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If we are coming in above budget, we usually cover dues or camp costs.

You moved and your boys stuck with scouts. That’s a win! No personal experience. My kids are just not that creative. (They went on to study chemical engineering). Our troop had a scout or two with brothers in another unit. They all grew up just fine.

@ThenNow, thanks for the perspective. It sounds like step 1 was recognizing that you didn't do enough to stop an nefarious person. Step 2 is to recognize that nefarious people know how to avoid being stopped. They game the system, and that's intimidating to a young person who barely understands how the system works. That means that, yes, you didn't do enough, but that does not mean you weren't good enough. To get the kind of victory you're thinking of, you needed a lot of other people around you to be open and brutally honest. But, the culture was not standing by the young people who would do that. BSA was part of that culture. I think the biggest problem was that they were arrogant enough to think they had a solution.

@skeptic, Fauci was on NPR 1A this morning saying that he wouldn't expect a roll-out to elementary age kids until sometime next year. (That's not to say one shouldn't vaccinate a child with asthma or other serious condition.) The fact that youth are at the least risk is a reason to hold off on the vaccine until side effect data are in from everyone under the emergency use authorization (EUA). The current vaccines have had about 1000 claims of deaths after administration to 40,000,000. That's way better then the lethality of the virus in adults, but it's not better than how infected kids have fared under natural exposure. Arguably, most -- if not all -- of those claims may not be valid upon autopsy. But the EUA for all three vaccines were based on trials of adults, so the side effect profiles are concerning enough that the pediatric trials will start and proceed with caution. Also, FWIW, the margin of error (confidence interval) on the single dose's 85% efficacy against severe illness or death ranges from 54% to 97%, and there was enough variability among trial designs that one shouldn't say that the efficacy is "slightly lower" than the mRNA vaccines. All three vaccines are performing quite well against placebo's. We don't think one is performing much better than the other. So, expect to have a tough time recruiting in communities with pandemic-addled parents whose kids are not going to get vaccinated for a while.

Thanks @CynicalScouter. The retention of units makes it quite clear that LDS, folks with a restrictive sexual ethic, and litigation have become a perfect storm. Nothing against pros. They are in an impossible situation ... trying to sell registration at a higher cost than many parents/scouts are willing to pay ... and trying to do it without handshakes in-person. Many CO's are on the brink of collapse. If we've hit bottom, we might see some rebound post-pandemic. But I think that won't happen until '22, based on when vaccine will be rolled out to kids.

It's been a while, but some of my favorite visits were to: The volunteer fire house, One of the dad's commercial photography studio. Nature trails, Ball games. Marching in parades! For our district, I coordinate a flag placement one evening in advance of Memorial day. Lots of Lion/Tiger parents tell me how much they appreciate that!

Gentlemen, didn’t Mama tell you it’s not polite to inquire of a lady’s age?

I'm sorry. In my frame of reference, sexism and hypocrisy are two different things. It is possible to eschew one and not the other. Regardless, I think the point is that those who favor organizational segregation do not feel that they are sexist. And, although they feel alternate views are philosophically inconsistent, they have not labeled the people who hold them as hypocrites. For my part, I think it's a mistake to lionize this batch of Eagle scouts. If there was a "lion" in this movement, it was Mike Sarbaugh, who made the executive decision to grant girls access to the program, and proceeded over a couple of years to "herd" a critical mass of scouters into accepting it. Of course, he was pushed along by numerous venturers and arrowmen who kept questioning the principle of sex segregation. If one good thing comes from GS/USA's suit, it will be a discovery of the thinking of both national boards -- great fodder for some historian to synthesize in the next decade and think of better ways for both organizations to collaborate for the well-being of your youth. That process will take decades of iteration since our nation lacks a POTUS who (perhaps, along with the 1st lady) will lean on execs in both organizations to "play better together." But, interfering not help election prospects, so here we are.

Was the post edited, or the word misspelled? Because when I searched, you were the first to use it in this thread. I ask, because we do call each other out on ad homenim arguments, and would have done so had I noticed.

