Leaderboard

In April 2018 I posted about getting a Scouters paycheck when I watched one of 'my' boys, as Meteu, drape an ordeal sash over his younger brothers shoulder, as his older brother,the head eleongomat, looked on, smiling. I just watched the same middle brother ( who is the best ceremonalist I've ever seen) welcome his younger brother into the circle of the Vigil, in our very secluded ceremony ring, as once again the older brother stood by trying to look serious, but the smile kept breaking thru. Some scouts who were past members of our ceremories team, drove or flew hundreds of miles to

I am not sure that agreement can be presumed. I am a lawyer, 40 years in practice and our council executive, pompously affecting "CEO" is paid twice what I earn. And so, fine. BUT, the CEO manages half a dozen "professionals" who do menial tasks. (Actually, the tasks I've done as a volunteer-and much better than the "professionals.") And, if I make a legal mistake, I can lose my net worth-easily so. If the council CEO makes a mistake-frankly-who will ever know? I have no pension. Scout professionals have a superb pension. So, why does my scout CEO get paid over $300,

Back in the day, when I served on the Pittsburgh and later the Syracuse council staffs we had the Scoutreach program. I know that in Syracuse it has been over a decade since the council provided services to low income city youth. With the rise in adolescent suicide, crime, drug use, failure to complete school and other serious issues, I have to question if one, do we have a responsibility to get scouting to these neighborhoods and two, if so, how do we manage to meet that responsibility and obligation? In Syracuse, and I imagine in many other councils they don't have enough income to even mai

Many local councils had to sell properties and dip deeply into endowments in order to kick in their share of the settlement. AS you pointed out, the settlement will have long lasting financial consequences for the BSA and structured fee increases was and is a part of that settlement. I believe that part of that projection was predicated on membership growth which seems ridiculous on the face of it since the BSA has not had traditional membership growth since the early/mid 1970's. I believe the loss of the LDS church was factored into things but the impact of covid and the bad press from all th

That is IF, and I stress IF, they kept the records and/or the records have not been lost or damaged. For my troop's 100th anniversary, we wanted names of all SMs. We had most of them, but not all of them. My council did not have the records.

What is going to happen to the Pack when your Scout crosses over? *Are you going to stay in the Pack forever? What is to say that the current structure isn't going to fail regardless once you leave but maybe just in a year or two from now rather than sooner? And sometimes things have to fall to ashes so the Phoenix can rise again and maybe somebody else will actually come along and bring in a new motivated network to take over. I've seen Packs come and go. With the right group of adult volunteers where everyone is pulling in the same direction it can be great. In the end, you are a volunt

I would never presume that BSA keeps such a list of significant detail on the position that a registered adult served in going back in time, just that an individual was registered. There would be a pretty slim chance that anything from the 60's has ever been digitized to easily scan, and most likely those records are archived. My particular council has only existed for slightly longer than five years, and the legacy councils that merged were also resulting from mergers over the previous four decades, so something that old I can guarantee for our council is kept in a Banker's Box in a storage l

Membership is still a challenge apparently

We have 10 Webelos from our pack visiting next week. It looks like nearly all of them intend to crossover. The crazy just keeps coming for us.

In the pre-2015 program, as soon as a Webelos den completed the Webelos Rank, they began work on the AOL. The entire reason why BSA went from a 9-12 month Webelos program in the 1980s and earlier to the 18-24 month program was because studies showed it took the Webelos, and their parents, that look understand the differences between Cubs Scouts and Boy Scouts. I am friends with one of the 411 committee members that came up with the current program design. I asked can we still start working on AOL as soon as they completed Webelos, and was told yes, they shorted the number of required acti

With all of the TCC and Coalition Town Halls explaining everything it seems like it would have been impossible to check that box not knowing the ramifications.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has begun working with the Boy Scouts of America in a new program to prepare youth for a preparedness role to help communities across the country be more resilient and prepared should the need arise. This has been facilitate in some BSA troops nationwide and there is a movement to bring it to the local Walton County (Georgia) area. Arlene Magoon, with the Spirit of Adventure Scout Council in Massachusetts, has worked with her local Scout leaders, the state Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to work within the Cou

