Eagle1993

AOL, Scout & Tenderfoot all have the same knot requirements. To me, it makes more sense to have a new scout who earned AOL work immediately on the Tenderfoot version than simply repeating it for Scout rank and then again for Tenderfoot. They added Scout rank (requirements) in 2016. I think the rank makes sense for someone brand new to scouting. Awarding an AOL scout with Scout rank is an indication they likely already know the very basics of being a scout. Similar to the Military having Eagle scouts start at E-3.

I wouldn't mind requiring SMC at the transition, but don't make them jump through the same hoops. There is not a single scout requirement that expands beyond what they did as AOL (or could have done). Have them start immediately focusing on Tenderfoot vs redoing AOL. They can see the benefits of having another scout sign off on requirements while working on Tenderfoot. I personally see Scout as a momentum killer and a relatively boring introduction into Scouts BSA for someone who earned AOL.

It will be interesting to see what this change really means. I like your idea ... if 4th graders get a taste of Scouts BSA by having to earn scouting adventure and then AOL is really heavily focused on transitioning into Scouts BSA. If Webelos is just 1 more year of pure Cub Scouts and AOL is the 1st time anyone starts really preparing for transition to Scouts BSA ... the truth is that AOL transfer in Feb - May ... so that would mean only 6-8 months. Now, to be fair, I see many packs not spend much time on transition to Scouts BSA until late in 5th grade. So, on the ground, pushing AOL

So ... I'm not aware of all of the changes. Some that may be coming ... Every rank will switch to 6 required adventures and 2 electives. It is not clear if this is the correct #s; however, what was made clear is every rank will have the identical # of required & elective adventures. Bobcat is no longer a rank, it will be an adventure that must be earned for every rank Webelos & AOL will be completely separate. Webelos will go to 1 year. AOL will be full focused on bridging to scouts BSA and much more focus will be on linking AOL scouts to a Scouts BSA Troop.

I went back and hid the comment along with the back and forth as it distracted from the original discussion.

BSA financials released for end of Dec. Summary below of BSA's net unrestricted liquidity (combination of cash on hand + unrestricted investments). Dec/January is typically the peak and then liquidity drop as insurance premium is paid and income drops. Bankruptcy costs have been dropping but I expect that to pick up ... plus they will need to make some payments to the trust at some point. We will probably see 30 - 40M drop in their liquidity by August .. so down to $50-60M. Prior to bankruptcy they were at $240M.

The USDOJ brings the people's elbow (The Rock reference) to the Roman Catholic Church Ad Hoc, Coalition and Pfau request for payment. Easy read. Basically tells them they should pound sand. I have a hard time seeing the judge disagree with the DOJ. I expect a hard rebuke... Perhaps that is hope talking. https://casedocs.omniagentsolutions.com/cmsvol2/pub_47373/95089527-7d85-4e92-b5ac-57f1c41f9158_10944.pdf

In Duluth.... Brrrrrrrrr Great story!

Moose Int recommending termination of existing charter agreements not sure on timing. See attached. OC-January-26.pdf

It has been a while, but it feels like we are getting close to the end (or the beginning of the actual trust). It doesn't seem like District Court is pushing to overturn. In Purdue, the confirmation was September 17th and it took the District Court less than a month to reject the deal. I also do not see the US DOJ pushing hard against the BSA deal (compared to what they did in Purdue). I'm starting to get the impression that approval by District Court is highly likely. If they had major concerns, one would think they would push to hear the appeal more quickly. That doesn't guarantee

I have heard recently that there are changes coming to the Cub Scout program. I'll hold back the specifics for now, but I am curious as to what changes you would like to see. It sounds like changes are in the advanced planning stage and are pending the closure of bankruptcy (hopefully March). If you were running Cub Scouts, what would you do?

It seems odd they only allow this for a religious purpose. It seems like that could be targeted by lawsuits ... like the state is establishing a religion by pushing non-religious institutions with taxes they don't apply to religious ones. Plus, it isn't just religious institutions ... it is that + museums. In my state, yes, churches don't pay but most other non profit organizations don't have to pay property tax. They don't just separate out museums + churches. The fix is even more odd. Why not other youth organizations? Why not other non-profit organizations? I'm glad I don't

I don't understand. Why would religious institutions be exempt from paying personal property tax but other non profits are not exempt? Even the fix doesn't sound great. What about 4H or First Robotics teams?

