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@TMSM, our troop has basically settled into that routine. Each of our ASMs have different talents, so it makes sense that they should be available to any patrol who asks for them -- as opposed to hovering over one patrol who never asked for it. I really hope that we will soon get a patrol who can only do an activity on a particular weekend or evening, and there will be just the right ASM and one other registered adult available to help that PL make it a reality. That kind of "spark" is what I think will get our patrols really upping their game.

Welcome to the forums! Last December, my kids (all adults, 2 Eagles, one sister-of-said-birds, one wife and one girlfriend who we've given every opportunity to flee) and I visited a pleasant trail in a park on a river island near Vero Beach, FL. On the return loop, one of them spied a granite headstone engraved "donation of (sponsor - a cemetery, go figure), Eagle project of (scout), troop (###)." We were a little bemused by the enthusiasm of the adults who insisted on etching their accomplishment in stone, and felt a little embarrassed for the scout. On the other hand, it was a nice trail, and we were grateful for the scouts who put in the labor to make it so. So, yes, a small plaque recognizing you and your troop's hard work is allowed, it's not a bad idea, and it as not as "out there" as some that we've all seen. Thanks for your leadership in what we can hope will be the first of many service projects in the coming years.

Did it for a while at one SM's request. Told the PL, "If you need me for anything, I'll be elsewhere." He did ask for help addressing one or two issues. And I gave him some pointers on how to handle them, but otherwise I wasn't needed. Moreover, I don't think he other PLs needed specific advisors. I certainly am glad I didn't have such a thing when I was a PL.

You could make e effort to have a chat with him as to what he has against the uniform. Has he had a negative experience from pompous windbags? Does his son not like it? When does he think it should be worn? Or you could tell him to that it's just the way it is and say next time you'll have a loudspeaker ready so he can let even more people know what a jackass his son's CM is.

How am I not surprised? Hopefully the COR has the unit leaders' backs on this. In general, most CO's I know won't countenance gossips. If not, get an exit strategy.

I was impressed by this one: taking a skill you gained (backpacking) and training under-served youth https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2019/08/14/2019-western-region-eagle-project-of-the-year-backpacking-for-underserved-youth/.

I guess all scouting is local. Around here WB classes seem to be an even mix of unit leaders, committee members, and district volunteers. As it stands now, I'm the only guy in my troop who has attended WB. That makes some things a little more difficult. I spend a lot of time clarifying things that would otherwise be obvious. (E.g., "Our boys are storming a bit now, but if we keep encouraging them they'll soon be norming and preforming.") Fortunately we have a few dads who were in boy scouts, so that helps.

Simple, have the PLC's scribe put the term change on the docket ... for a meeting 6 months hence when the SPL's elected term is near complete.

Decisions like these start at our PLC. For example, the flag placement project that I do with our district starts with me asking the PLs three months beforehand if the still want to do it, and if they have anyone who would want to take on coordinating it as a special project. If we don't have a youth willing to coordinate it, it's less likely that we take it on.

I met a forum member. He did data recovery. His was the team who would, after a natural disaster, bring a system back to life so that business would be operating normally even before power was restored. Normally it's very simple work. Go in, confirm that the server farm was indeed flooded because corporate relegated it to the basement, start the generators, boot replacement servers, and ask "We'll send a crew to retrieve off-site back-up. Now, where is that?" "Oh, we backed up to servers in the basement of our sister HQ building across the street." Face-palm. A troop duplicating itself is not redundancy. At least no more than an HQ making copies in the adjacent basement on the same flood plain. Now a scout, his SM, and his counselors could all reside on the same flood plain. But, even so, the odds of one of those records being preserved are greatly improved thanks to the likes of @malraux and @MikeS72. Besides, one of those scouts becomes famous -- especially in the field you counseled -- and you're definitely gonna want to be the guy who says, "Got his blue card for that Hall of Fame induction!"

As one with a brother who ended his scouting career as a Life scout because his SM went AWOL along with all blue cards and not so much as a good-bye or call to the troop across town to help the scouts transfer ... I'd say eight years. And, let several people know exactly where those records are being kept.

And the scout/athlete/musician/scholar. When I was in high school and made plans to attend National Jamboree, I realized that band camp was the same week. I explained this to my band director, and he curtly said that no camp no marching band. I shook his hand and said, "No problem, see you in the winter for stage band." I wasn't the least bit upset. I wanted my school to have the best band around, and if my absence would compromise that, I had no problem being a fan and cheering my time on from the stands. I went to the guidance counselor that day and said I needed to adjust my fall schedule. Again, I made it clear that I wasn't bitter about things and I would use the time to do more lab work (extricating entire nervous systems from specimens was my thing) or shop (which would give me more skills to make mounts and displays of the former). Next day, the band director talks to me and says, "We'll hold your spot in the line." And they did. (And out of respect, my Jambo troop marched in step as often as possible.) What helped: half of my patrol was in the band. So, they also understood the time crunch. One advantage that I had that scouts do not have now: I could just meet with my buddies (patrol, band section, youth group) on my own time ... no adult necessary. So, in addition to my official patrol, I had my non-scout patrols and we'd do whatever suited us. Seriously, if we played tackle football with the drunks across the street from my uncle's bar, nobody would raise an eyebrow. But, we dictated our schedule. It also helped that our football fields didn't have lights. And natural turf needed time to "rest" after hard rains. That freed up lots of evenings and weekends.

