Jameson76

Not a bad change, there are many competing priorities and some Scouts many only be able to attend say 1 night of some 2 night outings, yet can commit to camp each summer or high adventure trips. Agree and as a Camping MB I also used some discretion. We had a troop fold and had many of their Scouts join, 75% were older. Unfortunately they had not done as much weekend camping as our troop did, but, they did go to summer camps. Many were around Jrs in HS, so we had them camp as they could, and looked at summer camp as much as we could for those "extra" nights.

Our Troop stopped by Jimmy Carter's boyhood Farm in January of 2024. We toured and had a Scouts Own Service there. Also stopped briefly in Plains. Reminded the Troop of this on Sunday that they had been there and to keep up with the news on Jimmy Carter and Plains.

I wanted to highlight the subliminal messages. Our SE sent out the "Remember Scouting in the time of giving..." Give me strength. Every message we seem to get revolves around giving

I would posit that National would rather we have no camps and would be happy if Scouts do not go outside at all. That is where bad things may happen. My view is that National and the Councils want to focus on the Cubs that are easier to manage and have parents there to oversee. This whole Troops out and about without generating revenue to National and Councils is not the desired process Scouts is about raising money. Youth out doing things is secondary. Legacy things such as camps are not needed in the new world order.

We think there could be more success if: - It was clear councils appreciated and recognized these district level vounteers. Had recognition for district level volunteers raising more money $$ - councils invested in training and development of these district level volunteers. Had training for district level volunteers to raise more money $$ - council professionals placed a priority on recruiting district level volunteers. Placed a priority on district level volunteers raising more money $$ There - fixed that for you 😀

And there in lies the problem. Get out and do. Way to much focus on classroom merit badges, class instruction, checking boxes, adult leaders preventing experiential learning. How many times have we seen discussions on how to game the system so a Scout can get 20 nights camping? The goal should be to go out and do things, not just meet a metric. 20 nights should be simple to attain, and the Scout will learn volumes along the way. We were looking at what an AOL needs to do in order to earn arrow of light now, apparently camp with a BSA troop is no longer a thing, visit yes, but they can camp with their patrol. But, looking at the "Adventures" the first multiple pages is about safety considerations; food allergies anaphylaxis and epi-pens, behavior around campfires, etc etc etc. No doubt all good things, but this "safety moment" (and it's more than a moment) is front and center for every Adventure. Safety is important, but that cannot be our reason for being. To a parent new to the program, is this the right "Go to Market" thinking? Then they move into a BSA Troop, and "GASP!!!", the youth do stuff on their own!!. Scouts is OUTSIDE and doing stuff. The leadership training should be a less formal item and more something they experience and grow from. They will screw up, we as adult leaders can assist in making the course correction. The simplicity of the Troop program is that a 12 year old whom ignores advice and input and gets wet when their tent leaks or sleeps cold when they did not bring the recommended gear LEARNS A LESSON from THEIR actions. They hopefully realize they need to do better. Later, maybe as they go off to college or first job, they can recall that all advice is not bad. They can help themselves be better.

Make it a donation for goods, if BSA can do it with the grossly overpriced popcorn, then get some item of nominal value and then "sell" it for the donation. A dinner is always good, sell "stock" in the group that supports the Scouting program and have a stockholders dinner.

Taught Wilderness Survival back in the 70's at various summer camps. For those that recall those days we would make survival kits, the scouts would provide one of the metal band aid boxes. We would put in a few water proof matches, some fishing line and hooks, band aids, little mirror, etc. One item would in fact be a couple of dimes so if one was lost and made there way out to the real world, you could make a call. In the early 80's we changed that to putting quarters in to reflect Ma Bell's pricing updates. Good memories. Actually found one of those a few years back in a box of old camping stuff that had been moved countless times over the years. The quarter still seems to be legal tender.

Are they different timeframes? I noticed that the April 2024 membership highlights shows about 775K in Cubs and Scouts. For the same noted population the graph seems to show 1,014K for 2024 (which could be a goal??) and 966K for 2023 which is 25% under the highlight figure. I wonder if anyone questioned the figures or maybe they gave context in the meeting. Point is, if an organization is not clearly able to state where they are at a point in time, they do not have a realistic hope of moving forward in any cohesive manner.

