Eagle94-A1

DE couldn't do it, but the Scout Executive can. And I can tell you in my experience, SEs will avoid getting involved in unit matters . Regarding this link: https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/controller/BSA_Whistle_Blower_Policy.pdf Looks like it is for professionals. Do not know if the BSA really feels this way or if this is CYA, But I can tell you prior to 2013 when the document was created, whistleblowers were indeed retaliated against. they did it subtly. One guy I know was "promoted" to Scout Executive. Yep he went from being a DFS with 2 FDs, 1 DD, and 8 DEs under him to a Scout Exec with 1 FD and 4 DEs underneath him. Another whistleblower was "promoted" from DE to DD. The DE position that was suppose to report to him was vacant, so he had deal with that vacancy. And in addition to the assigned council duties, he also got the vacancy's council events AND the finance director's, who was fired, duties. He stayed long enough for his kid to be born, and then left as soon as he could.

In NC I've seen schools use the teacher work days as school days instead. Also some holidays have been cancelled to make up. And they have had Saturday make ups too. The Saturday in school affected the council one year as we had the district committee training workshop scheduled at a school that day.

This thread is not only making me hungry, but reminded me of a fundraiser my OA chapter in Gonzales did. We were rebuilding the OA chapter from scratch, and needed funds. So we decided to do an Indian Lore Merit Badge Clinic as a fundraiser. Were going to make a few dollars to but stuff we need, have the Scouts makes stuff that they could keep, and use when they got in the OA, and really promote the new chapter. Lunch was included. Guy heading up lunch was locally known for his jambalaya, and let me tell you, especially since the Wife isn't around and can't read this post, HE MAKES THE BEST JAMBALAYA! However, we had a slight problem. He went over budget of ingredients. His recipe was the one he uses in competitions, and we had way too much We were only going to make about $10-$15 once we reimbursed him. But it was good, we figured out we had enough to send leftover to all the participants and staff. While we wanted to make money, it was more important that folks got pumped up about the OA. Plus did I mention HE MAKES THE BEST JAMBALAYA EVER? 😁 Now the clinic was at the same location as a regional pistol competition, with the winners qualifying for the national competition. Very big deal. Apparently our cook was causing problems with the shooters as they could smell his jambalaya and getting really hungry. When their lunch period started, the shooters made a beeline to him wanting to know how much. So we sold jambalaya plates to them. Not only did we recoup the extra money spent on food, we actually made more money selling jambalaya than we did on the Indian Lore clinic.

Born in New Orleans. Raised in "Metry" as folks call the suburb Metairie. But I lived in Gonzales for about 3 years. Gonzales makes more Jambalaya than anywhere else. Now that we can agree upon. :) Although I can tell you having a chef or 3 in the family, I ate pretty well, especially during the holidays. ;) Had this conversation with the chef at work. He was stationed in New Orleans, and knows you don't put okra in Jambalaya. But the recipe he has to use includes it. Probably written by someone who has never been to Louisiana. Could be worse, I guess. Could be Disney's Gumbo Recipe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSbqPzRLPY0

Thank you. 2 adults over 21. Parent is ok only for MB couseling. One more question, what if the MBC is 18 - 20 years old, will 2 adults over 21 still be needed?

Never, ever heard of okra in Jambalaya. And I lived in the "Jambalaya Capitol of the World" for a while.

Now the $64000 dollar question, and maybe @RichardB can give us clarification. Are two registered adults over 21 required for a merit badge counseling per the G2SS, or do pre-October 1, 2018 rules allowing 2 Scouts, or a Scout and a unregistered parent, meet with a MBC acceptable still? Or do you need 2 registered adults over 21 and 2 Scouts to do a MB session now?

Agree with slowing down and enjoying the program. But there are some adults, and a few girls, who want to have or to be the first female Eagle Scout in their city, county, council, state, etc.

Yes, the OA is a service organization. But there was a camaraderie in the work. Sometimes that "cheerful spirit, even the midst of irksome tasks and weighty responsibilities...." resulted in turning it to fun or even turning the task into a joke to make it more bearable. Sadly that is missing. When I was CA 10+ years ago. I suggested promoting the fun stuff as well as doing our own. We sent folks to fellowship and conclave. We had fun meetings and even did some special trips. Our work load didn't decrease, in fact we did a few extra community service projects. OA was getting back on track for a while in my neckof the woods.

At the Scouts BSA level, you need to be EXTREMELY careful with the tagalongs. I've encountered major issues with "Family Scouting." I left a troop over the issue, and the troop is reversing their 'family friendly" policy because it was causing so many problems.

Problem is nationwide. I know for my two Scouts, they are not interested in OA because a) all they see is the OA doing work and no one having fun and B) it seems as if everyone is getting in and it it NOT a true honor society.

@shortridge, Bring back the pre-1998 or so election requirements, i.e. only 1/2 of those eligible can be placed on the ballot. Very similar wording was on the script when I was active as a chapter adviser. I had a SM come up to me after a troop election upset because the camp promo/ election team said to vote only for those they feel worthy. He was expecting all of his eligible Scouts to get in because they were always getting in. It was the first time in a long time the camp promo/election team was using the national script, and mentioning voting for who you think is worthy. Really sad thing is the SM was a past lodge chief and section officer. And he was not the only one upset. We had parents and Scouts upset that year. It seemed as if everyone thought OA membership was a "gimme," and a unit election was a mere formality.

