Cito

To sheldonsmom's point about homosexual leaders and scouts at events, they are already there. I've known gay scouts, gay leaders and gay staff at national camps. The only change is acknowledging the existing situation.

In the end, youth protection still exists and parents and the leaders who you entrust your children to have to do their jobs. They should have been doing them all along so you'll see little difference other than a huge potential for recruiting scouts and parents who were turned off by the membership policy.

My local professional tells me that he can't say anything yet...but they had a meeting today with the council executive and I can read into that what I want...

In any case, I've been saying for years that this should be a choice for the chartered organization. Little will actually change but at least in my left leaning neighborhood it removes a big barrier to recruiting.

I almost never wear the uniform without an arrowhead. I've noticed, especially with former staffers, that if people have them, they wear them.

Technology Quest

I could see it from philmont wifi in August. Probably just a hiccup.

At all the join nights I tell the parents that regardless of the year that their boy is in, we require that they take charge of at least one den meetings.

With Tigers there are 16 suggested meetings but the program only really needs about 10-12. So with a den of 8 boys, the den leader only has to do 3-5 meetings. I also suggest that the den leader volunteer for the go-see-its.

I also try to make sure that we have 2 den leaders per den on paper. With that reduced work load its a lot easier to recruit the den leader(s).

Find a neighbor who is friendly to scouting and lives across the street from the school. Set up a couple tents and a banner during school pick up. Do it at a couple friendly churches as well.

You definitely have to incentify the boys to recruit.

Makes me appreciative of our schools and the fact they let us flyer and generally do boy talks.

Just got this email from the Denver Area Council which was sent to all the parents and scouter. Trying to get out in front. I think it was well written.

Dear Scouting Parent, Leader and Friend,

We recognize you have entrusted to Scouting the development and safety of your child. We are honored by your faith in this organization and want you to know these are top priorities. In this period of heightened awareness about youth safety, we want to share with you Scoutings many important programs, policies, and procedures that help protect our members.

We are committed to consistently strengthening and enhancing our Youth Protection measures and, in recent decades, have expanded our programs significantly as more information and new techniques and technologies have become available to us. Recently, experts in youth safety and the media have acknowledged the strength of our Youth Protection programs in place today:

"The Boy Scouts of America is one group advocates say has gone farthest to institute such measures to safeguard kids." (MSNBC, November 2011)

"The Scouts current prevention policies are considered state of the art and several independent child-protection experts told The Associated Press that the Scoutsthough buffeted in the past by many abuse-related lawsuitsare now considered a leader in combating sexual abuse. 'The Boy Scouts have the most advanced policies and training,' said Victor Vieth, a former prosecutor who heads the National Child Protection Training Center in Minnesota." (Associated Press, January 2012)

We want to ensure that you are aware of our Youth Protection programs, policies, and procedures so you know what to expect of our organization.

Our safeguards include the following:

All volunteers must complete a rigorous application and screening process before joining Scouting. As part of this requirement, applicants must provide references and submit to a national criminal background check. We also verify that our organization has not received any prior allegations of misconduct on the volunteers part by checking names in our Ineligible Volunteer Files. Our goal is to ensure that all adult volunteers represent the values and character outlined in the Scout Oath and Scout Law and are good leaders for your child.

All volunteers are required to complete Youth Protection training and must renew the training every two years. This training is accessible to the general public online at www.Scouting.org, under the Youth Protection tab. Please review the training, as it provides important information about detecting and preventing abuse, no matter where it may occur.

Scoutings two-deep leadership policy requires at least two adults to be present for all Scouting activities. No youth should ever be alone with a Scout leader for any reason.

Every Boy Scout and Cub Scout handbook includes a pamphlet to help parents teach their children how to recognize, resist, and report abuse. If you havent done so already, please immediately review and discuss this information with your child. A copy of the pamphlet and other youth-oriented literature is available under the Youth Protection tab on our website.

All Scouting activities are open to parents, and we encourage families to enjoy Scouting together.

Anyone suspected of inappropriate behavior will be immediately and permanently banned from Scouting. If you ever have any concerns about your childs safety, please contact the Boy Scouts of America, Denver Area Council at 303.455.5522. Our after-hours emergency contact number is 501.538.4943. The purpose of this number is to report a Youth Protection emergency or a fatal or serious injury (one that requires hospitalization) during non-business hours.

