Leaderboard

Check in with your District. Your experience would be very welcomed in several areas, I am sure. Some Ideas: ** Eagle Coordinator. EBoR organizer and fact checker. Very appreciated fellow. ** Training. IOLS, NYLT, BALOO... many possibilities for your years of Being There, and Doing It.... ** Commissioner. Different types, as a Commisher, you can do almost anything you think needs to be done. ** Program Committee. These folks organize the Camporees and Webelos Weekends and such. You could even invent something new, like one of my new Scouter friends. He develo

The way that place is hemorrhaging cash, they would gladly take any and all groups to fill slots

Tell him the date and time of the next meeting. Assure that the items of concern have been forwarded to the appropriate parties and will be on the next docket under old or new business as appropriate. Enjoy the holidays.

A large part of this stems from the charter partner concept. It gives the BSA packs and troops more permanace. In the BSA, units stay around a lot longer too. In the GSUSA, units tend to form around a group of girls. When they are done, so too are the troops. It may just be a local thing - but around here we see what they call multi-level GSUSA troops. These function much more like a BSA unit and have girls of all ages. Most tend to be large too as they pick up more membership from all the small troops that are at max capacity.

I am stepping down at the end of the year after a long tenure as Scoutmaster. I have been SM longer than all my scouts have been alive, and some of their parents too! I plan to stay active with the troop in any way that I can, but it will be a difficult transition for me. I don't want to impede the new regime, but still want to help out. Any advice from anyone who has been thru this situation or had their troop go thru it? Thanks for your help!

Our family came terrifyingly close to tragedy last night. We were on our way home from a birthday dinner for my nephew when my cell rang and it was my oldest son, who had been in a car accident. He was still trapped in the wreckage. He had stopped on the Interstate for another wreck, and a youngster plowed into the back of his car doing at least 65 mph. I immediately turned around and headed his way and got trapped in the traffic gridlock, as we watched police cars, ambulances and wreckers try to get to the scene. Then got another call saying he was in the ambulance headed to the ER. As

Today on the Scoutcast podcast, I heard "boy BSA Scouts", "girl BSA Scouts", "boy Scouts BSA", and the forbidden "girl Scouts BSAs." Maybe Susans isn't such a bad idea.

Very True, but sometimes life serves us lemons. So we make lemonade. 11 of my 16 Webelos Eagled ,with 14 of them aging out at 17 years old. So, it can be done with some (ok a lot) creativity. Just for reference, our pack was 140 strong, AFTER THE SPLIT. Barry

Sure, there will be girls (and maybe parents) who get hung up on the name of the "Boy Scout" program. But consider: (1) There was, at least according to BSA, strong demand by girls for admission into "Boy Scouts," not conditioned upon changing the program name. (2) After the initial period (two or three years), most of the girls in the Boy Scouts of America program for ages 11-17 will be crossing over from Cub Scouts, where they will (presumably) have been fully informed about the content of the "Boy Scout" program and will be able to weigh that information against the word 'boy' in the pro

I would add a fourth criterion: That the new name did not open the BSA up to a very plausible claim of trademark infringement. On that count it is a failure.

I think "Boy Scouts" as the name of the age 11-17 program is the viable long-term solution. Over the last 110 years, that two-word combination has taken on a significance and meaning of its own. The name "Boy Scout" in the American tradition is, of course, associated with boys, but it has become loaded with concepts including an honor code, service, camping, patriotism, Eagle Scout rank, first aid and other handy skills, achievement, and leadership. When you see a Peanuts cartoon with Snoopy and the birds on a hike, it isn't confusing even though no boys are depicted. We've already heard f

But where it's different is imagine you're having this conversation with a den leader - not a Cubmaster. In the GSUSA system, there's no Cubmaster, no Pack Committee, no treasurer. You've got a den leader and assistant who has agreed to lead his/her kid's den. The den has 12 scouts today. You come along and say "I'd like to add my child and have it be 13". You're probably the fifth or sixth person (if not more) who has asked. The den leaders knows - if they don't say no, they are going to be leading a den of 20 kids. I use the den leader analogy because that's really what it is. Th

Okay, maybe I shouldn't be too critical of the guy...

