Eamonn

It was I who suggested that we get out of retail business and hand it over to a firm like LL Bean. Not so much for the savings, but because this is what they do. We shouldn't be trying to be good at this we have things that we are good at and should concentrate on them. Maybe there just isn't enough call for Scout uniforms and all the different sizes to make selling them in the local high street a viable idea, but a company that specializes in on line clothes sales would do a far better job than our Central Supply does. I buy the uniforms and pay the money, because that is what it costs. I only have the red wool jacket because Her That Must Be Obeyed bought it for me as a Christmas present. I don't really like it and have other jackets which are better suited for almost every type of weather. OJ, went all through Cubbing with the one blue shirt, we did buy one pair of Cub Scout pants when he started but found pants that were nearly the same on sale at K-mart. When the word went out that K-mart had them on sale the word spread like wild fire and all the parents bought them. When he got halfway through Webelos Scouts we bought him the tan shirt and Scout shorts. He got the long Scout pants for Christmas. As time has gone on he has needed more uniforms, for the Jamboree he bought the shorts that were on sale for $16.00 and would take my long pants when he need them. That was fine till he got bigger than me. For NOAC, last year he needed more shorts, he gave me 4 pairs that were now too small for him and we forked out $76.00 for two new pair. $76.00 Hurt. On top of the several hundred we had paid for him going to NOAC. Still we handed over the money. I have not counted how much we have spent on Scout uniforms for him over the past 9 or 10 years. I think that no matter what the cost is it is small when I look at the things that he has done in the uniforms. He is also a soccer player and his feet seem to grow at a much faster rate than any other part of his body. I swear that his feet grow overnight when he is sleeping. When he first started playing we were happy to go to the local Pay Less store, we could get away with $20.00. I don't know what happened but soon the catalogs started to arrive the boots went up and up till we were parting with $125 or more, there were also other things that we couldn't live without shin guards at $30.00 and compression t-shirts at $40.00. I have no idea what a compression t-shirt is?? The Soccer Boosters, a bunch of parents who support the team with sales of tickets and plants said that we could opt out of the fund raising if we gave then a check. The way things were for us this year we sure as heck were not going to have time to be selling plants and hassling our friends to buy tickets. Last year the cost of not selling was $65.00 this year it was $120.00. This is the school soccer team. What the heck are they doing with the money I pay in taxes? He really did look the part in his warm up jacket, his soccer Hoodie, his home uniform and his away uniform, his $40.00 shin guards, his $125.00+ boots and you couldn't see the compression shirt, which I'm told has wicking which is out of this world. Next year he is thinking about playing football !! I wonder if they use compression shirts? Eamonn.

I at times wonder what non Scouting types, who land on this site think of us? Don't get me wrong I don't lose any sleep over it. I just think that they must think that we are all very up tight and spend our time worrying about Uniforms and BOR's. I wonder if we come off as the caring special people that many /most of us are? While very few of us might qualify as being "Wild and Crazy", I think many of us have a hero, someone or maybe a mix of someones that we would like to be like. I thank the Good Lord that he has through Scouting allowed me to get to know some very special people. Some have been slightly eccentric, some have been very quite while others have filled every room they ever entered.' I can't help thinking that of all the things that I have taken from Scouting, being exposed and getting to know these special people is the best. Looking back even the guys who had very rough exteriors were very kind, once you got past the roughness. Many of these people just loved working with kids, they said they loved working with Scouts, but I can't help thinking that kids came before Scouts. Scouting was just lucky that this is where they hung their hat. Some of those who post here have parents who served as Scoutmasters or in some-other Scouting position, it must have been wonderful to have one of these special people at home. My Dad never had the time, he was too busy. He was a great person and I loved him dearly. Only he was just my Dad, he never made it to the rank of hero -Not until I became a Dad. I have yet to work out what made these people special, they came in all shapes and sizes. Some were really fun to be around. Others just showed that they cared. I went all the way in Scouting, all through Cubbing, all through Boy Scouting, stayed in the Venture unit until I became a Queens Scout and then went to help with a pack before coming back as a Scoutmaster. Everywhere I went I ran into these special people. Not everyone I met qualified, if they had they wouldn't have been special. I have no idea if one day in years to come if someone Will say that I was a special person. But it would be a great legacy. Eamonn.

