VigilEagle

So my question is, have any units lost Tax-Exempt status because of ISA? Or is this the ant hill that just became a mountain? I know units that have (and still do) ISA and haven't heard boo from the local Council, IH, IRS, or any other acronym...

National sells a Troop Committee Chair emblem, which must, unless my logic is completely flawed, imply the Troop Committee Chair should be wearing the Boy Scout Uniform. The uniform is one of the methods of Scouting. As an adult, there should never be a question whether you wear a t-shirt and jeans to a meeting of the uniform. Lead by example, if we're questioning whether to wear it, so are the Scouts we're serving...

(This message has been edited by vigileagle)

(This message has been edited by vigileagle)

I think the big thing here is sitting down with the Scout and understanding the situation. Maybe he has taken his scout skill and applied them to leadership in some other aspect of his life (Church, athletics, clubs, etc). I think the most rewarding part of being an adult leader is hearing about how someone used EDGE in school, or in planning an activity at church. My hang up would be with mom wanting to schedule the SMC and that's a whole other topic..

Seems there is a real disconnect between some areas. I paid up in October, and got final confirmation of acceptance (my dates of arrival and departure) in late January. In November the person in charge of my area had already notified me of acceptance and forwarded me information regarding my position. Good luck!

You have to remember too, that all the physicals this year are bar-coded to allow National to have your physical electronically. It's going to take someone some time to upload 40,000 physicals into a computer...

Philmont merely recommends what they think each person needs to carry gear. If you're comfortable with the pack you have and you can get your gear in it, along with the food rations and some communal gear I wouldn't worry. Test what you have out on your shakedown hikes and see where it gets you, throw on an extra tarp to simulate a dining fly, etc. When I went to Philmont in '02 we had a guy whose pack was big enough to carry the kitchen sink, all he ended up doing was carrying more gear, it's a double edge sword...

Kichkinet, I'd expect someone with a Username like that to know the difference between "outfits" and regalia... Not meaning to be anal, but it's amazing the offense some take to minor details, which is why regalia making is important, make sure you know what each item put on represents and can be interpreted as.

When I went in 02 the Philmont literature was the most helpful in selecting programs. Cypher's Mine is a must do, for sure a highlight of my Philmont experience, however I think each has it's own great, memorable moments. (The sing-a-long at Cypher's was top notch though, along with panning for gold.) We did rock climing at Cimmeroncito as I recall, the program was well suited to our needs as a bunch of North Dakota boys, never seeing hills much less mountains before. I'd recommend the Tooth, but I haven't done Baldy. In my trek we did Mt. Phillips, and Trail Peak in addition to the Tooth. *Tr

OGE, thanks for a wonderful tune there, hope the Grammy goes out to you... Also though, when I've heard about LNT before and poo, I've heard means of spreading out on rocks, etc. to provide for quick breakdown of it. I guess like everyone has said, best to check local requirements.

When using an Indian within the program be careful of standing BSA policy. Facepaint is definately a no-no, along with any sort of pipe references. As someone who has done the archery aspect of AoL's for the better part of 5 years now I've seen some pretty good ones, but also some that make me cringe. Kids definately remember the winners though, and talk about them for many years afterwards.

I may be mistaken, but as I recall looking through the new Scouting Stuff catalog, I remember seeing something along the lines of "not for uniform wear." I think that sums this up... Plus the uniform stands for a lot more. It's rather iconic to use a cliche.

In response to mikeb; The crack about "LOTF" seems interesting, how does your troop run? Aren't the boys in control? OA functions the same way, adult leaders who advise the youth. However in response to the topic, as a former Vice Chief of Elections within OA I believe this idea is quite dumb. Clearly there are already ideas on what OA is and isn't and this doesn't help anything. Your Chapter Chief would be a good one to talk to first, but Vice-Chief of Elections wouldn't be a bad place to look either. I understand where everyone is coming from, but make sure you at least have youth qualified

Eh, such a loaded topic. As someone who falls into this catagory of completing Eagle at the 11th hour of my 17th birthday, I can see where all comments come from. However I think the important part is that the SCOUT actually completes and achieves the rank. I see so often in the troop I'm involved with ASMs and other adults attempting to try and as they call it "push along" scouts. What I see is adults earning rank advancements. So, I guess what I'm attempting to say is who cares when the young men earn the rank, we as leaders should be there congratulating them on a fine job done, and hoping