HashTagScouts

According to the school spokesperson, it was a pre-arranged gathering point. The youth broke into multiple groups to site-see for the day, and that was the location they were to meet at before boarding buses for their return trip home.

Itemizing lunch menus is not at all significant or necessary. Use a rough estimated value ( large pizza is $12 and has 8 slices- if I expect each person to have 3 slices, how many pizzas will I need) and get an estimated total figure. The scout can later input the actual hard figure spent, and include a photocopy of the receipt. That is hardly worth the SM spending more than 60 seconds explaining to a scout during the draft phase. I wish I had that kind of time to spend on any aspect of scouting with a single youth in a week- yeesh.

Your PLC should set a standard for what it means to be considered "active in your troop" - and clear expectation is that is the measuring stick that will be used for rank advancement criteria that stipulate this as a requirement. For example, STAR requirement #1: "Be active in your troop for at least four months as a First Class Scout." For example, 50% (60%, 75%, etc.) of all troop activities must be attended during that 4 months. Discuss with the PLC, and especially the SPL, are there times where it may be acceptable to have less than that percentage? If a child is from a split home,

If this person refused to sign the items you indicate, the application cannot be sent on to council to process. Thus, as your COR states, he is not an approved leader. For the sake of the youth, he should not be allowed to preside over the meeting and present himself as the CM. The COR has all right to block him from even attending, if they so chose to. As far as your DE, it isn't up to them- at all. This is a CO issue. The DE could be there to be only a voice lent to the COR as the COR is asking this person to leave or explaining why they are not approving them to be their unit leader,

If the weekend was just families, who mostly (or even all) happen to be cub scouts but it wasn't actually a pack or den planned weekend, then absolutely no. it would be like counting your sons nights if it was just your own family that went camping at the state park. If these kids were there and did anything to show leadership- even if it was helping the cubs to start their campfire, teach a knot, etc. I would approve myself. As others point out, you have the final say on whether the scout has meet the 20 night requirement or not, no one from your lodge is going to ask for records, so trust

I agree- I have never met an Eagle candidate that didn't have to make adjustments to their plan once they started the project. Having them take a stab at it beforehand can be the best tool to mentor them on what may become an issue, if done as is, when they begin work.

I appreciate your opinions. For me, as long as we are absolutely committed and preaching respect, I have no issues with the ceremonies. I take more objection of using names like "redskins", which is a total racial slur, or "fighting Sioux" (both the implication that NA are merely savage warriors, and that the term Sioux was appropriated from another NA group and used to refer to the Dakota/Lakota/Nakota peoples as snakes). I've been fortunate to make connections to a number of NA peoples in my lifetime, many are like me that they have exceptionally mixed ancestry, but also quite a few that

I don't think your SM is trying to be an obstacle. The explanation I can offer that is probably what he is getting at, but possibly not explaining explicitly- there is a lot of issue that can arise when two scouts are working on projects concurrently at the same location. If scout #1 is say building a handicap ramp as an element of his project, and scout #2 is pouring footings and building the deck/landing that the ramp from scout #1 is going to connect to, the ultimate question is who is really providing the planning and/or leadership? In other words, there is the perception that scout #2 i

Having NA ancestry, I can understand the sensitivity (and I am thankful for it really) on the history of treatment towards Native Americans. Bringing awareness of it should be a part of any presentation of anything NA. I very much appreciate @qwazse stating "There is a difference between making money off someone's history and legends, and inspiring greatness through honoring someone's history and legend." and I am very enthusiastic towards anyone, OA or not, to take the time to seek out local NA groups and learn about their culture and history. For many NA groups today, they are challenged

These may not be exactly what you were using, but you perhaps could modify them to your needs: http://trax.boy-scouts.net/scoutttrax.htm

Good assessments. How many times have we seen scouts (or even adults for that matter) wearing a sash at a non-OA event, because they think that the sash is the penultimate of what the OA is? There is, and should be, so much more to the OA than just the workday aspect. Convincing youth of that is a hard thing- and, if the other aspects such as fellowship weekends are not full of fun, or even fun-based learning events, then there is the challenge of getting the youth to chose to go to that over a troop event (let alone anything non-scouting related they could do). Our lodge, IMO, suffering a

Use his words against him as part of your "have a nice day" dismissal: Mr. Jones, we understand you have concerns and that you feel strongly about those concerns. While we do absolutely take safety seriously, the very intent of the scouting program is to empower scouts to run THEIR program, not ours. If you believe that we are not the right fit for your child, we can respect that and feel it is best that we part amicably, and sincerely hope that you are able to find another unit that aligns to your vision of what is "the right troop".

