scoutldr

I chaired an EBOR last night for a scout who met the 90 day deadline with 10 days to spare. All requirements were completed prior to his 18th birthday, but the EBOR had to be rescheduled twice due to circumstances beyond our control. The District Advancement chair told me that beyond 90 days a waiver from National would be required. Apparently the rules vary by Council.

The organization I work for hosts a major medical conference every year. One year, I was a presenter, and as luck would have it, the projector bulb blew (I'm dating myself...this was before the power point era). It took about 15 minutes to find the A/V tech and get the bulb changed out, meanwhile about 200 people enjoyed chatting among themselves. When I was ready to go again, I just moved to the podium and quietly held my "sign" in the air. Within a few seconds, I saw grown men and women automatically putting their sign up and elbowing their neighbors, and the room grew quiet. There were enough former scouts and scouters in the audience that it worked like a charm! Shortly thereafter, I submitted this story to Scouting magazine and it was accepted for printing! True story!

Thanks for the link! Classic stuff and great reading!

The DE is one of the "Key 3" in your District, along with the District Chairman, and District Commissioner. The DE's job is to primarily help recruit and mentor the members of the District Committee (finance, training, membership, camping, program, advancement, etc). This District Committee is, in turn, responsible for delivering the program within the district. The DE's other function is to visit prospective CO's and "sell" the scouting program to them, thus forming new units. Some DE's are VERY busy, because they have to fill in where the volunteers fall short (or if there are no volunteers for a particular function). The DE's job performance evaluation (and continued employment and raises) depend on how well the District meets its goals toward "Quality District". Most of the goals are geared toward more members, more units, and more money (FOS and popcorn).

Commandopro - I see by your posts that you are a professional Scouter. Suffice it to say that the councils I cited both serve the area in which I live, although the GS council covers a larger area (equal to two BS councils, more or less). My intent in posting the data was to show that salaries are apparently widely divergent between the two programs, as stated on the 990's, which are public information. I assume that the difference in total revenues stated is due, in part to the larger geographic area of the GS council and also assuming that cookie revenue is MUCH larger than popcorn revenue (gross income). If there is information that I'm not privy to that would render the comparison unfair, I apologize and am willing to be educated. I also see on the GSUSA web site that they are undertaking a MAJOR national realignment of progam and council coverage, cutting the number of councils (and presumably, overhead expense) by about 2/3. Interesting reading. The gist of the philosophy is "the past is in the past, what do we need to do for today and the future to ensure relevance and survival of the program?"

"I would not be in favor of the Pack Trainer doing Leader Specific unless they have served in that position but I would favor all the others." We have people on the District Training team teaching CS Leader Specific who haven't been in the CS program for 10 years or more, if ever. I was one of those. That's one reason why I'm no longer in the training business. I got tired of having fresh-caught Den Leaders telling me that the materials were outdated and that I didn't know what I was talking about. They were right. As I have said before in these forums, one of the main problems with CS training is that the leaders go away feeling cheated. They don't care how Councils get funded or how to pin patches on a shirt. They want to know how to keep 8 boys from killng each other for 90 minutes a week. When I explained that they would get that through Roundtables and PowWow, they were downright disgusted that they had wasted their time. And the requirement that they get "retrained" for every step in the program is unrealistic and doesn't happen, in my experience. In my district the "trained leader" stat hovered around 30%, regardless of how many sessions I put on. Most of my training sessions were attended by people from other districts, which was OK, but it didn't make my DE any happier. "new leaders should receive position specific training within 30 days"??? Ain't gonna happen in most Councils, unless the training can be done by the Pack Trainer. There aren't enough trainers to go around. I thought the Pack Trainer concept was a great idea...having an experienced leader train and mentor the newbies in their own Pack with "just in time" training, rather than wait for the semi-annual district events. Too bad it's been watered down to the point that it's meaningless. The new job description has always been a responsibility of the Pack Committee.

