joke and do something fun, and he's hooked. They've all done that to some extent. My concern right now is gear, we have very little at home. A troop that can help in that respect would reduce the burden. Proximity is important, the second one I described is only blocks away. I think we will eliminate one or two and then revisit the remainders. Sometimes having choices makes things difficult. My two nephews have only been in the program for about a year and they love the social and active elements. I myself grew up in scouting and can attribute many of my values and qualities to Scouting. In the end I have to remember that if we are not happy with our choice we can always transfer.