Without telling them, there were several reasons why I wanted our troop's boys and parents to know about this recognition: It might inspire a few sisters to "Scout In". It also gives Scouts BSA girls who are also in GS/USA a pulpit to promote the Gold Award. Some of you are negative about that, but I consider it to be a positive. For a number of reasons GS/USA has not tracked the future successes of its top awardees. Sure, lots of us here know about it, but IMHO it does not have the on-the-street recognition that it deserves. Some of our scouts get stalled in their advancement, and don't realize how quickly they can move things along. There were some good project ideas there. Most Life scouts could use more ideas. The social media interaction might inspire our scouts to try something similar. Some of our boys are making instructional videos for school. So, more examples of scouts presenting and recording themselves might help that process. Some of our boys can relate to the testimonials about stepping up to leadership challenges. They aren't comfortable with it. Or, they try once and it ends badly (e.g., a boy may get labeled "bossy" just as readily as a girl). Regardless, it helps for those boys to know that other kids are out there who once felt the same way and learned to lead well in the process of advancing. Anyway, I shared the link with the troop because the list of positives about the event overshadowed the "first ever" hoopla.

Welcome to the forums! As St. Ambrose told St. Monica, "When in Rome ..." Ask your troop if their are any insignia dorks among the leadership, and pose the question to them. If nobody in the troop has an opinion, here's mine: Since you're buying loops and #s anyway, match whatever your son's doing. Me personally, I just get whatever is selling for less at the time and slap it together. Don't bother trying to "stay vintage" unless you're also going to stick with a vintage council strip and other patches that you may have worn as a scout that would carry forward when you turned 18. And, the only reason to do that is if you ever expect to give your shirt to a scouter from another country letting him/her know that you tried to maintain its historical accuracy. When you pass off a uniform as vintage, however, it is good form to keep a card with it explaining the period that your trying to match, and the meaning of each insignia. This helps the person who gets the shirt to appreciate the effort that you made and increases the likelihood that the shirt will travel the globe as one whole unit. This is a nice way to navigate the scouterverse, but too much work for me!

Linked troops allow for all the interaction requested by most American youth. So, what happens in the next few years will depend on the long-term stability of units for girls, and the affordability of a CO chartering two linked-units. If linked units wind up posing a bureaucratic nightmare at the CO level, then we'll see demand for integrated units. As @Eagledad mentioned, depth of leadership is the limiting factor -- especially for linked troops. Joint activities would require, at minimum, two female adult leaders. And, in the real world, female adults will have obligations to girl-specific scouting organizations as well as Scouts BSA. I find it a source of dismay that BSA and GS/USA have not collaborated to form an association to honor the youth who earned top awards in either organization.

The simple reason is that sex segregation is preferred among American youth. Based on my discussions with young people, there is not a great demand for full integration. Most youth in my area are fine with sex segregation and find it somewhat refreshing. That begins to shift at age 14 ... thus the shift toward venturing. Of course, it’s a big country, and demand for a fully integrated program may rise with time. But, that hasn’t happened in the largest scouting associations around the world.

Inside joke from Dude Perfect in Overtime addicts.

Tangent: I have a former scout bemoaning the lack of a decent fish fry in the Denver area. Anybody know of some church/school who does a good one but might not be internet savvy enough to advertise?

There is not much on social media that uplifts. So, that was a really smart move. If your district is just a mean girls club, avoid them. If not, and you're pretty sure that it's the depression that's making you feel inferior, work on your resilience before taking them on in very small does. There are a precious few people whose approval a CM needs to seek, and they are mostly less than 5 foot tall. (Includes your son.) Are you treating them well? Do they like what you are doing? As for parents and such who have it put together, eat some humble pie and let them know how much you admire them. Let them know the things you see them doing that you couldn't possibly see your self doing. (Little things like talking to everyone, or making lots of phone calls, or even going to Woodbadge.) Start encouraging your ACM to step into some responsibilities. Regarding troop life ... cross that bridge when you come to it. A whole lot can happen in a year. Why go through all of this trouble? Because somewhere in this pack are scouts who will eventually have to face down their own anxiety and depression, and ten years from now they'll need a coach who's been there.

