scoutldr

Nowhere is that said in Youth Protection. Maybe not in the syllabus, but the instructor said it and it made sense. I think it's one of those "common sense" things, rather than a policy. If we think about it, the program as designed, tends to segregate by ages...the "new scout Patrol", regular patrols and "Venture" patrols. Unfortunately, though, many units are simply not large enough to have that kind of structure. I have stated before that we should encourage existing units to mature by adding youth before we start up new units in the same area, with minimum numbers of members per unit. But that's a different topic, and as long as the professionals are rewarded on quantity rather than quality it won't change.

I got mine in 1965 and there was a 8x10 certificate and a wallet card. Your best bet might be to search ebay, contact some of the large sellers directly and tell them what you're looking for. Getting one without a name on it may be kinda tough.

Any way you look at it, rank has nothing to do with it. You can theoretically have a 12 year old First Class and a 17 year old Second Class. So the 12 year old can have his own tent, but the 17 year old has to share? That's just dumb. I also think the Buddy system argument is a stretch. If a scout is mature enough that he wants to sleep alone in his own pup tent or bivy tent, more power to him. When I took YP training, it was also stressed that scouts should not even be paired with other youth if there is a 3 or more year age difference.

Recruits other members of the Pack Committee, with CO approval. (excluding CM and Den Leaders) Sets the agenda for and chairs Pack Committee meetings. Primary POC for the COR. Attend District Roundtables. Provides annual report to the CO on the "State of the Pack".

Generic camporee and other event patches were available (and I believe they still are). They are almost impossible to identify to a specific event or location and typically have a very low value to collectors.

Yes, it was. knottyfox is going through some tough times, so I'm not going to take the bait and spar with him on a personal level. Living on the east coast since 1957, my family has also seen our share of hurricane action. As an Explorer Scout, my Post spent a week in the Blue Ridge mts helping with search and rescue efforts after Camille in 1969, being flown into unreachable areas in Huey helicopters. We would search all day, then spend the night in the local high school gym. I have seen total destruction and whole families buried in mud first hand, and I don't discount it. Our Council camp still looks like a war zone from Floyd, Dennis and Isabel. After Isabel, my neighborhood was without power, water and phone service for almost 2 weeks. I didn't get a tree through my roof, so I consider myself lucky. Some of my neighbors weren't so lucky. I also realize this was nothing compared to Katrina. I have sent in a sizeable donation to the Salvation Army...that's all I can do for now. I will probably send in more later as the needs continue. Knotty, no hard feelings...good luck and God Bless.

Matua, If I were you, I would have my scouts just wear their "Class B" uniform. In this area, that would be some sort of a scout T-shirt and whatever else they wanted to wear. What? There's no such thing as a "Class B Uniform" in the BSA???...all right, then it's a moot point and is not a violation.

As I understand it, the CORs are voting members of District Committees. The District Chair is a voting member of the Executive Board. The Staff (SE, DE, etc) are employees serving at the will of the Executive Board. As a non-profit corporation, a Council has to abide by the laws of the state and the articles of incorporation. Sounds to me like the CORs who are being ignored should ban together and hire an attorney to give them advice as to how to proceed.

Yep, even Buddhists and Zoroastrians. Keep it coming!

OK, my donation is in. My charity of choice was the Salvation Army. The amount was not huge, but enough that I had to think about it and will probably make some adjustments for the next month in my personal spending. I challenge everyone on this Board to do the same. Christian, atheist, Jew, Gay or straight, black, white or Latino. Just give something and let us know you did it. The amount is not important. Let's get this thread to 25 pages.

Eamonn, I saw the same reports. And the gentleman who, even though he had lost everything, was helping tourists to get out of town to Baton Rouge. My mind has changed...again. Thanks for bringing me back. I was thinking of taking a road trip this long holiday weekend. But I think I'll stay home, work on the honey-do list and send the gas money to the Red Cross.

In the 70's we all bought locking gas caps, too, since your tank would tend to empty itself overnight. Not sure we can do that with these new cars.

