bsrsakima39

Hi BP, I'm a 20-year-old ASM who came up through the program, earned Eagle, and have continued to remain overly active in my council. To get it off my chest now, I do wear 3 knots. I agree with you that there are some Scouters out there who do not have the true purpose of our organization in the forefront of their minds. I am incredibly sorry to hear that the gentleman that you know is one of those people. It is very unfortunate that someone with that much experience and knowledge is not using it to the full extent of his ability. I, too, know people like this. They are not nearly as

Have you considered that the three colors of the knot (red, blue, yellow) are also the three colors of the anniversary logo?

The OA Jeopardy game from NLS is not available for distribution. However, you are more than welcome to create your own game, as many lodges have done.

Hi Lisabob! First of all, a little disclaimer, I haven't been to these programs. That being said, I have been a section officer for the past 4 years and know the OAHA program fairly well. 1) Yes. Will it be hard work, probably. However, your son will not be forced to do work that he can not handle. He'll definitely be tired at the end of the day, but will not be worked to death. He is, after all, paying to be there... OAWV will, most likely, be more demanding than OAOA. He'll have to portage his canoe and will be doing plenty of paddling during his two weeks there. Not to say that OA

I have to agree with UCEagle and dg98. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter. However, let's say that we do distinguish between the two. Which is considered "more important?" The adult who has involved as a youth (to what extend, we have no idea), or the adult who was (theoretically) selected because he has the ability to affect the Order in a positive manner? Both are incredibly important, both bring different perspectives. One of the goals of removing the flap restrictions was to recognize us as one Brotherhood, no member being any greater or less than any other. Like the universa

Eagledad makes a good point. Actual numbers tell us relatively little. Percentages are what we need to look at. However, even they are not entirely accurate. Using the figures from USAToday and those that Beavah provided, the percentage of youth reached for the Boy Scouting (ignoring Cubs for now) program is not suffering too badly. 2005 - 3.34% 2006 - 3.27% 2007 - 3.25% 2008 - 3.26% 2009 - 3.25% I would be curious to see what the results would be going back, as well as how accurate national's numbers are. Sure, we are getting some loss for the various speculated reasons

BigDave, First of all, sorry that no one responded to you in almost 2 months... I haven't been able to find an exact paragraph saying that photography is not allowed. That leads me to assume it lumps into the safeguarding that is mentioned at the beginning of every ceremony script. National probably couldn't put it in writing, because then it would lead to a question of secrets in the BSA. I know that is isn't exactly what you were looking for, but I hope it helps.

CR14, If you really want to get technical, your son can wear any flap that your lodge produced at any time, especially now that National has put a ban on honor level restricted flaps. However, VigilNavyCPO and jet have the best recommendations. Talk to some people, like the chapter and lodge officers/advisers, and see what they say about the subject. Lodge culture really determines the outcome of this. I know that I would never wear a NOAC flap for one that I didn't attend, but I do enjoy collecting them, and I do know people who wear flaps for events they didn't attend. Actua

My lodge still does a variant of the B-hood Interview. To my knowledge, National never delivered an edict, like they did on different patches for the different levels. Please, if they did send an Operations Update about it, let me know. We hold a Brotherhood workshop, either during the Ordeal or on another day. The first part of the workshop is, unfortunately, a classroom type experience. We have discussions about the symbolism and meaning within the Ordeal, review the items to be memorized, and do that general stuff. The second part includes breaking up into groups of about four. One of

As mentioned before, the requirements are: 1)Memorize the various required items (song, obligation, handclasp, etc.) 2)Advance in your understanding of the Ordeal - Meaning learn about the symbolism and such 3)Remain registered and serve your unit for 10 months 4)Make a plan for continued lodge service 5)Write a letter to the lodge sec. about your service plan There is not technically any service requirement in the process. Many lodges run B-hood conversion during the Ordeal, in which case, the members usually do give service as elangomats. Some lodges also run sp

The pork is really not an issue. The cook staff just needs to be aware so that they either don't plan pork or have an alternative. The Sabbath causes a few more problems. sheldonsmom's son (Sheldon?) has the right idea. Talk to the people who are knowledgeable in the field and try to come up with a solution. My instant thoughts are, "Who said the Ordeal needs to take place on Saturday?" Yes, it is the most convenient, but if they are unable to work, we need to come up with another option. Perhaps we could run an Ordeal from Saturday evening to Sunday evening. Or offer some weekday Ordeals

What does that say about the effectiveness of youth elections if the SM adds in votes? An adult's wishes should not override the decision of the youth in elections. Whatever the outcome, there will be a way to survive it. They'll have another chance in a year.

jet - This is definitely something that we need to evaluate and educate on more effectively. There is one troop in my council that regularly charters around 80 scouts. Each year they put forward a handful youth candidates and two adults. Of those who go through the Ordeal, I think about 10 to 15 youth are currently due-paid members. Of those youth, I probably see 4 at events. So, it might be valuable to National to look into your suggestion. Your comment about popular and outgoing Scouts being elected is standard, even for small troops. For the answer to this, we need to look at the state

Vicki - Here lies a problem. Some lodges do run elections at summer camp. Others, like mine, do not. Elections, for us, are usually run somewhere between February and the middle of May. All elections need to be completed by May 15th, in order for us to assemble a call-out list, approve adults, and send letters to other summer camps for those troops going out-of-council. I've only ever experienced one election during camp, and that was an out-of-council unit who's lodge normally runs elections at camp. It was a pain in the butt for me, as camp chief, because I didn't know how many Scouts I was

O.K. If this is true, this is getting ridiculous. If the goal is to have everyone in a uniform, which is part of the program, this is not helping at all. The uniform already rivals the costs of American Eagle, Abercrombie, and other name-brand clothing companies. There are already many kids who have troubles affording a full uniform, why alienate them even more? I guess that I should not get too worked up about this until it is confirmed...