dsteele

The rule is clear. "A Scout may not multiple register in two troops." Registration Proceedures Manual. DS

National recently released a video called "Troop Open House" and sent one copy per district to each council office. There is also a brochure support piece. The plan -- which I havne't seen implemented, but one of the districts I supervise is doing it later this month -- outlines an excellent plan that I'm confident will work. The troop(s) put on demonstrations at a school or wherever Boy Scout age boys gather. The demonstrations are similar to a Scout Show -- lashing, etc. Boys are able to participate in activities and are asked to fill out surveys indicating their interest in specific scout-type activities. Flyers then go out to the school in the interim. This generally occurs about a week prior to the Join Us Night. On the day before or even the day of the Join Us Night -- someone from the unit calls each kid who indicated an interest in joining to remind them of the meeting. The phone calls increase dramatically. Invite both the potential Scout and his parent. There is an agenda for the join us meeting that is very good and calls for lots of leadership from your existing youth. Ask your DE about it and borrow the tape. The CD's are also excellent and have been well-received with the troops in this council . . . but I don't know how many are using them. DS

I have many many good memories of Peru: Beautiful views. Really high mountains. Adventures in ruins from 800 B.C.E. Very inexpensive prices for anything. I had to laugh when I saw a book (in English) talking about Peru on $10.00 a day. At the time, if you couldn't live on $10.00 per day or less you had to be not too swift in the brains department. Last night I re-read my daily journal from my 6 weeks in Peru and some of the stuff that was exciting and adventurous to me suddenly sounded dangerous and perhaps deadly to my now 37 year old brain. I remember the machine guns nests in the airport in Lima -- in the concourses with four or five very serious-looking uniformed soldiers pointing machine guns down each corridor. I remember the sound of the AK-47 fired above the roof of the Volkswagen Beetle (the old one) being driven by a man I had met only minutes before with his wife on my lap and his grandmother and two kids in the car with us. He had me play drunk and bribed the soldier who stopped us. I remember checking into my hotel in Lima at about 11:00 PM and seeing the price (very expensive for a college student.) I asked if there were cheaper hotels within walking distance that I could stay at and I was informed that there was an 11:00 PM curfew and anyone found on the streets at that hour would be shot. He said he could give me a pass, but doubted anyone would ask to see it. In my dis-belief, I walked out the door and about half a block before I heard at least on AK-47 (I know the sound) fired. I remember riding in a small pickup truck down the mountain to a village. Actually, I was standing on the back bumper of the truck with my belt wrapped around a pole shooting up from the truck bed. My belt broke on a corner (taken way too fast) and I caught myself with my hands on the bumper and my little tuckas nearly dragging on the pavement. I also remember a visit to Cusco by a famous general (who's name I didn't know.) To clear the square for his arrival, soldiers fired their automatic weapons in the air. I am a lot of things, but I like to think that stupid isn't one of them. I got out of there at a rapid pace. On the other hand, I remember petting Llamas that didn't spit on me. I remember bartering for some fantastic alpaca wool sweaters and getting them for about $5.00 each. I also remember following two Peruvian men in their thirties down the side of a mountain -- but not on a trail. They took off at a run at what looked like a cliff and I thought, "Why not?" I jumped off and we ran down 2,000 feet at a pretty extreme angle. Enough on an angle that we darn near broke our necks and made it back to base came a full 45 minutes ahead of the folks who had taken the trail. I know I'm not getting any younger, but perhaps truck bumpers, riding on the outside of a train (did that, too) and the other dangerous stuff is and ought to be behind me. Haven't decided yet. DS

cjmiam wrote: "And on a side note I know some you professionals out there are gonna take issue with me for this, but my troop doesnt necessarily need you. Now I understand that Cub packs might be a bit more dependant upon local executives keeping continuity, but overall the Scouting program at the unit level will run just fine without the local council office." Obviously, I don't agree. All units have their ups and downs. Also, a council is much more than it's office and professional staff. It's commissioner service, training, advancement, etc. volunteers as well. These are all locally delivered services of a council. Sorry for the interruption -- now returning to the debate DS

Actually, Ed's post is a good example in many ways. United Way funding is declining, but it's still an important part of funding the services of just about every council. The United Way campaign runs during the month of September and councils have negotiated definate fund-raising "blackout" dates with each United Way. Violations of those dates can result in a withdrawal of funding. It's an easy excuse the United Way can give its constituents. It may be initiative on the part of the Scout who sells early -- but it could result in big-time damage to the council. The council, for it's part, disseminates the order forms, etc. at a time of maximum impact of getting them out -- say at Roundtable, and trusts the units on their honor not to begin selling to the public until the date agreed upon by the United Way and the council. I know that this became a really big issue in one council I served -- a United Way executive board member who had a son in the Cub Scouts deliberately began selling to other United Way board members prior to the sale start date just to put the funding the council received --$100,000 14 years ago -- in danger. I don't remember what her beef was, but she had a beef. This isn't just to Ed -- it's to all units -- please do not allow your Scouts to sell prior to the approved sale dates. Encourage them to sell as hard as they can during the approved dates; that's great. But selling before the approved dates is bad. DS

