Abel Magwitch

Scouting above all should be fun. Scouting was fun when I was a Scout. I was able to participate in many activities that I could not have gotten anywhere else. Summer camp was great. The camp was up kept. I learned leadership. I I had opportunities to learn many things. When a Scout goes to summer camp now, he should have fun. The Scout is paying over $250 for a week of fun and opportunities. Council promises a quality program for the fees paid. Councils advertise on their websites how fun their camp is. Council's send out summer camp manuals to troops highlighting what their c

hello bnellon, on the contrary, read the first post. It's all about cheap MB's at summer camp.

So, how is advancement supposed to work in the BSA? Let's begin here: Step 1 The Boy Learns. He learns Scouting skills by taking an active hands-on part in troop and patrol meetings and outdoor programs. This learning, as we said above, the natural outcome of his regular Scouting activities his on-the-job training. Step 2 He is Tested. When his leaders see that he has mastered a given skill and satisfied a given requirement, they tell him so and record his achievement. Step 3 He is Reviewed. When a Scout completes all requirements for a rank, he appears before a bo

Yes, it sounds familiar. How about this... A council has 5 districts. Then the SE retires and a new SE comes to town. Within the next few years, membership grows at a phenominal rate (on paper). With such an influx of new members, the SE decides that council needs to divide into 9 districts. Unfortunately, nobody ever sees the new membership from the new units. The 9 districts are now too small to function. One district only had 4 traditional troops. Another had 8. There were no longer camporees or klondike derbies in some districts. Troops had to participate in other dis

One thing I can think of which would not tend to support such a Machiavellian scheme is the fact that councils seem to be unable to even keep simple advancement records correctly. How could such incompetence put together a scheme THAT clever? Incompetence with advancement records? I don't believe so. Not caring about such trivial things such as advancement records while being concerned with the real priorities of membership, fos and criticals, in my opinion is closer to the truth. I recall when I was advancement chair and required merit badge counselors to fill out their appli

Packsaddle, I agree with your assessment that when the customer sees a better alternative, they will walk. This is most evident in my council. I know this is off topic but let's suppose... I know that there are Scouters out there whose council's have merged. I know there are those out there whose council sold their beloved camp. When council's merge and camps close, how are the decisions made to close which particular camp? How are the decisions made on where the Scout office will be located? Has anyone experienced a drop in the quality of your camp program where council tr

Heh, heh, it's not politics...it's simple economics. When customers pay more, they expect more and they get it or else move on to a competitor. And that is the free market. When customers pay little and expect more anyway, that's...entitlement...aka Scout Camps. Pay more, pay little For me and my troop, the issue is not about how much one pays but rather what is promised by the council for the fees paid and what is actually delivered. There are several neighboring councils to mine. The majority of my council troops go to these other councils for their summer camp. Here are som

my troop has voted with their feet and no longer camps at our council camp. It is a shame really; we have camped at the council camp for many many years out of loyalty to the council and to the camp itself. Many SE's have told us through the years that this is "your" camp. But over the years, the promised program got worse and worse. Council began neglecting to hire an adequate number of staff to handle the number of Scouts; the camp was allowed to go into disrepair; supplies not being ordered in time for first week campers; some supplies never ordered, etc. So over the past 20 years

(This message has been edited by abel magwitch)

(This message has been edited by abel magwitch)

(This message has been edited by abel magwitch)

(This message has been edited by abel magwitch)

What is the name of the camp so others can steer clear. If it was a MB mill as usual, why does your troop still go to that camp? If the council used 14 and 15 year olds as merit badge counselors, the council broke national policy which states that all merit badge counselors must be 18 years old or older. Have you taken your concerns to the council advancement committee? the council camping committee? the council commissioner? Which council volunteer leaders have you gone to? What were there responses? Sounds like your Scouts got a sub-standard program for the fees they pai

Sad. As I have posted before, our district exec decided to ask the SM at an Eagle Court of Honor if he could do an FOS drive prior to the start of the Court of Honor. This was an on the spot request to the SM about 15 minutes before the court of honor began. The SM told him no.

A Scout must do the requirement, no more and no less. If several merit badges have the same requirement, and the lad has done the requirement, he gets credit for it. A Scout need not complete it again. There are several merit badges that require a Scout to perform CPR. How many times must a Scout perform CPR? Each time he goes for a merit badge that has the requirement? Or can the Scout learn CPR say from the Red Cross and get credit for the CPR requirments for several badges? Most summer camps I know offer a CPR class during camp for which once a Scout attends that class, he will ge

The DE filled out the paperwork without the knowledge of the unit leader. Where have I heard that one before? ;-) At least your DE got the committee chair signature.

CNYScouter, your district has a quality district commish. Kudos to you.

ctbailey, thank you for your advice, but I have been around for awhile and I understand the dynamics of my council. I am addressing the issue.

From your reply ScoutNut, I guess you really don't want to answer my question. FYI, I am the COR of my unit.

The SE - no. I know for certain that he is supportive of the guy and his actions. Members of the executive board - perhaps. But they tend to believe whatever the SE tells them and do not participate at the unit level. Other volunteer leaders - yes. Some will understand the situation, others are just happy to get another award. So ScoutNut, I have answered your question. Please answer mine.

ScoutNut, you have definitely missed the point. Your assumption that I am forcing my DE to send me a ribbon tells me that you have some real misconceptions about my post. So let me clear up some things for you. Our DE is brand spanking new fresh out of college. The District Director who was our DE for the past year or so is a seasoned pro and very adept at membership management. I knew that there was no way our district could have achieved its quality status in the shape the district is in. When the new DE came aboard, I took the opportunity to ask him if our unit was a quality unit

First off, thank you Moosetracker. I was surprised that the district was actually given the award while some other truly quality districts did not receive the award. I didn't think the district even had a chance considering that there is no district commissioner or unit commissioner staff. Several of the council's other DE's took note when our district was announced. I saw a few shaking their heads. Scoutnut - you missed the point.(This message has been edited by abel magwitch)

We just found out our troop was a quality unit last year. Problem is we were not participating. We never filled out an application yet we were a quality unit. I was surprised that our district was a quality district last year. The district last year did not have a district commissioner. Yet somehow, the district was a quality district and the District Director (who was filling in as DE)stood up at the council dinner to receive his plaque. A few months ago the district got a new DE while the DD went back to overseeing his two districts. I inquired of the new DE if our troop was a qual

You assume correctly. I needed to make clear I was referring to the previous program. And your follow-up questions are my questions as well.

A question - can a Pack or Troop become a quality unit and receive their ribbon without filling out the quality unit application? Can the application simply be filled out by the Scout office without any signatures from the unit's membership?