rpushies

Dear Seattle Pioneer, Your reply to my post would have a great deal more impact with me, if you would have spelled my name correctly. I expect it was an unintentional typing error and not an attempt to attack me personally. The point of my post is that the BSA is a uniformed organization, always has been. To the extent that units decide to deviate from the program they increase their likelihood of running into trouble. Do unit deviate from national policy, you bet. Just because they do deviate it does not make it right. It is just a fact that they do. Let me try and make my point another way. The Boy Scouts of America have developed the blue prints they expect us to follow as we build our Scouting house. The blue prints give us the dimensions of the house, the depth and width of the foundation, the location of the bedroom, living room, kitchen, etc. So fundamentally the structure of your Scouting house looks very much like my Scouting house. That is true all across the nation. The blue prints do not tell us the color of carpet to put in our house or give us any significant directions on how we decorate our house. The blue prints for our Scouting house have been developed over many decades and they work rather well when followed. When we start changing the fundamental structure of our Scouting house the probability of difficulties increase the more we deviate from the blue prints provided by national. The fundamental structure, the foundation, of our Scouting house includes the aims and methods of Scouting. If we start removing the aims and methods from our Scouting house the foundation of our Scouting house starts to weaken. This is not good. You wrote, "I see too many people parsing the "rules" of Scouting seeking the holy grail of Scouting wisdom. That's probably expecting too much in many cases." Are you saying that a statement of the official policy regarding uniforms is "parsing the "rules"? With regard to the Soccer and Scouting program you wrote, "Those groups are picking and choosing what parts of the Cub Scout Program work for them, under the direction of a District Executive." That comment about the Scouting and Soccer program led me to believe you thought this was something thought up on the fly with people picking and choosing program elements at their leisure. It is a well planned program developed by national to help reverse the negative trend in membership. Maybe your idea of starting Scouting units focused on chess will provide better results? It is difficult to get the complete message you intended in your comments by just reading the words. No facial expression, vocal tone or other body language to observe to help the reader understand the totality of your message. But my interpretation of your written words lead me to believe you have less than a positive perspective of professional Scouters. Am I wrong? Yours Truly in Scouting, Rick Pushies

Welcome Scouter & Mom, Great to have you in the mix. I look forward to reading your input on the topic your find of interest. Sounds like you bring a great depth of experience to the forum. Yours Truly in Scouting, Rick Pushies

The uniform issue: It might do us all some good to read the official policy on uniforms listed on the inside cover of the Insignia Guide 2003-2005, #03066D. It states, "The Boy Scouts of America has always been a uniformed body." It then goes on to describe the value of uniforms. Now that is the official policy of the BSA. Does it say that a boy must be in uniform to join Scouting, NO. However it very clearly states we are a uniformed organization. In the "Congressional Report in Support of Act to Incorporate Boy Scouts of America" submitted to Congress on February 7, 1916 there is a very significant reference to the importance of our uniform, ". . . , and one of the leading features of the Scout program will be lost; likewise, with the uniform that designates a Scout." Our uniform, has from the very beginning of the Scouting movement been a designation of membership. Society identifies us as Scouts because of our uniform. This is good. Does this mean a unit can make a decision to not wear uniforms? I really don't know and I consider the question unimportant. Who is going to go check on them? The local uniform police? (tongue-in-cheek) The commissioner? In some councils and districts, maybe. Units have been bucking the system and policies of the BSA like this for a long time. More often than not, the more they deviate from the fundamental organization of the Scouting program the higher the probability that they will not receive their expected results (the aims of Scouting). They make these decisions at their own peril in terms of the impact on their program. Now to SeattlePioneer's comments on the Soccer and Scouting program and comments about DE's taking money. ************************************************ Soccer and Scouting Program Highlights The program combines the fastest growing youth sport in America with Cub Scouting, the premier character-building program for boys. Soccer and Scouting follows a 12-month Cub Scouting program, divided into four seasons with a one-week break between seasons. Each season begins with a recruiting/organization day, followed by 10 weeks of den and game-day activities, and ends with a tournament and graduation/recognition program. During the season, boys work through the Cub Scout advancement program and earn badges that can be worn on their jerseys, which are part of the uniform and include Cub Scout insignia. ********************************************************* SeattlePioneer wrote: ***************************************************** "To those who posted loaded questions asking whether, if uniforms were dispensed with, whether other methods of Scouting like the outdoors program could be dispensed with as well. It seems to me that the answer to this question is, "yes." In my district, a large number of new Cub Scouts are being recruited through the Latino oriented "Soccer and Scouting" program. Those groups are picking and choosing what parts of the Cub Scout Program work for them, under the direction of a District Executive." ***************************************************** The answer is NO! The Boy Scouts of America as the parent organization has the authority and responsibility to develop new programs. That does not mean that the council, district, or unit has that same authority. Take a look at our situation, traditional membership (Cub Scout, Boy Scout, Venturing) in Scouting is down -4% compared to June of 2004. At this rate there will not be many Scouts around to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Scouting. So how can we help reverse this negative membership growth? Now let's see, the largest growth segment of Scouting aged youth in many American communities is in the Hispanic community. In Mexico the Boy Scout program is considered a rich boy elitist program and distrusted by the average person. Our traditional field uniform is seen as a source of confusion (uniforms=authority=confusion) and causes distrust among many Latinos. The concept of "volunteering" is not well accepted in the Latino community, however it is appropriate to "help the children". A semantic but important distinction in the community. The traditional Scouting programs of Cub Scouting (75 years) and Boy Scouting (95 years) have histroically just not been successful in the Hispanic market. So the Boy Scouts of America has attempted to develop a program to get Hispanic children involved in Scouting. This is what you call, "Those groups are picking and choosing . . ." "Those groups" as you characterize them is the Boy Scouts of America at the national level. According to your logic, the Cub Scout program, Boy Scout program, Venturing program, Learning for Life program and Exploring program should all be the same. Each of those programs have different elements based on their intended membership's needs. Your implied statement is that the Soccer and Scouting program is somehow wrong because it is different than the traditional Cub Scout program. It is different and I consider the differences very smart. We should have developed this program 20 years ago. The Hispanic community has family values that are very closely aligned with the traditional Scouting values. We should be more involved with each other just based on the common values. Their population is growing, the Scouting population is not. The Soccer and Scouting program is a really strong attempt to have a positive impact in the Hispanic community. We should be supporting the program in all our districts that have growing Hispanic populations. What is up with your comment: ". . .especially if the DE were willing to take their money. And I see no reason why they wouldn't do so." Wow, you must really hold professional Scouters in very low regard. Do you think the DE gets a bonus when they "take their money" or are you implying something else.? Yours Truly in Scouting, Rick Pushies

