Re: Tour Permit forms
(no name) ((no email))
Sat, 19 Dec 1998 03:00:51 -0600
Allan Hytowitz (<Hold2File@AOL.COM>) asked a really great question:
>Our District is requiring that we only use the 1997 Local Tour
>Permit form No. 34426 rather than any previous edition and that
>the signed original be submitted rather than a faxed or Xerox
>copy.
>
>The "rationale" is that the Local Tour Permit is a legal document
>and that only the latest version of the form and a signed original
>is valid.
Yes and no. The BSA, with the new printing of the Local Tour
Permit, has rested on the shoulders of the Local Council Scout
Executive how he or she will receive and process those Tour
Permits.
The Local Tour Permits, for those not familiar, is a one-page form
which is filled out IN ADVANCE of any unit outing, including
camping and activity programming anywhere within the territory of
the local Council. The top part contains information about the
kind of event that the unit is taking part in, where, when, and the
names and addresses and phone numbers of the primary and alternate
adult leadership. This part is retained in a binder at the Council
office, whereby upon receipt of the form, it is reviewed (there are
some places that a local Council has been advised NOT to allow
Scouts to camp or perform any outings at; but for the most part,
they are used to establish stats on the number, types and durations
of camping and outings by units in their Council!), and the bottom
part is signed, stamped with the Council's stamp (if they have one;
most do) and the bottom part is returned to the primary leader who
MUST CARRY THIS LIKE A PASSPORT DOCUMENT during the duration of the
activity or event. After the event is over, the form is filed with
other unit documents (DO NOT THROW THEM AWAY!!!).
There is also a National Tour Permit which is for activities over a
certain mileage (depending on local Council) and must be approved
by the serving Regional office BEFORE commencement of the extended
trip or event. National Tour Permits take anywhere from a day and
a half (if the Region will accept faxed permit applications) to
three weeks; local Tour permits take maybe 20 minutes if that long
to get approved at the local Council level.
Your Council is relatively small compared to other Councils around
you; it would make more sense to snailmail it or carry it into the
office. However, other Councils are so spread out that a regular
mail delivery (not knocking the USPS...they sent me my Christmas
cards to the NEW address on time this year!!!) could take two to
three days! In those cases, they will take a faxed copy of the
Local Tour Permit, approve it, and fax back the signed/stamped
bottom copy to the unit.
(There has been some "testing" of an electronic version, but the
problem is right now with signatures; what was told to me was that
the unit's leader used his BSA registration number as a "signature"
and the local Council used the employee number of the person
approving the Local Tour Permit as the "signature" for the
approval. It seems to *me* that this is a good way to "do the
signoffs" as long as someone on BOTH ENDS are tracking the
"numbers" and "approvals". It's a good "check against" the
official registration data of the local Council. Sounded great,
anyways!)
It's not a "legal document" as it is a "source document" for the
approval of any local outing that your unit takes part in. It is
used in part if a Scout or Scouter gets injured or dies during a
Scouting activity or event, and basically either places the local
Council and the BSA "on the hook" or not, depending on if you've
filed AND COMPLIED WITH the requirements for conducting that type
of activity.
>Other Councils have allowed me to fax in the completed Tour
>Permit, and frequently within minutes I have received faxed back
>an approved copy of my Permit figuring as long as they have the
>completed information on file, the format is secondary.
Not anymore. ALL local Councils will be requiring units to use the
1997 version of the Local Tour Permit form; how they get the
information and send you the portion which is the actual permit is
up to each every local Council. I haven't seen the actual form but
from what I understand from those professionals attending the past
All Hands Conference, the new form is designed to provide more and
essential information about the activity and
participants/leadership.
The new Local Tour Permit form along with other new versions of
existing BSA forms, will be part of that new BSA Boy Scout/Varsity
Scout Leaders' Book. I would definately check with your Council
office to insure that they won't take a faxed copy; and if they
won't no longer, then that's what you'll have to deal with and
*plan accordingly*.
Sorry I can't be of more help than this!
Settummanque!
(c) 1998 Mike Walton ("no such thing as strong coffee,...") blkeagle@mninter.net
http://mninter.net/~blkeagle Burnsville, MN 55306-7130 (612) 435-3085
privately at kyblkeagle@aol.com or waltonm@server.kaiserslautern.army.mil
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