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This has been coming down the pike for a couple of years. Nation-wide fewer packs have been sending their leaders to round-tables. With some districts now the size of councils, travel to RTs has been a limiting factor. My prediction: expect to see more issues discussed/resolved via Scoutbook forums and more home-grown online training. There will be some interactive online forums, but that will vary with the volunteer pool and access. Also, expect to see packs and troops within reasonable travel distance forming ad hoc districts.

I do make an effort to get introduce our senior scouts to executives. I think it is important that pro's see the "end product." DE is a discouraging job in the face of shrinking membership. It is definitely not an end in itself for most pro's. But, it can pay a few bills, and if one sticks with it for a couple of years it demonstrates that you are willing to work harder than average. Future employers value that in managers. And, it is one of those rare jobs where you talk face-to-face with a lot of people, and help them navigate a complicated organization on behalf of their kids. Some of those people run business, and need employees to help their customers navigate their complicated company, so the opportunity to network is not trivial. Honestly, the only way to make a DE's job easier is to show up at HQ with a pile of membership applications and maybe the address of an interested donor that you met without his/her assistance.

Just a little update ... this year starts with WOSM officially welcoming as it's 171st memo: Afghanistan National Scout Organization (ANSO) https://youtu.be/TQX0GjqbOrA

Tell me about it ... the Orothodox half of me has been waiting for you all to come back for 10 centuries. But that half ain't roses either. Although sure of themselves when it comes to restrictive sexual ethics, they are unparalleled in global political intrigue (living up to every nuance of the word Byzantine).

Unlike the BSA, the UMC parishioners affirm one catholic (i.e., universal church) in the Apostle's Creed. Letting issues be local or regional is not an option. That is why the folks who are slinging a permissive sexual ethic want the restrictive folks to operate under a different name. They believe that their permissive ethic is the outflow of a united methodical Christian exercise. Basically they are saying to the traditionalists, "You can have your heresy, we'll keep the brand." Obviously the folks with the restrictive ethic would rather the permissives move on, but to my knowledge they've made no offer to give them their capital. The offer to keep properties at (presumably) no cost for separation is a generous one. For reference, many churches among the rising Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians, and other spin-offs of the PC/USA paid substantial sums for an amicable separation.

Bugling seems to have the same problem as pull-ups. Really hard to increase your count if you only practice on weekends. It seems that there should be a way to sync this with personal management or personal fitness. @SSScout, I think you should write a scouter's guide to skills acquisition. Call it How to Get There from Here.

Call the captain at Seabase and ask how to best put in for multiple Big Munson dates. Most troops have one date for any adventure. That's why the system is set up to pick that first, and troops select as many adventures as they would likely accept on that date. Then, if you "lose" the lottery in the first round, you are contacted about other similar adventures/dates that "winning" troops passed on. I sort of wish they'd have an instant run-off. As soon as you are registered you get assigned a number. That determines your "draft" order. A low number means you'll likely get your pick. A high one means you have to wait for the low numbers to lock in their choice. The top of the draft has to make their pick of adventure and date in a week. It's a little rough on the troops who get a high number, but at least they know that they should prepare to accept scraps or start looking for a plan B.

The restoration of migratory bird sanctuaries in the Middle East is a perennial challenge. One conservationist deploys scouts to help.

It would be wrong to be outraged. In parts of America ... unless it involves charcoal or mesquite ... men are not to be making snacks or cleaning up after. We may disagree, but only on subjective grounds. Some folks have found certain efficiencies when sexes live up to assigned expectations. When we're working with volunteers, there is no winning strategy that will change that unless in a given unit a female is obviously the best choice for direct-contact leader and the men would do better assisting her, and the men work at the chocolate factory. On the other hand, Son #2 was the go-to guy when anyone in his class needed a cake baked or when his buddies (of either sex) needed someone to cook up breakfast. And, when daughter-in-law was still in training, it was clear that Son #1 was the better cook. They are evenly matched now, and I've seen him chased out of the kitchen to go watch the game on a regular basis. Finally, if you like to taste the chili in your chili, pray that the lot of them -- including Mrs. Q -- are otherwise occupied and I take over the spice rack.

I'm in a community that firmly believes in that the ideal unit leader would be male. I do worry that many good leaders for our boys are being passed over because they are women. Heck I always told my crew up front that they got stuck with the least qualified adult for a crew advisor. But, I also have to admit that my belief takes a back seat to what parents believe. The opposing opinions are intrinsically subjective. By the way, considering how hard it is to get my bulk where it can grip the plug, oil changes would go a lot more quickly if the gals took ownership of them.

I think this depends on what one observes in their community. We boys responded to den moms pretty well, I think, because there was no uncertainty of the belt that would come down upon our backsides if word got to our dads that we were the least bit disrespectful. That seemed to be pretty much the culture nation wide. So, moms were seen as the ideal den leaders. Then, in Webelos we got a male leader and boy did we give him a hard time! In other parts of the world, older teens are seen as the ideal den leaders. Parents are nowhere to be seen. The few adults were mentors to the older teens who ran the program. So imagine a scoutmaster for about 120 youth, both sexes, ages 5 to 20. I had friends raise their kids in Czech scouting. They missed the involvement of adults. On the other hand, their boys had an exceptional level of maturity. I'm sure there are places where much older men are the ideal leaders for the youngest scouts. Now, when it comes to managing adults as well as youth, I've seen that forceful men can wind up getting baited by these "high speed, low drag" dads, and a unit can get strangled as well as flourish. It's a rare CM who can insist "not in this pack" and still be everyone's ally in raising their kids. BSA has put us in a position where parents have a lot of say with their Cub's advancement. I enjoyed this because it gave me and my sons a checklist of things we (and Mrs. Q) could do together. But it does leave the door open to cerebral types who think it's a good thing to eek the bare minimum out of a kid's life as a scout.

