Jameson76

Moving to remote work has helped with vacation / time off Setup a hotspot and work away in the morning while the Scouts are out and about. We also advised that if they need something, to please come over and quietly asked as some of us may be working. Most of our Scouts understand the remote work process. When we had our own camp in 2020 the price was about 30% of the council camp costs. Of course no staff (volunteer leaders) and some parents did not seek reimbursement when they provided group meals. That being said, it was a lot of work. Camps can be pricey, but if your Scout is there, think of the food costs savings at home.

I would disagree. My council is large. But the budget (IRS 990 for 2019 is the source) shows revenue of $14.2 MM and expenses of $13.5 MM with assets of $77.7 MM Compensation for the SE / CEO is $459K (W2) and $159K - other The Income and Expense is definitely not a large corporation.

About 3 weeks ago our troop was heading out camping when a possible snow / ice event was coming to our area. The unit was headed south several hours (long weekend) and no issues expected, the weather should have passed by the time we headed back. Most of the leaders took some time for preparations for families left at home. Stoves, generators, lights, etc. were checked out and prepared. Ended up being a non-event but all of us understand the need to be prepared. Also we had a great weekend

Look for your councils IRS Form 990. That should have the wealth of information.

Well. In some places. But in the wastelands of some districts, beyond the borders, where DE's and Commissioners fear to tread, the art of dodgeball is still practiced

Had a newer scout that was lugging the 5D Maglight around. I asked him why he didn't get a headlamp or pocket flashlight. His answer was one could not hit a bear over the head with pocket flashlight. I could not argue with such sound logic

Oh My God, that is so true Had a Scout come to the leader area on an outing, his challenge was no sleeping bag. We went to his tent, sleeping bag was in fact in the bottom of his pack. His comment "I guess dad put it in" Chatted with parents on Sunday on the importance of the Scouts packing their own gear, being responsible for their gear. Assisting and guiding is great, but THEY need to OWN it!!

The big one was Boypower Manpower that started late 60's early 70's. Plan / stated goal was to have 1/3 of age eligible boys to be registered. Much pressure on the professionals to "make the numbers". I think Chicago Council was ground zero for all that but it was widespread. Joke was that many units were meeting at the cemeteries as that was where the names for the registration came from. The eventual correction of that debacle and ISP, the Improved Scouting Program, rollout in 73 pretty much decimated the membership rolls looking at 1980 compared to 1970. Roughly a 32% drop You are correct that the inflated numbers in the late 80's and 90, and even up to 00's was in order to position the program as larger than it was and garner more UW and more FOS local contributions.

Agree. When the UMC (and still is a charter issue lookin) challenge and with lack of direction from the council staff on recharter we assumed that the council ran / modeled the numbers and figured they could still be "Scouts" and maybe not worry about the pesky units out in the woods No need to worry the donors about such trivialities

Well, they did in fact try that, and it led to multiple membership scandals and the push for "inner city" scouting where they sign up youth in large groups and many do not even realize they are in the BSA Did not end well for the councils and some of the professionals.

Pretty sure my council is a 100 level, assuming that is the larger ones. SE base compensation is maybe $362K and total compensation is $622K. That's a bunch. 4 others over $100K Also the council now has 68 staff, but only 16 appear to be directly working with districts or Scouts (DE types). 16 DE types 12 Program specialists / Scoutreach 9 Development staff 4 Middle Management 4 Camp rangers 13 Admin 3 Executive 7 Marketing Really nice office that seems to be about 25% of the budget. They continue to run the operation like a business in the 80's. Top down management, very structured. There was an issue at summer camp, the exec team was on a call, then they had another call, then they asked the camp director what he wanted to do, then they deferred and sort of left it open. Nobody wants to make a decision, classic corporate problem solving. That is they don't actually solve it and put their name on a solution. No real leadership. The council advice and direction during covid was nothing. Massive marketing staff and not sure what they may actually be doing. They continue to be successful at raising money, but their support for troops is non-existent. They seem to be able to play on the memory and cache of the BSA and not showing what the current state of affairs may be. Hardest information to find is how many youth are being served in actual units. With the recent (and ongoing) rift with the UMC there has been no direction or input from the council. Cast of many and cares of none

Could start a whole thread on the way councils spend their money. It's not pretty. All volunteers should look at their council's 990 IRS form. Gotta scroll through the pages. One section details total compensation of any staff member over $100K, Can be interesting. Also the first page shows the income and expense. Then the expense is detailed. In our council boatloads of money spent on the office expenses and occupancy (literally 23% of expenses). When you see the compensation levels, then do the math, the whole "fair share" selling point for FOS is really what they need. In our council less than 25% of the staff are unit facing. The rest are management and overhead. Maybe if they tightened things up be more receptive to that. Personally, my money stays local in the troop. Not really convinced the council are great stewards of the money.