My son was held up by a 15 year old in broad daylight once when riding his bike back home from the video store. A distance of only a few blocks through our upper middle class urban neighborhood. The police officer explained that it didn't matter if the gun were real or not. If the intent is to make the victim think it's real, then it's real, by definition, and the penalty is the same. We went to court and hugged his parents and cried with them as they profusely apologized for their son. I hope he's turned his life around. I'd hate to see him lose his life over 3 bucks.

Interesting comparison in the same geographic area: Boy Scout Council: Total revenues: $2.3 million SE compensation: $112,000 Asst SE compensation: $58,000 Girl Scout Council: Total revenue: $6+ million Director compensation: $51,000 Asst Director: none listed (only list if >$50K) Source: www.Guidestar.com IRS Form 990 HMMMM. Cookies vs popcorn? The decision is becoming easier. Something isn't working? Maybe there's a clue here somewhere. (This message has been edited by scoutldr)

I've been accused of being a very "black and white" person. And I'm not referring to race. I have a very clear sense of right and wrong. So much so that it torments me sometimes. Seems that for some others, those lines are very blurred and they seem much happier. As I approach my "golden years", I have less and less tolerance for those who don't "get it" and just muddle through life depending on others to rescue them from their bad choices. "To help other people at all times" is getting harder. When you have done all you can to solve your problems, then ask me for help. I've heard it said that "character is what you do when no one's looking." Character means making the right choices in life so that you are not a burden to your fellow man. Character means stepping up to the plate when no one else will. Character means being a "mensch".

The obvious answer is "it's everyone's job." The most effective recruiting is peer-to-peer. If the scouts are having fun and enthusiastic, they should be telling their buds and bringing them to meetings to sign up. Problem is, they're not doing that. We need to find out why and fix it. They are "hiding their scouting light under a bushel" and are afraid to let anyone know they are a scout. When I look back at my class photos from 5th and 6th grade, there are 3-4 of us sitting in class in our scout uniforms because it was meeting day and that was the custom. Why not now? If everyone thought we were geeks, we didn't notice and didn't care. We were proud to belong to the "brotherhood" of scouting, just like the cheerleaders and football players who wore their jerseys on game day.

The committee cannot require that a scout serve as PL in order to make Life. PLs are elected, not appointed. As long as he has served in a POR and the SM has signed that the requirement is complete, the BOR should not be second-guessing. If they have an issue with the "quality" of the service, they need to have that chat with the SM, not the scout.

I am Lutheran by faith, and attended a Mass of the Resurrection last night for the Dad of one of my scouts. There were more similarities than differences...I knew the words to most of the liturgy and acted like I belonged there, although the Priest kept mentioning the "Christian Catholic family", letting me know I really didn't belong. The gist of the message was, although the dearly departed was a Southern Baptist by upbringing, he recently "converted" to Catholicism in June (after being diagnosed with terminal cancer) so he could be buried from the church that he and his family had attended for years. Our troop attended as a group, in uniform, although this particular parish has a "policy" of "no Boy scouts" dictated by the PP. I once wanted just to borrow a classroom to conduct adult training, and the answer was still a resounding NO. The parish 2 miles down the road, however, charters a Pack, Troop and Crew, open to all. We had our district meetings there, until very recently. The Priest is an Eagle Scout and sits on EBOR from time to time. Go figure.

Our local "Friends of the Public Library" does this - collects used books and then sells them twice a year with proceeds going to the Public Library. You might want to check with your library to make sure you're not stepping on their toes.

Welcome to the forums, Mike. Is the priest new? I'm just wondering if this is a new policy. Yes, the chartered organization (CO) can set membership rules, as long as they don't conflict with BSA policy (no gays or atheists). Usually, though most units are open to all. I would tell "Father" that it is up to him to explain to the non-Catholics why they are no longer welcome in the Pack, and view it as an opportunity to form a new unit that is more ecumenical and forgiving. Good luck.

