All Activity

Understand that none of the past uniform designs is ever disallowed. Current patches can be added in place of old ones, though really old styles can be difficult. But frankly, when the effort is made, they look really cool, and the youth tend to like them.

We just had a brand new scout join our troop here in NJ, between council($75), national($85) and administrative fee($4.88). The fee to BSA to join was $167.68. Our campout this weekend we are canoeing. Our troop has canoes, but we can't get enough leaders this weekend to shuttle ourselves so we had to hire a shuttle. It's $31 a person for the shuttle and $10 a person to camp (group site at a state park) so we are at $41 each for the weekend and haven't charged for food or supplies yet. So I can see a campout being $71.

A lot of the uniforms I see in thrift shops here are from other councils. A lot of the used uniforms I see are also 1980s era with patches that are no longer part of the program.

Many established reputations have been ruined over time when facts come to light. Not saying anyone here could be hiding something just denial of that possibility is a one-sided way of thought.

A quick check of patches shows a new scout will need about $25 to put patches on a new uniform. Why do they remove all the old patches?

National would never have it, as it would cut down on the sale of new uniforms. Great idea for the scouts, not sure the current cost of a new uniform plus patches.

National should partner with all of the thrift store chains, and other similar stores to have Uniform options for all scouts and even leaders. We have a uniform closet in our church that helps our members, and we share it with other units if they ask. Many of our members are vintage to start, and many stay that way. Before we lost our camp, we always took a box of service caps and a few Smokey hats with us for flag gatherings. Now we use them for occasional local events.

Update Sep 17, 2025: For its 13th year, Scout leaders have set up shop in the Waterville (Maine)Goodwill to collect and distribute partially used uniforms for scouts in need. The donated uniforms are cleaned and have all patches removed, giving any aspiring scouts a clean slate to start their scouting journey. According to Goodwill Leadership, the Waterville Goodwill collects uniforms all year for this event. Kennebec Valley Uniform Bank coordinator, Chris Bernier, says the drive helps eliminate the cost of scouting for a lot of families. "It helps kids who can't afford get their uniforms. It helps them feel included," says Chris Bernier, Kennebec Valley Uniform Bank coordinator, "Especially next to families who can afford a uniform, and we want to make sure everybody feels included in this program, because, y'know, it's a great learning for life organization, and we want kids to be successful." Over the years, this drive has outfitted over 2,000 scouts with uniforms. Source with audio: https://www.foxbangor.com/news/local/scout-leaders-hold-uniform-drive-to-help-with-cost-of-scouting/article_debb2581-a39a-4a28-b252-0823fb58bf0d.html Scout Salute.

They did, they were on transitional charter and lost their hat. This isn't a situation where councils get to just be a 2 yr old and say no. Instead of a merger they're now being absorbed without say in the matter.

Many of us have been active and have developed reputations on this forum long before this discussion. Barry

I am new to this forum. I too am represented by Jeff Anderson & Assoc. I also agreed to a contingency fee. I am also thankful for their counsel. Would you be willing to share what your contingency fee is?

What NY councils are you tracking? Last I heard, Suffolk County Council voted against merger with Theodore Roosevelt Council.

My count is 230 councils with 4 currently known folding/merging into other councils (2 in NY, 2 in CA) right now. You're $57 is a fair market estimate of the cost to support a CE, toss in the cost of the other non district serving professionals (director of field services, director of camping/program, comptroller, staff financial accountant/advisor, registrar, etc ... )and that cost rockets up. The crazy part is that if you review the NAM videos for finance there are only like 20 councils or less that are financially stable, the majority are "stable but in trouble"., about 40 councils are ready to go bankrupt any moment.

I think everyone is on this site. Haters, lovers, perps, survivors, various lawyers and spies for the firms, and everyone in between. Patt_00's lawyer telling him to stay off of here until the case is done was wise advice.

My guess - it could, in part, be the growing blacklist I use to foil bad actors (spammers, brute force attackers,...) or something(s) more. A forum administrator could better analyze the problem than a moderator. @SCOUTER-Terry @Eagle1993

By 12, cancer had stolen his ability to walk, yet Stacy Mitchell II trekked on to earn Eagle. Source with video: https://www.wfaa.com/article/features/cedar-hill-eagle-scout-cancer-diagnosis-overcomes/287-0d846f9e-7499-4ed3-9707-1d73cbd36af6

Why would it have to be a BSA hater? Why couldn't a perpetrator be someone who may have been a long-time scouting member who may be defended the BSA or called what had happened a sign of times and touted that BSA did all the right things? Maybe now they regretted what they had done and expressed remorse by extolling how bad they feel for survivors. Saying a perpetrator would claim to be a victim is just trying to cast bad light on survivors.

Yeah. The site has been super slow to connect for a bit. While other sites and forums will connect and load almost instantly, scouter.com spins. Emptying cache yielded no change.

BSA "haters" would not be trying to deflect blame, though -- they would be doing the opposite.

