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  • Latest Posts

    • Yes, won't that be a hoot if the name change efforts crash and burn? I'll be having a tall glass of Schadenfreude if that happens...
    • I'll go with the guidance and details provided, but will be watching the outcome. But I wonder what happens if BSA is unable to obtain trademark registrations (which won't be until after February 2025)?  The applications were only filed last month and likely won't be examined until January 2025.
    • Yeah, and think of all the churn, time, and money it will take to transition EVERY piece of literature the BSA (sorry... the SA... wait that doesn't sound right... "the Scouting America"  hmmm... ) has currently published to bring in the new name. And programming/editing time for websites, web pages, posting new logos and name changes... Printing of business cards... new clothing... design/production/procurement/of new gear... and disposition of old unsold BSA items in the supply warehouses... Criminy... talk about waste... We are talking millions of dollars here. Sometimes, taking no action is the best course of action.
    • Why do we need to be consistent with other WOSM organizations?   Educate me.  What has WOSM ever done for the BSA?
    • New name is good, but our mission remains most important As a lifetime BSA Scout and Scouter I have done it all in every program as a youth and adult – and at all levels of the movement.  Today I’m a unit leader of a Sea Scout Ship, having turned-over the Scoutmaster position of an all-girl Troop I formed in 2019.  I’ll be attending our District of Columbia roundtable tonight (yes, the “District” is its own “District”) and will enjoy hearing feedback about the name change from our local folks. I continue to be consistently optimistic about the future of the BSA.  This, despite the impacts of changing membership standards, formation of all-girl Troops, quitting of national chartered organizations disappointed with membership standards changes, bankruptcy, COVID and now a name change.  Before these I experienced occurrences thought to be existential, such Boypower (60s), admission of females into Exploring (1969), the Improved Scouting Program (70s), the intense council merger period (70s-80s), and “New BSA” (a national organization reorganization effort during the 2000s).  Every one of these developments was then regarded as a threat that might end our organization or negatively alter it in a catastrophic manner.  While these matters deeply challenged unit, council and national program and operations, they did not have the organization-ending impacts feared by many. The reason we continue and will always exist is that our mission is a sound one.  We serve to assist all families in teaching important skills and modeling American-affirming values and positive character for young people.  This is an enjoyable but deeply serious business.  That so many of you, the media, government leaders, professional Scouters, participating families and outright opponents express strongest opinions on just about everything in Scouting supports this view. Our organization remains large enough to be an expression of our society and its development.  As society changes, so inevitably does our movement.  Hopefully our movement’s changes are thoughtful and productive versions of these society-wide changes.  In some instances, our changes were essentially mandated by fundamental legal, economic or societal shifts.  The reality is that our organization is a “following” indicator of American social development.  The BSA has always been this way and, if we want to continue to be the leading organization of our type in our nation, Scouting America will continue to evolve in this manner.  Those who wish to form or join restrictive organizations that serve particular segments of our society are not bad people and are free to do so.  However, I will stay until my end with the Scouting organization that attempts to serve all. The new name reflects where our organization and American society have arrived and will serve us well as we continue to recover organizational health.  Compared to the above-listed organizational changes, a name change will be easily digested.  It respects and preserves our heritage and moves us forward in an important manner.  As a unit leader, I will never again have to delicately maneuver around our organization’s prior name as I recruit a female, urban teenager or member of their families.  It better-expresses the practical and aspirational activities of our future. There are times when an organizational change might indicate it is time to depart.  After having carefully read all of the postings on this thread, this name change does not present that circumstance.  It is the fundamental soundness and beauty of our mission that is important.  We serve to assist all families in teaching important skills and modeling American-affirming values and positive character for young people – and with the new name we remain the finest organization of our nature in United States history.
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