The Fingerprinter's Union lobby is a powerful group. They are always looking for new revenue streams. Govco is paying off it's supporters 😁

We do not register our aged out HS Senior Eagles / Scouts. Same as above, the YP issues are numerous and not worth the effort. Our unit does allow them to participate as a "leader" BUT, they must complete YPT, they cannot drive anyone else to an outing, they camp in the adult leader areas. It is what it is.

Seriously. 73 folks on the board?? You need a good sized table just to meet at, one that would be larger than the one at Biltmore Estate, that only seats 38

Not sure what vespers are (other than an evening prayer). Assume they are some sort of benches, worship area? Sounds like neither Scout has gotten a project proposal developed or approved. 2 possible options. 1 - Does the work entail enough that is could be two projects? If benches or a worship area, maybe one Scout does the front X rows and the other Scout expands the project and does the back X rows? 2 - First come first serve

Focus on adventure is the KEY That is what many do not really understand. If Scouts are having fun and adventure and if THAT is your focus, everything else works out. Our troop has a lot of Eagles. Statistically 40% - 45% of Scouts that join the troop, attain the rank of Eagle. Why? Because they remain active, go on outings, and for lack of a better word, chip away at Eagle over the years and 4 to 5 summer camp weeks and other Troop activities. Many times we sit down with the 16 year old Life and assist with their plan. They are sometime surprised at how far along they are. Most still need Personal Mgt, Family Life, Cit in the Community, plus the project. Key take away is Eagle is not the goal, fun and adventure is the goal. Our high Eagle count is the result of good outdoor program that Scouts want to be participate in. No advancement outings, no push for MBU, etc. We do not burn out Scouts at 8th grade but provide them with good stuff, high adventure trips, challenging outings, and a leadership rolls.

Sadly I recall the Improved Scouting Program. Lived it and watched troops get smaller and go away. I got my Eagle right before the ISP was put in place. No new ISP for me. You had to file paperwork by 12/31/73. Couple of years later while on camp staff, council Philmont, etc there were definitely two groups of Eagles. Those of us "Old" requirement Eagles and those that were "New" requirement Eagles. There was cache to wear the old Eagle patch as opposed to the new groovy one they put out in 74 Those who think the Scouts (and I was one) don't really care about the rigor of the requirements are really off base. YOUR adventure, YOU working with peers, YOU making things happen, YOU realizing mistakes and how to correct...That's what Scouting is. Certainly not hanging out on a community college campus on a Saturday at an MBU.

We continue with dodgeball (or extreme catch) and vegetable cannons. But we're sort of rogue sometimes

Remember, the G2SS is written and updated by lawyers, professional staff, and volunteers who have not been involved at the actual unit level for many many (if ever) years. The goal of G2SS is not actual safety, but legal mitigation. Most of it is common sense, but many of the details are at best mind numbing. The wizards of the G2SS do not understand the patrol method and the promise of Scouting (Scouts BSA at least) is to have youth leading and handling their own adventures, being independent, being responsible. If it was up to the G2SS folks the whole thing would be Family Camping, no youth allowed without the adult partner, thus moving any risk away from BSA. The current track of the BSA seems to be focused on Cub Scouts and the Family camping. Also to make Scouts BSA more book centered, less outdoor adventure and make sure each Scout has a caretaker. If they can figure a way to do away with the Scout troops out doing risky things in the wilderness, that is the path forward.

We had a leader who got beaded (is that a verb??) at a regular meeting. Supposedly was going to be a 5 minute portion of the meeting. Actually was about 45 minutes. To our Scouts credit they sat through it. Bets comment was one of our leaders who stage voiced to the other guys in the back "this is why I never want to go to WB" At the end of the day it is training. There are many things in Scouts that take at least as much (or more) time commitment as WB. This is ADULT training, and should be awarded, if wanted, in a setting where those that can appreciate it are in attendance. Saw one going on at a the local camp one weekend where it was other WB disciples and they were beading folks. Keep it in-house.

This is in fact a serious question. If Non Binary is an umbrella term for gender identities that are neither male nor female‍; identities that are outside the gender binary, how could they also be gay as they do not identify as male of female? Just curious as I would think they would identify as one (gay) or the other (non-binary).

A good bit of "document and discuss" "research" "consider". Very much a classroom exercise Requirement 6 will be interesting: Interesting it could be a Scout With your parent’s or guardian’s approval, connect with another Scout or youth your own age who has an identity that’s different from yours. (This means a trait, belief, or characteristic different from you.) Requirement 7 could be also interesting. The historical figure will be the path many will choose Identify and interview an individual in your community, school, and/or Scouting who has had a significant positive impact in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion. If you feel your community, school, or local Scouting group does not have such an individual, then research a historical figure who meets these criteria,and discuss that person with your counselor

"Some requirements may need parents permission" Oh...do tell..

So....like next month??