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Well....when you spend heewge sums of cash on the giant white elephant know as Summit, eventually the poor decisions will come back to haunt you. Literally the National BSA has mortgaged it's future on SBR. Not sure what tea leaves were read that there was massive unfulfilled desire for justifying the development. Curious what attendance figures would be needed to even break even on the debt service. The real amount spent was likely north of $500MM to $750MM (that's cash american). Also there is a large bond payment of hundreds of millions looming out there in the next several years.

Don't stay a stranger, I'm considering the exact same thing.

I always have conflicting emotions when it comes to this. My own son struggled in middle school...I think most do. It is a time of transition with the onset of puberty and raging hormones, testing the limits with independence, and moving from a more structured classroom to one in where kids are expected to take more responsibility and initiative for their own stuff. The first reaction is always, "no more scouts". To me, Scouting was an integral part of the overall developmental agenda of a boy...taking him out of scouts was the same as saying, "ok, no more church" or "you need to work har

Hey @Snow Owl, the BSA has four main mechanisms for verifying if a volunteer is eligible to work with youth. Each Scouter is required to undergo a background check as a part of their application. Your council service center and its professional staff are responsible for filtering out volunteers whose background checks come back with offenses. Your Scout executive or their designee should contact your unit's leadership if anything comes back beyond, say, a parking ticket. Each adult application requires references be checked. For unit-level Scouters, this should be done by the unit

I see from your avatar that you might be a Chartered Organization Representative, which would lead me to understand why you are asking this particular question. If you are curious about a Scouter, with regard to his/her criminal background, the local Council should be able to find out based on their background checks. Considering this Scouter is currently registered, it would behoove the local Scout Executive to know if one of his/her registered volunteers is not following the Scout Oath and Law. If a Scout in your unit has been arrested for charges, as mentioned in your original post

I didn't think it was possible to get six pages on this topic. Let's face it, like Star Wars, the BSA faithful will stick around to see how things play out and then leave. The older among us will long for the wit and promise of "A New Hope". The younger among us will embrace the new even with all of its warts and poorly developed structure. Why? Because that's what society has become: Flair over substance. I suspect there's a parallel between the Republic and BSA, or between Jar-Jar and Mike Saurbaugh, but I don't have time to make it.

When me and my son joined our troop they did not do a real PLC meeting for over a year. We now have them monthly. They are always held the first troop meeting after an outing. The PLC meets while the quartermaster and patrol quartermasters have the rest of the boys clean gear and restock.

One doesn't need to learn life lessons if adults are always going to be there to bail them out. It works until they get out on their own and have no idea how rough things can be when they're walking the tight rope with no net.

I mean just look at this group. There is so much Scouting knowledge and experience in this forums membership, and with a few exceptions, none of us have worked for the BSA as a professional. You can make more money and get better benefits in government, academia (which is really saying something) or the private sector.

So I passed everything over to the new treasurer over the weekend, and we meet later this week to take me off the troop's bank account.....and at the end of the month my membership will lapse with the new charter. I'm sad and happy at the same time.....sad for the loss of opportunity for my son.....happy to be getting out from under the constant conflict between what is (adult run) and what could be. I no longer will get aggravated when receiving emails from adults about upcoming troop activities.... that clearly come from "the wrong" perspective.... But I'll still be checking in he

It’s a bad thing. Changing rules for any one segment is a bad thing. Rules are rules. As soon as you start changing them you discriminate against someone. I’ve got friends who missed Eagle by a few days or one MB requirement. They learned from that and have become better people as a result. If we change any rules to make it easier for the first girl to make Eagle what does that say about gender equality or equality in general.

On that point, it is very likely good (even great?!?) PR even if it is not necessarily good in practice. That being stated and due to how the those BOR for Eagle are scheduled though, my guess is that there will be quite a few that make Eagle on the same day throughout the country. We averaged 150 Eagles a day in 2016 (55,000 for the year) so it stands to reason that we might see dozens if not hundreds of girls all obtain Eagle on the same day - so in that respect, there will very unlikely be a true first.

My son just recently passed his BOR for Second Class. His grades have also dropped a bit (though still As and Bs) but I would not chalk up his drop in grades to his participation in scouts. My son's problem is more everything not-scout related, like tablets, tv, PS4, etc. You could also toss in soccer practice and games and music practice (what little there is of that). Are you sure what little time your son spends on scout-related activities each month is the real issue? Absent one weekend a month camping, my son spends no more than two to three hours a week on scouts.

Let's please not turn this into a discussion of transgender/non-binary gender/etc. That really should be under Issues and Politics. This thread is about whether there is a "race" to become the first female Eagle Scout, and whether that "race" is a good thing, bad thing, or both, or neither.

