epalmer84

There is a list of conferences in the Wikipedia article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Organization_of_the_Scout_Movement

Ed

I totally missed the feedback link.

And yes, I can image the weird and vitriolic stuff that probably comes in through that form. I edit the BSA articles on Wikipedia, where some really odd vandalism occurs.

Ed

"Neckerchief slides. Several official slides are available from the Supply Group. Boy-made handicraft slides also may be worn."

http://www.scouting.org/media/insigniaguide/03.aspx

As long as we are updating the uniform, it would be nice to see new slides. Perhaps a nice molded slide with a spring catch to actually hold the thing in place.

Ed

Totin Chip: Yes there is an official patch, but it is not for uniform wear.

http://www.scoutstuff.org/BSASupply/ItemDetail.aspx?cat=01RTL&ctgy=PRODUCTS&c2=UNIFORMS&c3=SEMBLEMS&c4=&lv=3&item=08597

There are similar patches for Firem'n Chit and Whittling Chip.

Ed

There needs to be a way to give feedback on a page. I've noticed things wrong in the past and there is really no way to inform anyone.

Ed

Wonder what color shoulder loop Varsity Scouts are going to use?

Noticed the BSA name over the right pocket is still red.

Probably committing heresy, but I would not mind the POR emblem to drop the logo and go to just the name. No one looks at the logo to figure out Scoutmaster or patrol leader. Change the background or the border to indicate trained and do away with another emblem.

Again more heresy do away with the Cub Scouting and Venturing uniforms and go with one universal uniform. Use the shoulder loops to indicate the membership level.

Ed

Pedantic mode: These are not epaulets an epaulette is an ornamental shoulder piece, usually fringed. We are referring to the passant or shoulder strap, which was originally used to hold the epaulet in place.

I have seen one of the Scouting organization in Europe that had a small loop on the edge of the shoulder with a small colored loop through it to identify the section.

Ed

The new Scouting site looks great.

MyScouting seems to be implemented rather slowly.

As far as documents: As best I see, just about every bin item is available online (bin items have a dash in the item number and may be locally reproduced). Non-bin items, with a few exceptions, have never been available online. With the Guide to Safe Scouting, the Insignia Guide and the Boy Scout Requirements no online, perhaps this is changing.

My experience is that PDFs create more printed documents. I'm in the printer business and I have printed thousands of documents for district training.

What would be nice would be an index to all downloadable documents.

I did not know about the Boys' Life widgets. I will look at adding them to the troop and district websites.

Ed

Regarding Youthscouts: According to the California Secretary of State, Youthscouts are no longer a registered business. I first noted this in Jan 2008.

http://kepler.sos.ca.gov/corpdata/ShowAllList?QueryCorpNumber=C2504695&printer=yes

Some of the other organizations formed in response to the policies of the BSA and GSUSA:

* American Heritage Girls

* Frontier Girls

* SpiralScouts International

* Adventure Scouts USA (formerly StarScouting America, but I still see no evidence of members)

* Navigators USA

I was not aware of Camp Quest, but they only offer a summer camp program I'm not sure I would classify them as a Scout-like movement.

http://www.camp-quest.org/

Ed Palmer

I saw this on Scouts-L and added it to the todo list on the Wikipedia Scouting Project. If we can find more information, it would be a neat article.

Ed

We had a burn ban enacted the day before a camporee a while back. They drove a stake in the ground and had everyone shne their flashlight at it. It worked better then I would have thought.

Ed

There is already a Spirit of the Eagle award; it is a posthumous award to recognize registered youth for their contribution to Scout Spirit. It is not a posthumous Eagle Scout Award.

Ed

We have done this in the past. We wear the yellow troop t-shirt for safety. I think the first one we did, we wore the Scout uniform with a safety vest this a bit warm in our Virgina summers.

Ed

Wonder if it has anything to do with the truckload of SwitchBacks that ended up in a salvage store here recently. Apparently they got lost or something on the way to the jamboree. The SE alerted National and they bought them back.

Ed

National is not going to have records on merit badges- you need to go to Whichever local council this Scouter was in. And hope they did not have a fire like our council office did in the late 70s.

