Armymutt

@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

If no AI references, then it can't really be called the Order of the Arrow, can it? I don't know of any other group in American history that is associated with the use of arrows. I think the order has lost its way due to the influence of adults rather than the desire of the youth. It used to be something to aspire to. It was an exclusive club of sorts that only the best were elected to. Now, it's become just another thing between 1st Class and Star.

I was thinking about this today and why I received that award. I recall a dad and fellow Scouter outside of the OA being surprised that I was so active in the OA despite my oldest being a Bear. I suppose I do it partially out of enjoyment, a sense of duty, and, most importantly for me, so that my kids have it when they are old enough. More so, I hope to inspire the kids of today to ensure it is there for their kids. This is why I champion the ceremonies.

I'm geographically separated from my family and my Pack for work. I'm home for a couple of weeks and got to attend our Pack Meeting tonight. I asked the COR to come so we can go over rechartering. She's also the Chapter Advisor for our OA chapter. I noticed she was wearing her sash which struck me as odd, but I figured she must have either come from some function I wasn't tracking. She got up in front of the Pack - I figured she was going to make some announcement about recharter or some other COR business. She then called me up and told everyone how much of a role I had played in the ch

I'm not sure that Scouting would quite rise to the level of a vital issue confronting the Church and society. The closest is the Committee on Protection of Children and Young People. Seems like the best way to do that is to charter the unit and select leaders that you can control.

Reading a bit more into the thought process, there is the notion that if it is a charter agreement, the church has greater control over who the leaders are and the ideology of what is taught to the youth. There are some units out there who use Scouting to advance social ideologies that have nothing to do with Scouting and run contrary to church teachings. Chartering a unit ensures more control over the adults. A facilities use agreement gives zero control. Being sued is not the only thing the church is worried about. The safety of the kids in paramount. The church would have no say in th

One key difference is that there is no national Catholic authority. Each diocese can determine how they will proceed. Ours is continuing with business as usual.

Seems that the word "consecutive" would disqualify counting the canoe trip as non-long term camping. Unless they spent a night in a hard structure then you might be able to count three days on either side.

My other lodge appears to have done away with regalia. I think it's just laziness as no one seems to have reached out to a local tribe. I need to get active in it and find out what the deal is. Rumor is that the chapter advisor isn't really into it, but got pushed into the job.

Sounds like our lodge. We had to cobble together an ordeal team for 150 candidates. The lodge doesn't emphasize ceremonies. Instead, it's all about parties during the large gatherings. Who wants to be a ceremonialist when it means missing out on all the fun? I tried for almost 2 years to get a team in my chapter, but as the older ones aged out, no one behind them made a serious effort to fill the ranks.

I'm not sure what types of military people you guys are dealing with. Our district volunteers are probably close to 70% military - either active or retired - and runs really well. Granted, these are field grade officers and senior NCOs, so we are used to working in collaborative environments rather than coercive. The whole thing hinges on the notion that one signed up to serve an organization and sometimes that service is in the form of something uncomfortable or undesirable. Most of us are used to being handled those situations without the ability to walk away. It becomes second nature t

I think the post implies that he keeps "a" hand in his pocket - probably the left one. Sets a bad example, but not quite as bad as I believe you are envisioning. I had to reread it the first time.

While definitely a worthy goal, it was also really short-sited. BP was already wealthy. Look at how difficult it is to get someone to volunteer to be a den leader. Do you think anyone has the volunteer time available to do the job needed at the SE level? My issue with SE pay is when the program and facilities don't match it. For example, I've seen one council where the SE makes about $200k. The council camp reservation is top notch. It is well suited for Cub Scouts and older programs. Half the reservation has sites that you can drive up to, unload gear, and camp in comfort. There are

Slightly off topic, but if you are going to be the SM in less than 2 months and the SM is going to be gone for all of the meetings between then and now, why not do an immediate leadership change? There's 7 weeks between now and the end of the year.

@MikeS72 Yep, that's the one. Thanks! I had a great time. Good group of people in Middle Tennessee. Seems to have less attitude, for lack of a better word, than other councils I've been in.

Yet for some reason we need a virtue signaling merit badge for it. Every other citizenship MB deals with some governmental structure and the Scout's position in it. This one is essentially application of the Oath and Law. You could do the same thing with Scoutmaster Minutes.

I don't think it subverts the MB any more than almost every single MB "camp" "day" etc does for other MBs. Why is this one so sacred? It's the only merit badge that can't be taught to a large group and it has additional requirements to be an MBC, like it's some sort of especially technical or dangerous topic. I think the other three citizenship MBs are far more important than this one.

The requirement says, "With your parent’s or guardian’s approval, connect with another Scout or youth your own age who has an identity that’s different from yours. (This means a trait, belief, or characteristic different from you.) A trait can be something simple as hair color. Surely the Scout has a sibling or friend who has a different color of hair than he/shoe does. Perhaps framing the situation like that will gain the parents' permission. This approach can effectively nullify any intentions from the MB developer that the parents might have objections to. I don't know of too many

Had an early start on Saturday morning. The camp is a bit over an hour away and I wanted to have a good breakfast before the start of the fun. I got up at 4:30, having not slept well the night before. After the flag raising, a round of "Back to Gillwell", ceremonial change of duties, and some announcements, we loaded up our pack and started the walk to the overnight area. Had a good day of classes and games - the day flew by. Our patrol elected to make individual meals - I had MREs left over from work. We wanted to simplify cooking and cleanup, not knowing exactly what the timeline would

Working on those ranks within their patrols is completely different from working on them with younger Scouts. In fact, that's desirable. The more senior Scouts get a good refresher on those basic skills. That reinforcement strengthens their grasp of the concepts and helps with retention for life. Makes better Eagle Scouts!

For adult help, it's going to be like that. We're a military community and get excuses all the time. Even when I pointed out that I am also military and yet still find a way to be the Cubmaster, and now CC from 600 miles away, people still balked. I think part of the solution is explaining that if everyone pitches in in some way, then the work load is spread out, there are back ups in place, and the program doesn't drop if someone can't make it. If you think BSA is going to spend money showing you less than the ideal conditions, take a look at the photos on a McDonald's menu. Ideally, sur

How do the dens meet? Our Pack holds den meetings in full view of everyone else. We always have 2 registered females present. They may not be sitting in the actual den meeting spot, but they have an intervisibility line between themselves and the dens at all times. With our new Lion/Tiger DL, we don't really need to worry about it now. Our female Scouts are AOL (female DL) and Tiger/Lions. Last year, our Lion Den had a male leader - me. The only female was my daughter.