vol_scouter

They are not a part of the EC or EB though the SE attends all meetings and makes recommendations to the Nominating committee. So the SE can certainly color the EC and EB make up. A good EC and EB should have a balance of successful business people to manage the fiduciary need of the council along with some active Scouters who convey the programmatic needs of the council. Like any corporation, the SE (like a CEO) can disguise problems so the EC and EB need to be observant and diligent.

To be clear, I was not saying that it should not be done but rather speculating as to why someone might object within the upper management of the BSA or the EC.

I will echo @ThenNow's excellent critique. I know both Steve McGowan and Michael Johnson. They are both good men who worked very hard while at the BSA to do their jobs well. Both were concerned about how best to protect the youth in the program. Ultimately, both had to take their ideas to the Chief Scout Executive and Vice-CSEs and, if a major change, to the National Executive Committee and National Executive Board. This is the first time that I have heard about the possibility of requesting a driver's license (DL) or some other form of government issued identification (ID). My gues

Just releasing the IVF to the public was not a reasonable course of action. The IVF contains not only names of suspected CSAs but also others who had done things to have their membership permanently revoked such as alcohol abuse, anger issues, mishandling Troop funds, and many others. The files could be screened but a simple release would not be right to others who had not been suspected of CSA. So for the people in the IVF suspected of CSA, most were not convicted of the crime. Professionals usually acting upon information from volunteers suspected them of CSA but it was not proven in

This is not a defense of the current structure but to explain the reasoning of the National volunteers who added first Tigers and later Lions. The first point to know is the well known fact that the vast majority of children joining Scouts BSA are from Cub Scouts. Whenever there is a drop in Cub Scouts, it will be seen in Scouts BSA a few years later. In my experience, most volunteers see Scouts BSA as the most important program as far as child development. So Cub Scouts is important as a stand alone program but is also seen as a feeder for the Scouts BSA program. So there is

The mission of the BSA does not specify the program used to instill the values of the Scout Oath and Law so STEM programs are a valid method of fulfilling the mission. If offering STEM programs to non-Scouts, the council could be using the experience as a recruiting tool so could support the mission of the council.

The attempt was quite real. My son was in Boy Scouts at the time. I was an ASM and member of the Executive Board. Our council had regular (every other year) events to work maintain trails and pickup litter in a local national park. The council had provided a few thousand man hours of service and it was most appreciated. After Babbitt’s statements, we were abruptly told that we were no longer welcome and have not been allowed to do service projects since. A politician, especially a presidential policy, could keep Scouts off federal lands overnight and could last for some time or be

Sorry but I just have my memories of Babbitt saying that Boy Scouts were no longer welcome in the national parks (over hey issues as I recall). My memory is that he said it causing quite a bit of negative attention so that an actual policy was never put into action or was very short lived. My quick search was overwhelmed by Babbitt biographical articles and articles about the BSA and gay issues. Wish that I had a reference. It was in the 1990’s. The real point is that a powerful politician who dislikes Scouting could potentially prevent Scout units from using public lands. Whet

Clearly, local councils cannot keep all of their property because they are paying into the trust. However, they should hang onto all of the land that they can. Giving it to any public entity could result in a loss of access no matter the contractual agreements. We are seeing land and buildings given to public entities where names and uses are changed because people today are offended. Scouting could be forced out of public spaces. Not saying that I will occur or that it is likely but that it is possible and therefore a risk.

Bruce Babbitt, the Secretary of the Interior under Bill Clinton, tried to ban Scouts from all national parks and other lands. So an administration who does like the BSA could potentially block access to national lands. Clearly there would likely be lawsuits but the damage could be significant. Most national parks limit group size that would currently disallow troops and packs from camping together. We should keep as much property as possible to provide flexibility for future generations. Be Prepared.

Your observation is likely to be correct. That said, no matter what group of people the received the letter, it would become known to the public. As a long time volunteer, it does represent many of my personal feelings. I am volunteering to work in youth protection beginning this spring in my council to do our best to prevent any other children from being abused. I feel personal remorse for what has happened in the past and wish the best for all survivors. Over the years, I have seen the power that Scouting has to help young people to become happy, successful people. We must continue Sco

At least in my home council, the registrars are paid by the council. From my knowledge of National, that is usual but I really do not know. for certain. So I can understand having healthier councils can result in better program and hopefully increased memberships and improved retention. I think that only goes for some mergers as when a council becomes too expansive geographically, the areas that are far from the council office have less involvement and therefore less fewer members than would be expected. If my state goes from 6 councils to 1, then the second, third, fourth, and fifth l

It only reduces cost to the BSA for those very few councils that are not solvent. Otherwise, councils just pay money to the BSA for charter fees and membership. Do you know of somehow else that a small, marginally performing council costs the BSA?

