Leaderboard

WIth all due respect I think it would be better if you 2 started another thread. Better yet PM each other, exchange phone numbers and have a personal chat, you'll find you have some things in common.

No plaques please! The best gift is one you cannot give: A young man who returns from overseas and stops by and catches the scouter up on all he's been doing and his plans for the future, and then they can talk about a few shared memories. Had one of those last night. Short of that, a neckerchief signed by all of the scouts is a good start.

Yes, the back-and-forth needs to stop.

I'm good with differing viewpoints. But that's not what you're offering. You're mocking people of a specific political persuasion that you clearly dislike, plain and simple. What, the comment about the clinking wine coolers was supposed to be constructive commentary? Should I take that as a compliment? I read it for exactly what you intended. You were mocking liberals and some imagined celebratory response to negative news about the BSA. It's mockery wrapped in a stereotype, but you just call it "humor" and a differing viewpoint. I have a sense of humor. What I don't have is any more

According to https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fellow Fellow is gender neutral today. Definition of fellow 1 : comrade, associate was eager to rejoin his fellows 2a : an equal in rank, power, or character : peer discussions among a group of fellows from the nearby Los Alamos National Laboratory— Roger Lewin b : one of a pair : mate 3 : a member of a group having common characteristics specifically : a member of an incorporated literary or scientific society

A photo of the scouts (with holiday season, perhaps you have that opportunity that the pack or troop is gathered and can herd them together for a quick shot) and perhaps a card signed by as many of the youth as you can is a wonderful gift. Most leaders that I have seen step away cherish the memories they made, and probably have more gear than they care to admit they built up in their years in the program

This has filled me with such a sense of sorrow. Scouts is such an iconic organization, but I do not feel that the organizational leadership has itself modeled the behaviors we try to instill in the boys and now girls at the unit level. I believe if the leadership had made decisions based more on how we expect our scouts to problem solve, prepare, plan ahead, and manage, this outcome would have been different.

We try to recognize key leaders each year as they are being active with the troop. For summer activities we have made mugs (large / regular / travel) and metal coozies over the years. In August we have an adult leaders "meeting" and review the summer. We have about 25 - 30 leaders there from various summer camps, HA, and support functions At Christmas we try to get a small gift for the SM / ASM's / Outdoor For others they sort of, to paraphrase Dugout Doug McArthur..."Old leaders never die, they simply fade away" (Note that he swiped that from and old English folk song)

Honorable discharge?

Hi @rubixcube, As a former Troop Committee Chair - I'll add my .02 here. It sounds like you've got a troop that has been run by a certain group of Scouters for a very long time. I'm guessing that yours, and many other families, have relied on them for many years to make many hundreds of decisions. I'm guessing that as a whole the families have been happy to have their time and leadership in support of the Scouts. Now you've got a situation where you look at a significant decision and say "hmm. I don't like that one." You could go down the path of calling Council and trying t

Last year, I attended PASS-PSR, the four day crew advisor course at Philmont. Outstanding training, plus a day backpacking and a night in the backcountry too. Quite a value at $99.00. Long story short, it struck me that the BSA has their best and brightest running Philmont. As others have mentioned, it's the crown jewel. I think it would be the last property to go.

OK, comrade.

My deepest apologies for even suggesting that - it was an unintentional omission. I've been blessed and most fortunate to work with many female Scouters - both as volunteers and professionals. Our pack and troop leadership teams were probably 50% female and I was happy for that.

Precisely. You pretty well just described how a district team should be staffed. It's unfortunate that somewhere along the way the idea developed that Scouters need to pick one or the other - they don't. As you point out, a district team shouldn't be a top down bureaucracy. The top of the Scouting hierarchy is the unit - the inverted pyramid. The district concept should really about getting those unit scouters to work together to improve Scouting across the community for unit level Scouts. For example. One thing a district does is organize a district camporee. Wouldn't the bes

