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Col. Flagg

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Posts posted by Col. Flagg

  1. 13 minutes ago, fred johnson said:

    How about redesigning venturing into a young adult program?  Overlap it with college ages.  Overlap it with college service fraternities.  Put certain boundaries on it (no drinking, etc).  It's about service and adventure.  

    I often think about this as we had multiple scouts age out and become 18-20.  They hang around in a pseudo fashion.  They just don't have the time and commitment to become a fully trained and committed ASM, but they are not really a youth either.  It would be nice to have a program to serve them.  And, I'd be okay calling it Scouting Young Adults.  Gotta check the acronym though.    SYA?  A too close to CYA.  :)   Also sounds like something Patty Hearst would join.

    This is a decent idea, Fred. Many of the guys and gals in my son's crew are older high school and college. Our crew is mostly like a high adventure club. It would be odd having folks 14-24 in Venturing, so maybe we change it to 16-23 or so? Maybe Juniors in HS to Seniors in college (not older than 23 or 24). Maybe it's just over 18.

    Interesting idea.

    • Upvote 1
  2. 2 minutes ago, Pselb said:

    :)  So is a Bar & Grill okay?  Bowling alleys have bars.  And a lot of "bars" also sell pizza, popcorn, and snacks.  Some even sell burgers.  Can you see where the Fuzzy Logic comes into play?  At what point does the scale tip?  And more importantly, who is the fulcrum?

    There's a big difference between a bar, a liquor store and a medicinal pot store and these other locations. Clearly the former are in poor taste and judgement.

    If the bowling alley is like a Strikz, then why not. If it is more seedy then obviously not.

  3. 28 minutes ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

    I can tell you for a fact that the 1999 figures were inflated. Does Ronnie Holmes and Greater Alabama Council ring a bell? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45573-2005Jan28.html

    Sadly, he was not the only one inflating membership. One of the reasons I quit being a DE was being pressured to inflate membership. The pressure was intense, and affecting my health and life. It got so bad, it was affecting the wife, who gave me the ultimatum: her or the job.  Interesting thing was that once I left, several units I allowed to drop were recharted. Thank goodness I have kept a copy of ALL the paperwork I submitted, and didn't submit. That saved my job when I worked for national because my old boss tried to blame me for the membership issues. The records showed I gave him the dropped units.

    This is exactly why BSA deflates the numbers later on in the year after the annual report. Council "wring out" their rolls at different times, so the real numbers never get reported until late in the calendar year.

  4. On 2/2/2018 at 8:29 AM, Tampa Turtle said:

    The Germans scouts were pretty pushy and would crowd past folks in line but with a firm command they would acquiesce and back in the queue. Some old Scot woman I was with in line whispered "Very well done, got to keep a firm hand with them." I did enjoy talking some scouty stuff with them.

    giphy.gif

    • Upvote 2
  5. 29 minutes ago, ghjim said:

    If the current youth membership stands at 2.7 million what has accounted for the decline since 1999?

    2.7 millions is generous. You'd have to include ALL BSA programs according to the 2016 Annual Report. It is more like 2.3m if you count Cubs, Boy Scouts, Explorers/Varsity and Venturing. Actually that number was revised downward a bit later in 2017. I think the real number is between 2.1-2.2m.

  6. 55 minutes ago, HelpfulTracks said:

    I cannot say you are completely wrong, though maybe over generalizing. Every district/council has their problem children (errmmm adults). But I am willing to wager that every district/council also has people willing to figure out how to get around the problem folks and make things work for the youth.

    Well all that you say has been tried. Over and over again, I might add. The results has been that those with the energy and ideas have focused on their units instead. This is what happens when you have a group of people that continue to rotate leadership among themselves and people "like them" or that they value. As they all rose through the ranks they left a trail of animosity and ill-will in their wake, so when it came time to backfill and get new blood in no one -- and I mean no one -- wants to take a chance. They had to bring several WB'ers out of retirement to run the district for the last 5 years. They keep asking and cajoling those they've used or abused to come help but we nicely decline and focus on our units and our guys.

    The program still gets rolled out and kids get supported. The community loves these units and we (the units) work together, it's just in an informal way that does not require RTs or WB or inane meetings with no purpose to waste our time.

     

    3 minutes ago, WisconsinMomma said:

    I'm curious because I haven't much experience with council -- what does a high revenue event look like?   Our events seem mostly reasonably priced.

    Any cub event, FOS and this silly council-wide event we have that is car camping on steroids.

  7. 1 minute ago, MattR said:

    I'm not saying fix the district. I'm saying ignore them and work around them, much like what @TAHAWK saw. I'm not talking first step, I'm talking only step. Make the world a little better. Get a couple of SPLs together to plan their own events. If your PLC is up for helping another troop have an ASPL work with an SPL from another troop that would like to see how to do it right.

    Yup, we've been doing that for a long while now. We invite troops and packs to camp with us, offer our OA team for crossovers and other events, put on events for packs and even host inter-troop competitions where the patrols compete en masse rather than troop v. troop. This has been very successful on a number of fronts for us.

