Armymutt

I talked to the dad today. We discussed both sides of the issue and I think he's in agreement that it's better to start with the troop on March 1st rather than holding his son back. It would be different if we had a Webelos Den behind him, but we don't. Better that he start progressing toward Eagle with kids his own age than hang out with 9 year olds.

That leads me to believe that the admissions committees don't have a clue about the AOL. Let's be real, it's nowhere near the level of an accomplishment of a First Class Scout, let alone Eagle.

That's my thought too. I have a hard time buying into the level of commitment for getting the patch when no action was taken for over a year and a half. There are lots of packs around. The dad is an Eagle Scout. Grandpa was a CM and SM. I get the legacy thing, but given that the AOL really isn't much more than spending 6 months in Cub Scouts and getting 5 pins, I can't see it being worth holding a kid back from being in a troop and getting ready for summer camp.

No, he hasn't been registered since he was a Bear.

The school calendar seems to be a pretty good source for when the school year ends. By "came to us in December" I mean the dad sent us an email. They didn't show up until last weekend. They just turned in the application. By June, we are in our summer mode, which means no real meetings because everyone is on vacation for the summer. As long as the parents understand that there will not be a crossover ceremony, it's probably ok. I just can't see why you wouldn't want to hang out with Scouts your own age, rather than with a group where the oldest is in 3rd grade.

I have a parent who really wants his son to earn the AOL. Their pack folded a couple of years ago and they finally came to us in December 2022. The boy turns 11 in April. In order to meet the 6 month requirement, he'd have to be registered by now, right? I recommended that he just wait a couple of months and join the troop, but the dad isn't accepting of that idea. As of Feb 25, we will no longer have an AOL Den Leader, so it will be 100% on the dad to make sure everything gets done. I'm not sure how we get the 6 months in between now and the end of the school year on June 9.

You don't think that the same types of people complaining about the OA now won't be slightly offended at an organization that uses a major participant in sustaining and enhancing the colonization and oppression of Africans as a fulcrum? The UK removed a statue of him from the public space. BSA doesn't broadcast B-P's involvement in Scouting on its brochures. He's not at the forefront of anything. There has to be a reason for that. I'm betting that the folks in Irving would rather keep his name out of anything that isn't involved with die hard Scouters - like in Wood Badge.

The problem I see is that if you remove all the stuff that creates the proper setting and mood, you basically have something that isn't much different than the Calvin and Hobbes club. Realistically, the OA is basically network Scouting with a focus on service. It is the ceremonies that make it special. Think about Disney World. If you took out all of the scenery in the Peter Pan ride, would people spent 120 minutes in line to ride it? It's the suspension of disbelief that brings impact to the ideals of the OA as described in the ceremonies. They are basically parables. Jay Dunbar,

No one has been able to answer why the opinions of Indians who are against the OA are more valuable than those who are in favor of it. I'm pretty sure the guy who wrote the latest incarnations of the ceremonial texts is an Indian. Given his level of involvement in the OA as a youth and adult, I don't think he is against it.

So, Switzerland is in Europe, which is a little to the east of North America.

This is the big issue. If we are going to get rid of regalia, then we also need to ditch all AIA references - the names of lodges and chapters, the term "lodge", all the ceremonial texts, the names of many camps, and even the word "arrow". I can't think of another culture in North America that is associated with the use of arrows.

@InquisitiveScouter I wrote the budget based on discussions we had had previously in the Pack. There was no published budget prior to my arrival - at least nothing in the archives. Our budget is really more of a factoring of what we need to spend to buy advancement items, cover adult registrations, cover the unit recharter fee, PWD cars, and a bit for decorations. That gets divided between the current Scouts and everyone pays. No one else was writing it, so I did all the calculations necessary and wrote it. Everyone had ample opportunity to review it and provide feedback. As far as

I'm the CC now, so it's squarely in my realm. I'm glad that I'm not the only one who thinks that it is up to the AOL parents to come up with any gifts they want to give their Scout. I've been asking for the cross over plan since September and this was the first time anyone mentioned something resembling a plan regarding this event. We're supposed to execute it in a month and a half! I think we're establishing a new precedent - the AOL DL and parents are responsible for planning the event. If it is garbage, it's on them. I spent the past 4 hours of my drive back to TN getting a rough outl

What did your dues cover? We split ours up for convenience, but the only thing a December crossover will save is $14.30 to cover B&G, Rank Advancement Ceremony, and PWD costs. Everything else will still have to be paid since the Scout receives the full benefit of the program for the calendar year. It's not like they only get half their rank and pins, adult coverage and the benefits of having a unit.

Our pack established a budget in June. Some leaders failed to attend, but the proposed budget was sent out weeks before the meeting and feedback was solicited. None was received. The budget is used to determine the dues every Scout pays outside of the national and council fees. It buys required advancement, rank patches, pinewood derby cars, and covers decorations, refreshments, and any venue fees we plan to incur. At our leaders meeting yesterday, the AOL DL drops on us that the pack should buy the AOLs plaques for cross over at a cost of $45 plus tax and shipping each. The total AOL cr