RememberSchiff
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Interesting read in Slate. Wish they had given equal coverage to GSUSA's woes:
Wow. I have not read that the membership increase would go entirely to pay for liability insurance.
BSA did not respond to questions about the ongoing lawsuits, but documents indicate that costs related to these cases may be one reason why BSA is beefing up its insurance reserves by making some changes to increase revenue. The organization recently announced that it would be increasing annual membership fees from $24 to $33 beginning in December. An email to area participants from the Glacier’s Edge Council, a BSA unit that encompasses parts of Wisconsin and Illinois, explained why:
The Boy Scouts of America has seen a dramatic increase in liability lawsuits which has decreased our movement’s financial position by between $40 to $50 million annually since 2010. An increase in the annual membership fee is required to financially stabilize our movement. All of the funds generated from the increase will go directly to the National BSA General Liability Insurance Fund. -
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...I keep saying this: The volunteers in the trenches need to take back scouting.
and their local scout camps.
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I’m two merit badges away from Eagle, so I’m trying to work out everything I’ve been told.
So on the Eagle Scout application, you have to list your references. Someone in my troop had told me that two of those who recommended you have to attend your BOR with you???
That doesn’t sound right to me. I know every council is different.
Only their "sealed" references need to come.
I know every council handles Eagle BOR's different and that never sounded right to me.
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I have seen a CO application but not a member application where the DRP usually appears.
https://stemscouts.org/lib/file/manager/STEM_New_Unit_Application.pdf
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Thomas Larry, the 11 year old scout who died, is being honored by the Circle for Life bike tour for being an organ donor.
Thomas had noticed his mother's driving license had a heart donor icon and asked what it meant. He then said he wanted to be a donor too.
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https://www.msn.com/en-gb/video/headlines/boy-scout%E2%80%99s-tragic-hiking-death/vi-AAsVHNz
During tv interview, parents confirmed that Reid was working on Camping merit badge, requirement 9.2 Backpack for at least 4 miles. He had signed up for the introductory Green trail (300ft elevation gain), instead his group went on the more challenging Orange trail (6-7 miles, 1000ft elevation gain).
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Social identity theory - us versus them?
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Tabasco Sauce. If it can make an MRE palatable, it's got to be good. I carry a small bottle on a belt pouch. (Keep a few back up bottles in the trailer, the scouts are always "borrowing" mine.)
So you are using Tabasco sauce to eat MRE's and your scouts are using it to repel bears?
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PL's know where his guys are. SPL know where patrols and PL are. SM knows where SPL/ASPL, chair, and coffee are.
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Let's try to keep this discussion in "Working with Kids".
I find the present day conventional wisdom regarding disciplining kids in front of others somewhat odd, as this was standard procedure when I was young. Sure you would take it personal and it would hurt, but the rest of group was reminded your transgression would not be tolerated - a lesson for all present. It was also a double incentive not to screw-up again as you did not want the punishment and worse the group humiliation.
Times change.
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Dr. Thomas Price, Eagle Scout, has resigned as Secretary of Health & Human Services in the Trump Administration.
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Is this trailer dead storage or is it tagged and registered by X for the road? If the latter, the trailer must already have some insurance paid by X and adding coverage for contents should be straight-forward. Should be?
It is common here for the unit to acquire a trailer and pass ownership from one adult leader to another. Typically CO's want nothing to do with maintaining, inspecting, insuring, registering,..., parking, securing, reporting it stolen
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Depends. We have a few doctors and a few nurses. One of our nurses is a ER trauma nurse. He's great! Better than all of the others. The best guy we have is a former Marine medic. He is the best my dad has ever seen. Even the doctors let him step in first.
My understanding is Marine medic is a misnomer, Navy Corpsmen serve Marine units.
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@@JTM_150 welcome to scouter.com
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@@Beagles welcome to scouter.com. Some followup questions:
1. When you said "the Troop volunteered" was that done by the scout leadership or adult leadership.
2. With ASM complaining about "scouts ditching the service project", why do you feel your son was singled out. I suspect most scouts were also finishing merit badges on Friday and missed the service project.
3. What was the reaction of your other troop adults attending camp? Did they intervene?
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Why does the Bear in the Sky have a tail and the Bear in the woods/zoo has none?
Ah, what does the bear in the woods do that the bear in the sky does not?
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@@stevenb welcome to scouter.com
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@@CubMasterDan welcome to scouter.com . Short version answer - pair up with a local Boy Scout Troop.
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If I read this correctly, the "slippery slope" of education/advancement emphasis is valid. This is why I shy away from mixed patrols. My NSP can be compared to the Basic Training emphasis of getting activities oriented to instill appropriate skills in the new guys. The military and business have been using this model effectively for years. Once they are done with that, they can then take those skills and further develop them in activities that don't require intense training anymore. They take on challenges, solve problems, and aren't focused on "having to do advancement" and can relax and enjoy what they have already learned. Sure, some of the boys will become Instructors and go back to help the new boys, but they do so on their terms. This is the unique part of the POR system of Star, Life and Eagle. I, personally, would not like the process of always having new guys who I have to teach for the full career in Boy Scouts. By the time I get to the "fumes" age, I want to branch out into some real adventure and if I so choose, go back as an Instructor and help out the new boys on occasion, but not all the time.
I see your point.
