SemperParatus

I would guess the merit badge sash will be changed to match the color of the new pants.

Our troop has been loaning out our canoe fleet to a venture crew for five years or so. We've never had a problem. With an ASM and four older scouts on the scene, I am sure the trailer will be well looked after. A scout is generous.

Rare triple play

Triplet Eagle Scouts, 18, are a tribute to their mom

Word of the triplet Eagle Scouts has been percolating through the community for a couple of months now - three brothers, born within minutes of each other 18 years ago this spring, who will achieve the highest rank attainable in the Boys Scouts of America. These things don't happen every day - in fact, it appears to have happened only once in nearly 100 years of Scouting - so attention must be paid.

It's finally official, which means we get to tell you about the Podhorniak boys today, and we could not have a more perfect moment for the story - Mother's Day 2008.

For it's possible that Nicholas, Matthew and James Podhorniak might have done this on their own, but that's hard to imagine. They have 83 merit badges and three Eagle Scout community projects among them, and that's not something teenage boys pull off without a dedicated parent at the wheel of a minivan.

Behind every motivated boy there's usually a supportive adult, and in this case, it was the mom. There were others who helped the brothers - the adult leaders of Scout Troop 746, for instance - but Mom gets first thanks.

Rosemary Podhorniak provided the emotional and logistical support for her boys as they climbed their way through the Boy Scouts merit system, and, as some of you might have sensed by now, she didn't have a partner to share this responsibility.

Her husband died in 1991, when the Podhorniak triplets were only 15 months old.

"His name was George," Rosemary Podhorniak says when I ask about her husband. "He had lymphoma. He was 31. We had been married nine years."

It has been Mom and the Podhorniak Trio at their house in White Marsh since then.

Rosemary finished her undergraduate degree, took jobs as a bookkeeper and raised the triplets. She had help from grandparents and, eventually, the extended family of Troop 746.

Two of the boys, Matt and Jim, moved into Scouts at the Webelos level, when they were in the fifth grade. Nick held off, convinced that Webelos was "all about arts and crafts."

By the time the Podhorniaks were 11, they were fully into Scouts, going on camping trips each month, attending meetings every Friday. Campfires and knives got them excited, as they usually do for all boys.

Rosemary Podhorniak didn't know much about Scouts, but she jumped into the troop's activities head-first. "This was something we decided to do as a family," she says. "The boys wanted Scouts, so I got involved."

"She's a wonderful person," says Bill Freeburger, Troop 746's Scoutmaster. "Rosemary is a very, very active person who's interested in the other boys, too, not just her own. ... She got right in there with us. She wasn't afraid to go on the camping trips, no matter how ugly the weather got. You know, you can usually tell who among the boys will be an Eagle Scout by how much a parent is involved."

All three boys set their minds to reaching Eagle Scout fairly early on.

"We'd see older guys in our troop get the medal," Matt says, "and that got us thinking about it." But it's not like they made a pact. To hear Jim, Nick and Matt tell it, they just liked Scouts - the friendships they made, the skills and life lessons they picked up - and they wanted to go as far with it as they could.

Nick liked learning first aid the best, and now he's thinking about medical school. Matt enjoyed learning to sail and handle a rifle. Jim liked wilderness survival.

Each of them earned the required merit badges and then some. Each took on a community service project, too - Nick got a new trophy case for the music department at Ridgely Middle School in Cockeysville, Matt made improvements to more than 300 feet of fencing around a playground at his church, and Jim organized an effort to make a half-mile of trail in a state park wheelchair-accessible.

"And something else about Jim you should know," says Freeburger. "He's a leader. He was elected twice the senior patrol leader of our troop, and that's quite an honor. And he did it even with his medical problems."

That's another part of the story: In the midst of the Podhorniaks' efforts to attain Eagle Scout status, doctors discovered a noncancerous tumor in Jim's head. It originated in his sinus. He's had four surgeries since 2006 - the first lasted 16 hours, the most recent, in March, lasted 11. "Hopefully, they got most of it, and it will stop growing," Rosemary Podhorniak says. "It hasn't affected his vision or his hearing. ... Jim doesn't like to talk about this much."

