GernBlansten

Actually Ed, I think the analogy of an employee performance review and an EBOR is pretty good. The BOR is a performance review of the scout. Why ask the scout who he's going to vote for if his answer should have no bearing on the decision of the board? Why do you care? Ask him IF he is going to vote. Ask him HOW he will decide who to vote for. Ask him WHY he should vote. But never WHO.

Ed, If in your annual performance review, your boss asked you who you were going to vote for, would that be appropriate? Would it be rude or coercive?

If asking who the scout was going to vote for is appropriate, then his response "None of your beeswax" is also appropriate. Actually, I think a scolding by the scout to the asking adult about the sanctity of the secret ballot and how it relates to the integrity of the election process would be appropriate.

If they had a label on the shirt or form you had to sign at purchase that restricted use to only official BSA use, perhaps they would have a leg to stand on. But anyone can buy the shirt, and not be held to any rule the BSA might want us to follow while wearing it. Now as a volunteer in the organization that signed an application that said I would follow BSA policies, that binds us scouters to BSA rules. I've been seen on non-BSA outtings wearing my switchbacks.

I'm thinking scalping low numbers at the DMV might be a good fundraiser. Have a scout show up, take like 100 tickets, and sell them to the harried, starbucks fueled yuppies trying to register their new H2 Hummer. Can they wear their uniform?

Yup, local scout shop honored the 2fer deal. Said it was good through May 15th. Didn't know whether a new, improved model was coming out.

I think its a gray area. Something about selling stuff not endorsed by the BSA like the popcorn is. If you sell, say candy, you can't wear the uniform. However, in this situation, I doubt it will be an issue since they aren't selling anything. Our unit has directed parking for an international golf tournament. They wore orange vests so you couldn't even see what uniform they had on.

I'm heading down the scout shop this morning to see if they are doing the sale or just at the website. I'll report back with my recon. if 2fer at the shop, I'll pick up one pair for his current size and one a size bigger so he can wear them in a month or two.

I'm not sure of the official BSA policy, but our troop only wears the uniform during popcorn sales. All other fundraisers are done in "class Bs"

Or eleven pound boots? Heck, my telemark boots only weigh 7 lbs and I feel like frankenstein hiking in them.

One rolled ankle could ruin your entire trek, along with the other scouts. Think of the children!

Coleman makes a portable propane fire pit. I've seen them used by troops at camporees when traditional campfires were banned. I think they are technically classified as stoves or gas appliances so they are not usually banned.

Usually a fire ban encompasses all open flame not controlled with a valve. TP torches probably are banned also. In our region, all OA ceremonies have propane fire pits since during the summer months, we are usually under a fire ban. Or they go without a fire. My tapout was done without a fire at sunset.

Yeah, Rosanna's tagline was always "I thought I was gonna die!"

I would not have wanted to hike over the Tooth in trail shoes. That trail is as rocky as any 14nr here in Colorado. Some of the steep climbs out of the valleys and Mt. Phillips would have been dicey in shoes too. But most of the trails are well worn and would be fine in shoes. But you can't always stay down in the valleys. A good pair of boots are just as comfortable as shoes. I like over the ankle boots just for the protection on scraps and sticks. I hate getting jabbed in the ankle by a sharp stick or scraping the skin off my achilles stepping over a log. Also the little pebbles that seem to always find their way in.

Nature abhors an empty backpack.

Beavah, I think you are referring to the Walmart effect. You have a small town with many locally owned an operated stores. Each has their own flavor and idosyncracies. Some do great, others struggle. But there's a balance. Then Walmart builds a big box superstore on the edge of town. All the local guys starve to death and shut their doors. Walmart becomes the only game in town. Can't compete with them. Sure some try, but in the end, everybody still shops at Walmart.

If I were the UC in that situation, I'd be inclined to ask some questions of the leadership of the mega-troop. Is everyone here happy with the size of this unit? If not, would they consider transfering to the smaller unit? If everyone in the mega-troop is happy, then I don't see any problem with the mega-unit. But sometimes people don't know there are other options available. Personally, I would find the mega-unit to be a bit too much to handle. Our unit went over 50 scouts last year and it really changed the dynamics of the unit, some for the good, some not so good.

