Papadaddy

So, in the above scenario, when Eagle wannabee is asked "Are you sure" and he says, "Yes", then what? Other than raise a red flag to the Unit Commissioner that something needs attention (assuming they have a UC and he/she cares), I think you're done.

Well, this is all very complicated and not something any of us are qualified to deal with. Chances are, with vestigial sex organs, normal development as a "boy" would not have occured, without the testosterone production that causes secondary sex characteristics such as body and facial hair, deepening voice, muscle development and other things that make boys be boys. Whether the child would grow up with a male identity would be anyone's guess, but I would bet not.

Assuming any plastic surgeon would perform gender reassignment surgery on an anatomically normal minor... No, I would not verify "boy parts". Just read an article where a genetically XY male was born with "ambiguous genitalia". A malformation that resulted in a vestigial penis and undetectable testicular tissue. The decision was made to surgically reassign the baby to a female. She should grow up to be a Girl Scout.

I'm seeing an ad for how Lysol fights colds and flu. How do they know I came down with a cold yesterday? Spooky.

Assuming I was the CC, and if my CO had no objection, yes. I would sign the app, after a long discussion with the parents. I would have no policy grounds on which to refuse. Would it be disruptive, sure. Would other parents pull out, sure. But to me, gender identity disorder is a mental disorder (ICD-9 302.85), and would be not unlike taking in a special needs kid with Asperger's or Down's syndrome. We would do the best we could and would explain to the parents we are just other parent volunteers, not mental health professionals and cannot ensure their child a positive experience.

The BSA membership criteria for Cub and BOY scouts is "Be a BOY". To me, that means having a Y chromosome. Perhaps BSA needs to be more specific.

Just to be clear, "bath salts" are not really the same stuff you put in your bath water. From WebMD: "The presumption is that most bath salts are MDPV, or methylenedioxypyrovalerone, although newer pyrovalerone derivatives are being made by illegal street chemists. Nobody really knows, because there is no way to test for these substances,"

Our troop meetings were on Monday nights. Money had to be paid by the monday prior to the outing. No refunds or additions after that, because fees had to be paid and food bought. Period. (there's a teaching opportunity here)

Sad to say, but this is par for the course, whether a scouting activity, planning a wedding, or a class reunion (all of which I'm involved in right now). People either don't know, or don't care what "RSVP" means. Just tell them point blank.."this is what I need by this date, or your little darling is not going and you lose your money". Then stick to your guns.

The Monkees were gay??? OMG!

Produce the birth certificate. Otherwise, wait until age 14 and join a Crew or Ship. This is not something which is up to the unit or the CO to decide.

Gotta disagree, twocub. If the blue cards are signed by a registered counselor, no further verification is necessary, nor appropriate. The verification occurs by the council registrar before the EBOR convenes.

No offense intended, but you asked for honest advice. If I had received this letter/email, I would have told you to "kiss off". What I choose to do with my time and money is nobody's business, unless it's a YP issue. Nobody signs a "loyalty oath" to support only one unit. If my performance is not satisfactory, then simply decline to renew my registration in your unit. A litany of excuses and alleged transgressions is not necessary. If the success of your unit depends on one ADL, you have more serious problems.

Jay - not disagreeing about stifling enthusiasm. Just expecting merit badge counselors to follow the program as intended. It was never intended to be a group spoonfeeding, without even checking to see if each scout swallowed before signing the blue card. Yes, most summer camps are guilty as well. But it's what the parents expect.

To paraphrase Beavah...Yah,hmmm. I am ambivalent on this. IF the EBOR members were appropriately dressed (business dress), I am less concerned. Could be, if they own a uniform at all (which is not required), it may be a unit uniform, which would not be appropriate to the occasion. We do EBOR at the unit level, and my pet peeve is when unit committee members look like they just came from the gym, or just got done mowing the lawn. T shirt, gym shorts and flip flops. Really? That's the best you can do for perhaps the most important occasion in the young man's life to date? As the District rep, I am always in a clean, complete uniform.

