Tokala

shortridge, the organizational structure that you mention is something that I've proposed in my Council. It met a lot of resistance from the professional staff, but once I pointed out that the DEs would be relieved of all the multiple staff adviser jobs and could concentrate on their districts, it made sense to professionals.

As an Executive Committee member in West Central Florida, I can tell you that it costs $100K just to keep the utilities on at our two camps. That money must come from somewhere. It comes from camp use fees and FoS. We could reduce our FoS collections, but it would come at the cost of camp use fees that would drive units away.

Executives have the most horrible job possible. Who among us wants to go ask for money to pay our own salary? It's not an enviable position.

I used to be a Bob White

and a good ol' Bobwhite too,

Now I'm finished Bobwhiting

I don't know what to do.

I'm growing old and feeble

And I can Bobwhite no more

So I'm going to work my ticket if I can...

Back to Gilwell, Happy Land!

I'm going to work my ticket if I can.

Bobwhite SE-463(This message has been edited by Tokala)

I don't recall if we had a patrol yell since it's over 20 years ago. However, when the staff did roll call and asked if the Bobwhite patrol was present we would respond:

"That's Mr. Bob White to you!"

Bluebook is not anywhere close to accurate. Even when you find an error and notify the editors they refuse to remove it becuase they don't want to appear to have made a mistake.

While National does approve the artwork, I suspect that they are largely understaffed and have absolutely no interest in providing the images for a book.

Councils will not reduce the number or variety of patches that they produce. It's contrary to the real reason to have a patch now: CASH. Patches used to represent membership or participation, now they're just away to pry more money from people's hands. Anyone that tells you differently is lying.

moxieman,

While National Supply is probably the most expensive place to purchase supplies, your Council must be adding to the price so that they can make a share of the profit. Other than uniforms, literature, and standard patches (rank, merit badge, patrol emblems), my Council does not use National Supply division. Too expensive and rarely deliver on time.

The National licensing protocol is the biggest scam the BSA has run in a while. Every patch purchased from a licensed vendor by a local Council has a 9% fee added to it. That money is paid to National by the vendor. If a local Council chooses to go with unlicensed vendors, they can reduce their costs by 9%.

I'd suggest that you find the person that orders for your Council and have a conversation about using other vendors. You'll probably get a better product for cheaper.

I attended the first Jamboree at A.P. Hill with my Council's troop as SPL. My parents made me pay half which was about $200. I was 17yo at the time, so it wasn't that difficult. This fee included the Jamboree fee, bus ride to/from AP Hill, touring Jamestowm, Williamsburg, and Busch Gardens Williamsburg, as well as t-shirts, neckerchief etc. I don't appreciate the economics of the time to know if this fee was prohibitive for Scouts.

Now in 2010, I paid a staff fee that was 2x what I paid for the whole trip 29 years ago. It definitely made me stop and think. With a Jamboree fee paid to National of close to $800 and a total contigent fee of close to $2000, I have to say that attending Jamboree is an entitlement. I would guess if I check the Council troop roster I would find few minorities.

Scouting preaches diversity, but they largely price themselves out of the range of actually accomplishing that goal.(This message has been edited by Tokala)

My Jambo job was to support the OA staff at the 4 activities (Service Corps, Mysterium, Indian Village and PaceSetters). I know that Mysterium was set up for youth only (not limited to OA members) and ran groups through almost in patrols (not sure of the number in each group). There were two parts to the Mysterium Compass:

One was the "Vault" which was open to anyone (youth, adult, particpant, visitor). It was a large tent with a lot of patches and memorabilia. It included wood badge, uniforms, and patches...lots of patches.

The other part was the Mysterium Compass which was youth particpants only. It included various interactive activities, inflatable obstacle courses, a "show" and the waterslides at the end. I believe that they only planned on about 20K going through the experience. The budget was huge, incomprehensible even. I heard mixed reviews from Scouts that participated. Some thought it was dumb beyond comprehension and others were inspired.

From West Central Florida it was $1950. Fee included airfare roundtrip to DC, hotels and food prior to Jamboree arrival, charter bus to WV and rafting on the New River. It also included the costs of the shake down weekends and some gear. The youth and adults were each given a dufflebag, backpack, hat and other schwag.

My Council typically builds in monies to buy new canvas wall tents. The tents go into the summer camp materials. We elected to use canvas we already owned to save the Scouts some money on the Jamboree fee. It seemed prudent with the economy and the cost to attend Jamboree skyrocketing. It may hurt the summer camp program a year or two down the road. Patrol equipment is stored at camp and used strictly for Jamborees.

Ahhh....If I could only share where I saw Mazucca Tuesday night in Fredericksburg. He even slapped on the back on the way out and told me "Don't be up too late, you have lots of work to do tomorrow."

SR540Beaver nailed it!

I got to sit up front with the OA Service Corps, since my job was to support them, the PaceSetters, Mysterium Compass and the Indian Village. I got a laugh out of "Mazucca" rappelling down the stage scaffolding and quickly adding 40# and a staff hat.

I thought the show was 60-90 minutes too long. Scouts had marched since 4pm and were there until 11pm. A lot of the show was fluff. Seemed like the one segment was just a cheap ripoff of Disney's High School Musical type shows.

Mike Rowe did a great job talking about joining Scouts and how it affected his life. Definitely the highlight of the show. Could have done without the rest other than the fireworks, and I even like Switchfoot.

