scoutldr

I can't imagine borrowing an expensive canoe, damaging it and then asking the Troop to pay for it (insurance or not). In fact, I can't even imagine borrowing something that expensive for a Scout outing! No, I don't think there is any such insurance available. The two scouters need to cough up a thousand bucks.

As as former boss once told me..."It's always better to be wanted, than to be qualified." (after he selected someone unqualified for a promotion)

There is no longer any gender discrimination in the BSA. Males and females can hold any position. No, females do NOT need to be 21 to be an ASM, according to BSA policy. But it could be that a chartering organization can set policy for its unit that is more stringent than BSA. Is this an LDS unit by any chance?

I thought it was clear that you have no responsibility in this matter. The young man's employer (SE) has the responsibility and from what adamsdwa said, it is being addressed in a confidential manner, as it legally should be. Your reponsibility is to your unit and to your family. If you think you have enough information, and you are not happy with the outcome, you can remove yourself and your family from future involvement with this DE, and let the SE know why.

As usual, we devolve into pointing the righteous finger of indignation and giving advice and counsel where none was asked. The point is, the young man doesn't have the badges...for reasons that are irrelevant now. He asked a simple question, which was answered long ago. He just wants to buy replacements, and he can either ask his SM to pick them up or go to the scout shop himself and present proof of earning. Sheesh.

I got an ad for Auld's Lluminous Llamas! And I think you guys have WAAAYYYY too much time on your hands...

About the only place online would be Ebay. Otherwise, you can call your local Council Scout Shop and explain that you need to buy some replacement merit badges and that you have your signed blue cards. Or, as the others suggested, ask that your Scoutmaster pick them up the next time he goes to buy awards. Getting replacements should not be a problem. Good luck.

I just checked my uniform and couldn't find any wreaths. Should I quit providing service?

It's clear that the Scout Executive is responsible for both the administration and program delivery of the Council. He answers to the Executive Board, a group of volunteers who has the power to hire and fire him (or her). The Executive Board includes the CORs of all the units...the only unit level people who get a vote. If the SE does not perform and the Board does nothing, the consequences can range from loss of membership, financing and units to adverse publicity to legal problems. As I said in my other post, us lowly volunteer members are considered "customers" of the Council. If we don't like what's going on, we can choose not to buy the product and take our kids, donations and volunteer time elsewhere. That was a revelation for me a few years back...I who grew up in Scouting since I was 9 years old figured I was as much a part of the BSA as anyone. ASM59 asks, "where do we draw the line?" The fact is the line is not ours to draw.(This message has been edited by scoutldr)

What the DE did is not right. It set a poor example and violated policy. Unfortunately, in the Council, the SE IS the law. Councils are independent corporations and the SE is the CEO. As a parent or unit leader, the only real power you have is to either, a) vote with your feet and leave Scouting, or b) raise the issue via your "chain of command" which means convincing your unit's COR to take the matter to the Executive Board. Your COR does go to all the meetings, right? He/she is the only one with a real vote/voice in Council matters. The rest of us are just "customers". But usually, how an SE manages his employees is considered "none of our beeswax."

Definitely NOT BSA. Looks homemade.

We are all assuming that the TDC produces better trainers. I did not find that to be the case.

Make sure that the ring you buy is licensed by the BSA. I wonder if the one from Germany is? Otherwise it's an illegal use of BSA trademarks.

I don't think Swimming should be optional. Dr. Leonard Sax has written a book, "Boys Adrift: Five Factors Driving the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated and Underachieving Young Men" He mentions physiological factors, such as that young men's sperm counts today are half that of their Grandfathers at the same age. Testosterone levels are also lower, perhaps due to environmental estrogens that we are all exposed to. I haven't read the book yet, but here is an excerpt from an interview: Lopez: So how does a boy catch this weird new virus of apathy? Sax: Good question. I have families in my practice where one brother is motivated, intense, hard-working while his brother is a goofball whose main concern is reaching the Kilimanjaro round in Halo. Same parents, same family, same opportunities. Some boys are clearly more predisposed to this syndrome than other boys. Whats troubling is how much more common the syndrome is today than it was 30 years ago. http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=M2YyODgwMzEzODRkOThmOTQwNDBiOTVkZGQyNjMzZDA=#more

Since the CC serves at the pleasure of the Chartered Organization, his job is to manage the unit to the satisfaction of the CO. That doesn't mean that everyone will necessarily be kept "happy".

