curious_scouter

I was amazed recently when reading about Emma Gatewood who thru-hiked the AT at 67 years old in 1955 (and then again two more times from what I understand) with a main piece of equipment being a shower curtain as a tarp. I thought that sounded so unusual but based on this additional source, maybe it was a common "hack" of that time in history. Nifty.

Good advice. I have this challenge not only in direct comm "Hey, I sent you an email - did you get it?" but also clearly set expectations. For example, it had become the practice to sign up for a campout ONLY if you were going. Our tool for that supports an "RSVP" model where you can explicitly say "I'm not coming." I started asking everyone to RSVP "no" if they are not coming. This allowed us to start confirming that people were seeing the calendar entries, and not planning to come. This has been really helpful in our planning.

Main thing we did that would be a no-no today was cramming EVERYONE into a single shelter when winter camping. It was a great way to stay warm, but having done it for many years as a youth I thoroughly understand the logic behind the "within 2 years" rule of YPT. The information sharing was unfiltered.

this is what I was going to suggest. Make it an agenda item of your next PLC. Let the Scouts sort it out. They use methods and means you'll never get into anyway. And... they don't want you there. Be direct and make sure your SPL can reach their ASPLs and PLs somehow. That's up to them to figure out and may entail a number of methods. I doubt a one size fits all will work anyway. I know my own son almost never checks emails. I know some scouts don't even have a phone, some until they are in their teens. Others are not permitted on discord. So I think your youth leaders are goi

Coleman 6 person domes are $85 right now on Amazon. They are tanks in my experience. But... when the waterproofing fails, it does so in spectacular fashion. Our Scouts like buying their own tents, so we have allowed "at your risk" use of personal tents. It's been pretty cool. Scouts love it. They get to see a wide variety of tents and styles. Takes some cost pressure off the troop as our inventory is for "fallout" cases and new scouts who haven't invested yet. But at $85 on sale... coleman 6 man domes are unbeatable IMO. They can withstand a literal flood and the rigors of r

our troop is only 20 years old. I tasked our historian with this and was surprised that one phone call to council got him a list of the SMs from the past 20 years. So... our council had that much. Beyond that you will probably be challenged because people disperse to the wind. Our first two SMs are sadly no longer with us. Would definitely call council, they should have some amount of history for you.

If you have a good relationship with the SM - just ask them why. It's not technically a YPT violation as long as 2up and no 1:1 but it's a bad look and officially all aspects are open to observation so if a parent pressed the issue they'd have to relent anyway. I suspect they are having issues with parents who can't let the Scouts do their thing and rather than single someone out or maybe out of general frustration they went "scorched earth" on who can be in the building during meetings.

update: Our council is now charging $25 for MBC registration. To cover the CBC. It's understandable, but will def impact our MBC roster council-wide. I guess the "good news" is that it seems to be ensuring the people who are left are really motivated counselors. My recent experience is when a scout uses SB to "connect to" a MB counselor - they get rapid contact back. So, that's pretty awesome and possibly a silver lining.

My unit was at one time 75 scouts strong. I absolutely see the wisdom in BP's suggestion of 32 max. We are at around 40 active scouts right now and I feel 100% there is no way I'm able to adequately get time with each. The saving grace is we have a strong Scoutmaster Corp and really well trained youth leaders (NYLT for the win) and so it works. Our unit has been "top heavy" - many years ago we received mega crossover groups from a pack. Those mega groups will all age out together, just as they came in together. We had 6 last year, we will have 5 this year. Next year we have 8 I think.

In our unit we treat Eagle COH as if a wedding reception. The Eagle and their family do the planning. From guest list to the ceremony. The family is welcome to use our meeting place (the church) for the ceremony but very often secure their own venue. Sometimes another church, rec hall or in the past they have even done it at the site of the Eagle Project itself. We have a COH outline, but the Scout and family can "make it their own". They key is making it special for the Scout(s) and their family/families.

this is what we do. We have 50 active scouts. They use their books to track advancement and honestly it's good because we allow any ASM to sign off requirements and we also allow Star Scouts who have been trained by the SM to sign off for First Class and under. No way with that number of scouts and that number of authorized signers that we'd get everything via online SB anyway. Keeping SB updated from their paper books would be a full time job. I have considered finding a volunteer to do it though - it would be amazing to have data to give to the PLC that X Scouts need a certain set of re

Ours is not, but I know of a council in Ohio that is. I expect ours will follow suit. It's also possible they are doing this already but I am not aware as I hold a fee-paid position already.

