Gone

My District actually SPLIT a while back. Council thought we were too big and thought, "Hey, let's split them!". Big mistake. We had a huge District. We had a hard enough time staffing committees and other things, but we managed and had a decent program. We even had visits from commissioners! After the split, BOTH districts saw reduced attendance, reduced volunteerism, reduced staffing, etc. So if you district is having an easy time doing these things and no issues running, the question to ask yourself is "How much more work will you district need to do post merger AND how active are the other districts being merged?"

After your unit's elections the number of adults that may be nominated (not elected) from your unit is given to your unit leader. It depends on the total number of Scouts elected. For example, if you elect 9 boys I think you get to nominate 3 adults, plus the unit leader if he is not already a member. Each unit nominated adults in a different manner, however, they must all still complete the same requirements as the boys for eligibility...except for the rank requirement of course.

Do your Councils do background checks? I have checked with my Council and I was told they do a "simple check". I suspect this is up to each Council.

We require at least one adult from each family to join the unit. We let them know they are on the TC and invite them to start attending the meetings. We don't "hard sell" them on leadership positions that first year, but we try to let them know that the troop does not function without adult input and assistance. We then hold a few sessions where we highlight the roles and how to get involved. Usually folks step up for to help organize a thing or to or to assist the boys with organizing things (service projects, COH, outside events, etc.). We have found we end up with a few different types of folks: 1) Those who jump in and help right away, 2) Those who take time to find their role, 3) Those who eventually step up though perhaps at first reluctantly, and 4) Those who cannot be bothered to help...or you don't want their help because they just don't follow directions.

I'd have to say my experience has been that the guys involved in sports more than in Scouting are more self-absorbed than the guys who involved more in Scouting than sports. In terms of "brattiness" IMHO it goes to the parents rather than to what the kids are in. I have kids in both camps that are just as nice/bratty as the other guys. I have found that if the kid is self-absorbed, clueless or needy it usually mirrors how the parent is. My two cents.

I would agree. We will retain our permission forms electronically and delete after 6 months.

I wanted to thank you guys for the discussion and links. This has helped my unit decide on a course of action. We are going to revise the BSA release form slightly and use it on each event we hold. We will submit electronically to our events person and continue to collect payment via our website. This should both cover us from a permission/information perspective and reduce paperwork. While I long for the days when the boys just showed up with $15 and gave it to their Patrol Scribe who gave the money to the Treasurer, those days are gone.

Since climbing or shooting sports are not on your tour plan, you cannot. Remember this all links back to other documents. You can't go canoeing simply because the canoes are open. Have you done your swim tests? Have you done your water sports training? Are guys grouped by known swimming ability? Our unit sticks to our tour plan and itinerary. IF something "neutral" like going to a wild life refuge or taking a nature hike presents itself then great. If something like go-karts or shooting or climbing or water sports presents itself we have to ask: 1) Does our tour permit cover it? 2) Do we have the appropriate people trained to manage this new activity? 3) Are the boys trained/prepared according to BSA guidelines? 4) Will we run afoul of our tour plan, permission slip or any other BSA policy.

I searched the archive and could not find the answer to this question: Does BSA allow units to create a "blanket" permission slip to cover standard camp outs (e.g., camp outs that don't have shooting sports, water sports or other high risk activities)? Or does BSA require units to have permission slips unique for each event? I'd love it if anyone can point me to a policy online. We obviously want to stay in line with BSA guidelines. Thanks in advance.

Summit is hugely expensive. Our council contingent to Jamboree back in 2010 would have cost me just over $5,000 for my son and I to attend. Could not opt out of the council-panned activities. Summit itself is ok. If you want a better option, go to Goshen in VA. Then spend some time on your own driving through Rt 220 and Rt 33 in WVA and visit Seneca Rocks. MUCH cheaper than Summit. You can event set up your own trek with outfitters around New River and get the same experience as Summit without the price tag. My guys have taken to building their own treks now rather than hitting BSA national camps. They are cheaper and many times better quality.