As gas crosses the $3 mark, I made a conscious decision yesterday to drive at the speed limit (55) on the way home (in the right lane). The result was I was tailgated, cut off, subjected to flashing lights and horns, and I'm even "#1" in someone's eyes. I just shook my head as the cars, trucks and SUVs blew me off the road. Don't whine to me about high gas prices. They apparently aren't high enough yet. I remember the gas rationing and lines of 1974 when you couldn't buy gas at ANY price.

I heard on the news last night that relief organizations were being advised to avoid areas where looting and roving gangs of delinquents are running rampant. I think that is an appropriate response. The citizens of the community need to bear some responsibility for the amorality and violence that has been allowed to flourish in recent years. Unfortunately, the innocent will be hurt as well. I have no problem with parents taking bread and milk for their babies. Survival does not require a plasma TV and a shopping cart load of Bling-Bling. Breaking news: Evacuation efforts at the Superdome have been suspended because a Chinook rescue helicopter was taking small arms fire. Is this Baghdad or the USA? What have we come to? I know I urged everyone to donate cash yesterday. But now I am disgusted. I will think long and hard before opening my wallet.

It is important to note that at this time the disaster relief organizations are asking for CASH ONLY. The Salvation Army website is specific that they are not acceping "in kind" donations of food or clothing. Here is a first person report from another list. What impresses me is that even in the midst of personal loss and hardship, this Scouter is asking "how can I help": Message: 7 Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2005 19:53:35 -0000 From: "Mark Landry" Subject: Hurricane Katrina I am writing to you from a Best Western motel room in Alvin, TX. We left home on Saturday: Me, my wife, my Life Scout son, my Venturer daughter, our cat and our rabbit. We thought it would be just like the other times: we go away for a long weekend, and come on back after the storm. Not this time. We have been unable to find out whether our home is still there, but we have reason to hope we were lucky. The area around our home, and our chartered organization, is some of the highest (relatively speaking) in the city. I am quite fearful that many of our troop members were not so lucky. I think many other units in the Southeast Louisiana, Istrouma, Pine Burr and other Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama councils will simply cease to exist. Their homes, their meeting places, their council camps: all gone. Camp Salmen, Camp Ti'ak and others may never recover. One of the merit badges I counsel is Emergency Preparedness. I am glad we had an emergency plan. I work with the Red Cross as a volunteer. I have seen damage like I see on the TV, up close and personal. But never this widespread, never at places I recognize, even when covered with water. My son and daughter may be out of school for 2 months, and we may not be able to get to look at our home for 30 days. It is scary. I have called the Greater Houston Chapter of the Red Cross, and offered to volunteer where needed. We are sitting in the motel otherwise, and are going crazy watching the water rise further and further. My office is a block away from the major breach in the 17th Street Canal, that failed for 3 city blocks. I am on the side of the canal that did not fail, so I think my office is in no further current danger. But, if I can't get to the office, I can't work. And most of my employees are in the areas of St. Bernard Parish that appear to be totally destroyed. As a young scout, I lived through Hurricane Betsy, and Hurricane Camille. I have worked as a Red Cross disaster volunteer since 1970. This is beyond anything that we have ever experienced, but NOT anything we didn't expect. We have known for decades just how tenuous was our existance. But that knowledge was only theoretical, never acutal. We will need help. Your packs, troops, crews, ships and posts can help. How? I am not sure. I can not even comprehend just what is happening at home. Think about what you can do. And please keep us in your prayers. A scout, is, above all, reverent. Yours in Scouting, Mark C. Landry Advancement Chairman Troop 230 St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church Metairie, LA. BST Co-moderator

They listen more than we know! This is definitely Heroism Medal material. Please see that he gets nominated. First thing is to write down all the details and get witness statements while everything is still fresh. Congratulations to all involved! http://www.usscouts.org/advance/boyscout/heroism.html(This message has been edited by scoutldr)

Thoughts are nice...cash is better. Get out your checkbooks, folks. DO IT TODAY!

