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"Feed" button is not visible on iPad/Chrome. Even after tapping Show Desktop Version.

I +1ed @numbersnerd for @TAHAWK

They were probably willing to score five points lower than your troop on camp wide uniform inspection. Hope your boys enjoyed the complimentary ice cream from the trading post for best dressed!

Mind=blown! viva la desktop site!

Zoom in-out is fine from a workstation. Still, too much white space. I just found a 'feed' tab. That kinda helps.

My fancy 'like' was in return for @RememberSchiff's fancy 'like' in the WWBPD (what would Baden Powell do) thread. I strongly encourage our SM to decide based on commitment to training, and requisite conditioning. If you want to be a big-ticket-scouter: Complete training for a direct-contact position. That includes safety training (weather hazards, wilderness first aid, etc ...). Participate in conditioning hikes. Accept feedback on training required to hone your skills. Do nothing to hijack a big-ticket activity. That especially means: don't rattle the boys. Ask, don't demand, respectfully (in writing, if necessary) from the SPL/PLC/President.

And ... Not being able to click to the first unread and last post on recently active topic is a real drag.

Way to look like every other blog, scouter! Okay, so there are some things I like about this look and feel and some things I don't. (Writing from a tablet's Chrome browser): the editing tools are nice, but turning off italics was a bit tricky. I can't zoom out to see more text. I like to be able have a couple dozen, or more, posts front-and-center without having to scroll down. Not sure about how to attach images. (Never really was.) How come everyone's icon is rounded except @Back Pack's? (Ooh, the auto-insert username is nice!) Can we choose the shape of our icon? Ovals, pentagons, squares and diamonds should be some options. Bring back the "view new content" short-cut. That's the site's coolest feature. Not looking forward to how ads will appear. My experience with other sites who've adopted this look and feel has not been favorable.

My COR, a Presbyterian (PCUSA), said she would support us if parents in the community wanted to charter a BSA4G pack or troop. In the Presbyterian (EPC) church I attend, one of the knocks against chartering a pack was BSA's narrow focus on male theists. I do not expect there to be statement on the issue from either church's respective denomination. Both churches would not tolerate such an incursion on local governance.

I think he would be deeply concerned about our dependence on prefabricated tents. Actually, I bet ... He would be thrilled with Scouts Indonesia. The scouts in former Eastern Block countries would receive high praise for rebuilding from scratch. He would tout those as models for the rest of us. Scouts UK's decision to give different oaths for different religious sensibilities would baffle him. Regarding BSA, he would challenge us about what we're doing with an abundance of riches. He would be very concerned about facilities for scouts in distant parts of the world. It would be neat to have a monthly podcast from him.

I would like to know who was the first boy to publicly credit his scout training for being able to stop a runaway horse.

What? You all wouldn't know where Laurel Highlands is without seeing the CSP? I'm all for the going the opposite direction. A custom CSP for each unit: a view from on high of the planet (or at least the part wherein your council resides), state boundaries in black, with your council boarder in red and a red thread pinned to the location of your CO (or the centre of your district for district staff). No more lettering. It's time for you all to know you geography.

I just want to put out there that, in units steeped in tradition, this form of "nuclear option" doesn't go over well. This is especially true if your COR hasn't even dropped in on committee meetings in a while. If it's his way or the highway, but half the room hits the road, all he gets is a lonely highway and nothing to haul on it.

Let's also not write-off your soul doing a reality check. Maybe you should only go to one weekend training a year, because life is busy. Maybe you can only realistically give your den quality time and beyond that your family, job, or spirit might need a lot of attention, and if you commit to the 10 opportunities that come up at round-table that will have you "dropping the ball" somewhere else. If your personality has always been one to say "yes" then your stress response may be your body saying "no can do" on your behalf. In this case, verbally saying "no can do" and turning down the people trolling for volunteers is less stressful. (As one who loves volunteering, I assure you that this is true.) But, if you're not used to ignoring other people's feelings, this can produce a lot of inner turmoil.

Yes, read the guidebook! Things are more nuanced than that. I suspect your COR is only concerned with good people as leaders and the last one out turning off lights and locking the door ... and smiles on the boys faces. I think the "baby step" that your husband agreed upon is a good one to work with, but only if you have at least a patrol of boys itching to try a different camp. We could not convince our boys to pick anything but their spot-by-the-water in week 1 for love nor money. When we merged troops, most of those boys were not going to give up on the camp they had been attending (also in week 1). So, if we are to plan anything for the summer, it's those camps + whatever other adventure scouts plan. By the way, this has nothing to do with how many years you have in the program. It does have to do with building shared vision, and the new person can do that as well as some SM emeritus who comes to the same realizations as you.

I always took this for granted, until I congratulated the SM for the minute he gave at his 1st court of honor in the position. He told me that was the first time he ever spoke in front of a crowd (scouts exempted). He said he was incredibly nervous and avoided public speaking like the plague since high school. I would suggest confiding in a friend about your anxiety. Just knowing that someone in he crowd understands the challenge that you're facing might help. Simply put, it's nice to be prayed for.

