SCOUTER Feature:
 . . .the Troop record book represented a living history of
the progress of Scouts . . It also represented hours spent by Scoutmaster and Scribe, with
pen in hand, tracking progress, AND keeping track of the record book. Today, software
replaces the book . . .a comparison of troop recordkeeping software applications is now
available. You can download it here!
by Ed Henderson
At one time virtually
every Troop in America owned and maintained a well worn Troop Record Book. Some were kept
less formally than others, some were hardly kept up at all, but, for others the Troop
record book represented a living history of the progress of Scouts on their way to Eagle.
To this day, I probably have 15 of the old books sitting in a filing cabinet from my days
as Scoutmaster. Sometimes I go back through them and try to remember all of the faces as
though it were a kind of school annual to reflect upon. I look at campouts we held 20
years ago and try to recall all of the memorable incidents and fun times of our Troop.
Old Records
Hints of Future Success
The Record Book
Blues
All I Want For
Christmas Is . . .
Impact of The
Technology Age
The Need for
Evaluation - Looking Ahead
Comparison of
Recordkeeping Software Now Available
Download Comparison
Document
Old
Records Hinted at Future Success
I also note with
satisfaction one of my Eagle Scout who earned his Aviation Merit Badge later went into the
Air Force Academy, participated in Desert Storm, and is now a pilot for Delta Air lines. I
recalled another Scout who was among the first in the nation to earn the Law Merit Badge
when it first came out in the late 1970's. I remember this lad as a 15 year old Scout when
he lobbied all of the attorneys of the local Bar Association persuading them on the need
for a Law Explorer Post. This same Scout is now an Assistant District Attorney. These old
record books, are really books of future success, the Merit Badges these Scouts eagerly
pursued in their youth also served as early indicators for an exciting lifetime career or
favorite hobby.
The
Record Book Blues
Still, those record books
also caused me more than a fair share of grief and headache. I never will forget the time
one got left out in a downpour at a Campout, or the time a catsup bottle leaked all over
one at our Scout hut. On one occasion, I remember tearing apart my house, desperately
looking for the thing for over an hour only to have my Senior Patrol Leader observe to me
that I had it hanging out of my cargo pants pocket of the Scout uniform I was wearing!
Every year, at re-charter
time in December, I would purchase a new copy of this book and dutifully spend hours
transcribing all of the data from the old - by then, well worn - edition into the fresh
new one. It was one way to spend New Year's Day while avoiding all of the football games.
I carefully copied hundreds of Merit Badge dates, leadership records, parent contact info,
etc. as my perfectionist recordkeeping tendenncies took over. I then went back and
highlighted all of the Merit Badges and Progress Awards with a yellow marker to indicate
the badges that we had already ordered & purchased. I had a thick folder with
handwritten Unit Advancement Reports, that I had filled out in triplicate, to obtain the
badges. Six hours later I then pulled out a giant wall poster and began filling it out,
trying to reach 4 feet across the table without wrinkling the new chart.
Both the Scribe and myself
consulted that record book constantly at every campout and meeting. Everyone wanted to
know their latest advancement status. Updating the reports and chart was a never ending
task.
After a decade of this
horse and buggy record keeping system I was growing tired of this annual ritual. Despite
all of this paperwork, the BSA record books were lacking. There was no way to track
advancement partials, adding up days for OA eligibility or Camping Merit Badge, etc. These
were just a few of the many things not engineered into the paper record keeping system.
All I
Want For Christmas Is . . .
When I purchased my first
computer, I remember constantly hoping someone would create a Unit Management
Recordkeeping System for the an Apple//c I owned. No one ever did. By the time the first
Unit Record keeping programs were being marketed, Apples were already on their way out. I
suppose it was those big ads in Scouting Magazine for a MS-DOS version of Troopmaster that
I saw every month that motivated me to finally chunk my Apple and get a IBM Compatible
computer. I strongly hinted to the Troop committee that their Scoutmaster would be a much
happier camper if they "surprised" me with the purchase of that program - which
I got at our December Christmas party one year. A week later I had purchased my own
present with a Windows/DOS PC machine and the very first program I put on the hard drive
was my new Troop Management Software.
Needless to say, by New
Year's eve I was having a blast. I had cranked out so many reports and analysis papers the
kids were in shock when I handed each one a stack of papers, reports & surveys with
all of their advancement, attendance, and other records. The Scouts started asking me if I
was working for the FBI! Two month later when it was Court of Honor time it took me all of
two minutes - not two hours - to print out copies (in triplicate) of our advancement
reports. When the OA election team stopped by, I had a report of who was eligible and how
many days of camping each had.
Impact
of The Technology Age
I look back now, and
wonder how we ever did it the old way. Unit Management Software had freed me from the
burden of hours of mind numbing paperwork. The Personal Growth Agreement Conferences and
Boards of Review are now much more "kid" focused instead of an oral rendition of
all of the latest changes in the record book. The Scout Service Center loves the new
reports. No more chicken scratch - difficult to read carbons, the "shopping
list" summary makes getting the awards so much easier!
In later years, as
District Advancement Chairman, I noted with satisfaction, that nearly every Troop had
stopped using the BSA Advancement Reports - all were now using one of the commercially
available advancement programs. Several Troops were so enchanted with their programs that
they got second hand laptops so they could take their records on campouts and to their
Scout huts.
The Need
for Evaluation - Looking Ahead
Here at SCOUTER we do not
currently offer any Troop Management Software programs on our catalog web site (but we
might soon!) We make no endorsements regarding any of the various half dozen or so
programs that are out on the market, all have their supporters. Generally, and this has
always been the case, Troops will pick their Troop management software based on a
recommendation from another Troop leader they know at a roundtable, or perhaps from
whoever had the largest ad that month in Scouting Magazine. While most of these private
software providers (BSA's Supply Division has never gotten into the Troop Management
Software Business) have demo or shareware versions of their programs on the web, most
leaders did not have the time to try all of the programs for evaluation purposes.
If one goes back through
Scouts-L, Rec.Scouting, or AOL Scout Forum posts over the years there are countless
questions, pleas for recommendations, and comments on these different programs. Several
years ago here at SCOUTER Magazine we did a comparison of these programs in one of our
early issues. Since then, there have been new programs to come on the market and all of
the software companies have since upgraded their versions to reflect the most recent
advancement changes as well as the latest versions of Windows. Even now, these software
providers are working with the BSA's ScoutNet 2000 program to make their programs
compliant. One day, we will see password protected ,web based, Troop records for Scouts to
log on to, as well as the ability to transmit advancement reports to the local Scout
Service Center.
Comparison
of Record Keeping Software Now Available
Recently, Norman Turrill,
a Scoutleader from Troop 203 in Hershey Pennsylvania, decided to tackle, in a Consumer
Reports fashion, a dispassionate examination of these Unit Management Software programs.
He evaluated each at length, determining criterion and evaluating both the program itself,
as well as tech support and any booklets that might accompany the program. We are highly
impressed with his exhaustive research and are proud to offer it on our web site.
We hope this will become a
regular update as new versions are released, and as new players come onto the market. Both
in his evaluation, and in our NetCompass web links below, we offer direct links to these
software providers so Scouters can order these programs and ask questions directly to the
creators of these packages. Soon on this forum, we hope to have discussion lists for each
of the programs mentioned so Scouters can ask questions and post their own views on each
of the programs listed.
Download
Comparison Document
Download Word document Download pdf file.
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