I have lost count of how many MB's OJ has. He does have have all those required for Eagle. I think he has close to 40. Some of these he will freely admit, were just given to him, some were the result of sitting through long and boring classes some he really worked for. I have never signed up as as a MB Counselor. To be very honest I have no idea if I'm qualified!! I know that I could do a few, but most of them would be covered by a troop that has an active program. I really enjoy and am fairly good at pioneering but looking around the District, we only have one or two troops with leaders who are able to do any pioneering and with so few troops doing it I can't see too many Scouts wanting to take on the MB. I have at times helped OJ with some of the things that he needed, mainly pointing him to where he would find stuff out. I have to admit to being a little smug, when I say that I have had no part in his Advancement. The District Advancement Committee has not ruled against Parents signing off on their own kids MB's. I think that is because we know it would go against the rules. I remember as a Scout, the word spread fairly quickly among us Scouts as to who were the easy and who were the tough Proficiency Badge Examiners (As they were and I think still are in that Green and Pleasant Land) The guy who was marked as being real easy was our District President. Frank Colebert. Frank was an Ex-Judge, he had an OBE (Order of the British Empire) from the Queen. He was always very old, no one ever remembers Frank as being young. He had been around Scouting from the very early days. Going to see Mr. Colebert for a badge was a nice way to spend half a day even for an easy Collector Interest Badge. He was an old bachelor, the house was in a very nice part of town. He would make tea and show off his collection of first edition books, then he would dig out his old photos. If the weather was nice he would show off his garden. He was a tiny little fellow, not much bigger than most 14 year old Scouts. Everybody just loved him. Long after the Badge and the work you had done for it had been forgotten. Frank stayed with you. I remember crying when he died. He left everything to the District. He really loved Scouts and Scouting and we all loved him. I really think if I were to take on MB counseling Mr Frank Colbert OBE, would be my model. I hadn't really thought much about him, these past few years but this thread brought him back. People like Frank are very special people and they do make Scouting very special. Eamonn.

I tried and tried and tried again. I thought my cookie was stale so I tried again after freshing that. In the end I just gave up. Eamonn.

If he is who I think he is? He's a nice chap. Please tell him I said that he needs a hair cut!! Glad you made it Hops. - OJ is also working on that Action Center and I will be just down the road camping with Troop 412. If you get any time off, stop by and I'll buy the cokes. Eamonn. PS Is it who I'm thinking?

Most District Chairs serve a term of 3-5 years. Our Council goes with 3. One thing that I seen as being very important was finding someone to take my place when my term was over. I think way, way too much of the District and the people in it to do anything out of spite, I may well at times be very stubborn but I use that to help the District (At least I hope that I do!!) I want the transition from me to the next guy to be as smooth as possible. Right now he is serving as my Assistant. I really like him and will do everything I can to support him. I may well be asked to serve on the Nominating Committee after my term is over. This isn't because of my extreme good looks, it is because I know people in the district. Not only Scouting types, but a good cross section of the community. I have owned a business in our area, been a member of different boards and committees and know how to ask people to do specific things that I think that they might do. The next District Chairman is not a Scouter, he is the president of my local small town bank. My Mother In Law was his Den Mother, he was never a Scout, but does have a son who is. His sister is a local attorney and she serves on the Council Executive Board. He isn't going to be as active at Scouting events as I am, but will bring a lot of his friends and people that he works with to the committee. I can't help thinking that maybe Marcheck may have had a bad experience, but I would say that what he has experienced is not the rule. Eamonn

Welcome to the forum. May the road rise up to meet you and the Lord hold you in the palm of his hand. Eamonn or is it Amen??

FireKat, Merit Badges are managed by the District Advancement Committee. We have a Dean of Merit Badges. He keeps the list updated and in this age of high speed communication will E-mail a Scout the entire list if and when asked. The list has Counselors who are willing to take on all comers and those that only want to work with their own unit. You really should receive a card from your Council Registrar saying that you are a MB Counselor. I would give the District Advancement Chairman a prod, wake him up and see what happens. Eamonn.