I have mixed feelings about WB. Funding was the least of my concerns. Now, if you would have offered to take my crew on a whitewater trip, or even host them on your property for an evening, while I was off taking the course ... THAT would have eased my mind greatly. So, let me give you a bigger "ask". Every year ask a scouter who you think could benefit from WB what's keeping him/her from attending. It could be kids who need babysat, a unit like I mentioned who is short on leadership, chores around the house to get done. See exactly where you could fill in. Or, it could also be down payments on a high adventure trip they need to make. See if you could (maybe with your scouts or another scouter) could fill in that actual gap. Sometimes, we can over-monitise a situation. Money is great, but a lot of people will respond to personal involvement.

Two solutions: 1. Maintain it for 15 days. "Release" it to your buddy's for a day. Maintain it for 15 more days. 2. Start the requirement on Feb 1. Complete it the day before March 1. Or, just adopt the animal as a pet! That's the point of the requirement. Some boys will want to keep a pet, and this badge is a way for them to master that responsibility. Others would rather watch tadpoles die metamorphose.

Dues (about $80/year now) cover registration fees and bling. Summer camp, uniforms, and nominal weekend camp fees are out-of-pocket. Troop equipment is payed for by fundraisers. The SM also has a discretionary fund. But, lately he hasn't been tapping it. A portion of funds raised by each scout is put under his stewardship for the good of the troop. (E.g., if you buy your uniform with your allocation, your are expected to turn it in when you are done with it.) The treasurer puts out a regular report of income and expenses. So it's pretty clear what we need to raise. I think we have been on target. A troop should have reserve for about one year's worth of expenses. Usually that number should be calculated after summer camp so you have a good idea what's in the checkbook after summer camp fees are spent and before fall fundraisers kick up. So, if that number keeps dwindling every year, it's your problem. If it sky-rockets (say a big donation or some other windfall), it's your problem. If it's roughly what it was in years past, you're okay. Offloading expenses to families sometimes works. Sometimes doesn't. It really depends on your community.

E94, you got to know when to hold 'em: NEVER NEGOTIATE BACKWARDS! That's as bad as violating my rule #1 (don't ask for a rule)! You could have said "OKay, whatever, tenderfoot it is." And left the room. It's not my job to solve some adult's beef about a kid. If it matters, the SM can just say "kid, you're not ready yet." I sure hope that you went and apologized to that scout.

Proof will be in the pudding if the 4G results in a net gain in B a decade from now. We're both skeptical about that one. That doesn't negate that OA has hedged its bets with marketing doublespeak by contriving youth membership requirements to be dependent on the make-up of some divisions of BSA, fiddling with loopholes rather than admitting its narrow focus as an honor society for boys in scouting.

@HelpfulTracks, it's my understanding that a boy who did all of his activity in a post at the time, providing he had obtained 1st class, could be elected. No troop involvement required. I've met a few explorers from central PA and NY who camped regularly. So, a nomination from a post would not be that far fetched. For me, this is very simple. And it has to do with @Stosh's scouts' ambivalence toward OA: Either they are scouting's honor society like they say they are, or they are a safe space niche program for boys. I'm fine with either. Just don't make your byline one thing and when you are the other.

How quickly we forget that OA's byline is "Scouting's National Honor Society" Well, in the first place, OA was open to Explorers. See Mike Walton's reply in https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2014/07/18/female-youth-order-of-the-arrow/ regarding the history of OA including Explorerrs, then closing that door in the 90's.The contrived "troop/team" specification was all to could avoid saying "no girls allowed." Like I said, it would be fine by me if the up and said that. But, when it no longer recognizes a swath of the organization's honorable campers, what kind of society is it really?

Explain to me again why I should dismiss a scouter who may be, for example, my best shooting instructor, because he has a chip on his shoulder about the opposite sex? If this is going to work, we are all going to have to put up with each other's rough edges. My boys and my daughter had to learn skills from folks who voiced views that Mrs. Q. and I disagreed with. And sometimes what was said was objectively demeaning. I asked the kids to tune out the noise and respect who did the work. They are better adults for it. No regrets.

@ParaSloth, please don't be offended by the snark of that last reply. The whole "won't go camping alone" seals the deal. We just have to accept that ... Mom and dad have their reasons for not getting registered and trained. The boy isn't ready to be off on his own. The troop has it's policies for their own reasons. Nobody is going to adjust in time for crossing-over. And you know what? That's really okay. We're assuming you want to do your best. Thus your post. I think your best is to encourage this boy to spend as much time as he can with the pack and the webelos den. Then, on his 11th birthday, consider joining your troop. But, also give your parents a list of troops in your district and encourage them to take him for a visit. The whole AOL award is secondary. The goal is for the scout to have fun. Being in a troop that he's not comfortable with is not fun. Are you transferring to the troop? If so, the next-in-line DL will have to help with the award. This isn't bad. Maybe by learning to work with a different DL, he can be more comfortable with the new caring adults that he may find wherever he lands.