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desertrat77

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Everything posted by desertrat77

  1. @Dis-fan12, welcome to Scouter.com!
  2. Not trying to steal @qwazse's thunder (as I'm looking forward to his thoughts on this), but I'd like to lend my two cents.... " Youth fulfill the pinnacle scouting experience of hiking and camping independently with their mates." @qwazse's quote above is the program. Venturing is designed for independent, spirited scouts. Their adventures are youth-led to the extent that the rules allow. Advisors must be adventure minded, allow the youth to led and yet keep the program within bounds without dampening motivation. Simple and complex at the same time. When it works, it i
  3. As it relates to Venturing, I think many pros are dropping the ball. Quite often they are not creating the environment, or providing the resources needed, for the program to get a start in the community, much less thrive. I'm not so much concerned about what the pros think as the fact that their priorities are usually quite different from the units they are supposed to serve.
  4. - Advisors: some like the image of being a Venture advisor, but are not suited for enabling a successful program. Instead they strive to lead the crew in the manner of a troop, and sometimes even a pack. The tone and activities = sedentary and adult-run. Kids stay away in droves. - BSA execs are often more enthusiastic about highly-scripted, predictable stuff like cub scouting, merit badge fairs, scout night at the ball game, etc. This reflects in the scant attention given to Venturing awards, recognition, and resources allotted to the program. - "Birds of a feather"--there are
  5. As others have mentioned, the cards are solid back up documentation. Handbooks get lost and fall apart. BSA administrative processes and IT = shoddy at best. Plus they are great mementos. I still have all of mine.
  6. While I make no claim as a finance guru, I understand that Arrow WV is an entity (if that's the right word) that directly ties to the Summit. So funds, such as a good chunk of the mortgage that National took out on Philmont (without advice/consent of the Philmont Oversight Committee) are steered to the Summit via Arrow WV. I may have the legal/accounting terminology a bit off, but that's the crux of it.
  7. I'm tracking re wearing. I haven't worn service stars since the Carter Administration. As far as significance, I believe service stars have their place. One example is @The Latin Scot's situation. Though I respect the differing opinions, I think he should wear the star, red background. Another would be the adult who was a scout for 3 or 4 years. Made it to First Class. Earned a few merit badges. He was active in his troop, went to summer camp, 50 milers, was a patrol leader, etc. Though he didn't make Eagle (and that's okay) he was a good scout, and his experiences made a lastin
  8. Thanks Fred, I definitely agree. This method is very important to me. It's how I learned the ropes as PL of the Stampeding Antelopes many moons ago. Zero classroom training. I was given plenty of room to succeed or fail. And wow, some of my failures I remember to this day. But then we Antelopes hit our stride. Winning the "best campsite" award and placing second for the stew cook off at a monthly troop camp out (there were five patrols in this troop). Honor ribbons at camporees. Good times. The key elements: - Formal leadership training for youth was limited to one scou
  9. I think we correct this by bringing back the type of scouting depicted in the upper panel of the drawing. The scouts are learning to lead by actually leading, being outdoors, and engaging in scout skills that encourage adventure. Patrol leaders teach scout skills and lead their scouts. The SPL is the roving on-scene leader watching, correcting, encouraging PLs. The SM is on the edge of the field, with a cup of coffee, a comfortable chair and an eagle eye on how the SPL is doing. Today we have the opposite model. Indoor minded adults. Adults stealing the duties of the PLs and SPL
  10. Fred, I concur with your thoughts. As a former JROTC instructor, I can attest that oftentimes scouting is neither scouting nor JROTC. Frankly, we have too many adults at all levels in scouting that have zero interest in adventure. They enjoy the trappings of scouting--meetings, uniforms, badges, paperwork, classroom training. But their lack of interest in adventure sets the tone for the unit, the district, the council. The public picks up on this as well. The BSA has encouraged this dynamic for decades. An aside, in many schools JROTC isn't JROTC either. Leadership is often ta
