Jameson76

11 minutes ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

"in school Scouting" units.

Yes Yes - Learning for Life Scouts.  A program with great intentions and really can fit a need.  That being said, it is rife with potential for abuse and membership shenanigans.  These Scouts are 14% of the membership total for BSA (2016 numbers).  The councils and nationals solicit monies for their membership, so in many cases no real cost to the participants.  They may not even know they are involved in Scouts. 

Actually in some cases they did not know because the groups never met and were paper only units.

1 hour ago, T2Eagle said:

You guys can read significance into anything.

The significance is this shows the level of pointless corporate speak within the BSA, dare I say lack of professionalism, and almost looks like the kids are playing at being a corporation.  This is from the highest levels of the same organization that made a major organization change with really poor roll out, weak plans, amateurish communications, no full understanding of the impact to the units, and no serious plan on how to carry out their master stroke.

This "job" posting shows how poorly the corporate BSA is run.  Not saying the same about councils, but helps fill in the holes we have all wondered about what really is going on with all the Gold Tabs

3 minutes ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

I think you got the wrong engine. I believe this is the Eagle Express.

Hopefully not this

On 1/26/2018 at 12:49 PM, Eagle94-A1 said:

WHY?

Seriously why shortchange the Cubs? 3 den meetings a month is not that hard. Been there, done that.

Need to get used to Streamlined things, this way everyone can get.....

16 minutes ago, Col. Flagg said:

It's the same person who let Huma Abedin take her non-secured laptop with TS-SCI data on it and leave it in a Russian hotel room, and then let her uncleared husband use it.

Hey...those photos weren't sending themselves

38 minutes ago, Tampa Turtle said:

I would like to know WHY that was included? Previous leakers?

Russian hackers...

Also - 

Don't want any of this foolishness

Myriad of issues here, but the headline about fighting changes to state’s Hidden Predator Act is not favorable to the program - 

the Boy Scouts said they “strongly support certain parts of HB 605, which would reform the civil statute of limitations for child abuse giving survivors more time to pursue justice. We do not support it in its current form, however, because it does not strengthen efforts that experts agree can help keep children safe and includes provisions that would hinder the ability of youth-serving organizations to protect the children they serve.”

http://www.myajc.com/news/crime--law/boy-scouts-among-groups-fighting-changes-state-hidden-predator-act/lJ5sDKg4tROfpQf9abQcAK/

29 minutes ago, walk in the woods said:

A technology the vendor effectively abandon what, three years ago?

No joke, maybe I can apply online via their dial up modem using my Blackberry - 

You need to be have Expert level proficiency using Adobe Creative Suite. (which had the last release 6 years ago)

Adobe Creative Suite (CS) was a software suite of graphic design, video editing, and web development applications developed by Adobe Systems. Each edition consisted of several Adobe applications, e.g., Photoshop, Acrobat, Premiere Pro or After Effects, InDesign, and Illustrator that are the industry standard applications for many graphic design positions.

The last of the Creative Suite versions, Adobe Creative Suite 6 (CS6), was launched at a release event on April 23, 2012, and released on May 7, 2012. CS6 was the last of the Adobe design tools to be physically shipped as boxed software as the model for future releases and updates would be delivered via download only.

On May 6, 2013 Adobe announced that CS6 would be the last version of the Creative Suite,and that future versions of their creative software would only be available via their Adobe Creative Cloud subscription model. Adobe also announced that it would continue to support CS6 and would provide bug fixes and security updates through the next major upgrades of both Mac and Windows operating systems (as of 2013).The Creative Suite packages were pulled from Adobe's online store in 2013, but were still available on their website until January 2017.

3 minutes ago, NJCubScouter said:

And by the way, does the BSA really refer to their departments as "business units"?  Maybe they do, but it seems a little odd for a non-profit organization.

CO built us a 16 x 20 shed.  We put shelving in and it works great.  The troop is the only one with the keys.  Also we have a small trailer we load for outings

If the CO will let you build one, one of the garden sheds, maybe a 10 x 10 would be about $2,000.  Which may be out of reach, but a longer term solution and likely less expensive over several years

Some definite measurable deliverables there

We carved out and built a meeting area down behind the CO on their land, backs up to some houses.  Put in a bridge over a gully, assembly area with flagpoles and benches in meeting areas for patrols.  We hang lanterns for lighting.  You come down a hill to get to the area.  If one comes later pretty neat to look down and see the lanterns, Scouts running about.

On 2/16/2018 at 3:18 PM, Col. Flagg said:

doing white water on the Natahala.

Natahala is fun but we tend to gravitate to the Ocoee, more frightening

18 minutes ago, Eagledad said:

I believe the overburdened Cub program is the main cause for dropping membership the 30 years. 

Overburdened??    You just have to get on the membership train, more stuff is BETTER

• Used to be 3 years of Cubs then one got to Scouts (waaay back in the day)
• Let's make it School year so they all advance at the same pace
• Let's go camping
• Let's all go camping as a family
• Let's add a year of Webelos so we can lower the entrance age
• Let's add Tigers so we can lower the entrance age again
• Let's add popcorn sales
• Let's add camp card sales
• Let's add Girl Dens / Boy Dens / Coed Packs
• Let's add kindergartners so we can lower the entrance age again
• Let's do Cub Scouts for 6 FUN FILLED YEARS!!!