Logging on issues?? Keeps saying they cannot find the site, or eventually does come up but then drags. Any thoughts or help? Using Windows 11 and Chrome, but also happens with other brousers.

Hard to tell; there were, and still are, BSA haters on the forum who were glad to push facts and unproven statements to make the BSA look bad. Barry

That's a disturbing comment. While not pleasant to think about, it is certainly possible that some of the commentators on this forum over the years probably were involved in some of these cases. It's perhaps good to remember that a tactic of the guilty is to deflect blame elsewhere and weigh comments in that light.

In July of last year, @MYCVAStory shared some information from an attorney by the name of Lawrence Friedman. I'm reposting it. To Survivors who have filed claims in the Boy Scouts bankruptcy case: My name is Lawrence Friedman. I am a former Director of the US Trustee Program. Prior to my appointment to that position, I was a bankruptcy trustee in Detroit where I administered more than 10,000 bankruptcy cases under both Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code. I discovered considerable fraud and abuse in the bankruptcy system, and I began writing and speaking about my findings, ultimately testifying multiple times before the US Senate Subcommittee on proposed reforms to the bankruptcy system. My inside view led to my appointment as the Director of the Program responsible for the oversight of the bankruptcy system. Within 90 days of my appointment, I was faced with the mega bankruptcies of Enron, WorldCom and Adelphia. I immediately championed a change in policy which mandated the appointment of examiners in each of these cases. Examiners bring transparency to the process, and examiners also act as a clearing house for information thus adding efficiencies to the administration of these cases. Since leaving the Department of Justice, I have been increasingly troubled by the use of the bankruptcy system to solve societal problems. My focus is on these mass tort cases where victim Survivors are being victimized again by bad actor tort lawyers. I believe that my team can bring these matters to the attention of the Court and effectively free up more than $70,000,000.00 in funds which these lawyers are claiming in fees and which rightfully should go to Survivors. The explosion of claims within these cases is particularly troubling. I have authored several editorials and white papers on this topic. That said, real change comes from action. I have been reviewing claims filed in the BSA case and I am appalled by the practices of some of the attorneys. Many used claim aggregators to solicit clients and filed claims in these cases using the standard bankruptcy proof of claim form. The claim form is available online and was designed to allow non-lawyers to fill it out. The form doesn’t even have to be correct because if it’s not the debtor will object to the claim, and you get an opportunity to fix it. Yet every law firm that solicited large numbers of claimants had the client sign a one-page retainer agreement that gives the lawyers a 40% contingency fee for doing nothing more than filing out this form. The lawyers want to pretend this is a typical contingency fee case when in fact all they did was simply fill out a form. Rather than collecting 40% of the money paid to victims, these lawyers should get a fee similar to petition preparers – non- lawyers who help people fill out forms to be filed in court – which would be more like $150.00. There are other serious problems with these retainer agreements such as whether they comply with state laws and state bar ethics rules. Just as in the mega corporate cases, transparency in these mass tort cases is critical to fairness. My firm wants to help Survivors get the attention and assistance they deserve. Any compensation we receive would be a small fraction of the 40% they are being overcharged now!" I am interested in chatting with any victim Survivors who have expressed dissatisfaction with the manner in which their claim has been handled by their current counsel. They can contact me with no obligation at: mailto:lfriedman@friedmanpartners.net I've been in contact with Lawrence since @MYCVAStory posted this information. The Slater Firm debacle has give him what he needs to proceed with this action. If anyone is not happy with the way your firm handled your case feel free to contact him. He is taking clients regardless of the firm you signed with. This would be a contingency fee agreement. He can represent you in order to get the fee agreement with your current attorney voided. This action is not going to delay the Settlement Trust from processing your claim in any way. For anyone that is interested. Here is the original post by @MYCVAStory: https://www.scouter.com/topic/33424-chapter-11-announced-part-14-plan-effective/?do=findComment&comment=554339

@Jameson76 said Bottom line, 815,000 youth in 230 (or so) councils means 3,500 youth per council. If a Council Executive (average) pay is $200K (all in) that means just for the local CE there is a burden of $57 per member. Data suggest 3,100 or so SA employees, so that may indicate (with benefits) just labor overhead burden of +/- $190,000,000 or $233 PER YOUTH member. That is before any other overhead costs such as IT, liability insurance. SA (formerly BSA) needs to reduce the costs, focus on growth, and get rid of what doesn't add value. My friend sent these. 235 councils. Only 11 with more than 10K youth. Less than 4% with more than 3K. 20% with less than 1K.

From what I have dug up, our unit always paid its own way, though it was often enhanced by people within the larger Church Family who donated generously. And, while we may soon get out from the "Council" in theory, CO shadow, the use agreement is solid. Here is a just posted on FB Church link, for example. The Scouts have always helped the church when we needed them. It is now our turn to help the scouts. What perfect way to say thank you, and we are glad you are here. If you have some extra time and would like to help, the Church Office has a list of chores that can be done at any time. Give Kathleen a call or email because many hands make light work.