RememberSchiff

The convenience of bringing all that the troop has often compromises teaching scouts to plan and bring only what they need. "Well we can't forget anything if we bring everything we got" ... Rarely have that luxury in the real world. To use a trailer for an outing: - start with an empty, inspected trailer. - have scouts (patrols) create an equipment list, food list, WATER - have scouts (or Quartermaster) inspect equipment - have scouts load trailer from list. Learning to load a trailer is a disappearing skill - check trailer lights - SPL asks QM if trailer ready to go - SM asks SPL if troop ready to go. My $0.02,

I think they chilled. Last I heard National's lawyers were looking into Boy Scout Cookie marijuana but that was months ago. http://findmarijuanastrains.com/boy-scout-cookies/

To get scout camping credit it has to be a scout activity - scout troop campout, scout summer camp. No doubt uniform or not, they are scouts. Do I agree with this restriction? No, but given that, it seems inconsistent to me for scouts not to identify themselves and then seek scout service hours credit especially on that Good Turn website. If scouts, uniformed or not,. want to serve and not seek credit, all the better. Hi-Yo Silver. Scouting is mostly invisible in our communities. Remember when scouts could be seen in uniform walking to and from scout meetings?

A scout cannot get credit for camping unless it is a scout camping activity but he can get scout community service credit whether he identifies himself visually or verbally as a scout. Maybe scouts trained in emergency services (Red Cross, FEMA CERT?) earn a special full size square BSA necker when responding. Red necker with white cross? Helping others is more important than uniform but if scouts want to log these hours I think they should wear at least a necker. My $0.02,

"Class sizes range from 8 scouts up to 50 per session." 8 scouts is larger than any MB class that I have held.

The overwhelming dominance of one scouting method, Advancement, in the scouting program is what is bad. The resulting focus on Eagle instead of leadership and character development is wrong. This is not just one or two events. Camporees have merit badges as their themes (I have seen weekend camporees offer 5 safety MBs!). Summer camp is all about MB count. Jamborees? Even the Klondike Derby which was the ultimate yearly patrol competition has been mucked - "Let's add Wilderness Survival MB to the weekend." My $0.02 P.S. Ask a scout which is more fun, school or scouting. If he doesn't immediately and energetically say Scouting, our bad.

Theft-friendly storage? POD storage units may be an alternative.

Old school...Pocket protector Safety first and Be Prepared all in one convenient pouch!

Despite urging Council/District to return to patrol competition camporees, it seems hereabouts recruiting and advancement weekends are taking hold. Council/District Webelos Family Weekends have been around for awhile but troop older scout attendance has been low. How to increase older scout attendance? Advancement, of course, is the answer. Hello Scout Advancement Weekend! Here's an upcoming example from Gulf Stream Council Scouts get a hands on experience while earning merit badges. We offer over 60 merit badge classes. Scouts can take an all-day class or two half day classes. Choices include: Aviation, taught by a pilot and includes a visit to the airport and flight time Engineering taught by an engineer from Sirius/XM radio Environmental Science taught by an environmental science engineer specialist from Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection Fire Safety, First Aid, Medicine, Crime Prevention, Emergency Preparation taught by doctors, nurses and professionals in the police, fire and paramedic fields Music taught by a music professor from PBSC Citizenship classes taught by lawyers Woodworking taught by a master woodworker New classes added this year! Bugling, Collecting, Traffic Safety, Fishing, Backpacking & more…. The Merit Badge counselors for all the classes are either employed in their field or are hobbyist in the class they teach. They have spent many hours preparing for their classes. Class sizes range from 8 scouts up to 50 per session. SAW gives each scout the opportunity to learn from the best and perhaps think of a career choice in the future. Webelos Cub Scouts also join the older Scouts for the weekend to get the Boy Scout experience. Webelos will earn two Adventure Pins during SAW..They are offered a selection of five of their own classes, including Engineering, Build it/Fix it, Art Explosion, Into the Wild and Earth Rocks. The Venturing Crews join us this year completing requirements for the Venturing Discovery Award. Not to leave the adult leaders out, training classes will also be offered throughout the day. Choices could include Scoutmaster Specifics, Merit Badge Counselor Orientation, Introduction to COPE and core skill training such as campfire building, knot tying & more. Up to 15 classes run continuously, so Scouters can fit them into the day’s schedule. Scouters can join us for the whole weekend or just for the day on Saturday. Scouts from all councils are welcome. https://www.gulfstreamcouncil.org/SAW_2016 All in one weekend? Seems over-scheduled and about as much fun as high school but I'm told Advancement is King. My $0.02