Unfortunately, this post above all else is the issue for me. We cannot preach it is OK to only follow 7 points, 8 points, or 11 points of the Scout Law. It is all. Do we give an automatic boot? I would say no, but that does not mean advancement to the highest levels are possible for that youth. From Life, requirement #2: As a Star Scout, demonstrate Scout spirit by living the Scout Oath and Scout Law. Tell how you have done your duty to God and how you have lived the Scout Oath and Scout Law in your everyday life.

Option B, but don’t wait, do it now. Offer them that the troop will transfer 100% of their fees to a new troop now so they can fully charter for 2019.

You folks all hit some good marks, and my observations from the past 5 years being back in Scouting with my son generally fall in line with your perceptions. I also began to really talk to “older scouts” (as well those who were 18+ that still came around the Lodge events. Personally, yes National got very skittish on “the secret society” concerns, and the directive today on Ordeal is basically if the candidate shows up, and stays through the induction ceremony, that is all that is required. You can’t make them do the challenges, and anyone who wants to know all what goes on during the weekend

The message in our council was basically identical to Circle 10, so yes, it is a boilerplate.

A photo of the scouts (with holiday season, perhaps you have that opportunity that the pack or troop is gathered and can herd them together for a quick shot) and perhaps a card signed by as many of the youth as you can is a wonderful gift. Most leaders that I have seen step away cherish the memories they made, and probably have more gear than they care to admit they built up in their years in the program

The boat sounds like something that indeed could be decisive, especially if someone is using it for personal use far more than the scouts are using it. Biggest issue here from what you have told us though, is as @SSScout and @scoutldr point out- if the church is defunct, then this former pastor is NOT the COR as there is no Charter Organization here! That means there is not really a troop, and you absolutely have right to question the spending of any money, as all that money is questionable as to who "owns" it. Troops do not actually own $, they can fundraise, but those funds all technically

Disrupting the system in place now would obviously be a very difficult challenge, and one that would probably leave many units in a scramble. The reality that a COR really has no training requirements about what the program even is leaves an obvious void on that person taking control over quality and what is actually going on in the unit. Current unit for my son is chartered by American Legion- the "COR" changes every year, as it is the newly elected Post Commander that holds that title. Fortunately, the current Post Commander has served in that role in the past, his son was a Scout (and he

You can search open DE job postings on nationals website. You won’t see a massive amount of difference in salary from one rural area to another, or one urban area to another. Whenever I hear a unit leader make a snide remark at how well paid staff is, my stomach churns. It takes a special person to leave a corporate job just to go into being a professional Scouter if they are looking at the financials. Considering our current CSE was in charge of HR for the BSA as his prior job, and there was not drastic change to comp for the DE postition on his promotion, I don’t see it happening now.

Many used to actually enforce a minimal measure of what it meant to "serve actively in your troop" in terms of leadership PORs, which by general rule of thumb from my time as a youth was 75% of all troop activities, and campouts were part of that. I see ever increasing numbers of units that have no minimum criteria, and not so coincidentally have issues of getting older scouts to actually go on campouts.

I'm sure right now National Supply has a boatload of debt with all the skorts they've ordered readying for the cub launch and all the new Scouts BSA branded merch they ordered for 2019.

Local camps are council property, and many of them are actually private or public trusts, and not actually owned by BSA or councils. Both Philmont and Summit are held in trusts as well, so not like BSA could sell that (expenses of operating thee, whole different story). I have no idea about Seabase or Northern Tier, but assume those are held in trusts or at least there are restrictions that they can't be sold. The optics of the whole thing are more the damaging part. A couple other articles: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/boy-scouts-weighs-bankruptcy https://www.scsu

@qwazse beat me to it- a great number of the Eagle scouts I have come to know from recent years had completed Camping/Cooking MB requirements by the time they were Star.

The lack of actual requirement for anything related to outdoors beyond First Class as well. Youth of today are growing up in such a different environment, on many levels, and the numbers who are into outdoor activities like hiking, camping, biking, even fishing are smaller in many parts of the US. Speaking here in MA, the Boy Scout membership numbers are so horribly decreased even in the last 15 years, that council mergers were a necessity to decrease expenses. And we are not done, there will be even more consolidation to come. The safety bubble has also contributed to a lack of actual in