RememberSchiff

Informative first post, welcome to scouter.com

President Donald Trump’s nominee for Ambassador to Japan, Bill Hagerty, is an Eagle Scout. ... told those at the Friends of Scouting 2017 Williamson County Good Scout Event that being Senior Patrol Leader of his scout troop in Gallatin 40 years ago helped develop his confidence as a leader. Hagerty, 57, co-founder of Hagerty Peterson & Company, a private equity investment firm, and Eagle Scout, who served as Tennessee Commissioner of Economic Development from 2011-2014 and on the Trump transition, spoke At Embassy Suites Hotel Cool Springs about how the skills he learned in The Boy Scouts of America helped him in his life and business career. ... “I think the two points I made that Scouts teaches you leadership and confidence,†Hagerty said referencing his speech. “The leadership skills are all learned through the patrol method in Scouting.†The patrol method, which breaks the scouts in to smaller groups that work together within the troop with its own leadership structure, helped Hagerty have the confidence get his first job at 14 and was named senior patrol leader in his Gallatin, Tenn., Troop at 17 which went to the BSA National Jamboree in Washington D.C. ... “I think it’s the recognition of the investment that adult leaders placed in me as a boy,†said Hagerty who now works with his son’s troop. “It’s taken a lifetime to translate but I hope that the leadership abilities that I learned in Scouting as a boy will continue to guide me as I move on to Japan and try to represent our nation there to the best of my ability.†“I didn’t think about it at the time, but as I look back on it was because I understood how to be a leader, how to listen, how to organize my thoughts, how to set goals and how to execute them,†he said. https://springhillhomepage.com/new-ambassador-to-japan-traces-leadership-skills-to-scouting/

What if the program year started with 4-6 months of training and practice with NO advancement (no sign-off). Then the rest of year (includes summer camp) would be Advancement (test, sign-off, BOR, COH). Service would be year round. Might ground the helicopter parents and derail the Eagle Express.

Agree. Too much process and adult involvement.

Welcome to scouter.com First you need to find a Merit Badge Counselor for each respective partial merit badge. The official answer lies here http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/guidetoadvancement/themeritbadgeprogram.aspx 7.0.4.3 What to Do When Requirements ChangeThe current annual edition of Boy Scout Requirements lists the official merit badge requirements. Once new or revised merit badge requirements appear in this publication, which is released each January, any Scout just beginning work on a merit badge must use the requirements as stated there. If changes to merit badge requirements are introduced in a revised merit badge pamphlet after the January release of the Boy Scout Requirements book, then the Scout has until the following January 1 to decide what to do. He may continue—or begin work—using the old merit badge requirements and the old pamphlet; or he may switch to—or begin work—using the new requirements and the new pamphlet. Unless it is otherwise stated in the merit badge pamphlet, Boy Scout Requirements, or official communications from the National Council, if a Scout chooses to use the old merit badge requirements and pamphlet, he may continue using them until he has completed the badge. There is no time limit between starting and completing a badge, although a counselor may determine so much time has passed since any effort took place that the new requirements must be used.

Doesn't stop scouts from earning (nod and a wink) it at summer camp.

From http://www.artofmanliness.com/2013/04/15/the-boy-scouts-of-america-then-and-now-a-comparison-of-the-1911-and-modern-handbooks-and-merit-badges/

#5. Activities not allowed or constrained by GSS. There have been discussions in the past about paint-ball, water guns,... In the past, some members have mentioned their unit holds those activities "outside of scouting" as a family activity. #10. I was referring to your own personal liability insurance. As I recall, @@Stosh was one who suggested this. Seemed like a good idea.

