NJCubScouter

9 minutes ago, fred johnson said:

Theoretically, a 4th grade girl could join a pack that is an early adopter right now.  Then during the summer earn Arrow of Light and then be ready to cross over this fall, up to four months earlier than Feb 2019.

My recollection is the Arrow of Light requires that at least six months have passed since you finished the fourth grade.  Did they change that?  If that is still the case, that 4th grade girl will still be in the 4th grade until May or June, so let's say May, 6 months is November.  Around here most don't actually earn the Arrow of Light that quickly anyway because they really aren't working on advancement over the summer (unless they go to Cub day camp.)  And around here most packs don't cross over until Feb. or March.  I don't see what the big rush is to cross over much before that. But let's assume there is a girl who earns Arrow of Light in November.  So I think the BSA would ask her to stay in the pack until February.  (Now that I mention it, I think there has already been something said about that.)  I don't think that should be a huge thing, as it is a one-time transitional thing.

11 minutes ago, Eagle1993 said:

I wonder if they will force separate names for ASM and SMs between the boy and girl Troops under one committee.

Scoutmistress?

Just kidding, just kidding.

24 minutes ago, Jameson76 said:

OK - So what are linked troops?  That is a new phrase to the party

Did that come from a web site?  I would like to try to find a higher-resolution version that I can actually read.     But I do see the phrase "Linked Troops" and yes, it does appear to be something new.  It looks like two troops would share one committee.  It isn't specific about leadership (SM/ASM.)

20 minutes ago, Hawkwin said:

Webelos, but of course she has to earn her Bobcat before she can do anything else.

Yes, that is one of the things that has NOT changed since those ancient days when I was a Cub Scout.

1 hour ago, Hawkwin said:

Back on topic, my daughter earned her Bobcat last night.

Congratulations!  Is she a Tiger?

48 minutes ago, Jameson76 said:

We are all volunteers.  Document things clearly, but don't be a czar and bang your shoe on the desk, need to make it easy to do the business of the unit. 

 

I agree with that, but you are mixing your Russian historical figure metaphors. 

2 hours ago, David CO said:

What do you call the Law School graduate with the lowest GPA?  Your Honor.

Ahem.  Sometimes.  Or, “Senator.”

26 minutes ago, CalicoPenn said:

The neckerchief should be worn under the collar.  I know that folks like to debate that point but I can point to official BSA documents to back-up my statement.  Look at the BSA issued uniform inspection sheets.  In every case, the example model of proper uniform wear shows the neckerchief being worn under the collar.

I didn't know that.  I thought under-the-collar was just a personal style preference on my part.     I think most of the rest of my troop is in violation though.  (Actually up until a few years ago it was never an issue for me.  For most of my youth as a Boy Scout, my shirt had no collar, and when I became an adult leader (with a collared shirt) I always opted for a bolo tie, since I absolutely hate wearing a neckerchief.  However, a few years ago my troop adopted a new custom neckerchief designed by the boys, and I got one and started wearing it in the interests of, um, uniformity.  So to speak.  It's an acceptable color and a good design, so I hate it a little less than usual.)

2 hours ago, Eagle1993 said:

Probably depends on how many girls join.  If girls represent 20-30% of total scouts I think this changes.  One guess is that Boy Scouts of America moves to BSA (similar to Federal Express went to FedEx).  Boy Scouts would become .... no clue.

That's possible.  My Scout shirt from the early 70s has "Scout BSA" over the pocket, not "Boy Scouts of America" as it was before and after that (including now.)

I guess the analogy to Federal Express/FedEx would be BoSco.  (No, not the chocolate drink, do they still make that?)  And I didn't make that up.  Some may be familiar with Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco in New Jersey (where much of the original "Friday the 13th" was filmed.)  The name stands for North Bergen Boy Scouts.  So there is some precedent for Bo-Sco... not that I think there is any chance of that happening.

5 minutes ago, Hawkwin said:

I don't personally see it as weird, but unless we replace it with "something" then just "Scouts" is potentially more awkward when we consider the fact that there would be "Girl Scouts" and girls "Scouts."

Perhaps replace "boy" with some synonym for "outdoors." Maybe "Wilderness" or "Woodland." I am personally fine with leaving it just the way it is (many professions have dropped their gender specific suffixes for the male or non-gender specific titles - like actor/actress, steward/stewardess became flight attendant), and clearly those girls that have expressed interest in joining have not been deterred by the organization being called "Boy."

I think the organization is still going to be the "Boy Scouts of America," as it has been even though there have been girls/young women as youth members in one of its programs for the past 45 years.

I also think that the program, "Boy Scouts," is still going to have that name even if National pulls a switcheroo and allows girls in Boy Scout troops.

I'm willing to bet one person $1 on this.  (My standard betting limit.) 

Wait a second.  Isn't a liter a unit of volume, rather than weight?  Shouldn't that be Kg if we are being metric here?  I know a liter is about a quart, and I know we didn't measure what we were carrying at Philmont in quarts. 

3 minutes ago, Gear-Report said:

Nope. 75 Liters. He was probably closer to 55-60Lb.
Still way too heavy for us old, out of shape guys, but not 75 Lb.

Oh!  Liters.  Liters?  Are we in America here or what? 

50 minutes ago, JustAScoutMom said:

I suppose I keep hearing in my head John Pesci saying "the two yoots" when referring to two 18-20 year old boys  

"The two whaaaat?  What did you say?"

"Sorry yer honor, the two Defendants."

This may be a sign that I have seen that movie too many times.  Nahh...

