Jameson76

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.

We are a large troop, 5 figure FOS annually. Many of us in the key roles are taking a year off from FOS. It is a tough call as the funds are used locally. Local councils have to live with the national decisions. That being the case, the reality is that many decision have and are being purely made for financial reasons. Huge debt from Summit, unfunded pensions, bloated National staff. Only real option is to vote with the checkbook

BSA National is making a distinction and judgement on Male and Female leaders. They are clearly stating it is NOT accepted that 2 men can lead a girls den. They are clearly stating that it is accepted that 2 women can lead a boys den. That is a double standard. Scenario 1 - You are a male and have a den and your daughter is in the den, you have a male friend, the ADL, and he has and a daughter in the den. According to BSA you and your friend cannot be the only leaders on an outing, you MUST have a female Scenario 2 - You are a female and have a den and your son is in the den, you have a female friend, the ADL, and she has and a son in the den. According to BSA you and your friend can be the only leaders on an outing. There is no logical reason for this distinction. Unless you feel that girls cannot be trusted with only male leaders. Right out of the gate BSA National is putting into practice different standards based on gender.

Play Charge and have the troop run and take the COH room by force.

Not discounting the need, but curious how an increase from $11 MIN wage (employers over 25 staff in CA as of 1/18) to $13 MIN (same group in 2020) wage will cause the forecast "that council labor costs from our exempt to our seasonal employees will rise 50% by 2020" Most seasonal staff (i.e. Summer Camp staff) are not hourly but paid weekly with housing and food included. Also they are usually not covered by standard benefits. Would be interested to see the math

True - but that being the case, she is member of Pantsuit Nation, she is familiar with the group, she is media savvy, and she was part of their showcase on the podcast. Probably not her intent to come off as fighting the patriarchy, she just wants to get people to sign her petition and send letters to CSE (and who among us has not) and the President of AT&T. She was a willing part of that discussion and, as can be seen in many instances, people with cause A are often used by another group to forward their agenda. She may need to be cognizant of that and realize that contrary to PT Barnum's input "There's no such thing as bad publicity" is not always true. Maybe she should strive for this effort - "All publicity is good if it is intelligent"

Sort of unclear, but it really is about her and getting the Eagle. So yeah, I would say if it's all about you and changing something just for you, you do kind of want to tear stuff down. It's all about the Eagle Scout and leadership. Pretty much she wants to change what we are, and did I mention it's all about the EAGLE rank? Smashing the patriarchy, fighting to be recognized, the fight is not over, incremental fight. Fighting for the right for girls to be part of the Boy Scouts. She along with her brother, he was an "Official" member but she was not allowed to. She wanted to change that. The Eagle award opens many opportunities. Basically it is all about the Eagle. Sidebar - so many who are beating the drum of girls in the program tout the rank and earning the Eagle as the end all be all. Scouting is so much more. It's outings and leadership and learning to be responsible and the Oath and the Law and overcoming obstacles and time spent just being a scout. Yes those that earn Eagle are recognized, but are they recognized because of the rank, OR is it because they demonstrate the values they learned as a scout. She wants it changed sooner. She wants to get her work acknowledged. She is an unofficial Star scout apparently (WTH, is that a thing??). She claims she has literally done everything but does not get credit. She is up against the system (the man is trying to keep her down). They did mention Girl Scouts, why not join that. She does not explain why the Girls Scouts is different or why GSUSA does not meet here needs. They glossed over that part and really did not even go into why a program founded by women, run by women, serving girls and women, does not meet the needs of those they service. She does say single gender is great for girls BUT the BSA has portions that are coed, so the part that gets EAGLE needs to be open. So apparently single gender is not good for boys Beats the drum for recognizing work done while not a part of the program, again it's all about the Eagle rank Did I mention it's all apparently about the Eagle rank??? You did warn me, and I went, and the whole Pantsuit nation is a interesting bunch It's at the 9 minute mark or so, may want to skip ahead

In every South Park episode there are great lessons to be learned

Careful there...you will be pegged as one who is not inclusive supportive and liberating of these efforts. Just get in line citizen, it is a big and colorful tent but no room for dissent

I know, really. It is a bit of a sacrilege.

Well done Unfortunately my dad passed away (He was an Eagle) before he could see his grandsons (Nephew and my son) earn the Eagle award. He was able to hand both my brother and me our award back in the day

Insurance that Summit Bechtel will keep getting all the money it needs....

That is a wicked Trucker hat (#2). The Visored Cap. Wants me one of those. And only $5.50...what a deal

I have had heartburn with a few over the years. Typically I will advise SM, advancement and CC, do what they feel is right, I will be taking a break on whomever it may be. Will support the process but I am not going to be involved in the race to the finish, the EBOR, etc. That being said we have had some that were very active as older scouts and for whatever reason (teens being teens I guess) that end up at the last days needing this or that signed off. With those we will do what we can to support.

The first quote is speaking to an initial effort, at the beginning, in that if one is transparent, then that builds trust. The second is addressing that if there is already mistrust, just being transparent in and of itself, will not restore that trust. Once an organization reaches that point of lack of trust, transparency is about managing that mistrust. Basically if BSA National, from the Get Go, back in the day had been open and honest with the member base about many things, then trust in BSA National would have been there. They were not as has been demonstrated. Probably not entirely deceptive but certainly directing facts to push an agenda (agendas) that was not supported by the majority of the membership. Now at this point in time, a good portion of the member base does not have inherent trust in BSA National. If they suddenly decided to become transparent / open and honest, many would not believe them. So if they were to try to become more transparent (open and honest) they are coming at this from a harder position, nobody believes what they say.

The single most important ingredient in the recipe for success is transparency because transparency builds trust. Transparency is not about restoring trust in institutions. Transparency is the politics of managing mistrust We believe that transparency creates trust

Remember when scouting was fun? We camped in shelter halves, rode in the back of open pick ups, burned our trash, trenched tents, pit latrines on all outings, canoed with the life jackets sort of in the canoe...fun times

We try to keep the human sacrifice on the DL