HashTagScouts

The TC completes the BOR for rank, and records the date of the award as of that BOR. TC also records MBs the same way. And it is the unit committee chair that has the final signature to the Eagle application. I have seen many units, including ours, that have the CC (or a designee from the TC) do the opening remarks to all CoHs, and then turn over to the SM (who in turn should turn over to the SPL, or another Scout that the SPL as appointed as master of ceremony for the evening).

Your description of the CoH does sound rather dreary- making an announcement that you're only going to be available for 30 minutes to the kids is a red flag to me. But, I also don't know all the facts about the CoH. Did this occur on normal meeting night in lieu of the regular meeting (that is the norm, and not to have it as a separate night- for an Eagle CoH maybe, but not for a troop CoH). All advancement is technically awarded by the Troop Committee on behalf of the troop. As the experience of that night wasn't stellar, I personally think you and this other ASM should have asked the TC to discuss it with the SM and look to have them find a better solution to conducting CoHs in the future. You want the CoH to be a celebration of what has been accomplished by the Scouts, but you also want it to be an inspiration to encourage them to keep accomplishing. We've had CoHs go 45 minutes, we've had them go 90 minutes. It all depends how many awards there were to recognize. If it is less than the 90 minutes, we don't plug in any other programming to the night, the night is just over. There is no official "you must do this in order for it to be a CoH", but a google search will give you many, many ideas that you can turn into your troops' own.

Not to rain on this, but yes, Baden-Powell made the statement that the uniform was not mandatory, but the BSA, for quite a few years, has not made that statement. Current literature talks about the uniform as an essential component (for example: https://www.scouting.org/programs/scouts-bsa/faqs/). Current position training also states that no one of the 8 methods is more important than the others. Do I think we need to be so uptight as to break out a tape measure and start giving de-merits for a patch out of alignment, or that the shorts/pants the scout is wearing are the wrong shade of green? No, absolutely not. Personally, I'm much more encouraging to a parent to buy a $15 pair of green cargo shorts from Walmart than a $30 pair from National Supply- and as a parent I'm not going to fret on my kid wearing those $15 shorts on his camping trips, hikes, etc.

Our council does need look for blue cards at Eagle BOR, we don't even look for the MB cards. What is on the Eagle application is what is important and all we truly look at, other than the scouts sash to ask them some questions about their favorite MB, etc.

Local laws might affect what you can do or how to do it. The only offer I can give you is you might want to contact the Board for this org, as they might have some advice: http://www.memorialscoutcamp.org

Many at the virtual campfire are rallying behind you. It is going to be tough, but the reward is that those left in your charge will get the program delivered correctly. Those that leave won't or can't see the dysfunction, and trying to but heads with them isn't productive or setting the right example for your Scouts.

Always a problem when you have your program tied to an outside third party... The videos are still there, not nicely grouped under a Scouting specific page. Here's a link for the internet safety pledge. http://archive.ikeepsafe.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Internet-Safety-Pledge-II.pdf

It is part of the induction guidelines for Brotherhood to write a letter declaring one's desire to move to the Brotherhood level. We conduct "interviews" with the Brotherhood candidates during the weekend to fill that need.

How a Lodge handles Brotherhood induction differs. For ours, attendance on Friday night is generally required, but if you have been active member since your Ordeal, they may be able to work with you ahead of time. As Qwazse said, your Chief/Adviser is typically who you should contact to look for special handling. I wish you luck on securing your bars! WWW

You ever try running on a beach? Two feet of sand in a gaga pit would be a hazard on ankle sprains in my book.

Only very few patches should go above the BSA name. Directly above it should be any translator strips, above that name plates, and then above that Jambo patches are about the only thing that should be worn. Some units, including ours, that are chartered by the American Legion will wear a Legion patch. I have seen some councils adopt the practice of putting the NYLT patch there, though that is technically not correct. As with anything, I wouldn't worry extensively about "the uniform police"- I tend to say looking neat and tidy is the most important thing when it comes to uniform.

Come to Venturing. They've redesigned the switchbacks for the 3rd time in 5 years, and they are still awful. If they would design them the same as the fabric/style as the green ones, just in gray, we'd be golden. I have just got to the point that I don't want our Venturers wearing the "official", I tell them to go to any store and find gray shorts and/or cargo pants.

