Leaderboard

1000% agree. Unless I'm missing something, it would be incredibly stupid for councils to start merging now. Why would any financially strong council merge with a weaker one in the face of litigation? Depending on how the national bankruptcy shakes out, I could see lawyers going after councils and a series of bankruptcies there (or perhaps councils brought into the National bankruptcy). Now, post bankruptcies, I think it really depends on what is left of the BSA. If, as rumored, a lot of work will transfer from National to councils, then it probably makes sense for many council merg

He turns 18 in a couple of months. I watched him go up and receive a couple of MB’s that he has earned. The SM asked him to talk about his Eagle Project that he is going to try to get completed over the next two months. He is such a confident and well spoken young man. Scouting had a big part to play in that...leadership roles in the troop (including SPL), weekends camping with his troop, weeks at summer camp, working a summer at summer camp, a trip to the National Jamboree, relationships with his adult leaders. I am positive that these things have been net positives for him in his growth

Being in an area where there are multiple councils and camps, the most successful ones are the most innovative and the most flexible and that least resemble the traditional week long scout residence camp. Allowing provisional scouts as well as non scout siblings and friends to attend; having weeks or specialty tracks that focus on STEM , Shooting, etc.; a day camp option for older scouts who are in summer travel sports and need to be home for weeknight games; two and three day camping options; family camping nights; programming that extends throughout the year; discounts for multi week attenda

Lots of good points on this topic. I think a lot of this talk of merging councils is pointless without a vision for the future. If I were to offer an observation on why the BSA is struggling it's simple - we have to stop managing our way out of problems. The right way to chart a future for Scouting is to develop a vision for Scouting we can get behind. Let's figure that out first. Council mergers is way down on the list of important things to do. @MattR has hit on an important theme. The beauty of a bottom up structure is that it promotes innovation. The danger of a top down str

There is a certain amount of "local" logic in having regional high adventure or destination bases in the southwest, upper midwest, south, and now mid Atlantic, so I don't hate the idea of Summit either, but I think it's implementation has not been well managed. The loss of council camp properties has been an ongoing crisis BSA has ignored. It speaks to the lack of outside expertise because support easily could have been offered through property management expertise and advice, bench marked program adjustments, or collective purchasing agreements. Facility upgrades are a common challenge a

Yeah, wonder why. But at least there was a guise of local autonomy , per By-Laws, merging council executive boards had to approve even if those boards were badgered to repeat voting until they did approve. Merger Suggestions. Consider, if these sudden, proposed council mergers are or perceived as National orders This will be happening , such actions IMHO will discredit the BSA statement "Local councils are legally independent, separate and distinct from the national organization. " Another concern, Council X has liability lawsuit(s) pending and is merged with neighboring Councils

Unfortunately, our council camps, nationwide, will be the first items on the auction block. Many of these camps have been neglected for years. Execs consider them cash cows, skimming the profit (little if any) and spending it elsewhere. The BSA has de-emphasized the outdoors for years. Many council decision makers will offer up the camp/camps and won't blink an eye. As mentioned earlier, legacy camps with solid alumni support like Bartle and Ten Mile will survive. Most of the others won't.

Yes, now is not the time to merge. Bigger council: bigger target. I'm also not sure bigger is better. Amuse me for a moment: The approach of this thread, let's decide which councils to merge, appears to be a bit top down. There doesn't seem to be any input from the units and volunteers that put on the program and not even the councils. If there's to be a bottom up, service view of leadership then here's a good place to start. To begin, evaluate each council. This is not JTE as that's crap. Pick an outside entity with no skin in the game an

The premise of a council merger is that the standard council organizational structure and "business lines" (types of activities and programs conducted by councils) are all necessary. It is just that for whatever reason (declining membership, declining revenue, declining donations, debt), the structure and business lines have become financially unsustainable in one or more of the merging councils. Through the merger, the organizational structure and business lines will be preserved, but economies of scale and cutting specific excess or burdensome elements within business lines (such as an ass