He'd rather talk about knots and lashings, about climbing rocks on a Scouts trip out West, about his various roles with various bands at Calvert Hall College High School, where he, Matt and Nick are seniors. Jim plans to attend Towson University in the fall. Matt is headed to UMBC and studies in computer science, and Nick plans to enter Neumann College near Philadelphia.

"I don't know what I'm going to do when they go off to college," Rosemary says.

The Podhorniaks are the second triplets to attain Eagle Scout status, as far as we can tell. A Google search turned up references to three brothers in Virginia being the first, in 2004.

"It's a very high honor," Freeburger says. "We have a lot of Boy Scouts, but not many make Eagle Scout. It takes commitment from the teenaged boy because, you know, cars and girls compete with it. It's a great, great honor, and the boys will always have it, always be reminded of it, and a lot will be expected of them."

The Podhorniaks' Eagle Scout ceremony is May 23. Calvert Hall's graduation follows about a week later. Exciting days for Nick, Matt and Jim.

But today is Mother's Day. Today is Rosemary's day. Today we say: Nice job, Mom.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.rodricks11may11,0,4453114.column

(This message has been edited by SemperParatus)

Ed,

I can assure you they are read from beginning to end (often several times) by the District Eagle Project Coordinator. I remember when my son went through the process several years ago (his project was the creation of a field guide book for a local preserve that required research by volunteer teams), he was asked who is going to make sure the pencils are sharpened - and shouldn't that be included in the plan. A very small point, but one that left me flabbergasted to say the least.

Every page of the workbook has to be inserted in a sheet protector before the guy will review it (he doesn't want to get coffee stains on the pages). The wildest thing is this gentleman is reviewing 50 - 60 workbooks a year, singlehandedly. Everytime he sees something in a book that he really likes, it gets added to the suggested guidelines of what to include. As a result, a 20 page checklist guide is now put out by the District of things that are 'suggested' for inclusion in the workbooks. The 'suggested' items are basically treated as requirements and so we have the dreaded ATTR problem.

Over the years, people have spoken with our Council about the 'problem'. Council has taken a hands-off approach, deferring to the DAC. No one has ever appealed a denied signature to my knowledge. Giving up is the usual course of action. Some boys have asked about going to another district for the workbook sign-off.

In our district, the scout must meet with the District Advancement Committee's Eagle Project Coordinator, a nice guy who has been serving in this capacity for about 15 years. Needless to say, over the years he has come to expect more and more in the workbooks before signing off. Consequently, most workbooks (plans) that are approved are 100+ pages in length and include such items as: map of project location, detailed drawings, detailed material and supply lists by project day, detailed tools list by project day, detailed time and task schedule for each project day, a detailed financial budget, a detailed time budget, fundraising details, unit money earning application, local tour permits, a leadership organization chart, a job description for each leadership/volunteer position, a narrative on how leadership will be demonstrated by the eagle candidate and others during the project, an agenda for pre-project leader meetings, a sprial notebook that includes the scouts notes and discussions during his planning, pictures of the site with captions for improvements to be made, a discussion of safety issues and how they will be addressed, etc. etc. etc.

I have had several conversations with the Eagle Project Coordinator and DAC chair about the process. The problem seems to be that the Eagle Project Coordinator has been pretty much left to his own devices in establishing his interpretation of the requirement to 'plan, develop and give leadership to..." since the DAC chair is basically a revolving door.

Many scouts in our district have chosen not to proceed down the eagle project road because of the significant academic exercise that is required by the planning component. That is a shame. However, those that do go through the process learn an awful lot about what goes into planning and about themselves. Those with strong troop support and a good Eagle Advisor that understands what the district 'requires' do well. Those without such support, usually end up quitting at some point.

So, things could be a lot worse...you could be in my district.

