Patch Trading Central
Have a patch or memorabilia you're looking to swap? Use this virtual patch trading blanket. (This area is intended to facilitate memorabilia swapping, not necessarily commerce.)
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LATEST POSTS
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By ianwilkins · Posted
Looking back at this thread it seems I mentioned my impending trip to Brownsea, so it seems right to feedback... We actually did it. It's probably only a 2 hour drive from us, but I'd never, in 42 years of scouting (on and off, man and boy), been to Brownsea. Executive Summary: It was glorious. Okay the weather helped but...And had just enough of the heritage side of things, and "the feels" to be a great nights camping. We only went for one night, right at the start of our week long summer camp. There were 42 Explorer Scouts, aged 14-18, 18 girls, 22 boys, and 5 leaders. We had the hard work of getting all the kit together getting down to our main site, unloading, packing for the overnight, and dropped off to catch the ferry across the harbour mouth, then into the ferry to Brownsea itself. Once the ferry unhooked from the dock, I felt a weight lift off, that was it now, there's no ferry back until the morning, no shop, we'd just have to deal with anything that came up as and when, nothing more I could do except go with it. That was a good feeling to have. The ferry was all our own on the way over, as it was the last ferry, no day trippers outbound or they'd be stuck. We walked across the island to our site, not "the" site, that was next door I think. We set up our hammocks and tents, cooked dinner, no open fires, so it was trangias, hike stoves. In fact, they lent us some tables, as they didn't even want gas stoves on the floor due to the fire risk (it was a very dry summer). This was good, as I think the begging peacocks would have just helped themselves straight out the pot if they could have got away with it. One of the Explorers had brought a bluetooth speaker, I made them switch it off, it just didn't feel right. We were camped next to a large group of Scouts from Switzerland and Lichtenstein. The evening was spent walking down to an old quay at the other end of the island (photo two attached), Pottery pier, where the Explorers amused themselves practicing their skimming techniques, making mosaics like others had done, and having a paddle in the sea, while the sun set. Managed to sit quietly in the woods for long enough to see the native Red Squirrel, now rare in the UK thanks to the invasive Grey. In the morning, we had breakfast, fighting off the peacocks again. We wandered up to the commemorative stone marker, had the obligatory group photo, we then invested some of our new Explorers, and had a couple of leaders from the Lichtenstein group join us for the ceremony, as they were passing. A special moment I hope. One of our Explorers sported a blue and red necker for the rest of the week, and a leader in Lichtenstein now has one of ours. We then sat down while I read a couple of passages from Scouting for Boys, about a typical day schedule on camp, and BP on scout laws. Had a bit of free time, so some went searching for red squirrels, some went to the providore, where there's badges to buy, and some cases and displays of historical interest, as well as the ceiling of neckers (photo one attached), yes, one of ours was left behind to be put up at a future date. Time to leave and we walked back across the island, helped another group off the ferry who had brought approximately three bazillion tonnes of kit, so much kit and so long it took to unload that the ferry wanted to leave without us...we protested and jumped on. And that was that really. It definitely felt good to go, always good to meet scouts from around the world, and "walk in the footsteps" of BP. -
No. At the end of the EBOR, all materials are returned to the Scout. The Eagle Application and Advancement report go to Council. -
Sounds like all involved need refresher training as to how a troop should operate. Since your troop is chartered to a now-defunct entity, perhaps you don't have a troop at all. Your DE needs to sort that out. To answer your original question, NO...non-registered parents do not get a vote. The registered members of the Troop Committee handle the "business end" of the unit, while the SM and ASMs execute the program side. All registered leaders serve at the pleasure of the Chartered Organization (which you don't have). Technically, all funds and equipment belong to the Chartered Organization (which you don't have). The Troop's annual plan is developed by the PLC with guidance from the SM and ASMs. They then present the plan to the Troop Committee for approval and funding. In the case of the boat, it must be titled either to the Chartered Organization (which you don't have), OR an individual. If it "technically belongs" to an individual who uses it for personal use 90% of the time, there is NO WAY that troop funds should be spent on it, except maybe to reimburse actual cost of fuel when the troop uses it. That is analogous to expecting the troop to pay for all maintenance on my truck, because I use it to haul gear to camp twice a year. Bottom line...your unit is broke. Your Commissioner staff and DE should be called in to try to fix it...but non-registered parents have no standing, other than to vote with your feet. And I guess it needs to be said once again...the establishment of "Scout Accounts" for the benefit of individuals is strictly against BSA policy and can run afoul of IRS regulations.
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Only partially true. It matters to Scouts BSA if just two men leading a troop for girls, -
Good comments so far. Here are a few of my thoughts. It's hard to judge this sort of thing from the outside. A 21' motor boat is a big luxury for a troop to use once or twice a year. Depending the age and features, a $4000 repair could be 20% of the value or 120% of the value. I strongly question continuing to hold that asset. Broke due to misuse? ... How? It would help to have context ? Boats are pretty durable generally and hard to break. On the flip side, using boats have common accidents like running into docks, losing anchors, hitting rocks with propellers. So it really makes me wonder what is misuse ? Lots of experience in the troop committee and what they've achieved over the years probably attracted you and your scouts. Strictly speaking, scoutmasters and the ASMs are intentionally supposed to NOT have a vote. That's the rule. But, most troops allow it as most troops are run by a set of friends that work in friendly agreements. Votes happen, but usually the votes don't happen on controversial issues where there are huge differences of opinion. If that is normally an issue, then troops tend to fall apart because of internal differences. My questions though are ... Do the committee members know some of the parents are upset ? Do the committee members know that parents are chatting that this money is misused ? Is there a chance for the troop to sell the boat? IMHO, it seems like that is the best option. If the boat was donated to the troop, then the troop can sell it. As for the spent money, it's in the past. Now, you really need to make a choice of whether you can leave the issue in the past? If not, move on. KEY POINT - The time our children have in scouts is short. It might seem long now, but the time goes quick. I'd focus much less on this incident and much more on providing him the best scouting experience possible. Don't let this issue damage his (or her now) experience. Though you might disagree with the decision of the troop committee, it roughly sounds like they followed the right procedure and came to a reasonable decision. The "misuse" issue is a distraction. The boat is a troop asset that requires cost to maintain and run. If you want to make a difference, then build friendships with the committee members AND build an understanding and discussion with the committee members. Get to know each other.
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