For the purposes of the Eagle application, and being that I am not sure if Scoutbook will allow 'ASM', then you can call them JASM. Like Qwazse, I would encourage having the youth in positions like QM, SPL, Scribe, etc.

While most do, it is not required for a Lodge to have Chapters. Most that have them set it up as each District has a Chaper, but I have seen some that have a Chapter for every two Districts, or divide it entirely unique from the District division.

I would suggest each troop have an ASPL for TG. If you have half of your TG as first-timers, the ASPL may need to step in and devote additional time with those patrols/mentoring the TG. It would be spreading them very thin if they had to oversee two troops. My $.02.

We generally work with the family to expect to have CoH no less than 6 weeks from the EBOR. That also gives time to get responses to congratulatory letters from dignitaries.

Our legacy council used to the say the same, but in reality only the completed Eagle application went to National- the project binder stayed at the council office until the credentials came back from National, and then the binder with credentials went to the unit to present to the Eagle. Your council is likely doing similar, but i would reach out to your district advancement coordinator to confirm.

I have never experienced any Pack that didn't award AOL as a group, nor keep doing pack activities after the AOL was complete (maybe for a couple of weeks, until the Blue & Gold). My bigger point is we are hitting towards mid-August, and those kids have now missed out on a summer camp opportunity, and likely a whole lot more that a troop could offer.

I was thinking the same thing- why has the troop not asked any questions??? Technically, once those kids earned AOL, they were no longer Cub scouts, and if they haven't completed an app for a troop, then they are not even actually "in scouts" at the moment. Yikes! @Jburts911 "Crossover" or "bridging" is a celebration of recognition, it is not a formality of when a kid moves from one program to another. If the kids in your Den have met the age requirements to be Tigers, then they are Tigers and you should go ahead and administer the Tiger program as you are able.

GSUSA is a member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, they are not a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement.

What give our Eagle candidates envelopes that have the SM's address as the return and addressee for the Scout to give to the folks they are getting the recommendation from.

Just keep in mind there are more of us out here who did not earn Eagle than there are that did. Eagle is a great accomplishment, but it should not be used to define who is "a good Scout". Enjoy what time you do have for Scouting- make memories for a lifetime, participate when you can, and just focus on the next step. If you only have so much time to give to your Scouting per week/month/year, put a little planning- if the troop is camping in August, but you cannot make it, how about September? And if you can make that trip, grab a friend who is already 1st Class and ask them to work on compass orientation with you on that trip. Talk to your SM, find out who is the First Aid instructor, and make a plan to work with them to get First Aid MB and the 2nd class/1st class requirements done at the same time. As a MB counselor, I do make the effort to work with a Scout outside of normal troop meeting time when I can, but it is up to the Scout to ask me. A week of summer camp can be a huge time to get a lot done as well. While that wasn't part of your plan for this summer, what about next year? And, keep in mind, it may not be the best fit to attend the same week/camp as your troop, but you can go as provisional. That may give you some anxiety to not be there with your pals, but you'll be a year older next summer, and given time to plan for it, you might not find it a big deal. My son, who is an Eagle, forgets things all the time. I'd about fall over backwards if he took the 3,000 suggestions I have given him to keep a journal, so recognize you have made steps to keep yourself organized, and you should not at all be ashamed of how you are. You are you- this is your journey, not someone elses, so don't put a measuring stick on you and anyone else. Have fun most importantly- you are only going to be this age once.

We used to require the Scout to have a face-to-face meeting with the District Advancement Chair to discuss their project before he signed on it, but now it is handled by email. My son was under the previous requirement, and I liked it. It's a valuable life skill we should want youth to develop, how to present and I feel it is good prep for their EBOR. We do still require the letters be written by the references, and I would not want that to go away- both for the same reason as above about having to talk to others, but also because it gives the Board members an idea about the Scout and who they are, aside from just what is on their Eagle application.

Hang in there. My son is working in SE MA and dealing with. He's assigned to a cabin with no electricity, so he and most of his mates are sleeping in their hammocks under the stars.

If I were your son, I'd reply "Hopefully when you all send care packages for Johnny, there's enough for him to share with me, as I'll be there as well" .