Absolutely! That was the purpose in creating the position. To be considered "Trained" in their position, Pack Trainers must complete the Trainer Development Course. That being said, many Councils and Districts have been slow to embrace the Pack Trainer concept. In my experience, the "training teams" (read: cliques) are reluctant to give up the "quality control".

One of the objections in the school that I am associated with has been the use of school staff time. The Prinicpal asserts that it is not the job of school staff to handle flyers (including counting, collating, distributing, etc), nor is it proper to divert instructional time for the purpose of a "boys only" assembly for the DE to give his pitch. In the past (pre-SOL days), these were common practices.

I agree the prices are high, compared to what you can buy at Wally World. But it's a fund-raiser. The same people who complain about the price of PC are the same ones who won't think twice about paying $3.50 for a bottled water or $6 for a bottle of beer or $7 for a glass of wine at a concert or ball game.

Our DE has tried for years to get into our local Elem school to hand out the latest recruiting incentives to the boys during "boy talks". The principal that I mentioned above answers this way: "Unless you're going to bring something for the girls, too, the answer is no." Other schools in the district are wide open, and another principal served as our District Chairman. In this school system, the Principal is the lord and master of the building. Appealing to the Super does no good. How do the Girl Scouts handle recruiting? Every morning as I get ready for work, I hear a commercial on the radio for Girl Scouting..."Where Girls Grow Strong". Where are the BSA public service announcements (or paid commercials)? I recently saw a Food Network commercial for the Iron Chef show, featuring a Boy Scout troop doing their own Iron Chef competition. It was great, but I only saw it once.

I got my Bobcat in 1961. It was a pin back then, and it was pinned on upside down, until a "good turn" was performed, usually for one's mother who would then turn the pin around. When I rejoined Cub Scouting with my first born son in 1984, the tradition was to turn the CUB upside down and then pin on the badge. That is now considered "hazing" and is not permitted.

I've been accused of being an old fuddy-duddy. I'll admit it. But my concern is how todays teens and pre-teens are spending their time on Earth. How is spending 4-5 hours a day on Myspace or playing computer games or listening to obscene lyrics on their illegally downloaded iPod preparing them to survive in the world? I'm sorry, but we are launching a generation of functional and social illiterates because we are not taking the time to make them study and learn. How many kids today do 2-3 hours of homework a night, like we used to do? How many can balance a checkbook, diagram a sentence, explain the platforms of the current political parties, change their own oil, or like, carry on like a conversation in like proper English and stuff with like someone like older than they like are? IF they are going to be successful adults, they simply don't have time for this crap. They are the future voters of this country, and I am truly afraid. The Eagle candidates that I see are a ray of hope, but they are a very, very small percentage.

I see nothing wrong with wearing the blue blazer/grey skirt/trousers uniform, if that's what you're most comfortable with. It is an official uniform, as listed in the supply catalog, when worn with the bullion (gold metallic thread) embroidered BSA symbol on the blazer pocket, and the red/blue/grey official scarf.

"Item three apparently had a great deal of discussion. Units are *expressly* forbidden to use a percentage participation in advancement in any manner (which is how the "scout spirit" part gets in there). For instance, a unit may not say Johnny must attend at least 25% of troop meetings to be considered active (or to have scout spirit). " The word "expressly" means it's "expressed" somewhere, i.e., written down. As we say in my line of work, "show me the reference". If no reference can be produced, it's just the opinion of a PTC instructor, third hand.

As the Italian Eagle said, "there is always more to the story". While I don't doubt what you have told us and don't doubt your motivations and good intentions, a former boss once explained it to me this way (when he hired an unqualified person to be MY boss)..."It's better to be wanted than to be qualified." My advice, find (or form) a new troop and move on. As long as the CC has signature authority on the adult apps, you won't win. You DO deserve an explanation, however and I would demand one from the CO.

Cubmasters wore blue ones and Explorers wore brown ones ... mine was a "clip-on" as I recall. The frequently show up on eBay.

I like the compass idea. The German scouts are called "Pfadfinders", or "Pathfinders". Ausgezeichnet!