  11. This is a perfect example of where the BSA began its decline. Using the patrol method, it would be the scout's patrol leader teaching the new scout how to make the fire. Not an adult. The new scout learned a valuable skill, the patrol leader learned how to teach and lead, and they both developed character without a bunch of lectures. Mr Mazzuca, if memory serves, started during the '70s Improved Scouting Program that pushed outdoor skills to the back burner. An exec can make it to the top in the BSA and not have a clue about our organization's rich history, culture, and best pract
  12. Powerful article, thanks @RememberSchiff! Two parts of the article: "'The local councils are not independent,” said Los Angeles attorney Paul Mones, whose suit against the Boy Scouts of America a decade ago resulted in the release of the “Perversion Files” — details of alleged sexual abuse secretly kept by the Boy Scouts for decades — as well as a $19.9 million verdict for a former Scout who was abused by his Scout leader in the 1980s. 'Even though the local councils have their own corporations, they’re inextricably linked to the national,” Mones said. “The Boy Scouts of America
  13. New scout patrols: Webelos III at best. Usually a demotivator for new scouts. Some troops avoid these issues by providing outstanding leadership to the new scout patrols; most troops do not. Operation First Class: when this was first announced in '89, I was an ASM. My SM and I wrote a letter to National expressing our concerns and disapproval. We made a conscious effort to be polite. We received back a rather dismissive reply from an exec. The exec's opening sentence, if I recall correctly, ran thus: "I find it interesting when people complain about things they aren't really inf
  14. @dkurtenbach, I concur with one small exception: despite the best efforts of some councils and districts, I think unit operations will be negatively impacted quite soon. This will largely be due to the factors you mentioned: declining numbers, increasing fees, and negative publicity. "The bankruptcy is certainly a big problem, but membership decline is BSA's real crisis and BSA isn't going to do anything about it -- either because they are too preoccupied with the bankruptcy or (as I think) because they gave up on it long ago." That statement is absolutely spot on! Indeed, the
  15. It's been my impression that council mergers are major muscle movements. At this point, can mergers take place that are worth the time, money, and energy expended? Especially when liquidation is nigh.
  16. Unfortunately, our council camps, nationwide, will be the first items on the auction block. Many of these camps have been neglected for years. Execs consider them cash cows, skimming the profit (little if any) and spending it elsewhere. The BSA has de-emphasized the outdoors for years. Many council decision makers will offer up the camp/camps and won't blink an eye. As mentioned earlier, legacy camps with solid alumni support like Bartle and Ten Mile will survive. Most of the others won't.
  17. The only qualification I've seen for service stars is the word "involved."
  18. I'm definitely tracking, Cburkhardt. I'm approaching this from the standpoint "council X is a poor performer because of a weak exec team." Could these poor performing councils be turned around with a team of aces at the helm? If we're downsizing organizational structure first and execs second, we're allowing weak performers to stay on board and probably under perform again in the new structure.
  19. While I agree that councils should be merged and downsized, I think there is an important step that must first take place. Rather than focusing initially on the poor performance of ABC and XYZ Councils, a centralized board should first examine the records of all executives above the DE level. Only the top performers should be retained, say 30%. These top ranked execs can then be divided into regions and develop a game plan for merging councils. As important as the merger exercise is, it would ultimately prove fruitless if bottom tier execs were allowed to continue in any position o
  20. @The Latin Scot, I'd recommend swinging by the scout shop, picking up that service star, and pinning it on your uniform. I understand your concerns but the truth is, oftentimes scouting is a pick up game. And as much as I respect and enjoy the Norman Rockwell paintings, scouting is rarely that organized or cut/dried. We still have great scouting experiences.
  21. Matt, you just described a DE who was my mentor when I was a camp staffer and OA vice lodge chief back in the '70s. A great scouter, gentleman, humorist. When he first become a DE, he was given the leeway to do what he thought was right, as you said. Camporees, waterfront director at summer camp, OA, you name it, he was there and enjoying life. He mixed well with the scouts and scouters and was respected by all. Then the council got a new SE and things changed. We didn't see the DE except at council meetings. When I'd stop by the council office to type up and publish the lodge newslette
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