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There is the other side: 1) You have a boy (girl) in scouts. 2) You slowly get sucked into the myth and re-discover your inner boy. 3) Some old scouters or real boy scouts teach you som

I think this whole thread illustrates why National is interested in membership numbers. The number of scouts is going down and the overhead is not. The result is economic stress and thus everythi

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30 minutes ago, HelpfulTracks said:

Many of the comments on a myriad of subjects are not descent, they are down right nasty

I didn't raise the point before, but since you have yourself broached the subject of being downright nasty, I must say that I am not the one who is using pseudo-swears or scatological references in my posts.

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16 hours ago, David CO said:

I didn't raise the point before, but since you have yourself broached the subject of being downright nasty, I must say that I am not the one who is using pseudo-swears or scatological references in my posts.

If you are offended by something that TV sensors deemed non offense 4 decades ago, well sorry.

You calling all things District, Council and National bad/evil, is no different than people calling all teachers incompetent or all coaches and priest pedophiles. Painting with such broad stroke gets a lot of people messy that don't deserve it.

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Guys I've read this and have had discussions with some current and ex scouters in my area. It seem what I've been observing has constantly been creeping in on the districts  since '09. Its just has turned into something that can't be hidden in the last three years. I don't know what the answer is to fix or adjust this. But I know being silent is not helping anyone.

 We need more unit's in our area and those units need support from the district and council.. But it seems there is know one checking on the operations of the councils other than than income...

FrankBoss

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My recommendation is for us volunteers to get re-engaged at the district level.  If you really want to improve tbe,program in your area, this is where to do it. Get involved with district program, camping, training, or membership.  Sure, skip the finance part.

The BSA is supposed to be volunteer led, professionally guided.  I'd worry less about what the council employees are saying and just do the right thing for the units in your area.  Maybe we use this forum as a place to brainstorm how to do that?

 

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33 minutes ago, ParkMan said:

My recommendation is for us volunteers to get re-engaged at the district level.  If you really want to improve tbe,program in your area, this is where to do it. Get involved with district program, camping, training, or membership.  Sure, skip the finance part.

The BSA is supposed to be volunteer led, professionally guided.  I'd worry less about what the council employees are saying and just do the right thing for the units in your area.  Maybe we use this forum as a place to brainstorm how to do that?

But you can't change anything at the district or council level. Why? Old Men's and Women's Club. The WB'ers run everything and if you're not a WB'er then your ideas stink. Or you volunteer, spend hours getting your good ideas put together and supported by the unit only to have some district or council leader poo-poo the idea and literally force you to do it their way. I could go on and on and on.

So that's why many of us, myself included, have stopped doing anything for the district. They are like parasites. They will latch on to you and drain you of your energy without any benefit to you or your unit. So I choose to focus on my unit and make it as good as it can be.

I am sure there are good councils and districts out there. I am not fortunate enough to live in one of those areas. Having tried repeatedly to help "fix" things, I realize it is a futile effort and not worth my time and effort.

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29 minutes ago, Col. Flagg said:

But you can't change anything at the district or council level. Why? Old Men's and Women's Club. The WB'ers run everything and if you're not a WB'er then your ideas stink. Or you volunteer, spend hours getting your good ideas put together and supported by the unit only to have some district or council leader poo-poo the idea and literally force you to do it their way. I could go on and on and on.

So that's why many of us, myself included, have stopped doing anything for the district. They are like parasites. They will latch on to you and drain you of your energy without any benefit to you or your unit. So I choose to focus on my unit and make it as good as it can be.

I am sure there are good councils and districts out there. I am not fortunate enough to live in one of those areas. Having tried repeatedly to help "fix" things, I realize it is a futile effort and not worth my time and effort.

In my current district, the Chairman is a business exec who wouldn't know Wood Badge from wood smoke.  He may attend 10% of the meetings and scarcely says a word. The effective leader is the Program Chair, who has not taken Wood Badge training.  Sorry you were bitten by a Wood Badger at some point,  :p   but you overgeneralize. 

As the SE has unilaterally decided to eliminate districts, the whole "problem" will go away soon.  

I have never seen the SE in uniform, so I don't know if he is a Wood Badger or not.

 

 

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15 minutes ago, TAHAWK said:

Sorry you were bitten by a Wood Badger at some point,  :p   but you overgeneralize. 

I can only speak about the WB'ers in my area. They are so high up on their pedestal they can't see us little folks. Surely not all are like this, but in my area they are rabid, nasty and back-slappingly self-aggrandizing.

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20 minutes ago, Col. Flagg said:

But you can't change anything at the district or council level. Why? Old Men's and Women's Club. The WB'ers run everything and if you're not a WB'er then your ideas stink. Or you volunteer, spend hours getting your good ideas put together and supported by the unit only to have some district or council leader poo-poo the idea and literally force you to do it their way. I could go on and on and on.

So that's why many of us, myself included, have stopped doing anything for the district. They are like parasites. They will latch on to you and drain you of your energy without any benefit to you or your unit. So I choose to focus on my unit and make it as good as it can be.

I am sure there are good councils and districts out there. I am not fortunate enough to live in one of those areas. Having tried repeatedly to help "fix" things, I realize it is a futile effort and not worth my time and effort.

We can use your help. What job do you want? I promise you nobody will give you grief or tell you what to do. There are not enough people to do that. We end all of our roundtables by having an after meeting at a bar. If you like beer we have a lot of brew pubs in town. It's very laid back. Do you want to help crews? Training? Help packs recruit? Name it! We can use your help. Can you make tonight? :)

I have heard of the woodbadger mentality you talk about. I have seen it and I appreciate your, um, how can I say this, disappointment with it. I took woodbadge and got a few things out of it but it certainly didn't impress me.

So there you have two extremes, the old boy clique (dead weight) and ready to turn out the lights (a vacuum). It's easier to walk into a vacuum and make things happen. My challenge is keeping it small because I'll be doing most of it. Dead weight is harder. This is an aspect of leadership that is not taught at woodbadge. You have to carve off something that nobody can butt in on. A troop or crew is exactly that and that's what you appear to be doing. There are other ways to do this. If there are other troops or crews in the same situation as you why not have a campout where all of you come together and do something fun? You don't have to call it a camporee but it essentially is. What can the council/district do? If you want to encourage scout leadership and require all PLs to do something before hand, then do it. You've now replaced the camping chair and training. And nobody can get in your way.  I know, it's not very scout like. But if half the troops/crews in your district decide to join you then you've got something.

 

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