Dawn,

In addition to the Troop gifts mentioned previously, our Troop has developed some other traditions of things that happen at our ECOHs.

The Scout removes tape covering his engraved plate on our Eagle plaque.

The Scout signs our Eagle Banner that includes the signatures of all of our prior Eagle Scouts.

A blue star is added to our Troop Seal to honor each Eagle Scout.

When the time comes for the badge to be pinned on the Scout, we ask that he stand on our Circle of Honor - basically a dial constructed from a 36" pine tabletop with a large BSA decal covering it. Each Eagle Scout from our Troop has also signed the dial.

An American flag flown at the site of his first summer camp (or other place of significance) is presented. With each fold of the flag, a point of the scout law is stated.

Our Troop is now 8 years old with 8 Eagle Scouts (soon to be 12). It is important to start building traditions that can be carried on for the decades to follow.

Congratulations.

.

Our Troop pays for the Eagle Scout Presentation Kit (badge, medal, parent and mentor pins), the embroidered Eagle Scout neckerchief and slide, and membership in the National Eagle Scout Association. We also provide a $50 stipend to the family to apply to reception expenses. Totals $100 per scout.

Thanks everyone. Yeah, I knew our District has been running amock on this for some time. Every few years or so, a new crop of adults makes a run at throttling this back and it goes no where. Instead, every year some new 'helpful guidelines' are added to what is 'expected' in the project workbook, that then morph into a 'gotta have'. For example, this past year our eagle candidates are being asked to include an additional spiral notebook in the back of their eagle books that includes a diary of their discussions along the way, preliminary thoughts and drawings, etc etc. Definitely, Twilight Zone stuff!

I was asked by someone on the district nominating committee if I would consider the DAC chair position. My fear is that I would be on a slash and burn mission from the start to bring sanity back to the process.

As part of our District's Eagle Scout process, once the the Eagle Application has been verified by Council (all dates are compared with Council records), the Eagle Candidate is to turn his Eagle Project Workbook (consisting of the project plan, final report, etc.) in for District Review prior to the scheduling of the Board of Review. Now, our District Advancement Committee has turned the whole workbook process into quite an academic exercise, resulting in most project plans and final reports encompassing anywhere from 100 - 300 pages of task lists, materials lists, budgeting, volunteer job descriptions, organization charts, exhibits, etc. etc. Definitely more than probably needed...but neverthless the world in which our scouts must navigate through.

My issue is with the amount of time our District Advancement Committee spends reviewing the Project Workbook/Final Report in preparation of an Eagle Board of Review. Of our Troop's last five eagle scouts, 2 have waited in excess of 9 weeks between the time their book was turned in to District for final review and being contacted to set up the EBOR, 1 waited 5 weeks, and 2 waited less than 2 weeks (they were both 18). In all cases, the District noted that each Project workbook was exemplary and were impressed by both the leadership and documentation presented. So, I'm trying to figure out why in the world it takes over two months for a review of a Scout's work. As the Eagle Advisor to our troop, I know for a fact that each book can be read cover to cover in two hours or less.

In the last instance, I spoke with the Advancement Committee Chairman, who blamed it on 'we are all just volunteers'. Sorry, I can't accept that answer at all as an excuse for sitting on a book review for over two months. The process is simply the AC Chair handing the book over to another Advancement Committee member to do the review and the EBOR, so maybe its simply the luck of the draw of getting a scouter that doesn't have the time. Clearly, the 18 year old candidate gets priority, but 2 weeks vs. 2 months!!

Just curious, how long does your District/Council take to perform a final review of an Eagle Scout's Project documentation?

from today's Wall Street Journal...

Girl Scouts Seek an Image Makeover

Green Skirts Are Out

As Organization Faces

A 'Nonjoiner' Society

By ELLEN BYRON

March 25, 2008; Page B5

The cookies will stay, but the green skirts are history.

The Girl Scouts, seeking to reverse declining troop numbers, is shaking up its image. On Tuesday, the organization is expected to announce the appointment of its first chief marketing officer, a former senior partner and executive group director at WPP Group's Ogilvy & Mather.