Welcome fellow Californian, California Inland Empire, Tahquitz District, I spent a fair amount of time around Lake Elsinore back when I was skinny and still had hair. (A long, long time ago!) I'm up on the Central Coast in Santa Maria, CA Los Padres Council, Live Oak District. Are your boys just starting in Cub Scouts, as in they are twins? My twins are 23 now and one is getting married on Labor Day. Yours Truly in Scouting, Rick Pushies 805-925-9144

smaster101, I too have had similar weeks at summer camp, where a Scout exhibits behavior that baffles my ability to understand. I may not have had the specific joy of dealing with a Scout battling with Oppositional Defiant Disorder. But the general scenario feels familiar to me and I expect to many others. One aspect of this disorder that many of our Scouts may battle with is a learning disability. Learning disabilities tend to be quiet and often linger right in front of us but just below our ability to recognize them. Until recognized they appear as something difficult to understand. We volunteers need guidance and understanding to recognize these conditions so we can help our Scouts succeed. The beginning of your story describes behavior that brought back memories of being a Scoutmaster and just getting frustrated beyond the limits of my patience. Certain boys were just not in sync with the others, they seemed always out of step, sometimes defiant, a little odd maybe, but mostly looked at as just "different". My frustration would grow when I could not help these boys and their behavior would make it more and more difficult for them to fit effectively into the troop and their patrol. They would try but some how it just did not work for them. They often seemed on the outside looking in. In a troop of 25 or 30 Scouts one or maybe two would come to mind that often fit being "different." Then I found one page, yes one specific page in a Boy Scout publication that really helped me understand. The "Scouting and the Learning Disabled: A Manual for Scouting Leaders", #3065 has a page that contains a Checklist for Scouting Leaders. (I hesitate to give a page number because my edition was published in 1987 and I'm not even sure that page is still in the newest edition.) This page helped me understand. It did not give me the ability to diagnose or treat Scouts with learning disabilities, just an understanding. Diagnosing and treating Scouts was not my job as Scoutmaster. Understanding my Scouts and finding new ways to help them grow was my job. The understanding help my frustrations dissipate and allowed my to focus on what my Scouts needed. I photocopied that page and handed it out to all my Scouting friends. I handed it out at Roundtable, during training sessions, district committee meetings and well everywhere I could. Almost to a person everyone I handed the page, gave a positive reply after they read the page. In fact you could watch the light bulbs switch on as they read through the list of behaviors commonly associated with learning disabilities. All of a sudden they saw those Scouts that were on the outside looking in differently. They now understood things about these "different" Scouts that changed their perception of them. A lot of water has passed under my Scouting bridge since those days. I think it is time to make some more photocopies of the page and . . . Yours Truly in Scouting, Rick Pushies Los Padres Council

