RememberSchiff

At age 7, Pete Seeger started reading Ernest Thompson Seton. "I read every single book by nature writer Ernest Thompson Seton when I was a kid". More than 80 years after he was given that first book, he was still crediting Seton's influence "[seton] boosted the idea of learning about the North American Indians. I learned that they shared everything that they had... There was no such thing as one person in the tribe going hungry and others having full bellies... That seemed to me to be a sensible way to live. Now today I know that anthropologists call that tribal communism. So I say that I was a Communist ever since I was age seven, when I first started reading about Seton." http://www.littleredumbrella.com/201...r-toronto.html In another interview, Seeger recalled reading Seton's Rolf in the Woods as a boy. It's available on Gutenberg and from Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Rolf-Woods-Adventures-Indian-Skookum/dp/1620873869/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1390958613&sr=1-1&keywords=Rolf+in+the+Woods

Hah, back in the day, your council was not stated on your uniform. Instead of a council patch, scouts wore red "community strips" with white lettering. The top was your town and the bottom was your state. Scouts take notice of "where you from" and not what council are you in.

When scout leaders will not talk (cop an atteeetood) to me (bad cop?), they will usually talk to another ASM or two (good cop?). Maybe at next meeting, say the PLC will be debriefed by ASM Mr. TooEasy and Mr.Softee, afterwards compare notes with those ASM's and go from there. Might be interesting to have the PLC take feedback from the scouts too. Sorry to hear about this nonsense. My $0.01

Not religious, They have chartered this troop for years as "a service to the community". No argument there and thank you. My previous troop had a church as CO, still mostly hands-off, but their cooperation was much better As mentioned we do the spring cleanup and a few service/Eagle scout project as they suggest. Currently no children of CO are members of our troop despite our recruiting efforts. Maybe we could more proactive with service projects. We have suggested building a storage shed on their property at our expense and received a firm "NO". They do not see storage as their responsibility, and I wish the Charter Agreement explicitly stated this. There is a wild rumor the some members of the CO are inclined to donate "their new found camping gear" to a local charter school outing club. Some children of the CO attend that school and maybe it would be a tax deduction too. Personally, I don't believe this.

Writ of habeas corpus was first suspended during the Civil War which would incarcerate many Americans without charges, without trial. Sorry to say, it has been repeated several times since. Sorry no liberty for you and your family George Takei, welcome to life in horse stables at a war relocation center (WW2).

We do a yearly spring cleanup for them. They provide 0 storage*. We are hoping the inventory list might persuade them to find storage, then again they might have other plans as in so long. They have been a hands-off CO and are perhaps annoyed by this discussion, as they believe they are fulfilling the "agreement". *Well not 100% correct as they do allow us to store our flags in a janitor closet.

We are going through rechartering and there has been some frank discussions. Reference the Charter Organization agreement. http://www.scouting.org/filestore/membership/pdf/524-182_web.pdf Unit: We need storage place for unit gear, which btw you own!! CO: So find/rent space, we are not required to provide storage. Unit: Yes your are. CO: Here's the agreement, we are only required to provide facilities for you to meet. There is no mention of storage! Unit: Well, um, well um CO: About the unit gear, you say we own the tents, stoves, etc Unit: Yes CO: We would like an inventory of that gear. Unit: Um, okay.

I agree but that scout virtue "do your best as service to others" often is not shared by controlling parents who feel "do your share and in fairness, others should too".

With the individual incentive removed, will units set stricter rules for member fundraiser participation, make do with a projected decrease in funds raised, use pay as you go, allow families to "opt-out" of fundraising?

Well maybe third time was the charm?

Well I agree with you, the Aims are clear enough without the corporate management speak. The Vision statement also shortchanges the Aims of Scouting. "The Boy Scouts of America will prepare every eligible youth in America to become a responsible, participating citizen and leader who is guided by the Scout Oath and Law." I would drop both the Mission and Vision statements and focus on the Aims which is what we should be doing. My $0.02

I have made calls to my Council and they know nothing about this. I would think distribution of this policy paper would have a High Priority. Clearly, if a unit continues with Individual Scout Accounts and gets their CO in trouble with the IRS, neither will get any help from National.

I see your point about unit fundraising dying. There has been a small but growing Pay-as-you-go/Thrifty movement in our unit for a number of reasons.

The first link http://www.fmaynard.com/scouting/archives/2511 , the Bobwhite Blather blog asks some interesting questions about impact and implementation. I think a big change will occur in high adventure attendance. I think it will be mostly troops and fewer council contingents. I see fewer individual scouts/families using their savings to join a council contingent troop. Hope I'm wrong. My $0.01

Maybe the third time will work. As you may recall our dauntless duckfoot posted twice this link http://www.fmaynard.com/scouting/archives/2511 which about the BSA policy change towards individual scout accounts: BSA FISCAL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR BSA UNITS. http://www.scouting.org/filestore/fi..._BSA_Units.pdf Specifically page 4 Can my unit credit amounts from fundraising to an individual toward their expenses? "No. The IRS has stated that crediting fundraising amounts constitutes private benefit. However, the unit could use the funds (all or a percentage) raised to reduce or eliminate dues and various registration fees, purchase uniforms and Scouting books, and purchase camping equipment. The unit could also use its funds to provide assistance to individual Scouts in cases of financial hardship." I posted using a different link and sub forum, thinking that might be the problem. If this thread disappears. I will just post the topic again.

Part Trois? Third time's the charm?

Now duckfoot's replacement topic "Individual Scout Accounts Part Deux" from yesterday is missing. I bookmarked it and link has this error message Invalid Page URL. If this is an error and the page should exist, please contact the system administrator and tell them how you got this message. Getting to be like the movie "Ground Hog Day" here!!!!!

Arggh!. Please accept my apology ...either my lack of caffeine this am or my failing brain cells.

I think the topic was posted yesterday by duckfoot and was titled "For those of you who dislike Individual Scout Accounts". Had a dozen or so responses. Where did it go?

I am embarrassed by my ignorance as this was news to me.

Some points 1. The SM can have a scout conference with a scout any time there is a need. The scoutmaster conference is not only requirement for advancement. Now would be good! 2. I recall years ago, one of our scouts had his SM conference and just before his BOR was found to have stolen athletic equipment from his school. Our SM immediately had another conference and the scout, perhaps feeling the BOR would reject him, asked for a 3 month delay in his BOR (he was approved at that time). My point, a scout can ask that his BOR be delayed. 3. No guilt trip, a BOR rejection is not about punishment. This scout needs to get himself back on the right track. 4. SM should also talk to his family. My $0.02

Online, NYC Troop 151 states that Martin Luther King Jr. was a member of their troop. Does anyone have more information? https://www.facebook.com/pages/Martin-Luther-King-Jr-was-a-Boy-Scout-Make-it-known-and-Honor-him/193776697304458 posted a copy of Troop 151's 1940 charter

Every parent's nightmare that somehow, somewhere that fine child you raised is now off on his own, takes a wrong turn, loses himself, and doesn't seek/accept help... In some ways, this story reminded me of that depressing book "Into the Wild". My $0.01

My polling question was meant in the context of your own unit, as otherwise how would you know. Sorry for the confusion. We have a scout who is working on his Eagle project now. His parents have had minimum involvement with the troop. This scout has said no thank you to having an Eagle Scout Advisor, "I can do it". Self-confident, self-motivated, yeah, he impresses me.

Yes many units are, doesn't mean that's the way it should be. I have seen some units (and companies) destruct because there was no one to take over. I have seen more run into the ground by self-important legends who stayed too long.