Frank17

As an attorney, I can also tell you people often get confused about to whom a law pertains. For example, as a private individual, it is perfectly legal for me to discriminate based on race, creed, gender, or sexual orientation. It is only when I represent someone other than myself as a person that I may be breaking the law. For medical records, HIPAA, The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 is the one most often cited, and it is only applicable to private practice doctors acting within their practice, hospitals, clinics, insurers, etc. It has nothing to do with you as a Scout leader, even if you are a doctor, as you are not acting within your practice on a scout outing. This is separate from scout campy hired medical staff which may maintain a camp clinic. So many of the urban myths come from the mis-application of this law.

It is BSA's "don't drive while tired" safety training. In our council, it is still required on our local tour permits and it expires every 2 years, just like YPT. I am led to understand this is a council requirement, and not a national one. This may be why national does not have it with the other online training courses.

Is anyone aware of an on-line risk zone course that is valid for BSA training? It drives me crazy that all the other training courses are offered on-line, but risk zone is not, especially since it expires every 2 years. I hate having to travel to a training seession just for a 1 hour course.

I can tell you from personal experience that our troop also has a large surplus. We set our dues to be roughly equivalent to our costs per scout per year. We raise dues through popcorn sales, where each scout is required to sell enough to cover their dues or pay the difference (about 80% cover their dues through sales only, with no out-of-pocket). We also encourage scouts to sell more than their dues amount to raise money for the Troop and offer prizes to do so. As a result, we usually bring in $3-4000 extra in fees per year. Some of this money goes to fund troop equipment, others for special speaker programs, and special events/trips. Over the years, it did start to build up so for the past 2 years we have given all our scouts a $100 credit for attending a BSA summer camp. We still have a healthy surplus (over $10K for a Troop of 60+ scouts) but as our dues have not been raised in over 5 years we feel that is OK to hold for the benefit of future scouts. It has also really come in handy to float late payments due for camps and events when pre-paymenmt is required.

I do understand your concern if dues are being actively raised while a large surplus exists. Although, a dues rate of $30 annually seems cheap to me.

I do not know what the actual rule is, but our comittee has been traditionally open to all parents, ASMs, and other volunteers. As the SM, if this were not the case, they would have my immediate resignation, as operating in secrecy is a pet-peeve of mine. The only people who may not attend are the scouts themselves.(This message has been edited by frank17)

We also use new scout patrols. As we have several Packs that feed our Troop, we split the new scouts up between the two new scout patrols but keep them separate from the older troop patrols. We find they merge easier with our Troop when they have their own sense of identity and are not being overshadowed by scouts 5 years their senior. Each patrol is assigned a Troop Guide and an Instructor to lead them and assist with their training. An ASM is also assigned to the patrols to make sure there are no problems that arise with their joining (and to help maintain order at times).

Works for us, but we have the luxury of a large influx of new scouts each year that we can make separate patrols out of. After 1 year, they are added to the rest of the patrols. We usually retain about 80% of the boys who join this way, at least through the middle school years. I know smaller troops who do not get as many new scouts and add them directly to their existing patrols. That sems to work as well. In both cases, having senior scouts assigned to work directly with integrating & training the new scouts seems to be key.

By the way, having bought a lot of historic scout related memorabilia off ebay in the past, my bet is that most of the dealers are not selling to persons who are trying to claim a rank or honor they did not earn; most are probably collectors interested in patches or other items (a time honored scouting tradition). Having seen some historic patches going for $100s or even $1000s, most of the buyers would not put them on their uniform to wear. (However, bring to the next roundtable to show off, probably yes - )

Restricted = cannot be sold by the scout shop to John Q Public who has no affiliation with scouting.

However, there is no restiction to selling items to scouts and scouters who have either earned that rank or have the correct paperwork. Case in point, when my son made Eagle, I purchased a full set of scout rank patches and MBs that he had earned to make a commemorative plaque for him. All I had to do was to take his sash & uniform in to show the scout shop what he had earned. There was no restriction on me about how I used them after I purchased them & I'm sure they would have sold me several sets if I requested them. After all, I bought 3 eagle medals for him (1 for uniform, one for the plaque, & one for framing with his certificate). The store did not even blink.

