scoutldr

At EBOR, I stress that an Eagle should be interested in "paying it forward" by continuing to be active in his troop, mentoring younger scouts and earning palms. Many of them are knocking on the door of "adulthood" and will be going off to college, so I remind them of Alpha Phi Omega, or encourage to seek out a local unit and offer to help. If you have scouts "Eagle-out" at 15, you're doing it wrong.

One thing to keep in mind, is that the religious awards are not BSA awards. They are awards managed and developed by denominations, some through an organization called P.R.A.Y.. They are intended for the boy to work on with his family and religious leader and not as a Den or Troop activity (since they are denomination-specific). BSA merely allows the awards to be worn on the Scout uniform. And, as has been stated above, as far as I know, the adult awards are nominated by others and not something you can earn on your own...similar to the District Award of Merit and Silver Beaver.

In regards to YPT and co-ed leaders: I think the message we are being sent from Irving is, "if the parents say she is a boy, then she's a boy. Period." No need to change the way you operate your unit. Operate your unit under the premise that you still have a troop of "all boys". Yes, this will be a mess. Waiting for the response from the major religious supporters such as LDS. http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/01/31/its-time-for-churches-to-sever-ties-with-boy-scouts.html

Wouldn't the Fair Tax make this a moot discussion?

Well, I got this far thinking "tree stand" had to do with deer hunting.

I had a "break in service" between college and the birth of my first son. I never counted those years. It's my observation that not many wear their stars anyway. It's up to the individual to add up the years and wear the appropriate star. No one has ever "audited" me.

Music or Bugling in one day? Took me years of lessons.

BSA National is funded by corporate donations, product sales (publications, uniforms, etc) and registration fees from individual members. Councils are independent non-profit corporations and are responsible for their own funding, i.e., if United Way contributions dry up, it has no effect on National. Local SE/DE salaries are funded from Council FOS campaigns and popcorn sales and whatever local corporate donors the SE can schmooze. I had assumed the United Way thing had become moot with the BSA change in policy.

Yes, comparing checks with receipts. And some sort of documentation for each debit/credit detailing what it was for. For example, if there is a check written to buy tents, the committee should be able to conclude that tents were actually purchased and are in use. Checks written to individuals should have documentation that the expenditure was approved in advance and what it was for. No one in the unit should be spending/obligating unit funds without prior approval of the committee.

I agree with qwazse...do NOT accept the treasurer job and add your name to the accounts until there is an independent audit. The audit committee should be appointed by the CO/COR and not include any current committee members. Any discrepancies uncovered need to be resolved before the current Treasurer is relieved of duty.

I think this is characteristic of the generation. Not to criticize, just an observation. They have been "spoon fed" everything, at home, at school, and yes, even at Scouts. It's not that they don't WANT to take initiative, they don't know how, because they've never been expected to. I saw it 10 years ago when I was unit scouting, and I think it's even worse now. They wait for direction. When given direction, they willingly react, do just what was suggested, nothing more, nothing less. They think if it's not suggested, it's not up to them to think of it. IT frustrates me at work, because my management style is to tell them what the end point needs to look like, then get out of the way and let them figure out all the intermediate steps. They don't know how to do it without step-by-step direction.

In our camp, everyone is in canvas tents, on wooden platforms. Tents are usually hand-me downs from the last Jamboree. Army-style cots are provided, we provide the bed linens and/or sleeping bags and mosquito netting. Cabins are available for staff members who live there all summer. Meals are mostly communal in a dining hall, but some troops may opt for cooking their own in the campsite. There are one or maybe two troops per campsite. The day starts at around 0800 with flag ceremony and breakfast, then the merit badge "sessions" begin. Younger scouts may be in a "first year" program that concentrates on basic scouting skills of Tenderfoot-First Class. Our camp has an in-ground swimming pool for swimming and boating is done at the riverfront which is maybe a half a Km away. The James River is miles wide at that point with a sandy beach. When I was a young scout, ALL aquatics was done in the river. Doing the Mile Swim against the current was a good feat back then. Evenings have events such as free swim, and free shoot at the rifle range, wide games, scoutmaster competitions, or just hanging out in the campsite. Camp-wide campfires are usually on Sunday evening and Friday evenings. Scouts arrive on Sunday afternoon and depart on Saturday morning. Camp facilities vary widely across the US, depending on how generous the donors have been. Ours is still pretty basic, although in the 80s they added the pool, dining hall, admin building and central showers.

I'm still amazed that your camp provides steak. We got cheap hamburger patties.

So, the lawyer advocates breaking the law while transporting Scouts, as long as everyone else does it too? I'll see how that argument holds up in court.

Why would you want to?

I used to cringe when a certain parent would volunteer to drive on our annual winter camp to PA (about a 7 hour drive). He would load boys into his Dodge minivan and head out, routinely doing 75-80 mph on the highway. I am a stickler for speed limits, since I don't view a $300 speeding ticket as "just the cost of doing business" like some seem to. When I would catch up to him at rest stops, we of course would be the subject of all kinds of ridicule for being "slower than grandma, but she was old"...and such. I just always felt that with a cargo of children, it is not good to take unnecessary risk.

We don't even look at dates of MB or rank advancement. Scouts and leaders should get all that straight before the EBOR is scheduled. If the Council Registrar as signed the application certifying that all dates are correct, we are good to go. I am a "District Rep" on EBOR conducted at the unit level.

Thanks for the feedback and so glad it was a positive experience! This is what Scouting is all about. Growing boys into men, sometimes in spite of their parents.

A "Doctor of Osteopathy" or DO can do anything an MD can do in most, if not all, states, including surgery. I would not consider a DC, or other alternative medicine practitioner qualified to do a complete physical, any more than I would consider a dentist qualified. I do see a DC monthly, and not once has he taken my vital signs, or ordered lab work or an EKG or reviewed my immunization status.

Hate to sound petty, but my house is boycotting KK. A kindergartner gave my wife (the school nurse) a coupon for a free glazed donut. The store manager refused to honor it because it had "expired". Never mind that the store had been closed for several months for remodeling. So for the sake of a glazed donut (their cost, maybe 3 cents), they have lost hundreds of dollars in business. And yes, I am telling everyone I know.

Welcome! I wasn't aware there were fraternities other than Alpha Phi Omega. There are several former professionals on the forum and they can give you the straight scoop about the BSA as an employer. I once looked into it with the idea that "wow I love Scouting so much, and I could get paid for it too!"...however the job of the Pro is much different than that of the Volunteer. It's considered an "outside sales" job, but who knows, you could be great at it!

I am on the fence. As a manager and supervisor, if I tell an employee NOT to do something and they do it anyway, I am not doing my job if I let it pass. On the other hand, it is my responsibility to know or find out what the right thing to do is. It is NOT appropriate for a staff member to "jump the chain" and contact authorities directly if they don't like the answer I gave them. At the very least, this scout reservation now has the opportunity to clarify in no uncertain terms what the policy is.

Yes, "Canadian Canoes"...which we got from the indigenous Natives. Canoeing teaches different strokes for one and two man configurations. How to properly stroke, turn, stop, maneuver, change positions with your partner, swamp the canoe and de-water it. Rowing is much the same, only with rowboats. As Ian said, you sit facing the rear of the boat, how to stroke, feather your oars, change positions, swamp and de-water, and the hardest for some, row in a straight line! If he likes fishing have him sign up for Fishing MB. Much of that is done on his own time...catch a fish, clean and cook it.

We try to leave the world better than we found it. RIP, brothers.

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