Jameson76

Hey now...we're not all that bad. Many of us like to poke fun at the Woodbadge cult, so that's a plus

I get my best feedback on outings and especially to and from outings. At the outings just walking around and engaging in conversation, also observing. In the cars listening to what is said as you motor along is good. The feedback collection can vary, and if scouts think you are actually taking a poll they may not answer. Have to be conversational. My main input would be the scouts have to trust you, yes you are an adult leader, but can they talk with you? Do you speak to them as Scouts and you are the leader, or do you have a conversation with them as equal partners participating in the Scouting program. Sometimes adults do have to be the leaders, but more times we need to be partners with the scouts, talk about school, their sports, how they lost social media privileges for whatever reason.

Those concepts are clearly in the eye of the beholder. Some feel that Scouts need to do everything and by some magic they will know what to do even if it fails. Other feel they can do it but adults need to sort of keep them between the ditches on the road traveled, others feel the kids do not know anything and they will just do it No clear definition. Key is to make sure the program functions in some way. Scouts not reserving a camping site so an outing is cancelled while yes that may be a learning experience, could have been avoided and has a negative program impact on everyone. Scout not bringing all the needed supplies for an outing, sure that is a learning experience.and is a positive in the end

You need to evolve and understand what drives interest or what does not drive interest, Candidly that varies with your troop and particular group of scouts. On the Klondike, maybe it has become stale, perhaps it is what some long term adult leaders feel a Klondike should be. Get feedback on why they do not want to go and do a reboot of the event. With our troop (a large one) we have doubled our Scouts as outings in the last 5 years. Basically we looked at the data we had (what drew scouts what did not) then working with the TLC asked the WHY behind the data. Then we challenged them to plan and initiate what do you want to see. Basically we came up with some key elements No advancement / school type outings, too much of that M - F In the fall only SAT and SUN due to Friday night football Have a key activity, but also they do not want to over schedule, leave time for cards with friends Have levels of challenge (we do a biking on a rails to trail, some ride 25 miles / some 50 miles) Not too late on Sunday afternoons, school work beckons They challenged the troop leaders with some ideas, we worked with them on how to implement and they had ownership Beach / gorge exploration / ropes courses No district camporees (They were lame apparently) We had low attendance at the end of the school year outings in May due to exams, sports finals, etc. The TLC wanted to do a Lock-in. So we worked with the CO, now we do one from Fri to Sat morning. Huge participation. Some leave early, some come late. Video games literally all night, dodge ball and nerf engagements. Successful because that is what they wanted and we as leaders worked with them to bring it about We get really good feedback at BOR's and try to use that to improve the program. Still some work to be done on the meetings and scout instructors

Hogan's Heroes was on one night and my son (maybe 9th grade at the time) watched the episode. First we had to get beyond officers and enlisted men in the same POW camp, but then he said..so the Nazis were just fun loving guys?? I explained it was the 60's and that you had to sort of roll with it. Then we found Rat Patrol....

We like to have all the Eagles in the room join in a rousing rendition of the Big Joe Turner favorite "Flip, Flop and Fly"...tough to get the horns and saxophones coordinated due to practice time constraints, also the sunglasses and dark suits can be a sourcing issue.

This is the Scouting program for urban youth, at schools, etc. Learning for Life (LFL) is a United States school and work-site based youth program that is a subsidiary of the Boy Scouts of America. It utilizes programs designed for schools and community-based organizations that are designed to prepare youth for the complexities of contemporary society and to enhance their self-confidence, motivation, and self-esteem, and for careers. Learning for Life is not considered a traditional Scouting program; it does not use the Scout Promise, Scout Law, uniforms or insignia of traditional Scouting. All Learning for Life programs are open to youth and adults without restriction based on gender, residence, religion, sexual orientation, or other considerations, other than minimum age requirements. Some Explorer posts may require background checks and satisfactory school transcripts as conditions of membership. There were many issues with "Scouts" being registered. As you can see the membership dropped 36% from 2010 - 2014 as these issues were revealed. Youth membership Year 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Exploring 113,180 112,783 116,584 114,894 110,853 Learning for Life 664,063 511,359 475,280 418,484 422,139

Can I interest you in a prime piece of property in lovely West Virginia?? Got some neat zip lines. There is a this rather annoying balloon bond payment coming up, but maybe we can work through that.

I do recall BoyPower ManPower, was a scout and we had pressure to recruit. For those too young to remember...... Started about 1968, Boypower was intended to get one boy out every three in the U.S. into Scouting by the Bicentennial in 1976. In the end, it led to major scandals concerning paper units, mystery Scouts and diversion of government funds. Chicago led the way at the time, more paper scouts than anyone. Combined with the 1973 program changes designed to appeal to minorities, It also caused a major drop in membership by 1980. There have been other cheating scandals (Learning for Life is the latest) and other program efforts that didn't succeed, but this one was the granddaddy of them all

The "We don't know what to call this, and what the heck troops are gonna do what they want anyway...so Enjoy program"

Well Hal was in 2001 and 2010...so possibly. But it is great dialogue

Then it leads to this DAVE: Open the pod bay doors, Hal. HAL: I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that. DAVE: What’s the problem? HAL: l think you know what the problem is just as well as l do. DAVE: What are you talking about, Hal? HAL: This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it. DAVE: I don’t know what you're talking about, Hal. HAL: l know that you and Frank were planning to disconnect me, and I’m afraid that's something I can’t allow to happen. DAVE: Where the hell’d you get that idea, Hal? HAL: Although you took very thorough precautions in the pod against my hearing you, I could see your lips move. DAVE: All right, Hal. I’ll go in through the emergency air lock. HAL: Without your space helmet, Dave, you’re going to find that rather difficult. DAVE: Hal, I won’t argue with you anymore. Open the doors! HAL: Dave...This conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Goodbye.

