RememberSchiff

I would not expect requirement adaptions to extend to any non-special needs but the pc reality is all are special. Kids are not overweight, they have eating disorders. My prediction is that as girls join and approach Eagle, the no's will demand stricter adherence to the requirements for all. That could be a good thing for the program.

Current rank requirements are changed for boys who don't have the strength, stamina, or cognitive abilities, so if girls need flexible requirements the mechanism already exists. https://www.scouting.org/Home/GuideToAdvancement/SpecialNeeds/AdvancementFlexibilityAllowed.aspx Wish that was not the case.

These days, if I see a scout swimming with a coordinated swim stroke and breathing, smart money is that he/she learned as a swim team member or from a private tutor not the Red Cross and not Scouting. Somehow the program became checking off the swim test and not learning how to swim. My $0.02

One of our creative ASM's has told some "family campers, helicopter parents" that the BSA insurance does not cover them and that "scout family outings" cannot be considered scouting activities for advancement. Though it stretches the truth, it seems to be working. Maybe add that into advancement requirements. Since joining Boy Scouts, participate in 10 separate troop/patrol activities without your parents or guardians unless they have been Boy Scout leaders for at least a year (mitigate the Cub Scout culture effect), at least six of which must be held outdoors. Of the outdoor activities, at least three must include overnight camping. These activities do not include troop or patrol meetings . On campouts, spend the night in a tent that you pitch or other structure that you help erect, such as a lean-to, snow cave, or tepee. Hmmm.

Good grief. A November hike in New Jersey? I will be at a high school playoff game thinking about walking around to stay warm.

You may have a Senator in YP class with you. The Senate passed mandatory harassment training "for all senators, officers, employers and interns in the upper chamber". The training must be completed in 60 days.

As I recall that was Backpack's proposal which i was attempting to summarize.

Time for the other half to give it a try. Their plan B will be to turn around and walk down the moderate decline if necessary. Have your second in command check group gear, trail and cabin conditions, water availability. And recheck weather! Fortune favors the bold. Hope you feel better.

My amended advice - Take a complete break from Scouting and take care of your family and yourself. Whatever happens with the Pack drama will not be your fault. Sometimes we forget that we can say No. Best wishes

My advice is to focus on the scout program, specifically Pack adult leadership and not change the program ,i.e., Webelos making part of Boy Scout troop, or focus on processes like advancement. Where are the Pack Committee and parents in this? Are there other strong packs in the area? Have you considered switching from UC and ASM and be just WDL if the Pack Committee and parents are not fortcoming. My $0.02,

Is this a Putin-Crimea joke? A scout troop didn't like the way a Cub Pack was run so they took over the Webelos den with knowledge and assistance by UC and DE?

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So where are we? Poll units. Each unit gets one vote as determined by majority of scouts voting in unit. Who constructs poll? OA conducts voting and? Then what?

Well except Presidential election which is decided by Electoral College and Democrat Presidential primaries decided by Super Delegates.

@@ScoutAbout welcome to scouter.com

Forum members have have been making more mistakes with Up (green) and Down (red) voting. Can the arrow buttons be made larger and positioned farther apart? Could members be allowed to change their vote? Thanks

Maybe, the 2016 population of West Virginia is 1,831,102. Just change the West Virginia Constitution and require that all citizens attend.

Well you got me there.

Experts, some with Disney park experience, were hired who promised the Summit would be financially sustainable. As I recall, their scout attendance predictions were more than double what the actual scout attendance numbers were.

As we know, the National Executive Board has been in the news making decisions for us from palms to membership but what do we know about this board. Did some digging. When and why were they created? "The statute authorizing the federal charter (36 USC 309) to the BSA provides that "An executive board composed of citizens of the United States is the governing body of the corporation. The number, qualifications, and term of office of members of the board are as provided in the bylaws. A vacancy on the board shall be filled by a majority vote of the remaining members of the board."[The Executive Board is also required to hold annual meetings and to submit annual reports to the US Congress." http://www.wikiwand.com/en/National_Executive_Board_of_the_Boy_Scouts_of_America What are their powers and duties, etc? See BSA Charter and Bylaws, Article III http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/bsa_charter_and_bylaws.pdf What is the Board composition? The Bylaws states: Regular members - no more than 64, elected at annual meeting for one year terms. Regional Presidents - 4 (Western, Central, Southern, Northeast) Youth Members - appointed by President and approved by Executive Board but no more than 5 Special Members - 4 Chairman of Advisory Council, NESA Presidant, Chairman OA Committee, Chairman Learning for Life. So potentially as many as 77. So how many members really? The 2016 Annual Report p43 lists 76 members by name and location. http://www.scouting.org/filestore/annualreport/2016/2016_AnnualReport.pdf What is the Board demograhics? Beyond location, hard to know. By state: Texas 16 members, California 7 members, Utah 6 members, Georgia 5 members, Missouri 4, Washington 4. Surprising to me, the states with no members - Ohio, Michigan, New Hampshire. By gender: Just guessing at names, I think there are two women on board. So when "a unanimous decision" is reached by the National Executive Board is that 76 votes or a quorum vote? According to by-laws a quorum is 50%. Comments and votes can be submitted electronically. Meetings can be held through electronic means. How often do they meet? At least 3x a year.

Does anyone know regarding my.scouting number of non-redundant, active my.scouting members who are not employees is what % of (total BSA membership - employees) My guess is it is less than 50%.

Doubt that would be fail-proof either, unless the BSA purges redundant BSA-ID's. Through no fault of my own, I think I have three or more different BSA-ID's from past positions and units I can't see going back to the same people and systems that failed in past surveys.

It is trivial to create fake my.scouting accounts. No legit email, phone, or address needed.

Wish I had the tools. There are 43580 registered users on scouter.com but only a small number are active posters. Number of unregistered lurkers ...who knows.

Good points on the issues with a representative survey sample. If scouts did do their "own" survey, as imperfect as it may be, they could certainly do a better job than National did. That could be useful.