@Brannigan - I know you're getting a lot of shade implying you created the situation with this person with your email or comment. I have been in your shoes with people like "Mr. Monster". I re-entered Scouting 8 years ago as an adult (all prior experience was as a youth) thinking it would be very much a "we're all on the same team, we all want a good program, a Scout is friendly, rah-rah" atmosphere among the adult leaders. Not exactly. Many were welcoming, helpful and patient with my "dumb ideas" and rose colored glasses. Some were deeply insecure and responded to any comment, idea o

What are some "leading questions" you keep in your mind to help point the SPL in the right direction and get them digging in on leading the Scouts at summer camp? Some that I've been noodling: Gear check at arrival, any initial concerns about what you have seen? Review of cabin/tent mates, any personalities to be aware of? Any concerns? Any goals for the Troop this week? Spirit award? Campsite inspection goals? RE: those goals, do you have a plan and people lined up in your head to lead tasks (share the load) How do you want to organize the move-in?

EVENT NAME Location(s) For Outing TBD Challenge Tier Essential / Challenging / Advanced Departure Time & Location TBD Adult Coordinator TBD Return Time & Location TBD Scout In Charge TBD Duration

Example of what our weekly newsletter looks like leading up to an outing. This is last year ahead of a canoe trip. I put the template together and have it on Google Drive. During PLC, the SPL and Scribe make a copy of the template and fill it out in Google Docs in real time. After the Webmaster can literally copy/paste this into our calendar. It makes the PLC go quickly, gives structure but the Scouts still do all the "grunt work" and it ensures we capture all the detail for both Scouts/Parents but for us as leaders to ensure we've checked all the planning boxes. He

We do annual planning the weekend or two after school ends for the summer/following year. We send this tentative plan to all families as soon as the PLC confirms it and Committee Chair reviews it (they are often at planning conference) This sets the dates and tentative theme for all our outings. We leave the meeting specifics for later monthly PLCs. PLC meets first Thursday of the month and sets detailed meeting plans for any meeting that will happen before the next scheduled PLC. After the PLC, the webmaster updates our troop website calendar with detailed meeting plans. We

hear, hear!

$140 per youth / $100 per adult in our council this year. Not a rumor. Also moving to an annual renewal vs. everyone renewing at one time. I presume to avoid the "crush" that comes from every unit in council submitting paperwork at one time. Also, I have come to 100% rely on the roster at my.scouting.org - I think this will be the norm. Just as you use it to manage training expiration (which have all been different for a long time) you will now use it to manage membership expiration.

We recently did a Saturday badge session. We had 25 Scouts attend. The conversations were real, compelling, and friendly. I think a key was setting ground rules that including this is serious, no teasing, and what gets discussed in the room stays in the room. Everyone got the badge and said they had fun and learned something. I think it all comes down to how it's presented. I will admit when the badge was released I was pretty cynical about it, but having seen it delivered and the way the Scouts responded to it - I'm quite in favor of it. I do share the wish we could compress some of th

Same as above. We stockpile some patches. SM gives them to SPL to give out at conclusion of elections or at the end of the meeting if the SPL makes any POR appointments mid-cycle (QM, scribe, etc.) SPL/ASPLs are expected to hound the PORs to get patched up. I've thought for a while that a "uniform maintenance night" would be a good meeting theme now and again. Might suggest that at our annual planning. Scouts really ought to be able to sew on any patch with a merrow border.

Sounds fun to me... I guess it depends on how it's done. I can also make a hike regimented if I really try.

Start attending roundtable. Meet the district committee. In my experience - they will definitely have a way to use your energy. It could be commissioner life. It could be helping to plan a district event. I kind of "get" that local units are going to be a harder sell for a "stranger" off the street without a Scout of their own as at least an initial foot in the door. But show up to district roundtable a couple times and you'll find yourself well employed soon. You can bring value over a wider area in that kind of role (many units benefit from your energy vs. one) and you'll sti

These fees are out of control. There's no transparency or justification. They bring no value to units or Scouts/Scouters. In an age where Scouts BSA is purportedly emphasizing DEI these fees put Scouting out of reach for many. It boils my blood.

This all comes down to your local units and their established policies. Issue with Scouting is it is generational. Leaders and scouts come, engage for a time, and move on. If a policy was not written down and passed on, it's often lost. My advice is don't be afraid to rethink anything that's not specifically documented. Even so, some of my least favorite words to hear are "That's what we've always done." So? Doesn't make it right. Doesn't make it right for right now. I don't think you need to reinvent the wheel for the sake of it, but I do think the generational rollover of Scouting l