John-in-KC

Here are my two cents: 1) The major faith-based Chartered Partners will drive the train on this one. If BSA were to change rules, CoJCoLDS, Roman Catholic Church in US, LCMS, SBC (those that use Boy Scouts over Royal Rangers), and Assemblies of God would drop BSA faster than you would say "Bob's your Uncle." 2) When the faith-based drops happen, they'd be immediate, meaning: Get your equipment off our property TODAY. Turn in your keys, the facility is closed. 3) Major $$$$ flow from these chartered partners (and wealthy folk who believe in the Partner first, and Scouting second), and Councils/National Council would be in a major negative cash flow. Sorry to be cynical, but follow the money.

There is an award granted by the National Court of Honor called "The Spirit of the Eagle." The few times I have seen it awarded it was a) Posthumous (the youth member had passed away) and b) awarded when the Scout had completed the requirements for Eagle, but had not had his EBOR. To non-Scouting laity, that could be construed as honorary Eagle Scout...

My two cents: IF a EBOR member is a Scouter (and IIRC they do not have to be), then he/she should be in proper uniform. IF the EBOR member is not a scouter, he/she should be in appropriate attire for the occasion. In town, IMO, coat and tie/business dress and blazer. In the field, appropriate camp attire. We expect the Scout to be on his best, WE owe it to him.

JM, Please tell me another way to inculcate the ethic of service to others in a young person. Altruism is not a natural behavior of mankind. It must be learned.

My two cents, based on my son's 8th grade confirmation year: - June, 2003: Cub Scout District Day Camp. He gave 40 hours to the camp as J-Staff for a T-shirt. He asked his Pastor and Scoutmaster to use 30 hours of that time for confirmation service hours (granted) and the remaining 10 hours for Star--->Life service time (granted). - December, 2003: Our Troop participated in an area charitable project called "Bikes N Trikes for Tykes." (renovate used bicycles and tricycles for underprivileged kids). He did 2 service evenings with that, because it was fun and good to do. The time didn't count for any rank whatsoever. It was service the community needed. Key point: Teach them to serve, teach them that community service is fun.

I do recruiting as part of fall campaign for Cubs. In our District it's a team effort between the Unit and the District level volunteers. One of the things I urgently recommend Packs I come and recruit for do is make sure they know what funding they need from Mom and Dad for the first 15 months of Scouting. The number I tell them that Council expects is the sum of BL + registration now, but they need to plan for recharter immediately, since that cycle begins 1 November for renewal on 1 January. As far as Council accounts, when I was a CC, I made very sure our balance was $10 or less after each major event cycle. The DE cannot suck it dry if there's nothing there to begin with.

TECHNICAL WARNING: Firefox stopped me from going direct to the secure website of yousendit.com. There are certificate errors: 1) The certificate is self-signed 2) The certificate was not issued by a verified issuing authority. GO TO THIS WEBSITE AT THE RISK OF YOUR OWN PC! YIS

First, Thanks to the OP for this. I downloaded the draft and emailed it (and the words from the advancement letter) to my DAC. TCD, How will the National Advancement Committee enforce this? There will be some Eagle candidate, somewhere, turned down for Eagle. He'll appeal to National. They will award the Eagle, and there just might be a message to the SE of the Council concerned, cc the Pres, cc the Advancement Chair. Moose, One bite of the elephant at a time. Pick the battles wisely...

It always amazes me how many folks can forget the Constitutional definition of Treason: Article III, Section 3: "Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court." http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html I will tell you there's a fair bit of debate amongst the professionals I know in the Profession of Arms over the Al-Awlaki attack. The biggest debate is have we opened the door to let another Nation-State attack one of its citizens on our territory because they damn that citizen a terrorist (or any of many other crimes)? Actions have consequences... and they don't always show themselves right away. Meanwhile, so long, Sarah...

Let's make this even simpler: http://www.house.gov : In the upper right corner, there's a box called FIND YOUR REPRESENTATIVE. http://www.senate.gov : Ditto. Why go through a third party?

As someone who wore the 1960s/70s SS shirt, the collarless shirt needs a neckerchief. That's all I'm going to say about that.

The best recruiting tools for Boy Scout Troops reaching back to Cub Scout Packs are: 1) An exciting, challenging program. That may mean a Scout meeting looks a bit like organized chaos, but if the youth are truly leading, and the adults are providing mentorship, growth, and development, kids will connect with the fun! 2) Reach-back to the Pack by way of Den Chiefs. Putting a caring, friendly, serving face from the Troop into a Cub Den, a Scout who is telling the tale of FUN he is having in Boy Scouting, makes a tremendous difference. If the other Troop is deploying Den Chiefs and you are not, they are doing the essential marketing. I agree the UC should not be the adult doing the marketing on behalf of the Troop. Look at your own program with a jaundiced eye. Are you using the Aims? The Methods? Is it FUN for the youth?!?(This message has been edited by John-in-KC)

I'm a UC. I owe my loyalty first to the Boy Scouts of America, the Local Council, and to my District. I follow the guidelines: I am not chartered in a unit in the District I serve. (I'm chartered in a Venturing Crew as MC in another District). This is ***A*** consequence when a District level Scouter still has direct ties to a specific unit. My advice: COR calls the DE/DC today. Tells them the UC is no longer welcome on the property. If the District Leadership are unwilling to recognize this, the Chartered Partner will formally ban the UC from the property, and subject him to LE action should he then trespass. Friendly? No. Gets the job done? Yes.