And that's what happened. Initially, when reading the letters of recommendation, one of the Board members said, "I have a problem with this."...at that time, the Board was recessed (before even calling the scout in), and guidance was sought from the Council Advancement Chair and the SE. The guidance was "you must proceed with the Board and let the chips fall where they may." The Board was reconvened and the scout was examined. The final vote of the Board was not unanimous and the scout was not advanced. He was advised of his appeal rights. I do not know if he chose to appeal or not.

Yes, it is apparently a Council option. The BOR is conducted by the Troop or Crew Committee with a District representative present. I have seen it both ways...I prefer the District BOR...better quality control.

And that is exactly what they are doing! Some Councils are already giving leaders 1 year fom the time they register to get trained or they are not letting their membership renew. While national has said that that this is not their prefered method (they would rather have the leaders learn and follow the program because that is the committment they made), they are not stopping the councils from doing it. My guess is that if some councils can make this work it will becone a national practice. I hope it does. Many CO's have dropped the ball when it comes to selecting good leaders. You cannot lead a program that you do not know and understand. The Council in which I am registered tried this. The Executive Board decreed it without having the courtesy of speaking to the District Training Committees who were expected to make it work. Scouters at all levels were outraged at being dictated to and the idea died a quiet death when they realized that the majority of units would not be rechartered at the end of the year.

I'm no prude, by any means, but the "pie in the face" and "shaved head" things always rub me the wrong way. Let's make our incentives more positive, instead of laced with violence and humiliation. It's hard enough to teach today's young people respect for their elders. The PLC needs to be involved in the Unit Budgeting Plan. It should be explained to the PLC that in order to fund their annual plan, and take care of other expenses such as awards, registration, equipment, etc, X amount of money needs to be raised. Handouts from parents is , or shouldn't be an option. Why should they need more motivation (or money) than that? One of the cornerstones of scouting is that the boys are supposed to pay their own way, not have it handed to them. Make a plan, then work to achieve it.

Not sure what prompted all this. A sign of emotional maturity is being able to disagree without being disagreeable. Sarcasm, arrogance and condescension are never in good taste. None of us has the secret to the "perfect program"...we only have our own opinions and experiences as to what we feel works or doesn't work. For most of us, we learn most effectively by doing and by making mistakes...not by being preached at. The beauty of the Scouting program is that it allows us to make mistakes, Scout and Scouter alike, without fear of being ridiculed or punished. I expect the same from this Forum. The beauty of our Nation is that it is based on the right of everyone to have an opinion and to be able to voice that opinion, right or wrong, as long as we do it lawfully. No one's opinion is more important than anyone else's. If BSA felt as passionately about the program and it's methods as some of the posters here, leaders (and COs)would not have an option...they would get trained and follow the program, or be removed. Maybe BSA realizes that we are just VOLUNTEERS with vaying degrees of commitment and has the wisdom to know that it's better to have SOME scouting, rather than to insist on perfect scouting. I, for one am thankful for what my fellow volunteers are able to contribute, and will not criticize when it's not quite by the book (as long as we stay safe).

Our friend Hugs is even able to teach us some English. I learned a new word: Main Entry: pedagogy Pronunciation: 'pe-d&-"gO-jE also -"g-, esp British -"g-gE Function: noun : the art, science, or profession of teaching; especially : EDUCATION

Fred, next time you get the urge to post one of these, why don't you just go down to the Riverwalk and have a nice relaxing drink...on me.

Parents' night. Don't get me started. Parents' night used to be Weds. Most scouts were fine until Mom and Dad walk into camp. Then they want to go home. A few did...most stayed because they needed to finish their MB work. The worst is when a child is expecting a visit and no one shows up. What kind of excuses does a leader make up to console a sobbing kid, when you have no idea why they "forgot". Now parent's night is Friday. Almost ALL of the scouts went home...after all, the MB work is done, and it's hot and the dog misses me. Why should we hang around? So what if the leaders have to pack all the gear by themselves the next morning? It didn't occur to me until later that they are now not eligible for OA because they didn't stay the last night in camp...oh well.