Jameson76

They literally do not have a vote. What they want is irrelevant. What the CO / COR / CC want is relevant

Would need to know what if anything the Council Training committee actually accomplished OR was it just a check the box committee (yep we met). What is the charter of the group? What are their goals? What have they implemented or improved last 3 / 5 /7 years. What do they actually do that helps the scouting program at the unit level?

All these years of training classes gives these folks who want to be commissioners something to do...instead of you know....commissioner stuff The commissioner program is great in the abstract. The actual process of a commissioner doing some action to support youth programming at the unit level is often not there. I have worked with 6 different units in 2 different councils. In my 30 plus years on adult leadership I think I have seen a commissioner twice actually in the wild (you know at a unit). I have seen many of them at council events, camps, etc hanging out...commissioning (I guess that is a verb) Sort of like with fundraising...Do we have commissioners so we have good Scout Troops OR do we have Scout troops so we have commissioners

Interesting comment. It is an Eagle Board of Review, not an Eagle Board of Inquisition. The EBOR should be an opportunity to have an Eagle Scout to talk about himself, talk about how Scouting has been a benefit to him, talk about what merit badges he liked, how Scouting will help him in life and yes a review of the project. Not what screws were used or some other inane detail. A discussion on what went right, what was a challenge, what you learned (good and bad), general impression of the project, who helped and advised, etc etc Also as a leader in the troop great opportunity for feedback on why they joined Boy Scouts, why they stayed in Boy Scouts, what the troop may be doing right, and what the troop could be doing better. If an Eagle board is 30 - 45 minute discussion on the project, which is actually a small part of the overall journey, they are doing it wrong.

Can we at least all agree that the skill awards for the belts (not the skills but the metal award) were ridiculous. Though young I was able to get in under the wire in December of 73 with my Eagle completed. Talk about an incentive. There was a definite caste system for many years; were you an "old" Eagle requirements Eagle (outdoorsman to the core, no fear. out wrestling bears) or a "new" Eagle requirements Eagle (never camped, asked cops for directions on your hike if you get lost, full urban kid scared of the evil woods). Ah the good old days.

And that is in fact the real issue isn't it? The quoted statement starts with the statement the improvement and ends with in whatever form it works best. Many view the changes as an improvement and hope to see these changes as a better (re:improved) offering of Scouting. Other view the changes as not in fact an improvement and further movement away from Scouting roots and sadly see these changes as lesser offering of Scouting. Unfortunately all we have is anecdotal evidence, supposition, and guesses for either case to be made. Real challenge is that National BSA has been less than forthcoming on the real reason. Faulty surveys, public opinion, townhall meetings, and "unanimous" votes do not a groundswell of support make. Now we are getting into the real rubber meets the road and working to spool up numerous units. That in and of itself will be a pretty good challenge. If you work with a unit keeping one that has several years of history and a good track record is a challenge already. Building all of that from scratch is daunting. Sad truth is that @Eagledad correctly noted earlier today that this was a survival mode change, simple math. As noted in the 1978 classic Animal House "we need the dues" Now a year and some months following the announcement of Girls being able to join Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts sorry Scouts BSA there have been many other challenges. Linked troops solution and vague answers about are we really going coed? YPT that is clearly not balance as one declared gender is required to have a leader of similar gender present, no such requirement for the other gender 20% of the registered membership and CO's leaving by the end of 2019 A name change for the flagship branch of the organization Extension for requirements so current joiners in 2019 get 2 years to earn the vaunted Eagle Scout award A lawsuit by another organization over use of the names Girls and Scouts Possibly going into bankruptcy to stave off lawsuit payments Summit payments timeline keeps coming down the tracks Clearly no one knows if the changes will be an improvement, clearly no one knows if the new scouting "look" will work best. Will this result in a net increase in youth being served? No one can tell, we are sort of moving along on a wing and a prayer. However, this is where we are now, moving ahead and no way to go back. One cautionary note. In the 1970's the decision was to reinvent the Boy Scouts program and roll out the Improved Scouting Program (ISP). At the end of 1970 BSA membership was 6,287,284. At the end of 1980 BSA membership was 4,326,082. That is a reduction of over 30%. Whatever may happen, BSA will not be able to weather another improvement to the program along those lines.

That can vary from district to district. The district does have to approve the Eagle Scout candidates project and sign off on the proposal. There is mention of meeting, but that is not specifically required. Only that it be approved prior to any work. The proposal could be submitted and returned with comments on approval or areas to be answered prior to approval. For the unit approval it is denoted that the unit can designate one individual to meet and approved Eagle projects, the full committee meeting to review is not required, though the unit could do that.

On the guardian question, I am not a lawyer (though I did watch 12 Angry Men the other night) the only definition seems to imply someone who is legally responsible for someone who is unable to mange their affairs. Agree that if the wizards in Dallas had put the word "legal" in front of guardian, would be much clearer. I know for webelos visitation we have had older brothers, grandparents, etc accompany visiting Web II scouts. If another parent brings 2 Web's for a visit (their son and another Web) we typically will request that the young ones have their own tent. To get back on topic, he is not the CM if the CO/COR/CC do not approve and endorse. End of story.

Agree it is sort of vague as to whether this would / should be counted in the 15 nights. As with many things in Boy Scouts, you as the SM will need to use your best judgement to ensure the requirements are met and you are not adding or subtracting to/from them. Yes you have some latitude. Approved - that would seem to imply that the camping event and/or outing would need to be reviewed prior to the event with the Troop leadership. Typically the monthly troop outings would be assume to be approved, can be a grey area for a cub outing with siblings under the auspices = with the help and support of (someone or something) standards of the Boy Scouts of America = well, that is subjective as no leadership from the troop was likely in charge and that is a broad statement

Be reminded if you do call and your are a leader, to make sure it is a conference call with another registered and YPT trained leader so as to be compliant with current GTSS. Also subnote A, if the middle range kid is in fact a youth who is currently identifying as female gender and you as a leader do not currently identify as female gender you will need to include a registered and YPT trained leader who does currently identify as female gender Gotta be safe......