These measures are by no means the full extent of our efforts, but given the media attention youth-serving organizations, including Scouting, have recently received, we wanted to share some of the most important aspects of our program. Additional information and resources can be accessed by visiting http://www.scouting.org/youthprotection.aspx

While we continuously evaluate and strengthen our Youth Protection programs, we recognize that abuse can happen anywhere, even in Scouting. You may have heard recent news surrounding the release of certain Ineligible Volunteer Files. Today on Monday, September 17th, The Denver Post published a story from the Los Angeles Times about the Ineligible Volunteer Files. While they used a slightly different set of IV Files (19701991), which were produced in 1991 during litigation in California, they do include a majority of the files that will be released in Oregon (19651985).

The Oregon Supreme Court upheld a lower courts order to release 1,247 of our Ineligible Volunteer Files from the years 1965 to 1985. We now expect these files will be released in redacted form during a press conference held by plaintiffs attorney Kelly Clark later in the next 3-4 weeks and circulated to additional media electronically.

Ineligible Volunteer Files, still in use today, help keep people deemed to be unfit leaders out of Scouting. Still, we believe constant vigilance is the best protection. In Scouting, we tell everyone involved with our programs that "Youth Protection begins with you." That means each of us has a role to play in keeping kids safe.

As the files are released, we expect a significant amount of attention from media and the Scouting community, which are likely to have questions about the files, our Youth Protection policies, and, in some cases, about incidents directly related to our council, even if they are outside of the time period of the released files.

The Boy Scouts of America believes any occurrence of abuse is unacceptable, and we regret there have been times when the BSAs best efforts to protect children were insufficient. For that we are deeply sorry and extend our deepest sympathies to victims. We are committed to helping members in our Scouting family who have suffered abuse and assisting them through a variety of means, including counseling.

In the more than 30 years since these released files were created, we have continuously enhanced our multi-tiered policies and procedures, which now include criminal background checks, comprehensive training programs, and safety policies, and mandatory reporting to law enforcement of abuse or suspicion of abuse. We have always cooperated fully with any request from law enforcement and today require our members to report even suspicion of abuse directly to their local authorities. We are committed to the ongoing enhancement of our program, in line with evolving best practices for protecting youth.

As someone who directly interacts with Scouts, their parents, and other volunteers on a regular basis, you will likely be a first point of contact for questions, and we are asking for your help in reassuring and preserving their trust. Below, we have provided guidelines for dealing with any inquiries you might receive as well as some messaging you can use.

If you are contacted by a member of the media, please be polite but refrain from providing any comment on a specific case or anything pertaining to the files. If asked about the BSAs Youth Protection program, speak only from the talking points that have been provided to you. Please refer media inquiries to (John Cabeza, Scout Executive/CEO or Nicole Cosme, Director of Marketing & Communications at 303.455.5522) or to the BSA National Media Support Team at 855-870-2178.

Reports of Current or Recent Suspicious or Inappropriate Behavior should be handled with the care and personal sensitivity befitting this issue and in accordance with the BSAs mandatory reporting policy. Also, after reporting the suspicion to authorities, refer it to both youth.protection@scouting.org and to Michael Johnson, our Youth Protection director, at 972-580-2359.

Additional information and resources can be accessed on our dedicated Youth Protection website at www.bsayouthprotection.org. We encourage you to look through this site and become familiar with all of the new and updated information we have provided.

Thank you again for all that you do to help keep Scouts safe.

Yours in Scouting,

John Cabeza

Scout Executive/CEO

Boy Scouts of America, Denver Area Council

Good for you Brother Fox. No shortage of posts on this forum about tickets.

I tell them that we don't talk about sex in cub scouts.

The membership policy is a national policy, our chartered org is a service club and doesn't care and if you'd like it to change you need to join the organization.

If I just ask the group I get no responses.

If I ask individuals it works at least half the time. I tell the den leaders that they have to have an assistant leader recruited and generally they can do it. At join night I tell them that it's a family program and they'll be leading at least one meeting for their son's den.

Our committee jobs are harder to fill than the den jobs.

We charge $90 to join and then $90 at each February except the Webelos Ii year.

