InquisitiveScouter

4 minutes ago, Jameson76 said:

Not saying these are necessarily poor initiatives.  They wreak of knee jerk reaction and a lack of actual leadership

They are poor initiatives.  Except for #4.

3 minutes ago, mashmaster said:

Does it put a timeline on for the Merit badge?  My son is working on his Eagle Project now.  

Mash,

If implemented, it will most likely have a clause to exempt Scouts who earned, say, Life before a certain date.

And this will be (or should be if equal treatment is the desired outcome) the final nail in the coffin of Native American-style regalia in the OA

Oh, and I missed this the first time through...

"...and taking immediate action toward introducing a version for volunteers in the coming months."

Introducing a specific diversity and inclusion merit badge that will be required for the rank of Eagle Scout.

YGBSM!

BTW,

My personal pronouns are Your Majesty, His Majesty, and His Majesty!

Is that the official Rover uniform ^^^^^^^ If so, I am IN!!!

Wait...is that a skin tight leotard, or is that his bare butt cheeks?

7 minutes ago, MattR said:

it does take more work than just writing a check

Yes, but they learn so much more!  And the price is 50 to 80% less!

I took a crew of 8 for a week on the Delaware River last August for just over $120 per person, including gas and tolls for the drivers. (We used our own canoes, kayaks, and accoutrement.)

Canoeing MB, 50 miler award, NPS Scout Ranger Award, and a darned good time!

17 minutes ago, DuctTape said:

Though I would encourage all adults to steer scouts towards planning and executing their own adventures, even the high adventure ones.

Like I said..."DuctTape for National Commissioner!!"

And, a fairly decent resource...https://tap.scouting.org/

2 minutes ago, Kudu said:

I'll send two BSA Wood Badgers

old school, or WB for the 21st Century?...bwahahahaha

15 minutes ago, elitts said:

Were it not mortgaged, it becomes much easier for a judge to say " The sale of this property would provide another 500 million in funds to pay creditors, I'm going to order it".

That might exactly be why they did it last year, to shield it from a bankruptcy liquidation order.  If the judge thinks this was the case, they may still order it liquidated free and clear.

5 minutes ago, Angus said:

dual memberships

Hadn't thought of that!  Thanks for the idea

11 minutes ago, fred8033 said:

Scouts should always be welcome to shift or change at any time.  AND, we should make that easy easy to happen as possible. 

Program sells...if you camp every month, and let the PLC run the show, it just kind of works.  Not great at first if they haven't done it, but it gets better...

And your Scouts are your best, or worst, recruiters.  They are the ones who run our recruiting events...monkey bridge (they build it), fishing, canoeing (only with an adult swimmer if no swim check), ropemaking, geocaching, etc etc etc

Also be up front.  I tell parents, "We are not just recruiting your Scout.  We are recruiting you!  We expect parents to pitch in to support a good program."

That would be a great development...

58 minutes ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

Negative, Ghostrider.

Yes, I understood...was being facetious

Haha!!  @ 13:00

"Give 'em what we get at home!"

"That's good! Whack 'em in the head!"

Ahhh...the good old days

No clue on the narrator

2 minutes ago, 5thGenTexan said:

When I leave, the above is what the Pack is going to be left with.

They will have to figure it out...

And according to the doctrine, guess who is supposed to take over CM duties when the CM leaves?

The CC 😋

• If the Cubmaster is unable to serve, assume active direction of the pack until a successor is recruited and registered.

 https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/510-240.pdf

3 minutes ago, malraux said:

That’s really unfortunate because they really should have a method to do managed logging to help improve the financial situation of the council while also managing the health of the environment. 

The ASM said they are supposed to have those management plans in order to get the logging permits, but most states don't follow up after the logging is done to see if they complied with the plan...

A camp in PA we went to a few summers ago had spent (they said) almost a million bucks rehabbing the dam for their lake.  Later, they logged the side of the mountain above the lake, and did significant damage to the watershed.  He took me on a hike around the logging area and showed me how all the runoff areas had become severely eroded, and where did all that soil go? Right into the "new" lake.  He told me if them if they didn't fix the problem soon, their dam repairs will have been money thrown down the drain.  Camp Director (a council professional) said "Thanks, we will look into it. 

That was the ASM's first summer camp, and he asked me, seriously, "I thought the BSA were supposed to be stewards of the environment?"

Last summer, the camp we went to had logged several hundred acres...nearly clear-cut and also watershed damage.  When he asked the ranger about it, he said it was all done to stop emerald ash borer.  He shook his head...told me later that someone, somewhere wasn't being honest.  He had walked through the area...most of the species harvested were not ash, and that logging wasn't a way to stop EAB...  Most logging of ash is being done to get the trees (and therefore, the cash) before EAB kills the trees and makes them unusable.

Our own camp had similar issues...storm damage and EAB...was supposed to be a type of salvage logging operation with re-planting...took many trees that were neither downed, nor ash ... near clear cut, and no replanting.  Council called on Scouts to come and replant...and two years on, it ain't pretty

Logging to sell...raise money for council...and often with disastrous results.

One of my ASM's does environmental impact plans and assessments for the state.  He has been shocked at the devastation he has seen at our local camp, and at the two out of council summer camps he has been to with us since his son joined the Troop. 

The council I grew up in did the same...logged our remote lake camp for cash in the 80's (really trashed the place), then logged our main camp just before selling it in the 90's and moving all ops to the remote camp.

On 5/30/2020 at 12:44 AM, Eagle94-A1 said:

looks like I got my wish.

You wished for fee increases?  You dirty rat!

On 6/1/2020 at 2:27 PM, MattR said:

I wonder how BPSA is doing.

Was thinking about transitioning over to BPSA...and starting a unit here.  But, it might be seen only as a "cult of personality" thing and cause division.  I think I may take a break for a few years from BSA to clear my head

On 6/2/2020 at 3:36 PM, dkurtenbach said:

It is difficult for our Scouting game of camping and hiking and related outdoor activities to compete.   

Which is why we have quite a few young people who are seen as not fitting in to other groups of their peers...

On 6/2/2020 at 3:36 PM, dkurtenbach said:

That cause, of course, is the environment

BSA has a long way to go here...how many of your council camps have been logged??

Just now, David CO said:

BSA doesn't own the units.  The Chartered Organizations own the units.

Agreed.  This is what our council has said...follow guidance of your CO.  It is one of the first common sense pronouncements I have seen from them...

On 6/4/2020 at 9:55 PM, MattR said:

Lots of people without cruise control that can't make up their mind if they want to tailgate, pass, or just slow down in front of you.

I should post this one in the Pet Peeve thread 😜

BSA is experiencing the perfect storm...

The mills of the gods grind slowly, but they grind fine.

You have asked a question that you might not like the answer to...

BSA COVID-19 FAQ  ( https://www.scouting.org/coronavirus/covid-19-faq/ ) says, in typical CYA fashion...

Q: If meeting locations are open, can units meet or do other in-person activities?

Councils make the determination, working closely with their council health supervisor and local health department, about when units can conduct in-person meetings and activities again. If the unit’s local council is allowing in-person activities but has restrictions in place (e.g., no more than 10, social distancing of 6 ft. etc.), the unit must meet and abide by those restrictions – even if the unit is traveling out of council/state.

underlining added

Good luck...