RememberSchiff

Yes. The "somebody" are all the young ("living as girls"?) women who wanted to join Boy Scouts, or as Venturers, and earn Eagle Scout but were turned away.

Yeah, maybe the marketing pitch will be If you are a boy, plan to be a boy, or even just want to be one of the boys at times ...you can be a Boy Scout. I think it will be another PR problem for BSA if the first female Eagle Scout is transgender. Use leadership to be proactive or be reactive and manage lawsuits? Another $0.02

Feb 3. The National Organization for Women issued a statement urging the youth organization to allow girls to join. NOW cited the efforts of a 15-year-old New York City girl to emulate her older brother, who is an Eagle Scout. The group released a statement urging the federal government to “prohibit any federal support for the Boy Scouts until the organization ends its discriminatory ban against girls.†“The U.S. is one of the only countries in the world that doesn’t offer the opportunity for co-ed scouting for our youth,†said NOW New York President Sonia Ossorio. “By enabling young girls and boys to learn formative skills side-by-side, Scouting can best offer empowerment for all young people to develop into confident leaders.†Boy Scouts communications director Effie Delimarkos said the BSA, which has some coed programs, views boys-only programs as a fundamental cornerstone of its mission. http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2017/02/09/womens-group-calls-on-boy-scouts-to-allow-girls-to-join/ http://nownyc.org/press-releases/national-organization-women-calls-boy-scouts-america-end-discriminatory-policies-let-girls-join/

Whew, no mention in #7 of embezzlement of troop funds. Silly or insulting to adult Scouters? Scout Oath and Law seem sufficient to me. My $0.02,

Does your Council have a Conservation Committee? Around these parts, it seems downsized to just a couple of component task groups - Summer Camp Program and Camp Management. Council Conservation Committee Guidebook http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/430-022.pdf

IMO, scouting program changes in the 70's like the Improved Scouting Program, White Stag, and Eagle Advancement, did more irrevocable membership damage than membership policy changes. Even Green Bar Bill could not undo the damage! Let's see do I have this correct, any woman can be a Boy Scout leader (1988) but her daughters cannot join Boy Scouts unless they are transsexual? My $0.01,

Yes, but if scouts at that school unit cannot recruit their friends from other schools, they often leave scouting.

Interesting, yet the recent Boys' Life lists the Honorary President of the BSA as President Trump. Alternative facts?

IMO Secretary of State Tillerson gave a good speech as the "new guy" to his State Department staff today. I heard no references to Scouting but he did reference the New England Patriots "Do Your Job."

Today in a 56 to 43 Senate vote, Rex Tillerson was confirmed as the new Secretary of State.

Thanks for the reminder. There has been too little mention of Scout Sunday and even less of Scout Week.

Allow me to argue. This is a reactive and likely interim decision. The BSA should have allowed local units the "option" to remove gender identity from membership requirements. In a week, there will be another lawsuit arguing that if a transgender (biological) girl can join then a biological girl should as well. David CO makes a good point about requiring female leaders in units. One person tents next.

Now the second week of the Trump Presidency and none of the four Eagle Scout Cabinet nominees have yet been confirmed.

If I could just get Troop Committee to stop monkeying with website and start helping with activity coverage. Add your own.

If emperors, kings, presidents, and prime ministers were all wonderful role models, would kids need scoutmasters?

David CO, NJCubScouter, Thanks. I did some further googling on fidelity bonding. My findings: - a dishonesty bond ( a type of fidelity bond) with blanket (all employees/volunteers) coverage seems to most relevant. - "provides protection from monetary or property theft or other employee misconduct that can result in a financial loss." - The non-profit organization buys at 0.5 to 1% of coverage? So if troop treasury is $5K then cost is about $50. Hmmm about the cost of BSA volunteer registration. If a "blanket" coverage, the number of employees covered also adds to cost. - "Just like any insurance policy, a fidelity bond comes with exclusions and limitations (deductible?). Once the claims process begins, the insurance company will launch an investigation and attempt to get all of the facts in order to process the claim." I bolded the above sentence as it sounds more appealing than the unit, police, or Council investigating. So does the CO include its unit(s) in a fidelity bond for its whole organization or seek a separate bond for each unit (presumably paid by unit)? https://www.trustedchoice.com/business-insurance/coverage-types/surety-bonds/fidelity/

Boys' Life February 2017 lists on page 2 the Honorary President, BSA - the President of the United States Donald Trump.

David CO on 22 January 2017 - 02:44 PM My CO insists that all officers be bonded. In the very unlikely event that someone absconds with the unit's equipment or funds, the insurance policy would cover the loss. The insurance company would then go after the culprit. The CO also owns the responsibility to secure their assets. This may include providing a secure storage space, insuring the assets from accidental loss, and bonding the people who have physical control over the assets. My CO does all of these things. I think the lesson to be learned here is that a CO needs to put a little more thought and effort into it before problems like this arise. After all, our motto is BE Prepared. This is the first that I have heard of this. Could you elaborate on bonding in your units? Which unit leaders? Who does the bonding? Thanks.

