swilliams

I loathe fundraising. It wouldn't be too terrible if it were just for scouting, but with active kids it's non-stop, year-round. Scouts twice a year, marching band basket raffle and Gertrude Hawk, lacrosse cornhole tournament and bagels, swimming (both winter high school and summer club swim) swim-a-long pledges and winter sports night donations... It's too much. I refuse to continue asking our neighbors and friends to give money, even if they're getting something out of it. At our last committee meeting we had a loooong discussion of how much we would ask for our dues, how many adults we were going to have to register, how to pay for the adults and the increased National and Council dues and how much fundraising we could realistically expect. We decided to make the dues $200, drop two or three committee members from the charter, and continue to pay for adult participants from Troop funds. We do charge per trip, and I want to see us come up with some trips that are close to free - state campgrounds, stealth camping off the AT for older scouts, etc. Maybe even teach them to make acorn flour and forage for dandelion roots and chickweed. 🤣

Thank you all. We have our COH tonight, but will put the advice to work next Tuesday!

I've worked with youth for ages: besides scouting, as a substitute teacher and a cross-country/track coach. Maybe it's just me getting old (Get off my lawn!), but the last two new batches of scouts seem to have more behavior issues than before. We've had issues with scouts not listening to the older scouts, talking back to them, refusing to do as asked, etc. At one point last year they vandalized a school bathroom and almost got us kicked out. Nothing permanent, but spitting on the mirrors, unrolling all the toilet paper, etc. It's gotten to the point where our older scouts are beginning to avoid coming to Troop meetings. I'm not involved in weekly meetings anymore, so this is coming from my husband, who became an ASM last year. In reading BP's words that were posted in another thread about number, I'm wondering if we should look at restructuring how meetings are run, specifically breaking out groups. Any other suggestions as to how to help keep younger scouts in line? While still having fun.

Not a summer camp, but maybe relevant. My daughter and I just got back from a short backpacking trip on the AT. We met some scouts from Troop 3 in Easton, PA. Four scouts, two leaders. When we did a similar trip last year around 4th of July, we had come across a group of Jewish "scouts" (not Boy Scouts, but some similar program) - 37 of them!! I've noticed more people out and about in the woods ever since Covid, so I think interest in the outdoors is UP, but it's not necessarily translating over to Scouting. On a complete side note: hiking around Crater Lake near Walpack, NJ (side trip off the AT), my daughter and I were shocked when we turned a corner and saw a naked man striding toward us. Nothing on but some hiking boots and a bandana. Apparently there is a "Naked Hiking Day". 😬

Thanks again for your help when my son was working on this. (And for the nickname Bugleson, lol.) He was a trombone player who was able to get many of the notes on trumpet right away. It did take Bugleson six months to do this MB. The high G took a LOT of practice, as did the low C. His MBC asked him to play an actual bugle (but didn't require it), so we ended up purchasing a used trumpet for practice, then borrowing a bugle for a couple weeks to finish up. We met with the MBC a total of three times before he was satisfied and signed off. I made Bugleson play 'To the Colors' at a camporee, and he was Troop Bugler for a six-month period, where he would start the meetings. Sadly, he never played again after that. All that work... Younger son plays baritone for concert band and marching band. It would be fun to have him try the calls, just to see 1) his range and 2) what the calls sound like on the low brass. I might go start pestering him right now.

I like this solution. As a side note, our troop has several ASPL positions: logistics (planning for camping trips), advancement, service and program (take over for SPL when unavailable and support SPL with weekly meetings).

That last part would probably be a rather large savings, as so many organizations require background checks now. For myself, I've been background checked three times in the past two years - USATF, as a substitute teacher, and for a real estate license.

I think this is how he will try to proceed. He doesn’t share his parent’s inclination to fight this kind of thing, and I can’t blame him. He just wants to get it done and see his work translated into a finished series of trails. (Un-ironically, the ‘just get it done’ is what made him not want to use the Advisor in the first place.) As of an hour ago, our former committee chair has asked to become an Eagle Advisor for the Troop, so that if our District is dead-set on forcing scouts down this road, at least they have a choice in Advisors.

