John-in-KC

Stosh, There's a reason I ordered them program, then facilities. First rate also does not mean "new". It means functional, safe, conforming with code, conforming with best practices. If the reefer and the freezer at the commissary/dining hall are not maintaining temperature, there's a risk of food poisoning, and thus a risk of campers being ill. That's not first rate. If the filter on the pool is not working to standard, and the pool has to close for contaminated water, that's not first rate. If the National Camp Visit decertifies the COPE tower for safety issues, that's not first rate... Get my drift?

I look at Adult Association more in the context of the merit badge program, where Scouts do work directly with qualified adults. Merit badges are a blend of self-discovery and guided discovery learning. As far as what Green Bar Bill said, I do dispute the non-voting. Adults do have vetoes, and legal obligations to veto activities. - Plans which are, on their face, usafe. - Plans which are beyond reasonable cost for adult support. Hopefully, the SM can stop them before they go to the Committee, but when the SM and the CC work together, and have each others back, sometimes it's the CC's job to be the bad cop. PS: One of the valuable life lessons is learning to accept a boss saying uneqivocally NO.

I'll just leave this here... New Policy For Boy Scout Sponsors Slows Approval For Certain Groups A transcript is available at the link.

Remember, A patrol is supposed to be a cross between a direct democracy, and a structured work team. It decides things as a democracy, it executes as a work team. A troop is a grouping of patrols with some leadership overhead: The Patrol Leader's Council is the decisionmaking body, the SPL is responsible for running that. In simple English, it's a miniature Republic. The collective goes with the final best decision of the collective body. The Scoutmaster is supposed to be the Chief cat herder and guide of all this mess. As is seen in our own 2016 elections, that isn't easy. As far as what BSA expects, the Scoutmaster is the Chief Program Officer, the Committee Chair is the Chief Support Officer, and the Chartered Partner COR/IH are the licensees of record of the use of the Scouting program Many moving parts, each having a role...

Here is an article from a Gannett affiliate on the 2016 USDA Nutrition Guidelines Here is the current USDA webpage on nutrition guidelines

If you put on a first rate program, and have quality facilities, people will come. If you have a second rate program and facilities...

Moderator's Note: Off to Council Relations this goes, with a shadow topic.

In a different thread, last fall, there was discussion that Bass Pro of Springfield, MO had bought out Cabelas of Sidney, NE. As of 14 Jan 16, that has not happened. Here is a 3 January 2016 article from the Omaha World-Herald website discussing the matter.

Moderator's Note: I deleted posts on the "completed" sale of Cabela's to Bass Pro as unconfirmed rumor. I am starting a thread on the possible sale elsewhere. At this writing (14 Jan) it has not happened.

Moderator's Note: If y'all will edit yourselves some of the OT stuff away to their own topics, I'll place this in Council Relations. There really is some good meat in with the fat here.

The Council is always going to ask for the unit money fund raising app. Read this document. 2011 Unit Fundraising Policy 510-274.pdf

As a good friend in Houston reminds me often in the same sentence with the above, "And there is no such thing as Cajun food west of the Sabine and North of the Arkansas/Louisiana line."

Not true. You always have a commissioner. You can call your District Commissioner, and ask for help. He or she is supposed to either furnish you the assistance you need in person, or provide you a commish to help. Now, if the District Nominating Committee has a problem, and there isn't a District Commissioner, you call the Council Commish. Ditto. In fact, you can work this all the way up to Tico as the National Commish. That WILL make things exciting in your Council, when the SE gets a call from the National Commish. Professionals tend to avoid being in the deer in the headlights

Moderator's Note: More appropriate to I&P, where y'all can open up a bit. Off it goes.

Moderators Note: Topic split off from here.

Moderator's Note: The taste of rodents and lagomorphs after cooking can now be found here.

