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The key to WS, is resourcefulness with dual-use items. Flares may be a fun draw, maybe they make good fire starters. But... Can the spent tube be used to rig a trap? Can you cook with them? Do they make good mineral supplements to the ants that have raided your last pack of raisins?

For the sake of marketing and civic pride, a council should return towards being plain-spoken: 1. Be named after the most populous city (as recognized by the US census) within its bounds. The default patch would be the city, state strip in the standard issue colors/font of unit numbers. 2. Decorative patch may incorporate either: That city & state's seal, A map of the region, or An image of at least one great leader, brandishing weapon(s). (Yes, the pen or pulpit could be a weapon. Yes, the leader may be from a minority.) That means my hometown becomes Pittsburgh, PA council, BSA -- even though they are far outside that bubble. If they don't like it, they can call on their local civic organizations to build the capital to support an independent council in their locality.

No better way to make sure a nature center gets graffiti than sharing nature cam footage on the web. The latter service project will spawn the former!

Yeah, when I'm at Heritage, I'm too busy helping in scout activities to waste time with a Scouter Service Patch. With that 1 hour paper-chase to report 10 hours of service, I could put in 11 hours of service.

How about everybody Kelly green? Except for Sea Scouts ... they're too cool in their blue-as-cub-scouts shirts! Truth, @Eagledad, I am kinda "poking the bear." I don't know how much cost saving there is having a different color for those tiny cub uniforms that, like you say, is a thing of pride to grow out of. But, there's not a lot of pride involved in "growing" from tan to green, and in fact I've witnessed some downright arrogance that we could do without. I mean, I am proud to have been a crew advisor because of the positive impact that it made on how I work with youth (Cubs, Scouts, of Venturers). But, I have seen a lot of other adults and older youth arrive at the same place through different channels (e.g., O/A, camp staff, etc ...). So, it's only a partial jest about putting everyone ('cept Sea Scouts) in green.

I am saying this as someone who loves his Kelly green shirt, but in all honesty ... From the minute they rolled out the tan ODL shirts with epaulets, I always wondered why the Explorers didn't just use those with green shoulderloops. Furthermore, there should be half- and quarter- loops for folks who serve in multiple programs. One shirt to rule them all ...

You brought back fond memories of a town hike that included the troop visiting at the Sheriff's office and a tour of county lock-up which included saying hello to the prisoners, one of whom gave us the "Kids, stay in school," speech. That wasn't a requirement for any merit badge. The SM explained that it's just what we do. At the time, I took "we" to mean scouts. But, I think he meant staunch Presbyterians, because the youth group also paid visits to the jail and the juvenile detention center. It's true about our nation's record incarceration rates and long sentencing. But, we also all carry guns and knives. Let one of us out too soon, and bad things happen that make the papers.

I"m sure some places would like a little extra help cleaning graffiti.

There is something for adults to visit every program area (and take a nap in camp). But nothing specific to SMs. I'm usually too busy to bother with that.

@Double Eagle makes a good point. If your pool is 25 feet, knocking the 2C req 5b at home is a good idea. More important, however, is making sure your non-swimmers know line rescues. They'll be the ones out of the water and more likely to notice a tired swimmer if you train them to be observant. They need to know how to tie off a line, and they need the practice throwing buoys. They seriously need to understand limitations (theirs and other friends and families) because odds are, on that dark day, they will be in a position to act the quickest.

Here's what I did just now ... Login and click the pancake menu for quick navigation. Click on My Dashboard. My Dashboard shows my account, and under that my unit is listed right-justified. I click on that. It shows links to my adults and youth rosters, then Troop Reports, MB Counselor List, Print Blue Cards, and an announcement from my council that they updated the MB List. I click on MB Counselor List. It brings up a bunch of filters. At the bottom in red is "search". Click that and the list is generated. FWIW, nobody in my troop is on that list. I guess that's one more Email request I have to follow up.

Oh noble SDW! You wander far from the battle. These are pictures of a couple of dozen scouts outdoors where exposure is minimal. It is extremely unlikely that any disease was transmitted through any behavior in this single-troop camp. These pictures are from a month ago. Leading up to camp from Jun 1st-14th, zero cases had been reported in Paulding Co (https://www.facebook.com/PauldingCountyHealthDept/). The bulk of new cases arose June 15-26 during and after the time these boys were in camp. If these cases were from community spread, it is just as likely that these boys camping at a fairground instead of roaming the streets in the evening curbed infection. We need to remind ourselves that ours is a big country and what needs to be done one way on the coast would make no sense in the heartland. Would a troop in NY,PA, or MA be able to do the same? I doubt it. Precious few of our counties have had zero cases for even a week at a time -- let alone two. Furthermore, since we encourage scouts to troop-shop rather than participate in the one closest to their home, scouts from multiple zones gather together -- a circumstance that favors transmission.