That is about what I remember the BSA having in a document regarding how to be financially solvent going forward. At first this did not seem to make much sense. There have been in the past a few small councils that the BSA had to support, and I have no information that those councils became financially solvent before bankruptcy. So forcing a merger for those few councils would seem to be something that the BSA would have to do. However, that is a handful of councils not going from ~250 to ~80. All other councils are independent, so they do not cost the BSA. Why force mergers? My explana

At the BSA National Annual Meeting in Denver in 2019, attorneys representing the BSA assured the volunteers (~2,000 I believe) were told that the Chapter 11 process would be only 90 days. Off just a little. Has been a difficult time for all concerned because Scouting involves passions from all. My concerns remain for the survivors. They have more challenges as the trust works through the claims. Many survivors are of an age that years are a major issue. My prayers and concern for survivors. May the trustee find a way to process the claims expeditiously and there be enough funds that

Slam!

Those things are all true. The lawsuits contesting the ability of the National Council of the BSA to revoke membership prohibiting any participation have been had. Being a volunteer is not a right and being denied the ability to participate in the Scouting program does not affect one’s ability to pursue careers and other hobbies. So the courts have said that the BSA has the authority to revoke membership and all participation. Clearly, the next suit filed could turn precedence on its head but for now membership and participation are a privilege and not a right. The BSA has set

Actually, membership is granted by the National Council of the BSA. Membership is revoked by the National Council and that often occurs because a local Scout Executive recommends revocation. In general, the BSA errs on the side of safety to youth so are likely to revoke membership when recommended by a SE who likewise wishes to protect children. There is an appeals process. In the case that started this thread, I suspect that there is more to the story than is currently known. The person who lost their membership will have to decide whether or not to appeal - it is not for others t

Develops Character.

So the question then is would it have been worse if Lions and Tigers did not exist. One would have to compare demographically similar areas some with and some without Lions and Tigers. Making assumptions, even well reasoned ones, has marked many BSA decisions that have not turned out well.

When the National Jamboree was held near Washington, DC at Fort A. P. Hill, the BSA would make a substantial profit. The profit at the Summit located National Jamborees has been modest. Sign up is really lagging making arrangements for transportation more costly on an individual basis if one cannot fill a bus. Councils will have had to fill their method of making a trust contribution so that budgeting has been done with funds ready to send once this gets out of Federal District Court. Some councils are seeing significant growth (ours in the 30% range) so some are hiring anticipat

If a girl or boy joins a Troop at the age of say 15, they must start learning the skills required for Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class that their friends learned years before and are now working on Merit Badges for Star, Life, and Eagle. Who else are working on those same skills? The eleven and twelve year olds. This is what I have seen and discussed with volunteers from across the nation. Even if they are separated from the younger Scouts, they still are going to require some time to catch up to their age matched friends.

This so very true and it is why one of the 'Big Three' of Positive Youth Development (PYD) is providing youth leadership opportunities where they are allowed to fail and that there are consequences to the failure. The consequences do not have to be dire, could only be that the other youth make fun of the leader (in a good natured way). We often forget about the need for consequences, but it is often implied in what we all say. If a patrol leader forgot the patrol food for a meal, making the patrol wait to eat can be a negative consequence. No one is harmed, only hungry stomachs might have

Wow! We are seeing a little of that in my council. The troop where I volunteer has a dozen or so Eagle Scouts as adult volunteers who do have all of the skills covered so those boys are lucky. How do we attract the alumni to the program? How do we attract people who are currently active in the outdoors to Scouting? How do we get them all trained? I have seen many different kinds of efforts, but none have been all that successful. Scouting is facing significant problems in almost every part of the organization. We need everyone who is experienced to remain active or become act

@HashTagScouts We were clearly discussing Scouts BSA because and new Scout Patrols. I di note that your experiences could be different than has been mine. Your son was fortunate to have an Eagle Scout dad. (As an aside, my son and I are both Eagle Scouts). The intent of the Scouting program is to develop character through the application of the Scout Oath and Law. One of the methods is to require youth to lead other youth with consequences. This is one of the three pillars of character development in youth as has been shown through many academic publications. The troops wit