Eagle94-A1

In my county,we currently have a GSUSA troop of 2 members. The group started out with a much larger number when they were brownies, and slowly dropped. The 2 girls are both legacies, and both moms are leaders. Sole purpose is to get Gold now. As others commented, it appears the majority of GSUSA units do not camp. Even a national GSUSA leader commented how 10-15% of their members will go on a weekend camp out once a year. I know the girls only troop consists of former GSUSA members. All left because they didn't camp. In fact all the girls have brothers in Scouting, and camped with their families while the brothers were in Cub Scouts.

We have the same situation in my council. As long as the Scouts use the camp, it's ours. Once upon a time a someone mentioned in the article I cited was considering selling the camp. He was not investing anything into that camp, and it was maintained solely by individual troops and the OA chapters that use the camp the most. Consideration for selling it abruptly ended, and it was left to benign neglect. Story I heard is the camp is held in trust, and it reverts to the family if we stop using it. Glad we got it as it is the only Scout camp that Cubs can do boating activities at. The other ones are on a river.

1) Get local legal advice. 2) Whatever you do, DO NOT GIVE IT OUTRIGHT TO AN ORGANIZATION! (caps for emphasis) I say that because camps are being sold. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2006-02-12-0602120249-story.html My former boss is in this one In Texas, the Three Rivers Council convinced the nonprofit Stark Foundation to waive deed restrictions in 2001 to allow the sale of Camp Bill Stark, a 132-acre pine woodland near Beaumont.Lutcher Stark had donated the land some 70 years earlier, specifying it be used for a camp. Scouting officials said they couldn't afford to maintain it, and promised to use sale proceeds to improve another camp. But once released from the deed restriction, they sold the land to an investment firm, and most of it was immediately clear-cut.Foundation Chairman Walter Riedel III, an Eagle Scout, said scout leaders assured foundation officials that part of the woodland would be preserved as a camp."Being a scout - I expected them to do the right thing and be honest with us and I'm not real sure that happened," Riedel said.Former executive Jack Crawford, who no longer works for the scouts, declined comment.[NOTE by Eagle94-A1: Crawford left TX to become a field director in NC. While he is still employed by the BSA, he has been a FD for 17+ years now. At least he isn't getting promoted]

Didn't know BYU had that one too. Another one of the guys in my PDL-1 class had that degree, just didn't know where he got it. And from him describing the courses he took, I did 95% of that degree as a volunteer and youth. Snow Sports topics were the ones I've never done.

BYU has a offers a minor in Nonprofit Management that was specifically designed to produce DEs. One of the guys in my PDL-1 class went there.

I am not going to lie, it will be a challenge. BUT you will have a greater impact and make a bigger difference.

I don't know whose guideline it was, but since none of the councils in my area, I am on the border of 2 plus my own, offer LNT Trainer Courses, if you wanted to take it, you had to look elsewhere. And most of those places wanted 18+.I think i found 1 place offering it for 16+, but it was out of state if memory serves. And I agree with you on youth leadership..

I agree 110%. Kinda like what National did with the Leave No Trace Trainer youth POR. In order to be a LNT Trainer, you had to go through their training. And few places wanted 16-17 year olds in the class. most wanted 18+

Sadly I've encountered those folks. Their attitude is that if you don't wear beads, you don't know squat. Doesn't matter how long you been involved with the movement. Doesn't matter what you have done in the movement. No Beads= no knowledge. Irony is that if these hijinks were done by Scouts, they would be in serious trouble.

GREAT! Now can you remove the sentence that is incorrect fro the FAQ?

Could you remove the inaccurate statement that " Dodgeball has never been an authorized activity in Scouting." from the FAQ please? After all it was an approved game in 1989's Woods Wisdom book as shown here http://www.magnificentsevens.org/docs/Resources/Planning/WoodsWisdom.pdf as well as the Troop Program Resources found here https://troop577wichita.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/2/2/11225514/woods_wisdom_troop_program.pdf AND is currencly listed as an approved game on BSA's own website https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/Games.pdf A Scout is Trustworthy after all.