For the past decade or more I have felt that National should have had and have a focus on preserving the council level camps whenever possible, including making upkeep help available. While I am not one to feel the Summit is white elephant and not a great idea, no more than are any of the other National high adventure and training facilities. But I do feel that the money put into the Summit might have been better utilized for the broadest benefits by working to "fix" and "save" local camps first. After all, if Scouting is local, then the key outdoor element needs to utilize local facilities

I have been a part of a council merger that had strengths and weaknesses in both councils. My old one had a strong central council while the one merging had strong districts but weak central council. The merger was rough for some but I think it really came out well for everyone involved in the long run. The leadership of both councils wanted to get a single vision for the new council and all move towards a common goal. They had brain storming meetings within every district that was open to everyone. I attended one in a different district and was amazed how well everyone was looking for th

I can see how merging councils can result in financially stronger entities. I don't see how merging councils can result in better unit service.

Yes. It distracts us from nationals talking points, and brings us directly to the main issues of the discussion. We certainly can't have that.

As a related aside, for years we have heard the refrain regarding summer camps as advancement focused (mB mills in worst cases) because "that is what scouts and their parents want". At the same time we see camps struggling to stay afloat due to steady decreasing attendance. It appears that the common refrain is not an accurate reflection of reality as scouts/parents are voting with their feet. So, to stay on topic councils should reorganize with a focus on shoring up attendance and financials of their summer camp (and other offerings). First recommendation is to begin operating camps whic

I would agree that there needs to be an evaluation process (though, for all we know that has been completed already in the lead up this process National began) on how many will be kept, how many are retiring by year end, etc. The quality of the personnel should dictate to a large extent just how you can allocate them.

@ALongWalk thanks for posting. Even if you don't consider your son to be a gung ho Scout, or as I joke "A Super Scout", I'm glad he's benefited from his time as a Scout and you and your family can see how it's helped him. Eagle or not, that is our goal.

The only qualification I've seen for service stars is the word "involved."

The top-down comes in after the bottom-up council restructuring. National or Regions lack the overall picture of council performance that units experience. How many times have units said if only they could be in another council? Another $0.01,

"Top down thinking" has been restructuring councils for as long as I can remember. The promised economies (locally), service improvements, and increased membership and resources have not been proven, but let's get it right in the next merger, e.g., The Spirit of Adventure Council (unless they merged again and changed their name since I started writing). I expect all Mass will be one council as neighboring NH is (except for one or two counties). Remember how councils were required to develop strategic plans? JTE? If a council met their five year plan or is a Gold Council, why merge it or wa

While I agree that councils should be merged and downsized, I think there is an important step that must first take place. Rather than focusing initially on the poor performance of ABC and XYZ Councils, a centralized board should first examine the records of all executives above the DE level. Only the top performers should be retained, say 30%. These top ranked execs can then be divided into regions and develop a game plan for merging councils. As important as the merger exercise is, it would ultimately prove fruitless if bottom tier execs were allowed to continue in any position o

This is really an inaccurate and unfair characterization. Any hammock out there designed with camping in mind is designed so that the sleeper lays nearly flat. Obviously some folks might still be uncomfortable in a hammock, but it's not because they are bent into the shape of a taco or banana or anything else like that. At least, they wouldn't lay like that if they actually read the instructions that tell you to get in the hammock and then shift your body about 30 degrees of the centerline of the hammock.

My concern is that strong, healthy councils may eventually be forced into adopting weaker neighbors that could hinder their continuing success. For example, my council (Orange County Council in CA) is actually doing pretty well - we are financially stable, we have strong and healthy volunteer numbers, a good reputation in our community, and all of our districts earned gold or silver in their JTE scores (save for one bronze district). Last year we served more than 17,000 youth, and almost 43,000 Scouts attended the various camps in our council last year. We have more than 10,000 adult leaders i

For that reason I have some trouble with some of the cases being pursued as noted above and as stated in the new reports. Many were in fact never reported to family, police, councils. Sadly that is the truth. Did this happen, we have to believe the account of the abused. Is the Scout leader still alive? If so pursue criminal charges. Does the abused person deserve counseling and support, absolutely and that does appear to be happening if media reports and BSA National releases are accurate. Does this make the abused one eligible to get a large cash settlement? Not sure about that.