Searched before posting, did not see any mention of this base. It is out of Camp Ben Delatour. Anyone have any experience with this HA base? Thanks!

Anyone been to Camp Ben Delatour in Colorado? Elkhorn high adventure camp at Delatour?

Update... We've been to the following camps and here's brief feedback: - Daniel Boone( 2011, 2014): Great camp and staff. Excellent programs. Food could be better but the facilities and camp are top notch. - Gorham (2012): Nice camp site, horrid dinning hall. Staff had issues which the Council is attending to. Would check before going to see if these things have been fixed. - Orr (2013): Much like Daniel Boone. Very nice camp, good food and great staff. - Constantin (2010): Old facilities, staff pretty good but weather is a big issue. If you like "oven camping" then go here. - Alexander (2009): Great camp. Bit of a MB factory. Costs have gotten high compared to other camps. - Woodruff (2008): Nice camp, good facilities and decent staff. Warmer than Daniel Boone but not as warm as Constantin. I dare not go back too far as things change. Would be great if others post their experiences.

What happens to that slime ball of a former SM and HIS adherence to the Scout Law....Trustworty, Loyal, Courteous, Clean? He should have known better. We need to get away from this mindset that we've been in the last decade or so that the needs of the few outweigh the need of the many. He didn't belong ther, period. Is he allowed there, sure. But that's NOT the point. The point is he exercised poor judgement and brought needless attention to himself. If he really wanted to forget about his past he doesn't dishonor the scouting movement by showing up to one of their events. That's just too suspicious.

But dumbing down a program to "train" people is not the answer either. Develop a basic course to get those who are clueless started. Have an intermediate course to teach them more and have the advanced course for those who can use that. But national has to understand you cannot expect a clueless SM to be an outdoorsman, offer a good outdoor program and offer watered-down training when his first year Scouts will get better training (hopefully) at camp in the summer. Rather than spend time on watered-down training, develop an "out of the box" training kit that allows new SMs with no background or outdoors skills to develop a program that can get his unit up to speed. Giving him IOLS -- even watered down -- is akin to throwing him in to the pool in the deep end when he cannot swim. Very silly.

Riiiight. And I am sure his victims have no hassles to deal with. I feel for this guy...not.

ROFL...you had me worried there. I was picturing an troop camping in cars every month.

Wow, really? No state parks or scout camps nearby? No national parks? No military property? Private property? I feel lucky having so many national and state parks nearby, as well as local private land we can use. I would have though FL would be teaming with places to go. Or at least head over the border to GA or AL to see what they have. Or maybe that's too far. The only time I could see my unit in cars was in case of lightning with no better options for shelter...or in the event of emergency.

Yup. Your right. And I struggle as a Christian with that every day. However, the recidivism rate for this type of behavior is very high. Many claim it is a disease they cannot control. So, even if an alcoholic goes to jail for a manslaughter DWI, unless they get help AND stay away from the thing enticing them (booze), they are likely to be tempted. Sure he has the "right" to be there...and those people have the "right" to ask him to leave. IMHO it is poor judgement on his part. Especially as a former SM. Poor taste.

Did a summer camp in the south. The chaplain had a service which was VERY Christian, if you know what I mean? Our small troop is pretty mixed, especially for our neck of the woods, and many guys got uncomfortable. So we allowed them to go back to camp with two adults. Spoke to the CD later just to let him know.

Thankfully in my city that would never happen. Offenders cannot live that close to parks or schools. They can't even live near bus stops, school routes or any place children might frequent. They must register and they are tracked on a website open to the public which notes their location. Sucks for them? Yeah, but so did their crime so I have no sympathy. This guy should have known better...both prior to his crime and after. Had that been me I'd be too ashamed to show my face around kids, let alone scouts. Shame on him.