I know locally that seems to be how they raise the money to keep the professionals being paid, you focus on the history and the nostalgic thoughts of the BSA. No mention of current operations, more "Follow Me Boys" than actually what is happening. Local council has 40%+ of the staff either directly or tangentially involved with fundraising. The DE's, who are supposed to be building scouting locally, are primarily charged with leading FOS, popcorn sales, camp cards ..... oh and maybe if time building units in the area.

Also, there is the question, for districts where are the volunteers coming from? In the good old days, you and son (now child) would be active in Cubs and then Scouts, as child aged out, you could become involved in the district, etc. etc. With the larger number of units / adults at that time there was a supply of folks to choose and select from. As has been noted, with the disregard by pros and no real cache to be a "district" or "council" volunteer, there is no pool available. And, whether one agrees or disagrees with the policy and membership changes in BSA over the last 10 years, a

Regarding why districts are failing, in some cases you got longtime volunteers who have been ignored and abused by pros, and they are fed up with it. They are told they will be treated differently by the new pros, but it is the same old, same old.

I have always viewed the BSA structure as an upside down pyramid with the broad base of units and youth members on top and narrow bands of volunteers, districts, councils areas, and finally national all in support. I don't always feel that way these days. It varies from council to council and even district to district. Properly run councils and districts are doing a credible job in difficult times while others frankly are failing. While I feel my present council is failing I know with the right leadership it can turn around. I hope that happens and soon. The program is too valuable to families

I was at a veterinary conference early in November. One of my areas of interest is disaster response. The state has a group of volunteer vets that respond to emergencies. One of the roles I thought of that would be great for Scouts is operating a temporary pet housing facility. The owners are responsible for the care and feeding of their pets. The facility operators simply establish it from a trailer provided by the state (sounds like a troop going camping) and process pets into the facility. At the end, everything get cleaned up and the trailer is returned to the owning entity.

Our Council does. It is organized on District level in similar manner as "regular" Cub Scout Packs. The difference is that it is run by a local non-profit that already does outreach / after-school / youth program work and it is slightly different in programming structure. It is run by the staff and volunteers of the outreach organization and supported by a UC like any other Pack. Membership for these Youth is sponsored between the non-profit running it and Council Scout Reach funds. This just recently started again in our District so it will be interesting to see how it will work out. It seems

Our council has a Scoutreach program, but I don't know more than that. But thank you for starting this conversation, because it's a really important one! Yes, both BSA and GSUSA have an ethical obligation to serve low-income communities, and it's not a back burner issue. Especially when proven successful, like in the Scoutreach program that you personally ran, youth programs that strengthen civil society are patriotic and helping young people live happy lives is right action. This kind of thing is, according to the BSA mission statement, core to the BSA's raîson d'être. Let's be hone

The SE (sorry he insists on being called CEO) for Atlanta Area Council makes waaay more than that. Thus no FOS for me.

I thought it would be useful to have information specific to Archery for Cub Shooting Sports events, training, etc...and Archery merit badge as well. I've created a Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1076112180079482/?ref=share If you are new to Archery, being a Range Master/Range Safety Officer (RSO), or Archery in Scouting in general, please have a look and participate in the discussions.

