InquisitiveScouter

Most people never experience what you are referring to in your post. They will forever remain "In Search of Scouting." I just finished a 6-day river trek, with 10 Scouts and three other adults, in two crews. All Scouts earned their 50-miler award (the 10 hours of service is actually the most difficult part...) The older Scouts also did the Kodiak Leadership Challenge. Each night, we camped on an island in the river. A few had pit toilets. Even then, Scouts preferred to dig and use their own catholes. 😛 We brought a good deal of fresh water, but for meals (since we had to boil it anyway) we boiled water from the river. In two weeks, we will do a 5-day backpacking trek, where the Scouts will go through the Leave No Trace Trainer curriculum. Only one night will we camp in an established campground. The rest will be pristine sites where they must put into practice what they are learning. And both of these trips will cost less than half the Council Summer Camp fee. These are "The pinnacle of Scouting experiences..." https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/Passport_to_HighAdventure_34245(16).pdf Enjoy!

If I may offer a kind suggestion: For your own mental health, please stop posting. P.S. As you also find this forum to be distressing, I have gone back and removed my downvote. Be well.

If you go into the wilderness... (I now define "wilderness" as no cell signal, LOL), consider purchasing one for your crew. At around $400, they are getting more affordable. Recommended reading for your edification: https://www.sarsat.noaa.gov/emergency-406-beacons/ One example: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PPJGFKK Register your device, if you get one!!

We did our own Summer Camp in 2020 (COVID). 31 Scouts in 6 Patrols; 11 adults. Scouts did shopping in three stages for the week, for cooking requirements thru First Class, or Cooking merit badge, whichever they needed. Each Patrol had an SPL/ASPL or adult guest for each meal. (Rotated for each meal.) We had great fun just doing activities... tubing, fishing, canoeing, swimming, exploring, etc. Scouts said one of the things they enjoyed the most was time to just hang out with the other members of their Patrol. (Each had their own campsite.) We offered Wilderness Survival, Mammal Study, Environmental Science, and Fishing. Older Scouts taught Totin' Chip and Firem'n Chit to our First Year Scouts. I then guided some older Scouts through Paul Bunyan. Also offered CPR/AED training. They had great fun while accomplishing so much during that trip. The adults were amazed at how we could pull this off ourselves, with minimal planning and effort. And we did it for $238.20 a head. Our biggest expense was for renting the entire campground for the week. (We had the place entirely to ourselves.) "A week of camp life is worth six months of theoretical teaching in the meeting room." Yet, when offered to do it again, the PLC declined. The majority would rather go to a Summer Camp where all the work is done for you (planning, scheduling, setting up camp, shopping, cooking, and dishes, etc.), and you are given a bunch of badges for sitting around a picnic table listening to someone talk. Our modern council-run Summer Camps are not the ideal unit experience. They are not "A week of camp life..."; they are a rustic "country-club" experience. IMO, of course...

They could really make this easier on themselves. Adults! Come volunteer at the Jamboree! You'll need to bring your own camping gear (size limits on the tent), but we will feed you. Your fee will be to sponsor a Scout from your council to attend the Jamboree as well. Yes, this could be your own Scout! I would have done that... would you?

Yes. Yes, they did.

My intuition says something is just not right here... And the whole exchange is rather... weird. I am choosing not to engage further. Over and out.

Kleenex? No... You got a negative reply from me for your post: "Well, this conversation appears to be unnecessary as the questionable replies appear to no longer exist which is kind of telling in and of itself. Good day to all." You got people who did not see eye-to-eye with you on an issue that we have only one side of the story on... I certainly did not understand what your message meant... "questionable replies appear to no longer exist..." But then you become condescending and dismissive with "...which is kind of telling in and of itself. Good day to all." That is why I gave you a negative. Please put a more positive expression in your tone. You catch more flies with honey...

mene, mene, tekel, upharsin

Blame Canada! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOR38552MJA&ab_channel=Movieclips

Follow the money...

Additional background: https://www.bloomberglaw.com/external/document/X42S2V68000000/bankruptcy-professional-perspective-constitutionality-of-non-con https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/4777 Wonder why this bill died in Congress??

Welcome to Boy Scouts of America!

My observations over the years: Turnover of DE's is extremely high. In general, those that take the role out of a passion for Scouting, helping youth, and program in the outdoors are rapidly disabused of those notions under the whip of money and membership, often being asked to depart from the values of the Scout Oath and Scout Law. So, many, many leave after a short time. Those that remain (there are exceptions!!!) are often not the type of person we would want in that role... And the long production line of poor leadership and deficiencies in executive development begins. The product is people who hang on in horrible, unethical work environments long enough to get vested in a pension program, and potentially get on the "SE Gravy Train" of an inflated executive salary, if they can work the system and get hired into that position in a council somewhere. And their primary goal is preservation of that system, which has rewarded them for their perseverance. Again, I have met some wonderful counter-examples. But, on the collected whole, I think my assessment, although negative, is accurate. And I love to hear about those successful counter-examples, so fire away! (They are what give me "a fool's hope") https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0S_MebzyzQ&ab_channel=Ejdamm

@DuctTape for National Commissioner!!!

I know an SE that got fired from his council, came here as Field Director, and is now back as an SE in another council. It does happen, sadly... they survive and keep feeding at the trough.

I meant it was probably TLDR for the Jamboree Planning Staff 😜

TLDR??

It is a corporation. By law, all corporations must have a Board of Directors. (even non-profit corporations) Whether they fulfill their responsibilities or not is another matter. Ever think that this is the way your SE and BSA National like it??? Things that make you go ...hmmmmm

Because they cannot afford to pay them 😜 In fact, most councils I know use their Boards as a source of revenue. That is, if you want to participate in the governance of the council serving our local community, you must pay for the privilege... annually. Going rate for a seat on our Board locally is $5K per year, my sources say... Somehow, being on the Board here, whether they do anything or not, is a source of some sort of social credit in the circles they travel in... https://www.501c3.org/nonprofits-board-directors/ https://www.energizeinc.com/hot-topics/2012/august

I find your lack of faith... disturbing. 😛

The Peter Principle hard at work 😜

And the weather is entirely predictable. It is near the height of cyclone season in the Northern Hemisphere. Look at recent history: https://www.worlddata.info/asia/south-korea/typhoons.php Would you plan a World Jamboree in Florida at this time of year?

If it is good enough for our military...??? This falls on very deaf ears. The Department of Defense does not exist to provide creature comforts for tourists. Snarky comments about prison stripes belie any "very appreciative" sentiments.

I think you have this part wrong. BSA did not cover for anyone. It's that they had accusations, and not enough info to make allegations. False allegations are a crime... defamation, libel, slander, etc. As I understand it, where they had enough info, or victims or families who wanted it brought to the authorities, they reported. What BSA did was to hide the fact that they had a problem within the organization with child predators using it as an environment for depredation. They chose to protect the image of the organization and accepted the risks involved without making substantive changes to protect children, rather than bring the problem to light. Those are still horrible actions, and certainly "bad karma," but they aren't the same thing as covering up a crime. Agree 100% with the rest of your post.