CalicoPenn

At the grass roots level, we can make a big difference, but if the level of disconnect between the top levels of the organization and the troops continues, I fear Girl Scouts will see even greater decline in the next few years. One good thing is that GSUSA is a lot more inclusive than some other scouting organizations (what sort of kids organization in the 21st Century excludes kids simply because they don't believe in a god?), but I really feel that GSUSA needs to get away from bureaucracy and making the girls jump through ridiculous hoops to get a simple cooking badge. I mean, "New Cuisines"

Have you tried the 3M Ultrathon lotion which is 34.34% deet versus the 25% deet in the spray?

Sorry to hear that. The next message to the DE, with a copy to the SE and Council President is that because of his interference with the Troop, the Troop will not let him, or anyone else, give a presentation for FOS this year, or any year in the future, as long as he remains the DE.

Thought you would all like a bit of trivia: Thin Mints (made by both firms) make up 25% of all cookie sales Caramel DeLites/Samoas = 19% Peanut butter Sandwich/Do-si-dos = $16% Peanut Butter Patties/Tagalongs = 13% Lemonades (ABC Baking only) = 9% Short Bread/Trefoils = 7% Thanks-a-Lot (ABC Baking only) = 6% In paired cookie names, the first is an ABC Baking name and the second is a Little Brownie Baker cookie. Ember - Do-si-does are not little gifts handed down by God and carried to us by angels in chariots. God doesn't have time to bake. However, Do-si-does are made by

National is very clear on this - a Scout can start working on ANY merit badge he wants to earn at ANY time with no age or rank restrictions. A newly crossed-over Scout can start working on any and every merit badge, including Eagle Scout required ones, the moment his membership is transferred from Cubs to Scouts. Isn't it rather arrogant of the leaders of your Troop to decide that "it knows better" than the BSA? Its rules like your unit's rules that lead to posts like the original poster and other posts we've had of parents frustrated by their units inability to follow the rules laid o

More precisely, BSA's facilities, if they meet certain usage thresholds to maintain "private club" status, are exempt from FEDERAL ADA regulations. For employment purposes, the BSA is still bound by the federal ADA regulations. But the key word here is federal. Almost every state has adopted and/or adapted the federal ADA regulations within their own state laws and in many of those states, though the BSA is exempt from the federal regulations, they aren't exempt from state ADA laws. If a state has adopted the federal ADA regulations as their own laws, and do not exempt "private clubs",

I think I can answer that with a great deal of confidence. Councils that do not comply will have their charters revoked and will be merged with nearby councils and the BSA will simply say they had to do it because the Council showed that it was not fiscally healthy. For councils that can't be easily merged with a neighboring council, National will cancel the charter, effectively eliminating the current board, fire the Scout Executive, then re-organize the Council - likely in a matter of days.

The BSA is a 501© (3) organization according to a letter from the IRS confirming the BSA's status from the IRS on 10.09.91 (which can be seen on the Scouting Service Project website). 501© (1) organizations are corporations organized by Acts of Congress. In order to be a tax exempt 501© (1) organization, the act must specifically state that they are exempt from taxes, not just say they are non-profit. Federal Corporations organized in such a manner are considered "instrumentalities of the federal government" - just about all of them are organized to advance the economic policies of the U

Has this been a tradition in your Pack, to invite that year's crossover Pack alumni to join in for one last campout? No official rule against it - it's completely up to you. When was crossover? February? March? Might I make a suggestion? If you're going to do this, think about adding a component to the weekend - kind of an "Okay, boys - you've been in Scouts for a few months now - show us what neat things you've learned" - I see this as an opportunity for the Pack to help encourage the next set of Webelos to cross over. If you've got more than a couple of crossovers attending, try getti

My thoughts: A Good Turn is something that isn't usually a long project, and is often spontaneous. While most Boy Scouts usually aren't in a position to help a little old lady across the street anymore, the important take-away from that image is that a good turn often helps just one person, doesn't take alot of time, and isn't something that is usually planned. A Scout sees someone in the park chasing after their dog and is able to catch the dog has done their good turn. A Scout holds a door open for someone with their arms full - thats a good turn (who said the good turn has to be som

At this time of year, if I were setting up a tarp to provide shade, I would set it up so that the part that angles down is towards the west. In my neck of the woods (Northern Illinois), the temeperatures in the morning are generally less hot than they are in the late afternoon,when the sun is in the western sky, when I'd be looking for more shade....................If I had two rectangular flys, I think I would set them up in parallel - as long as they are "joined" in the middle, the front fly can be fully horizontal to the ground which will provide more shade coverage that either perpendicul

Just what kind of facilities improvements do folks think Scout Camps are going to need to make? Females have been allowed to be Scoutmasters since the 1980's - they've already got things figured out.