Some ones that are fairly easy Match relay - set up a relay with X number of points, first person is given the match, they run into the water, hand it to someone on the dock, they have to get in the water, swim, give it to some else, repeat a few times, strike the match. Team with lowest time that can get the match to strike wins Canoe relay - 4 or 5 in a canoe, no paddles, out and back, change teams Greased watermelon - be sure to match but weights, it can get brutal

We have similar makeup. Actually add 8th and 9th graders as new scouts each year recruited by friends. Our District Commissioner kept pushing the Venture, that will keep the older scouts engaged. Our pushback was they are in fact engaged, they come to meetings, go on outings, etc. Most units that are successful do so because of outdoor program and a youth led program with leaders involved to train and let them run it. Nobody joined Scouts to track chores for 12 weeks, have family meetings, keep up with a budget, or track their pushups. They want to camp in the woods without parents or siblings, tell racy jokes in the privacy of their tents or hammocks, burn stuff, and goof off on a nice weekend afternoon without anyone giving them grief.

Brave new world....just roll with it Well, it's a feel good piece, let's all just get on board to the coed single gender dens and coed single gender troops concepts

Unless they want or need to run the money through the troop, you would not. Most of our Eagles handle their own, keep it under the threshold, turn over any excess funds to whomever was designated in the original fundraising request. I would say well over half of ours, and we have 8 - 10 per year, get their funding from families and close friends. No mass appeal.

You are correct, they are not traditional customers. To your point it is lifestyle and beliefs. If we only look at them as customers, then they think of themselves as not part of a movement (Church or scouts) and can easily wander on. Like do I join this sports league or the other one it town. We cannot be blind however, a troop does serve a constituency. Troop leaders need to look at involvement and participation year over year and use that information determine what works and what does not. Small corrections can pay big dividends. Stay within the framework of the BSA goals and values, but if you are doing an activity and it is not getting results, change the equation to get the needed results. BSA National has seen lower numbers and took the path of whole new deal, let's just plunge ahead to coed scouting.

Interesting choices of companies that changed and brought new customers and growth Kodak peaked in 1996, bankruptcy in 2012 and the former Blue Chip stock was delisted from the NYSE For Suzuki In November 2012, Suzuki announced that its US division would file for bankruptcy and would stop selling automobiles in the United States Nintendo went from 18 Billion in sales in 2008 to 4 billion in sales in 2017

Currently BSA only reaches about 10% of available scout aged youth. The CSE has pretty much stated he and key leadership is out of ideas on how to remedy that issue. Honestly at that point he should have resigned and had some new management come in with a vision. Rather than seriously examine that, determine what growing troops are doing to be successful, do lessons learned on what troops do to grow, they have decided to plunge ahead and basically fundamentally change what BSA is going forward. Putting aside the discussion on whether BSA should go coed (yes that's what's coming), to ignore how this fundamentally changes the organization and how it will deliver program is the definition of denial.

Those that forget history are doomed to repeat it. Constantly BSA seems to not play to it's strengths, not be true to the mission, and play for the short term gains...that never seem to come. Our troop is a big troop, +/- 100 scouts. About 8 - 10 years ago we were shying away from really emphasizing the size, trying to downplay that part. Some of us were not happy with that and we have now really emphasized this is who we are. Large troop, if you join us we have functioning patrols, we are large and diverse, we have older scouts (HS) in charge, we do large outings. That is who what we are. Basically in 5 years we have doubled the average number of scouts attending outings. Be true to yourself.

And we have a winner with the why...the council. Challenge is you are coming at the question assuming that everyone involved is seeking the same outcome; quality product delivered to the customers. In this case, BSA programs for eager cubs. You want to have kids enjoying scouting, having fun, doing cub stuff. The council and the professionals, while not evil in their intent can be viewed as franchise sellers. As has been noted, they are looking to increase the number "doors" that are "selling" scouting. Is it simpler to do a greenfield and build brand new OR take a successful franchise (i.e. pack) and split it? Less trouble, already have a CO, likely there are some parents that want to do things their own way, so path of least resistance. Split and (hopefully) grow.

Well...so many scouters confuse Two Deep Leadership with One on One contact, I can only imagine how the many levels of YPT will only fuel this confusion. Perhaps the BSA will issue a set of laminated cards that Scouters can clip to day packs for easy reference If you have an All Boy Den that is option 1 If you have an All Girl Den that is option 2 If your pack has Boy and Girl Dens that is option 3 If your pack is single gender boys that is options 4 If your pack is single gender girls that is option 5 If your troop is boys that is option 6 If your troop is girls that is option 7 If your event/camp has Boy troops only in attendance option 8 If your event/camp has Girl troops only in attendance option 9 If your event/camp has Boy and Girl troops attending option 10 etc etc

Remember to wet your sites

1) Actively pursuing Eagle Scout rank or... 2) Have pretty much completed all the requirements for Eagle Scout rank, though not all of them with the BSA, more life experience, and am waiting for all of them to be recognized so that the rank can be awarded Honestly #2 may be a bit wordy BTW...have seen the Eagle Scout candidate used numerous times, really it is up to you.