Really, @FireStone ? Moderate voices on the forum have been drowned out by the cacophony of "Times change. BSA must change, too." We politely disagreed. Once it became obvious that closed minds were not listening, we retired to a less vocal status with the caveat "We'll see." Now we are seeing. Part one. In 1,542 posts, I've never whined about being treated unfairly; or chastised the moderators for allowing viewpoints differing from my own. My beliefs are strong enough to withstand scrutiny, disagreement and criticism. I truly hope that National's abdication of its stron

Interesting message from the Atlanta Area Council today..... Parents, Volunteers and Donors: The purpose of this communication is to help you understand the position of the Atlanta Area Council, BSA and how it relates to National BSA's story in the recent Wall Street Journal article. Below are some fast facts we would like to share with you: We operate as a financially separate not-for-profit organization and our Council receives no funding from the National organization. The Atlanta Area Council is a 501(c)(3) entity incorporated in Georgia. Our Camps, Vol

Yep, I sort of agree. But you missed what I think is the National's biggest failure on the program, the over burdened Cub leader. The number one cause of Cubs not crossing over to troops is adult leader burnout. The effects of Cub leader burnout ripples through the whole program. The Tiger program alone requires a 3rd of the cub program resources. What does National do, ADD Lions. Barry

This has already been happening. Trail Life split off five years ago. The LDS church will make their own, and I bet it will follow the Trail Life model of sponsorship. I have read that the Catholics are considering putting together a Scouting type program for their constituents. The fracture has already begun.

Crickets from ours and we are one of the largest troops in one of the biggest Councils in country.

As Mark Twain said "reports of my death are greatly exaggerated." There are something like 2,000,000 youth enrolled in BSA programs today. Over 99,000 units as well . The BSA is far from being on it's last legs and it's demise is not imminent. Out district and others around us have seen growth in the last two years. It's convenient to say "the leadership of the BSA is incompetent." I would argue that if anything, the leadership of the BSA in the past few years has been bold and is showing leadership to build the organization and make it stronger." Yes the BSA is losing the LDS ch

$20,000 !!!! Are you sure that's not the cost for a NEW version? Old boats lose value quickly. If it is worth $20,000, that is a ridiculous asset for a troop to carry. It sounds like this is a nebulous position on whether it's a personal vehicle (titled to a individual, used mostly for personal use) or a troop owned asset (not titled to charter org, used once a year). New motor boat engines for a 20+ foot boat is worth more than $4000. Often, the engine is worth the same as the boat. Perhaps this is an in-board motor that is really a car engine mounted in a boat. See if yo

I'm sure right now National Supply has a boatload of debt with all the skorts they've ordered readying for the cub launch and all the new Scouts BSA branded merch they ordered for 2019.

Unless they owe you or you work at national I don't think this will change anything. This is about restructuring debt, which is code for owing less. I doubt national actually owes much they could sell, otherwise they would have already sold it. Restructuring the leadership at the top might be a good thing, though. But I don't know who would do that. We should volunteer!

I am writing to you today in anticipation of news reports that will speculate about the BSA’s financial position. We have an important duty, and an incredible opportunity, to focus as an organization on keeping children safe, supported and protected, and preparing youth for their futures through our nation’s foremost program of character development and values-based leadership training. To do so in perpetuity, we are working with experts to explore all options available to ensure that the local and national programming of the Boy Scout of America continues uninterrupted.

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

There's a Scouting Magazine from a few years ago on the BSA Congressional Charter: https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2016/06/15/june-15-1916-woodrow-wilson-made-bsa-official/. In there are some quotes from President Woodrow Wilson: I have the utmost sympathy for those who suffered abuse at the hands of volunteers in Scouting. But, suing the BSA and driving it to the point of bankruptcy ends up harming the kids in our country. We can all sit around and bash national all we want, but fundamentally having Scouting from the Boy Scouts of America is a good thing for the youth o

I can’t decide if that comment is more stupid or offensive. Are you too stupid to recognize that Scouting has been available to girls in America for more than 100 years? It’s called Girl Scouts USA. Or is your intent to deliberately insult the GSUSA organization by somehow pretending they are not “real” Scouts?

I'm not saying it's a terrible experience. Kids are in great co-ed activities all the time. I think there's benefit to having some single-sex activities. Making Cub Scouts co-ed takes one away.