A frequently-heard comment when BSA first announced that it would be admitting girls into the Cub Scout and (what is currently) the Boy Scout program was that it was unnecessary, because there was already a Scouting program for girls -- GSUSA. Given the variety of programmatic and organizational differences between BSA and GSUSA we've been talking about, it is clear that there is not a single generic "Scouting" program that is delivered by both BSA and GSUSA with only minor stylistic differences. Added up, the differences between the two Scouting programs are significant -- reason enough for

The other big thing I see is the loss of mentors to encourage new leaders. Imagine if every Cub Scout pack & Boy Scout troop had to figure out it's program from scratch. In the chartered organization system, we have programs that build on each other year after year. Imagine if a den leader had to figure it all out on their own and do it by themselves. Imagine if new Troop parents had to figure out how to do things from scratch constantly. To me, this is one of the biggest consequences of that approach.

...as he embarks on his latest adventure as the new chief ambassador for the global scout movement, Bear Grylls now wants to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing society - including gang violence and extremism. After being appointed the UK’s youngest ever Chief Scout nearly a decade ago, the father-of-three has set his sights on mobilising the Scouts into some of Britain’s hardest to reach areas. With scout numbers having swelled by an unprecedented 43 per cent to 638,000 under his leadership, Grylls believes growing demand from Muslim communities could help in the fight agai

Maybe a bit off-topic, but I think the question has been answered adequately already. My observation over time has been that the Den Chief position is very valuable. Every Scout that I have known who has taken up that responsibility has found it rewarding and fun. It creates a very strong bond and bridge between the Pack and Troop. I have seen several times an entire Den complete Cubs/Webelos and cross over to the Troop and be very successful in the Troop because of the influence of a good Den Chief. I may be over-stating my case a bit, but I really feel that the Den Chief is as import

That is a very telling quote. And from a Girl Scouts Vice President. It matches what I have seen in the types of program materials that the GS national office has been putting out during the years my daughter has been in scouts. Girl Scouts is a very broad organization. It has lots of long-term members, more or less active as volunteers, who have strong opinions, not all the same. Some have been tugging hard in an outdoor direction (not necessarily successfully). Others volunteers are perfectly happy with the more modern approach the GSUSA has been taking. In part

CBS Sunday Morning, two former boy scouts who shared the same pup tent. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/alan-simpson-norman-mineta-friendship-born-out-of-japanese-american-internment-camp/

Our prior SM took a year off from the troop. He came back and helped with summer camp and the new scout program. But for the first year, he stayed away from the troop. I know of another Scoutmaster in a similar scenario who came back and coached scouts on organizing Eagle Courts of Honor. Me - I'd encourage becoming a Commissioner or joining the district camping committee. Our districts need more experienced Scouters to help coach units or to make our district programs stronger.

The boys totaled three cars last year. Some friends asked me how mad I was, and I told them there's nothing sweeter than the sound of your child's voice instead of someone else giving you the news. I've walked through the valley with friends who had to endure the alternative. Make good use of your Christmas miracle. And if your son is ever discouraged about the hassled with insurance, car dealerships, etc .,,. remind him that those are small trade-offs for happiness.

All Star Comic Con to the rescue All Star Comic Con will dedicate the their upcoming Holiday Party Dec 12, to Star Wars Days, the Star Wars-themed weekend organized annually by Boy Scout Troop 501 that was forced to cancel two days prior to its opening due to scheduling conflicts with its host facility. All Star Con co-founder Kevin Bednarz said 10 percent of all food sales throughout the day at the Ashburn Pub will be donated to Star Wars Days to help Troops 501 replace the lost revenue due to the cancellation. The food sale special is available the entire day to include anyone who

It is how to refer to individual members in the Scouts BSA program. From page 10 of "Family Scouting Questions and Answers," the FAQ under "Scouts BSA Program Resources" on the BSA Family Scouting web page, https://www.scouting.org/familyscouting/ : Q: What will the members of the program be called? [A:] Just as today, they will be called Scouts. For example, “I’m in Scouts BSA, so I am a Scout.”