Col. Flagg

Our council was part of the push to make sure all registered SMs were trained. This was a pilot program back in 2010. When I took over at SM we made sure all ASMs had YPT (of course), as well as IOLS and leader-specific. We also asked them to have the online training (climb safely, trek safely, safe swim, wx hazards, etc.). We also made sure every trek to a national HA base had a minimum of two WRFA-trained adults and several Scouts with the same training. Now seven years later, out of 15 ASMs all but one has this as the training baseline. It is well worth the effort. I had thought having

Our unit does this too. The ASMs work with the SPL to make sure they are aware of which adults are eligible, and then they help with the paperwork. The award is done by the SPL at a meeting in front of the unit. No big "adult award fest" like you see at district. Simple and meaningful and done by the boys.

It's not very anonymous if everyone knows there's an AA meeting down the hall. Just sayin'.

LOL, so much for clear and concise communication from national.

*** UPDATE *** Our district has a forum and someone posted this issue there. The DE didn't know so they checked with national. According to the DE tour plans *are* going away....at least according to who she spoke with.

Sorry, but not having insurance *is* a safety issue. Anyone who goes on a trip KNOWING they have no insurance coverage is putting the health and safety of their Scouts and adults at risk. If there is an accident and no insurance coverage, the health care one receives is governed by the ability to pay. I have seen folks denied care that would have helped them because of no insurance. That is very much a safety issue.

We should make sure all visiting Canadians pay a border crossing fee in maple syrup and smoke salmon.

We tell our guys: Buy a three ring notebook. Buy these inserts. Take a picture of all rank and blue cards. Load them to Google Drive. Put all your rank and blue cards in the notebook. Put the notebook in a secure place in your room. Ditto with the rank pages of you handbook. That way you always know where your stuff is AND you have a back up in the cloud in case your house burns down.

In your scenario, assuming this is not a joke, it makes BSA look even more incompetent that if it was a joke. No one in their right mind makes an announcement of any kind unless the replacement activity is ready to go. Insurance plans are contracted long before announcements are made, so if someone at BSA jumped the gun, even more reason to make a statement. "Opps, sorry, we said something too early. Keep doing what you are doing and we will tell you about a new program later." Done! So either 1) this is a bad joke, 2) this is not a joke and they are taking away tour plans, 3) this is a mi

Depends. I hear that 2% or less of crews actually use the ranks advancement program in Venturing. However, looking at the program it is, in my opinion, in many ways superior (minus the lack of core outdoor skills) to Boy Scouts. The project planning and management requirements are impressive. It reminds me of what it was like being an SPL and JASM as a kid. If they could fold in some outdoor skills focus I'm not sure I would be in Boy Scouts.

Why wouldn't the national organization that runs Scouting be authorized to make a statement of any kind? I've counted over ten councils that have posted this information, so there's a few thousand people who are going to see it and think it is real. What happens if they are having an event on 4/1 and don't fill out a tour plan? I can see punking folks on things like knife length, new uniforms with built in mosquito netting or other things that border on the absurd-yet-plausible. However, this is a real thing and the supporting documentation has links to a slew of official documents, so

A few comments: Troop Role Help obtain list of MBCs from district or council. Inform Scout (and parent) about rules when meeting MBCs. Provide blue card signatures and processing when done. SMCs with the Scout when there are issues or questions. Scout RoleEverything else.

I don't see this concept as exclusive to the paper method. You can certainly have the Scout retain responsibility for records management but still use software. And I agree, some the feature and things to track can be horrendous; blue card partials in particular. We don't use TM for that either. Too much work. We don't track training in there either. Despite the slowness and antiquated system BSA has, it still tracks what we need. Don't use ledger or fund raising either, though I could see how the latter would be useful. What I like best is MBC management. If I can get an extract (csv

In short, TM's new web interface does a few cool things: You are no longer tethered to having to sit at your desk. You can use via web so tablet, smart phone, pc, laptop. No single person in the database anymore. You can have as many people as you want entering date at the same time. Failover. If the database goes down (never has) you have a back up in the cloud. Simply don't lose data. Mobile. There's an app. So an Instructor can sit in the field and update the records of first year Scouts. I'll grant you, before these changes TM didn't save much time. Now? Holy cow!!!

I suspect we see this differently because nearly all the parents and kids in our unit are hugely in to IT. Frankly, the amount of time it was taking Scouts and adults to manage paperwork and processes using the manual method was many time what it is today. The software has literally cut our management of these things -- both Scout and adult -- by 90%. For us, at least, that was a huge value for both sides. What was cool was watching the PLs running reports for their guys, helping the figure out -- using both book and software -- how to get the Scout from A to B. But we have near 100% uptak

I get ya @@fred johnson, you like old school. I bet your cell phone is like the one Danny Glover used in Lethal Weapon. With the plethora of sources for information these days, it's nearly impossible for adults, let alone Scouts, to manage the symbiotic relationship of all the various award possibilities out there. Spreadsheets built by volunteers used to help. Now we have software that does it pretty well. The boys still manage their books, but they can now get print outs (which they get themselves) that allow them to see they can get the World Conservation badge if they do x or y.

@@Tiger Foot, maybe this will help. http://rh.nsbsa.org/Portals/30/training/Supplement-CSLST-PackTrainer-04202009.pdf I know several local Packs in my area have put together a mailing list where they exchange information on other training opportunities. Basically they manage YPT for the Pack, make sure leaders are trained, work with district and council to find other training opportunities and, recently, work with Scout troops to come in and teach their Cubs some Boy Scout skills.

As OP I will ask the obvious which I think you attempted to answer, though I am not sure: If this is a hoax, why doesn't BSA tell the councils, who have obviously swallowed the bait, that this is not correct? Why can't ScoutingWire simply post something noting the hoax? Was this an attempt by BSA at an April Fool's joke that went the wrong way and no one wants to admit it? Can't we (the volunteers that have to fill out these forms) get a straight answer yes or no as to whether national intends on sun-setting the tour plan process and system? Your answer is unclear at best, pedantic

Apparently "acceptance" only goes one-way. If feel like Inspector Renault in Casablanca, "I am shocked, shocked to find that acceptance of transgender only works one-way." http://www.outsports.com/2017/3/20/14983388/transgender-weightlifting-laurel-hubbard-wins

Marketing Rule 101: Never create a competing product that cannibalizes your best performing brand.

Or OA, STEM, NOVA, World Conservation, service stars, print out blue cards, or printing our reports when you purchase rank advancement at the scout shop. Do one COH where you have to manually tally 30+ ranks and 150 MBs, service stars, etc., and the time TM saves you is worth the annual subscription.

Not sure I understand that comment. Are you saying that, because school kids usually equate popularity with leadership -- and generalizing that Scouts are not cool enough to be popular -- that they (Scouts) are not equipped to lead their school mates?

I've run the requirements bit for a while, both with and without software. My experience has been that SW saves me tons of time. Before software, a few hours a week. More if I have to help someone reconstruct lost info. After software, if I spend more than an hour a week it is odd.

Well that was helpful.

We never camp at our summer camp. Spend one summer here and you will know why. Our guys hate camporee because its the same events won by the same troops who actually practice the events before going. We don't do MBUs. We do some council training but our neighboring council has a great WFRA program (we have none) and other training. I think they don't black ball us because we usually haul in $$$ for FOS. Why give away a cash cow?