Trevorum

Thanks, John. Yes, the blue cards (or a substitute depending on the whims of the organizers...) can take some time, especially with 60-70! As the counselor, you will have to sign -- unless you delegate (heh, heh) this responsibility to one of your henchmen, just as a CEO allows his Administrative Assistant to sign for him.

Aquila, Eagle by politics row percentages politics-Eagle--not left-----47%----53% middle---34%----66% right----46%----54% total----42%----58% Conclusion: Eagle scouts are slightly more likely to have stong political leanings, but are equally likely to lean left or right. Eagle by Woodbadge row percentages Woodbadge---Eagle---not yes---------39%-----61% no----------43%-----57% Total-------41%-----59% Conclusion: There is no significant diffreence between Eagles and non-Eagles in Woodbadge participation.

I'd suggest looking at this not as a "merit badge class" but as an opportunity to teach these fellows a bit - perhaps a very small bit, given the constraints - about communications. If they get a couple of requirements fulfilled towards a MB, well fine! But don't feel that you are responsible for shoveling out cookie-cutter merit badges. Make sure that everyone knows up front that the session will result in a "partial", with possibly requirements X, Y, and Z depending on time. Assign one of your assistants to deal with paperwork while you teach. And good luck!

[timestamp: Monday morning, 3/13/06] The survey is now closed. Please see the spun thread for results.

RESULTS OF SCOUTER SURVEY

[timestamp: early Sunday morning, March 12 ] The poll now has 65 respondants and at this rate it looks like we may achieve the target of 100 by this afternoon, at which time the poll will close.

Good point, but we already serve. The way our chapter does it, OA members in Troop A will serve as election team for Troops B, C and D, while members in Troop B will serve as the election team for Troops A. E, and F. The Chapter Chief coordinates the teams. I think Troop B just had a schedule mis-communication with the Chapter Chief.

Thanks to all for your comments and advice. I have now spoken to the Chapter advisor on this and he sees no problem with the way we handled it. whew! He apologized on behalf of the election team we had scheduled. IMO, it's a strong program, but it's also a boy-run program and glitches are bound to occur.

I need some advice. Our OA election was scheduled for February 27, and I previously confirmed this date with the Chapter advisor. We made a special effort to ensure a quorum at that meeting and we had our ballots pre-printed, but the election team never showed up. In quick consultation, we decided to proceed with the election because the chapter tap out is at the end of March and our troop calendar for March was already full (troop elections, Court of Honor, shakedown for Camporee). The election was proctored by a youth member of our troop and we had no problems. We considered the election to be a success, but I was told last night that proctoring our own election was a violation of policy and we might have to re-do. If so, I'm not certain when we'll be able to do this in advance of the tap-out. Can someone shed light on this issue for me? Thanks!

Thanks to everyone who has taken a minute to complete the Scouter.com poll! We now have 45 respondants, and we'e shooting for 100. If you haven't already, I'd like to invite everyone to participate in this quick survey of who we are here on the forums. The poll has 10 quick questions on where we live, our Scouting experience, etc. I promise you that there are no trick questions and no hot-button issues. To participate in the survey, please go to http://www.questionpro.com/akira/TakeSurvey?id=384341 (cut and paste URL into your browser) The survey is hosted by QuestionPro, an online service to business, and academia. Their homepage is at http://questionpro.com/. The survey is completely voluntary and it collects no personally identifying information. After closing the survey, I will report the data in aggregate here, in a summary, and I will make the raw data available to anyone for your analysis. Thank you! trevorum

Lisabob, I apologize for the oversight! As Eamonn and scoutldr have pointed out, the survey has a few glitches in response options. I'll plead that this is just the Beta. Yeah, that's it...

The poll has now been up for 4 hours and we have 28 respondants.

I have no problem with the statement that American is a Christian nation. It's the same as saying that India is a Hindu nation, or Indonesia is an Islamic nation. That does not mean that all citizens of those nations share a single faith or even value system. The statements are mere descriptive generalities. We could say that America is a nation whose citizens are 70% Christian, 20% secular, 5% Jewish, 2% Buddhist, etc. (or whatever the actual numbers are) but that is just cumbersome in day-to day conversation.

When I was a Scout, I kept my patches in a cigar box. I took that cigar box to the Jamboree and a lot of other Scouting activities and never heard a word of protest. Come to think of it, I've never thought about it until this thread. (I still have the cigar box, but these days I keep my patches in plastic zip-locs.)

Eamonn, oops! I have edited the question to allow for Queens Scout and multiple WB patrols (never knew anyone who had gone through more than once!). I also added "Mid-Atlantic", per scoutldr's comment.

Ed, You betcha'. My free subscription to QuestionPro is limited to the first 100 respondants (or 30 days, whichever comes first). I'll close it then and report back to ya'll. As of this minute, there have been 9 respondants.

Like all of us here, I am sincerely grateful to Scouter Terry for providing us with these forums to express ourselves, to offer helpful advice to others, and to make new friends. These forums provide a neutral ground to exchange frank opinions with others coming from a wide range of persepectives - something we often do not get in gaurded, face-to-face interactions. We are a diverse bunch to be sure! But who are we, really? I would like to invite all of you to participate in a quick survey of who we are - 10 quick questions on geography, age, scouting experience, etc. I promise you that there are no trick questions and no hot-button issues. To participate in the survey, please go to http://www.questionpro.com/akira/TakeSurvey?id=384341 The survey is hosted by QuestionPro, an online service to business, and academia. Their homepage is at http://questionpro.com/. The survey is completely voluntary and it collects no personally identifying information. After closing the survey, I will report the data in aggregate here, in a summary, and I will make the raw data available to anyone for your analysis. Thank you! trevorum

Golly, I was just kidding about spinning off that thread ...

Welcome to the virtual campfire Chad! We're glad you've joined us!

Must have been the nougat ... (Spun thread: Do mass murders make good role models for Scouts?)

Let's see now ... 1. On the one hand we have a bunch of troublemakers who took action to remedy social injustices. 2. Then there are the sociopath mass murderers. 3. And, as you point out, there are the fine upstanding citizens who accept the status quo and don't cause any trouble for anyone. Hmmm... where to put Kudu? ,,,, where to put Kudu?... (gee this is hard!) OK. just kidding. I won't try to classify any of my friends, especially those whom I have never met IRL. BUT personally, I am proud to have been called a troublemaker from time to time. Nonetheless, many of my friends and colleagues fit squarely in type #3; they are all great folks and I respect them for their qualities. Luckily, I don't know any type #2's (I don't think).

Well, you're certainly welcome to your own opinion of course, but I rather expect that Kudu is more akin to Rosa Parks than Jeffrey Dahmer ... (oooh, look this one has nougat inside! )

Absolutely! No one like a trouble maker. And I am so glad that our nation's proud history has been free of these troublesome troublemakers. People like Rosa Parks - now there was a true team player. No waves. And Jackie Robinson! No trouble there. Not to mention all those folks like John Adams and Ben Franklin who violently rebelled against the legal authority of old King George - not a troublemaker among 'em! Yep, troublemakers never do anything but cause grief to us law-abiding citizens.

I've been in the same situation as you and I made the same choice as you, Eamonn. I'm not perfect - I admit my mistakes and my sons respect me for it. Yes, honesty is always the best policy. (well, except when your wife asks you, "Does this make me look fat?")

I like the caramels best. Hate the gooey cherrie centers. Ooops, new topic! (Spun thread: Life is like a box of chocolates)