scoutldr

You mean there are vacations OTHER than summer camp??? As I write this, the Today show is reporting that the average American worker forfeits 4 days of paid vacation per year. Reasons vary, but most feel that if they want to remain competitive in the workplace and meet workload expectations, they just can't afford the time off. Growing up, we never took the proverbial "family vacation" a la the Griswolds. We went to see grandparents maybe once a year for 2-3 days, but that was it. Dad was in the Navy and out to sea a lot. So I guess I don't know what I'm missing.

I thought I read a while back, that with the advent of on-line ordering from Scoutstuff.org, your local council shop now gets the "credit" for the sale. What that means exactly I don't know, but apparently that was the sticking point with bringing online ordering a reality.

Ditto what Lisa said. We are a small troop, so the adults pay their own way. That being said, the adult "patrol" does eat well!

Ok, the suspense is killing me. What's the "news"??? Or do I need a secret password?

I didn't receive it and have no idea what you're talking about. Looks like we have a class action, nldscout!

Wow, wonder what that was all about? That's what I get for not visiting every thread. I was wondering how the sizes are running? I am, shall we say, horizontally challenged...5'6" and a 44 waist in dress pants. But I find that BSA uniform pants run small...I need a 46 or 48 waist, then the crotch is down to my knees and I have to have about 14" trimmed off the cuffs. The end result looks pretty ridiculous. One reason why I hate BSA pants, and don't even attempt to order them online. I know, I know..."why don't you just slim down?"...but that's another forum and I'm not here for that kind of advice. I've TRIED growing taller, but it's just not working. So, are the sizes running true, or small as usual?

For what it's worth I observe that the parents do not share the same surname. Perhaps Dad's not available for camping because they are divorced and he doesn't have custody? In which case, Mom needs to buy herself a sleeping bag! I wonder if dissolving the unit would make the case moot. As a CO, this would certainly cure me of my desire to offer the BSA program. As a volunteer, I don't have a legal responsibility to provide anything for any kid that's not my own. If the parents want "equal access" and even special accomodations, they are free to form their own unit. Isn't this analogous to the gay/atheist debates, or the "no female leaders" debate? If the SCOTUS has determined that we are a private membership organization with freedom to determine our own membership rules, why is this an issue? The parents should be told, "sorry, those are our troop policies. You are free to find a troop with policies more to your liking."

Update: my laptop at home is working normally. Only have the problem at work. Might be a firewall issue, since it's the banner ads that seem to be getting blocked.

Around here, the boys are still on "summer vacation". School doesn't start until after Labor Day. Our last two Monday meetings were sparsely attended, in spite of the SPL calling each scout to remind them. Even then , they "forgot" to come to the meeting. I am hoping things will improve after school starts and they are out of "vacation" mode. As far as the meetings themselves, boys this age don't like being "talked at". They get enough of that in school. Make sure your meetings are fast paced, no more than 10-15 minutes on any one task. The more physical activity and "hands on" the better. Having them sit and listen to someone talk should be a last resort. There's a reason it's called the Scoutmaster's "Minute".

Me too!!! I thought it was my server but I guess not.

Or, we can go on making the best buggy whips in town, wondering why more people aren't buying them.

Aug 25, 11:09 AM EDT Scout's Pentagon Memorial set for dedication LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) -- A granite monument with a limestone remnant from the Pentagon is Joey Ricketts' Eagle Scout project and memorial to the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks. The 5-foot memorial, installed this week in front of the American Legion Post 16, will be formally dedicated Saturday. The project brought Joey and his father, Bobby Ricketts, to northern Virginia earlier this summer to attend a private groundbreaking for the national Pentagon Memorial. There he met Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, other dignitaries and family members of some of the victims. The granite pedestal in Lynchburg features bronze plaques dedicating the monument to those who died at the Pentagon and aboard Flight 77 that day, including Col. David Scales. Scales' father, John Scales, is a longtime member of Post 16. Tiles with pictures of David Scales and the crash site are placed above the plaques. Another plaque that lists the names of the victims will go on the back panel. The pedestal also holds an interior piece of the Pentagon that a former employee donated to Joey. The monument is under a white cloth and black tarp until Joey and his father unveil it at the dedication ceremony Saturday. Some 500 people are expected. Bobby Ricketts said representatives from the Pentagon, as well as John Scales, are expected to give speeches at the event. The American Legion Honor Guard also will participate, he said. The ceremony will include music from the brass quintet of the Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra and the remaining members of a musical trio with whom David Scales played. David Scales was an accomplished pianist, Ricketts said. "I'm starting to learn that David was an inspiration to a lot of people," Joey's father said. Joey said he chose to create the monument for his Eagle Scout project because he felt that the victims of the Pentagon attack had not been recognized as much as those of the World Trade Center. He spent the better part of the past two years writing letters asking for donations and designing the monument. "Being a teenager, you don't want to be in the house writing letters; it was the last thing I wanted to do," he said. When he first began, he estimated the project would cost $6,000. But as more donations came in, it grew larger. The finished project cost about $11,000. He said he's looking forward to Sunday, when he can resume normal teen activities. "I hope to go to the mall, just to get out of the house," he said. --- Information from: The News & Advance, http://www.newsadvance.com/ 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.

As the EBOR chair, this person works for (or maybe IS) the District Advancement Chair. As has been written above, once the EBOR is over and the Eagle Application is signed , this "gentleman's" involvement is over. IF he's invited to the COH, it is as an invited guest and he should comport himself appropriately. The COH is a troop function, not a District or Council function, and as long as it's conducted in good taste and there's nothing that would embarrass the BSA or the Chartered Organization, the troop is free to design it as they see fit, with the input of the Eagle and his parents.

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe: All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe.