The camp is East of Atlanta (proper) about 40 miles. Bert Adams has been Atlanta Area Council property since around 1960 (+/-). There was a storm front moving through, not all that surprising for mid-summer in Georgia. My recollection is there was not a long term warning about severe weather threats, just thunderstorms. There were some microbursts that hit the area. Those are very random and literally will knock a couple of trees down and 20' away not damage. Woodruff (the AAC mountain camp) was hit by a severe line on a Saturday afternoon in late June, so no campers on property, and maybe 30 tents and platforms were damaged. Honestly not sure what can be done other than the obvious. Remove any dead trees, that is normal. The tree(s) in question were alive. Remove any visibly damaged / aged / insect infested trees. Short of having all campsites and program areas in a big field (which opens up other potential issues) or removing all the trees, there is a limited action. I guess don't go outside and hang out in an office park would be a solution. They certainly have a right to sue. It has been 6 months so my assumption is there was behind the scenes work to have a settlement. The family may be interested in a consent decree to implement different actions than BSA currently has in place. Interestingly they appear to be suing the Atlanta Area Council directly. The suit was filed in Cobb County, where the council office is physically located. They may also be suing National BSA, but that was not mentioned in the WSB or Atlanta Journal articles

Also this is the really really important quote from the article: BSA’s debt load has ballooned in recent years to help fund the Summit’s development. In 2012, the organization issued $175 million in bonds due 2022, and increased its revolving line of credit by $25 million. Yes the insurance issues and settlements can be tough, but the ego project of Summit is the real issue

Shocked face

We had two Scouts who did their projects on the same day at a community organization. The org was having a work day and wanted to get everything done on the same day. It was logistically easier for them. As was previously noted each Scout owned their project, they were separate and coordinated their own efforts. One thing was one project was ahead of schedule and had extra labor so they wandered over and helped with moving some items for project 2. Basic labor sharing SM should not be inserting himself into the process

An interesting question on how to grow Scouting. One item BSA does not seem to effectively do is benchmarking. Not that JTE foolishness or Quality Unit intrigue. But really get into what is the unit that maintains membership, has many service hours, has outings every month, works to use the patrol method actually doing and how are they in fact doing this? (and no it's not Woodbadge trained leaders). This would be more than one visit and the actual challenge is what makes a good unit. One unit may be 100 Scouts and another unit 2 miles down the road may be 25 Scouts. Both may be successful, but who defines this? If you want to grow, figure out what the top units are doing, then objectively determine what can and what cannot be replicated. Likely it will come down to motivated adult leaders, engaged youth, and supportive families.

Agree on Scoutbook. I am the Life to Eagle coordinator for our troop. We have 10 - 12 Eagles per year. The individual report is great. Helps to see if the Scout has in fact turned in all the merit badge blue cards. Also the dates are very useful. I send them the link to the fillable PDF Eagle app and advise them to pull their report from Scoutbook. For keeping up with the Scouts I have a basic Excel sheet that I sort by birthday and rank. Also there are milestones like project approved, merit badges, have they reached out to me to review the process, SM conference, etc. If they are closing on 18 I will check-in. Still their responsibility to follow through.

There ares notes in the Guide to Advancement. Lots of note on timeliness From section 9.0.1.5 Submit to Council Service Center "There is no requirement that the application must be completed or submitted before the 18th birthday. Councils do not have the authority to reject applications submitted on of after that date"

At Philmont check-in a few years back, my BP was higher than they liked. Hung around the medical place, drank water, etc. One of the medical folks came in, I asked what's the end game here. They advised that ultimately the decision to head for the trail was my decision. I told them "and we're done here". Had a great trek. 80 plus miles, Baldy and Tooth, etc etc I have not take WB but knowing some of the leaders in our council and from photos, pretty sure NOT a HA and not a physically stressing activity.

Well...you can't have your CEO out and about with the great unwashed.

Most Boy Scouts do not even realize they have a membership card/number. That is until they start filling out the Eagle application

Rather than Woodbadge, lead a second summer camp or a longer term summer experience for the troop

You just know that their version of all of this is that the TROOP would not make a reasonable accommodation for their son who had a life threatening allergy. The TROOP was insensitive to his needs. The parents graciously offered to attend the outing so as to relieve the burden of this from the TROOP leadership. The pleas from the parents fell on deaf ears and everything was fine up until this point. They are not a welcoming TROOP This stuff will write itself

They have published the 2019 Treks - Seems that the middle of the ranch will not be used. Sort of expected this was going to be the case. Either south country or north country. No hiking bear canyon or crossing US 64 https://www.philmontscoutranch.org/2019-itineraries-and-guidebook-to-adventure-released/?fbclid=IwAR0EAgyPzzB6nDK20QvbLg0oKnVvtunDAxmeqtRc7Y7JcUfHk17wOn8rhE8

Option B As Gerry Bertier's so eloquently stated in Remember the Titans - "Sometimes, you just gotta cut a man loose”

We have Scouts (youth) who are Life or Eagle sign off on the Tfoot / Second Class / First Class requirements. I guess if we had Life Scouts in the troop that also had a son in the troop we would evaluate if they could sign off, though not likely we will put it in the rotation of things to talk about. For merit badges scouts find leaders other than their parents to cover that. We are a large unit so most merit badges (especially Eagle required) have 3 to 4 MBC they can call on. For our unit no parents can be on their son's BOR. Same for SM conferences, no parents does those for their son.