Laurel Richie will be in charge of modernizing the image of the Girl Scouts, which is viewed by many as a rigid, old-fashioned organization focused on cookie fund-raisers and campouts. "Girls think of us as outdated," says Kathy Cloninger, chief executive of Girl Scouts of the USA. "They have stereotypes of who we are that are not right."

Girl Scouts of the USA

Ads that show the Girl Scouts' recent efforts to transform their image.

Appointing a marketing chief is part of a broader, multiyear effort to bring the 96-year-old organization into the 21st century. Over the past three years, the Girl Scouts has streamlined its organizational structure to 109 leadership councils from more than 300, added programs on topics such as managing busy schedules and online bullying to better reflect current issues, and narrowed the age ranges within each troop.

Trying to reinvigorate an old brand is a classic marketing challenge, and remains one of the trickiest feats in the business. On top of that, the Girl Scouts are trying to win over a demographic that is not only notoriously fickle but is also bombarded with marketing pitches: technologically advanced adolescent girls.

"They're very smart about media consumption, and deft at avoiding any communication that's not relevant to them," says Samantha Skey, executive vice president of strategic marketing at Alloy Media + Marketing.

The Girl Scouts was started in 1912 as a way to give girls more opportunities outside the home. It has since focused more on helping girls work together in groups and develop leadership skills. The Girl Scouts has long offered programs on everything from running a business to mountain climbing.

But the big problem for the organization these days is that it is seen by many as sleepy. Though it has held up as an American icon, the group has little name recognition beyond its cookies, its executives say. The group, which has 2.8 million scouts from ages of five to 17, has been losing 1% to 2% of its membership a year for about 10 years.

After conducting a study of itself, the group discovered its main competition for members wasn't the sports teams or church groups it suspected, but rather what it calls "nonactivities," says Ms. Cloninger. "Girls start hanging out at the mall, spending time online or just being with their friends, and basically become 'nonjoiners' -- that's [what] we were losing the most girls to."

Girl Scouts of the USA

Advertising efforts over the past two years also reflect the group's new direction, including public-service announcements in publications such as Entertainment Weekly and Girls Life that highlight girls' independence, and the tagline: "It's a Girl's Life. Lead it."

Repositioning the organization "isn't about us trying to be cool," says Ms. Richie. "We've seen jeans, sneakers and soft drinks try to do that and you just cringe."

Ms. Richie is hoping to increase the group's exposure among demographics that have been underrepresented in its troops, particularly Hispanics, Asians and other groups. She says she will also try to do more outreach to mothers, both to drive membership of their daughters and to recruit more volunteer leaders.

As for the cookie box, the former Ogilvy executive says she wants to turn it into more of a marketing tool -- some 200 million boxes of Girl Scout cookies are sold each year. "I'm dying to get my hands on it," says Ms. Richie. The nearly three million scouts who sell them door-to-door also need to become more opportunistic about promoting the organization. "I don't mean [for them] to be shills, but there's an opportunity for them to genuinely speak about their Girls Scouts experience," she says.

Ms. Richie is looking for an agency to add more panache to upcoming Girl Scouts marketing efforts; the group's current ads were created in-house. Coming marketing campaigns, she says, should balance the tension adolescents feel about being part of a group while maintaining individuality.

At its national convention in October, the Girl Scouts will officially endorse the new uniform for scouts in the fourth grade and older: a sash or vest that displays achievement badges, worn over the scout's own white shirt and khaki pants or skirt. "That gives them the opportunity for self-expression," says Ms. Cloninger. Scouts at the Daisy and Brownie levels, usually students from kindergarten through the third grade, will keep their trademark blue and brown uniforms.

****

The criteria for deducting out-of-pocket expenses in the giving of services to a charitable organization are that the amounts must be:

1. Unreimbursed

2. Directly connected with the services

3. Expenses you had only because of the services you gave, and

4. Not personal, living, or family expenses

First aid and CPR training taken due to your role as a registered Scout leader should be tax deductible. While they have some personal benefit (doesn't all scout training?) the critical issue is whether you would have taken this training had you not been a Scout leader and had your scouting organization/unit not required it of your service. In most cases (absent an employer mandate) that is a personal question that only you can answer.

