HashTagScouts

I'm on the distribution list for 4 councils here in MA. Every council sent the same notice, they are all cookie-cutter template. It is the argument that National will use and maintain for as long as possible through this process.

Don't disagree with you - just that a lot of people's mindset is that "starting over" means starting over, from scratch. A lot of people like to think the Catholic Church should be selling assets to settle abuse claims. How many people you know are in the market for a massive Basilica in the Vatican and are going to pay market value for it?

The decision by National is most definitely intended to throw themselves on the sword here, and be a shield to keep councils and COs as protected as possible. Are their councils already involved in legal action? Undoubtedly. I know a lot of people are upset today that the BSA has tarnished the image and the youth with this decision- simply because they see it as a cop out to staying the course as an organization, that though flawed, was viewed as a moral organization fighting to instill moral character into the youth we serve and is now hiding in the court to avoid paying victims.

Concerns on fee increase: families are going to have a tough time with increases to annual membership fees, though it seems likely it will go up. I am more concerned that National is going to think they can raise the Chartering fee, and assume that that fee is paid by the CO each year (for us, nope- it is coming from our bank account, and I see that as the norm in our area). Assets: I would argue that as lovely and wonderful as Philmont, Sea Base, Summit are, they are not essential for program delivery. We made do without them, and sooo few Scouts ever actually visit them. The problem

We should hope that a Scout wears their handbook out from usage- but all the carrying them around and throwing on the floor when its game time, etc. takes its toll. The cover of my handbook as a Scout was more duct tape than paper by the time I was 14, and I'm sure I had half-missing pages from disintegration of stuffing it in my backpack, handling it with half-dried hands after KP duty and the like. I made a pamphlet version using Word of just the rank requirement grids so that we could print those and give them to the Scouts to transfer info from their handbook if necessary, so that they h

We got your meaning I felt like the change what, two years ago (or was it three now) to officially classify "Scout" as a rank was odd. Prior to this change it was a joining award, and Tenderfoot being the first true rank and that made the world right in terms of how BP had described it.

I grew up with JLT as an expectation within our troop we would complete it before we took the step to Star. We also had a very well run Council-level JLT training weekend program that happened every spring. I learned a ton from that program. Leadership Corps was also something that was highly regarded around me, and most troops implemented it, some keeping the green shirts for several years after they had been discontinued. While I do like NYLT, I feel some of it is better suited for 16+ aged youth, and some of those things that were in the JLT syllabus just don't exist in NYLT, or are not

Do we need NS telling us where to go to get custom patches for events, custom neckerchiefs, custom t-shirts? No, there are numerous options out there that can do this, and for better pricing to us. Do I need a Scout Shop to carry sleeping bags, tents, etc.? No, I probably have brick-and-mortar as well as online options where I can get quality items at a better price. Do I need to buy my Lodge cookware from a Scout Shop? The DO lid looks nice with the embossed Scouting scene on it, but I'd rather save my unit $15 buying the generic Lodge DO from Walmart. The philosophy on $ spills ove

Most clothing items, whether buying from your local Walmart or Macys, has at least a 50% markup over wholesale. The whole model with National Supply is slated toward max return (it is completely a business for BSA, not a service). Our council shut down running a "trading post" at the council office- we have two NS run stores that are outside the borders of our council, but are just conveniently located in adjacent towns from either end of the council. If a council wants to carry items, NS sells to them at a price point they create, such that they are making $, and also controls the retail p

It amazes me how many people I encounter that love to gripe at how far it is to drive to our council office . In 6 years, I have had to go the council office on only two occasions: 1) for a training that my son was attending to maintain our Lodge website, and 2) to drive my son to drop off his Eagle application and workbook. Anything else, I mail or wait until Rt to hand off to my DE. What all these other people I hear griping are doing in all that time driving back and forth is beyond me. Spending a $1 on postage is far more reasonable to me than wasting that $1 on the drive it takes to g

For the now long gone council in my area that got merged up in the 60s, the first Council Executives (as apparently many were called in those days) was a retired school principal. That is life experiences that would make them a good choice in my opinion. Considering that you could retire from such a profession before the age of 55, I'd give serious thought to hire anyone in that position than several of the SE's I have met.

