scoutldr

In the case of the 16 year old scout I mentioned earlier, seeing that grin on his face and the celebrations of his fellow scouts when he passed that requirement was priceless. I'm glad we didn't rob him of that accomplishment by allowing him to skate by the requirement. His subsequent earning of the Eagle badge paled in comparison.

Welcome, Eric. That's a lot of training you've accomplished already!

Short answer, no. The point of the requirement is to train them to be safe if they should fall in. I had a boy with the same issue...he eventually made it, and proceeded to Eagle using the alternate merit badges.

Let your COR know what is going on and request an independent audit of funds before you take responsibility for anything. If the CO/COR signs off on the audit, you are good to move forward.

Brian, this is nothing new. My own son will be 40 next year...growing up, I could name any pro baseball player and he could recite the complete player's stats and playing history and the current value of his rookie card. But he couldn't tell you what month followed July, or his multilplication tables. He aged out of Scouting as a Star, and when he went to college, he thanked me for all the skills he had picked up along the way. The other kids in his dorm had never cooked a meal or washed their own clothes and he had to teach them. He is now a District Manager for a major food and restaurant supply distribution company making over 6 figures, with a wife and son of his own and we are very proud.

"Fund Our Salaries"

It happens to all of us...sooner or later. They will keep taking advantage of you until you say "no more". And as long as you keep showing up and doing the job, they will not look for a replacement.

Welcome!

We never know when one of those young lads we take into the woods will turn out to be a hero one day. Thanks for sharing.

Good to hear from you again, Mate, and congratulations on your grandson. My own tribe has increased by three...two beautiful girls, and a VERY busy, active boy whom I can't wait to buy his first Cub Scout uniform. Who knows, the way things are leaning, the girls may be in Cub blue as well! We've been holding your spot at the campfilre and the coffee (tea?) is still hot...

I thought that in the current PC environment, we were not allowed to assume who is male and who is female, and indeed gender can change at the whim of the owner of the X/Y chromosomes or their parent(s)?

There is a procedure for adapting requirement to Scouts with special needs and it needs to be followed. It requires District/Council approval. Not a matter of Mom calling the shots. Similar to an IEP in school. Now, as a former Aquatics instructor, safety needs to be first and foremost. I would NEVER accept a Scout in a SCUBA or any other aquatic course of instruction who cannot float/swim at least at the "Swimmer" level. This is a serious safety and liability issue and must not be allowed. I am sympathetic to special needs and spent many summer teaching such scouts how to swim. But my primary responsibility was to send them home alive.

In my admittedly limited experience with GSUSA, the quantity and quality of "outdoor" program they provide is limited by what the local mom/troop leader is willing to provide. If the local troop leader doesn't "do" heat, cold, bugs, dirt etc, there won't be an outdoor program, regardless of what the National party line is.

Any time the signatories on the bank account change, there should be an audit by the CO and Troop Committee. This is for your protection.

Is the SM military by chance? This sounds vaguely like military etiquette. You never call a superior and leave a message for them to call back. It's up to you to make contact, not to put the monkey on their back. I was a civilian in a military organization and a young enlisted person [taught me this.

Technically, all equipment and funds belong to the CO. Really can't sell it without their permission. According to the "Rules and Regulations", the DE should meet with the CO and determine their intent to recharter now or sometime in the future. This really does not affect current members. If you have an established troop to go to, contact them and submit a transfer application for each youth/adult. Transfer fee is $1. Then walk away and let Council and the old CO handle the details of the old troop. You have already done the "Courteous" thing and advised them of your intent.

Have the scout draw up and submit the proposal, just like any other Eagle project. Emphasize "planning and leading", not "doing". I have seen projects approved for much less. Good luck.

Looks like fun, but the first thing I noticed was the lack of personal flotation devices (PFDs), a must-have for any boating activity under BSA auspices. Our Safety Afloat program is pretty specific.

If the council no longer exists, who would give permission? You would just need to avoid BSA protected trademarks. And make sure the patches are clearly represented as reproductions. caveat: I am not an attorney, just opinionated.

If the applicant works for DoD or a DoD contractor, the Office of Personnel Management has already breached his information...several times. I know, I got free "credit monitoring" , not that it's worth anything.

And a "Made in China" sticker.

My GPS is "Martha". A friend of my son's was taking a long road trip with her husband and 3 year old son. For fun, they selected a different voice for the GPS. By the end of the trip, the son was speaking with a distinct British accent. (I know, you don't have an accent...we do!).LOL.

Forgive me if some thought I was making an unreasonable "knee-jerk" reaction to seeing a Professional Scouter surrounded by youth in uniform endorsing a commercial product on national TV. Now it seems the product is of questionable effectiveness (Trustworthy) and exorbitantly priced (Thrifty). After some 40 years of being told that in unit fundraising, we can't wear uniforms to sell any product, lest it be inferred by the public that the BSA is officially endorsing it, unless of course, the product is the officially endorsed popcorn of questionable quality (Trustworthy) and exorbitantly priced (Thrifty). No, wait...never mind. I see the pattern here. Never mind.

Scout Salute to a brother Eagle to be. This illustrates the admonition that "your project plan should be written in such detail that if something happens to you, someone else can pick it up and complete it as written."

It's available on Amazon for cheap. 2 day shipping if you have Prime.