Apologies. In my OP, boy scout Christian James Sanchez was 13 years old.

Arggh. Thanks for the title correction.

Braving a life-threatening storm to rescue stranded scouts, Naval Academy Midshipman 3rd Class Jonathan Dennler, was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal — the two services’ highest award for non-combat bravery. The award ceremony was held Jan. 10 at the Naval Academy in front of fellow Midshipman. In July, Dennler was on a camping trip with Boy Scouts from Texas at Quetico Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada. The troop under came a life-threatening storm with 80 mph wind gusts and lightning strikes. A young scout, 3-year-old Christian James Sanchez, and adult leader, 39-year-old Rorth Lac, were killed when hurricane-like winds brought down two trees into their campsite near Basswood Lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Unable to call for help, Dennler selflessly put the lives others before his own — canoeing more than 1.5 miles in 60 mph winds to a ranger station to call for help and to retrieve medical supplies. "It was an incredibly humbling and unexpected experience," said Dennler. "I'm very thankful to everyone who helped to make that happen and for the support of my family and friends." The award wasn't a surprise to his parents, who also attended the award presentation. Dennler's mother, Monica Dennler, described her son as "persistent and tenacious." "He knows how to persevere, and has a kind heart," she said. "He was the only one who knew what to do back in high school when a classmate broke their leg at a basketball game, because he was an Eagle Scout." Dennler is a political science major and member of 20th Company. He completed two years of college at George Washington University before transferring to the Naval Academy. "USNA has taught me how to work and think in environments where many things are out of my control, and I think the academy helps to create mindsets that put others first," said Dennler. "I am incredibly thankful for those lessons." An active member of the academy's Semper Fi Society, he hopes to serve in the Marine Corps after graduating from the academy in 2019. In attendance at the award ceremony were the proud parents of Dennler, though not surprised by their son’s actions. The Navy and Marine Corps Medal falls in order of precedence just below the Distinguished Flying Cross and above the Bronze Star. It was first bestowed during World War II, to then Lt. j.g. John F. Kennedy. Only about 3,000 have received the award since. To win this award, there must be evidence the act of heroism involved very specific life-threatening risk to the award Scout salute, http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=98373 http://www.militarytimes.com/articles/midshipman-awarded-navy-and-marine-corps-medal-for-heroism http://www.fox9.com/weather/177885712-story

FYI, Tico Perez wrote an op-ed "Rex Tillerson: The Scout will need at the State Department". http://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/os-ed-rex-tillerson-the-scout-we-need-at-state-department-011017-20170110-story.html

IMHO, we should be allowed to reference Scouting and its values in a discussion without any implication of BSA endorsement. Isn't this standard broadcast disclaimer now implied - The views and opinions expressed on any program are those of the producers and/or the persons appearing on the program and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of ...? Perhaps it will become politically correct to speak of Scouting and its value outside of Scouting. My $0.02,

There were some references to Scouting at the Secretary of State hearing yesterday. Here is a quote from Mr. Tillerson regarding the need for leadership and accountability. In recent decades, we have cast American leadership into doubt. In some instances, we have withdrawn from the world. In others, we have intervened with good intentions but did not achieve the stability and global security we sought. Instead, we triggered a host of unintended consequences and created a void of uncertainty. Today, our friends still want to help us, but they don't know how. Meanwhile, our adversaries have been emboldened to take advantage of this absence of American leadership. In this campaign, President-elect Trump proposed a bold new commitment to advancing American interests in our foreign policy. I hope to explain what this approach means and how I would implement that policy if confirmed as Secretary of State. Americans welcome this rededication to American security, liberty, and prosperity. But new leadership is incomplete without accountability. If accountability does not start with ourselves, we cannot credibly extend it to our friends or our adversaries. We must hold ourselves accountable to upholding the promises we make to others. An America that can be trusted in good faith is essential to supporting our partners, achieving our goals, and assuring our security. We must hold our allies accountable to commitments they make. We cannot look the other way at allies who do not meet their obligations; this is an injustice not only to us, but to longstanding friends who honor their promises and bolster our own national security. And we must hold those who are not our friends accountable to the agreements they make. Our failure to do this over recent decades has diminished our standing and encouraged bad actors around the world to break their word. We cannot afford to ignore violations of international accords, as we have done with Iran. We cannot continue to accept empty promises like the ones China has made to pressure North Korea to reform, only to shy away from enforcement. Looking the other way when trust is broken only encourages more bad behavior. And it must end. We cannot be accountable if we are not truthful and honest in our dealings. Some of you are aware of my longstanding involvement with the Boy Scouts of America. One of our bedrock ideals is honesty. Indeed, the phrase "on my honor" begins the Boy Scout Oath, and it must undergird our foreign policy.

Back in that day, I did note my Swimming and Lifesaving MB's for town and private club lifeguard jobs, It helped me get those jobs over 3 summers. A friend in another troop cited his Chemistry MB in applying for a summer chem lab tech job with a paint company. He is now a retired chemist.