scoutldr

Test bump.

test test test

"Semper Gumby" (always flexible)

Legally, the donation would be to the CO, which could then use the item for the Scouting program. If the CO is a qualifying charitable organization, you then get a tax deduction. Scout units are not legal entities and have no Tax ID number.

BSA collects my personal information and turns it over to a third party (ChoicePoint), which has been demonstrated is not secure. That's a liability exposure for BSA. As they say down at the Bar..."sue 'em all, let the Judge sort 'em out."

I hope BSA has a good liability insurance policy!

Wouldn't it be nice if BSA put all their pubs on CD with hyperlinked cross-references?

Well, it goes back at least to 1926, and is described in the "Handbook for Scoutmasters", Chapter III: The Institution Technically, a permanent institution (a church, a settlement house, a school, a YMCA, or a business men's association) initiates the organization of a troop of Boy Scouts. The duties of the institution are: 1. To provide a meeting place and to supply needed equipment and funds. 2. To select a Troop Committee of three adult male citizens. This committee will be responsible to the institution and to the Boy Scout organization for the work, progress, and permanence of the troop. The Troop Committee will secure a suitable man as Scoutmaster and will help secure Assistant Scoutmasters, experts, and other assistance for the Troop.

Venturers can continue to earn rank (and Palms) as long as they were First Class when they joined Venturing. Seems to me if the scout's "active service" is mostly with the crew, then the crew should conduct the BOR and award the Palm, thus relieving the troop committe of the decision. Or, the troop committee can just decide "that's good enough for us" and award the Palm. No need to make it more difficult than it needs to be.

If I were asked to be the new treasurer, I would insist on an independent audit, preferably conducted by members of the CO who are not involved in the Pack as parents or registered leaders. Inventorying the "pack equipment" should be part of the audit. The new treasurer deserves to be able to start with a clean slate, and not be asked to straighten out the mess. You probably won't find that written in the BSA rule book, but it's the right way to do business. The previous advice to get the DE talking to the COR is right on...don't try to fix this yourself. It's not the CM's job alone to recruit and train the CC and committee.(This message has been edited by scoutldr)

Welcome, Gonzo. A well written, post, I might add. The difference for adults may rest (I think) in the fact that a Chapter or Lodge advisor is technically a member of the District or Council Committee, therefore when they are are serving in their advisor capacity, they should wear silver shoulder loops, their OA position patch, sans unit numbers. As was stated, a youth arrowman's first responsibility is to his troop. That being said, I agree that a Lodge or Chapter Chief should be able to wear a position patch. There are unofficial ones available on Ebay, but of course we can't wear them on the uniform. Semper, there can't be much of a market for "Council President", "Chief Scout Executive" or "Lodge Advisor", either, but those are available.(This message has been edited by scoutldr)(This message has been edited by scoutldr)

This just in from our Scout Executive: SUBJECT: Governmental Sponsorship of Traditional BSA Units In 1999 the ACLU sued the federal government to compel the military to cease sponsoring traditional Scouting units. The BSA is not a party to this litigation. The Department of Justice and the Department of Defense agreed to resolve this issue in 2004 by ceasing to sponsor traditional Scouting units. All councils were advised in July 2004 to transfer sponsorship of such units to nongovernmental entities. It was emphasized that this only involved a change of the party signing the unit charter and did not affect access to facilities or other support for the BSA. These transfers are now completed. The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois has recently circulated a letter threatening to initiate new litigation unless the Boy Scouts of America terminates all charter agreements it has entered into with schools and other governmental entities. This threat is the latest round in the ACLUs unceasing campaign against the Boy Scouts of America. Since 1981, the ACLU has participated in at least 14 cases against the Boy Scouts, which if laid end to end, would amount to 89 years worth of litigation to date. There are no legal restrictions on the BSA in terms of what entities it may look to for sponsorship. Just about any group willing to accept the program could sponsor a BSA unit. The issue is whether there are legal restrictions on governmental entities that would affect their ability to sponsor traditional Scouting units. Thus, the ACLU will be suing schools and housing authorities, not the BSA, over the issue of sponsorship. The BSA has enjoyed excellent relationships with schools and governmental entities that have sponsored Scouting units, but these parties should not have to be exposed to the expense and inconvenience of litigation for their support of Scouting. Accordingly, all councils should move immediately to transfer sponsorship of all traditional Scouting units sponsored by governmental entities to nongovernmental entities. As in the case with military units, this action does not affect BSA access to governmental facilities or other traditional support.

