qwazse

Question: for days backpacking (i.e., you're on the go while the sun's up, at a different campsite every evening), can any of these configure for (and endure the depredations of) charging while moving?

What profiteth a boy if he saves his own adventure but loses his soul?Remember, the exposure to folks with a more sexually permissive ethic at national events is at the center of this hurricane. The CO has the right to direct those boys to other adventures where the standard under which they contracted could be upheld. They might even have the right to demand refunds of deposits already made to BSA for reneging on its contracted membership standard. That could happen, or they could allow the troop to transfer assets to another BSA unit, or anything in between.

The folks who founded Trail Life would agree.

Yours is a situation where we scouters get together and work it out. On paper the boy would be in one of troop, but a welcome guest in another troop. But, there's also no stopping a registrar from accepting his application as a multiple of a second troop.

Not even a $1 (that's the fee to transfer). Multiples get coded as such gratis. However, for troops it should be a good reason like splitting time between parents living some distance apart. Not because you like the canoe trips of Troop A and the bowling nights of Troop B. It's just as easy for Troop A to invite Troop B up the river (maybe for the additional cost of whatever is not covered by Troop A's dues) and spare us all the paperwork. I tried to encourage boys from our troop to help a troop in their neighborhood start up. (That's how my troop got started back in the day.) Just doesn't seem to be in their mindset. But yes, the council registrar can make things happen if it would truly help the boy and his parents, and the SM's are willing to make it work for everyone involved.

@@T2Eagle, it's a given that the Eagle project hours would be reported to the EBoR. That includes a breakdown of who put in hours doing what. I actually find this the most interesting because it says a lot about how the boy leads and networks. What's optional is a tally of all the boy's other hours of service (either since earning Life or career total).

This is between you and your den chief! Also, think of ways the boys can participate in the skits with handling stage props, as ringers in the audience, puppeteers, etc ... Maybe ask one of the introverted boys if they would like to help write a skit for the other boys to act.

Camp fee doesn't pay for MBs. Troop dues and fundraising does. So, if the kid is paying dues to your troop and helping your fundraiser, this should be your troop's responsibility. If the SM's have compared notes and are confident the kid actually did the requirements at camp. Signatures are not a problem. If the boy knows his stuff (e.g. comes back with an Indian Lore blue card and one of those homemade lawn darts), it's all good.

The BSA pathfinder compass from the '50s has not evolved much from what we have today. This looks a lot humbler than the standard issue of the time. No BSA logo. Probably a leatherwork project. The button is probably more valuable than the compass itself. Check if a company and serial # is stamped on the back of the brass housing.

Fuzzy numbers. A majority in one year is a minority the next. In this case, the representative majority voted on a policy, which the executive/judiciary could not countenance.

Best I've ever seen: http://councils.scouting.org/Council533/Camping/Camp%20Karoondinhahas a massive cinder-block 20 room edifice with individual unisex plumbed toilets and showers, heating included.

@@acco40, "may be" is not a policy determination, your word choice implies that there are different ways of doing things. I have done just a few EBoR's and since then many more ESMC's (for younger candidates especially we have several ASMs sit in to get them comfortable addressing a table full of old farts). And from talking about this with lots of others, total career service hours is just not something that comes up. We like to understand the project break-down of the boy's hours vs. the time contributed by others. That helps us ask effective questions about what the boy learned about leadership. I suppose the number of hours of service outside of his own Eagle project might tell me something about one boy vs. another. So, sure, that would be a nifty figure to hear about. I guess I'm a multivariate kind of guy and would prefer to see the figures for the two kinds of service separated. But, that's just me. Until someone digs up an official quote on the matter, choose the method that works for your district advancement committee. If they don't care, choose the one that works for your troop committee. If they don't care, ask the PLC and maybe some troop alumni how they would like it recorded.

@@skeptic, sorry, I must have read it wrong ... The grand total (likely an undercount if the kid is a first class scout) is a neat stat, maybe for a COH, maybe for BSA to brag about the good it does in the world. But if it's split between Eagle and other, it's still a neat number.

