Eagle1993

@@Eagledad. I think this may vary by school. Our GSUSA program has huge recruiting classes and they begin at K5. So, parents are looking for the Boy counterpart at K5. I've turned parents away at K5 in the past and they rarely came back after follow ups for Tigers or Wolf. Our average Tiger den would start at 6 kids and build to 8 by Webelos 2. Our 1st year of Lions had 19 kids join. GSUSA had over 30 daisies in the same school. Parents are clearly looking for clubs and activities when they register their kids for school the first time and I don't see us getting that mindshare back after th

Most of the youth here get more heavily involved in sports as they age... not less. I don't see the "my son won't be a pro decision" until high school. By that age 13-14. I don't see many scouts starting at that age.

Oops..."bs" = " instead of" Not sure how I fat fingered that one.

You have to be careful waiting too long to get kids in the program. Select baseball and soccer begin at 7 in my area. Parents start kids in violin lessons at 5. If you have no contact with the youth until 4th or 5th grade their time will already be allocated to other camps, sports and activities. BSA faces much more competition for youth time than 20-30 years ago. I actually think getting them started at K5 makes sense, but you have to ramp slowly, lower the overhead of the program and make it fun for the scouts, parents and volunteers. Not sure this is kosher, but our committee meetings are

"I have found my space — and that is with Boy Scout Troop 414 in New York City. Contrary to what some might think, the Boy Scouts is not specifically tailored to boys. Its mission is to “prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Scout Law.†With the Cub Scouts, I went on camping trips, built my own wooden car for the pinewood derbies, learned about what firefighters do and even earned the highest award, the Arrow of Light. With the Boy Scouts, I have been able to learn and teach first aid, earn me

@Hawkin. If the BSA felt that keeping girls out of scouting is core to their mission then any units that violate this core mission should face consequences. Otherwise, I could actually see an issues in the court. Just look at the last Supreme Court decision. The scouts only one on a 5-4 decision. They were allowed to violate the Nj state constitution as the BSA has a right to free association. However, if the BSA doesn't consistently enforce their rules and allows a girl to participate to the point of obtaining a rank I wonder if the court would question if the boys only is really required as

Never mind... just saw KenD500's post...money travels easier. Thanks.

@Col. Flag ... Not sure if this would be useful ... sometimes there could be too much "help". Our first Pack meeting this year we were going to have our scouts bring in some of their used toys to donate to Goodwill. I was thinking we could also ask families to bring in slightly used camping equipment (tents, stoves, lanterns, etc.) that could be donated to Troops in Texas who may have lost equipment. We have done this locally in the past for new or disadvantaged Troops. Let me know if this would help or just be ad added hassle. Good luck and keep safe!

@@Eagle94-A1 ... small sample size but my district meeting was nearly 100% in favor of coed. Most of the complaints were regarding the proposal for girl only dens and Troops. Many were concerned that it would be inefficient and would not work and we should just go coed. Only 1 spoke against ... long term scouter but not leading any troop or pack. I asked my SE about this and he indicated it depends on the area within the council you are and who actually attends the meetings. I'm sure some will quit scouting and others will get more involved. My gut tells me this will be a net positive to me

@@NJCubScouter. If they wanted to avoid any legal issue, I would think the BSA would revoke the charter of Troop 414 who is working with her on her quest for Eagle. I'm not a lawyer but I'm curious if she could argue that gender isn't a critical aspect of the program (since they allowed a Troop to work with her) and since she is going to be denied Eagle Scout (which clearly has value with scholarships, etc.) even after completing the work.. she would have standing. I wouldn't be shocked if this goes the legal route and NY State Supreme Court rules in her favor. I think US Supreme Court wouldn'

@@Gwaihir ... my understanding is that Boy Scout Troops would still be all boys and they are looking at alt programs or Troops that would be all girl. I would expect there would still be single gender options for boys in the BSA even if there are more options for girls.

If Venturing is floundering I wonder if BSA makes Venturing girl only 11 - 18 and then add on some sort of young adult coed group for 18 - 26. Venturing would then be open to earn ranks similar to Boy Scouts. Cub Scouts would essentially be coed but you would separate at crossover.