I will try hard not to take offense at being compared to an alcoholic. Over the many years, I have learned much from this forum and unlike dialog with National, I have received response(s)! I would like more new members to join in the discussion. Unlike a regular Round Table, we are not able to elicit a response from those lurking in a topic. Here's a brief list of some of my take-aways, in no particular order. 1. When being told a BSA policy, procedure, policy, ASK WHERE IS THAT WRITTEN! Not written, just an opinion. Note many members post corroborating links when they respond. 2. Learn to say NO. Balance your time, family is MOST important, Scouting is further down the list. 3. Most likely the only way to fix a problem with a scout unit is to transfer to another. Childhood years are short and will not come again. 3a. Not having fun, it is time to go. 4. It is okay to have second thoughts, even drop, program aspects that are not delivering locally - OA, FOS, JTE, WB, 5. It is becoming more common to take an activity "outside of scouting" as a unit family activity. 6. Not all Methods are equal. Patrol Method. Patrol Method. Oh and Patrol Method. 7. The frustrating "Nod and Wink" (having it both ways) is everywhere. There are always exceptions/contradictions to BSA rules. 8. Transfer camp properties to a trust outside the reach of council. 9. Don't count on Council to support you in any confrontation with parents. 10. Don't count on BSA insurance (do you personally have a copy of the policy?), carry your own liability insurance. 11. Yes the Eagle Scout project is a scout activity. Yeah seemed obvious to me too. 12. Parents want their kids to carry their phone, deal with it. Remember the no-electronics discussion? 13. Sadly most CO's and Eagle Scouts are not involved in Scouting. 14. There has been much constructive criticism here regarding to all the changes in Medical form. (SS#, body fat, photo permission, carrying meds) and rank/award requirements. National just could not get it right. 15. There is much constructive criticism here regarding WB, NYLT, JLT,... Some members have posted their old training materials! Thanks! 16. The merit badge program appears broken at council level while some troops are handling the merit badge program rather well. Takeway, work on recruiting parents and setting up a program within troop. Recruiting talent outside of scouting is difficult at best. 16. Most scouting is local, i..e., most will not attend a HA center, Jamboree, or go on a distant trek. Above is a partial list. My $0.02,

Well at least we are helping more than bsalegal.com

Don't get me going about Cooking merit badge.

Back in the day, four of us scouts asked and received permission from our one adult advisor to ascend Baldy on an afternoon hike. There was no sign-in log. Our plan was to reach treeline by nightfall and see the sunrise from the peak. We got about 2/3's the way up before pitching tents for the night. Since a peak ascent in time for sunrise now seemed unlikely to us, we waited on the trail the next morning for the rest of our patrol (6 scouts and advisor) and summited as a whole patrol by early afternoon. Our advisor had this look on his face - "this is how I thought this would play out". Upon returning down, there was a thunder shower with ball lightning hitting a peak south of Baldie. Great experience.

Back in the day, I don't recall a time restrictions to starting hikes. The no-go or time-to-return decisions were ours to make.

If there are no MBC's for a merit badge is it still a merit badge? Wasn't one or two of these new merit badges going to be offered online?

Thanks for the info. A variety show fundraiser with an 80 year run - amazing. And for scouting too!

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/history/newcastle-gang-shows-80th-anniversary-12892349 Meanwhile, UK Scouting membership has grown by almost a quarter in the last decade - and there are now more than half a million Scouts. The Scout Association said its membership had gone up from 450,455 to 550,457 members in the last decade, and in this time female membership has grown from 69,996 to 128,042. All of which means it’s rather timely that the Newcastle Gang Show is celebrating its 80th anniversary. Please tell me more about this Newcastle Gang Show

In addition to showing us the outdoor do's and dont's, he hoped our PL would adopt his leadership style and beliefs which may have been better suited for coaching football.

Our assigned ranger, we first called him Super Scout but by the next day his nickname was shortened to SS and meant something different. Anyway, he insisted we be on the trail by 0700 fed or not, gear wet or dry. Let's Go! Go.Go. After he left us, we slacked some, but our gear was dry and we were not eating cereal on the trail - a happy balance.