I didn't know it was prohibited either, especially since it is listed inthe Troop Program Resources Book found here https://troop577wichita.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/2/2/11225514/woods_wisdom_troop_program.pdf I guess these fundraisers are no more. https://www.samhoustonbsa.org/dodgeball https://www.danbeard.org/pln-dodgeball-challenge/ https://michiganscouting.org/dodgeball/ https://www.scnow.com/news/local/article_0162e6ba-d563-5e4b-8398-461c21842a13.html

That's because surveys lead to statistics. And

Maybe I am a pessimist, but why would they listen to the Scouts and Venturers on anything, when they do not even listen to the Scouters who volunteer their time and treasure to the program? Don't believe me, well there is the "Instapalm" survey of 2015 in which 94% were either against (18%) or strongly against (76%) the idea, and they did it anyway.

Before I had IA access, I would HAND DELIVER (not shouting, emphasizing) paperwork to the council office and pick up awards. When I finally got IA access, it was a month before my oldest crossed over into a troop. NO ONE IN THE PACK HAD ANY ADVANCEMENT RECORDED! I was in on a council meeting about advancement and I brought up this issue. Told it never happened. And I was never invited back to that meeting. While IA2.0 is a royal P.I.T.A. for the sake of our youth I deal with it.

Joke in my troop growing was the following: "Government surplus, if it is designed to survive combat, it MAY survive Boy Scouts." Forgot to add, I am still using my used A.L.I.C.E. pack I got back in 1988/89. Oldest has used it too.

My understanding is that Internet Advancement 2.0 is only compatible with Scoutbook since BSA took it over.

It is a temporary patch, so it is worn on the right pocket.

"Family Scouting" creep is a major concern for me. Some folks do not care about boundaries. I've seen what a 5 year old Lion can do to a patrol at camporee. Add in his helicopter parents, and life was miserable for the Scouts. Add to it that Dad was so focused on 5 year old Lion that he didn't honor the commitment he made to running an event ,affecting not just a patrol, but every single Scout attending the event, as well as the adults he had to ask to take over the event, which happened to be that morning. Heck I've seen how an 11 y.o. "Family Scouting" Scout affected the entire patrol. Ignoring directions from SPL and PL, running off when work was to be done, hanging out with family instead of doing stuff with his patrol, abandoning his tentmate to sleep with parents. So I am concerned.

I don't know the specifics as I cannot afford PTC, but if you are correct AND they are out of the way of the trekkers, that is one thing. They just need to stay way from the trekkers until they get back to base camp. But yes, I got concerns.

I actually have seen what younger siblings on a camp out or visiting at summer camp can do. It is not pretty. That was the primary reason why my family left a troop. Despite the number of problems the family was causing, not only to my family but also to the other Scouts in the troop, other Scouters wanted to work it out. After 19 months of trying to work it out, I had to leave as the situation was getting worse and not better. So I can see where @Jameson76 and others have concerns. I have serious concerns with "family Scouting."

Original canvas shorts were based off a brand sold at REI, sorry don't remember which. Wish I would have gotten them there when they had their Memorial Day sale because it would have been cheaper ( plus i could have used my dividends). But that was in 1999, before the original official shorts came out, and I didn't know. Those suckers were so comfy, I literally wore them out. Could wear them and no one realized they were "Scout" shorts. I have heard a lot of complaints about the newer switchbacks, so I have gotten another pair of gray shorts. Thankfully the comfy pants still are good shape.

@ParkMan, I hear ya. But sadly the new uniforms are not made as well as the older ones, and for the quality they are not worth the price. I bought a CU shirt brand new, and letters started coming off. Wife had to embroider "Boys Scouts of America." Oldest son bought a pair of pants, and within 3 months they were ripped in the seam. Scout Shop didn't want to take them back because of "normal wear and tear" until I showed them the receipt, discussed how the tear was a seam and not in the pants, and that I wanted to speak to the manager about their "lifetime guarantee." Middle son's Cub Scout pants ripped in the seat after about 2 or three months. Compare that to the older pants. I have 20+ year old pants and shorts that I rotated wearing on a daily basis for 5 summers of staffing, and 2 years working at the Scout Shop. Still in great shape and i even handed down a pair of shorts to my son. And don't forget the 40+ year old shirt I use for camping.

Only 800 miles? Gotta look into my files for the name and specifics, but there was an Argentinian Boy Scout in that era who walked from Buenos Aires to the New York World's Fair. he started off with a patrol, but over the journey 1 died and some left after the death. The remaining Scouts were arrested during one country's political upheaval/civil war, and more left after that. The rest left at some point in Central America. It took him 3 or 4 years. Hiking long distances wasn't unheard of at the time apparently. Gotta find the book!.

For some of us, the prices you list are expensive. Thrift stores, yard sales, craigslist, etc is where the wife and I shop.