I think this is why it is nearly impossible to predict where BSA will be in 10 years. Either Scouts UK or Scouts Canada could be our future. Scouts Canada - added girls in 1993 ... down to 21,788 total youth members. So, 0.4% of youth in Canada are registered members of Scouts Canada. The #1 search item I saw about Scouts Canada was "Does Scouts Canada still exist". UK Scout Association - added girls in 1991 ... 412,986 total youth members with 90,000 on a waiting list. So, 4.8% of youth in UK are registered members of UK Scout Association ... or 12 times the per capita youth that

The council defense is probably flimsy. I would think they would settle.

BSA has clear rules that the unit violated. I'm not sure what else the BSA could have done to prevent this. Now, the council who owns the camp. If any council employee was aware of this situation or gave approval, then the council should be held liable. If it simply happened at their camp, without their approval nor seen by any employee ... then I struggle to see how they are liable. If all the council did was having unapproved targets, I struggle to see how that would be blamed for this incident. Unit leaders & CO ... could be held liable. How was the barrel not pointed d

Lawsuit filed against the council & BSA. Suit against Boy Scouts: ‘Pattern of failures’ led to fatal shooting of 11-year-old at Hawaii campsite (hawaiinewsnow.com) one of the Scout parents brought about a dozen firearms, including an AK-47 semi-automatic assault rifle, an AR-15, an M-4 carbine, four shotguns, and four Glock pistols. As children were shooting high-powered rifles, the lawsuit says, no safety official was overseeing the range or tables filled with guns and ammo. Carvalho was sitting in a chair behind the firing line, when another boy picked up the AK-

I'll start by saying I hope I am wrong ... GSUSA, seeing BSA as a threat, continues their focus on girl only scouting in successful fundraising campaigns. Those funds help them maintain/increase staff, increase offerings and help with advertising, keeping them the organization of choice for most girls. Parents looking at organizations see GSUSA with more camp offerings, more STEM opportunities and in general an organization that doesn't look in financial ruin. BSA leadership continue to struggle to communicate their vision & purpose. Prior supporters who were conservative do n

In my area, to get into the selective private middle schools you just need to ensure your $25,000 check doesn't bounce.

I think you make a good point and I agree, most councils struggle with their current responsibilities. I started the 1st girls den in my council and my daughter was the 1st registered girl in Cub Scouts in my council. It started with ~10 girls or so across several different grades. The biggest group came from a GSUSA troop that folded. Over time, GSUSA did a better job in my school with retaining Troops and girls decided to stay in GSUSA. My daughter ended up dropping out of Cub Scouts in 4th grade when there were no remaining girls in the Pack. She is happy hanging out with the bo

Correct, most of the issues are above-unit levels. At the unit level, the program works well for girls. While GSUSA has a great K-5th grade program, it drops off significantly after which is where Scouts BSA shines. What would I change going forward? Just a few ideas .... 1) Councils need to be much more active building up Girl Troops. Perhaps even finding district/council level volunteers to help create the Troops. I have heard of several stories where girls in Cub Scouts had no Troop to transition into. 2) Support new Troops to help build up equipment. One girl Troop I

What is BSA's goal? I think the only way you can say anything is a success is to set a goal and measure against that value. UK scouts has 443,777 6-18 year olds in scouts and a goal of 547,000 by 2025. They have detailed breakdowns of this goal. What is our goal and a council by council look at progress to that goal? UK scouting has about 4% of youth registered (excluding waiting list of 90,000 youth).. BSA is about 1.5%. UK is at 87% of their 2019 numbers... BSA is at 50%. I struggle to see much to cheer about in terms of BSA youth participation. In terms of girls and the

For those closer to the case, any details regarding the hearing Feb 21? Looks like the Coalition is asking for $21M and Pfau/Zalkin is looking for $3.5M. Is this coming directly from BSA (who has around $80M of cash) or out of the settlement? Will coalition law firms reduce their 33 - 40% commission or are they simply double dipping?

This is not true. OA is struggling for many other reasons. One is council mergers. OA meetings prior to our council merger were a 30 min round trip away. Now they are 1 hr and 45 mins. OA ordeal used to occur at our council summer camp. Our council no longer has a summer camp. Service was at a local camp (35 mins away). That camp has been sold and service is now not linked to camps. Yes, AIA is one aspect that should be discussed, but changing that won't mean OA has solved it's long term role or relevence. In fact, removing AIA without lodge involvement could kill OA.

One issue for some Troops, including ours. OA election in March and our council doesn't have a summer camp. So, for Ordeal you have two opportunities. One a few weeks after selecting and one in the fall. If you have a fall sport (many youth) you really only have a few weeks notice and may have a conflict. Some Troops don't let scouts know until summer camp, so for those, they really have only one opportunity for Ordeal. This will give scouts a bit more time to attend Ordeal the next spring. Will it make a big difference, who knows.