Back in the good old days we had supper in the Dining hall, followed by the Flag and tap out. Followed by a really good camp fire. Then we built a lake (If built is the right term??) Now parents arrive with covered dishes, no one or very few troops eat in the dining hall. We have a Anything that floats race, the rules change from year to year and sometimes from week to week. Seems to me we have a lot of rules when the grand prize is a watermelon. Then we have a Flag ceremony, followed by a parade of flags back to the lake. Flaming arrows are shot across the lake, a big drum is given a work out. I have never worked out what the words of the chant are? I think it has something to do with Micky Mouse- But I can't swear to it. Then there is the tap out. Yes we still tap. There is in camp a OA Camp Chief, for the past few years the Lodge Chief has been on camp staff, so that has worked out well. If he wasn't another OA member would be the Camp Chief. During the week each troop is visited by OA people, the Brotherhood Committee tries to get people to sign up for brotherhood. While there are a lot of OA members in camp, troops under take to do conservation or service projects as troops. These projects come from the camp ranger and really are not seen as being OA projects. In fact other than these visits from the OA guys and the tap out the OA is not really a part of summer camp. The Scouts don't see it as being an OA activity. I do like the idea of a OA social, but I'm not sure what the Scoutmasters would think? Eamonn.

I am never in favor of blanket rules, because they just don't work. One thing that is worse than blanket rules are rules that are not enforced. The school that OJ attends has a no cell phone rule. Just about every student has and carries a cell phone. Even the School newspaper has stated that there is a rule that isn't enforced when it wrote about getting ready for a new school year. You can read the Vision and Mission statement of the BSA and not find a word about camping or the outdoors. Outdoors is a method of Scouting and outdoors has been the classroom that we have used to get our point across for nearly 100 years. Our Scouts have a lot more toys than we had. I look at all the stuff that my son has and think back to all the stuff that wasn't around when I was a Lad and I'm very envious. Most of the toys do come with ear phones or headsets so they can be used without causing any disturbance to others. I have several Walkman that I use. I don't think I know of anyone who would go so far as to bring a generator and a big TV to camp. OJ, does have a watchman, small 3 inch TV, he wanted an i-pod, but I was too cheap. He has a palm pilot, cell phone and a laptop. I think his Walkman goes everywhere with him. I know that he has it on in the car, when he is in the back seat. His room is full of high tech toys. He seems to have lost interest in his Game Boy. At the end of the day everything comes down to respect. If someone is supposed to be doing something and is doing something else, does it really matter what the something else is? My only big fear is that these toys can be a temptation to others. OJ does take his laptop to OA weekends, he is the vice-chief admin. and he tells me that he needs it. I issue warnings about keeping it someplace safe. Last year at Summer Camp a couple of Lads were caught stealing CD's from other campers tents. These new toys are not going to go away, we older people may not understand them or the need for them, but our kids do things in a different way than we did. We read books, they watch DVD's. Just look at the changes that have been made to the way we train adults.Even the old VHS tapes with talking heads have been replaced with interactive DVD's. Scouts are encouraged to bring a small radio to the Jamboree, so they can tune into the Jamboree radio station. I have found that most Scouts are very good about knowing the time and the place to use these use these things and are far more considerate about cell phone use. Maybe this is because they know how to set the darn thing on vibrate and are capable of getting their messages. Eamonn

And when I took the Scout(They dropped Boy) Course at Gilwell Park in the 70's, the Courses there weren't numbered. The certificate is numbered and recorded in their National office. Eamonn.

Hi Travis, Yes I was born and raised in London. However both my parents were Irish. Eamonn is my real name, it is the Irish for Edward or Edwin. When I was a little fellow (Not that I'm big now!!) The part of London I was in was very much an Irish area. We all attended the local Roman Catholic schools, which had mostly kids that came from Irish families. As a nipper I was sent "Home" every summer to spend the school vacation at my Grandparents farm. That was until I started spending more time camping with the Scouts. My Son OJ (The O is for Oliver. Named after Saint Oliver Plunkett, who was from our part of Ireland, County Meath) Only needs to do the Leadership project and he would have done everything for his Eagle. I am not pushing him, it's his Eagle, his project and should be his goal. I kinda think he might get around to it sometime in the spring. He still really enjoys Scouting and is heavily involved with the OA and our OA Lodge. He has expressed a desire to go as far as he can maybe trying to become involved at the Regional or National level, this might be the carrot he needs to complete his Eagle? In the real world I'm employed by UPMC (University Of Pittsburgh Medical Center) as a Registered Dietician. I work in the Senior Living area, mainly in our assisted living facilities. I started out many years ago as an English History teacher, but really didn't like teaching. I think, looking back that I just didn't like the school, I was in. It was big with almost 6,000 students and was very much a "Black Board Jungle". So I quit, went back to school and became a chef!! Then went back to school again and did a degree in Restaurant Management. Before moving to Pennsylvania I was the Executive Chef for the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) Even though the title was Chef, I in fact was in charge of all the food service for all five kitchens that we had in the London area. When we moved to the USA, we ( Her That Must Be Obeyed -My wife) bought a small restaurant and a few years later bought another one. About six years ago we sold one, closed the other one and have been trying to sell that one. Life was for a while very hectic, I was back at school working on becoming a Dietitian as well as running both restaurants. It's no wonder that I have gray hair!! I really do like living in Pennsylvania, the people are the greatest. Where we live we have a mix of Polish, Italian and German descendants they are great people. I have to admit some of the names seem to have every letter in the alphabet thrown in. Of course I'm not that great a lover of the cold winters that we have and we are thinking of moving some place South, when we get OJ through school. Least ways that is the plan right now. We had planned on retiring to Ireland, but it is just as cold there in the winter, maybe not as cold, but it's a different cold more damp and not that great for people with bad backs!! As I posted, great work on site. I have only ever stayed one night in Oklahoma, we were on our way to Philmont and it was really hot. We found a motel with a nice pool and that was like heaven. Eamonn.

