RememberSchiff

Releasing a patch like that seems the first step in a fundraising campaign to purchase a new camp.

Who instructs/signs off in Venturing? Is it other crew members or are there adults like the Boy Scout merit badge counselors or someone else?

From the 2006-2010 Strategic Plan, here are the five objectives with their respective metrics. I added the outline format to aid discussion. 1. Every eligible youth has an opportunity to be involved in a quality Scouting experience. a. Increase market share and/or growth. b. Increase the number of new members. c. Improve member retention. d. Increase the number of units 2. The number of engaged, accountable volunteers is dramatically increased at all levels of Scouting. a. Add 1 million new volunteers. b. Increase the number of Quality Councils, Districts, and Units 3. Every local council is fiscally sound. a. Reduce the number of councils with annual operating deficits. b. Increase local councils unrestricted assets. c. Increase local councils endowment fund assets 4. Local, regional, and national chartered organizations and strategic alliances are identified and engaged. a. Increase the number of chartered organizations. b. Identify national and/or regional funding sources to fund phases of the Strategic Plan. 5. Enough of the right professionals are identified, developed, and retained in the right positions at all levels, with a focus on diversity a. Increase the number of youth-serving executives. b. Increase the number of minority/female professionals. c. Improve employee retention. Has National released a progress report to date?

The 2006-2010 Strategic Plan http://scouting.org/filestore/pdf/45-016.pdf emphasized 5 objectives each with measurable goals. Today, I was curious about our progress towards that plan and surprise there's a new Strategic Plan - the 2011-2015 Strategic Plan Update http://scouting.org/sitecore/content/Home/Media/StrategicPlan.aspx which unfortunately is not a pdf but a 10 min video slide presentation that dies about 2 minutes in when the slide "Our Structure for The Strategic Plan" The Strategic Plan" appears (I tried both Firefox and IE multiple times). I'll post this and go back to reviewing the 2006-2010 plan.

At this time of year, I really appreciate Painting merit badge. I like the idea of using the "harmonizing" color wheel, so the scout who paints the west side of my house uses the same color as the scout who painted the south side and the trim is all white. Now, if any merit badge needed an exemption from the "No more no less" policy, it is Home Repairs. Or maybe they could release new requirements each year inline with the repairs needed around MY house. Further, I would like to propose that Painting AND Home Repairs become Eagle required so they receive the emphasis consistent with Mrs. ASM's sense of urgency with her honeydew list. Saved $0.02 on this one.

Saw this - Camp Daniel Boone, N.C. sends home 19 scouts, 10 tested positive. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31372626/ns/health-swine_flu/

No, Advancement was not always #1. It used to be Outdoors was #1 with Patrol Method and Leadership close behind. It wonder which group earns more merit badges and has more Eagles: FIVE+ million Boy Scout membership in 1960 OR less than ONE million Boy Scout membership in 2010 Why did this happen? CUB SCOUTS sets the wrong expectation with awards: Everyone should advance in rank each year. Penny candy awards for anything and everything that scouts are suppose to do as a given. Do a good turn. Get a patch. Pick up the litter you just dropped get a bead...Webelos (Cub Scouts Part 2) is the worse offender. Instead of weaning boys and parents off this and getting them ready for Boy Scouts, there are a new list of 20 Activity badges (let's get them all, then we get another patch...) ARRRRGGGGHHH. And when you get to Boy Scouts, you can still be in charge and be a MB counselor for as many mb's as you like! Boy Scouts in some units more resembles a Cub Scouts Part 3 program. Working on T-2C-FC requirements out of sequence, lack of tenure in rank, and misnamed or ill-considered programs like FCFY make Advancement into a foot race and thus raise Advancement to a higher priority. Gawd, as a scout, I could not work on merit badges until I was FC and I better show up in uniform with my FC badge sewn on! Merit badge camps, Merit badge universities, Merit badge camporees,... "We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo My $0.02,