You're missing some of the most quality people on FB. Me, for example. () I don't find the correspondence well organized, and I can't search for something two decades old, like I can do here. I am part of one hiking group specific to a location that I frequent. I love seeing picks of berries and shrooms and muddied feet and boots shredded by rocks. Pity those get crowded out by boring images of grand vistas and galaxy shots. But since I'm there enough, I love the surprises. This month, I've tried the Jamboree FB groups. Lots of parents worried that Junior is starving, or that he/she didn't trade all the swag that should have been given away. I created an FB page for my Jambo troop. If I had a do-over, I'd use something else. FB keeps harassing me to shell out $$ for more clicks. An up-and-comer is discussions.scouting.org. Scoutbook is using it for quality improvement. I am hoping to high heaven that our Jamborees in the future will use that exclusively.

Scout handbook. And a small box for blue cards. As a backup, save pictures of the signed handbook pages and blue cards to a cloud drive that the scout shares with his parents. If he is still having a problem seeing the forest for the trees, try a white board with "This month I am working on ..." He would then fill in his short term goals.

As this year's jamboree theme song goes : A lot of us "old souls" went around dancing like fiends, dumping patches and "ruining" the market for traders, teaching leaders from "rule following" countries how to navigate the system, distracting groups from activities and pointing out edible wild plants, setting up flag stands because gateways could only be 8' high and poles only 10' high, etc ... There's a lot to be said for being "that old guy." On the other hand, Mrs. Q did appreciate that I pulled myself away from all of my shenanigans to tidy up outside the house.

WSJ gave me a boost. Also if I don't have scouting as an excuse, church will suck up my time and turn me into an angry old cuss.

1. It's interesting that the press uses the word "former". They have the good sense to know that any of us with that knot were Eagle scouts -- in spite of any NESA rhetoric to the contrary. 2. These stories only show how significant a history of being in active in scouts is in the public mind. 3. There's still a long life in front of this young man. Even if incarcerated, that scouting experience may shed light on an otherwise dark world.

1. Leaders with integrity. Always be on the look-out for them. Train your scouts to be on the look-out for them. There are probably brothers and sisters -- and even their spouses -- in their 20s and 30s who felt muscled out by the old farts. How do I know this? Because it's never just "We've tried boy led, it doesn't work", it's "We've tried {every other category of adult} led, and it doesn't work." Reverse that. 2. Meet on a different night than your former troop. 3. Your scouts have a check-list. It's called the trail to first class. Encourage them to pick topics from the handbook for meeting topics. If they have a common merit badge that they are interested in, encourage them to think of the kind of program they'd want to have around it. 4. Your girl PL+APL and boy PL+APL should meet from time-to-time and compare "notes." 5. Accept that the constraints requiring adults to be everywhere for everything is an impediment to patrolling, so as these scouts master skills and mature, they will hike and camp independently with their mates. (With or without, you, BSA.) Be understanding if some of them decide to leave our organization to do so. Always encourage them to come run their plans by you or another caring adult with experience.

@JulzIsCool99, welcome to the forums! I'm sorry that your folks won't let you sign up. The Aussie scouts who I met at World Jamboree seemed to be a great lot. Step 1 in life: listen to your parents. Did they say there was a reason why they don't approve of scouting for you? Do they let you do other good things? Have you or your parents met scouts in your community?

@Owls_are_cool, welcome. You're example of adults unable to "drop everything to camp" lies at the crux of how our litigious society has gutted any possibility of patrolling happening in BSA. What does patrolling look like? Well, as one Portugese girl explained it to me: "We're all trained in hiking and camping, so I get with my patrol and we make a plan, let or folks know it, and go hike and camp there." So also, did a few of the British, Danes, Swedes, etc .... Now their groups are within four years of age. So, that controls the YPT a bit more tightly. But patrols are often mixed sex. And how they segregate in tents seems to depend on the country (and I suspect local culture). The notion of having to acquire two adults of opposite sex before the patrol could even meet is patently absurd to all of them. The can't imagine a patrol would have a chance in the BSA. At the point where they realize this, I ask them, "Please pray for the US, we really need it."

Good point, if the ECoH is at the beach, and surf's up, bring your board and hang ten!

If "Dad" dresses in tank top, swim trunks, and grass skirts ... go with the uniform. I wore my ASM uniform to my Sons' E-CoH's. This is nothing new. My dad was a committee member, and in our troop, MC's never wore uniforms. Sunday best for CoHs. However, it's a big country with a lot of history. There are pictures in the archives of dads in uniforms at scouts' ECoHs. Heck, I think I remember one of a scout in uniform at his dad's ECoH! Some dads who are pros wear the professional dress uniform. Whatever you put on, don't forget the most important part: smile! It's a great day.

FWIW, I received Dutch and Indian neckerchief slides. So, don't think the rest of the world isn't going home to tight neckerchiefs!

I think the main purpose is to again demand that GS/USA and BSA get beyond all of their marketing doublespeak and serve the youth of this nation. Not a single Eagle-bound girl who has joined our program cares what we call it. Nor does any Gold-bound girl give two-hoots if they were called "guides" in any other country. Spell out the facts, have the judge determine fair use, and get beyond these shenanigans.