I was hoping to get away with talking in broad terms. Still, Unc being as you asked, we need to look at some of the other things that a District does, not just dwell every year on Membership and finance. We could ask to see a percentage of Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts attend camp. We could see about having trained commissioners not just number of commissioners. Maybe have each District have an up to date Merit Badge List. Maybe a goal of selecting new non unit affiliated District Committee members. We could have districts do studies on identifying areas where Scoutreach might be needed and make plans to find youth members and get them into the program. This might mean starting new units but could be looked at with some "Out Of The Box" ideas. Councils and Scout Executives could and more than lightly would still have the much dreaded Critical Achievement's that could be used to bring home the money and the membership. In our council making Quality District is expected performance for DE's anyway. I think we could still reach un-written goals that would bring home the bacon, with goals that have something to do with any area. For FOS, instead of the goal being bring in X amount, it could be recruit so many new workers. I kinda like the idea that the requirements could change every year, maybe even not announced till about May the year before. This would keep everyone on their toes and add a little more excitement to the dull and dreary lives of the people who sit on the District Committees. It would give National, the regions and maybe even the Councils the flexibility to really focus on areas that might be weak or in need of special attention. Districts need to see that they play a vital role in the long term plan that each Council has. A couple of years back I was serving on a Wood Badge course that was hosted by a Council in our cluster. The camp site had over a very short period of time undergone a lot of improvements. New buildings, new trading post and all that good stuff. It was clear that a lot of money, time and hard work had gone into this camp. I along with the Scout Executive had sneaked off for a smoke. I was congratulating the Scout Exec. On having done such a great job. He thanked me for my kind words, but said it was a shame, that National didn't give a fig about all the improvements, none of what they had done was covered in the requirements for Quality Council. He was a really nice guy. While I really never got to know him that well and of course not being in that Council, I don't know all the details. I really did feel the pain in his voice and I wasn't that surprised when I heard a short time after that he had quit being a professional Scouter. The quest for Quality seems to have got out of hand. The need for making sure that we are moving ahead, bringing new members in and having enough money to pay our way is never going to go away or disappear. We do however need to take a long hard look at the requirements. We need to really make sure what we are doing is channeling our time and energy into doing what is really needed and will result in better and improved programs for our Units. National or the Regions could come up with some sort of point system that would grade their employees. We have a lot of very talented people in our National and Regional offices, I'm sure they could come up with something. Change is never a fast thing in an organization as big as the BSA. I have no idea how long the requirements for Quality District or Quality Council have been around. I have seen enough rule bending and cheating to make me think that the guys at the top are aware that this is happening. They have to see that we have created something that needs changed. I also feel that we are seeing a change in the people that are now serving on District Committees and Council Boards, these new generation whatever they are? Really do want to trust the people at the top. They have seen Watergate and what happens when well meaning people with good intentions are taken over by wanting to reach "The Goal" and these well meaning people cross the line. I do again really want to say that there are still a lot of Professional Scouter's at every level who are great hard working, ethical people, in fact these people are still in the majority. Scouting is still alive and well and I believe that the few rotten apples will see the harm that they are doing and will either stop doing what they are doing or will get caught and be asked to leave. Eamonn.

