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My read of the task force recommendations suggest that the "if any" phrase would be deleted. I think a lot of adults are bothered by venturers not being recognizable as such.

Real scouters don't just obsess over rank-required knots! In fact I keep having to reteach myself that Turks head.

Congratulations on such an ambitious son! Merit badges may be sewn on the front and the back of the sash. He may sew them on in any order he chooses. Also if he wants to display some of his favorite scouting activities, he may sew patches from those on the back of the sash -- if there is any room left on the sash! (Meanwhile you should sit back and enjoy a nice cup of mulled cider.)

There are a lot of great opportunities. Some with less whitewater than others. Respect the age restrictions of your outfitters. Discipline is the key. Everybody has to have their "head in the game." Not just be swimmers/paddlers. They need to be comfortable falling into cold water with life jackets on: Adults as well as Youth. They need to understand water rescue from a the boat. MB instruction is not a bad way to do that, but like 2C said, not everyone needs to work on the MB to go. You just want to schedule some skills sessions so that they get comfortable with what's ahead. Mo

Can't speak about Varsity (never met a team). Explorers had been undersold for years. More than half became venturers. (When son #1Was a tiger, it was explained to me that venturing was the new Explorers. Nothing disavowed me of that notion until someone from the Explorers division made a presentation at roundtable.) They are making a comeback.

Sea scouts are part of the venturing program. Also, this stat doesn't count for multiple registrations. For example, half my crew and I are primarily registered through our troop.

Based on the area meetings that I've attended, about 1 in 5 crews use the national field shirt as their crew uniform. All of the council, area, and regional officers should wear the national uniform when performing their duties. No crew is permitted to use the tan Boy Scout Shirt (or any part of the BSA uniform) for their crew uniform,

Wonder no more: http://www.scouting.org/About/FactSheets/YearinReview.aspx Note that there are 0 venture scouts , only 210k venturers:). .

I just remembered, Son #1 did take his SPL's little sister to homecoming! I agree that the issue is respect. But, in general the time for an adult to handle it is after the meeting. I would pull the boy aside and say "Next week, I'm expecting better from you." No lecture, no rehashing details, no waiting for an explanation from the boy. Then I would ask the SPL if he understood what that was all about. Then follow-up if there was anything serious. But, from a visitor's perspective none of hat behind-the-scenes work would be noticed. That's why I suggested that OP talk to the SM. I

One comment about iron-on transfers: I've never seen them hold up long term. My suggestion was just for a tiger flag (for that den that year). If your boys keep their den # as they move up, make that a central part of your flag.

Hey Tex, you and whose army are gonna move this thing? I still strongly suggest thinking in terms of separate modules for your food, vs. equipment.

Our camp has a nice Friday tradition: mile swim before breakfast, five mile hike around the lake before lunch, and four mile canoe around the lake after lunch. They call it the Heritage Reservation Iron Man. Youth and adults may participate. Comes with a nice t-shirt. (Used to be in Steelers colors, but I think the Ravens fans weren't buying them, so they changed the design. )

Cubs keep their sign and salute, http://scout-wire.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/BSA-Considers-Changes-to-Program-Ideals-to-Reinforce-the-Organization.doc But venturers lose theirs.

I'm impressed with the second design, mainly because I never saw it before. I like troop 21's system. Still not sure where the 2nd pair of staves gets stowed. Personally, I have a family camp box from my wife's uncle. No legs, but where there aren't picnic tables we can lash a stand or work off the ground. No food in the camp box. I had one national park raccoon successfully make off with a locally packed salami, because I was too sure I had properly secured it.

Also, if you're on a suitable go-see-it, you might want your boys to look for symbols/landmarks in your community. Then decide which ones they want to incorporate on their flag. Finally, four words for you: Printable iron-on transfer paper.

I'd like to think folks are being a little more judicious, but I am afraid that the tough economy is also an issue. From where you sat, was the river as busy as usual?

I have not heard of JTE's score cards making their way into any reportable database. If they did, I would be highly suspicious of the data. They aren't handled uniformly across our district, let alone council, area, or region. Even the membership stats may be somewhat inflated. They used to be worse, but (among other reasons) it's starting to cost real money to keep ghosts on the rosters.

The heading in this table is for the average unit, which includes packs, troops and crews. From here: http://www.scouting.org/about/annualreports/bsatraditionalmembershipsurvey.aspx we have 848,291 Boy scouts in 39,392 troops = 21.5 boys per troop in 2012.

Also, the buttons no longer have the fleur-de-lis on them -- a point not lost on the female venturers in our crew, and a show-stopper for them. (They aren't looking for any more reminders that they are a different program from boy scouts.) In May, National announced planned changes to the awards and recognition: http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/venturing/newprogannouncement.aspx It alluded to uniforming becoming more of a method, and allowed for the "field uniform" to undergo revisions, but it did not specify a time line or any specific design changes.

I suppose you could make benchmarks for all of those, let's see: - Ideals: % of boys who can say oath and law independently. - Outdoors: % of outdoor activities set by PLC. % implemented by boys. - Patrols: % of meetings where PL can report.attendance with none unaccounted for. - Advancement: % of youth signatures in books on requirements. - Adult association: % of boys who've contacted an adult about any given aspect of the program, or % of adults acting because a boy specifically requested them to do so. - Personal Growth: % of boys with an immediate answer to the question "So,

Question: (more for thought, and not judging) how essential is it that an adult make reservations, file permits, collect med forms, etc ...? Is the reason that we lose some older boys that they see their role diminishing if they are not the SPL? They feel they can take on that extra school activity or evening class because there is nothing they need to do around the scout house.

Graduation parties are big around here. Since Son #1 pushed to his 18th b-day in the spring, we had the ceremony at the CO, then instead of having a reception there, we invited everyone over to the house to kick off the first party of the summer.

Transfers only cost $1, and I'm told scouts are friendly. Of course, being worthy of his new peers will take time. But, if he's up front about his situation, and a little humble about the fact he's serving a new troop in hope of election, and he does indeed serve cheerfully, I'm sure the boys will support him. As for you, in general, fences can be mended. Folks just need a little time. Keep in mind that your son will be watching how you comport yourself and talk about this situation to others. I would suggest doing that in a way that shows everyone in a good light -- even if in the

Sometimes people like to have their own little fiefdoms. They don't even realize what they're doing. That's where a gentle nudge by a UC can sometimes help. Other times, they know full well that they are high minded, and they just don't care. Not much can be done unless that person gets to roundtable and camporees and spends a lot of time with different units. Just sit tight and wait for it all to fall apart. Spout this 300' stuff too loudly and people think you're abandoning their little Johnny to the depredations of the wild. Other times, National can be addle-headed.