Jameson76

I guess my issue or heartburn with JTE is that it reaks of corporate culture hamstrung into a youth program. JTE is really just KPI's (Key Performance Indicators) warmed over and put into a format for units.. In business and in working with contractors and remotes sites you have KPI's. How long to get stock received, inventory accuracy, turnover, time to get orders out, accidents (technically lack of accidents hopefully) etc etc. This give the managers objective and consistent measurements to see how the process is working. Note that these are in fact NOT self reported but typically pulled from the system(s) governing the operations and can assist to make improvements. The data drives the results reported (KPI's) and then actions are taken as these are reviewed. The JTE "scorecard" should record and reflect the subjective measurements of how a troop is functioning. That is the hard part, it needs to be subjective as Scouts are not cartons going across a dock or an item picked from a bin. So BSA National took the easy route and quantified it so it was all nice and tidy. The Short Term camping "goal" is a great example. Are all outings created equal? Well that is a great debate. If the Scouts choose where to go, plan their menus, plan the activities, etc that is an outing. If the leaders tell the Scouts where they are going and what they will be doing, that is also an outing. If you camp 2 nights or only 1 night on a weekend, is one outing better than the other? Car camping or hiking? Stay on a ship or do a lock-in...are those "outings". Not sure what the solution may be, but the scorecard and numbers are likely not the best method.

Pretty easy solution, don't deal with the adults in the district or council. Anytime I've had to deal with the DE, District folks, council folks, or Council professionals it becomes painfully clear that we have vastly different perspectives and vastly different reasons for being involved with Scouting. Just say NO to roundtables, JTE targets, the wood badge cult, non specific membership drives, popcorn sales, getting worked up over district training targets, council "demands", MB universities, camp cards, Trainer's EDGE, etc etc etc For me, as you seem to note, Scouting is great way to be part of developing (in our case) young men and seeing them grow and take on challenges. Camping out in the dirt, the mud, and the burned or forgotten food. Seeing a Scout who is incredibly upset that the rain is heavy and cannot get his tent setup in the dark, but then an older Scout assists. Seeing that same young Scout the next day having the best time paddling about the lake in a canoe. For many not at the unit level my perspective is they have not seen an actual Scout out in the wild for a good bit. Many have forgotten the "why" of doing Scouting and are just busy doing Scouting. They feel that what they are doing is the most critical part of Scouting. While it is important, the most vital part is youth facing leaders assisting and guiding the Scouts as they run the program. Be the best leader you can be at the unit level, watch the youth mature and sit in on some BOR's and it is always encouraging.

Good Lord we've started quoting the Rolling Stones to help explain what the BSA executives may be up to. I did not see that coming

From your lips to the volunteers ears. This would shake up some underlings

Stuck in the 70's...try the middle ages. BSA has been succession by the royal heir that survived the intrigue in the kingdom. The leader is not the one who can lead and move the BSA to greater heights, it's the best politician who can make backroom deals. No challengers or boat rockers allowed. Also no outside ideas. Must.Drink.The.Kool.Aid We can all see how great this model has worked out in Congress and Federal Agencies.

At least the former YPT training was in fact training. To be compliant you need to do A B C, if you see non-compliance do X. If you are aware of issues report to cops and council. Now we have 90 minutes of agenda indoctrination to make sure we know that child abuse is bad.

So...with that type of logic, and in that world, I can be a leader, taking youth on outings and adventures, doing all the Scouty things one does, then...suddenly....on December 6 I will (I guess like Mr Hyde) transform into some sort of raving lunatic endangering youth? Better solution is for BSA to figure out the calendar foolishness, because either it's good at the time or recharter or it's not. It is up the the Scouter to be current when the annual recharter rolls around. Remember...BSA does not exist just to support and promote YPT training, this is just part of the overall program training. It is part of who we are, not WHY we are.

Are you looking at the numbers for the year as compared to last year (November 18 vs November 19) or are you looking at Jan 2019 vs November 2019? The reason I ask is that BSA does not adjust any numbers out for crossovers or age outs until recharter at the end of the year. For example, if you have a pack of 45 and 10 Webelos crossover in March and you add 10 at School night, BSA will indicate 55 in the pack, while the pack (correctly) would say they were at 45. Those 10 Webelos would now be also showing in the Scout troop they crossed over to in March That troop that had 50 Scouts and 10 aged out while they added 10 new crossovers would show as 60 on the books, operationally the unit leader would say they had 50 Real indication will be the annual report for 2019 which will be reflective of the recharters actual numbers, units not rechartering, and importantly the 20% loss (+/-) from the LDS departure. 2018 Annual Report numbers Cubs - 1,231,831 Scouts - 789,784 Ventures / Sea Scouts - 55,101 Explorers - 109,613 TOTAL - 2,186,329 2019 PREDICTIONS Cubs - 1,108,648 Scouts - 631,827 Ventures / Sea Scouts - 52,345 Explorers - 98,652 TOTAL - 1,891,472 Drop of 13.5%

With all the legal clowns involved, surprised it doesn't run 12 pages, not including amendments and exhibits....

Agree on ask the organizer. Hopefully they have a method. One of our Scouts Eagle projects was organizing with the local middle school a giving tree for Christmas. A good bit of double blind so nobody knew who was getting the gifts, they shopped and then wrapped and labeled as per the school counselor instructions. The Scouts had a fun time shopping.

Cue the "We Need the Dues" gif from Animal House.....

Sad truth is that troops of less than 5 are not really a troop, they are not really a patrol. It is really tough to have an engaging outdoor program with so few Scouts to interact with. I wish them well, but there may be more to the story.