He will be 17 in just over a month. I just spoke to someone who is still on our Troop Committee, but is also on the list of Eagle Coaches who can be assigned by the district. He reiterated that my son MUST work with the Unit Eagle Advisor, and told me that my son's proposal would most likely be rejected by the District if it didn't come from the Advisor. I am beyond angry. What are we teaching scouts with this? My solution might just be to have him join a Troop in the next town over, which is in a different District that does not require this. I may decide to fight it later, but really don't have the bandwidth to start a war, particularly when I have a 15 year old who will still need to go through the process. I'm worn down, discouraged, angry... I can only imagine what my kid is feeling. There seems to be this strange idea among too many scout leaders that this is "real life" and will toughen the kid up. I say it only teaches them that it's okay for them to be unresponsive and dismissive. We should be leading by example, imho.

Maybe I'm not being clear enough. He knows he has to have the proposal approved by the designated district or council person. He has no issue with that. But in order to get it to that person for their approval, the district is saying he has to use an Eagle Coach and have the Coach turn the proposal over to the district. This is in direct conflict with what GTA says. This Eagle Coach (who is also a MB counselor) made my son take 24 months to complete his Personal Fitness MB because he kept delaying their last meeting. By the time this person finally found the time to meet, my son had broken two bones and couldn't complete the final fitness test. Among other things. We are NOT using him as Eagle Coach. So yes, I am going to make a big deal about it. The person from Council who was at our Committee meeting when my son's proposal was approved, and who said they would be willing to act as his coach, has not responded. My son would like to get this turned in so that he can work on the project over the summer.

It's not who we are handing it in to... it's who can do the handing in. National says the scout can do it. Our District says he can't.

Of note, none of the other Districts in our Council list this as a requirement.

That requires us to go to our unit Eagle Advisor. I know this may seem silly to you, but this is a major issue for both of us. I don't want to post details here, where the Eagle Advisor can't refute what I say, in case it becomes clear who I am talking about.

Our District is requiring the Eagle Coach to submit the proposal for approval. Yet GTA says a scout is not required to use a Coach. In fact, GTA says the District or Council will designate a coach after the proposal is submitted.

Another complication. My son was trying to fill out page 9 of the Eagle Scout Workbook, where it asks for the contact name, address, phone and email for the Council Service Center. He pulled up our Council website, and under the Eagle Project section it says: Proposals will be accepted from Eagle Coaches ONLY. Scouts should NOT submit their own proposals. WORKBOOKS MUST NOT BE PROTECTED BY PASSWORD OR IN ANY OTHER MANNER. Proposals are distributed to the District Committee for review in the order they are received. The review process may take a few weeks. The District Committee will return comments and questions to the Scout and the Scout’s Eagle Coach should any clarification or revision of the proposal be necessary. The Scout should resubmit the revised proposal promptly. Scouts must receive District approval before beginning work on the project. This doesn't align with Guide to Advancement, which states a scout does not need to accept the help of an Eagle Coach. Neither of us is sure what to do now. Can Districts or Councils make their own rules that are in conflict with what is published by National? I don't want to create a big sh--storm here, but for multiple reasons my son does not want to work with our unit's assigned Coach, and I am 100% behind him on this.

Update: Our Eagle Advisor didn't take kindly to BugleSon presenting on his own, but fortunately our Unit Commissioner and another leader from Council were at this particular Committee meeting, and they verified that it is a Scout's decision to work with an Advisor/Coach - or not. Our Unit Commissioner has offered to coach my son through the remainder of the project; elp that BugleSon will happily accept, so that is another positive. BugleSon's proposal was approved, but he still needs to present it to our ScoutMaster, who was not at the meeting.

