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I loved the all-abouts. Shortbread with chocolate layer with one of the principles of GS/USA stamped on them. Haven't seen them for a while. So, I just order for thin mints and somoas -- from the first scout who pitches to me ... never from a mom. I love hearing what they plan to do with their sales.

No and yes. At least the way venturing awards and recognition was originally concocted, the goal was to get some nationally recognize certification (e.g. Red Cross First Aid) not merely a merit badge. So, mastering the skill that earned you that MB and the certification was not considered double- anything. Get the skill, get recognition once or twice, move on.

No, but considering the water handling devices my troop has a reputation for concocting, maybe we should.

Give me two such teachable adults (at least one of them female if the unit has girls) and I can get us a pack/troop/crew that will outlast and outgrow any one that I've lead. Throw in one unteachable adult, and the whole thing will stagnate. It doesn't matter how high the numbers on his/her service stars climb. I think linked troops are a great idea ... IF : you have an SM/ASM pair who have proven to be good partners, and one will peel off to work on the girls' side as either SM or ASM, and every other direct contact leader (seasoned or newcomer) is willing to fall in behind both of them, officially supporting one or the other. And, I think it works both ways. We have a new SM (a young dad, Eagle scout) ... and I'm learning stuff from him about areas of interest that I wouldn't have bothered with.

Welcome to the forums. Totin' Chip requirements are here https://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Totin'_Chip Are you going to be in a Scouts BSA troop for girls?

@Ranman328, you need to visit our troop. Then you'll know at least one. I've never read anywhere that a committee needs to notify anyone at the district when they decide to suspend a scout. If you have a reference, do share. Dropping the boy from the charter was a lame move.

Sorry about your husband. Not about that your learning new things about your spouse -- we all do that. It winds up being mostly good. But, that he is going to have to process this new label, and that can be hard -- especially if it doesn't fit exactly. My strategy ... Put the phone on speaker and have your son call the SM. Let him explain that he would like to come back but wants to know if he's welcome. Generally, most boys are pretty forgiving, so he would try a meeting or two to see if that's the case. In case the answer's "no." Or your son is having a hard time apologizing, talk to some other troop leaders.

This ... I've seen troops derailed by "know everything" assistants (let's call them KEA's). I'm not alone. Heck, when our troop merged, our SM thought I was one of those KEA's because, in a board room, I usually lead with my strongest opinion, and it can sound like my way or the highway. But in the field, I spend a lot of time figuring out what everyone needs, and am always picking up other folks' tips and tricks. Anyway, I had no clue that he assumed I was another KEA until he came and apologized for misjudging me. So is your friend a KEA? You honestly don't know for sure until she gets to working the program, but your esteem of her is probably a good indication that she's not. So, recruit her!

It's BSA requireing the ASM has to be female. If the SM garners a teachable male ASM (an equally rare commodity in @Eagle94-A1's neighborhood, it seems) he still can't start a Scouts BSA girl troop. If he caves on the teach-ability minimum, his odds of starting one that will last are slim. With all due respect of any women who may have been wrongly caricatured with stereotypes like "mama bear" and "tiger mom", we should not tiptoe around what will be required of them as direct contact leaders of new troops for the sake of political correctness.

If you give a mouse a cookie ... Frankly, I see no trouble with accepting last year's car if that's what the scout wanted to do. It really is the parent who lost an opportunity to help his/her son fashion a new car. That's a really heavy price, the cost of which they will never recoup. However, your race, your rules. It is a good idea to stick to whatever guidelines your district uses because, if district has that same rule, it could be an automatic D/Q at that level if one of those cars had advanced to district and does it again this year. Don't let bad attitudes tarnish your experience. You're preparing these boys for life. And technicalities are part of life.

Met our troop today. 80% of the boys could attend. After introductions, the SM had a breakout with parents (who he said seemed like a really good group) and we monitored patrol corners to see how everyone was getting along. Three of our four patrols figured out their names. (One guess whose scouts couldn't get their patrol to settle on a name. So, for now we're calling them Den #_.) A goodly number had experience at National Jamboree, so they could explain facilities pretty well. (Note to adults: not one complaint about showers. Just saying.) Other scouts knew the location of their shakedown weekend. Everyone brought up great questions -- for which we had answers to about half. I think we're gonna like camping with this group. We have room for 6-8 more scouts, but looks like that will close up quickly, especially if another region's troop doesn't reach critical mass and has to send a few of its boys our way.

Asking questions + want to participate + willing to learn = teachable. We are really picky about our ASMs. This isn't a matter of terrible or noble. It's a matter of who can suppress their fears enough to let their daughters set up camp 100 yards away. If not immediately, then over the course of the year, starting with 10 yards this month, 20 the next ... If @Eagle94-A1's buddy (who I'm assuming is a pretty teachable guy himself) winds up with an assistant who is all "my way or the highway", then he's just moved from frying pan to fryer. Which, if this were some corporate ladder he is trying to climb might not be a bad thing. But this is his kid's troop that may boom and bust. And if it flourishes this year, he might hand it off the SM patch to a female leader pretty soon. An adult can come in with all kinds of useful personality traits, but he/she needs to constantly adjust which ones come to the fore when working with youth. And that usually means that you have to have other adults point out what needs to change, and if they are the least bit right, adjust accordingly. Not always fun, most often rewarding. So yeah, teachable has got to be the word.