Looks like their files just cost BSA a packet of money:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_BOY_SCOUTS_ABUSE?SITE=PAPIT&SECTION=NATIONAL&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

In our troop, the bugler is required to be active in our troop, attend PLCs, attend campouts & summer camp, and attend training activities. This is pretty much the same for all PORs. In addition, they are to either have or be actively working on the bugling MB, and play the bugle at formal events (such as COHs) and at more formal camps (like Summer camp - not backpacking or canoe trips).

I always enjoy hearing a new bugler play at their first COH. You bnever know what is going to come out of that bugle.

(As others have mentioned, they can use a bugle or trumpet as they prefer).

We have done Eagle COHs several ways:

1. As a single ceremony honoring the Eagle scout(s) alone.

2. As part of our Troop COH, in with the rest of the rank advancements.

3. As part of a summer picnic / end of year party, as an abbreviated COH.

4. No ceremony at all, as the Eagle Scout did not want any formal recognition.

There is no right way or wrong way to award the rank. Some Eagles do not want the pomp & circumstance of an Eagle COH; others are OK with it. We leave it up to the scout and his parents to let us know what they want. After all, it is the new Eagle's choice on how to be recognized or not recognized.

There is no rank requirement per-se, but PORs are only needed for advancement once a scout reaches 1st class and above. In our troop, the older scouts get preference in terms of getting PORs, as they need them for advancement. After the positions are assigned to the older scouts, any additional PORs are be taken by newer, non-1st class scouts. We ussually do not have too many younger scouts who want positions, but we do make them available. I would also agree with Buffalo Skipper that this type of position is usually held by older scouts who are a few years separated from the cub scout program.

This reminds me of the "lemmings" myth that prevades our metaphors thanks to Walt Disney. Good filmmaking sells.

From snopes.com:

Claim: During the filming of the 1958 Disney nature documentary White

Wilderness, the film crew induced lemmings into jumping off a cliff and

into the sea in order to document their supposedly suicidal behavior.

Status: True.

Origins: Lemming suicide is fiction. Contrary to popular belief,

lemmings do not periodically hurl themselves off of cliffs and into the

sea. Cyclical explosions in population do occasionally induce lemmings to

attempt to migrate to areas of lesser population density. When such a

migration occurs, some lemmings die by falling over cliffs or drowning in

lakes or rivers. These deaths are not deliberate "suicide" attempts,

however, but accidental deaths resulting from the lemmings' venturing into

unfamiliar territories and being crowded and pushed over dangerous ledges.

In fact, when the competition for food, space, or mates becomes too

intense, lemmings are much more likely to kill each other than to kill

themselves.

Disney's White Wilderness was filmed in Alberta, Canada, which is not a

native habitat for lemmings and has no outlet to the sea. Lemmings were

imported for use in the film, purchased from Inuit children by the

filmmakers. The Arctic rodents were placed on a snow-covered turntable and

filmed from various angles to produce a "migration" sequence; afterwards,

the helpless creatures were transported to a cliff overlooking a river and

herded into the water. White Wilderness does not depict an actual lemming

migration at no time are more than a few dozen lemmings ever shown on

the screen at once. The entire sequence was faked using a handful of

lemmings deceptively photographed to create the illusion of a large herd

of migrating creatures.

Regardless of whether you call it a convoy or caravan, it is impossible to:

3) Meet for departure at a designated area.

4) Prearrange a schedule for periodic checkpoint stops as a group.

5) Plan a daily destination point. A common departure site and a daily destination point are a must.

and do this without traveling together as a group, since presumably you all left about the same time and are following the same route.

The problem comes in when the drivers are fanatical about following the scout car in front of them, hog the lane, and do not let any other traffic in (think Smokey & the Bandit trucker convoys). If you are all on the highway at the same time, this is allowed, as long as you are each driving a normal pace and follow the traffic and rules of the road, which may cause you to separate.

