InquisitiveScouter

No, time for a Carhartt x BSA collab 😜 \ https://www.carhartt.com/ REI is kind of bougie... (REI member since 1989.)

Will any of their achievements be on the shirt? Or is it all just organizational stuff...??

Here's an example... JTE patches... change every year, if you wear them... (Yes, shirt is well-worn, and has seen many better days 😜 )

LOL, Badge Magic destroys fabric 😜

Ugh... why doesn't National get with the program and use velcro!? Adding velcro to uniforms and patches makes things lighter than metal and more easily interchangeable. I believe it would be a cheaper alternative than metal awards and insignia... and could possibly be sourced from recycled materials. Production of metal gadgets with paints and coatings seems less eco-friendly, but I reserve the right to be wrong.

Do you mean that a disbanded Troop did not re-charter, or that a previously-believed disbanded Troop surprised everyone and submitted for a charter?? Hoping for the latter, but suspect you meant former...

My Council Commissioner contact gave me our council stats; we lost units (this month last year to this month this year). I am not revealing the exact numbers, to protect my source and myself 😜 Unit growth rate is almost negative 5% (I altered this number to protect the innocent...), so we lost about one out of every 20 units. Membership growth rate overall same period almost negative 6% (exact number hidden to protect the innocent.) It is sad that both he and I believe if we could be specifically identified through this forum, there would be reprisals from our council. Wh

Once the proposal is approved, he can go full bore on planning, coordinating, scheduling, preliminary site work, etc. He just cannot do any fundraising until he get that separate form back.

When you try to be all things to all people, you wind up being nothing to everybody, instead.

We track Scout accounts using Scoutbook. Scoutbook produces a report to tell you how much each Scout has or owes, and tracks your unit cash balance. We use a separate spreadsheet to track all unit income and expenditures for the year. But we do not do it very well 😉 I'd share that with you but it would requires redacting a lot of data and names associated with training expenditures, Scouts joining (dues), camperships, etc

Go for it. None of that stuff gets translated to Scouts, BSA, or further than Cub Scouts. If you need filler after they complete their appropriate year rank badge, put in whatever you like, as long as it is in line with the Guide to Safe Scouting. Make sure to recognize their achievements publicly. If you can find and buy old bling to give them, even better. Just know that you may not be able to record these in Scoutbook... no biggie

Welcome @KelseyS! Here is a BSA website (fairly general) that has some tips... https://www.scouting.org/programs/scouts-bsa/troop-resources/program-planning-tools/ And a direct link to the excel file there: https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/boyscouts/xls/510-277-Troop-Budget-Worksheet.xls

No, the money goes to support the Boy Scouts of America, which is a "non-profit" which attempts to provide a Scouting program, with varying degrees of success, depending on your local variables. There are other Scouting programs out there... "As for me and my house", we conduct a Scouting program under the auspices of, and using the materials developed by, the Boy Scouts of America. 99% of the work done to put on this program is done by the volunteers and parents of our unit. (Maybe even more 😜 ) And there have been discussions in our Committee about moving our entire Scoutin

Hello @Ironfoot, and welcome back to the forum after a good break 😜 I have not seen any comparison of these to any other routine. BP's exercises seem to me to just be a brief stretching routine to get ready for the day, or an activity. I would not call them a "workout". Instead, these are good movements to do before you start a workout or activity. Any stretching routine will do, as long as you work the major muscle groups. And, BP's routine does that... chest, shoulders, back, arms, abdominals, and legs. Enjoy!

It is all about protecting the salary stream, my friend... keep the trough in good shape so we can continue to feed. See the numbers for yourself: https://www.scouting.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/BSA-2020-Form-990.pdf Section VII And that is just for National... how many councils are there??

Sorry, not taking the bait 😜 Have a nice day.

Sure they do, if the council sticks Ukrainian flag on it. Do not get me wrong... I personally fully support Ukraine, and kicking out the Russian invaders, but this smacks of "taking sides" by the council that did this. I know there are refugees from the conflict who are Russians as well. They need humanitarian aid and first aid kits, too. I think in the case cited, making a bracelet that advocated peace between the sides would have been a much better choice. https://www.etsy.com/listing/1598608568/peace-in-gaza-bracelet-50-of-profits?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=a

Except for Eagle Scout Service Projects? Or a council selling FAKs for Ukraine? (and keeping a slice of the pie, btw) https://padutchbsa.org/a-scout-is-helpful-ukraine-first-aid-kit/

What the councils do not want you to know is that the corporations will make a donation to your Chartering Organization (CO) as well. All you need is the Employer Identification Number (EIN) of your 501 (c)(3) CO. As long as they are a registered non-profit, the company will (most likely) make the donation to them. Have the employee check their company policies. The donation then goes to your CO, specifically for your unit. We asked our CO is we could do this, and were met with a resounding "Yes!!" Some of our parents worked for a LARGE pharmaceuticals company. They all took tim

@RichardB, You have any contacts at National who think likewise on the issue of co-ed units? or "unofficial" insights?

I'll even pull the applicable verbiage out: "Members should make every effort to keep their uniforms neat and uncluttered. " "Jackets and Their Insignia Multicolored jackets are available for optional wear by youth members and adult leaders. The universal emblem should be worn on the left pocket or, in case of a jacket without chest pockets, in the same area. The Philmont bull emblem is especially designed for the red wool jac-shirt to be sewn on the left side above the pocket. On all jackets, Philmont Scout Ranch, Philmont Training Center, or high-adventure bas

I know a Vigil Honor member who was accused of murder, convicted, and exonerated on appeal. It was appropriate that they put him in the IVF during the trail and after convicted. But once exonerated... ??? They will never re-instate him, even though our justice system cleared him, and expunged that record. I think because there is now an easily accessible electronic history of news articles, and that would make people nervous. BSA considers him "damaged goods".

If there are no patches on it, wanna sell it? I give these as gifts to awesome Scouters...

17 years later... Welcome to the forum @Smokediver! Sorry to hear this happened to you. BSA professionals are very much more worried about image than reality. This is why the head-in-the-sand (or should I say hiding the dirty laundry?) tactics of dealing with child sexual abuse within the ranks have come back to bite them. You are a victim of the pendulum swinging too far in the opposite direction... Thank you for 39 years worth of service to Scouting. If I had the power, I'd re-examine the details of your case, and re-instate if warranted. BSA will most lik