WAKWIB

I think it's really great that you are taking up the challenge to pass the swim test. Your experience will really help you to be a coach and cheerleader to the Scouts who will need a boost to complete their own test.

This post brought back some memories of poking around the Scout stuff at J.C.Penney's when I was a little fellow. When I finally joined a Troop, it was there that I or my Mom purchased everything I needed to participate. They had it all. I didn't set foot in a Council "Scout Shop" until many years later as an adult. We still have one locally owned clothing store out in the suburbs of our Metro area that carries uniforms, books and many other items. They are pretty proud about the fact that they have a long history as a Scout stuff distributor. I have no clue as to the nature of their arr

Sounds like you are acquainted with Mic-O-Say. I've been very involved with that for over 40 years. Suffice it to say, we have some work to do in the years ahead...

Currently in our Lodge, the 4 principles are fully attired including a ribbon shirt. We have other Arrowmen at ceremony that tend fires, beat the drum, escort inductees, etc. They are in some type of regalia. I've seen some shirtless, but that would be an easy fix. All inductees, for Ordeal and Brotherhood, appear in Class A for ceremony. So...really, not a big deal. Just make sure the relatively few guys serving a ceremonial role are not topless, and all is well.

I'm coming into this party really, really late, but since @@John-in-KC tagged me, I figure I would chime in. Not much too say....it is what it is. National drops a load and we deal with it. I am a fairly optimistic guy and think that it will work out. Forty years down the road, Scouting will still be around doing what it's doing today, pretty much like it was doing forty years ago . I understand all the concerns and complaints. Honestly, I could rant about it louder and longer than anyone, but at the end of the day it would be sound and fury, signifying nothing. BSA is a business. It wi

Hi Eamonn! I've wondered what you have been up to. I'm pretty much on the same point on my Scouting path as you. Keeping my nose in it, but not nearly as involved as I was in the 2000-2010 time frame. I have a number of lifetime friends that are very active and I get pulled into a few service opportunities now and then and it's always a great time. Congrats on the new grandson!! It currently appears that I'm not very close to arriving at that milestone yet, but I'm looking forward to that same sense of joy that is very apparent in your post. God Bless you and your growing family!!

LDS has officially stated on several occasions during the last few years that it is continuing to seek and evaluate programs that meet the needs of their youth. I think the main reason they continue to be on board with the BSA Troop and Pack programs is the name-brand recognition and the access it provides to events and properties. So, although they may surprise me, I think LDS will stick with the brands that offer those benefits. We all know that "Eagle" has become a brand unto itself. I'm sure many in the LDS community still see it as an important trophy and bullet-point on a resume. If

That thing I highlighted in red seems like crazy-talk but stranger things have happened, I suppose.

I think they want to make this change slow and agonizing . A fully coed Scouting program has been cussed and discussed amongst Scouters for at least the 45 years I have been connected with the program, so why rush it now, right? For some reason, National seems much more hesitant to flip on this like they did on other membership issues. Also, I kind of detect more resistance to it in my contacts with other Scouters than I ever did with the more recent changes. Just my observation. So, we wait....

I think being Responsible is a natural outcome of following all 12 points of the Scout Law. Most folks that I would consider responsible people are those that demonstrate most of those 12 characteristics most of the time. In the context of Scouting, I think our emphasis on Obedient is simply aimed at encouraging the youth to follow directions from those in formal authority over you. To be a good leader, one must first be a good follower.

I guess part of this was a rapid-response to a lawsuit recently filed. Maybe it will be easier to do damage control with charter relationships than deal with the hot mess of publicity the suit would cause. http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Cub-Scouts-Sued-Transgender-Boy-New-Jersey-Secaucus--412068393.html

Was there really any direct input at all from charter organizations leading up to this? I'm pretty sure there was little. Sure, this had to be confronted sooner or later. However this seems like a decision made solely at the professional level, with not even a pretense of building a consensus.

I can't speak from any personal experiences, and I've never heard of members of our troop attending the council STEM events that have been going on the last few years. I personally don't think it's that great of a departure from the Scout program in general. STEM stuff has been a part of the Merit Badge progam forever. I don't think the intent is to somehow use it as a replacement for other activities we associate with Scouting. While not that detailed or informative, the link I'm sharing does show the types of activities our council provides for several STEM camps that are held during the

@@SpEdScouter I think quazse's estimates above are about right. Judging by other posts, I'm thinking you are in the HOAC council and are hopefully in contact with the volunteers and professionals that can help with fundraising, donations and people-power. We have an entire District devoted to helping any and all urban and rural troops within the boundaries of the Council. http://www.hoac-bsa.org/frontier

It would really depend, I suppose, on where you are going and what you are doing when you get there, what type of gear you all plan on taking..etc. In most cases the hotel thing would be the last and obviously the most expensive option. I can recall only couple times when our troop went to the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, KS that we did something besides camping in tents. One time we used some type of bunk-house at the State Fairgrounds, and another time we all sacked-out on the gym floor of a Salvation Army facility in town. It may take a bit of research and phone calls, but there are other op

Plenty of opportunities at our camp for older ladies and gentlemen. Some work the entire summer, some for just a session or two. We have roughly 50 or so positions reservation wide for the "commissioner staff." They might work in a trading post, or provide additional adult supervision in one of many program areas. They typically do not teach much, that is left to the 15-18 year olds on the staff for the most part. The full-timers usually have a cabin to bunk in. The folks who come down for session work stay in their own tent village. Although I'm not retired, 11 years ago, I served a session

@@MikeS. Nice work on the translation. I found it fascinating.

I wish I would have seen this topic a bit earlier, but I'm always the late one to the party.... SpEdScouter: If I recall correctly, you posted a similar topic a year or so ago. I offered then to engage in a more one-on-one conversation with you about it. The offer still stands. Actually, if you wish, email me at wakwib@hotmail.com. Since you are in the area, I wouldn't mind taking the time to converse over a cup of coffee or lunch. To be frank, you do seem to have some misconceptions of the Tribe and that has, in turn, fed into the misconceptions of several of our commentators. The

What a tragedy.... Praying for all involved.

During the summers of 1976-1981 I worked at the H. Roe Bartle Scout Reservation in Missouri. I learned a lot about hard work and long hours, particularly because 4 of those 6 years I worked on the Dining Hall Staff. My last year was pretty awesome in that I was the Assistant Lakefront Director. That required me to attend National Camping School, and the Aquatics course there was pretty intense. Being able to take canoes, motorboats, and sailboats out on the beautiful Truman Lake all that summer was well worth the time. It was a great time in my life and I made many, many friends who I still

Thanks for sharing that, blw2. Brought back some good memories of trailblazing and fort building that I and my non-scout buddies did in the woods near our neighborhoods.

I hadn't heard of this film. It looks like it would be great!

http://www.uuworld.org/articles/renewed-relationship-boy-scouts-america?utm_source=f Copy of memorandum: http://www.uua.org/re/children/scouting/memorandum-understanding

Don't feel like the "bad guy" in all this. Raising this issue appears to be generating (hopefully) a response that will benefit the boys in your community by giving them a more genuine Scouting experience. That's a very good thing!!

I heard that LDS is sticking with BSA because they got an official exemption from having to do popcorn sales and FOS promotions. Just kidding....