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Jameson76

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Everything posted by Jameson76

  1. Vanity project pure and simple. The videos seem to be all consuming. At the end of the day we (The BSA) needs to either 1) Get more members 2) Right size the service / council end. The main issue with the BSA and lack of membership was visible when the decision was made to allow girls into the Scouts BSA / Cubs. During the Townhall video Michael Surbaugh (CSE at the time) basically said they needed members, they were out of ideas on how to grow membership, so this was the plan. That was an incredibly telling admission. That those that run and lead the program have NO IDEA how
  2. Do we raise money to have scouting OR do we have scouting to enable folks to raise money. Reminder that SCOUTERS in the units have different goals and objectives than the PROFESSIONALS and COUNCIL Scouters Scouter in the units are there for the youth, to work providing a fun program for the youth, to develop the youth in leadership and maturity, to make sure there is a game with a purpose, to make sure youth are engaged in a rewarding experience. Professionals are there (IMHO) to raise money to support their compensation which hires more professionals to raise more money for ove
  3. I saw this on Scouting.org which plays into your point https://www.scouting.org/program-updates/5th-anniversary-of-girls-in-scouts-bsa-survey/ 5th Anniversary of Girls in Scouts BSA Survey March 3, 2024 We’re celebrating the 5th anniversary of girls joining the Scouts BSA program, and we want to know about your Scouts BSA experience! Every registered girl for whom we have a valid email address in the Scouts BSA program and a statistically
  4. So the Scout has the project and has now moved to another unit in another council. Assuming the Scout has transferred to the new council and unit. Assuming the beneficiary does not care what unit or council the Scout is active / registered with The Scout would need to get approval from the unit, which seems to not be an issue The Scout would need to get the project approved by the new district. Likely just update the signature page and dates Would need to be aware of the new district processes. Potentially the Unit Leader or CC could advise the district of the transf
  5. Were all of the rides, slides, walls, attractions ever fully opened? Even in the big pre-covid ones in 2013 and 2017 weren't some areas not fully opened due to staffing challenges?
  6. IMHO Scouting's challenges have been that the program and emphasis is pulled in many directions by many different constituencies. Starting really in the 70's the trail has been varied: we are going to be urban we are going to be less outdoors we are going to be more outdoors we are going to do sports we are going to be involved in inner-city and have council run units we are going to be a leadership class for youth we are going to be STEM we are going to be less advancement focused we are going to be more advancement focused we are g
  7. That is so true. The BSA spent waaaay to much money on the Disneyworld of Scouting and now that is a pile of debt and costs. Not sure what the long-term solution may be but casting that site off during bankruptcy would have been a bold move. With only 15K or so going to last Jamboree, the logistics of needing a larger than life site may be a requirement of the past. Maybe revisit the 1973 plan and have an East and a West Jamboree to make it easier to attend and reduce the numbers are each site.
  8. A lot of financial support in most councils seem to support the professionals and the "development" and "marketing" staff who in fact seem to only raise money so the council can do lots of things not directly related to Scouting programs and then enable them to hire more "development" and "marketing" staff .... rinse, lather, repeat. Remember, BSA professionals and councils firmly are in the "Scouting is around so we can raise money" column. Most units and in the trenches volunteers naively think that "Money is raised to have Scouting". Never forget we do not actually have the same go
  9. Our troop does maybe 2 / 3 backpacking outings each year. Also we do some outings that are not exactly car camping and not exactly backpacking, maybe the campsite is less than mile from the cars. Otherwise we are the typical Everest siege camping with trailers and sherpas, plus elephants to setup the main circus tent in camping area. The buzz of generators and chainsaws echo through the morning air. Back to the backpacking question on preparing and how does it work - Maybe 2 actual backpacking trips per year, varying lengths of 6 - 12 miles Each Scout handles their own mea
  10. Have a celebration, congratulate them on their years of service, give them a nice plaque, note all the things they currently do, then name all the folks that are taking over these responsibilities, have a cake, take photos, and name them committee member emeritus and let them know they have earned the time off and rest. That or shove them off a mountain on the next outing, though there is a lot of paperwork involved in the mountain option (don't ask me how I know), the celebration solution is waaaay tidier. Plus there's cake.
  11. To refresh everyone's memory, this is 9b (b) On any of these camping experiences, you must do TWO of the following, only with proper preparation and under qualified supervision. (1) Hike up a mountain, gaining at least 1,000 vertical feet. (2) Backpack, snowshoe, or cross-country ski for at least 4 miles. (3) Take a bike trip of at least 15 miles or at least four hours. (4) Take a nonmotorized trip on the water of at least four hours or 5 miles. (5) Plan and carry out an overnight snow camping experience. (6) Rappel down a rappel route of 30 feet or more. A troop leadersh
  12. While a good plan, just be careful to make sure the challenge and adventure is included. In the 70's and in the skill award days you could pick from 12 and had to earn 8 for Tfoot - 1st Class. Only required ones were First Aid and Citizenship. You could earn Family Living, Community Living, Communications, Environment, Physical Fitness, and Conservation and do minimal outdoor stuff. Swimming, Camping, and Cooking merit badge were not Eagle required. Yes, you could attain Eagle Scout rank and NEVER camp, NEVER build a fire, NEVER hike.
