MikeS72

Yes. As long as that leader is not the only one present at the camp out, he/she is fine. We had a situation last summer with a unit whose second registered leader cancelled as they were on the way to pick him up to go to an out of state summer camp. That remaining leader had a choice of cancelling the trip without notice (NO REFUND POLICY at the camp we attended), or going ahead and driving all day, knowing that they were sharing a campsite with another troop (us). They were within YPT guidelines in the car, as there was no one on one contact, 1 adult and 4 scouts. We had 4 adults with us for the week, so there was technically no violation at camp (YPT does not state that the second registered leader be from your unit, just be registered and present at the activity). They made sure that there were no times that he was alone in the campsite with just one scout, there was always at least one of us present with him. Not the ideal situation, but considering the circumstances, it was a workable one.

My only hesitation with letting our scouts do that on their own is the fact that we seem to be snake magnets. We have not had a trek in the past few years without at least one or two on the trail, usually of the rattlesnake variety. When the trail gets a little muddy, the pygmy rattlers we have in our area can be tough to spot before you are right on top of them.

Pretty much all of our hiking is on the Florida Trail, some sections of which are pretty simple, others are challenging. While we are rarely faced with changes in elevation, hitting sections of sugar sand or trekking through water can be tough. We dealt with both several times on that particular 20 mile stretch.

We had three scouts do the 20 miler for hiking MB last year at this time (can still get pretty warm in FL at this time of year). Due to several unforeseen circumstances, we were faced with either cancelling the hike, or one other ASM and I (65 years old at the time) doing the whole 20 with them. They still bring up the fact (jokingly of course) that they almost killed me that day!🤣

I picked up several at our local shop for our January pack meeting, and will do so again this month.

All of our scouts (mine included) who use hammocks have a fly that goes with it to protect them from both heavy Florida dew and frequent Florida rain.

We do a lot of backpacking with our troop. I have 2 sleeping bags, one that is very small and lightweight that I use most of the year (Florida), and one that I break out once in awhile at this time of year when it may get what we consider cold at night. For a sleeping pad, I carry a klymet static v; easy to inflate quickly, rolls up small and light (18 oz), and has a decent enough R value for this part of the country.

Based on what we were told a week and a half ago, Philmont is only part of the guarantee for a $75 million dollar recurring line of credit, which includes ALL BSA national assets, including national headquarters

While I certainly cannot say what other councils may or may not do, I can speak to what we are doing in my own. We spent quite a while at our recent leadership summit discussing what at the time was the upcoming chapter 11 filing, along with an explanation from our CE concerning the application of a council program fee for the 2021 re-charter year. We have written lists of what that fee will do for us and our families. Just as few of those benefits families will see include: No cost to scouts and families to attend district Cub family camp; no cost for scouts and leaders to attend district camporees; no cost for leaders to attend BALOO or IOLS training; no cost to attend University of Scouting; other possibilities are being looked at as to how we can better serve the scouts in our council. I mentioned a few days ago that I am fortunate to be in the council I am a part of, and the more I read some of the comments here, the more true that statement becomes.

Councils may choose (and most probably will) to set a council program/activity fee. That fee may not exceed the $60 national registration fee. We have been told that as part of the recent increase, there would be no more last minute changes to the fee structure. Any changes must be announced early, nothing to come after May.

Any off us who get that are showing our age. We were the first in my circle of family and friends to get a color tv in 1964, and the first thing my uncle wanted to know was what color car did Agent 86 drive.

I'll do it for 2 boxes of Caramel Delights! 😉

Every time I read about this kind of thing happening to districts and councils I am thankful that I am in what I consider to be the best district in one of the best councils in the country. While every council has issues from time to time, we have a strong, vibrant program; and are experiencing steady growth in both the Cub and Scouts BSA programs.

We are one of 2 districts in our council that still has a Scoutreach program. We currently have 15 Scoutreach units, most of which are in schools with a high 'at risk' population.

While I want to be careful not to misquote anything, we had a long discussion last Saturday with a member of the Executive Committee of the National Board. The gist of what we were told was to expect us (BSA) to be in the news, possibly by the end of the month, concerning Chapter 11 reorganization. Most of us have been expecting this, as the number of states doing away with statutes of limitations on abuse cases that are in some cases half a century or more old, has put the financial future of the BSA in a precarious position. While we all know of some of the high profile cases and settlements from 5 - 10 years ago, I was shocked to hear how much has been paid out in the last few years.

I have heard that not all councils use the same prefix. Here in Central Florida Council, our Pack would be 3xxx; Troop 0xxx; and Crew 2xxx.

The only use I have found for those prefix numbers is that it makes it easier to filter units when I am using parts of the Commissioner Tools in my.scouting. If I am looking for a pack whose CO also sponsors a troop and a crew, putting the 3 in there only shows me the pack to select, rather than all 3. I could just put the number to scout wear, and select based on the logo that shows next to the number, but the prefix ensures that my ancient eyes do not cause me to open the wrong type of unit.

My first uniform came from JC Penny, back in 1964. I recently bought another of the 60's web belts on ebay, as it was listed as 'never worn'. When it arrived it was still in the plastic wrap, with a bright, shiny brass buckle and a JC Penny price tag of 45 cents!

My guess would be that while many units are not aware of it, your council is probably just the same as mine, in that all of those girl troops have a numerical prefix that identifies them as a female unit. Here in Central Florida Council a CO that sponsors both a boy troop and girl troop can request they use the same base number, but the girl unit number begins with 4. My CO has chosen not to sponsor a girl troop right now, but be do have several in our district. As Roundtable Commissioner I see those girls units numbered 4XXX to distinguish them from the corresponding boy troop.

I do believe I may have read one of said Luddite's comments this very morn'!! 😁

Kind of what I say every time I am asked by an over enthusiastic Wood Badge staff member "Don't you want to go to Wood Badge?", without bothering to look closely enough to see the 3 beads I am wearing.

I had to google 'yurt'. In 55 years of scouting I have never been anywhere that had them. My first thought when I saw the pictures was 'Oh, Genghis Khan!' As a few others have said, I would look at those the same as I would a cabin, or the Adirondacks that our council camp offers in a number of campsites.

I guess we are not a 'select market'. I had to live with my usual 2 boxes each of Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Peanut Butter Patties, Caramel Delights, and S'Mores. 😁

True. I have not seen an update to our district list since 11/18.

If the person who signed the card is not registered with BSA in any way, and is thus not a registered MBC, you are not retesting, you are saving this scout a lot of potential heartache down the road if anyone questions the validity of these merit badges. They are not legitimately earned if the signature is not that of a registered counselor.