You may not understand it, but it's been going on for 60 years and more. I have two very good friends, husband and wife. He's in his 70s. There's a photo of him taken right after his Eagle COH. At the time, he was an Explorer (that dark green shirt says it all). He wore his MB sash for the portrait. Yes, it has his ranks on it, on the front, above his MBs. She, many years later, painted the photograph, enlarging it onto the canvas. PS: She's one of our Camp Directors, and has been one of our Assistant Council Commissioners. They're both great people.

First, Stosh... The UC is NOT part of the Key 3 for a unit! The Key 3 is Scoutmaster, Committee Chair, and Chartered Organization Representative ... and those 3 need to have each others back! The UC is not supposed to be from the unit. He's supposed to bring perspective by looking at different units and providing best/better practices. The UC is supposed to be a friend of the unit, but he's also BSA's QA mechanism: His visits seek out areas where the program is strong, but he also looks for weaknesses. He's there to provide help on Aims, Methods, and program support. He knows how to reach into scouting.org and find the right best practice info. If he doesn't, he has a bunch of his friends who are supposed to be able to help him, from his ADC and DC to the Council Commish My opinion, having been a UC: You don't have to have been in Scouting forever, but you need to have been around it long enough, as an adult, to decide that this form of volunteering is a worthy use of your time. Others here, such as @@Eamonn and @@Beavah (if he's still posting), will give you their perspectives gladly, by PM or in posts here. My personal perspective is much depends on how the SE treats his volunteers through the Professional Staff. I have a day job. I don't need to hunt down metrics for metric management games after hours. I don't need to chase down FOS/IIC donations. I do like being told "thank you" vice "do this". There's a reason I'm not a UC right now... That's the theory, anyway...

WRT adult selection for membership, from the page @@Krampus posted... Adults (age 21 or older) who are registered in the BSA and meet the camping requirements may be selected following nomination to the lodge adult selection committee. Adult selection is based on their ability to perform the necessary functions to help the Order fulfill its purpose, and is not for recognition of service, including current or prior positions. Selected adults must be an asset to the Order because of demonstrated abilities, and must provide a positive example for the growth and development of the youth members of the lodge. Emphases are mine. That's what the unit should be told by the Election Team adult rep, that's what the Lodge should use as their standard. I was a youth member from a 1970 Ordeal, I don't have to worry. Oh, yes, I still remember my tapout, and I still remember losing a bead for breaking the silence (we had four opportunities).

Found this in a forum on Linked In. It's Dec 2014, but the key point is: - Training can be done entirely online for MBCs. Hope it helps some of you out in the hinterlands. BSA Merit Badge Counselors Compass from the filestore at Scouting.org Counselors Compass BSA 512-937_Dec2014.pdf

MODERATOR'S NOTE: Moved to Council Relations.

Legitimate issue, since in all 50 States teachers are designated mandatory reporters. They are also trained to teach. All you really should have to tell them is use example, mentoring, and discussion techniques as your vehicles. The Scout is in the self-learning mode.

I would talk to the Executive Committee, then. They signed off on the projects. I'd also talk to the Facilities Committee of the Executive Board; they nominated the projects. Who are on those boards? Scouters, or business folk getting their non-profit support experience ticket punched? I've been blessed and cursed to see business executives who care about the n-p they serve (my banker is on the finance and operations committee of the KC Symphony, she says she gives 10 hours a week of her professional skills to them; a friend is on the Council Exec Board, he's been chair of the operations committee, since he owned a 200 truck semi fleet at one point in his life). The cursed guys? You don't want to know...

Yes. They need training on the aims and methods. They need to understand that parents counseling their own child is not a best practice, even if permitted by GTA. They can work with their son and prep him for a proper MB counselor, or they can be counselors to many. This is one of those situations where you ask for a Commissioner who happens to be on the District Advancement Committee. Get a neutral voice in to explain the methods and the techniques.

Let me be clear. The rules are exactly what you said. In the original post, I was trying to show off the youth to people who don't understand our Aims and Methods, in a ceremony where they are visible to these very folks. Once the ceremony is over, I expect they'll re-enter the sanctuary and sit down with Mom and Dad. Then, it's not a matter. This is selling Scouting and the Troop to others, not working "within the family."