The highest temperature I saw the Saturday prior to the Jamboree starting was 108.

The highest temperature I saw on Sunday prior to the Jamboree starting was 111.

It cooled off nicely though with highs in the 80s and lows in the lower 60s.

Heading to A.P. Hill tomorrow morning. Check-in is by lunch Monday. The regular cab, short bed 2004 Chevy with the "Seen Stamkos" sticker on the back window is me. I'll be hauling materials for the OA for 20 days.(This message has been edited by Tokala)

Just recently got a location set up for my Council. Hopefully, more than just the host troop/pack/crew show up. Could be a fun evening.

My role in the Scouting program as an adult is to be a positive male role model. I'm here to help young men learn to be good, male citizens. I prefer that the Boy Scouting program remain an organization for young men and boys.

By having a Co-ed Venturing program the BSA has given young women an opportunity to learn the values held by the organization.

I suspect that if troops became co-ed then I would find something else to do with my time. Same holds true for the Order of the Arrow.

My Council does not have an organized chapter and it hasn't since 1979 that I am aware. Some folks attempted to start one and sent letters to Eagle Scouts in the area. I went to the meeting only to find out that they were starting a Sertoma club instead. The Sertoma club has been a good supporter of the Council and our camps.

Re:moxieman

"Tokala wrote: "It's not Florida! I'm used to the Florida heat & humidity."

I spent two summers in DC. I almost grew gills that first summer when the air temp topped 100F and the dewpoint was near 90F a few days. Set some sort of record if I recall."

Florida weather gets hot in May and lasts through October. Humidity is always high and the temperature is usually above 90. I'm used to sweating buckets and working in that environment. We just held a week long Order of the Arrow service project where temps were 97 and heat indices were 105-110. We had 75 Scouts and leaders working in the sun from 8:30a-4:00p every day. Planning enough water and managing the crews kept us from having any heat-related issues.

On a side note, I do believe that with kids spending more time indoors than kids did 20+ years ago that they aren't acclimated as much to heat especially during any strenuous activity. I spent my time outdoors (after my homework was done) when I was a kid and now they generally seem to stay indoors attached to some media device.

It's not Florida! I'm used to the Florida heat & humidity.

The Jamboree patches for the troop members are sent to the Council office. The Council then distributes them to the troop members.

Patches are mailed to staff members.

To the OP, this sounds like just an attempt to create a patch for someone that feels that they are more important than someone else. The true meaning of the Order frowns on such concepts.

We should concentrate on the present and the ability of people to promote the Order. Who cares if someone was inducted as a youth or adult? Both are recognized for their skills, talents and willingness to serve.

I'll either be driving around in my 2004 Silverado (look for the "Seen Stamkos" sticker on the rear window or in a rental box truck. I;m not sure of my schedule, but if it's like NOAC I'll be working from 8am-midnight every day.

We just completed our service project, FourCorps 2010, in the Ocala National Forest. We had 128 members from S-4 attend. Daytime temperature was about 95-97 degrees with a heat index of 105-110. The Arrowmen were definitely hard core about giving service to the projects. Here's a list of what we accomplished in five days:

 Constructed 80 kestrel nesting boxes.

 Poured 37 concrete pads to install bear-proof food storage boxes at the Lake Dorr Campground.

 Poured 45 concrete pads to install bear-proof food storage boxes at the Clearwater Lake Campground.

 Installed 5 picnic tables at the River Forest Group Campground

 Anchored 12 picnic tables at the Silver Glen Springs Recreation Area.

 Built a campfire ring consisting of a 5 ft wide x 25 ft long sidewalk leading to a 20 ft diameter concrete ring. The fire ring is a 4 ft diameter with a brick inlay. The pad is painted with a compass rose.

 Moved and graded 18 cu yards of fill dirt at the River Forest Group Campground.

 Planted two Centennial live oaks with granite monuments to recognize the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America and the FourCorps 2010 project at the River Forest Group Campground.

 Donated materials to construct two forest portal signs to be installed along CR42.

 Replaced a 500 ft long protective fence at an archaeological site using 200 long-leaf pines that were thinned from the forest.

 Planted 260 native plants at the Juniper Wayside restoring the natural scenic integrity of the site.

 Planted 5100 native plants at 13 sites along 10 miles of power line right-of-way blocking illegal motor vehicle access roads.

 Restored 8 acres of wetlands using maiden cane.

 Removed 48, 60-gallon garbage bags full of non-native invasive species from two intensely infested sites.

 Constructed and painted, four bear-proof storage boxes at the FWC Conservation Camp at Lake Eaton.

 Painted and performed maintenance on structures at the FWC Conservation Camp.

 Performed trail maintenance along 9 miles of the Florida Trail.

 Removed truckloads of garbage and illegal dumping.

 Project resulted in 4500 hours of volunteer service and donated approximately $6000 in materials to the projects.

I received an email that described all the communication services at the Jamboree. They did say that there would be WiFi.

emb021:

Of course things could change. I haven't heard anything else since they announced the Summit for next summer. I've served with the OA Administrative Services/Logisitics crew since ArrowCorps and they tend to recruit from the same group. I was asked to help with logistics at Indian Summer about 2 weeks ago. I could always help teach/train also since I've been involved in ceremonies and can sing Northern & Southern Plains songs.