Yes, like Buzz Aldrin has something to do with NASA, Mike has something to do with Scouting. IMO, Mike is that uncommon Eagle Scout who is a role model. He is fun guy too, e.g., at our 100th anniversary, he claimed to have taken CLEAN out of Scout Law and then compromised with a slogan "A Scout Is Clean … But Not Afraid to Get Dirty." While National is talking vague and academic about STEM or STEAM programs, Mike is specific and hands-on about national vocational training for high-paying jobs. Personally I had hoped that he would be one of the Key 3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKie47V2lLY

https://www.outdoorhub.com/news/2016/10/12/mike-rowe-shares-wise-opinion-voting/ When asked by a fan, Jeremy, about encouraging everyone to go out and vote, Mike gave this thought-provoking answer. ...I also share your concern for our country, and agree wholeheartedly that every vote counts. However, I’m afraid I can’t encourage millions of people whom I’ve never met to just run out and cast a ballot, simply because they have the right to vote. That would be like encouraging everyone to buy an AR-15, simply because they have the right to bear arms. I would need to know a few things about them before offering that kind of encouragement. For instance, do they know how to care for a weapon? Can they afford the cost of the weapon? Do they have a history of violence? Are they mentally stable? In short, are they responsible citizens? Casting a ballot is not so different. It’s an important right that we all share, and one that impacts our society in dramatic fashion. But it’s one thing to respect and acknowledge our collective rights, and quite another thing to affirmatively encourage people I’ve never met to exercise them. And yet, my friends in Hollywood do that very thing, and they’re at it again. Every four years, celebrities and movie stars look earnestly into the camera and tell the country to “get out and vote.†They tell us it’s our “most important civic duty,†and they speak as if the very act of casting a ballot is more important than the outcome of the election. This strikes me as somewhat hysterical. Does anyone actually believe that Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen DeGeneres, and Ed Norton would encourage the “masses†to vote, if they believed the “masses†would elect Donald Trump? Regardless of their political agenda, my celebrity pals are fundamentally mistaken about our “civic duty†to vote. There is simply no such thing. Voting is a right, not a duty, and not a moral obligation. Like all rights, the right to vote comes with some responsibilities, but lets face it – the bar is not set very high. If you believe aliens from another planet walk among us, you are welcome at the polls. If you believe the world is flat, and the moon landing was completely staged, you are invited to cast a ballot. Astrologists, racists, ghost-hunters, sexists, and people who rely upon a Magic 8 Ball to determine their daily wardrobe are all allowed to participate. In fact, and to your point, they’re encouraged. The undeniable reality is this: our right to vote does not require any understanding of current events, or any awareness of how our government works. So, when a celebrity reminds the country that “everybody’s vote counts,†they are absolutely correct. But when they tell us that “everybody in the country should get out there and vote,†regardless of what they think or believe, I gotta wonder what they’re smoking. Look at our current candidates. No one appears to like either one of them. Their approval ratings are at record lows. It’s not about who you like more, it’s about who you hate less. Sure, we can blame the media, the system, and the candidates themselves, but let’s be honest – Donald and Hillary are there because we put them there. The electorate has tolerated the intolerable. We’ve treated this entire process like the final episode of American Idol. What did we expect? So no, Jeremy – I can’t personally encourage everyone in the country to run out and vote. I wouldn’t do it, even if I thought it would benefit my personal choice. Because the truth is, the country doesn’t need voters who have to be cajoled, enticed, or persuaded to cast a ballot. We need voters who wish to participate in the process. So if you really want me to say something political, how about this – read more. Spend a few hours every week studying American history, human nature, and economic theory. Start with “Economics in One Lesson.†Then try Keynes. Then Hayek. Then Marx. Then Hegel. Develop a worldview that you can articulate as well as defend. Test your theory with people who disagree with you. Debate. Argue. Adjust your philosophy as necessary. Then, when the next election comes around, cast a vote for the candidate whose worldview seems most in line with your own. Or, don’t. None of the freedoms spelled out in our Constitution were put there so people could cast uninformed ballots out of some misplaced sense of civic duty brought on by a celebrity guilt-trip. The right to assemble, to protest, to speak freely – these rights were included to help assure that the best ideas and the best candidates would emerge from the most transparent process possible. Remember – there’s nothing virtuous or patriotic about voting just for the sake of voting, and the next time someone tells you otherwise, do me a favor – ask them who they’re voting for. Then tell them you’re voting for their opponent. Then, see if they’ll give you a ride to the polls. In the meantime, dig into “Economics in One Lesson,†by Henry Hazlitt. It sounds like a snooze but it really is a page turner, and you can download it for free. Mike

