Ojoman

At a United Way agency show at a mall some years back I had a scouting display including handbooks and a gentleman came to me and said, 'You should be proud of what you do'... meaning promoting and running scouting programs. I told him I was but aske why he said that. He said, 'I was in Viet Nam and many of us made it home, not because of what the military taught us but because of training we had, things we learned in scouts." Needless to say, I was impressed and his message stayed with me.

You can contact your COR or IH (chartered organization rep or institutional head) and have a new Cmte Chair appointed. Any concerned parent can always get a group of concerned parents together to consider what needs to be done. All volunteers of a unit serve at the pleasure of the Institutioinal Head and the rep but it is also part of the committees duty to see that all leadership positions are filled. Hope this helps.

Steps to 'save' the troop or shut it down... First, Steps to save the troop. Many packs have weak programing and don't retain cubs through the 5 1/2 years from Tiger to AOL and if there isn't an attractive troop program to go to the AOL's may not cross over. Multiple things need to happen if your troop will survive. First, meet with the pack leadership and help them create a stimulating program that meets both the needs of the cubs and the parents. Cubs want fun, adventure and recognition... parents want their kids to grow in values and life skills. Help the pack build 3 levels of progra

Answered in my last response but not really generic to this thread. This seems to have become a PRO SCOUTER BASHING instead of a concern for low income and minority youth. I would like to keep things on a more positive level. Recently, a s volunteer I created the Erie Canal Historic Trail award with little support from the council exec but some from his #2 guy. When the assistant scout exec has his duties plus running a multi county district because the SE does not have the funds or the interest to fill the vacancy then it's that up to your *** in gators thing. Council and District opps are de

SiouxRanger... you sound disillusioned but I'm betting that you have known some truly fine professionals. Like lawyers, a few bad apples give the rest a bad name. I know I worked with many outstanding members of the profession from all ranks. Most professionals other than Scout Execs or regional/national staff are poorly paid for the hours that they work. Those that stay in unit service (God Bless them) do so mostly because they believe in what they are doing and want to provide good service to their volunteers. IMHO the problem is at the top, both of councils and of national along with the bo

I hear you... Sounds like there are several serious issues impacting your pack. Size of the pack and dens, parent support, Retention/recruiting, and program content. I would suggest another round of recruiting at all grade levels (k-5) to get some new blood on board. Then a parents meeting to emphasize the importance of parental involvement. Parents can assist with events/activities without being registered but registration is a plus. Review your pack 12 month program plan. (yes, 12 months, summer activities should be the iceing on the cake). School/community relationships is critical and I ho

I think we can all agree that the BSA at every level needs to be able to pay its bills. That includes year round capital and program expenses including salaries and related costs. District professional staff do have to generate a part of that but there ought to be ample time spent on membership recruitment/retention, unit support and cultivation of district and council level volunteers. In my council in the last half dozen years we have gone from 7,000+ volunteers to less than 1,000. It is insane to think that with that kind of a loss that you can even maintain, let alone grow the program. The

In my 30 years as a professional and over 20 as a volunteer I always wanted to know the 'lowest' number of registered youth each year since kids stay on the charter until reregistation time. The low number is generally closer to an accurate count of active youths vs 'total youth served (registered) during the year. Districts always carry 'inactive' youths but it is insane to carry 'paper units and members'. Certainly in councils where the management beats professionals with threats of termination if they don't hit their numbers there is that temptation to keep your job or to try to get a promo

Jameson76: I would point out that those articles are about membership practices at a local council level and are two decades old. Personally I only know of one executive that 'fudged' membership and I reported it to the new Scout Exec and I got disciplined for it and the membership stayed on the books for a couple of years. I have to say that in 30 years in the profession that is the only case that I can claim to have direct knowledge of and it was Learning for Life, no scoutreach. Not to say that some individuals have not padded the books but it is a practice that will get you fired if it get

I have always viewed the BSA structure as an upside down pyramid with the broad base of units and youth members on top and narrow bands of volunteers, districts, councils areas, and finally national all in support. I don't always feel that way these days. It varies from council to council and even district to district. Properly run councils and districts are doing a credible job in difficult times while others frankly are failing. While I feel my present council is failing I know with the right leadership it can turn around. I hope that happens and soon. The program is too valuable to families

Our packs were mainly after school programs with 1 or 2 exceptions but our troops were more along 'traditional' lines meeting in community centers and churches. The kids in the troops loved getting out of the city and we tried to get them camping at least every other month. We had equipment that was shared by the troops. Our older kids used to assist the ranger at one of our camps. They loved Ranger Dennis and would tackle any job he needed done. Thanks for the feedback...