20 minutes ago, Col. Flagg said:

Change will be hard. Even if we take up all the AR-15s and handguns lying around, kids could still make other things to cause harm. When people seek to do harm they will find a way whether it is a box cutter, pipe bomb or AR-15. We can take steps to eliminate some of the weapons but we will never get rid of all of them.

For me the answer lies with family, faith, friendship and fairness. 

A good bit of Monday morning Quarterbacking sadly going on.  Yes he was a bit odd, but law enforcement can do little unless actual laws are broken.  There may have been red flags, but not sure if a red flag is against an applicable law.  No real laws against being weird. 

Good input that someone on certain medications and diagnosis maybe should not have firearms.  Cannot disagree.  But how is that enforced?  Database is trumpeted, but with HIPPA and privacy laws, not sure how that would be done

Well he was a little crazy, but the efforts to get somebody involuntarily committed are onerous.

19 minutes ago, Col. Flagg said:

Exactly! And it automatically updates and events or files that have been updated. All such updates are included in the eBlast announcement that goes out each week. The email lists are priceless too. We can target emails to OA or PLC (or whatever groups you create). It also allows the PLs to communicate with their patrol (and by default, also with parents too).

I can honestly say that it has saved me tons of time. Couple that with Google Drive and Skype, we can collaborate whenever we need to. In fact, I was on a PLC Skype call last year and it was pretty cool. 10 kids and 4 adults. Got a lot done and the adults could still keep their day jobs. 

The on-line sign up and generating of attendance rosters from Excel saves tons of time.  Can see which events need more promotion and which are doing fine

2 minutes ago, Tampa Turtle said:

Inter-racial parents. 

Fat Parents

Fat Turtles

Definitely no weight challenged, would not be able to fit all of them into the group photo

6 minutes ago, Tampa Turtle said:

I feel left out only having two boys. I guess you can't be a gay couple either. 

Correct

In looking at the approved and provided photo (graphic??), Family Scouting also does NOT include:

• Only children families
• Families with more than three children
• Children more than 3 years apart unless the youngest is an infant
• Single parents (male)
• Single parents (female)
• Families with children of the same gender
• Male parents shorter than the female parents
• Bald parents
• Frowning 

7 minutes ago, Back Pack said:

We did a local theme park in patrols as a special event one summer but I couldn’t see making a special trip to disney. That’s not really what scouts is about. My friends and I would rather be on the lake or hiking or something. We can do disney with our families. 

9 hours ago, TAHAWK said:

Enforce the time limits, politely, to be sure.  Music? 

Great.  Now I have to budget for an orchestra to be on hand to play people off who drone on too long

We go with Terry Tate - COH Linebacker

9 minutes ago, Col. Flagg said:

As Ronald Reagan once said, "There you go again."

You have this incessant need to be right or close down debate when things don't suit you.

Let me be clear (again): I am NOT talking about DATA!! That is YOUR argument.

I am talking about getting ACCESS to and FINDING them!!! 

I'm done. You may have the last word.

You just need a super cool cell phone

Or be on the beach

Or one in you car

Sad event again.  We will have to observe this at the meeting on Monday night

I remember in the summer of 2016 there was the Orlando nightclub shooting in June and we did the Half-Staff at summer camp for the week.  Then in July that same summer we were at summer camp 2 and observed Half-Staff for the Police officers killed in Dallas.

No need to have a long recitations on events at meetings, that should be done in another format.  Our longform COH runs about 1.5 hours, but we have dinner and the FOS presentation is done while everyone is eating.  Keep it brief.  Most run 45 minutes.  The one after summers camp(s) runs long due to handing out 250 + merit badges and many rank advancements, but that is expected.

For communications much better way than droning on

• We have the Troop Website, which details events, you can sign up for outings, etc etc
• The Troop website kicks out an e-mail every week which highlights the events and announcements updates within a week
• We have a Troop Facebook page where we post photos, updates, TBT photos, some announcements
• We have a troop instagram where we post photos and some announcements

34 minutes ago, Back Pack said:

Oh I forgot that no adults were ever on stage except the sm to give a 5 min update and those accepting awards. The spl or emcee were scouts running the show. 

Agree.  Scouts do the MC and banquet person works with them on a script.  Leaders give out badges.  We have a reminder on the next outing, typically reminder to sign up for summer camp (literally what was written is that sentence is the length of the announcment) and then SM minute

Scouts run the program

So now you can be in Cub scouts for 6 years.  We (at the troop) get numerous Webelos II's that are ready to move on, or also we get several scouts joining each year, got weary of the younger kids in the pack and redundancy of the program (fire station again??), so they dropped but now they are back.

Guess it will work for some, but in a pack or program setting the interest and ability difference between a 5 year old and a 10 year old is pretty extreme