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Hmm. That's not quite the way most people think of the "buddy system" in scouting. We've always used the term to mean 2 scouts doing something together. *NEVER* before have I seen it defined as "parent or legal guardian or another registered adult". That language introduces confusion and dilutes the simple power of the buddy system.

The "girl scouts" thing is definitely justified in being picked apart. We all have a lot of adjusting to do to the new language of the BSA, so calling each other out on missteps I think is necessary and constructive. Not just because of the lawsuit. I cringe every time we're at a Pack meeting with girls in attendance and a leader addresses the Pack saying "boys". At the Cub level we've been at this since last summer and we're still not getting it right. This needs to be picked apart.

This is going into our District News..... Thank you....

I'm still intreguied by the new unit Commissioner part of @Ranman328's question. I've always been of the understanding that the role of a UC is to provide guidance to the unit leaders to help them be successful. Advice can certainly sometimes be directive i.e. "you should allow the Scouts more time to individually finish ranks on their own timeline instead of rushing it." But, generally I've always thouht of the UC as more of a trusted advisor or a consultant. If a new UC showed up and started telling me what I was doing wrong, I'd don't think I'd listen too much. "who is this UC person and why do they think they can just show up and tell me how to run my meeting?" I wonder what other people thought in this instance. For the sake of discussion, assume for a minute that the Scoutmaster did the wrong thing here. Should a new UC to a new Scoutmaster critique the first meeting like this?

That sounds like a good approach. The point isn't to have a car built to precision specs, it's to develop some pride in workmanship and to build a stronger relationship with a parent by working together. How good the car looks or how fast it runs is secondary to the experience of making something yourself. When my son was a Cub, the pack had a rule that whoever won the race --- that parent would be the PWD chair next year. It was a good rule.

I suspect therein lies the confusion. At a glance, buddy might sound like "2nd scout working on the same MB", but further review (like the above) clears it up. Hopefully it's just a case of discussing this with the SM to clear up the rule for all involved.

A sportsman's club. What kind of sports? Hunting? Fishing? Hockey? Croquet? Maybe there are possible Scouters among the membership? Has that been broached? Isaac Walton League here abouts has always been very Scout friendly, for instance. They allow their grounds for Cub Scout Day Camp, Archery Camp, Rifle and Shotgun Merit Badge camps, many things Scouty. If yours is to serve brats and sodas, make the most of it. Scout PR, a demo campout, PineWood Derby, whatever. It could be a win win for both of you. Perhaps the membership is aging and no longer able to keep up the traditional stuff. New members from the Scouts or Scouters eventually? Involve the local Scout District too. Make your situation known more widely, see if there are other Scout units might want to help out, who knows.

Yes things adapt and change. No more "Blacksmithing" MB. And I must remind folks that there is no truth to the rumor that BSA is planning to fold the Pet MB into the Cooking MB.....

The mention of "buddy" has never explicitly stated that the "buddy" must be another scout, let alone a scout also working on the MB. It is/was for 2 deep reasons that you couldn't have a MBC meeting one-on-one with a youth. "Buddy" could have been a parent, sibling, or another youth. Straight from the BSA's website, current language states: "Scout Buddy System. You must have another person with you at each meeting with the merit badge counselor. This person can be your parent or legal guardian, or another registered adult."

You're going to need about 50 scouts to do this over the course of the year. With 40 scouts between the pack & troop, you'll probably want to ask each scout to sign up for 1 or 2 spots. That's not an awful burden to help fund the pack. But, I think my real question would be - do you want to do this? As I see it, your CO is basically asking you all to be more involved in the CO's success. We as Scouters are often commenting how uninvolved the COs are in our units. This strikes me as an opportunity to be more engaged with the CO. That can be a very good thing. My recommendation would be that you think of this as an opportunity to do regular service for your CO. Discuss with your leaders if they want to have an ongoing service project with the CO. Make it less about the money and more about the service and about being part of the CO's community. If you all decide to do it, I'd have an honest discussion with the head of the CO. Basically, explain to him/her how doing something like this monthly will become a significant task for you. Make sure he/she realizes that it will take some hard work on everyone's part to mobilize families (most of who are not members of the CO) to volunteer like this. Make sure that this is what he/she really wants you to do. I've found that sometimes these things seem better on paper that in reality and that often once people understand the real cost - they change their mind.

From the back page of the Brotherhood Ceremony 1949. Song of the Scouts. by Edwin Markham We are the boys of the helping hand.Banded together for the good of all; We cheer the steps of the ones that stand,And we lift the ones that fall. Our feet are willing, our hearts are light,And we take the road with a cherry song; For we are the friends of every right,And the foes of every wrong . Soldiers are we of the nobler warsThat great souls fight for the common good; We follow the call of the morning stars,In a knightly brotherhood.

One of the first times my SM volunteered to come to a crew event with me, he volunteered to transport ... thinking that he'd wind up with a car full of the boys ... since they basically knew the drill and he was, after all, their SM. (As you might guess already, I'm not to map out these details in advance.) Well, sure enough, come departure time (which involved the complexity of roof-top carriers, etc ...), the boys piled in my car and the girls in his! The terrified look on his face was one of those precious crew advisor moments that will stay with me forever. It wound up being one of his better four hour drives to camp. The young women were truly great, as I knew they would be. I would never let YPT hype rob us of what is right and good in the world.

Hey all! With my time cleared up now and my health more or less restored, I have been asked to serve as a commissioner by my district committee leaders. They told me to register as a unit commissioner, but they specifically want me to help with training new Cub Scout leaders, facilitating Cub breakout sessions at Roundtable, and above all being on-hand to support Cub Scouting at the district level. I am taking every training course I can find online and doing everything possible to make sure I am as well-versed in Scout policies and procedures as possible (luckily my mom was a commissioner for a decade so I have ready access to most of the primary materials). However, I know there is a lot that I don't know, and so I come before the wisdom of those on these boards to ask: Does anybody have any advice, suggestions, or encouragement to help me get off on the right foot in this new position? I want my service as a commissioner to be meaningful to all those with whom I interact, so any help or counsel will be most appreciated. Thanks everybody!

Does anyone know why national stopped using it as a national base? Waa it just low attendance or is there some interesting history here.

Now the $64000 dollar question, and maybe @RichardB can give us clarification. Are two registered adults over 21 required for a merit badge counseling per the G2SS, or do pre-October 1, 2018 rules allowing 2 Scouts, or a Scout and a unregistered parent, meet with a MBC acceptable still? Or do you need 2 registered adults over 21 and 2 Scouts to do a MB session now?