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  • LATEST POSTS

    • We held our AOL crossover this weekend.  No reason to wait unto Feb with an 11 y/o and two 10 y/o who finished 4th grade in June.  Two of them went to a troop that is going to a merit badge weekend in January.  I need a little refresher/update on the merit badge process.  We never used blue cards in my day.  I think the Scout Handbook was our tracker for the Eagle required badges and we didn't really do others that couldn't be completed in a day.  With a district the size of England (and perhaps Iceland?) and no internet, merit badge counselors were hard to come by, even if we could figure out the requirements or notice that they existed.  If a Scout is working on a merit badge that can't be completed during an event, how does the progress get tracked, and by whom?     I was a little concerned initially by his lack of interest in reading the Scout Handbook a couple months ago.  After the crossover and on Sunday morning, he was in it, reading through the requirements for the Scout rank and making sure he knew the answers to everything.  Now the trick is to kindle that spark and build the fire.
    • I get what you're saying here; that ties into constantly recruiting. DE's are constantly pushing recruitment of scouts for units but they never seem to push constantly recruiting district committee/commissioner corp. 
    • To clarify ... I've seen good district commissioners, roundtable commissioners and such.  My criticism is very specific aimed at the "unit commissioners".  I believe the concept of "unit commissioner" is fundamentally flawed. 
    • Our district has a pretty good commissioner corps. We are always short 2-4 unit commissioners and 1-2 roundtable commissioners. But we do have groups of both and we do get the job done. We seem to do a good job recognizing those with plaques and knots as appropriate. Our district is one of the top in the council, though. With 7 or 8 districts, ours sold 45%  of the popcorn in the council. 2 of the last 3 council commissioners came from our district and 2 of the last 3 council presidents came from our district. 
    • No... haven't seen a "successful" or robust Commissioner program. I have always believed you need to incentivize the behavior you want... Other than the parents having their children earn Eagle Scout, what incentives are there for adults to volunteer in any capacity? Altruism lasts but for a season.  Volunteers need to feel appreciated, valued, and recognized.  And when an organization invests in their training and development, volunteers grow even more dedicated. Do you feel appreciated in your council? (Personally, no.) Are you recognized for the value you add to the organization at all levels? (No) Does your council/district/unit invest in your training? (Unit yes... unit pays for required position training, and will pay 50% of training that contributes to JTE metrics. District and council, no.) Has someone mentored you in a path of development as a Scouter? (No) When you learn of the salaries of higher ups in BSA, does it affect your willingness to volunteer or donate? https://www.investopedia.com/personal-finance/how-much-income-puts-you-top-1-5-10/ Our council exec's individual compensation package is $270K per year.  Well into the top 5% for households in our area (but not nationwide.).  When most parents learn this, they are absolutely shocked.  Yeah, they'll volunteer to help their kid's unit, but nothing past that...  especially when they see little to no value added from council to their Troop program/success.
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