Safety pin. Or look on Ebay for an pre-1979 set of DC cords. Those actually had a pin built into them since the uniform did not have epaulets yet. My cousin gave me his cords.

Same thing happening in my neck of the woods. We have a bunch of guys working in Indian Lore MB, and to make doubly sure it OK, AND ARE NOT OA MEMBERS ( emphasis), doing AOL ceremonies now. They are using the MBC's dance regalia for the ceremony. Since they are not Arrowmen, they are using one of the discarded AOL ceremonies the OA use to do. Only concern is that the MBC is an Arrowman, although not current in his dues, and 3/4ths of the regalia has been on loan to the local OA chapter for about 10 years now.

I say yes. But for many folks, the answer is "No!" There are some groups on Facebook that if you even question something about girls in Scouting, you are viewed as a sexist egotistical lying chauvinistic bigot who should immediately quit Scouting no matter how long or experiences with youth.

Some adults do not realize this. Some don't care. Some CORs are not involved in the troop. I was lucky, while approximately 55% - 60% of the adults polled were all for a "linked" troop, 75% to 80% of the youth were against linked troops. Over 50% of the boys stated they would leave. CO and adults backed off on making "linked" troops for now. One thing forgotten is that the troop belongs to the boys, not the adults. Merging two troops is one thing, had to deal with that once before as well as the aftermath of troop mergers. But I suspect that allowing girls into the program was not a popular one by the majority of existing members. Otherwise National would have posted the internal polling results and not just the external ones supporting their decision. The SM and other Scouters should listen to their Scouts as they are the current stakeholders with a vested interest in the troop. @thrifty stated it better than me, and beat me to the point. And don't think Scouts will not leave. If they or their parents do not trust the Scouters in the troop, they will leave. @Mom2Scout, What does your Scout want to do? As I see it, he can stick with the existing troop, or transfer to a new one. From personal experience as a youth and adult, while transferring is hard, it is easier on the youth than the adults. I had no problems when I was a youth transferring, and both my sons have had no issues with their new troop. I am the one having a hard time with the transfer. But the longer I am with the new troop, the more I realize it was a better choice.

While I agree that ultimately it is the CO's decision, a good CO will listen to the concerns of the parents AND SCOUTS (emphasis) involved in the existing unit. The troop I just left had an anonymous online survey of all folks with a vested interest in the troop: parents, committee members, Scouters, and Scouts. While a slight majority of adults were for a "linked" girls' troop, the overwhelming majority of Scouts were against it. 1/2 of the Scouts polled said they would transfer or quit. The CO decided to start a completely separate Girl's Only troop, but reserves the right to make the two troops "linked" if it is not working out.

SPOT ON! And worse, we now have folks in key levels at national who have little to no experience in the program making policies and procedures. I am told the national director of training has 0 experience in Scouting as either a youth or volunteer, but has the position because they hold a PhD in education. Ditto program director, no expereince in the program. yet they are making policy. Another factor is online training. So much is being left out in order to make it convenient. has anyone looked at some of the Scouting Facebook groups and the questions being asked by "trained" adults? A lot of the times I am shaking my head because the answer to those questions use to be covered by basic training, and they no longer are. When you had real classes, you could could cover a lot more material and have expereinced Scouters helping you out.

Actually yes they are. I am fortunate in that my town created a high speed internet utility company because other providers were ignoring the area. They met their 5 year growth goals in about 9 months because they are that good, and reasonably priced too. They were slowly expanding into the county as people were begging them for high speed internet access. Unfortunately the lobbyists for the major internet providers got laws passed in my state to prohibit them from expanding outside of existing areas. So the rest of the county is out of luck. And the big time providers still won't come into the rural areas as it is "cost prohibitive." People wish they could get Netflix and Youtube.

I am going to wait until the syllabi for all the new classes to come out and I have to teach it. In my neck of the woods, internet speeds are so problematic that some folks took over 4 hours to do the YPT2 class online. And instead of online training improving our numbers, they have fallen drastically.

1) WELCOME TO DA FORUMS! 2) GOOD FOR YOU FOR WANTING TO MAKE YOUR SCOUT'S EXPERIENCE AWESOME! I also believe it is best if first year parents don't go if at all possible. I had to go my oldest son's first year to insure 2 deep leadership. But I was busy with aquatic supervision classes, so I only saw him at meals and before lights out. But I know of two lawn mower parents who not only went to summer camp, but followed them around all day and even allowed son to sneak into their tent the entire week.

My understanding is that the new YPT3 will include the May 2018 YP changes that went into effect October 1, 2018.

Once the current inventory is gone of male uniforms, you can bet the FDL BSA logo shirts will be available for boys and men, unless the GSUSA vs BSA lawsuit gets settled.

FYI, A male den and a female den can have "joint" den meetings.

I lost a lot of stuff that was at my mom's house in Hurricane Katrina:patches, jackets, etc. From a collector's side I was able to find a 1995 WSJ necker and patch with one auction. The most meaningful one for me though was the Brownsea 22 patch. Best one was the result of several auctions over several months. And that was my wife's 1950s/60s blue Den Mother's uniform dress.