I'm not an expert on this but we just had NE-IV-153. NE is Northeast Region IV is Area four 153 is the course number. I was fortunate enough to serve on the second to last week long Cub Scout Wood Badge' NE-CS-58 Northeast Region Cub Scout course 58. Wood Badge Courses are managed by the Area Committee, which is part of the Region. I am in Area 4 which is made up of 13 Scout Councils. Cub Scout courses were always managed by the Region. At least that's how it's done here in the Northeast Region. Eamonn.

I agree that any BOR should not be used for the R word. I use BOR to see how good a job we are doing. If enough Scouts say the same thing about something good or bad. I take this back and analyze what I have heard. Could it be that the Scout in this case had no idea what you were talking about because the Counselor never covered that requirement? This wouldn't be the Scouts fault. But might raise a red flag about the adult in charge. Eamonn.

Maybe I'm having a brain malfunction? But I don't understand what you are talking about. You can't attend the Jamboree as a Troop guest. You participate in the Jamboree as a staff member or a troop member. Either way you have to pay fairly big bucks. Do you mean that you will be visiting the Jamboree? If this is the case the camping arrangements will be up to the person in charge of running that event. I have to admit if I were the SM and you came up with the idea of having a couple of non Scout pals tagging along, I wouldn't be over joyed about it. But that's just me. National is asking that units don't camp within 50 miles of AP Hill. All visitors will require a photo ID. Eamonn.

Hunt I believe that you and I are on the same page. At times we have to put aside what we think the rules are and go by what they are. Maybe it would help if we were to look at BOR's as being more like a reflection, a look back at where we have been, what worked and what didn't, then take a glance at what the future might hold, what hopes and what goals lie ahead. Many of us have our own pet "Things" which we might like to see more of or done better: The chef might want Scouts to learn a knife drill, the First Aid guy would like more attention paid to some aspect of First Aid. I don't have any problem what so ever having these guys pass on their knowledge, just so long as they don't add these extras to the requirements. The same must hold true for BOR's we have very clear guidelines, we have to stick to them. So even if the Scout does arrive with his underwear on his head,we still carry on and do the review as we should. We had one old timer in our District that made a big deal about Scouts having a clean handkerchief when they came to an Eagle BOR. This was his big thing. No Scout ever failed because he didn't have the darn handkerchief, but this guy made a big deal about it. I tried explained that very few people now carry handkerchiefs and that throw away paper tissues are now more common. He wanted no part of it. Some people would say that there was no harm in it, but it made the Lad was made feel more uneasy and there is no mention of clean handkerchiefs in the requirements. Just as there is no mention of wearing a uniform. Eamonn.

I'm glad that I was on the same page as the Leadership team in the pack. Please know that I wasn't in any way trying to be sinister or seeing you as being sinister. What brought me to ask was my thinking that you were a Tiger Cub parent. While there could be lots of reasons for you wanting to help this Webelos Scout Den Leader; It might be that he or she is a friend, it might have been that you had been asked to help? Very often Parents, who have nothing to do with a Den talk among themselves, seeing problems that really aren't there and have nothing to do with them. If there is a problem, the people to deal with it are the people at the top - Cubmasters, Committee Chairs. Parents from other Dens, no matter how well meaning can do untold harm. If you have been asked to help or asked to get involved that is all well and good. That was why I asked what your involvement was? Eamonn.

The details that you have provided are not really enough, we would need a little more. I can't help but wonder what is your part in all of this? While I would never recommend doing it, I have known some great leaders who are at their best when they do things on the fly. If it seems that standards are not being met, someone -The Cubmaster? Pack Trainer? Has to ask why? Is there a lack of communication? Does the Webelos Scout Den Leader not understand what the requirements are? Is there a need for some sort of training, maybe not one of the District training's but some sort of in house training that would get everyone working on the same page. Back when we had Den Leader Coach's our coach played a vital role in training all of our Den Leaders at the monthly Leaders meeting. Maybe this person just needs some help with the Den, Den Chiefs can really work well with Webelos Scout Dens. Many of these Lads remember what they had to do when they were Webelos Scouts and these Lads are known for telling it like it is or should be!! Maybe there is an adult who would be willing to help. Back when I was CM we had a lovely Lady who was great at glue and paste type stuff and had been a good Den Leader, she took one look at the Webelos Scout book and shook her head, I ended up being the "Real" Webelos Scout Den Leader, she had the title and was on the charter. She was a single parent and the there was a very big age gap between her other two kids and the Lad in the Den, she wanted to spend as much time as she could with him. So everything worked out fine, I really enjoyed working with the Webelos Scouts, she was happy to do some of the Activity Pins, that were like the Wolf and Bear Den stuff. She is now a Committee Member in a troop and last year her son was on camp staff. Eamonn.