I have no idea why people think handgun and black powder are automatic draws for large groups of scouts. In retrospect, I guess I should have asked my Webelos DL to teach us more about shooting his 38 special. But, it didn't draw me at all. I became more interested in firearms as an adult, once I had friends who were avid collectors and had a better sense of what I might enjoy shooting. In my teen years, I was more than content with the .22 in my closet and my bow downstairs. But it never dawned on me that this would be anything I'd want to do with my patrol! My kids were the same way. If the crew scheduled a shooting sports weekend, that was nice, but it was not a "must do" every year. Same for acquatics, or the high adventure bases. But, they always wanted to try to hike someplace challenging.for maybe three nights. Or hit the ski slopes on a bulk discount for a couple days each year. The two youngest wanted to attend venturing summits, son #1's crew couldn't care less. Probably the best way to pick your older scouts' brains is to lay out a bunch of recreation maps of your state, and have then think about what they'd like to see or revisit.

@Warriorpoet, welcome to the forums and thanks in advance for all you'll do for the youth. For the longest time, I wore a wide-brimmed leather hat. Same justification as 'schiff's. However if your scouts feel they want to represent their CO in some way, maybe they can opt for headgear that closely matches the legion caps, or simply designate that leaders who are members of the CO may wear their legion caps while in their troop uniforms.

If there's a teachable female ASM out their. Encourage your buddy to take the leap.

I'm shocked! Who would have guessed that all of that gory retelling would have inspired her to respond with equally copious self-justifying verbiage. On the other hand ... This young man ... the only person you need to answer to!

Even shorter than @ParkMan's, I would say ... This is definitely one of those "less is more" situations.

1. If by field uniform, you mean nice floral print tropical shirts with matching hats and Bermuda shorts, then yes, that's what they'll expect you to wear for flags and arrival. :D Generally, while navigating airports, etc ... I find being in uniform to come in quite handy. Otherwise, don't count on needing it for the rest of the week. 2. Definitely scout t-shirt in Key-West. It's nice to have something that will help you spot your boys. Personally I found it really handy to rent a bike for the day. Also, if you don't look like you've just hopped off of a cruise liner, the artsy gift shops might put out lower price tags. 3. I never used dive booties. So, I can't help you there. 4. Learn kettle drum, and sing, "Don't worry, be happy, every little little thing's gonna be alright ..." More seriously, if you are doing patrol method properly, with patrol sites 100 yards from your adults and the nearest patrol, then this wont be an issue. If your adults have been running herd over the youth, then expect this to be a problem that won't easily be fixed. 5. What you brings of your own depends on how much you want to pay the airline.

E94, NO! Just no! This is not about her. (Well it is, but that's between her and the Almighty.) Just talk up what your boys are getting in the new troop (i.e. the promise of scouting) that wasn't being delivered in the old one. And tell her that if she wants to roll out the red carpet for the next leader, she'll work on delivering that promise to all the scouts in her troop.

@Eagle94-A1, if this keeps up, you won't have any more posts to us screaming for advice on how to fix stupid.

Unfortunately, many of the rural councils were teetering on collapse, so the mergers and acquisitions were the only way to keep those districts afloat. We're trying to keep everyone happy. As it turns out, venturing is working relatively well in some small towns. It's been a rough decade. FYI - Sharon is an excellent scouter.

Yeah, I once chastised one DE at a council venturing committee for wasting our time with lists of paper crews. I never asked a scout to fill out a crew application on the spot. Being in my crew was a real commitment. I was blunt about the time commitment. I insisted that the scout complete his own application and told them they were to get their parent's signature only after they had talked about what they were signing up for. Thank you for not wasting your council registrar's time.

The board probably has an executive committee, but that hardly matters. The COR can certainlly get advice from the pastor and board members, then choose a course of action that represents the church's wishes. Nobody in BSA can gainsay that.

So, @Devotedautismadhdmom, is the pastor the institution head (IH)? I ask because in some churches, the chair of the church board is the IH, and often they designate the Pastor with the authority to take immediate action in theses kinds of situations (Sometimes the Pastor can be the COR.) In any case, their decision trumps BSA's. The buck stops there. Seen it done. The IH can most certainly file a restraining order on any person or group who unlawfully acts against their organizations wishes. This doesn't have to be a long drawn out thing. She calls the police and says an imposter is trying to insert himself uninvited into one of her congregation's youth programs and is disrupting the peace and her church's freedom of association. Period.

My take: people of various affiliations who gathered together on a national plaza expressed their dislike for one another's associations. Nobody was shoved, punched, stabbed, blugeoned, or shot. It was a good day for freedom of expression in America.