Webelos is the last 2 years of Cubs here in the states. 4th-5th grade, typically age 9-10.

Ron Paul for President!

"I was on the phone with the Jamboree Committee person for my Council and he told me that I will be refused. He said he will look into it but he believe either way I would be refused. How do new leaders get experience if they are not given a chance? When I heard about the Jamboree I started asking around at the Round tables. I was told that staff positions are harder to get in because they only look for people with Staff Jamboree experience. Do you believe this is true? I don't care what type of position I am in I just want to attend. Never attended as a kid due to money but now I have the money I am too old to attend, lol.." I had the same experience for a previous Jambo, rdcrisco. I contacted the Council guy (you know, the one who's been around 110 years and has 15 rows of squareknots). I had lots of vacation time to burn and said I was willing to do anything, even drive the garbage wagon. The response was "sorry, we have all the help we need." In my council, it seems the same people get selected time after time. How do I know? They're the ones who start wearing the new Jambo patch a year ahead of the event. The Good Ole Boys(and Girls) club is alive and well, it seems. Some of them will be sorely disappointed this time, if they choose to enforce the physical fitness requirement. Do the new centennial uniforms come in 4XL??? The bear said, "Most councils have been at this for over a year now". If that's true, they've sure been real quiet about it. (This message has been edited by scoutldr)

It's "Lenni" Lenape. However, the tribe themselves preferred "Lenape", which means "original people". Since "Lenni" means "original", it's redundant. Since the Lenape language was originally written down by the Pennsylvania Germans of the region, most Lenape words are pronounced as they would be in German. A bit of useless trivia for around the campfire...

It gets feedback to the Troop committee, not just the SM. I know that a BOR can be had at any time for any reason, not just every 6 months. That being said, we don't do it and I don't know anyone who does.

If the colonists had insisted on following all the rules all the time, we'd still be taking highly taxed afternoon tea and speaking British!

While it may not be a requirement, I would insist on another adult (preferably at least one female adult) present whenever youth are present. Two deep, all the time. This is a little more conservative than the "no one on one" rule, but if YOU are concerned about it, then this will help dispel any perception of impropriety.

Being on the East coast, been there done that. The people here keep saying "thank God it's not us", but our thoughts and prayers are with you. I have a friend whose elderly mother lives in East Bernard, and she decided not to evacuate, because of the fiasco with Rita. Took her 8 hours to travel from Houston to Austin and she said, "never again". I hope she's still there. One thing that always impressed me is the the power companies. My FIL worked his entire life for Virginia Power and whenever hurricanes threatened, the caravans of power trucks would head for the affected areas from neighboring states. Wouldn't surprise me if we have trucks headed your way now. I don't think they charge each other for services...but they just chip in and do what needs to be done to restore power for us. After our last hurricane, people were taking them food and drink and stopping just to say "thanks for leaving your families to help us". Stay safe and post when you can...

One of the sermons I remember from my Lutheran Pastor was one on repentance. We are all sinners. We make mistakes. The Lutheran faith encourages public confession and repentance in order to be granted forgiveness. It's not enough to confess and say you're sorry. True repentance means that you confess, apologize and don't do it again. In my opinion, the same should be the standard for Eagle Scout. We should expect scouts to make mistakes, but then to own up to them and make it right, as Beavah proposed. We should also expect that the scout then shun the illegal/immoral/offending behavior and not continue it in his "non-Scouting" life, hoping the EBOR members didn't find out. The scout did not apologize to those he had harmed, nor did he turn away from the offending behavior as evidenced by his on-line presence. He underestimated us old geezers, or was just plain stupid. "On My Honor, I will Do My Best"...those are powerful words, and the scout still wasn't exhibiting that, in my opinion.

Welcome back to the fold, DeanRx. To address one aspect of your self-described "vent", the advancement form. That was to address the practice that some units had (have) of "stockpiling" badges and cards to save them a trip to the Scout Shop OR to preclude getting "burned" because frequently the shop would be out of stock and they didn't want to have a bunch of disappointed boys at the Pack meeting. Been there, done that. The problem was that the paperwork NEVER got filed and when a scout submitted his Eagle app, there was no record of prior ranks or merit badges. So, we have to do the paperwork drill. Not to say that solved the problem altogether, but that was the reason. Not that there was a black market on First Class patches (although you can usually buy whatever you want on eBay).