75 pound packs?  Our "target" at Philmont was 40 (not including shared cooking gear I think, although my memories of 1974 have faded a bit.)  I understand the more typical weight these days is 50, which sounds like enough to me.  (When I went I weighed about 145 pounds, so the idea of a 75 pound pack seems a little ridiculous.)

34 minutes ago, JustAScoutMom said:

And yet the constitution does refer to well-regulated, and regulations are rules.  We abide by them.  Companies abide by them.  But apparently, we don't want to regulate here regardless of what the constitution says.

Apparently not.  For example, I can't understand for the life of me why anyone would oppose closing the background-check loopholes such as gun shows and Internet sales.  I would think that any rational person would want to make sure that everyone gets checked out before they can buy a gun.

Thanks for the updates Eagle1993! It’s kind of fascinating watching this play out in real time.

5 hours ago, gblotter said:

Quite frankly, the endless negativity on Scouter.com over the topic of advancement gets really tiring. Painting with such a broad brush rarely captures individual experiences with any accuracy.

I can't thumbs-up your entire post because I think this thread went a little off the rails on the subject of the OP's motivation for starting the thread (which should virtually never be a subject for discussion, in my opinion, and it always leads to trouble.)  But I think the quote above captures the essence of the issue, and I agree with it.  I think we can, and should, keep the advancement program itself separate from the issue of "local variations" on the program that sometimes make it too "easy," and less often make it more difficult.  Quite often the discussions of advancement in this forum throw the baby out with the bathwater, to coin a phrase.

I would think it was a fine idea even if the mayor was not an “alumnus” of the pack and an active supporter.  With those factors added, it’s a great idea.  What a good way to solidify community support for the pack.

Plus, the Scouter who would otherwise be presenting the award can be standing next to the mayor for the presentation.  Maybe he/she can introduce the mayor.  It could be made into a positive thing for everybody.

56 minutes ago, gblotter said:

Surbaugh has bet the farm. Following the trend of co-ed Scouting in Canada, camp properties may be going up for sale.

Haven't council camp properties been going up for sale (and sold) for at least the past 10 years?

I think the first question is, did the council/district reviewer actually approve the proposal before work started on the project?  Could there be a version of the workbook somewhere that has the council/district signature on it?  Or an email indicating approval?  Or a verbal approval and the reviewer will sign the workbook now?  If any of that is true, I think this situation may be salvageable, and the reviewer and/or the district advancement chair should be consulted to find out how to go about doing that.

If, on the other hand, nobody on the council/district advancement committee has ever heard of this project, then the Scout may be stuck.  But I still think the district advancement chair should be asked if there is a way to repair this.

4 minutes ago, David CO said:

Most of my unit considered my long-time COR to be a bit of a clown. In fact, he was a professional clown. He also did super heroes and holiday characters. He didn't attend district meetings, but he had a standing offer to entertain the kids, free of charge, at any boy scout/cub scout function. The boys loved him. He was a great guy.

Quote

He also had a Pedro costume. I'll give you two guesses who got to be the back side of the donkey. Some people felt it was type-casting.

You, and you? Or some other Bozo? 

In late 2016 or early 2017, my council announced they would be phasing in a new structure for district professionals.  Instead of one DE (or SDE or DD) per district, the council's six districts would be divided into two regions.  For each region, there would be four professionals, assigned to a single subject area (Unit Service, Program, Membership and Development), who would report to a Field Director.  (The volunteer structures in each district would remain separate and each district would still have its own activities.)  At the time, someone in this forum had recently discovered and announced the creation of the new "District Associate" position, and I suspected that the District Associate title (at lower salaries than an "Executive") would be used for these four-per-region positions.

But last month, when the "phase in" was completed and the council announced who was in what position, I learned that my suspicion appears to have been incorrect.  The positions are called "Unit Service Executive", "Program Executive", etc.  I know four of the eight "executives" and, while one seems to have been hired straight into the "Membership Executive" position after the "phase in" started, the other three are (former, I guess) DE's, SDE's or DD's.  One of those has been around for a few years, but the other two have been around for much more than a few years.  (In fact, one of them was the first DE I encountered when I was a Cub Scout leader, about 18 years ago.)

So the District Associate and District Assistant positions may exist, and have patches, but they do not seem to be used in our council.  I am puzzled as to why that is.

(On another note, when they put the new org. chart on their web site, they show the District Chairs and Commissioners, and some district committees, dealing directly with the Field Director (as if he were their "District Executive") and not with any of the new positions.  Why all of this is "better," I'm not sure.)

1 hour ago, NJCubScouter said:

Blockchain sounds like it could be a medieval torture device.

"Are you coming down into the Pit? Westley's got his strength back. I am starting him on The Blockchain* tonight."

"Tyrone, you know how much I love watching you work. But I've got my country's five hundredth anniversary to plan, my wedding to arrange, my wife to murder, and Guilder to frame for it. I'm swamped."

"Get some rest - if you haven't got your health, you haven't got anything."

*Ok, that word isn't in the original.

Blockchain sounds like it could be a medieval torture device.

30 minutes ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

Back in the day, my council didn't have LFL units, they had "In School Scouting Units."(ISSU). I got in a bit of trouble for turning some of those "ISSU" to LFL groups. Sarcastically some of my peers dubbed them "Traditional For Life" and "Learning for Traditional" units, and there was some challenges. After the reprimand, I "dropped"  four of those units. They miraculously reappeared after I quit.

I didn't realize there was a difference.  I thought LFL consisted of in-school Scouting and Exploring.  No?