Mrs. Q and I are watching. well put together.

Love following these guys and every turn of the screw. The “7 minutes” is interesting, but I’ve been geeking out for decades over the planetary science and the engineering white papers while finding the PR stunts to be a cute sideshow. So, let’s sweeten the discussion ... The NASA pitch includes getting people to Mars within the next few decades. But what if, instead of a few manned missions, we send hundreds (as opposed to a few dozen) robots? Once delivered, each one could be managed by a group of 6-8 youth for a couple of months. Those youth would learn to drive the thing, be assigned experiments, scout around, observe and report. And not just Mars, we could put patrols, virtually, on every planet, moon, asteroid, comet, and other rocks orbiting Sol.

So few parents ever camp with us, that I am thrilled when they come along. I gently ease the parent into our culture. I have far too many fish to fry to worry about a parent and child who want to camp together. It's a phase that I've never seen last long enough to be disruptive. If I can get my patrols to camp 300' from each other and me, the parent thing will never be a problem. My coffee is just that good. Regarding @karunamom3's council recommendation, I am very skeptical about how this might curb airborne pathogen transmission. Cars and cabins have the manifest risk. By virtue of ventilation, tents and tarps are probably safer than school.

Yep. Once you push the paperwork, put on the uni. It’s a little strange for me because I grew up in a troop where only the SM (not even the ASMs) wore a uniform. And, yes, we boys showed up in uniform to each meeting. So, if it takes you a while to get that paperwork done, but there are things you can do that will assist the SM, doing them won’t keep any scout from looking sharp.

FWIW - My barista just told me today that he's getting regular swims in at his community center. Call your local pool manager, and explain your situation. Your scout might find out that it's easier to get a time slot than he/she thinks -- especially for someone who wants to demonstrate lifesaving skills.

@David CO's is the way that I apply it. And, it's what we expect from our camp aquatics directors. There is simply way too much on the line. If you haven't seen the scout do it, he hasn't done it. This pandemic makes it worse. A lot of youth are not getting normal amounts of time in the water. A piece of paper does not tell if a scout has gotten out of shape -- physically or mentally. It happens all the time. There was one year where I slipped on my time for my sprints. I wouldn't let me guard an aquatics area until I got back into condition. But, if a scout is "all that" it takes only a couple of hours at the pool for him/her to show you that he/she is "all that."

Youth who are only ever cub scouts are never in the denominator. The denominator is always only youth who have been registered in a program where they could earn Eagle. There’s always a “better number”. My preferred calculation is the total number of scouts who ever earned Eagle, divided by the total number of youth who were Boy Scouts, Varsity Scouts, Male Venturers, or (now) Scouts BSA. I did that once a while back and came up with a figure of about 3%. My main knock on troops with an “Eagle or Bust” mentality is that it is a discouragement to boys who only want to be 1st Class scouts.

The 6% is a simple #Eagles in a year divided by #Scouts and Venturers<18. (Click here for gory details.) It does not include cubs, but it would include crossovers. Our troop has gone through "boom" and "bust" stages. Some years 1/3 of the scouts earn it, other years maybe 1/30. Both of my sons' dens nearly entirely crossed over. I think over half of Son #1's den earned it, while Son #2 was the only one from his den who did.

@SSScout 40 million US deaths would be unlikely even in the worst case scenario. There's no need for hyperbole. A single-cause mortality of 4 in 10K is a bad year on the epidemiologist's yardstick. Someone asked me why we would treat a rate of .0005 as if it were Ebola. So, I looked it up. Over two years, Sierra Leone saw 3956 Ebola deaths in a population of 7.1 million ... 5.57 in 10K or .000557. Some of our states are wishing they only had Ebola-like mortality.