Not that it matters - I have been a CPA for 25+ years and have prepared thousands of tax returns over the years. I deducted this training on my own return.

Doesn't the Scout Handbook have a place where you list the ten animals you saw. Why use another piece of paper? I would much prefer they use the Handbook for the resource tool it is intended to be.

Welcome home and best wishes for your son as he embark on the journey.

peeps dioramas are fun

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/photo/gallery/070402/GAL-07Apr02-69859/index.html

OneHour,

Your tinder is still a bit wet from the drenching rains of November, but it is definitely drying out nicely. The waiting can be frustrating, but is a great time to start collecting some logs for the flame when it does return (and it will). Continue with your youngest and watch your budding eagle as he develops. Your own words tell me you have never been far from the meaning of scouting.

Semper

I am sure some folks who live on the west coast can direct you to some interesting scouting points of interest.

My suggestion would be to use the internet to find a boy scout troop to visit one evening during your stay. More than anything I can think of, that will give you a taste of scouting here in the USA. I am sure the boys would love to see the Australian uniform and here about scouting down under.

Have a great trip.

Congratulations to son (and dad). It is a very special moment in time. I just wish we could bottle it up and bring it out on occassion to let others get a whiff of that feeling of accomplishment and relief. Best of luck to sons 2 and 3 - there is nothing like having an older brother to offer encouragement!

Well, over the past few months we have had several scouts join our troop because they were not getting advancement support/opportunities with their previous units. They were all 13-14 year old Tenderfoot scouts looking for the challenges and recognitions that advancement can offer. In talking with them, the decision certainly sounded like it was theirs and not their parents. Go figure.

Tiger Dad...your time will definitely come when you too can happily proclaim, "...its just one hour a week." Just showing up at everything as a helping hand will be recognized and it won't be too long before you are leading pack efforts. Pack leadership does change over rather quickly, so don't be surprised if you are leading the pinewood derby next year, provided you gain some experience this year (like showing up to help build the track, manning the scoring table, check-in, etc.) Even if they think they 'have it all covered' a reliable, enthusiastic helping hand will be found work to do. Be thankful you have found a great pack and be patient in assuming a significant volunteer role.

Here are the recently completed/in process eagle projects in our troop (also Baltimore Area Council):

1. 80 page full color Visitor's Field Guide to local nature preserve

2. Trail refurbishment - benches, water bars, mulching, etc.

3. Musical concerts at three nursing homes

4. A full production Christmas play for a large church

5. 5 books (teen novels) on tape for the Maryland School for the Blind

6. Three nights of homeless meals for the local Homeless Shelter

7. A series of Senior Technology Seminars to assist seniors with understanding electronic devices - cell phones, dvds, computers, etc.

8. A prayer labyrinth for a local church

9. A memorial garden

10. A picnic grove

11. An outdoor classroom / amphitheater

12. A driving tour of local historical sites

Each project is pretty much in tune with each boy's interests. That is the trick. Good luck in developing your interests into a project.

I realize no one has proof of intimacy, yet the parties admission of a 'mistake' being made is probably a nice way to put it.

Just curious...

Would we all be so forgiving if there were two women in the tent and they had a threesome?

I'm a big believer in term limits. I think 3-4 years in the key positions of COR, CC and SM is plenty to make an impact. That could break the cycle of entrenchment and give more volunteers a chance to carry the torch of leadership.

IM,

Way to be! So Mr. Scoutmaster, let's hear the story so far.

The PTA board or its officers has the authority to appoint anyone to the COR position. The pack leadership should reach out to the PTA officers to figure out how a better relationship can be established and if a change in the COR is warranted. I suspect the Asst. Principal serving as the COR is a holdover from earlier days when the school may have been involved.