Jameson76

But but...it's dark and scary out there, and little Timmy has a lot to do, and the cell phone reception is weak, and toilets are scarce, and there was soccer.....

It's the arms race amongst Scout groups...in this corner the not broadly understood GSUSA "Gold Award"...and in this corner the gold standard of youth awards the BSA "Eagle Scout". Which will be deemed Best In Class, which will corner the market, and more importantly, which will generate more revenue for their organization??

It can be a conundrum and if you start going down YPT and G2SS rabbit holes, second guessing yourself, and subscribing to the "McCarthyesque" YPT feeling that everyone is a predator, you may likely never leave the house and attend a scout meeting or event. The buddy thing is great and useful, but often different Scouts have different interests and class schedules at summer camp. The intent is for the boys to have a buddy, yet as many things that happen in the real world, out in the mud and the weeds, that may not be the case 100% of the time We (our unit) definitely works under the guise of doing the best we can, abiding as closely as possible to rules and regs, and working to have a fun program and develop the leadership and citizenship skills for the young men. Just last night I had a scout who wanted to review his Eagle project and also look over some merit badges. We set it up via e-mail with mom and SM in copy. He drove to the house, (wife was home at the time) we met in the driveway in clear view of by the garage (nice and shady), and completed the work. You do what is needed in the spirit and intent of the YPT and G2SS to deliver the program. Also I do have an umbrella policy. (and some nice umbrellas on the deck)

I would assume that with the wide swath of burn across the ranch, the sadly the remaining backcountry treks for 2018 (those not already cancelled) will at best be problematic

Official line is that it was the amount of visitors. As was discussed I guess it depends on the why of the museum. If to promote BSA and be visible to everyone, Dallas is good. If just another box to check from National...yeah I guess we gotta have a museum, then why not Philmont Candidly I do not think they promoted it or made it a "Destination". I did visit the Dallas one a few years back. Good mementos and items. Animatronic Baden Powell was might creepy

That DE would not be welcome any longer at any or our functions, we would be Scoutlike (as much as possible) in that communication. Sounds like you are doing fine without his help.

Airline (Delta) has been responsive, they will have a credit for a year from purchase. Not sure on PSR fees (assume they will be refunded or credited), calls out to the ground transportation. Everything was fine until last Thursday....

We have (had) 2 crews that were to leave on Sunday. Not sure what the options are for them down the road. BSA has an opportunity to really make something positive out of this negative OR they can fumble the ball and alienate their most dedicated and involved youth. I hope they refund all fees AND / OR give them priority for 2019 slots, which may involve adding more slots and trek opportunities For our troop with PSR Fees, ground tours, flights, equipment the 2 crew are in this for $50,000 + Come on BSA National High Adventure bases, the ball is in your court, you did not ask for this, but you can WIN this one

Seems like a Council Commissioner trying to fill in a checkbox somewhere without actually doing anything...... "Why yes, our stalwart DC and UC teams have done XXX unit assessments, here are the forms. They are very busy out with the units" Personally, I would ignore it, what with generic e-mail and whatnot. If the UC (whatever that may be) wants to come and sit down and do an actual assessment, then engage

This pretty much cover it all....

That would depend on what you view as providing an engaging and challenging program. To be fully compliant with the G2SS is possible, but that is sort of like building something in a major city, yes you can conform to the 600 pages of building codes, but is that even something you want to do? Most of do the best we can and the goal is to safely bring home the youth in our charge

Not only G2SS but also the NEW AND IMPROVED YPT. Have any of you taken that yet? First what they present is valuable information and we as leaders should be aware and understand the potential issues. That being said, the new YPT veers heavily from "what to do" type training; if this happens do this, don't do this, etc to a very heavy and constant drumbeat of how much of a public health crisis that child exploitation is at this time. If I were a new parent volunteer, the tone of the training may make think twice, especially as the comments on being a mandatory reporter, etc As with the G2SS the YPT rules, while overall simple, can cause confusion. Most frequent is the two deep leadership and one on one contact. Two deep is required for an outing, that does not mean anytime a leader is around there has to be two of you. Same with one on one contact, you are at summer camp and come across one of your scouts walking to his next class. No reason you cannot walk with him and chat with him about camp (he is by himself as no other troop member is taking that class at that time)

I suspect they had Kool Aid by the truckload available Agree that the speak / tenor / attitude from National on down is that THIS change (the admitting girls) is the one that will really do it, this is what was needed. The FAMILY emphasis is the one that will be a challenge down the road. The law of unintended consequences. While signing up the whole family (Scouting for Dogs anyone??) may be great for the numbers, not sure of the impact to leadership and personal growth. If the youth and Family are so closely tied through 6 years (yes 6 years) of Cubbery, the move to what was traditional Boy Scouts will be quite a change. While the program elements and requirements are not changing (yet) likely in many units the delivery of that program will be substantively altered. Even now troops within the same are vary greatly. As Girl Troop and "Linked" (coed wink wink) Troop become active they will effect the landscape. LDS decision is the LDS decision. Possibly some LDS scouts will continue in non-LDS units but I am not versed in LDS family culture The old adage, follow the money. If you read and review the original Summit justification, there is no way that location can become self sustaining. From a High Adventure viewpoint the need and numbers were never there. Yes there may have been some waitlisting, but that is sort of like beach hotels on Memorial Day and the summer. Sure if you have a 200 unit building you could fill up a 600 unit building for some period, but for 9 months of the year you only need less than 100. Overall capacity was fine, there was some surge capacity that was a challenge. The financial woes of the BSA on the National level; Summit costs, bloated staff and salaries, underfunded pensions, insurance costs are where the real trouble is brewing for the future.

