Docrwm

There are several people who are specifically supposed to be liaisons between the District and the Unit (be it Troop, Pack, Team, or Crew): - the paid staff the DE or DD is supposed to have regular contact with all the units in their area - a Unit Commissioner is ideally supposed to be assigned to every unit. If you look at the Commissioners webpages at BSA you will see that all regions are running around -50% of the needed numbers of Commissioners. - the COR is the official rep from the CO to the District - in the absence of a specified UC for your unit there should be a District

I've been told in a private email that my position on the roll of the CC in being the sole person responsible prior to the IH of the CO to approve adult volunteers is in error. I'm always learning and open to being wrong and learning what the right answer is, but I'd like some specifics from BSA documents to tell me that the Committee Chair is only the signature stamp for the Troop or Pack Committee and not the person to be held responsible as an individual for certifying an adult volunteer to the CO and IH for their approval. The Commissioner training I took indicated that only the CC and I

Bob White wrote: " Doc, no one said they had to accomodate, I said that turning 18 doesn't mean they do not need to. If they accomodate a blind scout there is no reson to believe that once he turns 18 if they approve him as an ASM that he will no longer be blind or need accomodations. If crv's concern is the ability of the individual to do the job then he should not approve him, but he should not change his mind soley on the pressure from others. " Agreed, sorry if I misunderstood. We've seen pressure to allow people with different abilities to do whatever they want - even when if

As the CC YOU are the only one at the unit level needed to approve the Adult Volunteer. The IH of the Charter Organization approves AFTER you have passed the name along. Sorry, its NOT a committee issue and its not a vote - its the personal responsibility of the CC. My two cents. As for the accommodating disabilities issue and you accommodated him as a kid so now you have to as an adult - sorry - WRONG. I work with Autism and Aspergers every day of my professional life as the director of an Autism Clinic. There are roles that are ok for disabled people to do and then there are those

NeiLup wrote: ......... (quoting me) Hard to believe but the writings of BP are not inspired holy writ. The founder can, on occasion be incorrect. He wrote: "Two other thoughts: 1) BP was writing about Commissioners as they were in the UK, not in the BSA which is structurally very, very different 2) BP was writing about Commissioners as they were in the UK in the 1910-1920 time frame, not as they are in the BSA in 2008. Great that you had a chance to be with Tico. He's a very special guy. " Neil, Sorry for the confusion - BadenP is a poster here and certainly NOT th

The age issue is a hold-over from the conversion from Age-based ranks to grade-based ranks for Cubs a few years back. Basically, the idea was that by going to grade-based ranks you would be keeping boys together who are in school together, etc. The age-based part is done as an OPTIONAL criteria but the principle one currently is the grade-based criteria for all Cub Scout issues (e.g., 1st grade = Tiger, 2nd = Wolf, etc.). Hope that helps.

Congratulations - and well done!

Always a touchy subject. The definition of Atheist is the active denial of the existence of a Devine being or beings. It is derived from a - meaning not or no and theist - meaning higher entity (roughly). Deism on the other hand is more in line with the American Indian perspective because for the deist, God is not involved in the world in the same personal way as for the theist. The definition offered earlier in the thread is of a theist who believes there is something devine. The quote from Baden Powell makes it clear that Theism or the holding of a specific religious belief is required bu

Great recommendations. Might it also help to point out that the SPL and other scouts have earned their positions and have their authority because of their hard work and achievement?

Having just completed Unit Commissioner Training and having had Tico Perez as one of the speakers I happen to own the newest copies of both the "Commisioner Fieldbook for Unit Service" and the "Commission Basic Training Manual" which I have in front of my as I type this message. The Commissioner is said to have 5 roles: Friend - this is said to be the most important Representative - "To them [the unit volunteer] you may be the Boy Scouts of America. Be a good example." Doctor - prevention is better than cure but sometimes you will need to be a paramedic by providing support to th

Its all fine and good to say what BSA's official position is about adult volunteers. The problem is that BSA is critically short of volunteers. All you have to do is look at the Commissioner numbers - most regions have fewer than half the Commissioners that they are supposed to have to fulfill their obligations. Our District has people who have roles at the District level, hold positions with Packs and Troops and are on any number of committees and boards. Most of those who do that level of volunteering are retired or semi-retired and have more time. Right now I'm DL for what was 2 dens at the

John-in-KC writes "docwrm, Please cite the BSA pub from which you make your claim that the Centennial uniform is transitional in nature and that you can use old insignia on it or mix/match current parts and previous parts with it. I've not heard that one. BTW, SFAICT this uniform is not transitional. This is the next generation of Scout uniform. It's just that all the literature has not caught up with Supply Corporations' distribution channels yet." REPLY: Sorry, I didn't know there was going to be a quiz. Seriously, the Uniform Police thing is getting REAL, REAL, old - fast.