Been around scouting since the early 60's and collect memorabilia before that. Doesn't ring a bell. There was a khaki shirt without epaulettes briefly in the late 70's, but the other insignia you describe doesn't add up. Could have been a contrived uniform for the photo shoot perhaps because the BSA uniforms are registered trademarks and the BSA wouldn't grant permission? You see that frequently in movies.

I are one. My main function is to make sure I'm there when the Advisor can't be due to work or other commitments. The Chapter Chief is supposed to run the meeting, but I'm the "adult supervision" who makes sure the door gets locked at the end of the night. And, as my position description says at work..."other duties as assigned".

At least for the adults.

Yes, there was an agreement, which the city has terminated. No berth, no riprap. I don't see where there's anything to go to court over. The city is merely saying, "no more special deal...you must now pay for your berth." Analogous perhaps is our own Troop, who enjoyed a free 10x10 storage unit at the local Self Storage place. One day, the owner called and said he had to start charging us $40 a month (which was still half price). Did I consider going to court? No...we graciously thanked him for his years of support and started stroking a monthly check. We're just grateful to have a place to store the troop equipment. In return, he gives us a huge American flag about every three months to "retire" when he replaces it with a new one.

Congrats to your dad, Kichkinet. When your time comes, you will be honored appropriately. It's hard for me to envision a "Fall" Fellowship in August. We don't have Fall here until October!

As a result, I think that ALL registered leaders (at a minimum) and ALL parents be encouraged to take the on-line Youth Protection training...then the parents will understand what rules we live with and why. I also agree that it appeared to be an off-the-cuff remark with no nefarious intent, and that the TC is over-reacting. I agree with those who think a quiet one-on-one counseling is all that is needed. Is the TC equally intent on disciplining the scouts who started the whole thing?

It's making a connection that feeds us The Virginian-Pilot August 19, 2006 I'M USUALLY THE ONE patting the knee of the meeting organizer. "It's not about you," I croon. "I know you lined up nine experts and stapled 200 handouts and only eight people came to the meeting, but it was good for those eight people, wasn't it?" Those days are over, friend. The next time someone complains to me about lack of attendance at a school meeting, church group or ship function, I'm gonna snap. "Don't you get it? We are not JOINERS!" I will holler, shredding my handout. "We are a whole generation that does not join things. We exchange e-mail addresses; we don't attend meetings. We look stuff up on the Web. "Face it, groups-of-all-kinds, it's over. We're not that into you!" Everyone will stare at me openmouthed. Then those same eight people will form a committee to deal with my welfare. It seems to me that technology has eliminated the need we used to have for groups. The information and instruction and camaraderie I used to find when I went to local meetings, I now get online. And I don't have to find a place to park. I see this as making us all a little more capable of standing on our own two feet. We seem to prefer it that way. So shouldn't the school and the church and the ship recognize this, update their Web sites and quit begging for our attendance? Maybe not. Sociologist Jean Twenge says even though I'm right that today's generation of young people are not big joiners, I'm dead wrong about the ultimate value of standing on your own two feet. In her book, "Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled - and More Miserable Than Ever Before" (Free Press), Twenge says this belief that we need to stand alone all the time is one of the strange offshoots of being trained from toddlerhood to focus on the self instead of the group. "We were taught to believe in ourselves and that we have to love ourselves first," she said in a recent interview. "The downside of this is that the self is not a very good support mechanism. For mental health we need other people." In the research, Twenge found that people with good social connections consistently trump the own-two-feeters. Joiners have less anxiety, less depression, fewer ailments. "Human beings are social animals. We are hard-wired to need other people." So why don't we do it, Maybe because the computer and the TV and the phone don't belch or cough or get up when you sit down next to them. Maybe because we feel that we are plenty connected with thousands of people we communicate with online. And yet, as connected as I am, I haven't invited one person to go for a walk since I moved here. No one online notices when my allergies are bothering me or when I have a good hair day. Maybe that's why Twenge says we are a generation starving for affection. "We live on a junk food diet of instant messages, e-mail and phone calls rather than the healthy food of live, in-person interaction." I think she's got me there. Yes, I feel full to bursting with connection, but that kind of connection doesn't really feed the bones of our lives. I hate to admit it, but we do need our church groups. We need to pat and smooth a young woman whose sailor just left her for the first time. We need to be patted and smoothed in our turn. That kind of in-person connection nourishes us in a way that our online connections never will. I just hope I still remember how to go out there and do it. Reach Jacey Eckhart at jacey1@earthlink.net.

Sometimes selling off a capital asset will eliminate ongoing expenses. Our SE regularly threatens to close and sell our camp, which was paid for back in the late 50's. He says it costs $10,000 a month to maintain it, or $2500 per weekend. That expense is not covered by summer camp fees, which barely covers summer camp expenses. The answer is to recruit more members, who can sell more popcorn and who have parents who will donate to FOS campaigns. Sadly, it sounds like that ain't gonna happen. That camp is the one I attended as an 11 year old in 1966, and both of my sons attended in the 80's. If the camp goes, while the SE continues to receive a 6 figure salary, my long tenure in the BSA will come to a close.(This message has been edited by scoutldr)

Yes, we had one in our COuncil...Crew 911.

A trip to Costa Rica, a surfing adventure and an Eagle Project all in one! Sounds like the best of all worlds! I would ask how he raised the funds for the trip, how many other scouts did he lead in the project, etc. Maybe it's a good one, maybe not. I'd have to see the write up of the execution.

OK, moderator, you locked the wrong thread. This is the one that should have gone away. The original post (which I don't have any more) was passed out at the last RT meeting, which I didn't attend, so I'm not privy to any discussion or explanation which may have occurred. What you saw is what i know at this point. I also agree the "6 month" interpretation is wrong.