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My Son and I are going though the ordeal this weekend. He is 14 tomorrow and this should be a memorable birthday. Wish us luck.

You are correct. This lull in posting has given me a chance to read postings on other topics. I have gotten the distinct impression that the average scouter/leader really wants all of this to be resolved. Between the bankruptcy and Covid BSA as a whole has had a very rough year.

Since the Board selects the Board, there is no real chance of progress. That said, I think these last few posts belong on the NAM thread, not the Ch. 11

With all due respect, don't believe the work. 1) Greg Hallett really does not have any research credentials. 2. There are no references, citations or works cited in the chapter you cite. Where is he getting this information? IF as his bio states, he got these from interviews with KGB operatives, there would still be citations for these interviews, and even copies of the KGB records. After the fall of the Soviet Union, I have been told by well respected historians and researchers that for the right amount of cash you could get any KGB record you wanted. 3) FNZ Publishing appears to be a defun

They mentioned at every step of the way, in all the fireside chats and main business meeting, that the bankruptcy is almost over, etc. They don't view this bankruptcy as anywhere close to "walls crashing down." They are convinced (or trying to convince others) we are at or near the end of the bankruptcy process. They also, TO A PERSON, view this as "past history", that YP made everything better, and that all the bad things happened prior to them showing up and had nothing to do with them/current leadership. But keep in mind their target audience is Council-level Key-3 and above.

This is hard evidence nothing will change in this organization. If you wonder whether BSA is doomed, watch these guys. They are borderline delusional. It’s true, for scouting to live, BSA must die. The movement needs a new birth of freedom to wash away decades of failed, discredited, amoral National non-leadership.

Nah…everything is hunk dory according to these ancient relics.

Nowhere in this list do they address the volunteer problem for one.

This just reminds me of the org charts I used to see when nobody really had any good ideas - just shuffle and hope. It's sort of vision lite: we kinda know what the problems are but we really have no ideas on how to solve them. If national really had ideas then wouldn't this be reflected in the organization? Not only that but this reeks of matrix management. Since our council's membership has been dropping will our council membership lead be replaced? If, more likely, all the council memberships have been dropping is it time to admit the territory membership lead hasn't a clue? This remi

Use the adults as taste testers. If they don't die then let the scouts have some. 😀

A friend of mine sits on various national mediation tables. There are apparently multiple "tables" that change composition and deal with specific issues. It is a position that he could not have imagined himself being in two years ago. We never discuss specifics because of confidentiality. Just impressions sometimes. Words like "contentious" and "mess" come up. How could this not be a mess? Tens of thousands of traumatic abuse claims. Billions of dollars at stake. Camps, councils and programs that Scouts and Scouters have poured their passion, time and energy into are

No comment on the Council stuff. Professionals come and go. DEs? Creating Districts is often a matter of "because I can". I used to work for the County Government. Every time a new department manager/chief was named, "things changed". The new guy wanted to leave his/her mark on things. Did it really make things more efficient? People more responsible? Often debatable. Same with the BSA organization. Regions? Sections? Districts? I have lived in the same house for almost 30 years. I have worked with pretty much the same group of dedicated Scouters thru that time. I have liv

My son is in the final steps of paperwork for Eagle rank. He has been a Cub scout, Troop scout, and is currently a Sea Scout and a Venturer. He has been lucky to go to Sea Base, Philmont in winter (and Summer this year), and World Jamboree among a ton of other scout activities. So I was thinking of donating $1000 in his name for the James E West endowment in our council as something to give back to scouting for others to be able to get similar experiences. Question is, does this go in his name for the award? I was thinking that I can complete it and present it to him at his Eagle Co

Does #7 "An individual paid or unpaid, who, on the basis of the individual’s role as an integral part of a regularly scheduled program, activity or service, is a person responsible for the child’s welfare or has direct contact with children" mean scout leaders? .

In my state everyone is a mandatory reporter and the requirement is that the abuse be reported immediately to an identified state agency and possibly 911. I think that's pretty clear. Again, I'm not clear why there is this degree of pushback on immediate reporting. Who is it protecting? Your scenario of 9 p.m. vs. 1 p.m. is fictional. You or I have no idea how the reporting process would work once it veers outside of what is legislated or inferred or seems responsible. I don't care what my position or role in an organization is, if I see child sexual abuse occurring, hear it occurring, or sus

Yes you can make a donation in his name. We had one gentleman who did not want to be recognized for his very generous donation. Instead, every single Eagle Scout the year he donated the money, plus the non-professional office staff ( registrar, bookkeeper, scout shop clerk, and office manager) became West Fellows. That is a good question. My understanding is that the endowments are restricted funds, and cannot be touched. Only the interest earned can be touched. But I also remember BSA stating they would protect Charter Organizations in lawsuits too, and we see how that is going with t

Only in the last 2 years did I even know that NAM existed. I was excited when it was streamed last year, that is, until I listened. Even then it was very plasticine and fake. This year, I could only take about 20 minutes of the membership growth meeting. It just doesn't seem real or sincere.

Unfortunately, your scenario simply doesn't track with reality. Scouts was never 100% safe. Just like sports, the promise is only "this program is as safe as it reasonably can be while doing dangerous activities and deliberately having scouts interact with a variety of other adults on both group and individual levels". Scouts has never (at least since I became involved in the 1980s told parents "please drop off your kids and leave, we'll take care of everything". In every troop I've ever been a a part of they've been desperately looking for adults to stay and get involved. (barr

The BSA is in a tough spot when it comes to balancing the fact that they "care about survivors" and the practical issues surrounding the operations of an organization. Frankly, the ultimate duty of the BSA Board and top management is to the organization and the members it serves, NOT to survivors; so I never expected this bankruptcy process to be anything but adversarial and acrimonious. If they had simply sold everything and given every dime to the lawyers, they would have failed in their responsibilities. The PR implications of the situation mean that actual honesty isn't really possi

My guidance as a MBC? **ALWAYS point to the posted requirements and ask the Scout how they have fulfilled them? ***The "Work book pages" are NOT passing the requirements. Those are for the Scout's benefit in PASSING the requirements, but are NOT the passing. Prerequisites are ALWAYS good. The Scout should "Be Prepared" when they come to you. **** Celebrate the accomplishment. ALWAYS mention the good stuff, then encourage the way to make the not-so-good-stuff GOOD. *****Keep yourself available for consultation, but always keep your YP (really AP, yes?) in mind

I try to not think about the headwinds that scouting is driving into. I have a group of boys that I am giving my all to as scoutmaster. I have 7 scouts (out of 11) working on their eagle rank. Recruiting for my troop will need to be rethought. Fewer number of webelos out there to recruit now.