Although those are both nice things to do, what relevance is it to the EBoR?

This often where adults go off the rails. (And one of the reasons why I think if they had opportunity to earn the same ranks the boys did, they'd wise up.) Leadership does not come from positions of responsibility. Leadership comes from the service project requirement. Does Tom ask his fellow scouts to help? Does he get them to sing his favorite song? Does he make them feel welcome? If so he's leading. And he should do so again through his service project.

I know y'all think that this permissive vs. restrictive sexual ethic thing is what's dooming the BSA, but that's not where the ship needs to be righted. In theory BSA could have gone more restrictive, and the membership drain would continue. There's one thing that would restore value to the BSA that would undermine every micromanaging adult: Move aggressively from a vision of "adventure boy" and toward A Vision of Hiking and Camping Independently with Your Mates. Think about it. If my Johnny or Jane is never going to Jambo, or an HA Base like all the glossy photos talk about all the time, but instead is finding a little nook just outside of town (or even in town) where he or she can grow and learn do some good in the world, I won't give a care about who some crack-pot troop on the other side of the nation is letting be their leader.

Officially: it's optional. Frankly, there is no need to count any service hours at all. Scout tells PL he served, when, and how. PL remembers seeing him doing at least as many as was required. Signs off. @@lepzid, you don't want opinions, but how 'bout a story? National Honor Society loves collecting all of the service hours every candidate put out while in high school. Yeah, whatever. Son #2 fills out the paperwork turns it in. Well our school's chapter holds a big old banquet (which, we learned from Son #1 after the fact, it is bad form for parents not to attend) and current members are assigned a candidate or two and asked to write an bio-sketch introducing them. So, we have 'bout 40 speeches with mind-numbing statistics (___ is a wonderful student in X clubs with Y awards and Z service hours) and the country club coffee really has something to be desired. The boy who introduced son #2, ignored all of that, and testified to how, no matter how miserable the day was, son #2 would show up at their after school club, committed to spending long hours, always with something cheerful to say ... and how he was a great person to have by your side. Not a mention of grades, varsity letters, class rank, or hours of this or that. Well, guess which boy, by virtue of having his priorities straight, was declared a member of our family? Go ye and do likewise.

@@Eamonn, it's just the stupidest, craziest thing I've heard in a while. And it might just work. You could tell kids it'd be like Minecraft or some other world-building online game, 'cept they'll be moving more than their thumbs.

They don't need charging if I turn them off!

As long as they shun athiests, they will likely have repeated visits from district executives.

@@MattR, although the tension may come when you have a homosexual who you would like to register with your unit, a more likely scenario would be that your unit might be assigned an openly homosexual ranger or site-guide or Seabase captain. Even now, you could have heterosexual leaders with pictures of their out-of-wedlock children stitched into their gear. @@Southpaw, what profiteth the BSA if it saves New York, but loses Utah? To those who wish to grouse about how their fellow forum members have posted (rather than address their content) there is another topic where you may argue over style.

@@SpEdScouter, the Brits have spoken for themselves in various threads on the matter. Hopefully they won't mind repeating themselves. But for pictures and really good videos, this is one of my favorite links: http://scouts.org.uk/home/

Registration fees are a drop in the bucket. And, they are nearly offset by reduced needs for services. FOS could be a big deal if those who need program are disproportionately represented by non-LDS. What's lost? Community. As a scout I had an MBC from the LDS, his troop and ours worked on several projects together. Some folks here report that LDS units are aloof. And that's somewhat true because they spend time preparing older boys for missions. But they've joined our district in helping our crew place memorial day flags. If they are off the district roster, will they get that memo? If there is an LDS rift, will there be as many units who support permissive sexual ethics to fill it? I heard from one Mormon who would like Trail Life to extend a hand to "social trinitarians" of their sort. I don't see it happening.

Trappers and Pirates! Just need a little National Archery Association endorsement.

Those rumors are exaggerated. Based on stats never measured.