Sctleader: Glad you're okay. I wish the council the best in digging out. The volunteers, I'm sure, will save the day. Best of luck and let us know how we can help. Dave

I really do want to climb the mountain at Macchu Picchu again and take pictures this time. I also want to swim in the warm pools of Aguas Callientas again. But I don't want to die. How stable is this country? PS -- if anyone wants to come along, let me know. That is ... if I go. Dave

If my wife dies, this becomes a non-issue. I will leave and go back to Peru to open a hotel. I was in Peru in the Urabamba River Valley at an archeologic site for six weeks in 1987. I had many many experiences down there, but I was 19 at the time. Now I would like to go back with the bankroll of a double-income-no-kids American. My wife is supportive, but doesn't want to go and I don't want her to go. When I went in 1987, the country wasn't stable for Americans. From what I hear it is more stable now than it was then, but I've been strongly cautioned by a member of these forums that I well respect not to go back now that I'm 37. The difference now is that I would be going alone -- as I did last time, but last time I joined up with an Earthwatch crew at the foot of the Inca Trail (British) and stayed with them for 6 weeks. They had paid some of the Peruvian Terrorists (Sandero Luminoso) to be on staff. This time I would have none of that protection, but would stay in my tent for a few days on that long-abandoned site. I will also point out that a "first class" train ticket in 1987 allowed the bearer to ride inside the train. A "second class" ticket meant you were on the train -- hanging on for dear life. But this time I have the money to travel in the air-conditioned american and european train. My question to you is -- should I go back? To Matua, Korea, AK, etc. who have information available from the State Department -- how safe is Peru? Should I tell my Scout Executive where I'm going and place some sort of contract to keep my job open if I don't come back in two weeks? Or should I just book a ticket to San Jose and call it good? DS

Fat Old Guy: As you have pointed out in several posts, old is not necessarily bad. The Ivory soap crease still works, and, so does the chicken in a backpack (from an old Fieldbook, although it doesn't work well with a nylon backpack it works well with a canvas one and some leaves.) DS

Ironing tip I learned from a United States Marine: if you want a sharp crease in a pair of pants, turn them inside out and run a cake of Ivory soap down where you want the crease. It's unscented and the wax from the soap will melt into the fabric and hold the crease very well. I don't think you want to do that with the zippered leg pants you've created. If a more men's dress pant cut is desired, order the 100% cotton pant or the 65% poly/35% wool pant. Both have their ups and downs, but both are cut like dress pants with double-welt pockets in the back and they aren't poly/cotton. The 100% cotton pants fade and wrinkle easily, but wear well when properly cared for. The poly-wool pants are dry clean only -- although I toss mine in the wathing machine and buy a new pair every other year. DS

Of course, I should name my favorite philosophers by their respective first names . . . Niccolo and, ummmm ... Phil? DS -- laughingly

Careful, NJ The reality you describe so well is a good one. However, describing reality versus theory got my favorite philosophers -- Macchiavelli and Socrates in a lot of trouble. DS

Trail Pounder, you just asked a question that begs a technical answer . . . so here it is. Money that is given for the James E. West fellowship goes into the local council endowment fund. The principal can never be spent (the original $1,000 or more) but the interest can be spent on local annual operating needs. Councils have at least 3 funds -- think of these funds as separate businesses because they are in many respects. Fund 1 is operating fund. The operating fund pays salaries, day-to-day bills, camp operating expenses like summer camp food, etc. It's income comes from sources like the popcorn sale, United Way, FOS, etc. Fund 2 is the Capital fund. While it's open to some local definition, this fund usually pays for larger price item things -- like the new roof for the camp showerhouse, computer upgrades, the new photocopier, etc. that are capitalized (depreciate over a period of time.) Income for this fund comes from specific capital drives, or sometimes, like in the council I serve a $1.00 per item assessment added on to the price of popcorn products. This is where money from wills and so forth, dedicated to camp whatever, go. The third fund is the endowment fund. I'm probably over-generalizing, but think of an endowment fund as a place people dump money to give the interest forever to the local council and keep the principal intact. That's where James E. West money goes. And I call tell you that it's a whole lot easier to get your investment firm to move money from the endowment fund into operating on an annual basis than it is to get an increase in United Way allocations. DS

