scoutldr

I've had a week like that, too. Work was stressful (that's another story). This week I had to chair an EBOR for a scout who hasn't been to a troop mtg in a year (family and work issues), and at the District Committee meeting a member refused to accept that he'd been "let go" and showed up anyway to confront and contest the decision. We ended up losing the District Chairman over it who decided that he had better things to do with his free time, than listen to adults bicker. I'm coming to the same realization. My own boys are grown and gone, so why do I need the stress any more?

OGE said, "the killing of an innocent life is murder." That apparently depends on which state you're in. Scott Peterson was charged with two counts of murder. WHere I am, a young mother shot herself in the stomach killing her full term baby. Her excuse..."I started having contractions and didn't know what else to do." She was charged with "illegally inducing an abortion", and will probably get off with probation or a temporary insanity plea. The firearms charge was dropped, because "using a gun for an abortion" is not specifically listed in the law. My own views on abortion are confused. I am against abortion. I am also against 13 year olds having babies they can't support. If all those who are against abortion were lining up to adopt these poor children, I would feel better. If everyone who chose to act in ways which produce pregnancies were held accountable, I would feel better. IMHO, no one has a "right" to produce a child. And no one has a "right" to destroy one. What a dilemma.

Welcome to the forum, Adre! Do you know our other Aussie mate, ozemu?

I have found that positive reinforcement works better than negative. How about keeping track of den performance (attendance at leader meetings, advancement, training status, uniforming, parent attendance at Pack meetings, etc) and at the end of the year, the "winning den" gets a free pizza party (or similar motivating reward). Just a stray thought...

With all the new members around the campfire, I thought it might be good to resurrect this thread...

I would tell the DE what the date of the election is and that it's up to him which election team shows up...but there WILL be an election.

Depending on the location...local laws my dictate curfews for minors. We recently camped in a state park and one of the boys was nearly arrested for playing CTF with a ski mask on. THe ranger had him "assuming the position" and patted him down for weapons. If it were in the confines of the local council camp, I see no problems...I have even heard of camporees where all the activities were at night and sleep by day. THe buddy system should be strictly enforced.

I don't disagree. My point was...if the DE thinks it's a "huge problem", then the DE can be part of the solution. Whoa...now posts are showing up out of order!!!(This message has been edited by scoutldr)

Not sure what there is to "set up". We have BOR any time they are needed...last Monday I did one with 5 minutes' notice. Just grab two other committee members and go! How hard can it be?

I was born in PA, so I selected "native American". I'm not an immigrant, so I must be native. Location did not have an appropriate choice...I selected "South" as the closest...should have been "mid-Atlantic".

BSA policy (I can't quote a reference right now) is that parents may attend and "observe" any BSA meeting or activity, including OA. You can't prevent it. But you should make it clear to them that the SPL and unit leadership are in charge of the outing, including their son.

Heard this one on "Most Haunted" the other night: "Puke" = "Babysick"

Correct me if I'm wrong...One disadvantage of having inactive scouts on the charter: You have to have more than 50% of the registered scouts present in order to have a valid OA election. If you have 25 registered, and only 10 show up...no election. One reason parents may continue paying registration...it looks good on a college application or job resume - "Member, Boy Scouts of America".

"It could cause moral problems." How true.

The Pack Treasurer should prepare a simple one-page balance sheet type budget for Pack committee approval...Income on the left and outgo on the right. You would show $X registration fee as income and the same amount on the right as being paid to Council...net of -0- to the Pack. Other expenditures to list would be awards, leader training fees, B&G banquet expenses, PW Derby expenses, etc. On the income side, list income expected from planned fundraisers. For every pack activity planned, there needs to be a revenue source to fund it. Make sure every family gets a copy at recharter time. No such thing as a free lunch. There are BSA publications available to assist with unit budgeting.

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As far as the Council is concerned, bucks are bucks. They won't really care. What I would NOT do is credit the sales to the scout UNTIL the cash has been turned in. The top seller should be announced based on who has turned in the most CASH as of the deadline date. Coming up with it 3 weeks after the deadline shouldn't count.

I have scouts who are in all-city band at the High School level, and I can't get them to come to me to get Music MB signed off. That would be a gimme, but they're just not interested enough to ask me. I refuse to spoon feed them.

The BSA patches are made in China, so the difference is probably for transportation and import taxes.

Over the years I have spent thousands of dollars on camping equipment. That which I wish to remain "mine", I take home with me and store it in MY shed. That which I have "donated" goes to the troop shed. One suggestion would be that whenever someone "donates" equipment, give them a written receipt "for tax purposes" which itemizes the gear and it's condition. Leave it to the donor to assign a value. This also protects the unit (and CO), by establishing ownership. If the stuff disappears, you have a written record that it was donated.

It is incumbent on the SM and SPL to ensure that all requirements have been fully completed before recommending a scout for a BOR. The BOR is not the place to discover this.

I can't quote chapter and verse, but I seem to recall from a previous discussion thread that you must join the Lodge in the council where you are registered. And flaps may be worn only by Lodge members in good standing.

So it's "mandatory" that a scout's membership "may" be revoked? Sheesh.

Agree that there would be few valid excuses...severe illness or death, or weather conditions which prohibit travel are about all that come to mind. Even in the event of illness, the chapter should have attempted to find substitutes from within the Lodge. I would send a letter to the Chapter Chief, copy to the Lodge Chief and Chapter Advisor expressing my displeasure with their definition of "Trustworthy" and "Service".

If the lad is well liked by the others, and you deny him membership, don't be surprised if you lose some of the others in the process, who may decide that they don't want to belong to an organization with what they perceive to be anachronistic "morality". What would I do? I would welcome him with open arms and not make a big deal of it unless he does. One alternative would be to switch your charter to an Exporer Post and keep on gettin' down! I still find it odd that the BSA maintains such blatant dual standards.