yknot

I saw someone selling it roadside in cut, stacked bundles the way you would sell firewood. People apparently use it for tomato stakes. Not sure how much you'd be able to sell though.

I think you have to adapt to your demographics. I hear about troops in other parts of the country that are very active in the summer but it in our area it's almost impossible to pull off. Very few people are around enough to do much more than summer camp and some ad hoc stuff. We are also perennially short of adult volunteers, most of them are two career families, and most of them seem to want to kick back some over the summer. Summer is really not that much of a break in family activity anymore. As far as the OP, I think the key is to set expectations ahead of time. Our unit has never held fast to the idea of six months fully active. However, even with a summer let down or during a Covid pause, there are tasks that can be done related to the POR. Same thing with a scout that took a POR but found out he had a conflict with some of the meetings. We didn't extend his term, we just made it clear he needed to delegate so his job was done even when he couldn't be there. Every troop seems to do it a little bit different. The only approach I don't like is the no show POR -- the scout who gets credit for having his name down on a piece of paper but never actually does anything.

There are BSA parallel universes. In the perfect world, a BSA would exist that would actually embody scouting ideals and always comport itself in alignment with same. As a result, there would be no serious issues, That BSA would have a robust membership, fully supported volunteers, wise and perceptive leaders, and an ability to model and produce the very best of American youth citizen leadership. We would be proactive stewards and ambassadors of the outdoors and guardians of citizen service and patriotism. We're stuck in the other universe.

About 88% of CSA cases are perpetrated by men, so youth organizations that have a higher percentage of female leadership or involvement by default have lower levels of CSA. It's something BSA has never acknowledged or addressed in its YPT. Female abusers are often quite different -- they often work in tandem with another abuser (typically male) to victimize an extremely young child in their care or they fall into the "cougar" category -- an older teacher for example despoiling a student in situations that are inherently wrong but in some sense more consensual than adult male on minor male or minor female abuse.

That's some myth busting that has been much needed. So many scouters will argue that scouting is a bargain compared to other youth activities and yet we hear differently on the street... or, er... in the woods.

There are a different ways of viewing honorability. If a captain goes down with his sinking ship, that is considered honorable behavior. If the ship is sinking though because he steered it straight into an iceberg, it might still be honorable for him to go down with it but he's also responsible for the disaster. That's kind of how I view the BSA Over the decades I think there's been a mix of institutionalized arrogance and incompetence which, while it might have been honorably intended, has resulted in BSA being inexplicably too blind or too slow or too in denial to see or react to certain dangers. Being good people, which I'm sure some of them are, doesn't justify doing a bad job.

My opinion is that this has been one of the best threads on this site--great, timely, and unique raw information, excellent analysis and multiple perspectives even when they differ, and thoughtful moderation. That's sad, because it's not a program thread, which is where I think most of us would rather be. But in our current reality, I feel it is helping all of us try to wrap our minds around the incomprehensible. I have no doubt that there are some individuals in the BSA upper tier organization that I would respect and trust. However, the ones I have encountered so far, as well as some of the incomprehensible actions taken by national, have not inspired trust or confidence. I'm willing to listen to others who have had other experiences and would be delighted to ultimately have my faith restored. But it has got to be restored with more than words. I have to see some things going in a different direction. So, if I'm a dwarf, I'm not Cynical or Skeptic, but maybe Hopeful?

Bikes have been a hot commodity during Covid. There was a time last year when bikes simply could not be found around here. Some parts are still hard to get and there is a market for them. A guess a good wake up call for anyone else with bikes.

I don't know why people are even putting feeders out now. It's bear season. Another way BSA is so out of touch with current practices. They really need to pad out their advisory boards to include people outside of scouting from Audubon, Cornell, Sierra Club, etc.

I remember this same discussion about increasing fees through 2022. It was discussed in several places. Was not aware BSA tried to hide it.

The scouter code of conduct clearly states you will not engage in harassment and nowhere does it specify or infer that is limited to youth. Nowhere in that document does it state that the harassment, or any other conduct requirements such as possession of alcohol or political or social advocacy, has to be observed by youth to be reportable.

I think it's going to be next to impossible to maintain program momentum and do any meaningful recruitment with numbers like this. Trying to recruit new Tiger leaders is tough without a lot of support. I also don't think things are going to magically rebound when (if) Covid is gone. Covid is not the only reason numbers have been declining although it's certainly been the most impactful.

Thank you. Just to make sure I'm reading this right, total membership in 2021 is now approximately 750,000? That's shocking but in line with what I was hearing would happen once the grace period ended for late recharters.

Do you have true March 2021 post recharter total numbers that would be an update of the December 2020 numbers? I've been looking for that.

Again, really? You're going to focus on a few uniforms and books in light of the glacial disaster that is BSA?

Okayyyy... but there is more than dollars at stake here. A lot more. We have a vanishing percentage of Americans involved in scouting. These folks are our friends, members, advocates and ambassadors. I wouldn't cut anyone loose who is in the scouting fold right now. Whatever thousands they are costing it is a drop in the bucket compared to the billions being discussed in this bankruptcy. I feel like we need to focus on the relevant stuff here.

I agree with focusing on the key problems. However, throughout this whole sorry process, there has been so much deflection of blame and responsibility to things that really aren't all that relevant to the bigger issues at hand. I hardly see how Venturing or Explorers or Sea Scouts have any significant bearing on what is happening to scouting.

If it's a tiny portion of the program how is it even relevant in the middle of this massive mess. Spinning off these programs is hardly going to make a dent in any issues the BSA is facing right now.

How is this not a YP issue?

I have also wondered this. They couldn't possibly be this stupid. It's possible they might have some kind of back pocket plan.

Everyone has amazon boxes and packing junk at home right now, right? Tell them to bring boxes, bags, duct tape, whatever. Whoever creates the most amazing Recycling Creature wins a prize. However, if you can go outside, do something outside. Flashlights. Night hike. Talk about nocturnal animals. Even in cities you've got rats, raccoons and bats.

That's a pretty slick PR website and package. I wonder where the funding did come from? At least one of those people has connections to a Council with cases of concern and very significant assets to lose. Also it's a pretty common PR strategy when you can't speak for yourself to find a so called objective third party defender. It was something I thought they should have tried a couple of years ago when this all started to counter the firehose of bad publicity. However, my overall reaction is one of sadness. Whether it is genuinely just three sincere guys who love scouting and put their own money up to help, or some kind of behind the scenes proxy strategy, it seems too little, too late, and too vague. A petition with a million names would be nice, but of what possible real use could it be.

I meant anger more in general. It's a frequent comment that the COs should be held liable and not BSA. The model has been willfully dysfunctional, as you point out, for decades. This is known.

It is a huge problem but I don't understand the anger directed at COs. BSA through the Councils has a supervisory responsibility. If COs are dysfunctional, which many are, why are their charters routinely renewed? The answer is that BSA has always promoted membership and numbers over proper management. Many COs are legacy churches or community organizations. All they know is that some nice person from scouts comes to see them once a year so they can sign some paperwork, and BSA has had no interest in rocking the boat except in extreme situations.

Resist the temptation to eat one for breakfast. Their population has declined dramatically in the past few decades. You'll be able to tell your grandkids you heard them thanks to scouting.