Hello Fellow Scouters, Yes I am well rounded and my wife is working on diet plans. The bad knee that kept me from going to Vietnam with the Marine Corp in 1969 finally gave out. The replacement surgery in 2000 did not go according to plan. Now medically retired I slave away at my passion, Scouting. After 25 years in Greater Yosemite Council in the Central Valley of California and it's 17 days in a row of 100+ temperatures in 2003, my wife and I moved to Santa Maria, CA. (15 miles from the Pacific Ocean and Yes, the Michael Jackson trial was here. Big Deal!) It is so nice & cool here and our new house does not even have an air conditioner! Yahoo! So I'm the new kid on the block here in the Los Padres Council, which is a weird feeling. I kept ties to my old council, Greater Yosemite by staying on as the council Webmaster. After 5+ years (2 years while living out of the council) of being the primary force behind the council web site, I finally just burned out. Working on the web site turned into a thankless job (at least that was my perception) and left my batteries run down. Then I took on the new National Youth Leadership Training for the Los Padres Council. All of a sudden, I got smarter. I learned again, how much working with Boy Scouts charged my batteries instead of draining them. Boy Scouts are cool! They laugh at my jokes, they challenge me physically and mentally, they make me think, they force me to be a better leader and they make me do a better job of being me. So with this new found wisdom about myself, I went to the council and asked to be put in charge of all the youth leadership training for the council. They thought it was a grand idea and now that is my job in Scouting. My new motto is: "Every boy deserves to be trained as a leader." To that end I am putting together my game plan to give our Scouts the best possible leadership training. My focus will include: Den Chief Training, Troop Leadership Training, National Youth Leadership Training and Venturing Leader Specific Training. How fun will that be! In my real life I sold pharmaceutical for a living. Yes, my name is Pushies and I sold drugs for a living. This gave me a very strong focus on facts. The facts that I gave my doctors about the drugs I sold were important because that doctor often relied upon my facts when he treated his patients (No, I was not the only source of information but I was an important source of information.) Having my facts correct could have meant the difference between life or death in some situations. So it became really important for me to know what I know and know what I don't know. So I learned to research my information very meticulously. That carries over into my Scouting life. In fact when I went to training (PDL1) as a professional Scouter, my class gave me a certificate at the end of the course. I was selected as the person most likely to challenge the instructors. I'm not sure, but I think I'm proud of that title? Working with doctors day in and day out also taught me the value of humor. But, some times I get really passionate and the sense of humor gets lost. So if you see that happen in this forum, be a good Scouting friend and whack my up side the head. I have enough moments of brain flatulence these days that I probably won't remember if you do. So remember, "Every boy deserves to be trained as a leader." Yours Truly in Scouting, Rick Pushies rpushies@yahoo.com Los Padres Council, #53 Santa Maria, CA

Dear Steve, What a special challenge you have asked for help with. I have a few resource ideas for your young Tiger Cub friend and his supporters to investigate. I also have a little story I want you to share with your new Tiger Cub friend. First is the LPA (Little People of America) their web site can be found at: http://www.lpaonline.org/ If there is anyone one group of people that knows how to deal with the challenges society places on dwarfs, it is LPA. They are a great group of people! Another great resource more specific to Scouting is the Working With Scouts With disabilities (WWSWd) web site at: http://www.boyscouts-marin.org/wwswd/ This is a good place to get help with advancement issues. There are ways to make thing more workable for your friend. My very best friend since the eighth grade is a dwarf. I understand the frustrations of dwarves in a way many 6'4" big men do not. So share this little story with your Tiger Cub friend. Many years ago, my wife and I went to visit our good friends Leonard and Lynnette Sawisch in Lansing, Michigan. Since both of them are short stature they decided to make some changes to their house to make life easier. They raised the floor in certain parts of the house so Lynnette could do things with less frustration and assistance. Not a bad idea, right. Well then came time for me to visit the restroom. The restroom where the floor had been raised to the point that the toilet seat was only about nine inches off the floor. Now this particular visit to the restroom required that I sit for a length of time. Sit, in a very uncomfortable position with my knees almost in my ears. They tide had turned! Now whose body was out of proportion to the physical world around them, ME! My 6'4" frame did not fit well into a world designed for someone 3'9". Leonard did some stand-up comedy for a while in which this episode is included. Actually it was pretty funny, I'm just glad no pictures were taken! TIGER CUBS ROCK! Yours Truly in Scouting, Rick Pushies 805-925-9144 rpushies@yahoo.com

