Papadaddy

At my council-run Scout Shop, the knots are on the shelf for anyone to purchase without proof of earning them. At the next Leaders' Meeting, i would simply make the statement that "if any of you has a need to wear knots you haven't earned, go buy them yourself, as I will no longer do it for you." Stand by your principles. This is not a CM function anyway...turn it over to the Committee. In our Council, the training knots, when properly approved, come with a Certificate signed by the Scout Executive, after having been verified by the Council Training Chair. Are they just passing out knots without certificates?

Back to Gilwell (no pun intended)...during a Scouting career spanning 50 years this year, I never took WB. In my younger days, serving my units took most of my disposable money and vacation time, and it wasn't available as a "weekend" course. And the policy of "requesting an invitation" was somehow off-putting to me. My view of WBers was those gray-haired retired old geezers with 7 rows of knots and a size 50 girth and a size 38 belt who had nothing better to do than show up at every scouting function there was, except a troop or den meeting. It was their "social life" as it were, and if you weren't "beaded", you just weren't worth knowing, or being considered for a Jambo position. Now, since WB21 has been "changed", I think, "why bother". I've had a belly full of MBO, TQM, Deming, One Minute Management, Fifth Discipline, 7 Habits, as nauseam, and it hasn't changed my life one whit. My unit scouting days are behind me, but as I draw closer to retirement, my interests are moving away from Scouting. I'll leave my share of the Gilwell Kool-aid (or is it Flavor-aid?) to the youngsters.

As an Eagle Scout, you know what the right thing is. The Scout Law hasn't changed. But as an adult and "only a parent", you also know that it's not "courteous" to come into a new troop and start telling them what they are doing wrong. Offer to serve as a Committee member, then start changing the culture, one baby step at a time. Consider this a red flag that they are playing fast and loose with the program. Some flexibility is ok, and even encouraged, but not when it comes to advancement requirements. The rule is "do the requirement"...no more, no less, unless there is a medical waiver granted. I would be thinking of what other rules they are "flexing"...Give it some time, and meanwhile start considering what other troops are out there that may be offering the program as it's intended. Good Luck, dad!

Not enough information to comment on, but that's never stopped us before...sounds like you can't afford the Camporee you are planning. Back to the drawing board.

Probably not. Just fill out the application truthfully. Being registered is necessary for liability purposes, and to ensure that the chartered organization approves of the leaders who are serving their program. Also, get your Youth Protection training online completed ASAP.

"Right wing liberal"???

Did I mention that there are no acceleration lanes, and moving over to allow people to merge is an unheard of courtesy?

Just got back from a spring break trip to PA (OGE's neighborhood) to visit elderly relatives. My wife's Lincoln LS takes premium The highest price I saw was 4.52, and I found 4.15 at WaWa and thought I was getting a bargain. Regular seemed to hover around the magic level of 3.999. What I observed, though, was that the driving habits of the motoring public didn't seem to be affected. Average speed on the PA Turnpike was 75-80 in a 65 zone...even in the construction zones where the limit was 55 "strictly enforced" (NOT). Trucks were the worst, and I spent most of the trip with 80,000 lbs of death hovering about 12 inches from my rear bumper. If the great Commonwealth of PA wants to balance their budget, all they have to do is start writing tickets for speeding and aggressive driving.

The Virginia sites are about 6 hours south of Philadelphia via I95.

What we in Virginia call the "Historic Triangle" - Williamsburg, Jamestown (dating to 1607) and Yorktown, where the British were defeated (sorry, Mate). You would be 2 hours from Washington DC and one hour from the beach and about 3 hours from the Blue Ridge Mountains.

First of all, why would a person NEED to be dual registered as both ASM and MC? Should be one or the other. MBC is a District position. The District Advancement Committee is responsible for establishing a list of qualified persons. Digital free copies of BSA pubs? Good luck with that.

On the other hand, caveat emptor, eh? When you come to an internet forum looking for free advice, from people you don't know, who are "experts" only because they claim to be, you get what you pay for, and should take it all with a grain of salt. As I tell colleagues in my professional life, "if you want an official policy decision, this is not the place." All we can do is offer opinions, based on the information provided.

Yes, you can wear any vintage uniform, as long as it is appropriate to your current position in the program. If you are a troop committee member, for example, you would not wear a vintage Sea Scout uniform. So unless you are registered in the Venturing program, and add the Venturing strip above the right pocket, don't wear it.

BOR can be held at any time for any reason, not just for advancement. The SM's job is to sign off the requirements as they are met. If Scout Spirit is not signed off, then the BOR can explore why, and discuss with the scout what "Scout Spirit" means. While the SM Conference requirement is a rubber stamp, Scout SPirit should not be.

Waiting for more answers to the questions above...but the bottom line is, as long as youth applications with checks attached are being sent in to the Council office, the Council is going to be happy and probably won't interfere. I'm curious about the statement, "they want access to OUR school". Normally, the Pack leaders don't get a vote in who gets access. That's a school decision.

From a management standpoint, I think the DE job is a recipe for failure and early burnout. They are responsible for all functions within the District, however have no authority over those to whom the jobs are delegated. Every DE I've been associated with has run the District Committee and the District Chair was just a figurehead...often absent from the meetings. And when the members of the District Committee didn't perform, the DE had to do the work himself. The SE wasn't interested in excuses...if the results weren't there, the DE was gone. In my opinion...a very difficult job with long hours and little money.

Hey OGE...got any in the Minsi Trails scout shop for "Deitsch"? As a scout, I wore, "Deutsch", as I became nearly fluent in high school German (5 years).

It wasn't that long ago, when the Mob put out a contract on someone's head, the FBI considered that a felony and would investigate, apprehend, prosecute and incarcerate. But those were old Italian white guys. I'm not trying to incite anything...just trying to understand the difference under this Administration. Apparently now, voter intimidation and murder for hire are now ok?

Like the dog next door that wants to rip my throat out every time I pull up in my driveway?

By titling the document "Guide to Safe Scouting", there is an implied guarantee that, if everything in the book is followed to the letter, nothing bad will happen, and the corollary being, "if something bad did happen, you must not have followed the rules". We all know that's not true.

I think we've been dissed. Again. #insulted

The word is "trustworthy"...worthy of being trusted. Not the same thing.

Sure. But you should only have to pay one registration fee to National. (It's my understanding that Councils don't get a cut of that.)

My profession is Occupational Safety and Health. We are taught early on not to describe conditions as "safe". We "reduce or eliminate known hazards and minimize risk". People nowadays want a guarantee, so they can blame someone else when it turns out not to be true. Do chemical exposure limits represent a fine line between "safe" and "hazard"? Of course not. They are arrived at as a reasonably achievable goal designed to protect 80% of the average, otherwise healthy workers. Often economics and politics overshadow the science, as well. Be careful out there. PS: We are also taught that there is no such thing as an "accident". There are unsafe actions, and unsafe conditions, both of which are foreseeable, and controllable.(This message has been edited by Papadaddy)

I would be so brash as to fill out the form FOR them, before handing it to the Troop CC. Could be they don't know many of the details asked for on the form and if all they have to do is approve and sign it, your chances may be better. Being nominated as an adult is not so much an "honor" as it is a means to guarantee that there are enough adult advisors to mentor the youth who are elected to the OA. Owning a vehicle and possessing camp work skills is also a plus