CalicoPenn

First - there were internal surveys done. If they were overwhelmingly against, this decision might have been different - if they were anywhere in the 50/50 to 60/40 range, it probably wouldn't have changed anything. The BSA is a business - it may be non-profit - but it is a business. National's interest is NOT the same as individual unit's interests - it hasn't been for decades. Its biggest motivator is membership - that's why you see so many statistics about membership numbers. Without members, the organization will sputter out and eventually die. Any organization that does not chang

You're kidding, right? You do know that West Point Cadets are just colege students with uniforms and enforced discipline, right? There has been a lot more study into the human brain since Freud and Jung. Its pretty much accepted in the field that humans don't have fully developed emotional minds until at least 25 - and that pretty much leaves out traditionally aged college students, including West Point cadets.

I think that's a BRILLIANT idea - I vote go for it

I mentioned that I would get to Scout Accounts - I didn't do that - so - there is a caveat to everything I wrote - if the funds used to purchase the teepees come from the Scouts "Scout Accounts" and is from fund raising shares and not from money they personally deposited in their scout accounts to save money for summer camp or whatever, then the teepees belong to the unit and problem solved that way. Scouts cannot personally gain from funds raised for scouting so they can't purchase a tangible item like a teepee that has value beyond their scouting lives. (Technically, they can't use fundrai

If I read this right, Patrol A has a teepee that the boys purchased together by pooling their own funds. I'm assuming that it was personal funds and not "Scout Account" funds (get to that in a bit). The Scouts that purchased it are all still together. Patrol B had a teepee that the boys purchased by pooling their own funds (and not "Scout Account" funds) - but three of the boys have aged out. The patrols have been storing their "Patrol Owned" (which in reality is personal owned) teepees with the Troops gear. Ok - if that's correct then this is my take: The Troop has no claim

I'm curious on how the council can be pressuring your unit if no professional from Council has come to visit. Are they sending out volunteers from your district? Are they sending you letters that may be ham-handedly worded? Calling the unit leaders over and over again? I only ask because I have seen unit leaders read a form letter from Council suggesting funding levels from units for FOS contributions as demands and not requests, and have seen district Scouters come across as demanding when they give FOS presentations. Yes, you can just say no - they can "demand" but you don't have to

I readily admit I was being a bit tongue-in-cheek with the Halo answer but I stand by the point behind it - that its up to each of us to decide what Duty to God means to us.

Brian, I think you just need to figure out what Duty to God means to you. I've had a lot of Scouts ask me this same question - what does it mean - and there is a presumption that it is easier for a Scout who goes to church on a regular basis to answer (Personally, I'm of the opinion that if the answer is "I attend church every Sunday", then this isn't really sufficient but I wouldn't hold a Scout back for it - too many people I think believe it's enough - now if they talk about volunteering with their church youth group, or working in the church food pantry, or served as an altar boy

I think the Exploring split was pretty hastily done at a time when the BSA was about to lose all contact with Public Schools. The BSA's policies were conflicting with the Public Schools duty to follow state and federal government non-discrimination laws so they set up Learning for Life without the BSA policies that were conflicting and moved the Exploring program - minus the high adventure posts - to LFL so both the Boy Scouts and the various public schools could have a win. With STEM - they were able to plan better. They knew that for the STEM Scouts to succeed, they would need access t

My first thought is to start building patrols. 45 people is pretty hard for one Scout to lead - 85 people? You bet it will become adult led at those kinds of numbers. You have enough people for 4 to 6 patrols. I'd get them up and running so when you do have another 40 people showing up, you can model it for the new Scouts correctly instead of trying to invent it when they get there. Have you asked the former SPLs why they asked the SM to take a more active role in program planning? I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that it's because you don't really have a functioning PLC

I've built bonfires for the end of camp campfire before - it takes 2 people, 3 at the most - any more than 3 and you're in each other's way. It should take those 2 people (3 at the most) no more than 30 minutes to build the structure of the fire. You never raise your voice at a Scout unless its to prevent imminent harm. It is far more effective to speak quietly to the individual. In this particular case, the adults were in the wrong right from the start by volunteering the Troop to do a task without any input from the youth - and I would say that about the PLC making such a decisio

He gets the palm. He earned the extra merit badges before his BOR for Eagle Scout. Since his BOR was after August 1, and the rule is he gets credit for all merit badges before his BOR - he gets credit for the extra and gets the palm. Age has nothing to do with it - he didn't schedule the BOR for after his birthday, the Council did.

