Jameson76

My suggestion is to tell the district and council to...well...go have a nice day. Our troop zoomed in the spring and we managed to hold an actual week of summer camp, run by the troop, last week. Now the challenge is fall. Schools are on-line, the CO (church) is not meeting so concerned about the optics of possible meeting when everything is shut down. We have a calendar, but not sure it will be implemented. Parents want us to go camping. As for edicts from the council / district, who cares. Our main concern and focus is the unit. If you are hoping the district or the council will provide quality program, likely that will not happen. The summer camp is great, but we do not do the camporees etc. We are working to keep our Scouts active, have had 3 EBOR's during the pandemic. Also advancement continues. Own YOUR program. Do YOUR best to run a FUN and quality PROGRAM for YOUR members. That is the focus. Not JTE, popcorn, roundtables, FOS, district committee meetings, etc.

We are in the midst of our own "self" summer camp right now. Running merit badge classes and typical summer camp foolishness. No shooting sports but many other things

So our Council Camps as many, did not open. We attend 2 camps each summer, the out of council did not open. Also our Philmont crew was cancelled. As I have noted, we took the go it alone, run your own camp route. We are currently in camp (6 days and 5 nights) taking over the Pioneer area of a State Park maybe 45 minutes from us. We have 24 Scouts, maybe 10 leaders. We are offering some aquatics, mt biking, full slate of merit badges (21 different ones and small classes), new scout program. In addition to the leaders we have some Eagle Scouts that have turned 18 assisting. Also some of our alumni that worked at the local Council Camp have joined us for a few days. Each Scout was dropped off by parents. They will be picked up same, no carpooling. Each Scout has their own tent. Meals are being delivered by parents on a schedule that would make the Normandy Invasion planning group proud. Nightly activities, full flag ceremonies each day. It is basically a very small summer camp. The State Park has been very helpful and all the parents have been most supportive. It is a ton of work, but this will be the best Troop Run Summer Camp we have ever been to. (the Scouts made that statement when they realized it's the only one we've had). Special camp t-shirts, water bottle sticker, bottles of hand sanitizer spray, gloves for meal serving, 20 cases of bottled water so far (no communal drink coolers) and many other unique things. Scouting at it's most basic.

I do not get the cost (well I guess it's the BSA supply overhead expense) for the T-shirts BSA sells. Our troop prints our own T-shirts each year. Dri-fit, goods quality, left chest (single color) and full back (single color) screens. Run of about 100 shirts, maybe $11 per shirt. Boys like them and they are subtle BSA shirts. Do not screams SCOUTS. I see them wearing them around town. Keep the colors neutral. Many of the camps we go to have pre-sell of camp shirts, but those are $20 +. I get you have to make a buck, but cut the overhead and pass the savings on.

Not saying do not be safe, and risk management is important. My point is that HEY, WE'RE SAFE is a very poor marketing slogan. Yes we can be safe, but that cannot be the reason for the BSA

Again - WE CANNOT BE A SAFETY ORGANIZATION. That cannot be our reason for being. It can and needs to be PART of what BSA is, but it cannot be the WHY of the BSA. The tail is wagging the dog and the optics on this are not good. Many leaders and professionals continue to over think the safe aspect and literally never leave the porch. They feel very safe doing Scouting as a virtual idea. Worst idea ever. Scouting is getting out and trying to do things. While trying you may in fact fail. This document wreaks of those who have NO CLUE how to run an actual unit or programs that youth want to join. We need to be inspirational and aspirational, not an organization that is scared of it's own shadow.

That is a scary one. So what are you actually paying a "fee" to be able to do? What is this exactly? A camping club??

Reminder on the fundraising questions - *This application is not necessary for contributions from the candidate, his parents or relatives, his unit or its chartered organization, parents or members in his unit, or the beneficiary. All proceeds left over from fundraising or donations, whether money, materials, supplies, etc., regardless of the source, go to the beneficiary. If the beneficiary is not allowed, for whatever reason, to retain any excess funds or materials, etc., the beneficiary should designate a suitable charity to receive them, or allow the unit to retain them. The unit must not influence this decision

Just curious how much are they raising? Our unit has an average of about 10 Eagles per year. Average cost for the projects is about $500. About 2/3 of that seems to come from family (parents and extended). The remainder they request donations from unit, friends, etc. The Eagle project should not focus on fundraising. It could be a needed part but is not a requirement. Several are self financed. As for when they can or need to start, not until AFTER the Eagle project proposal is approved.

The main selling point, the market differentiator is in fact the outdoor program. That is the lab or classroom if you want to call it that where Scouting happens. It does not happen at Merit Badge Universities or selling popcorn. Scouting happens and Scouts grow when they are in small groups, a Scout is the leader, and they need to accomplish something. Like cook meals, put up tarps, etc. They then take that experiential learning and apply this as Senior Leaders in the troop and hopefully apply that as they work through an Eagle project. The Improved Scouting Program removed much of this, became more individual based, and fundamentally altered the BSA program. When combined with the BoyPower issues and fake member number and those that actually left the program, big hit. The Improved Scouting Program relabeled Scoutmasters as “managers of learning” to reflect the new emphasis on emotional support. The BSA’s attempt to reach new populations of youth in depressed rural areas and inner cities created an intense backlash from the traditionally conservative core membership of the Boy Scouts of America. Abandoning an emphasis on nature and promoting emotional support struck many Denmasters, Scoutmasters, and Explorer Post Chiefs as an attack on their leadership style and a softening of the BSA. Membership dropped significantly and many seasoned leaders departed.