Nice job. I did try to leave a message in the guest book, but half of it got cut off. Oh well. People say I talk too much any way. Eamonn.

I'm too lazy to copy your question word for word. Please forgive me if I get lost in my own mixed up train of thought. While I am very pro uniform.( I have posted my concerns about the price.- But that is for another discussion) Ownership and wearing of a uniform are not required to be a member of the BSA. I didn't make the rule and my own personal feelings are that I wish proper uniforming was a requirement. Again that is a topic for some other time. It is possible for a Lad to go all through Scouting and never own a uniform. I may not like it, you may not like it but that's the rule. I think that wearing the uniform is a sign of showing your acceptance of the ideals of Scouting. I like to think that each and every person who has ever made the Scout Oath, has accepted the ideals of Scouting. It makes no never mind if they are in or out of uniform. So I ask a Lad to wear it to a BOR, because it is a sign. When I look at the Vision and Mission statements of the BSA, I see a lot of stuff, I see fun, I see adventure, I see making ethical choices - But no word about uniform. I agree 100% that it would be nice if Scouts did wear their uniforms at occasions like BOR's but being as it is not a requirement and you don't have to own or wear one to be a member I can't change or alter the rules this is the BSA not Eamonn's Scouts of Anyplace. I could I suppose say that I totally disagree with the rules of the BSA and this being a free country start up my own Scouting Organization. I have opted not too. I'm OK belonging to the BSA and can get past the things that I might see as being daffy. When I chair a Eagle Scout Board of Review, I no longer ask Scouts to recite the Oath and Law. I used too, but the poor kids are nervous too start with and this seemed to do nothing to put them at ease. It was an added un-necessary hurdle. Our District Advancement Chair. Does ask them to come in report why they are there and then go into the Oath and Law. When a Lad gets it wrong, he is embarrassed and the board is left wondering if he really didn't know it? Or if he is just nervous? I like to think that by the time a Scout has got this far he has a good understanding of the Oath and Law and we as a board are going to find out if this is true or not. I think that if a Scout does wear his uniform, it helps him. He feels more at ease, comfortable in the knowledge that he is not being judged by what he is wearing. To be very honest I have yet to see a Lad arrive at one of our Eagle Scout BOR's without something that is supposed to be a uniform, every Scout has worn a Scout Shirt. Sad to say many units are allowing Scouts in the troop to do this. Again I'm not in favor of this, but if Scoutmasters and Troop Committees are allowing this, it is not the Scout who is at fault. I didn't select the Scoutmaster or the Troop Committee, I think that they are aware that what they are doing is not right, but there is no way we can force people to follow the rules. I can't help thinking that we need to look at: A Scout Is Obedient. Before we start adding or subtracting requirements. When we add or subtract what message are we sending. I would hope that we the adults are doing everything that we can to encourage the wearing of the uniform. It sounds as if the unit in which you serve has got its act together and is helping every Scout by making sure he has access to the uniform, I would hope we create an environment where Scouts want to wear their uniform. I don't think we should ever make uniforming so big that it dwarfs all the good stuff that we do and the aims that we hope to achieve.They are so much bigger than a bunch of threads. Eamonn.