Agree - G2SS original intent is good, but this has evolved into nothing more than a Corporate BSA cover document. Very much like when you get a new lawnmover and it explain not to mow inside. Obviously someone at some point did that, so the legalese solution is to pretty much put the kitchen sink into the "Thou Shall Not" section and move the liability down the road

So - Looking at the G2SS Electronics are not mentioned in G2SS Phone is mentioned multiple times, no clarification or guidance except: No firm guidance from BSA

The electronics and phones are a challenge. You certainly want for the Scouts to engage with the unit and not be on their phone during meetings, outings, and summer camp. They can be a useful tool and are great for reviewing requirements, getting food costs, etc. For our troop the go to policy (actually more of a guideline) is we do not encourage or support phones and electronics on outings and meetings. If we see them during the meeting and event they will be secure for the Scout until the end of the meeting and event (would not want anything to happen to it). This can be a challenge and actually do not have great solution. So many parents want that instant access to their Scouts 24/7.

Taking the portion out of the paragraph, section, and overall context may lead to varying interpretations, though the literal reading may be the intent. Though not very practical depending on your troop and community. The section is I. Youth Protection and Adult Leadership. The entire section speaks to Adults leading and interacting with youth. The sections following this line speaks about what to do if a conference is needed and digital communications. Possibly they are speaking to and calling out meetings, communications, etc that will inevitably fall out of "Scouting" which would be meetings, outings, summer camp. Kid who is in your troop, lives in the neighborhood, your are friends with family and you help him with a school project in your shop, not sure that is a YPT issue. Reason being that if something did happen there the reporting would be to the police, not any Scouting group. Yes the acquaintances may overlap, but your SM would not report the incident as it was not his purview or responsibility.

Wow there is a lot wrong here. Only speaking for our unit but actually kicking someone out has only happened once in maybe 20+ years In that instance the Scout was asked to not return after multiple meetings with the parents, a suspension from outings, suspension for a period and no improvement. IMHO an expulsion from the troop should not come as a surprise to the affected. We have of course had issues between Scouts. In all cases there have been conversations with the SM, CC, parents, and the Scout. Key is to get all the detail and as many have said, insure you have an informed, fair, and impartial decision. Main goal is to keep the Boy Scout active in the troop.

I bet they said "Yes...as of right now"

Our CSE.... maybe needs to read up on the Oath and Law as he makes statements

If you finished Eagle December 1973 (NOTE - as did I and we took paperwork to Council office on like Friday 12/28 or Monday 12/30, stood in line, and got it filed) then you were under the original requirements and hopefully avoided ISP, berets, and asking the kindly policeman for directions while out on a hike.

I was being kind...also haven't you been paying attention??? THOUSANDS of GIRLS are signing up, plus the LIONS, plus the FAMILIES, and did I mention the GIRLS, and STEM, and SOCCER, and LEARNING FOR LIFE, why the tent is HEEWGE and will need to get HEEEWGER, what with all of this influx BSA (current corporate name but not married to it), will need to no doubt add (wait for it) SUMMIT WEST to handle the need for High Adventure

https://scoutingwire.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/2017-Annual-Report-Combined-FINAL-App-Version.pdf Always interesting - you have to really read the notes. The National Council’s controlling interest in its unrestricted net assets decreased by $6,479,000. The decrease in net assets was driven by payments made to the Boy Scouts of America Retirement Plan for Employees totaling $14,400,000 claims and provision expense related to the General Liability program totaling $57,427,000. Offsetting the decrease in net assets was increases in investment income totaling $58,745,000. Total expenses increased by $19,864,000 to $283,604,000 in 2017, up from $263,740,000 during 2016. Of this increase, $33,221,000 relates to cost attributed to the 2017 National Scout Jamboree. Offsetting the increase are declines in expenses attributed to pension and insurance cost of $13,564,000 (Note under REVENUES that Fees increased in 2017 by $24,426,000 primarily due to the 2017 National Scout Jamboree - so I guess we lost $9,000,000 at Jambo) The National Council’s financial condition for 2018 and the next few years will depend, in large part, upon three factors. The first is the outcome of the litigation discussed within this report (see Note 9) and the impact to GLIP (Note 7). The second lies with the success of securing donations for the Summit project in order to continue to pay bond payments as scheduled and maintaining compliance with debt covenants. The third factor is the economy and legislation and their effect on market conditions and liquidity requirements. Quite a few notes and comments on Summit - Here is one In March 2012, the National Council issued debt to finance the development of the Summit. $175,000,000 in 10-year, tax exempt bonds was added to the existing 2010 Series A and B bonds, and the 5-year $50,000,000 line of credit was increased by $25,000,000 to $75,000,000. Bond issuance costs were $100,000. The Series A bond was paid in 2015 and the Series B bond has monthly principal and interest payment with a balloon payment of $40,363,000 due in 2020. The $175,000,000 bonds payable, requires monthly interest and principal payments with a balloon payment of $136,834,000 due in 2022.

Well...let's see 10 years down the road All packs / troops / units will be coed The uniform will be a suggestion, more just a shirt likely Duty to God and Statement of Declaration of Religious Principle will be greatly amended, watered down, or tossed The current 266 Councils will be consolidated to under 150 A financial reorganization due to the Summit debacle The registration (showing 2,659.439 in 2017 annual report) will be down to well under 2,000,000 The number of units (showing 99,814 in 2017 annual report) will be down to well under 80,000 Major requirement changes and updates, less emphasis on actual outing and more emphasis on "events" Also more options and paths to advancement, so as in the 70's, you can likely get to Eagle and never actually camp, start a fire, leave the house Summer camp will be vastly different in appearance and scope Families and family "events" in the program formerly known as Boy Scouts will be common place More emphasis on STEM and non outdoor items, leading to more dilution of the brand