Re: Advancement Chair and Board of Reviews
Bruce E. Cobern (bec@PIPELINE.COM)
Sat, 22 Nov 1997 17:36:57 -0500
At 01:44 PM 11/21/97 -0600, J/C Porter wrote:
>We frequently have 3 members of the Committee along plus SM and an ASM,
>and we are not a large troop. When we are at summer camp, we use camp
>staff for BOR's and this makes them very memorable. This summer, I
>didn't go to camp with the Troop, I went to Jamboree instead. Well, no
>good deed goes unpunished and for some reason, no one had a BOR at camp.
>As Advancement Chair, I had 8-10 Scouts wanting BOR's when I got back!
>Not a bad problem to have...
>
>If I was on a train and had a Scout ready for a BOR and had only myself
>and one committee member available, I would go up and down the cars and
>find another Scouter to sit on the board. Or a Girl Scouter. Or the
>train engineer. Or the conductor. Or the parent of a Scout. I think
>that's a wonderful memory, and one I would want to help make happen!
Well, obviously you are in a council/district where they DO NOT check the
signatures on advancement reports. (I am also in such a council/district,
so I am not overly concerned with WHO sits on boards.) I know it is a very
common practice for units to use camp staff or Scouters from other troops to
sit on Boards of Review (other than Eagle), but it is NOT allowed, under the
rules. For all boards, other than Eagle, the Advancement Guidelines (page
16 of the 1997 edition provides):
"This board of review is made up of at least three and not more than six
members of the <bold> troop committee </bold>."
Whereas, for Eagle boards it provides (page 17):
"The board of review for an Eagle candidate is composed of a minimum of
three members and a maximum of six members, 21 years of age or older. <bold>
These members do not have to be registered in Scouting, but they must have
an understanding of the importance and purpose of the Eagle board of review
</bold>."
Thus, whereas outsiders can sit on an Eagle board, the other boards MUST be
composed of members of the troop committee. My understanding of this is
that the board is as much to provide the committee with a snapshot of the
functioning of the troop program, as it is to determine the "worthiness" of
the candidate. The board, being members of the committee, can react to
perceived problems and take steps to remedy them. Outsiders have no such
ownership in the unit and are not in a position to act on anything that
comes to light during a board.
I know that we try to make it happen for the Scout as soon as possible, but
we should be doing so within the rules of Scouting.
--
Bruce E. Cobern
mailto:bec@pipeline.com
Terry Howerton Sakima Group, Inc. SCOUTER Magazine Kansas City | 
