Leaderboard

@Alec27 .... The related question is SHOULD they be camping with you AND what is their ROLE when camping? IMHO, rules are to cover guide to safe scouting. The "should" and "role" is always my main concern. Committee members are administrative; not scout-facing. Too often committee members work like ASMs. That's not "preferred". Sometimes it's necessary due to number of registered adults. So on camp outs ... just like troop meetings, etc ... scouts work with scouts first; then with SM and the ASMs. Ideally, scouts don't work with committee members.

Biggest complaint has been the council level pros for some time. . We are large geographically, but an economically poor region. BUT the folks with money usually were involved in Scouting as youth, knew the need, and gave of both their time for their children, and treasure to help others. Usually those folks would serve in district and/or council roles. Who knows the community better than the ones living in it? Well you got pros coming in, wanting things done their way. No amount of explaining that the things they want done were tried before and were failures will get through their heads.

The requirement per the Guide to Safe Scouting is that two registered adult leaders 21 and older are required for all scouting activities including meetings. A committee member is a registered adult leader who is 21 and older. The point of being registered is that they have had the background check and they have done their YPT certification. Regardless, as a former SM/ASM, one would hope they have already taken the SM/ASM training and OLS at some point for their previous position anyway, neither of which expire, making the fact that they are registered as a committee member kind of irrele

@curious_scouter, my only advice: don’t suffer fools. Training should be commensurate with the needs. For example, I don’t care how good my counselors are at shooting sports, their of no use to my scouts on land navigation challenges unless I know that they keep sharp in that skill. Regarding mentoring youth … like you said, I need adults who can take a step back. For example, I am a very good cook, as are a couple of other dads. But if the boys are doing their own meals, we make our own adult cooking area. If we aren’t cooking and will be guests of a patrol, we sit apart waiting for them

One of the ASM should immediately become acting SM. Then the COR searches for a replacement.

Hmmm… Interesting to see where this thread has gone the past 15 years… see you in another 15 years!

Committee Members ought to go camping (or visit an overnight camping trip) to observe the performance of the SM Corps. It is not the ideal that MCs would be there as the required adult supervision. Totally concur with @fred8033... except one point... Scouts should ideally work with Committee Members for their Positions of Responsibility, where appropriate. e.g., Scribe, Webmaster, Librarian, Chaplains Aide, Historian, etc. etc., as these are administrative in nature. For other PORs, it is ONLY appropriate to be under the mentorship of someone in the SM Corps... e.g.,

Welcome to the forum, @Alec27. A committee member can go camping, unless your troop specifically forbids it. You do need to cover the YPT Rules. My impression is "2 registered adults" includes committee, assuming they're registered, especially if they're a former SM. Maybe some of these parents complaining should register and solve this problem. I know, but it is my first thought on this.

If I had a choice between a mini medal and a plaque, I’d take the mini medal. But, how about an electronic medal in the form of a screen that scrolls all of your awards. Make it solar powered so that the wearer had to spend time outdoors to keep it blinging,

One key difference between BSA and virtually any other youth program that heavily utilizes volunteers is that the BSA tries to keep theirs even once the volunteer's children are no longer involved. As a result, a uniform that serves as something of a badge of service has more value than it would if you were just using parents as volunteers for the length of their child's participation. It also helps newer Scouters gauge the value of input from more experienced Scouters. Not that it's foolproof by any means, but at least if someone has been around long enough to earn 4+ knots, you know t