Some years back there was a musical adaption of Charles Dickens Nickolas Nickleby, Smike. (Music and lyrics by Roger Holman and Simon May. Book by Simon May and Clive Barnett) This would be a great production for a crew. At times I see our District as Dotheboys Hall, with the DE as the tyrannical headmaster Mr. Squeers. Sure we see the need for what we do, we understand why. But every year it seems to become harder and harder to sell people the idea of making Quality. To be very honest, we will and would do our best without the big Quality District hanging over our head. We would do just as good a job. I really don't need to throw yet another Quality District Plaque in the filing cabinet, I don't add the Quality Patch to any of my uniforms. It seems that Quality has become the measuring stick for the professionals.Pay increases and promotion seem to rely on meeting the goals. Sad to say at times rules are bent, creativity? And just down right cheating creep in. No I know that not everyone engages in this practice. But I believe that even the guys at National are aware that there is a lot of unethical stuff going on. It is my opinion, which isn't backed up with any fact that I can say is a fact, that the 2% growth was done away with because of cheating. I heard rumors that National was doing an audit in one Region, looking at the Super-sized Venturing Crews, that seemed to have sprung out of no where. As I say it was just a rumor. I did however hear it from several really good people -Maybe someone can tell me if it was true or not. When I look at the requirements for Quality District, I'm always a little upset that there isn't more program type stuff there. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a requirement that has something to do with getting more Scouts to camp or Crews to hold super activities? As I have posted so very often. I believe that if we can or could get every meeting, every camp, every activity that our youth members attend to be the best show in town, we wouldn't have any problems with membership or finance. If we were to spent more time doing program type stuff everything else would fall in line. I was talking on the phone today to someone and we said about Finance Directors, we both wondered how many days this guy has too work just to raise enough cash to pay his salary? Maybe someone who is skilled in the art of Grant Writing might be able to raise the money in less than a week? I can't help thinking that the requirements for Quality need to be looked at and revised. Eamonn

I am 101% with the wise OGE on this one. Over the years I have heard of all sorts of add ons to the BOR. Membership Cards, Clean handkerchiefs, hair neat and the list goes on. Sorry guys them requirements just are not there, you no matter what position you hold can't add to the requirements. Sure a Scout wearing his uniform to a BOR is showing the board, that he accepts the outward sign of the ideals of Scouting. Maybe he will score a few brownie points with the board. When I'm asked to chair an Eagle Scout BOR, I ask the Scouts to wear their uniform if they have one. Most arrive in a uniform, some don't. Those that don't are not in any way put down or looked down on. In fact no mention is made of it because it is not a requirement. Eamonn.

Scout gets up on a Monkey Bridge and falls. The G2SS has been followed to the letter, the bridge is safe, but the Lad falls. I put this down as an accident. OK back this up let's say the Lad was biting at the bit and couldn't wait. He still falls - Still an accident. What happens when the Lad didn't want to on the bridge, didn't want any part of it but is somehow forced and falls. This is then Hazing. I don't see the OA Tap out ceremony as hazing, if the lad enters into freely with some expectation about what he is in for. This expectation does mean that he doesn't expect to get hurt or bones broken. Eamonn

The longer that I'm around this organization, the more convinced I'm becoming that we have the good, the bad and the ugly. This is true of units, districts, councils,leaders, commissioners and trainers. A few years back I packed up the car with wife and kid and took everyone off to Philmont. I knew that our District and Council had soft spots, but hearing the goings on in other Districts and Councils was enough to curl my silver locks. I have over the past few years made it part of my quest to improve things in our District. Looking at the big picture I seen it was just too big. I seen that I wasn't going to have much impact on the Scoutmaster who has been in office for ever, doing what ever it is /was that he has been doing no matter what I might have thought. Kinda like teaching a pig to sing. I did see that we could do a better job working with our CO's. In the past our DE's had been lax in meeting with our CO heads. This became a top priority. The Relationships Division at National has newsletters and updates for different organizations, we made sure that our CO Heads were receiving these. Where possible I went with the DE to these meetings. I took a unit report with me. How many boys had advanced, how many had attended summer camp, how many leaders had got trained. At these meetings we discussed what was and what wasn't working. We took this back to the Commissioners and the District Committee. To see what we could do to improve things. At times we had words with the adult members of the unit. At times this was a pat on the back and at times it was more along the lines of a wake up call. At times trying to get hold of COR's is like a Snipe Hunt. We now send them postcards and E-mails reminding them about the District Committee meeting, so far we don't seem to be making much headway. Bad thing is that I think the leaders are having as bad as time as I'm having getting hold of these guys. Which is a breakdown in our lines of communication. A couple of times a year we have Flare ups. Times when the Scout people and the CO people have a falling out. Most times these are about Scouts not taking care of the meeting place or leaving the bathrooms in a mess. These things happen and as a rule if they are taken care off quickly, things seem to fall back in to the normal routine. We still have the units where people just don't get it, and we have a us and them. The Scout people think they are all alone and the CO doesn't take ownership of the unit. We as a district are trying to involve the CO. At times I think we are trying to dig a hole with a teaspoon, but we will just keep plugging away. Eamonn