I wonder how much he might fear being responsible for something bad a Scout or group of Scouts do on their own at a state park. Lets face it, as much as the Scouts have a generally positive reputation with the public, the reputation of Boy Scouts is often lower among park personnel and people who camp at state parks. That said, as long as expectations and boundaries are well communicated, Scouts should be allowed to explore on their own (with buddies or as patrols) - give them maps, make sure they are well-versed in the rules - and that you've pointed out things they are not allowed to do

Here's what I would do: Step 1: Recruit a head cook - he can recruit his own staff. Step 2: Determine how many staff will need to be fed. Step 3: Determine your budget for staff food. Step 4: Tell the head cook how many people and what the budget is and let him/her do the rest (menu planning, making sure they have the equipment they need, food procurement, etc.). Seems to me the hardest part for you is recruiting a head cook. I do have a couple of suggestions: 1. Don't prepare sack lunches at breakfast - Cook and crew have enought to do with making and serving

Can you please quote chapter and verse the rules that say Cub Scout Packs can't get together on their own to share resources and hold activities together unless it is organized by Council/District.

Thanks - good to know.

Here's a change that should be considered - open up OA to female venturers - their female leaders can become members, they should be able to as well

I vote no on the metric conversion - let's be honest, the only people in the US that uses the metric in a regular, non-scientific, way are running race organizers because 5km sounds better than 3.10686 miles. Plus, 25 miles per gallon sounds a lot better than 6.6 miles per liter. I can't imagine why there would be an objection to the merit badge sash - it's really just used on "formal" occasions (Courts-of-Honor) and is a handy place to put Merit Badges where they won't get lost. They're perfect for letting Scouts practice their sewing skills. I wouldn't mind seeing a change to the

Don't close the account until after you have personally talked to the COR. The CO may not want the account closed - they may just want to take the current signatories off the account and have new ones on the account. You should also make arrangements to turn over all the financial records to the COR. It is their Troop, their bank account and their financial records. If they want new signatories on the bank account, stick around long enough to follow-up to make sure they have taken you off the account.

There is no prohibition by National on a Boy Scout unit doing an activity with a Girl Scout unit. The BSA leaves it to their chartering organizations (who often leave it to the Troops) to use their own common sense to develop their own policies on sharing activities. Back when I was a Scout, the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts would work together doing the Memorial Day flag ceremony. Sometimes we marched in one giant mass of Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Brownies, Cub Scouts and Explorers in the 4th of July parade, sometimes we marched as separate units (btw - I think it was a lot more impressive

There is no prohibition by National on a Boy Scout unit doing an activity with a Girl Scout unit. The BSA leaves it to their chartering organizations (who often leave it to the Troops) to use their own common sense to develop their own policies on sharing activities. Back when I was a Scout, the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts would work together doing the Memorial Day flag ceremony. Sometimes we marched in one giant mass of Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Brownies, Cub Scouts and Explorers in the 4th of July parade, sometimes we marched as separate units (btw - I think it was a lot more impressive

Add an egg to boxed pancake mix Worcestershire Sauce and/or nutmeg to ground beef for hamurgers or meatloaf Crushed pineapple (drained) to pancake mix (especially good ith buckwheat pancakes) Butter only (no milk) for mashing potatoes

Was it the Chief Scout Executive or the District Executive attending that Troop meeting. I suspect it was the District Executive - CSE's don't generally meet with Troops for these types of issues, and they usually don't have that close of a relationship with Scoutmasters. If it was the DE, then you need to make a phone call to the Chief Scout Executive and tell that person what you've just explained to us and ask that person point blank how one of his DE's can ignore the physical assault of a Scout by a Scoutmaster at his Summer Camp which was witnessed by multiple people, including camp

What could Golf Magazine (the original source) possibly have against President Trump - a man who owns major golf courses around the world?