MikeS72

I was a young Assistant Scoutmaster when the ISP and skill awards came to be. While things like camping, cooking, swimming and lifesaving were no longer required, the scouts in my troop, and I suspect many others, continued to earn them just because we did not change the way we operated our program. We were big on camping and hiking regardless of time of year, and if you were active in the troop those no longer required skills were developed and honed as a result. I did like the fact that for a while First Aid MB was required for First Class.

The slogan during that time period was Boypower/Manpower. It was during that program that I transitioned from being a scout to being a scouter. I do have several items from back then with the slogan on them, including this old patch, a bolo tie, and more.

Good advice, with the exception of no smores! That combination of puffed sugar, melted onto a chunk of sugar, and sandwiched between two wafers of sugar is every Scoutmaster's favorite thing for his/her scouts to consume just before bedtime! 😂

I guess I must be a millipede also then, since I hit 29, started over from scratch, hit 29 a second time, and am now about to hit 9 for the third time.

The age restriction could have been a SM thing. As to two scouts per year, that would have depended on the size of your troop at the time, and whether it was prior to the elimination of the old quota system.

We have several scouts attending Camp Rainey Mountain in Georgia next month. One of the covid related precautions they are taking is that every scout and scouter must bring proof of a negative covid-19 test, dated within 7 days of arrival at camp. No negative test, no admission to camp.

My 1990 handbook does not even list the membership requirements, instead spending a lot of time on the Ten Induction Principals. As I mentioned above in my response to Mrjeff, the first requirement for election has always been the approval of your unit leader. It is entirely possible that some unit leaders would not approve anyone under the age of 14. Back in the days when there were unit quotas, we did tend to elect older scouts, but not because we could not elect a 12 or 13 year old. If you were in a small troop, you may have had 4 or 5 eligible scouts, but could only elect one. That one scout elected was, if other factors were equal, most likely to be the older of those eligible. In addition to going back through a number of my older handbooks, I have also scoured online resources, and have found nothing from at least 1968 on that restricted membership to those 14 and above.

I am a little older as well, having been inducted in 1969. If you had to be 14 to be elected, someone somewhere was doing it wrong. Since requirement #1 is and has been, unit leader approval, perhaps your unit leader at the time simply did not give his approval to anyone under the age of 14. I have the 1968, 1973, and 1975 handbooks in front of me. Requirements for election in the '68 handbook state: 1. Unit leader approval; 2. Camping requirement; 3. Unit quota; 4. Who may vote; 5. First class requirement (at that time a scout could be elected PRIOR to achieving First Class, provided he reached that rank within 6 months and it was also achieved PRIOR to induction). There were a few changes to election procedures noted in the '73 handbook, most notably the ability to complete First Class after election but prior to induction, and the change in the quota. Instead of the number of scouts in a troop determining the maximum number of those who could be elected, the number of scout in the troop determined how many of those eligible you could vote for. Everyone who received at least 50% of the votes cast was elected. The only election procedure that is currently in place that I would consider changing would be to bring back the unit quota. I am convinced that if we went back to making it a bit tougher to be elected it would mean more to those scouts when they do receive the honor, and they may be more inclined to be active members.

We are told here that units may meet, based on CO approval. In my troop's case, we may end up mid August before we are allowed back into the church for in person meetings. Looking at the possibility of some troop outdoor meetings until then.

Makes more sense, but that seems like an awfully high insurance fee. Even if your council activity fee matches the new $66, that leaves $48 for insurance. Ouch indeed!

What happened to the pronouncement last year that councils could establish an activity fee, but at no more than the amount of the national registration fee?? Or is that $180 the total cost of registration, activity fee, and troop dues for your individual unit?

While our council has not put anything out, and likely will not until after the vote, I have alerted my unit leadership, so we can plan now for how to cover the additional cost.

Which makes absolutely no sense at all. I have to provide a new copy of YPT every time I send in a adult app OR even to add a MB to my list that I counsel. This despite the fact that as an ADC, I can pull a YPT report for every unit in my district, and know within seconds if anyone in that unit has expired. I know that a council registrar has that ability for every unit in the council.

The only Eagle related phrase I dislike more than 'getting Eagle" is when people refer to it as they 'Eagled Out". I would hope that many (most really) Eagle Scouts who have not yet reached their 18th might choose to stay in their units and give back to those younger scouts who will benefit from their experience guidance. I even winch at the phrase 'he aged out'. He (or she, soon) may transition from scout to adult; nothing in the program says you reach your a 18th birthday and are suddenly 'out' of scouting.

Amen. As a scout going to summer camp in the mid to late 60's, pretty much everything you did was outdoor related with the exception of the handicraft area. Pioneering, cooking, camping, water sports, shooting sports. No one went to summer camp to sit in class and talk any of the citizenships. Two years ago I volunteered to be the MB counselor for 6 scouts who signed up for Chess MB. I could not fathom why anyone would come to camp to do chess! (although it did get me 2 hours each afternoon in the most air conditioned room in the camp - June heat and humidity in FL - that air sure felt good)