Interesting video. I do have a few comments though. Twice you have slides in the presentation that pretty much say "Don't Listen to Me". I know you're trying to suggest that folks not rely only on what your presenting, but the moment you say "don't listen to me", you've pretty much lost your audience. To do so twice in the presentation? You're just begging you audience to ignore everything you're trying to say. Why should anyone actually sit through the rest of the video, or believe anything you say, after the first "don't listen to me slide"? Surely there's another way to say do

Ok. The Camp Director, volunteer or not, has the responsibility to report it to the incident to Council. Make sure that's been done. If you have an actual quote on the replacement cost, include that in your e-mail to Council - word it with just the facts that you know and ask them what the next step is. They may require you to file a claim with your insurance company. Make sure you take some pictures of the location of the range and the location of the parking lot and where your van was in relation to where the range was. Now please take the following in the spirit in which it's g

We had female staff members at summer camps in 1978. We had female staff members at Maine National High Adventure Base when I worked there in the mid-1980's. The BSA figured it out way back then - it can certainly figure it out now.

Did you report the damage to the Camp Director? That's step one.

Very true, you won't find instruction to bring your sister. You also won't find instruction not to bring your sister. And that's the point, isn't it? Typically, if something isn't specifically prohibited, then the assumption is its allowable and up to the units/CO's to make the determination of whether it will be done within the unit, and in what circumstances. If the BSA expects that ASM's (or any other unit leader) should not bring their daughter on an overnight with the Troop, then it is the responsibility of the BSA to spell that out and actually prohibit it. I suspect if the BS

We can spend hours twisting ourselves like pretzels trying to find relevant documentation in the Boy Scout literature to answer the question - but the fact is (and kudos to Richard B for the ole college try) - there are no actual, written in stone, rules against it that you're going to find. There is plenty of suggestions (for instance, the section of the G2SS that Richard B posted isn;t actually a rule against bringing siblines, of either sex - it is a suggestion)and there are unrelated policies that one could hang their hat on (for instance, it is a membership policy that a Boy Scout be a b

I'm with Stosh - contact the Council about setting your son(s) up with the provisional Troop for the week of Summer Camp that you paid for - Council should have a record that you paid for Summer Camp and most will be just fine with accommodating you. While you're talking to the Council, ask them what their policy is on letting the Provisional Scoutmaster sign blue cards - some council's won't allow it but others will, and even if a council's policy is not to allow it, they'll often become remarkably flexible about it when they are told that your son(s) are transferring Troops in the fall or d

A couple of paperback books - there will be some down time in the campsite and if he's not working on a project, they'll help fill the time. A journal with pens - to write down his experiences of the days. A camera with extra charged batteries Some small zipper travel bags where smaller items like knives, compasses, sewing kits, change, etc. can be stored - makes it less likely for small things to get lost when they aren't just tossed loosley in to a backpack or duffle bag.

Without actually being in the room and hearing the discussion around this question, it's a bit hard to know what is meant by it. I can think of a number of things that this question might be exploring. The most obvious, to me at least, is the question of whether the BSA is successfully meeting the needs of older girls in those programs they are already involved with - is the BSA meeting the needs of older girls in Venturing, Sea Scouting and Exploring? If the answer is yes then maybe the BSA can build on that at the Boy Scout level. If the answer is no, then maybe they need to concen

Baloo is required for Pack Overnighters, which are Pack organized events. If it's a Council-organized camping trip (and a District Camporee is technically a "Council-organized" trip), it is not considered a Pack Overnighter so Baloo is not required (Owl is designed to help a Webelos Den Leader gain the skills to teach outdoor skills to Webelos - its not required for any campout). That said, I agree with Stosh - the more training the better - you may not need Baloo for a Council (District) organized camping trip, but it wouldn't hurt.

Saltines, Pringles, Fritos, hand sanitizers, Vaseline Lint, steel wool, cotton balls, rope fiber I'd ask the Scouts to notice the patterns - what do the items in each of the lists have in common. They're either oily or fibrous (yes, steel wool is a fiber - a metal fiber, but it's a fiber).

In talking to my LDS colleagues, this has a lot more to do with internal LDS politics than it does with and BSA policy changes - made and considered. Varsity/Venturing has always been a poor fit with the Aaronic Priesthood (boys from 14-18) - it really only delivered some outdoor/high adventure/sports things and everything else was haphazardly squeezed in. There have been a lot of internal complaining the last 30 years or so as the LDS church has expanded outside the US and Canada that there has been no formal program put together for the priesthood - which covers a lot more ground than t

I sure wish people would stop overstating the influence of AHG and TL/USA and would stop saying they are coming on strong. AHG was founded in 1995. They have 43,000 members. The Girl Scouts has 2.6 Million. TL-USA was founded in 2013 and started operations in 2014. They have 26,000 members and only increased approximately 6,000 members from 2014 to now. The BSA has 2.35 Million. These membership numbers do not support the suggestion that they are coming on strong. They are limping along in a very narrow demographic and it's not going to get much better for them given the curre