BugleSon (so named by a forum member here), will welcome help and guidance from whomever Council assigns him. Our unit ‘Eagle Advisor’ has positioned himself in such a way that most adults and scouts in the Troop think they must go to him first, before even thinking about a project, which has resulted in a certain young man dragging his feet even more than usual, and even muttering ‘I’ll just quit.’ I didn’t want to tell him he wasn’t required to do something only to turn out to be wrong, so thanks for helping to verify that he is within his rights to present the proposal on his own. He read the Workbook, but I may ask him to read section 9 of GTA as well. If all goes well, he will be rebuilding some rudimentary bridges that were unofficially put in place on Township green-space property over small streams, adding three bog bridges over marshy spots, and adding two informational signs - one about the importance of trees in removing ground water to prevent flooding and run-off, and one about invasive plant species.

Ah, pancakes. AKA "scram-cakes" in our troop, thanks to one trip where the scout doing the planning and cooking didn't bring any butter or cooking oil to use before pouring the batter into a not-so-seasoned pan. We avoid using any grease/fat left over from cooking meats, as a few of our scouts' families are vegetarian.

Resurrecting this old thread because I had a very similar question. Our unit has an "Eagle Advisor". For reasons I won't get into, my son does not want to work with this person. So... GTA says "It is true a Scout need not accept the assistance of the service project coach. Regardless, it is considered best for the council or district to designate one for every scout who submits a project proposal for approval." To me, this says that if a scout doesn't want the help of the Coach provided by council, then he certainly doesn't need to work with someone from the unit, either. Would you all think the same?

Our Troop pays for the adults as well, but after this latest recharter we're discussing no longer doing so. With the rising costs, and our dwindling number of scouts, we can't afford it. In the past we had 5 SM/ASM's and 8 Committee members, with 70 scouts. Now we're down to 30 scouts, but only dropped one ASM and one Committee member. Money coming in from our fundraiser is way down, and we don't want the Troop to become more about trying to raise money than scouting. Not sure what we'll end up doing. Also, we have three special-needs scouts and a parent always come with them on the few trips they attend.

I am not. I've been looking for other opportunities for our scouts that don't involve me trying to draw my own maps, haha, so thank you for those links.

Last year I spent a ridiculous amount of time making an orienteering map, then spent about $130 on a starter pack of control flags, race cards, and card punches. It was a HUGE success. The scouts loved being sent off into the woods alone. The race/contest aspect was secondary. I did have parents stationed at a few of the controls, we had water/Gatorade at one, and I was in roughly the center of the course with a full first-aid kit. The scouts have asked to do it again, so I'm working on a second map. The best part is that it takes a LOT of mapping in the field, so I have an excuse to get outside and wander around the forest. If any of you out there are in the area of the Watchung Reservation in NJ and want to use the first map, I would be more than happy to send you the map electronically. It prints out to 11"X14". You would have to supply your own course materials, but you can mark the control points with anything, really, then just come up with a way for scouts to mark that they visited each individual station. If you have enough parents (10), they could man each point.

Four and a half months without checking in, and was hoping for some positive news. I guess the news from the District Court hearings isn't negative, so there is that. Didn't realize insurers could be likely to receive a stay and could drag this out another year. 😒 Our Council, and therefore some of the adults in our Troop, are pushing for Jamboree, but we have a contingent going to Philmont this year, we're already signed up for our regular summer camp, and with the $1,100+ price tag, it doesn't look like there are more than one or two scouts interested in going.

So what happens next? I know that's a very broad question, lol. If the judge's opinion isn't 100% approval or denial of the plan, what needs to happen, and which entity needs to take the steps needed, to get to the end of the bankruptcy process and begin to settle with CSA victims? Apologies, but I've been sort of following this off-and-on for the last half year.

By “mixed claims” do you mean claims where it’s not clear that the abuse happened within the context of scouting? The Church and the scouting program were so intertwined, it would not be surprising if that were the case.