@acema606, concerns are valid. A vaccine may be rolled out by then. But folks will be addled by this Pandemic. The economy will need to pivot more than it ever has for the 2% of BSA's membership who attends these sort of things to all be able to afford it. That said, Summit is putting on a summer camp program, so they will have worked on best practices under pandemic conditions.The unknown is how much they can upscale what they are doing now to the level of a Jamboree.

@k80sill, have you tried contacting the BSA scouting museum?

You're welcome. BTW, that's precisely what I expect of my SM's and ASM's regarding my behavior. Iron sharpens iron.

That works for 95% of scouts, thus the requirements for 2nd and 1st class rank. But, for some scouts, getting them to take on some basic instruction in the non-swimmer's area is the best you'll get. Then there's that 1% of scouts who could knock the req out in a pool any day of the week, but they've got it in their heads that the sign-off won't be worth it unless they muster up the courage to cover those 100 yards in that lake, and it takes for years to beat down that demon. We don't really know what kind of scout @karunamom3 is dealing with. But regardless, adding urgency to a problem that isn't urgent generally makes things worse. Like I said, my kids had to contend with a lake, Great Lake or an ocean nearly every trip. One grandpa was a VFD chief and had seen plenty enough tragedy. So, Swimming and Lifesaving were at the top of the ticket of every youth program we considered. But not all parents are putting their kids in those kinds of situations. Other things are more important. Find out what those things are and build on those while the kid builds up courage for aquatics.

You and the skipper must confront the behavior directly. List bad behaviors. Explain that they have to stop. Then ask if there's another problem that you don't see that's motivating her to violate protocol. Be prepared for it to not go well. But for the sake of those scouts, you need to give it a shot.

What mash said. With the caveat that every district has its nuances.

How it worked six months ago ... https://discussions.scouting.org/t/editing-and-printing-merit-badge-counselor-lists/137508/2

The real key is to accept the fact that First Class First Year is a lie. Assure a scout that if he doesn't want to complete that requirement now, you'll give him an opportunity next year, and the year after that, until he's ready to give it a try. Obviously that means he'll miss out on some activities and rank advancement will be delayed, but that's okay. He can focus on other activities including loading up on MBs that interest him and maybe figuring out something fun for his patrol or the whole troop to do.

I agree with the above that the space should be reserved after the district sign-off. With 10 Life scouts and a thorough district advancement chair, one or two of them will get sent back for further work. Those one or two reserving a hall for a fundraiser could block a date that might suit others who are clear to start their project. Also. Talk to your COR. The CO might not be comfortable with indoor fundraising events this year. Ten of them means ten chances that someone with the virus passes through, and you all will need to help contact trace. Our CO has so many at-risk congregants that they have asked us to not use the building ... even for meetings. Also, ten additional fundraisers might be unrealistic. One big fundraiser to load the pot for projects might work better. But, that also means that boys will have to share leadership at that point. Not a big deal, but a challenge. Some CO's will charge a fee for extra use. Be open to discuss that.

"Ambient temperature showers."

Talk to various local pool officials. There has to be a way to make it work. Kids who can't swim pose tremendous risk of death. I met my requirements in a pool, and it opened acres of lakes to me, including a Great one that my family swims and boats in regularly. Most state parks are open, and many have ideal lanes for swimming. But face facts, instruction is an intimate affair. Your scout may have to wait out the year.

Hey @Snowball, I forgot to say, "Welcome to the forums!" Maybe if you tell us a little about yourself (position in BSA, experience as a scout/leader, family, rural/urban, number of folks helping you), we can guide you better.

Do you get out much? Looks like you're gonna visit ... Coffee shops and ice cream parlors. Put up Scouts BSA posters. Donate copies of Boy's Life and Scouts BSA Handbooks. If they have TV's, ask if they'll let you play some clip. Parks. Posters. On a popular day, get permission to set up a tent and maybe a campfire or some other activity. Schools. Ask your adults if they want to contact each school in your area to see which superintendents would welcome a presentation (either an assembly or an information table). With this pandemic it's gonna be rough. But, now's the time to improvise. Do each of these, and if they don't work, come back and ask for suggestions.