In our Council, Bear Resident Camp lays out a 1:1 standard except where there are sibs in the program (twins or adopted/foster children). National Camp Standard M-37: "The minimum leadership requirements of any Cub Scout unit attending camp must meet the adult-to-boy ratio of two adults to a maximum of eight boys." Found at: http://www.ncsbsa.org/resources/standards/2011%20National%20Standards%20Resident.pdf Our Council charged in 2011 $50/person early bird and $65/person standard fee for Bear Resident Camp. Camp is a 2 day/1 night experience: 830AM Day 1 to 5PM Day 2.(This message has been edited by John-in-KC)

We've got so many Packs in our District the SE had a sit-down with the CORs. Clear and unambiguous message: This is the school you may recruit from. If you poach, we will not renew your charter. He meant it, too...

What Pack said. He can also work merit badges... including Cooking

I think every Council in the US has had this problem. It's a grand reason to have primary records... Frankly, when I was Troop Advancement Coordinator, my records in TroopMaster were better than Council's in ScoutNet.

Years ago I bought an REI down -0- degree F bag. It keeps me warm when the night gets below 55F. It keeps me warm when the night gets down to -0- F. It sees a lot of use

When my son was a youth member, we all paid our way. Period. The person who drove the Troop trailer was reimbursed gas, both for weekends and for LT camp. Our budget number was $150 a year for operations. We fundrose those first years about $10K for tents, lanterns, cooking gear, etc. From my experience, every troop is an individual concern.

Troops are not inexpensive propositions: - Equipment. - Fuel for drivers, especially at LT camp time, and especially if someone is hauling cargo in a truck bed or a trailer. - Advancements and awards. There is information about budgeting at Scouting.org. This worksheet popped the top of a google search: http://www.scouting.org/filestore/magazine/524-426.pdf During the startup couple years, I'd recommend a low mix between funds retained by the unit and funds allocated to the Scout from unit fundraising. I'd also be sure of an activity threshold that qualifies the Scout to receive support.

Whether I agree with Governor Perry or not on the issues matters not a whit. I agree with Beavah and BadenP. Scouting is a place to educate youth about Citizenship, it's not a place to advocate a candidate. All "Eagle Scouts for" or "Boy Scouts for" partisan political candidates need to come down. Period.

Boy, we are all over the map here. QUESTION 1: Is there a health care professional here (MD, DO or RN?) who has been on the Council H&S Committee and who has helped write a camp protocol conforming to National Camp Standards? QUESTION 2: IIRC G2SS is guidance for units. What do the National Camp Standards say about this matter, if anything, even obliquely? I've been around Scouting long enough now to know that camp standards are regulatory in nature from National for the operation of our LT camps. As far as the matter of a unit accepting a Scout/Scouter under such a prescription, if it were me as a SM/CC/COR, I'd have my professional put me in touch with the Council Surgeon (there generally is one on the Executive Board, he's a volunteer). I would ask the Council Surgeon consult back to the prescribing doc, and would ask I get reliable guidance on the matter.

Shortridge, Yep. That's the line. Pastor Gordon Gross for many years was (is?) a staff chaplain at Philmont. I first met him at PTC in 2003, and again in 2008. He had a neat and simple question which he'd ask at the beginning of chapel time: What are the faith communities we have here? If he had more than one, he kept matters rather focused to broad morality common to most religions. He also did not pray during his time in front. When he stepped away, he gave time for people to pray in their fashion. Now, when the folks attending chapel were overtly/covertly Christian, he'd go into worship mode. Of course, Philmont also has multiple resources for worship. Many of our district events are fortunate to have one chaplain.

shortridge, If the exposition is simply a teaching moment, and the Scouts and Scouters are given opportunity to pray in their own fashion, I'm ok. I do not want to see a Muslim offended by having the NT read to him as defined Holy Writ. I do not want ot see a Jew offended by having the Q'uran read to him as defined Holy Writ. I do not want to see a Christian offended by having the Bhagavad-Gita read to him as defined Holy Writ. That make sense? BDTP: anathema [uh-nath-uh-muh]   Example Sentences Origin anathema    [uh-nath-uh-muh] Show IPA noun, plural -mas. 1. a person or thing detested or loathed: That subject is anathema to him. 2. a person or thing accursed or consigned to damnation or destruction. 3. a formal ecclesiastical curse involving excommunication. 4. any imprecation of divine punishment. 5. a curse; execration. Origin: 152030; < Latin < Greek: a thing accursed, devoted to evil, orig. devoted, equivalent to ana ( ti ) th ( nai ) to set up + -ma noun suffix I am using it in the context of the reading being a THING under the first definition.

BadenP and I often have differences. His most recent comment is not one of them. He nailed it to the wall.