Well, that is optimistic at best. An organization is projecting 43% growth in 5 years, while they have experienced a 46% LOSS in the last 5 years. Most businesses would not project that type of growth unless they are rolling out new technology, acquiring a competitor, or expanding into new territories previously untapped. BSA (sorry SA) does not seem to be planning any of those efforts.

Calling what BSA publishes on membership being a "shell game" is very polite. The BSA (sorry SA) has not published the "Report to the Nation" in several years, at least in the format as in year's past. That whole pesky Trustworthy thing not being observed. Typically when a company does not send out actual figures, the reason is it's bad news. With the revamped membership registration process, the move to coed (it's not a pilot folks), and the emphasis to push out any current leaders not embracing the move to coed (to make room for all the leaders waiting in the wings); while a very worthwhile and needed program, the future is not bright.

Our district wanted our unit to name someone to be the "commissioner" for our unit. We pointed out that this seemed to be just a pencil whip of the position. What value would someone currently active with the unit bring to the unit? Shouldn't a commissioner be a neutral party to help and advise the unit as needed? District did not get back with us.

In theory this is good, but the challenge will be what happens in practice with the information. If the anonymous report is not handled confidentially there could be issues. If this report were to move forward with the authorities, not sure how this would square with the 4th and 6th amendments. The anonymous accuser will hopefully need to be interviewed and vetted before anything should be done. BSA (sorry SA) National acting on what could be unfounded and non-verified accusations is the other side of the pendulum that swung all the way to not reporting to authorities and trying to handle internally. Cue up more lawsuits down the road.

Curious what the actual membership numbers are. BSA (Sorry SA) has not been overly transparent of late with that data

Scouter - we will tell you what you need to know and when you need to know it....and be happy we are engaging with the peasant leaders at all Signed BSA National Leadership

The best method we have found is rally points along the way. We all depart at the same time and maybe meet at some designated break spot, then meet at the next logical point. For our winter trip this past January departed the CO, met about an hour down the road (got outside the major city we live near), then another hour to our first trip stop. We departed there a few hours later and the meetup was an hour down the road for the camping spot. On heading home day met an hour down the road for a tour stop at a historic place, then an hour or so up the road and after we hit the main highway, stopped at a large center with a beaver as a mascot. Then the 1.5 hours home to the CO. At the designated stops keep up with everyone, also we have a text group for trips and have our co-pilots handle the exchanges If our camping spot is more remote, off the path, we meet as close to there as possible on the way in, then convoy the last few miles.

If money for the project is raised / solicited from the candidate, his parents or relatives, his unit or its chartered organization, parents or members in his unit, or the beneficiary then NO FORM is needed. Do not overthink.

While some of the article is questionable, there are some truths. Trail Life does clearly define who they are, what they do, and what the benefit may be. One has the right to disagree with their messaging, but it is clear. BSA (SA??) has an extremely broad message about what they are. The current focus seems to be all things to all people. Not sure you can excite and entice people with that. There may be confusion in that all are welcome seems to mean BSA (SA??) will do / provide whatever you want in it's program. IMHO there is a Balkanization of what BSA (SA??) provides in that there are many constituencies that rather than benefiting from the larger group they are laser focused on their specific benefit they can get. While good for them, that may not build a cohesive organization. Also as BSA (SA??) units can be almost a franchise what one gets from unit to unit can vary. The organization needs to welcome all BUT needs to clearly define what the organization does and how it does this.

You may be missing the whole "community" aspect of the travel sports lifestyle. You are more than a family, your child is an (insert sport here) athlete. Yes there is time, but no real planning other than financial commitment. You drop them off for practice, pick them up. Go to games, hang out, head home. You hang out with the other families and commiserate on how much time all this takes up. Kids also get burned out and the casual participation declines considerably after 8th grade. Also good observation in that if the fees for travel (can be $3k or more per season / 2 seasons annually) were to be put into standard investments college would be paid for over some years.

We have faced some of the same challenges During visits (AOLs were off with the scouts as we meet in the woods behind the church) our leadership discussed with the parents the various outings (gorge trip, boating, kayaking, backpacking, biking, etc); youth led troop, servant leadership, Scouts camping away from leaders, etc etc. As I watched the parents and listened to the few questions, my comment as we huddled after...they are not buying what we're selling. They expect Cubs part 2 and we scare them. Programming for 11 year olds means the youth likely leave in a year or 2. Need to challenge and inspire.

Also not sure about this heading: Preparing Young People for Lives of Purpose and Impact Seems a bit vague and non definitive, more feel good than actionable.

