fred8033

9 hours ago, Eagle1993 said:

I think Lions are burning out parents and scouts before the hit the Troop. 

You are dead on correct.  Only a slight correction.  Tigers are also bad for numbers.  .  Not just about burn-out.  The first-look to impress parents/scouts is impressive as the program is so drastically watered down for Lions and Tigers.  Many parents after Lions and Tigers are asking why scouts?

13 minutes ago, mrjohns2 said:

I don’t believe this is the case with our council. We have 2 registrars at this point, half the year both focus on registration and half the year they focus on camp registrations. 
 

At one point, some councils paid a fee to a national registrar service where their registrars were basically outsourced to national. Our council did not do that. 

Fair enough. I've been out of the scout office too long.  I swear they were, but maybe it's only the scout shop employees.  I thought registrars were too.  

Goes to show my knowledge is fading.  Perhaps time to ride into the scouting sunset.

13 minutes ago, vol_scouter said:

Do you know of somehow else that a small, marginally performing council costs the BSA?

Registrars are national employees.  A small council might need one or two.  A larger council can function smoother with 2 or three.  I believe there are a few other similar national roles.

Economies of scale is not just national cost.  It's variety and quality.  Small councils can't offer the number of camps or training or opportunities.  Larger councils can benefit by targeting objectives that small councils can't staff correctly.  Many, many reasons.  It's not 100% about cost.  By improving quality, then scout retention and national membership goes up.  That helps the bottom line.

Merging councils is long overdue to reduce cost and benefit from economies of scale.  If anything, bankruptcy delayed some mergers and bankruptcy could help national by driving more mergers.

14 hours ago, MikeS72 said:

Is the unit a Troop or a Pack?

If it is a Pack the question is moot, as Cubs can only do shooting sports at district or council events.  (one of the big draws at Cub Day Camp)

Often circumvented by having a member of council shooting sports committee (who has right certifications) oversee the event.  Thus, it becomes a council event that only one unit attends.

24 minutes ago, mrjohns2 said:

So, what about the non-settling insurance companies that didn’t agree? How does that get resolved? Is that only upside? That is more money into the trust? Who lays the legal part of getting those to settle? 

Those insurance companies have a right to not settle and go to trial ... if they choose.  From what I understand, the trust would have the right to fund and represent all those covered by the trust.  Effectively, trust money could be used to advance the victim's claims.  

Really glad to see BSA and the councils able to move on.

On 4/7/2023 at 10:18 PM, MattR said:

We went to Troopwebhost and I wanted to set up email aliases. It seems like we can only send out email through the website. So we can't send email to, say, plc@ourdomain.org. That's annoying. Or am I missing something?

 

That was a great SOAR feature.  Worked well.  Could send email to the SOAR troop URL and it re-routed as needed.

Congratulations !   

Make it fun !   Make it fun for yourself too!

Don't do everything yourself.  Don't sweat if it doesn't become the ideal program.  Do things to keep the scouts busy and getting new experiences.  

Use the committee to share the work.  Expect nothing.  Celebrate volunteers that help.

11 hours ago, 5thGenTexan said:

I have pretty much made the decision that I am not going to recharter in December.  

I am just tired...

I am sorry to hear that.  I've been there too.  We become heavily invested in our kids and in volunteer programs that have such good purposes.  Then, when the program doesn't happen smoothly or near our ideal, it really hurts.  It saps energy.  It saps happiness.  

It's okay to back off.  It's okay to only focus on the more fun stuff.  When it happened to me, I tried to always know the ideal that my brain said the program should happen, but I mainly focused on getting my scouts out and having adventures.  By doing that, I had enjoyed scouting much more.  AND, I think my scouts grew more too.

I think scouting is hurt by the strong Norman Rockwell image and the detailed well reasoned program training materials.  So many good volunteers become heavily committed to "this is how the program should work".  ...  My opinion has changed some recently.  I agree with the program training materials, but IMHO ... just getting the scouts out and being active is much more important.  Keep 'em safe, but keep 'em busy having adventures.

LOL.   This is a hot topic for me. 

I am always looking for a good hat.  Packs well.  Shape recovers easily.  Shades the ears.  Good air flow.   Can get soaked.  Can be washed.

I like a hat like this.

So, depending on the last few years growth rate, budgeting $2.5m from the endowment "might" be a good plan.  Might not too.  All about sustainability and growth to keep it existing long term.

Different people are look for different things in a troop.  

I like the idea that the scoutmaster is comfortable staying at camp as the scouts go thru rotations.  The idea is the scouts have their experience.  They should NOT be followed around by adults.  That's cub scouts.  ... But, that's my opinion.  Also, if they don't earn the advancement or win the camporee, that's fine.  That was THEIR choice.

Flip side is bad behavior in scouts is hard to change.  Cussing.  Swearing.  Bad attitude.  Bad behavior.  ... Sometimes that only changes over time.  Sometimes it only changes with a new set of scouts.   AND, avoiding the older scouts teaching too many bad habits.  

Perhaps the example you had with first aid.  Dragging the scout by the leg for first aid.  IMHO, that reflects a scout that does not want to be there.  That happens.  Often, it's the committed volunteers who's kid does not want to be there.  

There is a magical mix in scouting.  When it works, it's great.  When it doesn't, it is frustrating. 

One point ... don't drag out decisions or try to force change.  If you don't like how the SM is doing it, are you ready to find another SM?  Or another unit?  Our kids are only young for a short time.  The time in scouts is even shorter.  