If there is any question about BSA’s financial status I think this answers it. The combination of cutting a pension benefit, huge increase in annual membership fee and admitting girls seems to point to a cash concern. I think the 2017 annual report will be an interesting read (2016 looked like a disaster). I expect massive council consolidation (similar to Michigan) as the cost cutting continues. I hope BSA finds a way to financial health soon. I’m impressed with my DE and the amount of time he works. Sad to see this benefit go away.

The local units are trying to urge Texas Parks & Wildlife to take steps to better mark the area. I understand there are a few unit/Eagle projects to draw attention to the issues noted above. With lake levels fluctuating so wildly, and the poor markings both at the ramp and on the lake, the power company needs to do something. If not them, then the parks dept since they control the access point and lake use.

I will have a look. cc: @NJCubScouter , @Sentinel947, @LeCastor I cleared out the strikethrough. I think the text that was copied had text codes which are no longer supported by HTML5. Also text appears to be frames. Better?

As Dr. Evil would say, "Riiight". Presumably there are all sorts of things units shouldn't do, yet they do anyway. "Family troops" are already a reality. Adding girl troops (if it actually gets implemented as such, but I suspect units will combine anyway) just gives those units an "out" to go that next step further. BSA has always missed the mark in executing such changes. Doubling the need for volunteer leaders is not a successful model for an organization hemorrhaging members and volunteers. And let's not pretend that units are going to successfully "leverage" already over-leverage

Everyone's leaning the same way. Finally, we agree! Let's celebrate! Besides, what's the worst that can happen (to the young PL scenario, not us celebrating)? Nobody will get hurt. Some scouts might get upset. That's a useful problem that can help them all learn. Don't take that opportunity away from them. It just means the adults should pay attention. What's the best that can happen? Stupid question, I know. I think the real question is what do the adults need to do to make her successful?

Since when has that ever held any helicopter parent back? It's not the journey, it's the destination and who gets there first. Just remember, the bumper sticker that reads, "My Son is an Eagle Scout" is not there for the scout's benefit.

"To be or not to be , an Eagle, that is the question. Whether tis nobler to suffer the slings and arrows of hiking, camping, cooking out doors, mosquitos, blisters, broken GPS units or to join a boy led Troop and by ignoring the adults have fun. To Scout, perchance be a Patrol Leader, ah, there's the rub.... for in that chance to plan and learn cooperation and citizenship must give us pause. For to bear the whips and scorn of those who would value the souvenir more than the journey, pity that man. Soft you now, the fair Ophelia doth now join my Troop...." ((Tongue hereby removed

I talked to a DE who went to Dallas either in January 2016 or '17, I can't remember which. But he was told "Big changes" were headed our way in 2018. Yes National screwed up, and screwed up hugely. The town halls were a farce, ticking off volunteers and pros alike. As for national's survey, I would love to see the results from members and volunteers , even with the obvious pro-girl slant of the questions. And unlike the June 2015 Cub Scout Program, they can't change things 17 months later. Girls and parentswill be ticked. As to "Separate but Equal" it won;t work. And volunteers

I wanted to avoid the current topic as it's controversial. Perhaps I'm no better than the council and DE trying to shield information. But my frustration is not with the topic. It's with a repeated pattern that happens every time there is anything at all challenging or controversial. The volunteers are left out in front of the parents and scouts looking like the bad guy while still waiting for manna from on-high to be blessed upon us. It gets old. Current subject ... Membership changes. Talking points to share with units in the district, but the units are pretty much beyond those

This presentation was given by Narragansett Council (RI) in response to closing a summer camp in 2018. Numerous graphs showing the dramatic membership drop in that Council and Area 1 (New England) and this Council conclusion is a membership problem exists. http://www.narragansettbsa.org/document/cachalot-fireside-chat-1025/177039 I agree with some of the reasons and some corrective actions. We definitely need to get back in the schools where the kids are. Also parents need fewer logistics problems. Imagine if a troop met after school at a local school with a restructured

My son left scouting back in the mid 1990's. I have enjoyed working with the boys since. Now that the program is no longer what I signed up for, transitioning out is going to be easy. I've paid my dues for 45+ years. Time to find something with a lot less drama.

I should have realized that the annual planning conference would not go right when several adults complained about the date and time set by the SPL. the 2 adults involved are both ASMs and have sons on the PLC. The moved up time didn't give that much heads up. Grant you the process started before the Christmas holidays, but the Scouts were not fully prepared. So the SM and 2 ASMs ended up taking over. Didn't get a chance to talk to the SM or one ASM about the situation. Did get a chance to talk to one though. HE saw no problem jumping in and getting involved since the Scouts weren't prepared.

This race exists for boys as well. Just search 11 year old Eagle Scout. I agree it is not a good thing, but it doesn’t really bother me that much. From my experience those scouts are rare, a bit annoying but otherwise harmless to the remaining scouts. If anything, it means the scouts that are racing get less out of the program. I understand the girls who would age out racing to get Eagle more so than a boy (or girl) racing when they have plenty of time.