They get fees, boys life, neckerchiefs and slides and handbooks, then whatever they earn. Pinewood derby and raingutter regatta kits and it pays for the leader fees and room rentals. We get little pushback because it's so cheap compared to sports. We have enough to scholarship the occasional boy who can't afford it.

To answer the original question, I've had one family (son and leader) who quit over the national membership policy. Nobody else has brought it up.

But we've added about 20 boys to the pack. Its hard to judge if we would have added 15 or 30 otherwise. My bet is no real difference.

Besides scouting, I've also planned quite a few functions for the American Institute of Architects and architects are notorious for being poor at the RSVP. With that said, if its an event that they hold every year they should have a good overage factor to apply plus the RSVP's. So if they get 200 people every year and they get 120 replies every year, its easy to figure out what number to buy for. Worst case overbuy and coordinate with a shelter to take the overage.

The cold food isn't acceptable (unless its ice cream) and isn't safe. I'd agree to let the people in charge know, but you might also need to volunteer next year.

I just got back from a week long wood badge course at Philmont. Now part of why I did it out of council was so I could go to Philmont and part of it was because I wanted to do it in one week. Total immersion I figured.

I've talked to a number of people who did it over two long weekends and it sounds like they spent a lot of time between the weekends working on their project. We just had to stay up late but we had limited time. I also know that we didn't have to mess with meal planning.

So I would suppose that some of you may have done it one way and staffed it another. Other than scheduling for some people, is there really any advantage to breaking it up into two pieces?

I'm a total Philmont geek, so when I realized it was an option, I was all over it.

Yes, the kids at cub day camp received beads for each piece of trash they picked up and it resulted in a very clean park. But it truly surprises be that adults would get excited for beads. If that has worked for other people let me know.

I changed troops a couple times as a scout. Better to change troops than leave scouting when you need a change. Like so many decisions in life, there is never a perfect time but you can't wait forever.

As the new troop your question is really just why they are making the change. Then you have to decide if you're really better for the boy given their reasoning and offer them honest feedback. In the end we are here to help in these decisions. It won't be the last time they have to decide on leaving a troop, a job, a relationship, etc. Treat it as learning.

This is somewhat a spin-off from the post on the Recruiter strip. It was mentioned late in the thread that a council had a policy to give the recruiter strip to adults and that's different from the insignia guide.

http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=241510

Similarly my council awards extra little cords to go with the shoulder loops and district shoulder insignia. My district also has an award which goes on the world crest. Similarly the lodge that I grew up in had its own complex system of beads to indicate service.

So, here's my question. Is it good to have these council and district awards? Why are they not officially acknowledged? Should they be more clear that they are local only and not for wear in other councils or national events? If they are ok for councils does that mean that units can also make up their own rules...? Sometimes local stuff goes national, like OA. So does your council have anything that is great and should be widely adopted?

I've been a member since "only" 1983. It occurs to me that I can't relate to most of these changes.

Structural changes with Venturing and 2 years of Webelos. Varsity and Tigers started right when I did.

They've changed some programs at Philmont and added some buildings but its consistent.

But the single biggest change is technology. Whether its cellphones, GPS, digital photos, email, blogs, websites; they've all changed scouting and the way that we organize and undertake scouting. Nobody was posting on scouter.com in 1983.

I think for us as adults, recruiting is our responsibility. I'll "recruit" 20-30 boys this year along with a handful of adults. I think your behavior will illustrate that you're a recruiter.

For a boy to recruit someone its a bonus. My 7 year old son wears the recruiter strip because he invited one of his friends to join and the boy did. He's working on another boy now.

The alumni knot is sort of an adult recruiter strip but has IIC and some other unrelated stuff to it.

Got back a week ago from Circle Ten's wood badge course at Philmont. I was attending from out of council but wanted to do it in one week and wanted to do it at Philmont.

It was a great experience with good material and great staff. I'd highly recommend it and I'm hard at work on getting the ticket items done.

I used to be a Fox...

What Eagle92 said.

The main point is to not wear it on top of an open collar. Right there on my list of aggravations along with people who button the top button.

I tried doing this with an iPhone photo but decided it needed to be a scan.

http://evstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/2013-Jamboree-Patch.jpeg(This message has been edited by Cito)

Hal, the forum was slow to process my posts last night as well.

But I did enjoy having three posts that started with "I'm with Cito" in the meantime.