HOpefully, these horror stories, which I do not doubt, are the exception. Over the past 30+ years, I have had a pretty good relationship with the DEs who came through the revolving door. One became a good friend after he spent a lot of time soothing "ruffled feathers" following an incident involving my boys at a Camporee on a military installation...because of him, we avoided an appearance in federal court! He was a career Scouter of 35+ years when he passed away a few years ago.

UNfortunately, the FOS "family campaign" will continue because some (like me) DO contribute. EVen if they go away with 10 extra bucks, they consider the time well spent. As I was told, "we need to present the opportunity to contribute...they are free to say no."

Concur with you. It's not an application without a check attached. Debiting my unit account would have generated a not so nice phone call to the SE. That money belongs to the CO, not the Council to apply it where they see fit. Outrageous!

Our council went from 4 districts to 7 about 10 years ago. This year, we went back down to 4. In the first split, our DE allowed us to stay in our district based on the home address of the COR. Our meeting place (church) was in a different city (actually on the line). Legal? Dunno. But it worked. Finagling can be done.

"Be a bit like your doctor wearin' a ribbon from his 5th grade science fair project on his lab coat." - LMAO!

We have a guy (adult) in the district who wears an Eagle rank patch, PLUS all his medals and knots ALL THE TIME on a Venturing shirt. We generally regard him as a dork.

A key aspect of the MB program that is being lost is "initiative" and "adult association". I have been on this soapbox before. The SM gives the scout a name and phone number. It is then the SCOUT's responsibility to call the adult, introduce himself, request a meeting, and follow through. With a MBU, or teaching MB at troop meetings, the scout is shortchanged on this learning experience.

Yes. One EBOR turned bad because of a letter from the Scout's sister praising him for taking responsibility for his out-of-wedlock child. Were it not for the letter, no one would have been the wiser. Turns out the scout (over 18 at the time of the EBOR) was "living in sin" with his girlfriend and baby under her parents' roof. Well, the troop committee members were LIVID at the SM for blindsiding them, and for the "morally straight" issue. The SM didn't think it was worth mentioning prior to the EBOR. There was a secret ballot and the vote was negative (must be unanimous). Scout appealed to Council and another EBOR was held at the Council level and the Eagle was awarded. Boys will be boys, eh? Like I said in a previous post, the letter was not "negative" and the sister thought he was a FINE example of an Eagle Scout. A little conversation between the SM and CC prior to the EBOR would have saved a lot of angst.

Without getting into the right or wrong of what you did, the Pros should not be "running" anything. But that means the volunteers need to do their jobs, too. The District Chairman runs the Disctrict Committee. The DE's title on the committee is "Staff Advisor". And I have never heard of a volunteer having their membership revoked over something this trivial. Usually that's reserved for a background check issue or YP issue. I HAVE heard of them being "not asked" to continue to serve at the District/Council level. That's why all District/Council volunteer positions are one year terms. Neither side is obligated to continue the relationship. Same applies at the Unit level, but the CO decides that...not the DE.

No, Mom, I totally agree with you. It's all about the journey, not the Eagle medal. Hang tough.

Determining locations for Council/District events is the purview of the Council/District committee who is organizing it. If someone at the unit level disagrees, they are free to stay home, or join the committee so they can have a voice in organizing future events, which can be a difficult and thankless job. Been there.

I think it varies by Council/District. I recently sat on an EBOR as the "District Guy", and the CC was about to cancel it because one of the 6 letters he had requested had not come in. I had to explain that, while letters are nice for the Board to read, there was no requirement to actually have them in hand, and we would just "go with what we got". He was relieved, and a very deserving young man was awarded the Eagle. SO, that's what we do. We "go with what we got", whether it's 6 letter, or 4 or 1 or...zero. After the EBOR, the letters are shredded, so National never knows if they were received, or not. They just look to see if all the blank lines are filled in on the Eagle App. In my experience the letters are just fluff anyway and if they do anything, they provide further information that the Board can use to formulate questions. In 20+ years, I have never seen a negative letter.

I just reread your question. THere are 2 ways to do EBOR. District/Council run, or Unit run, with a District rep present. We do the latter, and the EBOR is chaired by the unit CC, who is expected to contact the references. In NO case is the Scout supposed to collect the letters or even see them.(This message has been edited by papadaddy)