  13. True - oh so true. When we are out and about during the outing closing etc leadership always tries to bring up that the state parks, WMA's, National Forest, National Battlefields etc are preserved areas and it takes support to keep them. We mention that as Scouts we may have have camped / hike at the same place. We need to do what we can to help preserve and promote the public lands. Outdoor Code is more than 27 words and Leave No Trace needs to apply any time you are out in the woods. BSA should be the experts in this and SMEs (Subject Matter Experts).
  14. Don't underscore or short sell the seismic changes BSA National determined were the next best thing in the 1970's. When incorporated (skill awards were going to be awesome) BSA Membership 1971 - 4.8 million, 1981 - 3.2 million. That is losing a 1/3 of your members in 10 years. The organization has never recovered from the decision switch to focus on advancement and not adventure. After the great change in the mid-70's it was possible to earn Eagle Scout and never swim, never camp and basically never go outside. If you were on a hike and got lost the advise IN THE SCOUT HANDBOOK was
  15. Remember, those of us that work and support scouting as volunteers (GROUP A) DO NOT have the same goals as the professionals and their selected board folks (GROUP B) that run Scouting. Group A wants to bring a vibrant program to youth. We work hard to provide program and have to work within the BSA bureaucracy to make that happen. We feel it is worth the struggle because of the positive changes we can see in participants lives. Give us a campfire, a hike, and Scouts making their own decisions and we are happy. Group B is only concerned with how to monetize the program and raise mo
  16. We try to listen to feedback and conversation on the way back from outings. For planning our unit has a list of outings by month for the last 25 or so years. Helps see where and when. Scouts do the annual planning and then outdoor chair review. Typically we can make most happen. Main things are sometimes time to drive someplace and costs. Sometimes I have been surprised on what they selected. In most cases that has turned out well. Leaders work with the Scouts on specific activities during the trip. We were camping near a city with large historic downtown. We split them into pa
  17. So the YPT rules state - One-on-one contact between adult leaders and youth members is prohibited both inside and outside of Scouting. So a Scout who turns 18 is considered an Adult Leader (when registered), so this would apply. Not saying I agree, but I am not claiming to be a lawyer. As they would have to register to attend an overnight outing, seems like a trap. Same thing happens ALL the time in the real world. I have some Scouts from the troop that live on my street. Family and social friends in most cases. Their dad is working on a project, sends Johnny down for some item
  18. https://fb.watch/pCdpL5TwOv/ Good video from the US Army - 194th Armored Brigade on the troops visit to Fort Moort
  19. So on things we could never do now, in the early 80's the only requirement for climbing and rappelling was money for equipment. You could call REI in Seattle (at the time you had to call 8 - 5 PST) and they would ship you what you wanted. We tied swiss harnesses and off we went. Kids had a great time. In the summer after we climbed the troop would go down the hill and swim in a river to cool off. Once we were rappelling on a large face (175' - 200'). When I went down to be the base the length of rope was fine. As the young scouts came down, as they did not weight as much, the
  20. There still is a BSA Ranger program run by NEGA over the summer at Frank D Merrill and Mt Yonah. Had scouts attend over the last several years https://www.nega-bsa.org/Ranger
  21. Well, we see where his focus is Krone highlights the importance of data management, proposing the migration of member information to a cloud-based data lake and mining that information (no doubt to monetize) to connect with BSA alumni who may not have been contacted in decades. With nearly 100 million alumni, the organization aims to use technology for targeted communication, reconnecting with former Scouts, and fostering philanthropic engagements. “Technology will help us find those people, communicate with them, update them on what’s going on in Scouting and connect them with philanthr
  22. I recall that directive back in the day. The test would advise who do you call first and SE was the answer, which in my mind was incorrect. Coming from corporate world we involved law enforcement and corporate HR with any issues that would even remotely appear to violate the law. As a site GM my role was to handle the issue but also get out of the line of investigation to eliminate any conflict of interest. First call to the SE seemed to be first step in downplaying the issue. I never had to deal with a reportable issue, but my first call would have been local police. On reportin
  23. I have only seen the DE wander by a meeting maybe once, and they were wanting to talk about FOS. The DE came out to see our Troop run camp summer 2020 during Covid, we sort of felt they were looking for things we may be doing wrong. One year they stopped by our campsite at camp (once in my 15 years) to say I guess hello. Bottom line, the professional staff has done zero to build bridges with our unit, the largest in the district Would agree. We did have some questions on the new recharter process as the information had not been sent to units and details we were getting from oth
  24. Finally found some details on my council, not able to find past years, but I know that overall, the council has less youth than in past years. Most surprising, and possibly troubling item is that Cubs are now over 2/3 of the membership. Maybe that will mean future growth. Another possibility is that this is where professionals and council board membership team feel the easy pickings are, so that is where the efforts are. Less risk and more oversight in Cubs, so the safety folks are happy. Other interesting nuggets: Equivalent of 15.5 adult volunteers per unit, which seems high.
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