    1 minute ago, MattR said:

    I'm in Northern Colorado. We're wondering when our council is going to get folded into the Denver Area Council (they have big donors). Our council is so broke they're thinking of having weddings at our scout camp. Imagine the bride, at the outhouse. Yeah, this is really going to happen. I have no idea what the Denver council is like.

    I know your council well if it is the one I am thinking of. Love BDSR. Great camp. I'd flippin' move there in a heartbeat.

    • Upvote 1
  8. 19 minutes ago, fred johnson said:

    From what I get here is ... a well meaning adult said he'd help ... then that offer grew to be disproportionate with what was originally intended.  IMHO, the adult should simply state his feelings with the scout.  It's the scout's project.  The scout should handle things like this.  And a volunteer should be comfortable saying things like that.  

    I think the Eagle Coach and unit/district leaders did this Scout a disservice approving a project where the most he could do was wield a screwdriver, unless his proposal and plan illustrated how he would plan, develop and lead this project. 

  9. Parents and Volunteering:

    • Some don't volunteer because they don't understand the program.
    • Some don't because they want to understand the program but their unit can't/won't explain it to them.
    • Some don't because district and council resources are focused elsewhere other than training and "on boarding" new parents.
    • Some don't because it takes away from their "me" time.
    • Some don't because they are simply too busy running the rest of their family.
    • Some just can't (physical, emotional, psychological reasons).
    • Some just won't.
    • Some do and jump right in.
    • Some eventually do and jump in later.
    • Some won't because of unit leader issues.

    I am sure this group could come up with more. Point is that "baby sitting" is the most obvious reason because the people who do it don't try to hide it and often brag about what they did while others were watching and engaging with their kid. That's why it is usually the first excuse Scouters go to. Nothing personal.

    • Thanks 1
    • Upvote 1
  10. Not sure if you all knew, but Boys' Life has a pretty decent archive going back a long way. You can find a number of the GBB "from the campfire" or "from the hiking trail" columns from him there. Our PLC is frequently pointed in this direction when they need good inspiration.

    One word of caution: The navigation is a bit weird. Sometimes your search results show up with a link back to your search results...sometimes it doesn't. If can get a bit aggravating if you are in a hurry.

    Figured I would share this trove if you hadn't already found it. 

  11. 25 minutes ago, MattR said:

    But if half the troops/crews in your district decide to join you then you've got something.

    That's just it though, we have limited free time so we must choose to fix those things where we can maximize our impact. No successful troops in my district will even touch a district/council position. It is just not worth the time and effort.

    I wish I lived in a different area. I would love to volunteer. But having lived here and experienced this since 2003 there is nothing that is going to change. The platitudes of "it starts with a single step" and "you must be the change you wish to see" are all well and good...and we apply that...to our UNIT.

    I'd have to be insane to event attempt to try again with our district. I'd love the hours and weeks back I already gave them. But nothing will change here. I wish you luck in your area. Let me know where that is...I might retire there.

  12. 15 minutes ago, TAHAWK said:

    Sorry you were bitten by a Wood Badger at some point,  :p   but you overgeneralize. 

    I can only speak about the WB'ers in my area. They are so high up on their pedestal they can't see us little folks. Surely not all are like this, but in my area they are rabid, nasty and back-slappingly self-aggrandizing.

    • Upvote 2
  13. 6 minutes ago, mashmaster said:

    OK, question after the new YPT training.  Older training referred to preference to having to adults for two-deep.  but now it say two adults.   What does that do for the transportation issue of having scouts in cars going to campouts or meetings?  Does that mean you need two adults in the vehicle?   Many times it has been 1 adult and 4 youth in a vehicle.

    Good question. The old answer was here.

    • Upvote 1
  14. 33 minutes ago, ParkMan said:

    My recommendation is for us volunteers to get re-engaged at the district level.  If you really want to improve tbe,program in your area, this is where to do it. Get involved with district program, camping, training, or membership.  Sure, skip the finance part.

    The BSA is supposed to be volunteer led, professionally guided.  I'd worry less about what the council employees are saying and just do the right thing for the units in your area.  Maybe we use this forum as a place to brainstorm how to do that?

    But you can't change anything at the district or council level. Why? Old Men's and Women's Club. The WB'ers run everything and if you're not a WB'er then your ideas stink. Or you volunteer, spend hours getting your good ideas put together and supported by the unit only to have some district or council leader poo-poo the idea and literally force you to do it their way. I could go on and on and on.

    So that's why many of us, myself included, have stopped doing anything for the district. They are like parasites. They will latch on to you and drain you of your energy without any benefit to you or your unit. So I choose to focus on my unit and make it as good as it can be.

    I am sure there are good councils and districts out there. I am not fortunate enough to live in one of those areas. Having tried repeatedly to help "fix" things, I realize it is a futile effort and not worth my time and effort.