Any talk about the future of the BSA must begin with the financial situation it is in. Unlike most bankruptcies, BSA doesn't leave it nearly debt free and in stable financial shape. They entered bankruptcy with nearly $300M in cash and $180M endowment. The endowment is gone and cash is at $25M. They also added to their debt right before the bankruptcy ... and exited with all of that debt $222M of secured debt (I believe on their HA bases) and $364M of debt on Summit. So, $25M of cash on hand and $586M of debt. Let's say that loan is 4% and 30 years ... that is $34M a year in debt pay

All too often the COR of a unit is a ‘placeholder’ to meet the requirements of getting a charter issued. In reality the COR is a powerful position within the unit, district and council. The duties and responsibilities can be found here: https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/511-421(16)_WEB.pdf and few volunteers, even at the district and council level really understand or appreciate the power of this position. The Chartered Organization Representative is an automatic member of the district committee and also a voting member of the Council Executive Board. While it is rare, a group

I would agree. Certainly, a nice guy no doubt, but he is retired and 67. Now that would definitely qualify him to run for President of the United States, but why not someone in their prime? An energetic, new vision for the organization, someone who can get out and represent the BSA out of bankruptcy. As a businessperson, when I see a retired individual take over a company coming out of bankruptcy, I see someone who is either a caretaker for the next "real" leader OR someone who will be shepherding the company through its sale and breakup.

National Supply never orders a handful of anything from their manufacturers. If they are re-stocking olive green shorts, size Youth - Medium, they are ordering in the thousands and warehousing them (on the basis that buying in larger bulk = lower price per item to them). If they spent $3,000,000 in January on various sizes of green shorts, then they should have on their balance sheet a continuing liability each month until they indeed are able to shift those as stock to sales (corporate bookkeeping would want you to know how much that stock is a rolling asset). For Venturing, you have Ven

You can't carry the pack on your own. Have you voiced these same concerns to the other parents and leaders?

I do not know if our council is representative, but finding info going back is a real challenge. Digging through old charter paperwork is where I found much of the info on our unit, but it is mostly in boxes and minimally sorted in storage. If a unit does not keep its own history, finding it is a major effort, and it will literally give someone a headache trying to read old forms that are carbonized and so on. Good luck.

Your scout's experience comes first. Period. ... I am sad that my kids are grown. The truth is the time passes too quick. Their scouting careers are very, very short. Get your kid into a great scouting experience now. AND, it is 100% okay to switch packs and then just sit back and enjoy scouting from the shadows. Volunteer now and then as you can, but let others take the lead as you watch your kid grow.

The MOST important thing is YOUR scout's experience. Take care of that. Whatever it takes. It's obvious no one else is interested in that and they have no loyalty to you or your efforts. Thanks for trying, but no one can do it alone.

Something is going to have to give on the Venturing/Sea Scout programs. The amount of money BSA is spending in stock of items specific to those programs alone has to be a drain. In corporate world, even having to hold items in inventory translates to ongoing expense (warehousing storage). Like the programs, would hate to think of a time we don't have them, but the amount of money BSA has to have poured into merchandise expense at a time when they are raising fees overall every year makes me sick to my stomach.

Our Troop will likely hit around 24 scouts by the end of the year. 5 years ago we were 84 and had 53 attend summer camp. 12 of my 24 age out by 2025, so we really need to see more Cubs crossing over soon. Two other Troops in my area have shuttered and one went from 70-80 to 8. I fear we are headed to a future of BSA having 90% of members in Cub Scouts and Scouts BSA limited to a small barely supported group maintaining a tradition.

I bet we do see overall growth Jan to Jan by the end of the year (the would need to add at least 11,902 more scouts). However, rechartering impact probably won't be officially counted until March. Expect the revised Cub and Scouts BSA to show declines there. I think in Jan 2023 we showed 3% overall growth which was nearly completely wiped away by March. Personally I think the March to March numbers are most accurate (however, that will change going forward with rolling renewals).

Part of the reason packs are down is because during the pandemic other organizations stepped up to the plate with outdoor programming while scouting mostly shut down. Participation has remained high because parents saw that those programs are easier to participate in for a day or a season, cheaper, more focused, and generally led by more knowledgeable people. It also doesn't require fundraising or for parents to pay to volunteer. Scouters habitually gripe about youth sports, but the outdoors used to be scouting's turf and others have moved in very effectively. It's perhaps not as recognized be

Can't ignore the challenge of two years of lawsuit infomercials.