Typically the COR is not directly involved with the unit operations as a COR. Seems this COR wants to be the CM or CC, he may want to be large and in charge because that's what he wants to do and NOT what you need or want him to do. The Chartered Organization Representative (COR) is the direct contact between the unit and the Chartered Organization. This individual is also the organization's contact with the District Committee and the Local Council. ... If the chartered organization has more than one unit, one representative serves them all. Nothing in that involves direct unit operations / program There is a pretty good guide - https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/04-113.pdf Below is sort of what they are supposed to do, run program is not really one of these. ❑ Serve as a member of the unit Key 3 team and meet together several times a year. ❑ Serve as a liaison between your units, your organization, and the council structure. ❑ Encourage unit leaders and committee members to take advantage of training opportunities and to regularly attend district roundtables. ❑ Promote well-planned unit programs. ❑ Organize units to serve the youth needs of your organization and the community. ❑ Promote the recruitment of new members. ❑ See that youth participants and adult volunteers advance from one program phase to the next. ❑ Assist with annual unit charter renewal. ❑ Suggest unit Good Turns for your organization. ❑ Encourage unit committee meetings. ❑ Encourage the pursuit of Journey to Excellence performance. ❑ inform and engage organization leaders and members. ❑ Encourage active outdoor unit programs. ❑ Emphasize advancement and recognition. ❑ Secure district help when needed. ❑ Use approved unit finance policies. ❑ Encourage recognition of leaders. ❑ Cultivate resources to support your organization’s units. ❑ Represent your organization on the council and district levels. ❑ Serve on your council’s relationship committees when asked

We stopped there heading back from Skymont Got a replacement lid for a dutch oven Skymont clean site award is the Cracked Skillet award. Much to our surprise we actually have won it a few time

Again people speak of commissioners and the reason the role is not commonly understood is that so few folks / units have actually seen one. They may file reports, but very few are seen in the wild. The commissioner should know the units leaders, the CC's of the units, the key unit leaders (not the leader or CC, but the ones who actually gets stuff done). This would entail more than maybe an annual visit. Honestly if you query most units about their commissioner you will get "who??" or "what??" Not saying it could not or should not be a useful role, but the execution is often times lacking.

Wait - Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve is valued at $371 million dollars? The site is maybe 13,000 acres, that would be $28,500 per acre. Seems a bit pricey.....

There are many options

It all depends on how you approach STEM, you have to work it into the program - We were at a canyon hiking the rim, we posed the question, if we throw Timmy off, how long until he hits the bottom if the bottom is 700 ft? That lead to the speed and acceleration discussions. Also how much force would be needed to get Timmy out far enough - We spotted the International Space Station on an outing, good discussion points on the station, geosynchronous orbits, etc - Time to get to an outing..if the campsite is XX miles away, and we drive XX miles per hour, when do we arrive? - How hot does the fire need to be to melt glass? (surprisingly not that hot)

We have never turned in the project book with Eagle application. Our unit completes 12 to 14 Eagles annually. The initial project is approved at the district, then reviewed at the EBOR, but that is it. Pre-EBOR we turn in 2 page application to service center and contact list, then post EBOR application with signatures

@le Voyageur - Discuss what points you would consider in selecting a muzzleloading rifle. Key point - How will it perform in the Zombie Apocalypse?

Remember - whatever the question is, the answer is in fact "sell more popcorn". Sadly my unit is not part of the solution as we don't hock the corn

Sadly they (BSA National) does not seem to look for outside talent. You have to be part of the club, raised in the club, dedicated to the club, in order to be anointed to run the club. Likely some of the issues with finance and direction, currently impacting the organization, may have been lessened if leaders with some outside experience and different professional path had been in charge.

Sadly it has been ongoing for a while. This really stems from several items 1) The cost for the Summit, this is a huge drain 2) Pension Liabilities that are not fully funded for the professional Scouts 3) General overhead not full contracted for current size of the organization 4) Sub part of the that is the current Council Structure may not be the best to deliver Scouting to the local community 5) General Medical Health Care costs, actually this impacts pretty much every business and organization 6) The liability portion (not abuse cases) that are more prevalent, see above, due to everyone's rise in premiums, a lot of high deductibles, makes more sense to file on BSA insurance for a sustained injury 7) The abuse case money issue

Banner year for the ranch. You had normal traffic, those that signed up in 2017 for a 2019 trek. Then you have some of those cancelled in 2018 who filled in for 2019. Maybe 25,000, (typical is maybe 22,000) but that may not be accurate. Much of the loss will never be recovered. In our case we had 24 Scouts and Leaders signed up for 2018. Many did our hurried up Adventure Trek and called it good. We had 4 from the 2018 group plus 4 others not signed up for 2018 attend this summer. We will have 2 of the 2018 attend in 2020. So in a very small sample, of the original 24 - 6 will do a 12 day Philmont trek. That is 25%

I don't think one could disagree with this statement: “The reality there is we didn’t really leave them; they kind of left us,” said M. Russell Ballard, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “The direction they were going was not consistent to what we feel our youth need to have ... to survive in the world that lies ahead for them.” One could certainly argue whether they agree with stated positions of the Mormon Church, but they are what they are. Fact is the BSA has made changes in membership requirements. The BSA felt they needed to make changes to be more inclusive, the Mormon Church feels they need to adhere to their values. In this case both groups are in many ways correct. The outcome (in my opinion) is not good for either group. BSA is losing 20% of their membership while the Mormon Church is becoming more insular and interacting less with non-Church groups.