Wow, that is a capsule at best. Guess they are being Thrifty with their output The 6% decline in Scouts (11-17) is way concerning. As a result of that noted that Eagle Scouts are down from +/- 50K per year to under 30K per year. As was noted, we are now at 1939 membership levels. Scouts in 1939 +/- 1,000,000 US population 1939 +/- 130,000,000 Scouts as % overall population - 0.76% Scouts in 2024 +/- 1,000,000 US population 2024 +/- 330,000,000 Scouts as % overall population - 0.03%

Lot of good comments Summary is the BSA (SA??) has not fully defined what it is and what they do. When I joined way back when it was a game with a purpose, we had adventures, learned things, sampled many different hobbies and interests, and most importantly learned to work in groups and take care of ourselves. As we matured we went from follower to leader. Over the years the BSA strayed from that to want to become the swiss army knife of youth groups. We do everything. Also more focus on advancement and formal learning and less emphasis on experiential learning. 1/2 the required Eagle MBs are basically classwork. Even the action merit badges focus way more on instruction and less on doing. Many leaders (parents) do not see the big picture. Anecdotal but the pages of discussion on getting 20 nights camping for camping MB is case in point. Folks spend way more time figuring our how to game the system than, well, I don't know, going camping. BSA (SA??) needs to get a clear message out of what they are DOING, action stuff. Move away from family stuff for cubs, that is killing that group and makes Scouts harder to recruit due to that is the expectation. Middle schoolers DO NOT want a family organization, they want adventures with their peers. We are not STEM (many groups do that better), Kids do not want more schools, and are actually not a formal leadership academy. You know what youth soccer is successful, they focus on soccer. BSA needs to focus on a core group of things we can do well, and sell that. Quick note on social media, the BSA (SA??) National and Council feeds are horrendous. They are really more message boards and advertisements. Post stories of what Scouts are DOING!! Focus on adventure to entice and dare I say tempt youth to go join.

Some other KPI (Key Performance Indicators) you may want to consider Number of Scouts lost on outings last quarter and actively found Number of Scouts lost on outings last quarter that you did not look for but who seemed to have turned up anyway Scouts left at gas / food stops last quarter while driving to or from outings Number of rain jackets forgotten at last outing with rain (can also be expressed as a percentage) Number of class A shirts misplace that seem to have magically been found Number of items "stolen" on an outing last quarter that were "found" in the correct backpack Amount of trash and debris (needs to be in pounds) left in vehicles used for transit to outings Amount of clothing and other personal items (needs to be in pounds) left unclaimed after last quarters outings Number of propane cylinders deemed empty yet seemed to work when actually connected properly to the stove Number of times troop SPL has explained what the 3 pot cleaning method is (expressed as average times per outing)

Well, in many cases it is subtle. You can't really address this or you are "not supportive", so there is no real alternative other than to be disgruntled. - We have seen at camp the female troops request, dare I say demand, that certain bath houses be "female only". Note these bathhouses are all setup with multiple locking single rooms in them, all open to the outside - There have been requests at camp for some activities to be female only at times (water skiing, climbing wall to name a few), yet the narrative is we are all Scouts, so why the request for special consideration? - Male scouts have been admonished by Girl troop leaders for taking roads / paths near the girls sites and told these are female only areas, again, the narrative is we are all Scouts, so why the demand for special consideration? - At the camp we attend troops frequently share sites, some of the Girl troops have demanded not to share with a boy troop, and it has been acquiesced to, and in some cases the Girl troop got their own site, crowding other troops - Have seen leaders from Girls troops demand additional spaces for their Scouts in horseback riding classes since this is what girls joined to do so BSA should be accommodating - There have been the multiple first female Eagle, quickest female Eagle news releases over the last year, guess the boys earning Eagle are less now? - There have been the multiple celebrations for 5 years of females joining Scouts, yet there are boy troops that 75 - 100 years old and no celebration. Guess the boys are just here now and we celebrate the girls only. - My Scouts saw the "Golden Eagle" term and were curious what that was. Explained it was a girl who earned the GSUSA Gold Award and also the Eagle rank. Their response, so they are being recognized for something we (the boys) are not able to do? - Have seen on several forums questions as to why there is no Gold Award knot for BSA and Girls should be able to wear that on uniforms. Not sure what awards from other organizations should be worn on BSA uniforms, maybe some Scouts can wear their varsity letters and National Honor Society pins?