    • Upvote 1
  15. 3 hours ago, HelpfulTracks said:

    I just got of the phone with National Member Services. I was told there is only one YPT going forward, and that I am covered. Even though

    Even though I have taken the new YPT, online records are not showing me covered for Venturing, just Boy Scouts.

    It also concerns me that most of the Venturing info was removed. The old Venturing YPT covered info about sexual misconduct between Venturers, the new one doesn't specifically cover that issue.

    Indeed puzzling. Making me wonder like @Back Pack whether this is the death knell for Venturing. I am have been hearing rumblings from national and council staff, when asked about things related to Venturing, that "That doesn't matter right now." When someone tells me recruiting (aka, making more money for national and boosting membership numbers) "doesn't matter" when related to Venturing -- but they are pushing it like crack to Cub and Boy Scout units -- is very, very telling.

    • Upvote 1
  16. 2 hours ago, HelpfulTracks said:

    (and adhere to the rules) <<<<<<< This part.

    I would be surprised if Phimont is not teaching them, but for those who have never spent time in the back country it is questionable if it will take root. Not to mention, what they forget about and leave in their vehicles.

    I highly doubt they are teaching non-trek participants about smellables and in-camp safety. They didn't when I have been at PTC. Kids were chasing deer, plugging up mini bear holes with garbage, destroying ant mounds and generally running around untethered.

    For my money if they are going to double down on the whole family retreat approach, I'd rather they build a seperate place across the road for families. Crews go to Philmont because it is the pinnacle of their high adventure dreams. The last thing they want is to see a bunch of families around the dining hall or cantine.

    Anyone who has been to Philmont knows the peace and solitude you can experience even with all those crews rustling about. There's a respect that is (usually) shown that allows you to really enjoy and engage with nature. Unless they are going to 1) train the families on a code of conduct, and 2) enforce it strictly, they are creating a catalyst that may turn Philmont in to The Summit in the blink of an eye.

     

    • Upvote 1
  17. 16 hours ago, NJCubScouter said:

    I'm not talking about any of those things.  I am talking about cookies.

    Right. Cookies, being sold in a questionable location. 

    You can simplify it and say "it's about cookies", but it is about more than that. It is about integrity and safety. I am sure you wouldn't advocate she sell cookies in any other area that might have questionable activities going on, so it really isn't just about cookies now, is it?

  18. 41 minutes ago, EagleVolunteer said:

    I believe father may be the coach.  Haven't seen inside his project workbook, but he did have a binder with him.  I'd guess that is the project workbook, and dad said that it needed to be about an inch thick at the end with all of the 'documentation' of the project.

    In my book the Scout should be doing everything. Your role is one of providing expert opinion for your role (expert woodworking/carpentry). 

    It is up to the Scout to:

    • Develop the proposal and get it approved.
    • Develop the project plan and execute it accordingly. This includes planning and managing all phases of the project plan, so the majority of your interaction should be with the Scout, not the parents.
    • Get his volunteers together and should be the ones doing 90% of the work. The ONLY times an adult should be stepping in is when 1) a health or safety issue arises, 2) the BSA tools use guidelines require adult intervention, or 3) an expert trained on a particular tool or process (cement pouring, router use, etc.,) is required.

    I would immediately:

    • Ask the Scout for the name and contact number of his Eagle Coach or Scoutmaster.
    • Set up a meeting with the coach or SM to discuss your concerns. It is THEIR job to put this kid back on the correct path. You are being nice in helping out.
    • Stop any and all work until the SM contacts you to discuss the outcome of their meeting with the Scout.
    • Upvote 1
  19. 52 minutes ago, Redman said:

    Well not the best news but it was what I was expecting.  So who is the trailer supposed to be registered to?  I would like to see it under the pack or our CO but everything I have read the pack is not allowed to own property.  Is this a law or BSA policy?

    In our unit the trailer is registered to the church but under the troop's name, using the church's address and the COR's name as the contact. It is listed as a multi-use trailer and has several named users (all ASMs and troop committee people). Insurance is done the same way. When BSA says units cannot own property I think they mean land, although any assets the unit buys (tents, stoves, etc.) are CO property, so maybe they mean property in that sense too.

    Given that you have not had an audit in 11 years, it makes me wonder what else might be going on behind the scenes. It is suspicious that anyone thinks they can take a group asset when they leave an organization. That's a big red flag in my book.

  20. 7 hours ago, HelpfulTracks said:

    However, on my.scouting.org, the Take the Course link for Venturing is gone. So I searched through the training portal and found 2 versions of YPT. One said "Mandatory" the other said "Recommended". Since the recommended version said Status: Complete and the Mandatory version said Status: Incomplete, I postulated that the Mandatory version must be for Venturing, So I took it.

    I had a similar issue. My YPT is good through 2018 so I am not going to waste time taking something that BSA hasn't figured out which one for us to take yet. When they get serious, so will I. In the meantime I have my old, valid YPT.

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