Nobody wins law suits by admitting that things are better now. Worse, statistically the guy's kid is at greater risk at home -- even before factoring in that the kid is living with an abuse victim with trust issues. What's next? Vetting parents and relatives?

To answer your last question first. Plenty of Boy Scouts have no clue about Cub advancement ... especially this version of requirements. It's clear this guy wants to cut corners. The CC should have a sit-down with him. Because the goal is to get the scout engaged with the program as much as possible. Rubber stamping is no way to do that.

About now is pine-wood derby building season. So find some older scouts who made some nice cars. Bring in a local athlete or coach to talk about sportsmanship. A race car driver would be optimal (even better with car).

I've met one or two Belligerents (okay, a few more than that). However, at the cub level, for everyone of those there are at two or three who are really engaging in the program with their scout. They just haven't figured out how to infect the entire den with their enthusiasm. Now, I suspect that @jsychk is assuming the worst because of some prior encounters with the dad. But, so what? The program doesn't get any better if you don't talk to him. If that dad was a scout, the odds of him becoming a unit leader are high. That means that if he isn't even questioned about when the scout tried to experience the patrol method now, it will reinforce the notion that his boy can do scouting on his terms, not the troop's. And hitting that wall that hard is truly divisive and an unpleasant experience for all involved. @TMSM's specific suggestions are very good ice-breakers.

Although I agree with RB that 5 and 6 year olds should not be cooking on their own, if there are adults closely supervising lions and tigers (e.g., cutting and slicing ingredients, etc ...), they would be well within the spirit of the G2SS.

Talk to the dad. How is this hard?

That depends on how you read St.John's Apocolypse. It ends with the City of God, a renewed Jerusalem descending on the renewed earth. We're stuck with this planet, even in the resurrection. That's a good thing.

Don't worry @JoeBob, I don't think the problem is irrational posters. National entertains all kinds of crazy. Inflammatory posters on the other hand ...

Probably only one tarp for everyone's hammock! In addition to those percentages, @Cburkhardt and @walk in the woods, can you provide the number of youth in your districts? That will give us a better idea of how much one districts' gains are offsetting an other distrct's losses.

What some take as your humble attempt to free us from our folly, others take as vindictive. Same sermon, different interpretation, go figure. Happy New Year, Merl! How was your Newton? Did you get pound-cake in your stocking?

Thanks. You confirm several of my suspicions -- especially regarding the Venturing committee's obsession with finding the perfect advancement model ... when that is the last thing concerning most venturers. I hope quality time back in the trenches restores you. Every scout needs a crazy uncle working for their (and their buddies) smiles.

Definitely a productive question (at least more so than "vote the bums out".) Info tech ... put forums on the front burner. Work more ever more closely with volunteer pool. Marketing ... even leaner font guide. Jambo ... sell big-zip tickets to visitors. Let college presidents (aside from WVU?) know that 25,000 youth -- most with academic aspirations -- will be in one place one week. Ask them what they would like to do about it? Supply ... until finances improve: print every document -- including Scouter and Boy's Life -- in black-and-white. Handbook for girls? The line to the young ladies should have been "Make due until we make money." Sell our literature at the WSJ trading post. SMs were telling me they were disappointed to not see it. Summit ... drop the name. Or, rather, use it for the best gathering location for scouts in each district, council, area, and region. Change the goal to developing properties for mini-summits (erstwhile known as summer camp) in every state. I could go on. But, to earn their keep, we need lot's of thought towards ensuring that anybody can scout well within 30 miles of home anywhere in this country. If we don't get it, don't worry, those positions will hit the skids as scouting under different organizations begins to rise to the fore.

@David CO, I don't believe @ParkMan is alone. We all might have salary envy, until we're the guy asked to put in 80 hour work weeks and risk reputation while being in a national spotlight. If those personnel leave for better pastures, it might saddle us with 5 times as much in financial loss due to decisions made by the inept exec who would think a 90K salary is a big deal. Unfortunately, the only folks in a position to know if execs earned their keep are the board. Some of these positions were "earned" through a career of drawing 5 million-dollar donors per year. And that could be a source of the real problem. A million-dollar donor, doesn't necessarily have the vision for what their contribution should look like. Most, would not want it to look like a bunch of fiscally conservative bean counters tightening belts. A few decades ago, some would want it to look like teams of lawyers defending the American way all the way to the supreme court. I'm not sure any donor envisions their contributions as fending off suits brought on by changing statutes of limitations. And we see at SBR that donors known for building envision their bronze statute somewhere on the property. Needless to say, someone caught up in litigation, mortgaging capital, and donor appeasement is not going to be thinking much about program.

So, when you all get a negative recommendation, do you somehow communicate that in advance to the scout so he is prepared to address it at the BoR?