@@HelpfulTracks. I think Sydney's goal is clear... change BSA policy to allow girls to join and obtain the Eagle Scout rank. (I agree that Eagle Scout changed from a rank earned during the course of scouting to an end goal of its own... and I agree that is not a great change). Since that is her goal, joining Venturers or GSUSA won't help. She did join the Canadian Scouts during the summers and earned their highest rank... but her focus is Eagle in BSA. I expect she will continue to "earn" merit badges and take on appropriate leadership posts until she completes the requirements for Eagle Sco

@@Hawkwin ... I think it depends on any changes made to BSA to attract female members. My troop 25 years ago had a few girls go with us to BWCA and they were like one of the guys. We acted pretty much the same and we canoed over 100 miles with them. my family just hit 4 generations of eagles and opinions vary by generation. My father is against it... reasoning isn't clear but best summed up that while a couple of girls may be ok opening it up would add many others that would destroy the program... and that it's nice to have a boys only club. I'm supportive if BSa doesn't change the program

Adding link to article by Sydney Ireland https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/opinions/im-a-girl-ive-been-part-of-the-boy-scouts-for-years-its-time-i-become-a-member/2017/08/25/a6d61ea8-89c1-11e7-961d-2f373b3977ee_story.html

Here is a wonderful opinion piece from a daughter of a Boy Scout camp ranger. https://www.buzzfeed.com/ldboyscout/its-2017-let-girls-be-boy-scouts?utm_term=.ciJbzA1xL#.edg43GvpM

At our Cub Scout level recruitment numbers had dropped but that is a good point regarding retention. In the end, it is critical that the Pack has their program with the perfect combination of kids having fun and parents seeing the value. Some of our dens do better than others. But I still believe there is an image problem with the BSA... we get the funnel from scouting families but that isn't enough. We don't push FOS hard ... more of a soft sell. The only fee requirement we have is the $100 we charge for annual den, pack and membership dues. Our pack is in an affluent area where parent

Ian.. good points. I remember as a kid when Steven Spielberg was helping at Jambo for cinematography merit badge ... but outside of that the most celebrity mention was the occasional so and so was a former scout. I think BSA does have a marketing problem. Excluding gays hurt for a while (in terms of press coverage) and Billy builds a retaining wall for an Eagle project, while honorable, doesn't bring in the recruits. But the issue isn't just at a national level. Our pack had dropped from 70-80 scouts to 20s over a few years. We created a Facebook put pictures of our outings and advert

NJ.. the sneaky part they are referring to is an accusation the BSA is badmouthing GSUSA. I have never seen that (outside of GSUSA parents and scouts fed up with their program). As you mention the actual sneaky part is the BSA tactic that is preventing current members of BSA from knowing what is being discussed. Merger or any partnership with GSUSA should be off the table. Campfire scouts may be a better option. I wonder what the female venture scouts think of that resist/persist hash tag. To me it is incredibly condescending. I am confident girls and young women have the strength of ch

Chicago Tribune editorial board.... http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-scouts-20170824-story.html "An obvious solution to consider is a merger, which would assure strong membership and reflect social change. But if that’s a non-starter, here’s an interesting alternative: Since we’re waaaaay past the era when Boy Scouts went canoeing while Girl Scouts learned to sew, open both organizations to all youths. Both do the same types of activities, from rocketry to rock climbing. Both are good at selling stuff. So let them sell the benefits of membership along

The previous changes were forced through due to massive outside pressure. I can tell you that my corporate (DOW listed company) LGBTQ affinity group would have ensured no facility or funding would have been given to BSA. If the policy didn't change, I expect that even listing Eagle Scout on your resume could have be a blemish if not a sign to screen it out. BSA would have been viewed in the same light as a race based organization. My point above is to not debate our previous policy changes but to emphasize that adding girls is not being driven by outside groups (for the most part). I h

While officially quiet their volunteers and employees were vocal pointing out their admission differences and their supporters in the media used this to trash the BSA. They still do it today. I was at my daughters new scout meeting and the question of fees came up. The Girl Scout leader said she didn't know yet as it is a new troop. We threw out some ranges and in response to one of the higher ranges the Girl Scout executive laughed and said they weren't the Boy Scouts. In our discussions with parents for our pack we have always been positive when talking about GSUSA. GSUSA must tread

NY Times reporting.... "The letter, which BuzzFeed reported about on Tuesday, came after a tense phone conversation last week between executives of both organizations, including Mr. Stephenson and Ms. Hopinkah Hannan, about possible substantial changes at the Boy Scouts. " "...Ms. Hopinkah Hannan had a different interpretation of the phone call, according to her letter. She believed the Boy Scouts had already decided to encroach on the Girl Scouts’ territory." "..,(BSA spokeswoman) She said that Boy Scouts executives had reached out to the Girl Scouts since the letter was sent and h

@@The Latin Scot ... thanks for the insights, it is better to hear information from someone within the faith. I'm sure it is somewhat like having those outside the BSA srite about its culture. I guess time will tell and I'm sure LDS leaders are keeping BSA informed. Thanks....

For GSUSA to come out and I don't know if you actually read both articles but the Washington Post had separate quotes from both organizations than the buzzfeed article. In addition the Washington Post article covered both organizations membership drop and went into more depth. The GSUSA letter was a laugh! GSUSA through their loyal reporters/advocates have attacked the BSA at every opportunity... just look at their preening after the BSA Trump speech. Their letter and behavior over BSA considering girls is incredibly disappointing. If you believe in your organization, promote it