Let your program be your guide to your equipment purchases. We have units with quite different outdoor programs - one is heavy into water treks (canoeing, rafting, kayaking - many PFD's), some backpacking (no dutch ovens there), and a few too many are 100% car camping (don't get me started). Once you have roughed-out your program, talk to other units with similar programs to get gear recommendations and who to buy from. Ask questions and research. For example, should I buy a Coleman propane lantern or an Orbit 3W LED lantern? Top ten equipment list 10. Cool troop neckerchief, hat, or Class B t-shirt (wicking poly, no cotton) 9. Tents 8. Stoves as fits your program 7. Cook kits 6. Water jugs and/or purifiers as fits your program - may want collapsible or hard plastic 5. Saw, ax, file 4. Tarps 3. Rope (1/4", 3/8" reel of manila, 550 paracord too) 2. A troop FIRST AID kit - Adventure Medical offers some well-considered kits. 1. A folding camp chair for SM! How about that, lanterns did not make my top ten. Maybe I can get by without a lantern My $0.02,

No disrespect intended, but this "new look" reminds me of Simon for some reason my $0.005, (This message has been edited by RememberSchiff)

Welcome. Give advice too! Would you have a recipe for making panzarotti's with a dutch oven?

Have scouts propose "den rules" to make sure they can do all the fun stuff that their DL has planned. My scouts proposed these rules at the start 1. Quiet when the sign goes up 2. Wait your turn 3. Raise your hand to speak. Print these rules in large letters on a big white poster board "Den 7 Rules". Display rules poster prominently on one side of the American Flag and the den meeting agenda ("structured meeting") on the other side. Read rules aloud at start of meeting like in the "Dirty Dozen" or pick a scout, 'Chris Rule #3'. Break the rule, activity stops, and lawbreaker(s) read rules aloud and they quickly become aware less fun time. As the year(s) progress, scouts add more rules to make the den meeting go smoother and so they have more fun time. 4. Respect others. 5. Safety first. (we were whittling at this point) 6. Obey your leaders (took them long enough!) 7. No whining. 8. Bring a hankerchief. This approach has worked for my dens. I never did any lighted candle, beads, stickers, hourglass, talking stick, ..doo-hickies (good name). Also, I prefer the simple term "rules" as in you broke rule #2 over the mouthful "Code of Conduct". Some were more challenged than others in following these rules, but all understood that they were expected to follow their den rules. I never wasted time with snacks either, unless the den was cooking at the meeting. Thanks for volunteering as a DL. Enjoy. One regret I had was not taking photos as I was so busy with the meeting itself. Maybe assign a parent to take photos. My $0.02,

I changed my bookmark from scouting.org to this entry point http://www.scouting.org/sitecore/content/Home.aspx which makes it easier to reach Boy Scouts http://www.scouting.org/sitecore/content/Home/BoyScouts.aspx and Information Center http://www.scouting.org/sitecore/content/Home/Media.aspx which I commonly used. For me, the same problems remain CONTENT and CONTACTS, finding existing content, and navigation is now more time consuming. Little advice, if you have a somewhat working website, you don't go live with the new website until it is ready to go live. Still no contact list on website. So far not an improvement for me. my $0.02

I will now wear two red shoulder loops on each silly epaulet if it gives Irving boys vacationing at Orlando something to do.

MD, Del-Mar-Va Council, Rodney Scout Reservation 8/9-8/14 http://tinyurl.com/rea2he

South Jersey, Pine Hill Scout Reservation 8/16-22/2009 http://tinyurl.com/p2hgpv

Maybe the position of Honorary President of the BSA is now an "opt-out" position instead of an "opt-in" position

I thought there might be some mention of the new Honorary President, maybe in the photo caption of the White House visit. I found this on the Boy's Life website, maybe I missed an official announcement http://boyslife.org/home/380/who-we-are/ HONORARY PRESIDENT, BSA THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES Barack Obama Scouting magazine still lists President Bush http://www.scoutingmagazine.org/about/masthead.html The President of the United States, George W. Bush, Honorary President, BSA I had hoped membership would stop declining and maybe looking at the numbers, a case can be made that total Boy Scout + Venture scouts remained constant.(This message has been edited by RememberSchiff)

http://www.scouting.org/Media/AnnualReports/2008.aspx Membership numbers reported http://www.scouting.org/Media/AnnualReports/2008/11memsummary.aspx I did not see a new Honorary President of BSA mentioned.