I have to agree with dg98adams. Every single scout rank that requires a scout be active is also paired up with a POR. If the active requirement is failed because of a scout missing meetings/trips/etc., the POR requirement is also generally failed. Much easier to address the specific requirements of a POR than the non-existent ones of "active". IMHO, these problems are generally due to inattention of the SM or BOR members until it is after the fact. If Timmy is missing meetings and not being the SPL, PL, QM, or whatever, a contact is made to find out if they are going to participate and do their job. If they are not (sports, illness, lack of interest), re-assign their position to another scout. This is much less controversial than failing them due to "lack of being active". However, this requires the adult leaders in the Troop to pay attention to the PORs. Too many times in my experience, these issues come up at the SM conference or Troop BOR, and the scout has had no advance notice of any problems with attendance. Every POR also has a paired up adult mentor position. If the mentors are doing their jobs, "active" should never be an issue, even using National's definition(s).

Although not true patches, my most meaningful uniform wer are:

1. Eagle Dad pin

2. Eagle Mentor pin(s)

They mean the most, since I can remember all the scouts who have succeeded in the program.

We just lost one of our NT crews because the adults were over the limit. Shame, but I can understabnd the reasoning.

I got mine for Christmas last year! Really a nice surprise.

1. Be prepared to wear long sleeves under it, as the wool is very itchy and scratchy.

2. It is VERY warm, so I only wear mine when it is well below freezing.

3. Only had to wash it once since I got it, but washed in in cold gentle, by itself, and let it line dry. It definately lost some of the red on the 1st wash, so don't put it in with any whites (or they'll be pinks!).

Enjoy!

Our local venturing crew is not co-ed chartered either. There is no requirement as I understand it. YPT has nothing to do with chartering / rechartering (other than to prove the leaders have taken it). YPT only applies to trips, camps, meetings, etc. On these activities, you need to have the right number and type of adult leaders. You will need co-ed leaders if you camp as a co-ed group. Whoever signs off on the Venturing paperwork is not a YPT issue.

Here's a website with several examples (no endorsement intended).

http://www.armysurplusworld.com/product.asp?productID=7252

Troopmaster takes about 1 hour per week for our Troop secretary to maintain. They bring a laptop to our Troop meetings, the scribe and individual scouts collect the updated books, the records are entered, and the books returned. It is more work following a big event like summer camp or a trail to 1st class campout, but the database is quick to use once it is set up.

I have to agree with Lisabob. Palms are not nearly as big a deal as ranks, maybe not even as big a deal as MBs. BSA promoted them as a way to encourage new Eagles to stay in scouting if they get their eagle young enough, but we have had better luck encouraging staying in for high adventure camps and camping opportunities. Some still enjoy earning MBs; others only want to earn the minimum necessary for Eagle and then be done.

We hade a 10-year old Corgi that loves the snow. In summer, she acts like a 20 year old dog, and lies around and pants all day or stays inside in the AC. In the winter, we get a puppy back every year, as she runs around and plays in it all day. Advantages / disadvantages of having a double coat.

In our Troop, we use Troopmaster but not in order to keep track of an individual scout's advancement for them. It is the scouts job to record and keep track of their own advancement and progress (good practice for the recordkeeping their Eagle Project will require). Troopmaster is excelling in planning trail to 1st class events, merit badge opportunities, and outings for the entire group. If we see that most of our newer scouts are falling behind in orientereing skills, we tell our SPL and suggest a geocaching trip to the PLC. If we need 1st aid skills, we suggest participating in 1st aid meets run by our council. We also run a Troop Trail to 1st Class camput one weekend that covers topics missing by most of the newer scouts, run by the Troop Guides and Instructors. We still have a few scouts who slip through the cracks with missing one or two items; their PLs assist them with finding opportunities for learning, but the scouts still have to put the effort forth.

As long as your sponsoring organization is a non-profit / tax-exempt, any donations to the scouts that are chartered through them are also potentially tax deductible. Donating to the troop / pack is the same as docating to the church / organization that sponsors them. A receipt on Troop letterhead is usually sufficient documentation.

"You may deduct charitable contributions of money or property made to qualified organizations if you itemize your deductions." (IRS Publication 78)

Note that (as others have mentioned) professional or volunteer service time is NOT tax deductible, but any materials used in performing the service ARE deductible. (example: A electrician spends 2 hours wiring lighting into a boy scout trailer: his time is not deductible but the cost of the wire, lights, etc. are deductible).