scoutldr

Welcome! I, for one, can tell you...Scouting is not a bad life to have! Enjoy the journey.

To General Robert E. Lee, born on this day, 1807. Sic semper tyrannis!

"A man's gotta know his limitation."

I think Greaves' question is interesting, especially in today's society when a "family" has many different definitions, only one of which is the 1950's model many of us grew up with. Anyone have an "official" answer? Here's another twist...what if little Johnny has two Dads and no mom? Or Mom has a girlfriend?(This message has been edited by scoutldr)

Assuming that each child has (or had) 2 biological parents, TAV=(2)(TAY). Add in those (like me) whose boys aged out 9 years ago, and there should be more than enough.

What's wrong with just using the English language as it's intended, rather than how people THINK it is? Reminds me of the furor over the word "niggardly" by those ignorant of the language of our land. costume NOUN: 1. A style of dress, including garments, accessories, and hairstyle, especially as characteristic of a particular country, period, or people. 2. An outfit or a disguise worn on Mardi Gras, Halloween, or similar occasions. 3. A set of clothes appropriate for a particular occasion or season. regalia PLURAL NOUN: (used with a sing. or pl. verb) 1. The emblems and symbols of royalty, such as the crown and scepter. 2. The rights and privileges of royalty. 3. The distinguishing symbols of a rank, office, order, or society. 4. Magnificent attire; finery. So I guess either word could be appropriate...depending on who it is you're impersonating.

Having looked up the definitions, I think the word "costume" is more appropriate.

scottmphoto said, "Our younger Scouts stayed in camp and worked o merit badges and our older Scouts went on a canoe trip and went on a guided cave trip." Sounds like you have a lot of qualified adults to serve as MB counselors, etc. We're lucky to get 2 adults who can sacrifice a week of vacation time. Sometimes we have to tag-team it to cover the week. The parents usually take off and take their own vacation that week.

Any Scouting event, including OA, is open to any parent who wants to observe. That is BSA policy. There are no closed meetings or ceremonies (to parents, that is).

I think you answered your own question...you haven't had a District Chairman in two years? That's why the DE is filling that role. Your concept is correct...the Volunteers should be running the program side of things...but if your key volunteer positions are vacant, that model doesn't work.

One of the demographics that your District Committee and DE will track is "TAY" or "total available youth". It's the number of youth of Scouting age in your District's geographic area, gleaned mainly from school populations. As long as that number is greater than the number of BSA members in the District, they will try to start new units. # of new units is also one of the metrics that determines whether a DE succeeds or fails as a professional Scouter. They would much rather have 20 units with 5 scouts each than two 50 scout units. I agree...recruitment is difficult, and it's getting worse. But your enemy is not the other troops.

As I recall, graphite powder was the ONLY lube allowed. But it's been a long time. Just have fun and don't overthink it.

Does anyone know where the new uniforms are made? If it's China, then nothing prevents the manufacturer to make a million more copies to sell to Wally-world...as long as the BSA trademarks are not on them. In fact, it would be a smart business move to keep costs down and increase profits. Most of the patches I've seen come from China now.

Interesting. Thanks, Baden.

Welcome, Scott! Ebay is a good source for gently used or even new Scout uniforms. You might also patrol the thrift stores and sometimes you'll get lucky.

The ones with "Executive" or "Director" in their titles are usually the paid pros. The rest are mere volunteers. The Scout Executive (SE)is the head fred (CEO) of the Council and all the other paid employees report to him, directly or indirectly. The SE reports to the Council Executive Board...a group of volunteers who are usually hand picked by the SE. District Executives (DE) work for the SE and work with the District Chairman, a volunteer who chairs the District Committee. Commissioners are all vols, as are unit leaders. The "key 3" of the Council or District consist of the Chairman, Commissioner and Executive. I think there's an org chart in the leaders books. That's it in a nutshell.

It would seem logical that those on the Executive Board would serve in their positions a year at a time...Council President, VP's, etc. Aren't those positions elected by other members of the EB? As far as term limits for other District/Council positions, I'm not aware of any, other than the district I served would elect a "slate" of positions every year...if you wanted to continue serving, you were "re-elected." Only on one occasion did I witness someone asked not to return, and it wasn't pleasant. We don't seem to be able to keep a District Chairman or DE for more than a year at a time, but I don't think it's because of any term limits. The SE plays musical chairs with the DE's about once a year, not sure to what purpose.

"has made me wonder what we do in cases where a scout's family does not have health insurance" I'm with Ed. Why would we "do" anything? This is between the family and their health care providers. I DO think it's a good idea as a unit to sign up for the BSA accident insurance. Just pay the extra buck or two per scout when registration comes along. Either pass it on to the families, or factor it in to your Unit Budget plan. Then you've done all you can do. As I recall, our Council used to charge us for it automatically. Not sure if or when it became "optional".

Welcome back, Gonzo. We missed ya! Survey: 1. No. I think the rule should apply to all adults (>18) equally...either wear the badge or the knot, but not both. 2. Eagle class of 70.

If you are the Lifesaving MB counsellor who will sign off the badge, it is up to you to decide what you will accept. You can make them start over, or you can accept "a Scout is Trustworthy". It's all you now.

As I said, gcan, "I" understood what you meant. But at any given time, there are over a thousand people reading these comments, so, yes, I think we DO need to be conscious of the "literal minded" when we give advice. BSA policy is "no one on one contact" between youth and adults. And yes, it is called the "Guide" to Safe Scouting, however those paragraphs in BOLD are mandatory, as a matter of policy.

I was hoping to be able to retire in 2 years, but it looks like that's a dream that will never be achieved. As a federal employee under the "new" retirement system, my retirement is based largely on what I am able to squirrel away in a 401K type plan. I lost half of that in the past year, so I am having to ramp up savings in my other accounts to try to make it up. I am thankful that, so far, layoffs are not being discussed (except in the Obama campaign rhetoric) and I am healthy enough to get up and go to work every day. How long will that last, who knows. But genetics are against me. In the coming year, charitable contributions will be looked at hard in my household, including FOS. My focus now is paying down debt and increasing savings. Since I have no kids in the program any more, but still donate my time and gas, perhaps the other parents who do nothing can increase their FOS donations. It's time to start taking care of ME and my family's future, which has been severely impacted in the past year.(This message has been edited by scoutldr)

Good luck to Matt. I'm sure he'll do fine. Our Council is similar to others. Letters are requested, usually by the Unit CC who chairs the EBOR. (Our EBOR are run by the units with a District rep present). In most cases letters are received, but I know of NO case where an EBOR was postponed or a Scout denied Eagle because of the lack of them. They are considered just additional information that the EBOR can consider in their deliberations.

Officer Walt: Thank you for your service and God Bless you with a quick recovery! scoutldr in Va.

PeteM: In that case, the EBOR members have a hard decision to make, based on the Scout's answers to their questions. The SCOUT should never see the letters. Eagle77, I have seen similar forms, and I think they are Council-specific. To my knowledge, it is not a National thing.