Cburkhardt

PACAN: The new national structure will probably be skeletal. A reasonable prediction would be 15-20 geographic territories, many dominated by a large well-regarded council. Perhaps there will be one national professional scouter in each territory to provide program consulting and serve as a monitor for compliance with advancement, YPT and other critical policies. No regions, areas and other structures. Maybe a volunteer committee and commissioner staff to provide services. It might develop to where the dominant council provides management and direction necessary to the nearby councils --

At this point, the issues surrounding the bankruptcy have been overwhelmed by the cash crunch from the virus. Councils need the cash now and must absolutely apply for this lifeline grant. It can be used to pay camp staff. I can think of no justified reason why any council should not apply for this cash -- which is made available precisely to address liquidity problems caused by the business disruptions caused by the government-ordered shut-downs.

Councils qualify for $10 million COVID-19 loan/grants. I can confirm that councils qualify to apply for the $10 million federal loans designed to keep organizations in business -- the same program available to small businesses with fewer than 500 employees. Many councils are applying. As long as these are used to pay salaries, benefits, etc., they become grants and do not have to be paid back. The amount each council will get is determined on a calculation based on its 2019 payroll totals. This just might save the summer camp season from a cash standpoint -- as long as the local health ci

Prediction: New National Structure to be Announced. I'll go out on a limb and suggest that a new governance and operations structure above the council level will be announced sometime after the National Executive Board meets sometime in mid-May.

The entire National Annual Meeting has been cancelled in every respect. This includes the National BSA Foundation fundraising event. I presume the National Executive Board and key national standing committees will find a way to meet -- virtually or otherwise.

National Professional Staff Furloughed. I am very sorry to share that 240 in Irving and 700 from Supply Division have been furloughed. These are wonderful people who have served us for many years.

Prediction: The Nationwide Shutdown will continue until September. No camporees, summer camp, high adventure bases or unit face-to-face events. When we re-open, we will be a different organization. Overwhelmingly led and operated by volunteers at all levels. Operating with a skeletal professional staff of only critical field and camp maintenance personnel. Many current professionals will never return to the paid ranks because we will only bring back 25-30% of the pre-bankruptcy/corona level. The national professional and volunteer organization will focus on maintaining our program

The benefit of our going through the reorganization bankruptcy is that the need for the BSA to have each base will get close scrutiny and the economics of current base operations will come under the eyes of experienced operations people. The BSA will genuinely need to prove to very hostile parties that these facilities are indeed required for going-forward operations. And, DIP management will need to show that each base will not be a money-loser. In a way you will all get what you want out of this process, and it will all be conducted in a very open manner. There will be no secrets. T

Hopefully we will hold on to the bases through the bankruptcy. If so, part of the future of the Summit would be to maximize it as a publicly available facility families could visit as part of visits to the new river gorge national park property. They could stay there in the same way families stay at national park lodges and campgrounds. Another concept has been to have national-class sporting events originate from the site. These are examples of potentially profitable uses of the summit that rely on a positive image for Scouting. One bright spot is that the Asst.Chief in charge of the bas

There is an unusual ability for the BSA to profit from Summit if they can assemble the right amenities and promote the place. That is because WV changed its constitution by a statewide vote to allow the BSA to actively profit from the site by hosting private profit-making services.

The effort was originally simply to have a jamboree site. The Goshen Scout Reservation in the Shenandoah was chosen as the site (National Capital Area Council). A group of national volunteers decided to amp-up the concept into something that would transform BSA programming with extreme sports and other things. That led to where we are. The use of the facility during the non-Jambo years is the fundamental weakness.

I am Scoutmaster of a 37-girl non-linked Troop. We operate in the standard matter as a Troop, with four patrols and all the normal elected and appointed youth leaders. Our SPL and her ASPL are tops and have attended NYLT. I believe you should operate the troops separately in accordance with BSA policy because that is the best way for the Scouts from both troops to have the full advantages and opportunities of Scouting. Fulfilling the role of an SPL is something not to be missed, and you should offer that to kids from both Troops. Operating your Troops as separately as possible will c

Last comment I'll make on patrols is that some of this dis-use of patrols may be caused by troops being just plain small. I was in a 75-scout troop as a kid that had 8 patrols, so the practical reality is that we had to them even if we didn't want to! There are just two many troops that don't even have 25 Scouts, which is just barely enough to have three competitive patrols show up to something. Big troops are better in every way and make for great patrols that love to outdo each other.

