Eagle1993

100% agree... one technique my teams use to get to root cause(s) of issues is the BOB and WOW method. BOB simply stands for Best if Best and WOW is Worst of Worst. Essential you study the difference between units that perform the best (high retention, consistent membership, active, etc.) and worst (high attrition, less active, etc.) and really deep dive to understand why. Ideally, these units would be in the same district so regional differences can be eliminated. Then build this up District by District to see what changes need to occur with training, professional’s focus, etc. The

The interviewer’s questions were odd.... it seemed like he had a clear opinion of scouting but no real experience in it (or even research of it). SFE was actually defending BSA for much of the interview. Are there really no experienced scouters in media that can actually write an in depth article or hold an coherent interview? I only see poorly researched hatchet jobs or shallow and short quick reads.

So, our final count hit 73, with 17 girls. We had two girls drop, one due to sports and Irish dancing and the other as the girl who dropped was her only friend in the pack. We had 22 boys drop.... one moved and most due to sports. Looking at years past, the only major attrition increase was our Lion to Tiger Scouts. I do think we lost a lot of scouts due to a nice but poor den leader.... that was a lesson to watch new den leaders more closely in the future. Recruiting was a bit tougher this year as the school prevented us from emailing all parents. We have done that in the

It’s been a while with number updates, but National is stating over 73,000 girls are in Cub Scouts.

Just curious... what do you use your membership card for? I have a note on my phone with my ID number, so have never used my card. Just curious when you use your card. For packs this makes sense as I think most kids/parents throw them out or lose them. The certificates sit in a plastic file cabinet in my office. I guess it is nice for historical purposes.... but again if this saves paper and cost (as most units probably won’t even print them out) it seems like it could be a good idea.

If “It’s a Wonderful Life” is a Christmas movie, then Die Hard and Gremlins are as well. Case closed! Merry Christmas!

BSA just settled 19 suits in Idaho (LDS Troops). Not sure if the Church settled as well. https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/northwest/idaho/article223365950.html I found this comment to be interesting.... “From what we understand the only way these [four new] settlements will work is if the Boy Scouts do not file for bankruptcy for at least 90 days,” Dumas said. “If they file within 90 days, these settlements may be at risk. We really do not know what will happen.”

I can’t find any official statement, but based upon FB chatter from adults who had daughters in BSA photo shoots for the new handbook - the new female cut uniforms will be available in Scoutshops by Feb 1 - there is virtually no change from the current uniform other than fit It sounds like they dumped the idea of a major uniform change that was floated earlier. Again, not official but they did share some pictures that seemed to validate their story.

Catholic Church, USA swimming, USA Gymnastics, US Soccer all have had issues. Any group that deals with youth better have strong YPT training and background checks or face lawsuits. This is not BSA unique. For example, see this law that went into effect this year https://unitedsoccercoaches.org/web/web/News/Articles/March_2018/New_Law_Brings_New_Responsibility_to_Youth_Coaches.aspx

Yes, I have seen COs (only when churches) named as many times the individual, church, council and national are all being sued at once. https://www.ajc.com/news/breaking-news/another-georgia-boy-scout-leader-sued-for-sex-abuse/zHH6ygpw9CAlhnygOVpCXP/ https://nypost.com/2018/07/24/4-men-sue-boy-scouts-of-america-over-alleged-sexual-abuse/ I’m sure more are coming https://www.classaction.com/child-sexual-abuse/boy-scout-lawsuit/

Stepping aside from the debate regarding the point of religion, I don’t see much upside for the BSA if the drop the faith requirement. It is already extremely weak tea. There is not a large new member group out there that would join (such as when they added girls) and I haven’t heard widespread loss of corporate sponsors or COs like I saw with excluding gays. All that would happen is further controversy and loss of experienced members. In my pack, which is essential tied to a public school, we tell parents to handle the duty to God requirements and let us know when they are complete

I’m sure they are thinking FOS impact... and I don’t blame them. People will not want to give to FOS if they think the money will simply to to Nationals and be part of a bankruptcy fund. I was already asked by multiple parents if they should stop buying popcorn or contribute to FOS until after the bankruptcy.... Councils need to get their message out quickly or they will see major losses in donations.

