Eagle732

Good customer service would dictate that whoever received the complaint would make sure it was directed to the proper authority and that it was handled in a timely manner. Mistakes are made, it's how you handle them is what determines your reputation.

So now were looking at how to avoid this problem in the future. I don't want to have our funds in an account that others, without our prior approval or knowledge, can access. I think it's just bad business. But we do need to do business with Council so how do we accomplish this? I think that a minimal amount in the account, say $25 and do all purchases by credit card. I know council will call you if you don't have enough in your account to cover an expense, at which time we can send a check.

Our issue with our account was over a double charge for an order through the Scout Shop. The second charge took our account down to almost zero without our knowledge. So when our Advancement Chair went to charge a few patches there wasn't enough in the account. It took almost 4 months of unanswered emails and phone calls get to resolve. Last week our UC came to visit, he wanted to review our recharter and schedule a FOS presentation. I told him that under no circumstances would our troop issue a check for recharter or allow a FOS presentation until this is resolved. Two days latter, problem solved!(This message has been edited by Eagle732)

Does your council have accounts for units to keep money in for Scout Shop expenditures, dues, etc? If so; Do you get a statement on a regular basis (monthly or quarterly)? Does council have the capability to withdraw money without notifying the unit? Have you ever had a problem with a council unit account?

I think each unit has its own policy on how a Scout schedules a BOR. As long as the policy doesn't create a hinderance or obstacle to the Scout I think its OK. Our troop schedules BORs for the first meeting of the month, a Scout needs to schedule that BOR the meeting prior. However if a Scouts requests one during the night of BORs we try to accommodate him if time allows. If we have an unusual amount of BORs, like often happens after summer camp, we schedule an additional night. We just try to encourage advancement. We do expect Scouts to be in uniform and have there book.

Yes, that's the camp not too far from me. I sent you a PM.

Where's Horseshoe? We have a camp near me by that name.

Congratulations on a successful EBOR! I thru-hiked the AT this year. I'd be glad to discuss it with you.

"Do all other requirements for a rank, specifically eagle need to be signed off prior to your SM Conference?" The short answer is no, you don't have to have all the requirements signed before a SMC. In fact I (the SM) usually sign all the requirements (except the EBOR) during the SMC. I do the same for Star and Life ranks. The Scouts keep track of their PORs, service hours and merit badges. We discuss all of this during the SMC and then I sign off the requirements. Hope this helps and congratulations!

I was just thinking that maybe the misbehavior in the field and the misbehavior in the classroom are related.

" We should stand out to other travelers as being outstanding, not as a group yeh have to cringe at and worry about because they believe good citizenship is snobbish. " So how do we get there from here?

Sounds like someone is trying to make a point and some parents need to start stepping up to help.

Best place to see "subtracting from the requirements" is at summer camp.

The best way to learn is to teach. Make him an Instructor and have him teach a class on one of the Scout Skills for one meeting a month. Knots and lashings one month, first aid the next, etc. And if becomes a train wreck just sit back and watch the sparks fly, but don't bail him out. After a while he'll come prepared to teach by learning the skills before hand. You get someone to provide boy led instruction and he gets to earn the skills. A win-win situation!

Just got back from a weekend camping trip at a local state park. The ranger asked us not to dig a hole in the middle of the ball field for our campfire but to use the fire rings at the campsite. I asked him "why, did someone do that?" He said yep, the scout troop that camped there last week. They also left Sunday with the campfire still burning! I told the ranger to file a complaint with council. The troop camped next to us was running around screaming until 1 in the morning and lighting off firecrackers! That troop's SM asked me if we put shock collars on our boys to keep them under control. I told him no, we just expect them to live up to the Scout Law.

Maybe one member who orders advancements and makes reservations can have a personal credit card just for unit purchases. They get reimbursed by a check from the treasurer.

Well if you don't preach the sermon no one will listen. When I was a youngster there was no such thing as Leave No Trace. We trenched around tents and no cat holes, just kick some leaves over it. Now we constantly preach LNT, some of its got to sink in! Teaching simple trail etiquette would go a long way. Example; uphill has the right of way. I can't tell you how many times, sometimes several times a day did I saw people ignoring that simple courtesy.

Funny, I had this discussion with my Treasurer last night. We need to get away from the council Scout Shop account. They have taken money from the account without authorization and double charged us for purchases. It is next to impossible to get to speak to someone about it much less get it corrected. So we need a way to buy online (from another councils shop!) and make reservations etc. I'm thinking a debit card with a low amount kept in the account is the way to go. Mrs.Treasurer is a banker, she's investigating options. I'd like to hear how other units handle this.

Basementdweller, I am not promoting the AT, don't need to in this area. We are so close to the AT that almost every troop hikes it on occasion. I am also not attempting to prepare leaders to take the trek that I just completed, that is way outside of anything any unit and even the vast majority of individuals are capable of attempting. I am promoting trail etiquette and sharing some insight on how to have a safe and successful trip by sharing my experiences on the trail. Since my return I have been asked by several units to do a presentation at a meeting and do a presentation at our RT. Hopefully some of this will have a positive effect on our units and reduce some of the bad PR we are creating for ourselves. So that's what I'm doing to help address the problem. I like the idea of submitting the question to Scouting magazine maybe you could do that.

Submitting the idea to Scouting Magazine is a great idea. I just did a class on AT trip planning and trail etiquette last weekend at an ILOS course. I'm offering to do the same for our next University of Scouting. Education is the key. Almost every Scout leader I spoke with on the trail didn't know there was a rule regarding groups using shelters.

Submitting the idea to Scouting Magazine is a great idea. I just did a class on AT trip planning and trail etiquette last weekend at an ILOS course. I'm offering to do the same for our next University of Scouting. Education is the key. Almost every Scout leader I spoke with on the trail didn't know there was a rule regarding groups using shelters.

The ATC recommends groups of 10 or less, a recommendation, not a rule. Basementdweller, I spent the last 6 months on the AT (March - September) and have hiked over 3,000 miles of AT total. Everything that you say Scouts did, I have seen non-Scout groups doing too. Doesn't make it right, just an observation. I've also seen a lot worse by non-scout groups and individuals. On the other hand all the Scout groups I saw were mostly well behaved. Maybe a little loud late into the evening but hey they're exited about being outdoors. Many of the thru-hikers I met this year were Scouts in their youth or adult leaders. I met many Eagle Scouts and Eagle dads.

From the ATC website "They (shelters) are intended for individual hikers, not big groups. If you're planning a group hike, plan to camp out or to yield space to individual hikers who may not have the resources you do." I would have told the SM two things 1. pound sand and 2. I snore really loud so no one is going to get any sleep here! Also would have asked for his tour plan. A few years ago I did an online survey at www.whiteblaze.net for research on my theses for my U of S Doctorate. My topic was Scouting and the AT. Got some interesting comments from the hiking community on their experiences with Scouts. As a group we certainly have a PR problem. I thru-hiked the AT this year (yes all 2181 miles) and met many Scouts along the way. I didn't have any problems with the units I met.

Unfortunately TT ended up getting suspended from the troop for punching another Scout during a meeting. After his suspension he never returned. Sad.

We use SOAR, not free but good service. We recently got hacked and had all content related to our recruiting efforts deleted or altered. SOAR provided the IP address of the individual who made the changes. Do you know it's a Class 3 Felony to delete or change information on a website without authorization? Our IH (a retired county magistrate!), COR and CC didn't think it was a very nice thing to do.