You can get the NESA application and the Eagle Scout credentials forsm from the NESA site:

http://www.nesa.org/about/index.html

Ed

Model Design & Building has been offered at Camp Shenandoah for several years. This has nothing to do with snap together cars.

Ed

Our SE has a policy of not hiring volunteer Scouters as office staff I have no idea why. This means that the folks in the shop have no background in Scouting and have only "catalog knowledge" of what they are selling. I don't go in the shop that often, but it is always interesting and at least they retain what they learn. Such as, orange loops are for Varsity Scouts, not Tiger Cub leaders. We don't have any teams in our council, but they don't know why we have the blaze loops. I did convince them to put the pre-1998 Venture crew patches out as collectibles.

Ed

If you need to replace your certificate, you can go through NESA:

http://www.nesa.org/about/58-550.pdf

Ed

Bob- just to clarify, the initial rift occurred in 1998:

The UUA published statements opposing the BSA's policies on homosexuals, atheists and agnostics in 1992; and in 1993, the UUA updated Religion in Life to include criticism of these BSA policies. In 1998, the BSA withdrew recognition of Religion in Life, stating that such information was incompatible with BSA programs. The UUA removed the material from their curriculum and the BSA renewed their recognition of the program. When the BSA found that the UUA was issuing supplemental material with the Religion in Life workbooks that included statements critical of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or personal religious viewpoint, the BSA again withdrew recognition.

http://archive.uua.org/news/scouts/faith.html

http://law.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6200&context=expresso

Piecing this together has been rather interesting, and I well understand why folks are confused.

Just to make it interesting, the UUSO released the Religion and Family program for Webelos in February 2008 it is also a non-recognized program.

Ed

Before you close this out...

That P.R.A.Y newsletter is from 2005 and the Detroit Area Council section is about the same vintage these are old and outdated.

What happened in 2005...

The Unitarian Universalist Scouters Organization (UUSO) created the "Living Your Religion" program in May 2005 as a parallel award for Unitarian Universalist Boy Scouts and Webelos Scouts. It was announced by P.R.A.Y. that the BSA had accepted the Living your Religion award. The program was promoted at the 2005 National Scout Jamboree and shown as having BSA approval in the UUSO membership brochure and the Living Your Religion Guidebook. However, the Unitarian Universalist ((UUA) has stated that the UUSO is not recognized as an affiliate organization. As of March 2006, the UUSO has a stated goal to create a set of awards that are recognized by the UUA and BSA.

http://www.uuscouters.org/

http://www.praypub.org/Publications/BSQ1_05.htm

http://www.uuscouters.org/documents/UUSO2005JamboreeWorship.pdf

http://www.uuscouters.org/documents/2006_UUSO_MembershipBrochure.pdf

http://www.uuscouters.org/documents/UUSO-LivingYourReligionGuidebook2005-02.pdf

http://archive.uua.org/news/scouts/050316_statement.html

No UUA awards are not listed by the BSA nor are they on the P.R.A.Y. BSA list:

http://www.scouting.org/applications//religiousawards.aspx

http://www.praypub.org/recognitions/boyscout.htm

I think the BSA dealt with the UUSO in good faith before realizing they were not an official agency of the UUA. Since the UUSO is not a religious organization per se, nor do they oficially represent a religious organization, they cannot develop a religious program on their own.

I welcome any news on this issue that would be more current.

Ed Palmer

I would consider OA neckwear similar to the OA sash appropriate for wear during OA activities.

If you want to set the example for your den, wear the scarf.

The uniform is a method, not a goal. Wearing the uniform and insignia properly is good, but minor "infractions" are not going to break the program.

Ed P.

I don't think a simple form like this is a violation of the intent or spirit of the requirement. I'm not enthused about a lot of the worksheets I have seen they may make it easier for the instructor, but they seem to take some of the initiative away from the Scout.

The only thing I require is "do my best". I do expect material, especially written reports, to reflect their grade level. I do recommend that they make notes for requirements that require a discussion.

Ed P.

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/040716.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketchup_as_a_vegetable

Hertz commercial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENfsaC6-9Uw

Here is some more info:

http://www.citilink.com/~blkeagle/jacshirt1.htm

Ed