I hope Philmont would be safe given your comments. But what about Sea Base? I was really hoping to go there with my son in a few years.... but I could imagine that is prime real estate. Hope that they can hold onto it.

It’s not the end of a National office if BSA does proceed with bankruptcy. I think BSA could protect anything that generates net income and is critical to their continued existence... which I think would include the HA camps they own; however, I’m not 100% sure on that and I’m concerned that a judge would decide if they have to sell Philmont. I’m also concerned for the employees. It seems like typically the highest level employees (and highest paid) are rarely impacted as much as lower level (and in my view more critical) ones. Pensions, benefits and salaries could be at risk... I hop

Assets at risk... 1- Summit appears On National’s balance sheet as a major land asset at over $370M. Other high Adventure bases (not specially listed) show up as $60M. 2 - $800M of various financial assets 3 - $258M endowment Financial Condition-from annual report The National Council’s financial condition for 2018 and the next few years will depend, in large part, upon three factors. The first is the outcome of the litigation discussed within this report (see Note 9) and the impact to GLIP (Note 7). The second lies with the success of securing donations for the

The Eagle Scout award .... 😳

I am writing to you today in anticipation of news reports that will speculate about the BSA’s financial position. We have an important duty, and an incredible opportunity, to focus as an organization on keeping children safe, supported and protected, and preparing youth for their futures through our nation’s foremost program of character development and values-based leadership training. To do so in perpetuity, we are working with experts to explore all options available to ensure that the local and national programming of the Boy Scout of America continues uninterrupted.

There wasn’t much beyond the first paragraph. This is one key “Filing for bankruptcy would put the brakes on the litigation and give the nonprofit the chance to negotiate with victims who have sued.” I think the GSUSA damages (if any) could be lumped in. However, bankruptcy could lead to some ugly outcomes.

I think anyone looking at the annual reports could see this coming. This is horrible news and I am very concerned about loss of camps and property. One glimmer of hope.... many organizations rise from the ashes and prosper.... I certainly hope BSA will.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/boy-scouts-of-america-considers-bankruptcy-filing-amid-sex-abuse-lawsuits-11544649657

As a Cub Scout Leader who is going through recharter, I can tell you we are losing scouts to sports and busy parents. I have had 0 parents tell me that girls, gays or god made a difference with their membership. What I have been told has been 2 major reasons for not joining or dropping.... - both parents work schedules are too much to support their child in scouts... if they could simply drop them off at meetings and outings... that could work. They don’t have time to help their son with PWD, etc.... already too busy. - Sports....they see sports, especially for boys, as the best w

So much discussion about the names got me thinking about the famous Romeo and Juliet line that fits this discussion .... “What's in a name? That which we call a roseBy any other name would smell as sweet." That got me thinking that someone could rewrite Romeo and Juliet to be a tragic story of two lovers... one from the house of BSA and the other GSUSA. I then switched Juliet to Juliette given the GSUSA reference.

Usually it is about cub scouts crossing over this spring... so in that case the parents are right (correcting me when I say Boy Scouts). That said, I have also had the snarky response from a few like you mention.

I was wondering where they would define what to call members of Scouts BSA... thanks for the link. I’ve only remembered seeing references to the program name. I expect if 5-10 years, perhaps 50 based upon our UK friends’ experience, scouts will clearly mean Scouts BSA and Girl Scouts will be GSUSA. That is unless GSUSA changes to Girl Guides. So, if a girl is in Scouts BSA she would say... I’m a scout. If she is in Girl Scouts she would state I’m a Girl Scout. Boys will probably either call themselves scouts or Boy Scouts.... either should work. Just had a thought.... I see

They want us to say “Scouts BSA”. Where do you see BSA staying “We are Scouts....”?