I was there as a Scout and recall this. Still have a patch. Most of this is a matter of public record if you poke around the internet. The faux membership issues are a matter of public record. I seem to recall the SE in one council was on track to be the next CSE when the membership imploded. He did not get promoted to CSE

Good report Now if BSA can get 6,000,000 more Scouts to attend and they can make a net profit of $125 per Scout they can break even on the 3/4 of Billion Dollar Investment made

The inner city troop effort (which at it's core was a worthy initiative) led to the Improved Scouting Program of 73. That was the birth of skill awards and the "NEW" path to Eagle that would in fact not require any camping, or actually going outdoors. That pretty much halved the BSA by 1981 and they had to get Greenbar Bill out of retirement to revamp the program. Between the BoyPower ManPower deal and the ISP, there was a double whammy during 70 - 81. Pretty sure the Scouting program in the USA never fully recovered and found it's way again. National leadership kept looking for the golden ring, the next best thing, the silver bullet. They never understood that they had the best program and that fun with a purpose was what kids wanted

On October 17, 1968, the Boy Scout organization launched a new membership initiative called “Boypower 76.” The ambitious program set national goals to be achieved by the US Bicentennial Celebration of 1976. Specifically, (1) Expand membership so that one of every three American boys is enrolled. That would require adding 2 million new Boy Scouts by 1976. (2) Double council budgets to a combined level of $150 million. New members would be recruited through two efforts: establishing troops in inner cities and retaining older boys by allowing girls to participate in the special-interest, career-focused segment of the Explorers program. The national slogan for Boypower 76 was “America’s Manpower Begins with Boypower.” Membership Quotas Councils were given strict monthly and annual membership goals to keep them on track to achieve the expansion envisioned in Boypower 76. The Controversial Collapse of Boypower BSA canceled the Boypower program two years early, amid widespread reports of inflated membership numbers. Articles in the New York Daily News, the Central New Jersey Home News, and many other newspapers enumerated the problems. The Chicago council was accused of selling one-month memberships for ten cents; other councils for inventing names to register. At least 13 major cities were discovered to have falsified records, involving some 30,000-40,000 “phantom” scouts. Furthermore, only about half of the $65 million fundraising goal was met, and much of that was from long-time donors who directed their gifts to the national organization instead of the local council.

Not a fan...but then I've not like the merit badge universities either.

If that comes to pass BSA will have jumped the shark... We as a nation have truly lost our minds and common sense.

One of the positions by National BSA is that National and the Councils are in fact separate. Possibly yes legally as different entities, but are they really? Then BSA National makes the statement on racism and Black Lives Matter (BSA capitalization), and in our Council the DE's read the statement word for word at roundtables and basically advised this was to be taken as gospel, no questions, we all need to get in lockstep and accept. No statement or interpretation from the local council. From a purely legal perspective how does the BSA (National and Council) resolve or justify the "separation" when clearly National makes policy and Councils implement. Seems like actions may speak louder than words

Been involved as a leader for 40+ years. Been with current troop for 14 years or so. My son aged out 5 years ago, but still involved. At the unit level. Stay active at the unit level. That is where you can impact youth and feel success. I have seen many groups go through. Seems like just as one group ages out and I think, man they were the best, another group sort of comes of age and I think, man, they are the best. If you are the SM, maybe now is the time to transition to another role in the troop. Life to Eagle person, Outdoor, etc. Keep hands on in the program but not as SM. There are always new challenges. We are busy planning our own summer camp for July. Something I would have never envisioned, but it will be an epic chapter in out troop's 40+ year story.

Not sure scandalous conveys the true stupidity that is The Summit. What was billed as a donation and 4th Crown Jewel is a grossly underused and over developed vanity project. Basically a development looking for relevance. Why is the BSA bankrupt? Look no further than $500 - $750 million shoved down a rat hole in West Virginia

An interesting anecdotal article. Sorry for what happened in his experience. From that one experience he decides to then paint with a very very broad brush Too many involved in the BSA are Trump supporters, bullish on his foreign and economic policies, silent when it comes to his stoking of racial divisions. So now we see the real reason for his article. Not an honest comment on BSA and it's policies, but a soapbox to criticize the President. And he has every right to, but if you are going to do that own that criticism and be straightforward. Then he again makes a very very broad statement or assumption Racism seems to be at the heart of scout leadership because racism is at the heart of America. I’m encouraged by the BSA’s change of direction. Still, I can’t help thinking that if scouting really were about “character and leadership,” as the BSA said in its earlier, inadequate statement, the organization would have done something about the racism within its ranks a long, long time ago. That is a very damning statement and one that is not backed up by any actual data or realism. That is like going to a chain restaurant and having a bad experience and claiming that all 3,000 locations are bad due to that one sampling. Writer needs to be honest. Yes he seems to have had a bad experience in one troop. However if you assume bad intentions and look for the worst everywhere, you will likely find it.

While I would agree, there are a whole bunch of lawyers that would beg to differ with that opinion.

Agree on the rain pants, rarely or never wear them I have a Columbia rain jacket, cost maybe $50 - $60. Has worn well. Have some pants that I may have worn once, but it was rainy and cold and the wind was blowing. Maybe it was also snowing and I had to hike uphill both ways.

I would agree Specifically I dislike the collective guilt expressed in the opening sentence As our country reckons with racial injustice, we all must consider our role and our failures and commit to meaningful action. That makes a lot of assumptions

So... BSA has decided to change the Eagle requirements AND add a new merit badge with little or no input from volunteers. Sort of on a whim. Great move. This falls into the "let's do something even if it's not well thought out" category BSA has decided to add to the required training for volunteers with little or no input. Another great move Not saying these are necessarily poor initiatives. They wreak of knee jerk reaction and a lack of actual leadership

Had notice today that Philmont refunds for 2020 would be sent in 8 - 10 weeks. That is a much longer window than the 2018 refunds. Trust they are not held up due to the bankruptcy. That would be extremely complicated and detrimental