General Jack D. Ripper: Mandrake, have you ever seen a Commie drink a glass of water? Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Well, no, I can't say I have. Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Do I look all rancid and clotted? You look at me, Jack. Eh? Look, eh? And I drink a lot of water, you know. I'm what you might call a water man, Jack - that's what I am. And I can swear to you, my boy, swear to you, that there's nothing wrong with my bodily fluids. Not a thing, Jackie.

I like the idea of BSA Aquatics Supervision for adults. I plan on going through this myself. Might have to go out of council as I missed the one provided here by one week. From what I can glean from the new BSA Lifeguard, it is very similar to the RC lifeguard course now. BSA does have provisions for swim testing that RC Lifeguard doesn't. I've signed my son up for RC Lifeguard at the city pool this summer. Its good for three years and he can start guarding at the pool in 2009 when he turns 16 and should give him work options through high school. Indoor, year round pool. He can take RC WSI at 16 which will allow him to teach too. That's where the big bucks come. Private lessons. Kept me in pizza and pops through college.

Just a humble messenger John. I suppose my council could be wandering off the plantation. But those docs I linked to look like official BSA documents.

Found this on my council website... http://denverboyscouts.doubleknot.com/openrosters/ViewOrgPageLink.asp?LinkKey=17677&orgkey=51 Looks like BSA revamped the aquatics program for 2008. Now have a Aquatics Supervision path and a Lifeguard path. Lifeguard was realigned to better match the Red Cross curriculum. Aquatics supervision is an 8 hour class and allows leaders to conduct swim tests (my goal). "The emphasis of BSA Lifeguard has changed. The primary purpose is no longer to provide units with the skills necessary to conduct safe swimming and boating activities. The revised BSA Lifeguard program is now focused on providing camp staff with training that meets the requirements for professional lifeguards at regulated swimming venues. While the program is open to all registered adults and older youth, the training emphasis is changed, and the course logistics and content will reflect the new goals. The course requires approximately 20 hours of instruction. Prior to taking the course, participants must be able to swim 550 yards using several strokes, and complete a timed swimming rescue of 25 yards." http://denverboyscouts.doubleknot.com/openrosters/DocDownload.asp?orgkey=51&id=36064

Well, #1 son turns 15 this summer. Wants to follow dad and get his life saving cert so he can work at the city pool. They don't pay bad, about $11/hour, better than the grocery store and REAL easy work. Gotta be 16 to guard at the pool anyways. But the parks and rec dept don't recognize BSA Lifeguard. So I'll probably enroll him in Red Cross like I did when I was his age and get his cert so he can blow whistles at cute girls. Might still have him take BSA Lifeguard so he can work at the camp pool if he so chooses. Might even take it with him so I can do swim checks for the troop. Wouldn't hurt me to go back through it and its only a weekend. But I ain't gonna go through Red Cross again. That was tough and I'm 30 years older!

I think the routine labor prohibition is aimed at scouts who might think an Eagle Project might be mowing the lawns of all the elderly ladies in town. Doesn't take much planning, doesn't have a lasting achievement. Doesn't really demonstrate leadership. Refurbing something or building stuff are great Eagle projects and are the majority if the ones I've been involved in.

Our district handles it a bit differently. When a scout is ready to propose his project, he fills out the proposal part of the workbook and has the SM and CC review and approve. The proposal is then sent to the DAC. If approved, the DAC assigns a district eagle advisor (he has several who work with him) to work directly with the scout. Once the project is completed and written up, he works directly with the district eagle advisor for writeup approval. The project never goes back through the DAC, however when certifying the application, the signed off project workbook must be presented to the district secretaries. Then the BOR can be scheduled. Since the scout is working one on one with the advisors, the delay varies. Never seen a project over 100 pages. Most are 20 to 30.