Leaderboard

IMHO, camps should be independently owned and managed by a camp alumni trust, thus the camp is shielded from the financial misfortunes of the Council or National. This trust rents out its camping facilities and storage to cover its operation and maintenance. The camp neither owns nor maintains program inventory (archery, baskets, STEM, kayaks, whatever) that is Council's cost and responsibility or whatever group is renting the camp for their respective program. My $0.02,

Agreed. And to add one other aspect, the oft quoted "Train them, trust them, let them lead." has a specific order to it beginning with training.

I've said it before, but I still believe that one of the big council issues is an ill defined DE role. A DE has too many things he/she is responsible for, too many expectations on their time, too many demands from volunteers, too many demands from their management. They basically have to be super volunteer, fundraiser, membership driver, product sales expert, program specialist, face of the council, go to unit meetings, district meetings, council meetings, etc. They work in an organization that is notoriously autocratic and demanding. They work ridiculous hours for mediocre pay. The

"Youth run" is often in the eye of the beholder. The simple fact is the other troop is marketing better or people have a perception that the other troop offers better options and experiences. The issue is changing perceptions or building better relationships. IMHO, the troop shopping choice when "FINISHING" cub scouting is one of the most destructive things in scouting. It should be a continuum with each year having more and more experiences and more growth. No need to emphasize a big choice. No need to pit unit against unit. It's one of the reason we have mega-troops while many o

I think I've got the answer to the "One Hour A Week" axiom. Where did it come from? The answer is one must use the right clock. In 2Peter 3:8 we are told.... "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day."" So you see, it depends on whose clock you use.

I kind of like that more informal approach. Our CO always has a service, but it's the exact time as our own church's service. We usually opt to go to our own, which is very low key and basically wear your uniform, stand up and say something short, and be friendly. I also have to say, I am not a fan of the BSA's enthusiasm for turning everything into a ceremonial event. A flag ceremony with meaning? Great. An Eagle COH? Great. AOL Crossover? Great. The rest of it on a near weekly or monthly basis just feels like a poor use of time and diminishes the gravity and impact.

We're probably thinking too hard if we're trying to figure out what district executives should be doing versus what they shouldn't be doing. The DE's job is to do whatever the council needs done. That means that DEs spend a lot of time trying to get the district volunteers on track doing their jobs, and fill critical gaps in district operations and activities wherever they appear. And other duties as assigned, which include support for council activities and events and operations wherever bodies are needed. The key point is that district executives exist because district volunteers a

Shutting down is the only helpful thing my council ever does.

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Just to add another way of what @Eagledad and @yknot seem to be saying, scout led doesn't mean adult ignored. Ask questions. Keep them out of ruts. Keep them about the law and oath. One size of adult participation does not fit all, it really depends on the maturity of the scouts.

I like to tell this story to show the perspective of what Webelos are looking for; at our Blue and Gold of my first year as Cub Master, I asked our Webelos why they chose the troop they were about to join in a few minute at our crossover cerimony. They all said because that troop had the best game during their Troop Meeting. The Webelos leader told me six months later that only one of all those Webelos was still in scouting. Make no mistake about it, parents drive what the sons (and daughters) are looking for. I gave the example of scouts who bucked their parents opinion and joined our tr

I'm cautious with a response here because I've heard this same argument from a small troop that's a mess. Youth lead does not mean all planning happens the week or two before you want to go somewhere. Although I know many adults live this way (our society is largely composed of families living paycheck to paycheck), it's a reactive, painful existence that no one will gravitate towards. Leaders need to instill an expectation that it is paramount to pre plan months and sometimes years in advance, depending on the goal. Once the lesson is learned and a calendar is established, long term pla

An idea for a great service project: help a girls den, or two, run fun meetings. Make them all den chiefs of a AOL den and invite them to scout events. Point is create a relationship between the den and the troop. Whenever we do that we get lots of recruits. When we stop, things dry up. If it's appearance that counts then there's no relationship.

Absolutely, the gear can be done on the cheap. I still have a Tyvek tent we made. But what about the other costs? $100 for unit dues, $400 for summer camp, $200 for weekend campouts, $200 for FOS (that is the "recommended" amount per scout in my council) and $60 to national. So, without gear or uniform or high adventure it's over $900/year. Oh, and parents that volunteer also get charged. Of those costs, the money used at the unit level are $300. If we did our own summer camp that would cut costs by about $150. If we skipped camporees and did our own that would save about $50. I'd rather