This elimination of the essential character of the Patrol System is just not my experience as a unit leader. Nor do I see this occurring in my District. Occasional changes in membership and having troop officers like webmasters and QMs do not destroy the nature of Patrols. It’s really a matter of how unit leadership uses them. And, small troops don’t have the same Patrol competitive opportunities as large troops. We all come me from troops that had a variety of implementation techniques when we were kids. My WW2 combat veteran SMs always made us go through our Patrol leaders on everythin

Dkurtenbach: Can't agree with you on Scouts BSA. Have 37 Scouts (all girls) of a wide variety of ages going through Scouts BSA advancement right now and that is just not my experience. We have four patrols and never before has I seen the Patrol system work better. Nothing is perfect, but I think Scouts BSA is calibrated very well for the age and interests of 11-17 year old girls. The program still works.

At some point we should probably have a "deep dive" posting on Venturing and Exploring given the presence of females in Scouts BSA and the bankruptcy. The BSA will likely be looking to simplify its programs to save costs and do a better job with smaller professional and volunteer staffs -- and Venturing/Exploring are areas that can be evaluated for streamlining. My experience with older youth programming since the early 70s is that the BSA has continuously been tinkering with this level of program and tends to change and over-correct perceived challenges. A flexible and truly youth-led oper

If Venturing is so reduced in numbers and dysfunctional in terms of its recognition program and structure, perhaps the national reorganization bankruptcy is the right time to re-examine its role in Scouting. If there ever was a "golden era" for the older youth program, it was the 70s and 80s when the older youth program allowed each unit to select a specialty and pursue it. Some units specialized in outdoor adventure activities, others specialized in a particular career and others specialized in a hobby or other avocation. While there were some awards to earn, BSA-style ranks and advan

I was a vigorous participant in the older youth programs when a youth member. Later, I concentrated some effort on them as an adult district/council/national Scouter. These older youth programs seem to have a have an established program life, whereby the BSA establishs a new program every 20 years or so, lets it build-up numerically, and then replaces what they have with something new. This leads to a drop in membership as some members depart and all parties adjust to the new program landscape. This is nothing new -- we have been doing it all along: Traditional advancement-ori

Walk In Woods: My personal experience is that until the early 1980's the BSA was not overly-controlled by either conservative or progressive elements of US society. The BSA was conservative in the sense of an organization that encouraged self-reliance, but it was not the enforcer of religious or political dogma. There was no group of people at that time attempting to assert membership admission control. For example, the presence of gay men and atheists was generally recognized, but those people were pretty much left alone unless they were engaging in unrelated prohibited activities. W

I don’t know anything about the competitor organization. Those comments and others like them are easily found on sites. My point is that the implication in their release is wrong. Neither organization today is any safer than the other, and to claim otherwise is incorrect.

Jackdaws: The "kindest" thing that can be said about the release you referenced is that the competitor organization invites the reader to infer that girls are unsafe in Scouts BSA, but are perfectly safe in their organization: ".... and above all, safe." Our Scouts BSA Troop for girls is about as absolutely safe for a girl as any organization could possibly be. We enforce everything. In the BSA having alcohol on outings is immediate cause for removal from the activity and lifetime dismissal from the organization. I would take that action in a heartbeat. In comparison, read some of the co

In this immediate moment I am going to suggest that it might be hazardous for the BSA to engage in almost any proactive messaging on YPT or the bankruptcy at this moment. Anyone on this site could easily write the response that could come from an abused-claimant. It could be: "the BSA does not get it" or "the BSA is insensitive with its statement" or worse. These people need to be treated with kindness. For now the best route might be to just quietly prepare our means by which we will try to give them some justice. As for competitor organizations that are piling-on with their PR, this is

PACAN: I am pretty certain these postings have been closely followed as part of National’s idea-gathering efforts. The even-handed and serious manner with which postings have been made is a big factor in people being open to these suggestions. I think the best way to impact what things will look like in the National re-cast is to find credible SEs and Council Presidents who are accepted participants on the national scene and promote your ideas — so they can pass them on. Then, you need to be ready to Participate in effective ways when the new circumstances begin to impact your geography.

Dekurtenbach: I think the 319 postings that attracted over 10,000 views on Reorganization issues these past four weeks show that there is much agreement with what you have said. It is really a matter of how to make those kind of things happen during the course of a 2 or 3 year period during which the BSA will be undergoing tremendous change -- some forced by the bankruptcy. What would you do this spring to move us in the direction of the priorities you state? Some urge a wait and see approach and others believe a proactive effort to share thoughts and effect accompanying structural change

Eagle 1993: The Michigan Crossroads and Pathway combinations were the big mergers in the Central region over the past 10 years. Both resulted in similar outcomes, but the implementation was different. Both mergers involved wholesale merging of separate councils into one larger council, but largely preserving the borders of the previous councils and districts for purposes of field services. Pathway preserved all four predecessor council service centers and each has a commissioner staff, field service director, etc. Michigan Crossroads has “field” service councils” that largely reflect