Too true. I know a scout who was away on a school trip during his planned Eagle project work week. In his absence, he "delegated" the on-site project leadership to his Dad. IMO, that was another troop service project not an Eagle service project.

So far, I have not found the name of the Minnesota church. I wonder if it is a CO?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/pathfinder-window-sold-1.4066518 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Stafford_Carlos The Pathfinder window is believed to be the only pane copy in North America of the iconic Jesus and a Boy Scout painting by Ernest Stafford Carlos. Carlos permitted only two windows to be made and placed in churches - St. George's in New Brunswick and a church in England. The latter church was destroyed during WW2. From Wiki link Soon after the launch of Robert Baden-Powell's Boy Scout scheme in 1908, Carlos founded the 107th London Scout Troop, now the 21st Camberwell (Trinity) Scout Group.He painted a number of pictures of Scouts between 1910 and 1915, which helped to bring the ethos of Scouting to a wider public. Titles included A Ripping Yarn (1910), If I Were a Boy Again (1911) and Good Service Work in a London Slum (1913). Perhaps the best known is The Pathfinder (1913) which shows a young Scout with the hand of Jesus Christ on his shoulder. It was widely circulated as a print, and a copy has featured on the set of the television soap opera, Coronation Street since 1961. One of two original versions of The Pathfinder, together with a number of Carlos's other Scouting works, are held at Gilwell Park in Essex, the headquarters of The Scout Association. A print of original painting http://shop.scouts.org.uk/p-3912-the-pathfinder-print.aspx From Wiki link (continued) ... Carlos is buried close to the battlefield at Chester Farm Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery.[7][8] His family's memorial to him is a window depicting The Pathfinder in stained glass at Holy Cross Church in Hornchurch. Several other churches across Britain have a Pathfinder stained glass window, as does one in Canada (see New Brunswick link above -RS). In Greater Manchester, a Pathfinder window which was made for a Scout headquarters in 1924 as a war memorial was threatened when the building was sold; in 2007 a public appeal raised £21,000 to have the window installed in Saint Gabriel's Church in Middleton.

To those parents, you are young (meaning inexperienced), not a parent, and an outsider. Oddly, they do not see you as a "product" of Scouting and that in a few years their sons may be quite like you. You have to do more than "help others", you have to market yourself to the parents. introduce yourself, tell them your background, show your knowledge and enthusiasm, tell them about their son,.. The older adult leaders should promote your strengths with parents. I saw this news from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (MA) https://www.wpi.edu/news/wpi-students-put-others-first-through-community-service As an assistant scoutmaster and den leader for Boy Scout Troop 54 and Cub Scout Pack 54, David Goodrich Class 2017 Electrical & Computer (Engineering) is able to pass on knowledge and skills he learned during his own experience as a Boy Scout, something he finds rewarding. “It’s a lot of fun to work with scouts the way my leaders worked with me when I was going through the scout program,†he says. He teaches the scouts such skills as gear packing, knot tying, first aid, and cooking, and also helps them carry out the various programs they plan. The scouts range in age from 6 to 10 in Pack 54, and 10 to 17 in Troop 54, giving him a chance to test his skills at adapting the programs and activities to each audience. David also knows that his volunteer work with the Boy Scouts will be invaluable when it comes to life after graduation. “It’s helped improve my teaching and leadership skills," he says, "so once I become one of the more experienced people at a company, I’ll be better accustomed to training and leading others.â€

Summer wear, the knee socks offered some protection from walking through the brush (burrs, ticks,...) while wearing shorts. Outdoor activities prior to LNT were often off trail - blaze a new trail, set up a new campsite, STALKING, tracking. Today, off-trail activities are generally limited to orienteering, geocaching,.. Garters held up the socks. Tassels (red) you got me, but think of what National would do today with the colors. Green, Gold, Silver, Blue,...or maybe they have.

A troop with 18 ASM's? 42 ASM's?