Frank17

I second basementdweller. I volunteer all the time for local camps & council events. Not for national where I get charged for the "privilege".

Our Troop allows scouts to wear uniform shirts / neckers with jeans at all events. All SMs are requested to wear the full uniform, as are scouts who are on the verge of becoming eagle. There is a very simple reason for this for us. We want the scouts to look good as a part of our troop without having to waste a lot of cash. As the boys (scouts) generally outgrow their pants every 12 - 24 months, and would require 3 or 4 pairs over their scouting career, we do not require them to have official scout pants. We encourage new scouts to buy the uniform shirts in large sizes so they will last. For adults, the growth factor is less of an issue. Similarly, most of our Eagles are older (HS age), and have fewer growth spurts remaining. Works for us.

We did option #3 (multiple smaller group bookings via websites) when we went to Philmont last year with 22 participants. Be warned, however, that you will not get the same price for everyone. The airlines seem to use real-time price manipulation based on demand for their particular flights. So when you book one block of 6 reservations (usually the max allowed), the next block of 6 will be a higher price when you try & buy them. You can try & delay booking a few days between blocks, but then you run the risk of getting split up with different flights. We just paid the extra costs and reserved all at once, and then averaged the prices to determine what everyone should pay, regardless of the actual ticket cost. Cost a little more, but still WAYYY cheaper then group booking or even using a travel agent.

You are correct, excess per se is not a problem. BUT, many of the fundraising issues I see personally come from Eagle projects that raise too much money and dont know how to deal with that. The solution is to donale it to the project sponsoring org, but most Eagle scout candidates do not seem to know this, as it has never been discussed with them. In the context of ISAs and the Troop, as long as the purpose remains the same (collecting for Troop or individual scout), it is not really an issue, I agree.

There is certainly nothing unethical about ISAs PROVIDED they are run properly. Examples: Johnny goes around selling popcorn to his neighbors telling them that the sale profits will go to fund his troop and his trip to Camp XYZ. The money is used by the troop and for Johnny to attend Camp XYZ - no problem. Jimmy goes around selling popcorn to his neighbors telling them that the profits will benefit boy scouts, and be used by the Troop to purchase gear. Instead, the money is used to send him to Camp. - PROBLEM. Basically, there is no problem with ISAs from fundraising provided the stated purpose of the fundraising is disclosed & maintained. Its when excess is collected or the purpose is changed that the ethical issues arise. We DO NOT use ISAs in our troop, but we do allow fundraising for Eagle project costs. In that case, any excess MUST be given to the organization sponsoring the eagle project, or be burned up during the eagle project.

Youth Members: 90% of troop membership, 10% of troop problems. Adults / Parents: 10% of troop membership, 90% of troop problems.

There is an advancement guide that gives additional detail and regulations, but you wont find explainations for most of their actions there. Here is the link for a pdf version: http://boyscouttrail.com/docs/guidet...ment-33088.pdf As far as advancement chairs actions: 1. MB requirements / interpretation is to be done by the MB counselor (they may neither add or delete from the MB requirements, but how they teach them is up to them), not the advancement chair or even the SM. If a problem is found, the solution is to approach the MB counselor, NOT penalize the scouts who earned the MBs. 2. Rank requirement, especially for lower ranks, can be signed off on by PLs, SPLs, ASPLs, as long as the SM approves. Again, if there is an issue about how the requirement was taught / tested, it should be brought up to the PL, not the scout. If a problem is found, just retrain the scouts informally, but do not take away their rank. 3. The last 2 issues are clearly wrong, as Troopmaster is in no way, shape or form the "official" record. In fact, the scout handbook and blue cards are the ONLY official records, along with signed advancement forms. At least in our council, ALL electronic records take a back seat to these paper versions, and are tools for organization only, not records themselves. Sounds like your advancement chair is on a micro-management trip. And your scouts are going to suffer because of it. Time to have a sit-down.

Nike said: "I have neither the time nor inclination to spend this much time and effort with my kids. What isn't happening in these parents' lives that they do this?" I second this. My wife & I are way too busy with our own activities (church, scouts, community activities, & social functions) to have time to live our kids' lives too.

Remember the main purpose of the SM conference is for you to get to know the scout and vice versa. Do not fall into the trap I see a lot of SMs fall into which is to review or test things learned. DO NOT come in with a list of pre-prepared questions; develop your discussion from how the scout reacts and what concerns they may have, not the other way around. Make it a fun conversation for both of you, and not a Q&A. The USSSP has some of the best advice here: http://scoutmaster.org/usscouts/boyscouts/smconf.asp

I focused on my Troop: 1. Improve advance scheduling and trip planning for the Troop year 2. Recruit additional MB counselors (10) and Committe members (5) 3. Recruit outside speakers to discuss carreers / hobbies / outdoor skills at our meetings monthly 4. Implement Patrol Level campouts and meetings in addition to our normal Troop meetings 5. Provide training for a Troop "Trail to Eagle" program

Blame the scout shops, not the ebay sellers. The "restriction" is based on the sale of original items from the scout shops / scoutstuff.org. It is not based on secondary sales after the item has already been purchased from the BSA stores. The ebay sellers have a legal AND moral right to sell items; after all, collecting / trading / selling scout memorabelia has been going on since scouting started. Now wearing scouting items on a uniform is different; if worn on a uniform, the implication is that they were earned by the wearer, and not just purchased. In that case, the wrong is done by the purchaser / wearer. But as a collector and scouter who has used ebay extensively, I see no issue with selling resticted, rare, or personal scouting items on the site, as long as they are not counterfeits (which happens also).

I also got a T-shirt and baseball cap, both with our class WB logo and course number on them. They were considered "Class B" uniform for the course, but now get used for gardening around the house.

"The investigation shows the boys, ages 12-13 from the Mendota, Illinois area, were canoeing with their boy scout troop, which included approximately 14 other scouts and a scout leader." What happened to "1. Qualified Supervision" under Safety Afloat, where a MINIMUM of 2 adults are required, as well as one supervisor per 10 people?(This message has been edited by frank17)

I have purchased a number of old MBs and saches as part of my collection, and most are sewn "Frankenstein style" from the old time sashes (1911 to 1940s). Modern sewing machines and helicopter parents (and the lack of a sewing MB) have led us to let others do for us instead of doing ourself.

I have no issues with Craigslist (I used it to furnish about 1/2 of my new house), but I too agree that advertising this publicly is a bad idea. Seems like they should contact their CO and see if they can get any help there, if the parents are not willing to help. We have also gotten ASMs from former Troop Eagle Scouts that are still in the area.