Let's all take it a step further, and think back to those earliest days of the BSA. The first slate of "Council professional"' were hired by the Council's themselves. National had nothing to do with it. These people had no longstanding experience as a professional in the BSA (some may have been volunteers at first but as the BSA was still so young, everyone was a novice). Why can't we go back to those days? Realistically, most everything can be done online. Some current processes could be modified to make it more effective as online transactions, but the cost is the most likely culprit as

Regarding Council activity fees, having had this model in my council for a few years now, it's still polarizing even after all this time. Our activity fee is $30 per youth (Venturers/Sea Scouts age 18-21 are considered "adults" for this purpose, and are not charged the $30) per year. There was some perceived benefits, namely that the Council no longer charges for adult training, but when we used to charge $25/participant for IOLS, we actually spent the $25 to have supplies and about ~$18 of that went towards food. That $18 was a lot, but we went all out to have the participants cook b

Allowing the CO to truly fully designate the Committee Chair to serve as the voting member could be one avenue to improve the system. Our CO in general is supportive of us, and wants to have the affiliation for their Legion post to the youth. However, their bylaws call for annual election and the current Post Commander becomes the defacto IH and COR. That person may not be the most connected person to the unit. If they want to designate the CC or even the SM to serve their interests as well as the units, let them do so. Otherwise for us, as i feel it is for many if not most, I have to cha

I recommend this quick read: https://www.outdoors.org/articles/amc-outdoors/a-wilderness-first-aid-kit-checklist For the most part, it's a basic first aid kit you might bring on a day hike (adhesive bandages of different sizes, a few gauze pads, some antiseptic wipes, an ace bandage or two, a set of tweezers, something that can be used as a cravat, a small package of moleskin). Probably items you already have in a home first aid kit. Additions I'd recommend is a roll of athletic tape, a tube of cortisone/rash cream, and a SAM splint- these might be a few bucks, but I always carry mine o

My council has taken to having monthly "office hours" where folks can attend and ask questions. It's a 2 hour block, that unfortunately is on a weeknight evening that is a conflict for their weekly unit meeting night. Problem #1. It has a call-in conference number for those that can not attend in person. Problem #2 in that a lot of time is wasted with people asking for the question (and/or the answer) to get repeated, apologizing for talking over each other, etc. The biggest problem though, is that one question can easily eat up 30 minutes, if there are several people that want to comment

I feel JTE is good for new units, or units with newer inexperienced adults, as a baseline structure of how to get a unit performing. However, I don't find "standardized tests" as something to repeat year-over-year, so I'm not beholden to it. Our Crew is Bronze, and we are perfectly fine with that "measurement", and frankly we wouldn't have even cared to have that designation, but the JTE form was required for us to submit before Council would process our charter for next year.

I agree with much of this. Allowing Venturers- especially true when it is a group of several 18 year olds- be able to meet and carry out events without adults would be huge.

Ultimately it the SM, who would have already had consult with the PLC (and ASMs if needed) that would present a request to our committee for X $s to purchase tents. I wouldn't at all have debate in my meetings on the type of tent, just whether we had majority to allocate the funds. The SM might come to me as CC, or I may go to him, to discuss the item(s) if we each felt it necessary. Being a first year group, your committee seems to still be "norming". A private aside with the CC to encourage that they try to keep these discussions on point and concise might be a good idea.

We do most everything electronic at the front end. Scout sends an email for their project scope to the District Advancement Chair, who reviews, asks questions if necessary, and approves- in a rare instance, they may ask to meet with the Scout if something isn't clear or needs revision that isn't coming across via the email chain. Once project is complete, the Scout completes the Eagle workbook and 3 copies of the application, and requests letters. Letters are sent to the unit (typically SM, but some units have it come to the Advancement Coordinator). All is brought to the Eagle BOR. The

Our staff adviser wants the LEC to "increase Brotherhood numbers"- presumably that is coming from the SCF. I'm with @Oldscout448 that I'd welcome anyone to Brotherhood, if it truly was in their heart as a desire, not just because it fulfills someone else's wish.

Not sure I like "selling" service. feel like giving back to the community for raking an elderly person's yard, etc. is just something we should do to fulfill our "do a good turn", not make money off of it.

here are some more for you: http://manyhoops.com/wampanoag-food-and-recipes_1.html

I was on meritbadge.org last weekend , so it may just be undergoing maintenance.

We only charge the BSA registration fee + our Council Activity Fee, so $90 total for 2020. We have one large annual fundraiser that gives us several grand for operating budget, as well as several thousand to split into scout accounts. So far, only 2 will be leaving, but those two youth weren't involved more than a couple meetings this year, they never camped or attended Memorial Day parade, etc. There are couple parents that grumbled about it, but our Council has created an application to appeal for financial hardship exemption to seek waiver of the $30 Activity Fee to assist families, so