Just got off the phone with BSA Supply Group and they can make the all-in-one unit numerals in the new Green & Tan colors, they can do the Veteran bar on the new patch, and it costs $3.45 for a 3 numeral patch with Veteran bar. They must be ordered in lots of 12. There MAY be a discount if 96+ are ordered but the woman said she couldn't find out unless she was actually entering a real order. YIS, -Robert(This message has been edited by docrwm)

I hate Uniform Police. Bottom line, I've spoken directly with both a Council Commissioner and a National BSA Commisioner and the answers I have gotten have been radically different from those presented by some here. They each, seperately, stated that the ENTIRE UNIFORM is mix-and-match and that they are TRANSITIONAL. I was also told that they would prefer the Green loops be adopted unit-wide but that there is no requirement to do so. So........

The new uniform is TRANSITIONAL. Any part can be mixed and matched with any other. Since there is no Uniform Inspection sheet for the new uniforms nor a revision of the guide then there is no "official" position on any of this yet.

I'll say it again - the new uniform is Transitional and you can MIX and MATCH anything from the old with the new. We've decided to keep the old Red numbers for our Pack Adult uniforms. They match the boys uniforms, we have a large supply of special order all-in-one patches, and no one has bothered to buy a new shirt yet anyway ;->

The answer to "Is there a BSA policy" is more complicated than that offered here. Basically, the CC, COR, and even in some limited cases the Unit Commissioner have latitude in removing volunteers whose behavior is not in keeping with the ideals of Scouting. If the behavior is indiscreet (I said IF), and that means that things are occurring in front of the boys then infidelity, etc., could (again I said COULD)be grounds for removal of the volunteer. That said, talking directly to the volunteer first is recommended. If that does not result in a positive resolution then the Comm Chair is

One comment I heard several times on Saturday from the grizzled veterans was that they were confused about why BSA is not offering ANY new shirts in all natural fabrics.

Funny, I just read a press release on a Special Needs Troop (sorry link is on my computer at home) that has been operating for 30+- years that just got its first Eagle Scouts. One man took 20+ years to make it and said that it was the most important thing in his life because he knew he had earned it! Things given away are often valued by the recipient at the cost to them - zero.

I would add that the CC is primarily responsible for the Rechartering process and overseeing the administrative side of the Pack/Troop. That means having a good grasp of the Pack/Troop's finances and a working Finance Comm. They should also be a good listener with the ability to provide support and feedback to help others improve their performance within the unit. They should be Boy focused but business minded IMHO.

Went to a training in our Council yesterday. One of our Council Commissioners spoke and the keynote was Tico Perez who is a BSA National Commissioner. The new uniform is transitional. You can mix and match anything with anything. Period. National would "like" the red loops to be replaced with the green ones as soon as possible but there are no rules on not mixing new with old - again, PERIOD. I only saw one new uniform yesterday in a room of 200 long-term and dedicated Scouters. It was worn by our Council Commissioner - NOT by Tico! Hope that helps. And remember, a Scout i

Just went to our Councils UC basic training yesterday. One of the biggest things that I heard said by some really hard working Scouters, over and over again and from many of them, is that personally asking for help and participation is the biggest thing that a leader can learn. Our District, like all of BSA I learned yesterday, is down a goodly percentage of Commissioners. One question I had yesterday, which I never actually asked, was Who has been asking whom to do the UC jobs? Seems relevant to this discussion. Who has been asking folks in the District to meet for coffee and then

"Some of us are trying to get Climb on Safely training put on line since it is not a course that teaches climbing skills, just skills to be a better consumer of climbing programs for their kids." THANKS! Any training, appropriate for the venue, that can be put online should be IMHO. I really appreciated the new addition of the Weather training online and if the Climb on Safety Training is designed to make us better consumers then it ought to be appropriate for online training. Frankly, there are LOTS of courses that have academic/book components that could have that part online as a pr

Taken Directly From "The Ultimate Boy Scouts of America History Site: http://members.aol.com/randywoo/bsahis/h-t.htm#Webelos%20Colors Webelos Colors The Webelos colors were introduced with the "new" Webelos program in 1967. This program offered metal pins referred to as Activity Badges for meeting requirements. But whre to put the badges on the uniform that would not detract from other awards and clutter the uniform? The answer came from Baden-Powell's very first Scout campout at Brownsea Island in England. On August 1, 1907, each boy was provided with a shoulder knot, a long st

Our Pack's CO is a Church so its referred to the parents and/or the Youth Minister.