Agree that cellphone and gps units are new tools that we need to teach proper use as mentioned in the Wilderness Survival mb book. I like the Electronic Chip idea. We do not allow scouts to bring knives if they do not have a Totin' Chip card, the same could apply to cellphones. As I stated earlier, my unit has not had a problem with scouts carrying cellphones maybe that is because patrols have carried walkie-talkies for years and it was a natural transition or maybe it is our New Parent Orientation. Anyway when cellphones came along, parents wanted their sons to carry them. So far, no problems. If scouts were dumb enough to call 900 numbers etc, well those devices have electronic trails and parents pay the bills. No leaders have felt a lack of trust. As a trek leader, I welcome more phones in hopes of having one that works when needed. my $0.02

Doubt it. The minimum age to take a WFA course is usually 16, though I have seen 14.

If I am running the activity, scouts can carry cellphones (turned off). If they do not have a cellphone, I make it clear that mine (always on) is available. Reception has been spotty, otherwise no problems. Frankly I am surprise no cellphones have been lost. Parents want to know that if their child needs to call them, he can. I have not had any parents call me yet during an activity, bad weather or not. Many scouts call their parents on the drive home so no more late pick-ups. Times change, we are a wired society. Find another troop that is not in denial.(This message has been edited by RememberSchiff)

CNYScouter commented "We actually were in talks with Disney/Pixar about having an active promotional role with UP!, and the branding/marketing team at Disney was really excited. That it at least, until it went up their flag pole and reached the legal department, at which point it got declined due to our membership/leadership policies." I thought the problem was BSA Legal being a licensing PITA. Got me wondering why Hollywood doesn't outsource Boy Scouts from another scouting organization. But "Boy Scouts" negatively impacting sales, I am stunned. So Disney, the studio that produced "Follow Me Boys" back in 60's, now feels "Forget You Boys", that the BSA brand because of its membership/leadership policies would negatively impact the financial success of a Disney family movie. Are they right? Is Disney more in tune with current American values?

I wonder if Wilderness Explorer Russell will help recruiting. Looks like another fun family animation movie, maybe we can all laugh at ourselves. http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/up/ I receive as a joke gift Disney-Pixar Up Wilderness Explorer Guide which has the usual (merit) badges plus some interesting new badges - Cellphone, Kite Flying, Karate, Sewing, First Aid and Second Aid, Badge Overload, and a make your own badge.

I'll vent. This unit number nonsense is comical. Never cared for the council patches either as from 10ft or so, they all look alike. I do like Troop 111, Arlington, VA approach - a custom combined district, town, unit number patch - classic and sensible look. Quickly shows "warufrum". http://www.troop111.org/patch.html I also like their comment for the uniform police "Although most folks love our patch designs (this and several others we also wear), a few decry our "illegal" patches. As with all the other "No-No" folks in Scouting, we just ignore them." Speaking of the "No-No" folks at my council, I estimate another dozen or so scouts would have signed up for the National Jambo if Council allowed scouts the thrift and courtesy to wear the scout uniforms they had. Is uniforming about all looking alike (military), all looking like scouts, or all paying more to National? I suspect those empty scout Jambo slots will be opened to and quickly filled by No-No adults. My $0.02(This message has been edited by RememberSchiff)

Auditory impact has environmental impact - it can scare away and disrupt wildlife. Also a quiet hiker sees and hears more. So this is credible. Visual impact has no environmental impact. In the woods, I dress for safety not for politically-correct fashion. My $0.01