At age 90. July, 1939 Eager to climb, Donn left his father and brothers behind, pushing on with Henry and Fred, when bad weather set in. Just as we reached the summit, the mist closed in around us and shut off our view of the mountain below, he said in Lost on a Mountain in Maine (1978), an as-told-to account of his adventure written with Joseph B. Egan. Ignoring the advice of his climbing mates, Donn headed back to rejoin his family. Lashed by rain and disoriented by the enveloping mist, he quickly became lost. And thus began his weeklong odyssey. Recalling his Boy Scout training, he decided to follow a small stream toward what he hoped would be a camp or town. At night, he curled up between tree roots and covered himself with moss. He ate wild berries. On the second day, tripping as he walked in the stream, he lost his sneakers, which he had tied together and carried over his shoulder. Not long after, trying to throw his soaked jeans onto a rock in the stream, he misjudged and watched as the water carried them away. I could not believe it he recalled in his book. My pants were gone." .... Small stones cut his feet. Near-freezing temperatures at night stiffened his limbs. Mosquitoes, black flies and moose flies bit. Somebody ought to do something about those black flies, Mr. Fendler said in Lost on a Mountain in Maine. They âre terrible around your forehead, under your hair, in your eyebrows and in the corners of your eyes and in the corners of your mouth, and they get up your nose like dust and make you sneeze, and you keep digging them out of your ears. He prayed. He hallucinated. One day, he heard a plane circling overhead but could not find a clearing to wave at it. Twice he encountered bears, foraging, as he was, for berries. He began to lose strength and hope, before the sight of telephone wires suggested to him that he was on the right track... Later he made a career in the US Army, earning his Green Beret. Check out the full story and slide show (showing him in scout uniform with a proper necker). http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/12/us/donn-fendler-who-was-lost-in-wilds-of-maine-as-a-boy-dies-at-90.html?_r=0 Other sources: https://www.millinockethistoricalsociety.org/lost-on-katahdin-1939-donn-fendler All scouts should read his book Lost on a Mountain in Maine. or the retelling Lost Trail: Nine Days Alone in the Wilderness Scout Salute and Farewell.

Freudian slip?

An inconvenient truth, merging councils does not grow total membership.Three years later, the membership sum of that geographic area will be less than the membership of its original parts.

Been there, good luck with that...write a letter to SE and National for all that it will help. Expect the BSA "nod and a wink" for your efforts. It is a rewarding experience for me when a scout refuses to turn in a signed MB because he felt the badge was not earned. Doesn't happen often but when it does it is Scouting.

What I am seeing is the Off-the Shelf, shovel-ready projects that DadScouts and CalicoPenn described.

Maybe I am an old grey-beard but this bothers me. I have noticed more "outside" groups advertising or even directly approaching troops with "Eagle projects". Sure this has happened in the past but from "inside" groups - parents, the CO, the scout's school or church...and I frowned on that too. IMO, the scout from his experience helping others should see the need for his Eagle project, not be provided with it. Character-building. Now these "outside" groups are public organizations that a scout could observe a need and develop his own Eagle project if he ever had prior contact, but these "outside" groups are scout-savy enough to promote their needs, some even have plans in hand with cost-estimates. All they need is money and who better to raise the funds via online funding than an Eagle scout candidate? ...or so what, scout got his Eagle and "outside" group got their (whatever), a win-win. My $0.01 for being grumpy.

"The Crossroads of America Scout Band is recognized as the OLDEST, continuously operating Scout Band in America! Founded as a Drum and Bugle Corps in 1917 by Mr. F.O. "Chief" Belzer to play at ceremonies at summer camp and other Council functions, the organization evolved into a full band by the early 1920's. The Band has a rich heritage and has toured throughout the United States, Canada and a trip to London, England to celebrate Scouting's 100th anniversary in 2007. The Band will be celebrating Scouting's 100th anniversary in America in 2010 and its own 100th anniversary in 2017! Have you been a member of the band? If so, please rejoin our group as we are looking for alumni to help us interpret our rich heritage as we near our 100th year!" Schedule of Events 2016-2017 http://www.scoutband.com/forms/2016-2017Calendar.pdf website http://www.scoutband.com/ Scout Salute,

Hopefully unsold liquor will be returned from where it came.

I dunno. Maybe the SE is making calls on distributors, bars, and college fraternities for donations.

"Fishing and hunting equipment chain Cabela's said it agreed to be bought by Bass Pro Shops in a deal valued at $5.5 billion that will help the privately held company nearly double its store count in North America. The offer of $65.50 per share is a 19.2 percent premium to Cabela's close on Friday. ... The combined company will own 184 stores in the United States and Canada." http://www.cnbc.com/2016/10/03/bass-pro-shops-to-buy-cabelas-for-6550-a-share-in-cash.html Message from Bass Pro to employees and vendors, Q&A http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CFPageC?storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&appID=87225

I wonder if that Denver Cub Scout camp will send some Hooters' girls over to help out?

First that I have heard of a Boy Scout Council directly applying for a liquor license for a fundraiser.I was more surprised by the statement that 100 per cent of the proceeds will go to the Grand Canyon Council. Better percentage than popcorn! http://mesaindependent.com/news/liquor-license-sought-for-boy-scouts-of-america-charity-event/ "On Monday, Oct. 3, The Mesa City Council (AZ) will consider a new liquor license for the Grand Canyon Council Boy Scouts of America for an 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, charitable event at 2100 W. Rio Salado Parkway. Beer and wine will be served. The charity event is held in conjunction with the Taste of Arizona Festival. Food will be available for purchase at participating event vendors. A minimum of three off-duty officers and three private security personnel will provide roaming security and liquor control within a fenced event area. Identification will be checked by security personnel at the event entrance and wristbands will be issued to identify those patrons of legal drinking age. A total of 100 percent of the proceeds will go to Grand Canyon Council, Boy Scouts of America. The (city) council is slated to make a recommendation to the Arizona Department of Liquor License and Control."

Plan B - elope. The thrifty plan.