They should be able to order it by its publication number, 13-550.

Since Venture Crews decide their own uniforms, isn't this something the Crew could decide?

The closest "nearby town" is Fredericksburg, and there are several hotels there with easy access to I-95. Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown are about 2hrs south of there and Washington DC is about one hour north. Word of advice, stay away from the DC I95 beltway area around rush hour, which starts around 3 pm weekdays. If you want to tour DC, I like to stay in Arlington or Alexandria and ride the Metro (subway) into the District...it's clean, safe and easy and you can buy multi-day passes for unlimited rides. Much easier than trying to drive and park in and around DC. Like I said, rush hour traffic there is legendary. Another word of advice, in the summer, some of the tourist attractions give tickets for specific times, such as the Washington Monument and the Holocaust Museum...you need to go there first and get your tickets (free) and then go see other stuff, otherwise you'll never get in. You might want to contact your Congressman's office ahead of time to see what they have available in the way of tickets (White House, etc). You can't possibly see everything in one trip, so choose carefully.

It's not the DE's job to get involved in unit squabbles. That's what your Unit Commissioner (and District Commissioner) are for. If the Pack is in danger of "folding" your UC should be alerted ASAP. Preventing units from folding should be his/her #1 priority.

First of all, there is no health hazard from microwave towers, unless you climb one and straddle the transducer. Secondly, I doubt that the Girl Scouts are erecting it. THey have probably sold an easement on the camp property for the cell phone company to erect a tower, for which they will get a yearly fee.

I'm sitting here wondering how in the world a DE has the time to be a Scoutmaster. I dont' think that should be allowed, especially in the same Council.

If the young man is Mormon, I don't think he has an option about being a member of that troop. It's pretty much decided for him, as I understand it. Perhaps his school buds are in the other troop. Could get confusing when he gets advancements...which troop gets the "credit" for it?

"Thought processing disorder"...don't all teenagers have that?

Good points, Greg. I know you are angry, but as my former office mate used to tell me..."without them, we'd just be average". The patch is a great idea, and if you have time, I would visit the Council service center and see what they have in stock and buy them myself and pass them out. If the CM doesn't want to, then do it yourself along with the dad who organized it. There are generic SFF patches in the catalog and your council may well have them sitting on the shelf. You also need to recognize the dad who organized it. Perhaps you could pass the hat at the BG banquet for donations to go to the Food Bank "for those who could not join us on SFF day".

Do the scouts ever ask, "if you can play with your radio on campouts, why can't I have a gameboy?" ;-)

Venting noted. Trying to troubleshoot a little here...scouts and parents were notified at last Pack meeting. If your B&G is next week, that means the last Pack meeting was a month ago. Was there any effort to call all the Den Leaders a couple of days before and remind them of their Den's obligation? I have the same frustrations. It seems like people today are ALL in need of a dose of Ritalin and don't remember things from one week to the next. When I was conducting training classes, 30 people would register and then 5 would show up...no call, no nothing. There is no sense of responsibility or commitment...like their kids, they are living life in one hour increments and if something better comes along, they're off in a different direction. Too bad that we can't require service hours for Cubs like we do Boy Scouts. No service, no Bear badge. A novel concept.

With today's high-tech equipment and training, they actually prefer people with degrees. I recently read something put out by the MCPON (Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy) that to be competitive for promotion to E-7, a bachelor's degree is necessary and for E-8 and E-9, most have Masters' degrees. I advised him to go in as an Officer, but his goal was to get MP training and have them pay off his college loans and get out as soon as possible. They kept their promises, but he's hated every minute of it. The good thing is that, with his military training, he'll have no trouble getting hired in his field, unlike my two sons.

I take it Fred Rogers has some connection to your Council? I don't mind the spoof patches, as long as they don't cross the line of Scouting Good Taste or violate copyright or licensing laws (e.g., Bart Simpson), and since the boys and less serious collectors seem to enjoy them. However, I think that official patches (JSP or otherwise) represent all members of a given Council and should have some rules of decorum and symbolism. Patch makers vary in quality, and some will merely reproduce the artwork sent to them. Perhaps your council needs a better artist (a contest, maybe?).