SOAR was great.

I would have loved to have SOAR and ScoutBook married.  SOAR for unit coordination.  ScoutBook for advancement.  

9 minutes ago, SiouxRanger said:

Any recommendations regarding tracking troop finances?  Scout accounts, payments for activities, etc., troop checks written and deposits made? Donations, and fundraisers? Thanks. (Not concerned with any other aspects of the software.

I used quicken.  Next guy used excel.  Next guy used ....   We let the volunteer decide as long as he kept the numbers.

Easy to get close when you pull $2.5m from an endowment.

Another way to read ...  The council plans to be short $2.5m this year.

Perhaps the question is ... how much do you plan the endowment to grow this year?  How much did it grow last year?  Year before?  

On 4/1/2023 at 1:27 PM, cmd said:

Any recommendations for us?

Recognize that the decision is not Troopmaster or Troopwebhost.  The decision is what in addition to scoutbook.  You will be using scoutbook in some form.  It is BSA's official tool.  

We stopped using Troopmaster after decades of use and we did not miss it.  Sometimes, troopmaster promotes tracking data that is really the scout's to track and own.  After scoutbook started and SOAR began to back off, we just used a monitored Facebook group and a Google calendar in addition to ScoutBook.  

9 hours ago, cmd said:

By this, do you mean having email addresses @troopX.org instead of @yourtroop.mytroop.us? 

It was a one-stop source for unit setup.   <name>@<city><unit number>.mytroop.us.   Really nice.  It did not do advancement, but that was not the focus.  It was communication and representation.  Great tool.

11 hours ago, Cleveland Rocks said:

One of the things we really liked about SOAR was that it allowed us to have our website with our own URL, and we could have any number of emails tied to that domain name.  We also like the ability to keep lists of our alumni and families, as we regularly communicate with them, something Scoutbook does not allow.

Does anyone know if TroopWebHost or Troopmaster allows either of those things? I've reached out to them both, but with it being the weekend when all this transpired, obviously no one is going to answer until Monday at the earliest.

I loved SOAR.  Great web site.  Great newsletter.  Great calendar.  I really miss it.  Great roster.  Pictures, etc.

2 minutes ago, InquisitiveScouter said:

And by adults allowing 15 years-olds with little to no experience lecture around a picnic table at Summer Camp and giving the MB away.

We each have our complaints.    I've seen some 15 year old camp staff do a more meaningful job then some of the long-time, experienced scouters.  

On 2/17/2023 at 10:41 AM, KublaiKen said:

Too many of our MBCs are already ASMs.

On 2/17/2023 at 11:54 AM, InquisitiveScouter said:

When I posed the question about having adults just register as MBCs (because MBCs also have to these checks), versus as paid adult registrations, I got a rather nasty response from National.

Perhaps the real answer is like much in scouting; the whole merit badge program needs rethinking.  So much of the MB program is subverted by troops doing the MBs within the troop and having any warm body register as a MBC.

Perhaps the real answer is the scout should find resources that are experts, but then the MBC is a district advancement person who could confirm the scout did their work.  It's not really a "go find a counselor".  Instead, it's a scout shows up at roundtable and presents that he completed the MB content ... or presents at summer camp MB office .. or ...  

Then, we could stop talking about units gaming the system to avoid fees by registering adults as MBCs ... which I've done too.

16 hours ago, MikeS72 said:

Is there a reason they are not registered?  

This started years ago.   Our pack started registering fewer leaders because of cost.  It just got too expensive to use scout raised funds to register each and every adult that helped in any manor.  As such, we registered the direct contact leaders and the rest were often minimal. 

So, the original post ... "leader" ... what is meant by a leader?  An adult talking with the scouts is not automatically a leader.  Teaching MB content is not necessarily being a MBC (registered role).  If the person is signing off on merit badges, he must be registered.  

I'd ask ... Is this an on-going role?  is the adult building connections with the scouts?  If the adult is interacting with the scouts on an on-going basis, they must be registered.  It's not just about BSA requirements.  It's about protecting the scouts.  

48 minutes ago, Eagle1970 said:

.... But are you indicating there is a possibility this could wrap up this year??

I'd take odds in Vegas against that, but then again ... What does "wrap up" mean ?  All legal challenges closed ?  First checks sent out ?   Checks outside the $3500 quick settlement sent ?  Complete wrap-up feels like it is years and years out.  I'm thinking 10 years plus before the trust is fully distributed.  Maybe next year for some checks.

This is a common pattern in scouting.  The next volunteer does not step up until the current person leaves.  It happens all the time at all levels in scouting.  

Set your date.  Communicate it.  Move on.  

At some point, the current parents need to step up and fill the void.

One other reply ... And yes, many comments here are useful.  I love standing upright in my tent.  I love space to organize.  I like cabin tents.  I don't mind a heavy tent as most of our camping is easy car camping.  I have other tents for river or hiking or when weight is an issue.

COST - Scouts break stuff and may break your stuff too.  Weird stuff happens.  Someone runs and trips and falls into your tent.  Someone sprays something and damages, etc.  Campfire embers blow in the wind and melt a hole.  Something gets set on your tent bag and it gets damaged.   ... My rule of thumb is to NOT bring anything precious to me on scout campouts.  ... The REI Wonderland X is $1000+ dollars.  The Wonderland 4 is $500.  The wonderland 6 is $600.  ... For me, that is far more than I'd want to bring on a scout camp out.