Nice suggestion, NJ, but the odds of other councils paying to support are slim to none. I suppose there may be a council or two in a financial position where they could send a donation to a Philadelphia -- but it would be a rarity. It could also be offensive to the donors who gave to support local programs for money to be spent on Scouts in Philadelphia. Furthermore, there is what is being touted in non-profit circles as a non-profit depression currently. Positions are being cut and/or simply not filled and fund-raising is a very difficult proposition. Currently, for example, in the council I'm serving, I'm the Assistant Scout Executive and the Learning for Life Executive. The LFL executive moved to Ohio a couple of months ago and we're in a position where we're forced to save money by not hiring another to replace her until after we see the results of the popcorn sale. Just a fact o' Life. DS

I like the suggestion that an adult advise the historian. Depending on the young man and his interests, there can be much more depth than keeping photographs and organizing them. Somewhere buried in your council service center is a file or files with every re-charter the troop has submitted (to varying degrees -- mergers of councils and fires have destroyed some) but the Scout could go back and develop a list of past youth and adult names, research who is still around, interview them about the troop's history and pull together a multi-media presentation or a scrapbook. Just a few thoughts. I'm sure there are more possibilities. DS

Charity: Very nicely done! I'm sure he'll be touched and will cherish it. And FYI to the un-initiated men out there -- the canoe quilt is on a cutting mat and the tool is a rotary cutter: translate that to mean in a Tim Allen sort of way . . . more power! Nice job, Charity. Dave

Matua: I doubt very much that you have a Registration Procedures Manual. It's an internal resource for council registrars. It's not secret, and you can probably ask your registrar to see it. The registrar may or may not know where it is. A lot of the registration rules seem to pass from registrar to registrar almost in the manner of native American legends. The answer to your question lies in the section on multiple registration about 22-25 pages in. You might also want to examine closely the small type on the first two pages of an Application to Join a Troop. Most people ignore the information there, but most of the "cans" and "can'ts" are in those pages. Hope this helps. DS

There are some similarities to the Jamboree and Brigadoon -- only the Jamboree appears to rise from the mist more frequently. I was the Logistics Coordinator for Action Center B in 1997 -- not an easy job (few are out there) but it was a fantastic experiance. It's a city of its own and I'm sure there will be similarities in the fire department to any other city with 100,000 folks walking around every day and some 35,000 residents. Good luck to you. DS

leader732: I suggest you call the council service center and speak to the Scout Executive or the Finance Director, Assistant Scout Executive, or whoever the "money man" in your council is. DE's don't often understand that a unit selling popcorn before the United Way approved date (which it sounds like is 10/1 in your council) can jepordize the United Way funding of your council. That is possible. That possible jepordy is what will concern the leadership of your council. United Way does most of its fund-raising in September and gets downright cranky about any of its agencies raising money while they're raising theirs. DS

cjmiam: The social security number for youth is not reuired. Putting it in makes life easier for those who work in the council service center, but are not necessary. However, please throw away your old applications. The new ones are free from national and the registrar in your council will appreciate being able to find the needed information in the same spots on all of the hundreds of applications they have to type in by hand at this time of year. For adults, the social security nunmber is required. It's needed for criminal background checks. Provisions are in place for the rare adult who does not have a social security number, but for those who do have a social security number and refuse to give it, they are refusing their own registration in the BSA. DS

I only vote for who I believe is the best person for the job. It's only coincidence that it's always a Republican. DS

The office is computerized and can give you a list of merit badge counselors, but Scoutnet doesn't keep track of which merit badges they counsel. I wish it did, but it doesn't. They are registered simply as merit badge counselors, not basketry merit badge counselors, etc. It falls to the volunteers to keep track of who counsels what and for whom. DS

In other words, if someone steals money from the troop, it's up to the charter partner to go after it. DS

Be cautious, Annie -- comparisons between the Boy Scouts of America and the Girl Scouts of the USA are a quick path to madness. In spite of the similarity of missions -- the two organizations are apples and oranges to each other. My wife earned her Gold Award. I earned the Eagle Scout. We both have very similar skill-sets and very compatible values. We both worked very hard to earn those ranks. However, the two organizations are very, very different in just about every way. I'm most aware of the differences in professional organization. For example, a Field Director in Girl Scouts equates to a District Executive in the Boy Scouts. In many Girl Scout Councils, the Field Directors work only 35 hours a week and are part time employees, while a District Executive in the Boy Scouts generally works 60-80 hours a week and is a full-time exempt (meaning no pay for overtime) employee. A Field Director in the Boy Scouts is defined as a professional Scouter with no district of his/her own who supervises two or more (usually more) District Executives. I don't know what the Girl Scout equivalent is. I believe I heard at one time that GSUSA sold the patterns for their uniforms so folks could make them themselves. I always thought that was a great idea. Is it true? DS(This message has been edited by dsteele)

Where does logic come from? God only knows. DS