Back in the day, when I served on the Pittsburgh and later the Syracuse council staffs we had the Scoutreach program. I know that in Syracuse it has been over a decade since the council provided services to low income city youth. With the rise in adolescent suicide, crime, drug use, failure to complete school and other serious issues, I have to question if one, do we have a responsibility to get scouting to these neighborhoods and two, if so, how do we manage to meet that responsibility and obligation? In Syracuse, and I imagine in many other councils they don't have enough income to even mai

Many local councils had to sell properties and dip deeply into endowments in order to kick in their share of the settlement. AS you pointed out, the settlement will have long lasting financial consequences for the BSA and structured fee increases was and is a part of that settlement. I believe that part of that projection was predicated on membership growth which seems ridiculous on the face of it since the BSA has not had traditional membership growth since the early/mid 1970's. I believe the loss of the LDS church was factored into things but the impact of covid and the bad press from all th

BSA should never be interpreted as BABY SITTERS OF AMERICA. Our pack inducted the parents with the Cubs and that sent the message that they were a part of the pack and important to the success of their child's experience. I actually knew a Cubmaster that would not accept a child unless the parents agreed to some degree of active involvement with the pack program. I don't advocate that but I do feel that without parent support and participation the program won't be as good as it could be and retention will suffer.

Retention, recruitment and overall growth and transition is not easy but can be accomplished. Your experience in recruiting and expanding the Webelos den shows that it can be done and actually should be happening all along the way. Packs that know their local resources and utilize them to enrich their programs and strive to make each level meet the needs and wants of both kids and parents retain and grow. The ultimate goal of a pack should be to retain and transition their cubs from grade k through 5 and on into Scouts BSA. BSA is and has been a FAMILY VALUES PROGRAM delivered while having fun

All too often the COR of a unit is a ‘placeholder’ to meet the requirements of getting a charter issued. In reality the COR is a powerful position within the unit, district and council. The duties and responsibilities can be found here: https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/511-421(16)_WEB.pdf and few volunteers, even at the district and council level really understand or appreciate the power of this position. The Chartered Organization Representative is an automatic member of the district committee and also a voting member of the Council Executive Board. While it is rare, a group

That is a sign of a bad coach, frustrated Lombardi wannabees... then there are parents that push their kids too. I have so many stories of the powerful/positive impact of Scouting. There are many kids out there that are not so into sports or band. We need to reach out to them and connect with a great local program. Today we are literally in a fight for our kids future and the values, character and citizenship that they need. Sadly, we have been losing ground for decades and that needs to end.

I agree that Scouting is a good value but unlike a lot of other youth activities, Scouting depends upon a certain amount of parent participation to be successful. In sports you often have 1 or 2 coaches and mom n dad mostly sit on the sidelines or dropoff and pickup their kid or send him with a friends family. Then there are the new restrictions and registration/YPT requirements for parents to participate just as parents. It is no longer 'keep it simple and make it fun'. Also, councils need to do more to support the units with local, in person trainings including POW WOW and U of Sctg. We des

I just looked up the costs for a cub uniform. You need the belt for the loops so belt, shirt, slide, neckerchief hit $69 and then add numerals and CSP. Pant and hat add another $56. This on top of the National and local council fees to join and then the hat, neckerchief and slide change each year for $44 more annually until the kid outgrows the shirt and pants or goes into Webelos for a whole new uniform. BSA does fund a good deal of the retirement with Scout Shop sales but let's get serious. Families are tired of all the expenses. Something needs to give. Go Basic shirt and belt with jeans..

I agree. When my kids were in costs were a lot less but even so the pack made their own neckerchiefs with a silk screen design. These days with new uniform parts for each grade/rank in cubs it is recidulous! Also, the shear number of pins and badges for cubs is out of control. This all adds to the costs of the program. Some units have a Tshirt as a class B uniform which is GREAT. It promotes the pack and their location/chartered partner. We need more of that. A sharp tshirt is something the kids may wear to school or other activities and can be a recruiting tool. Anything that keeps kids and f

Common sense and the old 2 deep leader rule should have been enough but the problem with common sense is that it isn't very common. Since the lawsuit, which was handled very poorly, and the bankruptcy that may still put the BSA out of business the pendulum has swung so far from center it may never return. Now, everyone has to register, everyone has to be trained and costs are going through the roof. This isn't your fathers BSA.

The plain truth today is that there is a lack of RETENTION in the Cub program. Many packs only cross a couple of AOL's to Scouts because they only have a couple. My kids were in about the time that Tigers came out. Tiger uniform was a T shirt with iron ons for things they accomplished. Those kids wanted to become Wolf Cubs and get that blue uniform with all the patches. Keeping the program exciting at each stage as well as growing and more challenging is a key. We actually GREW in the higher ages as friends/buddies heard what we were doing and asked to join or were recruited. The program is aw

Sadly, The kids, parents, chartered partners (CR & IH) and local officials were betrayed by people that they 'trusted' with kids. Your role is public in a parking lot and doesn't involve being an authority figure to kids. Big difference. With the type of settlements being handed out and the cost of background checks, insurance and related expenses it is more important now than ever to engage everyone young and old in Youth Protection #1 for the kids and #2 for the program. I personally believe that the BSA has been and will continue to be one of the best and safest programs for kids. 1 abu

THERE IS A CERTAIN SEGMENT OF OUR SOCIETY THAT WANTS SCOUTING BSA GONE! They have been working for decades to destroy a program that teaches responsibility and accountability, discipline, respect and Duty to one's own God. They don't want honesty, character, citizenship or wholesome programs and activities taught or given to our children. We are seeing our kids growing up surrounded by entertainment that glorifies sex, drugs and violence along with disrespect for authorities. Families have drifted away from churches, and 1 in every three children live in a single parent home while many others