Agree the big benefits of Scouting can happen in a troop and happens over several years as the Scout grows, matures, takes on leadership, and takes on more adventures. As an Eagle, camp staffer for many years, former DE, ASM, and with experience in training and in district leadership (way back in the day) when I involved my son he joined in 3rd grade so only maybe 3 years of Cubs, which was a gracious plenty. He was very ready to move on to the troop and get to the fun of Scouting. As a side note, when he joined the troop I was (and still am) only involved with the troop. That is

I think this is a good summary. BSA membership had a short-term boost by opening to younger and younger scouts. BUT, it's now killing the membership numbers in later years. Worse, it's changed the experience and also the perception of the experience such that many now question the value of scouting. My apologies as I've said it over and over again. For my four sons, if I had to do it over again, I would have started my boys in scouts at 3rd grade when they could start being more independent with other youth their age. Heck, I'd be okay if they had their first scouting experience in

It's not essentially that way; hence the realignment and updates. True it can be tough to keep any repeat issues from becoming a boring situation; however, mastery through repetition is a thing, and changing up teaching style can alleviate these issues. As for the troops recruiting issue: the answer seems to be, that AOL is no longer meant to be a prep year to join a troop. The 6 month time frame has always been an issue; I have had many discussions with other den leaders and asked them how they fit the current AOL program into 6 months and no one can quite explain it.

Wrong, you must be registered to overnight with a troop. Parents can still attend to observe as long as they do not overnight.

"quick pay"; how can one NOT understand that? In a way, that is reflective of too much of society, and of course it appears, those that opted for "the lottery" easy pick.

From my understanding the lawyer from the AVA firm says he knew that mistakes had been made before the plan was passed but never spoke up. I say let everything stand as is and have those claimants sue their respective lawyers for malpractice. Might make more from their insurance than they would have from a valid claim.

I recommend calling the company and ask if they have an Israeli or Palestinian (or any other self-respecting nation) flag rug.

"Observation" means "no participation or interference" in what you are observing. Many parents can't do that.

The main point of these changes which most people seem to have missed is that each rank is vertically aligned now. This helps a pack in 2 ways. First of all a pack suffering from lack of leadership can more easily combine grade levels into a "mixed" den and keep the whole program running. Secondly the pack leadership can align when they do the related adventures month-to-month so that the monthly pack meeting/outing aligns with what the cubs were learning all month. This brings the cub program into alignment with how a troop should function (practice in meetings, execute in outings). These

2023 BSA Roger Krone Thanksgiving Message Nicely done. Thank you.

Footprints are a waste of $ IMO. Easier and cheaper to cut a piece of heavy duty plastic sheeting to size.

The problem with a lot of the other activities in our area, particularly athletics and marching band, is that it's an all or nothing proposition. The coaches and band directors demand 100% of their time outside of school. Kids feel the need to join travel ball, rec leagues, and local athletic associations, because they won't make the high school team without it. If they don't make that, then they aren't going to get seen by pro-scouts, or college scouts. A lot of these kids have delusions of grandeur and legitimately think NFL scouts are at their pop-warner games. When I was a mere Cub Den

Youth protection: I have never ever been comfortable with a 16 year old sharing a tent with an 11 year old. When my son joined the troop 15 years ago, the SM encouraged close-age tenting. SM used subtle hints to drive this. Almost always, it just occurs naturally. No extra work. No extra planning. No big discussions. It was just common sense and subtle guidance. ... Also, it was easier as we started with new-scout patrols and the patrol tented together. Then, those patrols tended to stay together. The exceptions tended to be near same age. Patrols: My experience leans more and

Personally I think their end game or at least back up plan is that Summit and Philmont are going to be the Disney Land and Disney World of scouting. Scouting will largely become a nostalgic activity at marquee regional destinations with some limited local units as satellites around whatever regional hubs are worth retaining. Easier to manage and monetize. BSA is not built around local scouting and really doesn't show any signs of changing that.