Back in the day (here he goes), a new patrol with an experienced PL planned their hikes (outdoor adventures) and then later campouts. Skills like stalking (sorely missed) were practiced and sometimes advancement occurred on these adventure. Today it appears reversed, outdoor activities are advancement-driven and not adventure-driven.
My $0.02
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Please, explain the insult part. At best, it's a disagreement and there is nothing personal in the response. I'm confident stosh will start a new discussion of how patrol styles influence adventure and advancement.
Barry
I did NOT like the derogatory reference to his wife, which I edited out.
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The point above is true. I am a recent Eagle and a college student. I get weird looks from parents when I try to volunteer and help or be involved with scouts. Thank God there's Venturing. The whole situation makes me feel like I've done something wrong when all I want to do is help. I don't feel welcome anymore and that's depressing.
As an outsider, you need to gain trust. I have been an outsider with the troop because my son went to a different school. You are right, it is frustrating given your expertise, experience, and enthusiasm. For me, small steps - help a little here and there was effective.
Hang in there, you have much to offer.
Beware once you are accepted you may be experience volunteer overload.
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Let's refrain from personal insults.
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Does your unit buy military/government surplus to be prepared by thriftier meeting program needs?
From Defense Logistics Agency website
Peyton, Colorado --Boy Scout Troop 444 of Peyton, Colorado, takes the motto “be prepared†very seriously, and its scouts rely on DLA Disposition Services to acquire needed equipment.
The troop has recently used DLA to stock up on backpacks, sleeping bags, safety glasses, goggles, tools and even a small Army cargo truck and Humvee. (Didn't Lem's troop pick up a Sherman tank? - RS)
“People think of the Boy Scouts as an organization that just does a bunch of camping, but we do a whole lot more than that,†said Robert Herz, the troop’s quartermaster. “We spend a lot of our time doing community service, [we] engage in morale and self-confidence exercises and growing boys into competent adults and leaders.â€
Herz has experience when it comes to training young people to be leaders. He retired from the Air Force after 23 years as a lieutenant colonel and his two sons Robert Jr. and Chris are both Eagle Scouts.
He said scouting involves 130 merit badges and rank advancements that prepare scouts for their future. Herz is a Merit Badge Counselor for over 20 Merit Badges, including: Automobile Maintenance, Fishing, Ham Radio, Cooking, Rifle, Shotgun, Archery, Emergency Preparedness, Astronomy, Aviation and Environmental Science.
“If you can think of a job that one of our boys may hold in the future, we likely have a merit badge that corresponds with it and I try to jump in and help,†Herz said.
And that is where the items from DLA Disposition Services come in.
“We'll use the vehicles to support our future Automotive merit badges by having the scouts turn wrenches and change oil and complete periodic maintenance,†Herz said. “We also plan to use them for community service activities to haul gear and equipment in support of future Eagle Scout activities. “
“I have also recently become the troop's emergency preparedness focal point; got FEMA trained and earned the Emergency Preparedness Medal from our Pikes Peak Council,†Herz said. “So, our next focus will be to see how DLA can help us with our emergency preparedness focus in Boy Scouts.â€
The troop has already started. Recently, they helped with fire mitigation for the Black Forest fire by removing trees, brush and slash to prevent future tragedy.
And they are getting ready for the next emergency by acquiring items such as generators, backpacks, flashlights and gloves from DLA Disposition Services. Herz stated that they now have the items available to respond, not if, but when there is an emergency, natural or otherwise.
“If you see pictures of our scouts using a tool during a community service event, during an Eagle Scout Project, during one of our many Merit Badge [exercises], it likely came from DLA,†Herz said. “If you see them wearing safety glasses, they came from DLA. If you see them carrying a backpack on a three-day hike into the wilderness, it likely came from DLA. When you witness them digging ‘catholes’ while on a ‘leave-no-trace’ campout, the folding entrenching tool came from DLA.â€
“We are very appreciative for the opportunity to have formed this relationship with DLA and are grateful for the items we have acquired thus far,†Herz said, adding that they primarily use DLA Disposition Services at Fort Carson, Colorado. “These items truly exemplify the ‘reuse is recycling’ mantra and we are getting every last mile out of this equipment. Some of the backpacks have holes in them, some of the shovels are bent and rusty, much of the gear does not operate completely as designed, but we are thankful none-the-less, and are happy to patch those items, to get even more use out of them while we partake in our adventures. “
Editor’s note: the following copy was added to this story on August 3, 2017.
Scouts are among the scores of groups that the General Services Administration lists as eligible to receive donations of surplus federal property through the State Agencies for Surplus Property.
According to GSA's website, SASPs are state-run organizations that coordinate the federal program for the donation of federal surplus property to public, tax-supported entities and eligible, private, nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations.
Within that large group are what GSA describes as "Educational Activities of Special Interest to the Armed Services." Boy Scouts -and Girl Scouts - are among nearly 20 eligible activities that also include entities such as the America National Red Cross, Little League and the U.S. Olympic Committee.
GSA notes that those entities are designated by DOD and may receive federal surplus items that were formerly Defense Department property.
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@@cocomax welcome to scouter.com. I see we share the same pain.
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OFFICIAL NEWS RELEASE: Girls as Youth Members, All Programs
in Issues & Politics
Posted
We knew this decision was coming, but I had hoped when announced a transition plan would be articulated.