Dear Sitrep, You wrote, "This was after we stopped attending b/c the people . . ." What is a b/c? I get confused by all these tla's on these discussion forums. Is there a list somewhere that defines all these tla's? Yours Truly in Scouting, Rick Pushies

Yes, the Troop Program Resources w/CD and all three volumes of the Program Features are still available. I recently bought 6 sets of each for our National Youth Leadership Training. There is also a brand new Troop Leadership Training syllabus that was just released by national that you may also want to order, the number is #34306A. This item replaces the Scoutmaster Junior Leader Training and uses concepts and ideas taught in the new National Youth Leadership Training. Just call National Supply at 1-800-323-0736 and they will take care of your order. The new ecommerce site for Scout Stuff is still very much in a state of ongoing development. When they do get the ecommerce site finished and you want to buy merchandise online, make sure you go to that site from a link posted on your council site. If you do, your council gets a small percentage commission on your purchase. If you go directly to the Scout Stuff web site, it is my understanding the council does not get the commission. Yours Truly in Scouting, Rick Pushies

Hi Acco40, Eamonn has a great breadth of knowledge of the early days of Scouting in America. Maybe I can shed some light on the William Randolph Hearst issue. Just like William D. Boyce, Hearst found the idea of Scouting to be appealing. Newspaper boys in the early part of the last century were an essential ingredient to the success of a newspaper. Hearst wanted to duplicate the influence that Boyce was having with newspaper carrying age boys, so he started the United States Boys Scouts (USBS). Like Boyce, Hearst gave considerable financial backing to his organization. The fact that these two newspaper GIANTS threw their power and resources behind Scouting provided a huge amount of positive publicity for both "Scouting" organizations. During this time it was almost impossible to find a newspaper story about "Scouting" that was anything other than high praise. In 1913 the Ohio River Valley suffered some of the worst floods to that point in our history. Unlike recent natural disasters, the reports in newspapers then were rife with Scouts doing good deeds. These were HEADLINE STORIES about the good of Scouting. During this period in history newspapers had a tremendous affect on public opinion. There was not Internet, cable TV news, radion was still it its early development. Newspapers, print media was virtually the only source of news. So the opinion of the newspaper often became public opinion. It has been said that the unanimous vote of both houses of Congress for the Federal Charter granted by Congress to the Boy Scouts of America in 1916 was due to the strong public opinion in favor of Scouting. An opinion cultivated by men like Boyce and Hearst. Politicians were fearful of how a vote against Scouting would be received by their constituents back home. The fate of Scouting in America was determined in a California court case in which Lord Baden-Powell provided testimony by deposition. The Boy Scouts of America won. As to the issue of God and Scouting. The twelfth point of the American Scout Law is a Scout is reverent and has been there since 1911. The British version does not have this point. It refers to being kind to animals because they are Gods creatures, but the concept of being reverent and faithful to God is not explicitly stated in the British version. So duty to God has a different place in the Boy Scouts of America, it is part of our Law. Also there are significant cultural differences between America and Europe that influence both the God and gay issue. As a general rule organized religion has a much stronger influence in America. Now to address the changing importance of the God and gay issues in recent years. Scouting does not exist in a vacuum. As the values and mores of our society change, the relationship of Scoutings values change relative to how the change in society perceives our values. When I was a Boy Scout back in the 60s, Mr. B one of our assistant Scoutmasters was weird. We did not know what gay or homosexual meant as young boys then, he was just weird. Maybe the adults knew that he was gay but we, the Scouts did not. Gay just was not talked about then. Times change, now you have the topic of gays filtering through all aspects of our life. The issue of gays in Scouting has changed in part because the issue of gays has changed. If the topic of homosexuality was not discussed in public then, how could you expect to have a public discussion about homosexuals being involved in any organization then, much less the Boy Scouts. You cannot have a public discussion about something that is just not talked about and that was the way it was. Besides, men like Hearst and Boyce did not print articles about homosexuality because those stories did not sell newspapers. Stories about Mom, apple pie, American Flags and Boy Scouts did sell newspapers. Since articles on homosexuality were not printed, that subject did not become a part of public discourse. God, well God is an unpopular topic with many today. He is being attacked in all quarters, courthouse lobbies, the Pledge of Allegiance, school prayer the list goes on and on and on. Scouting gets dragged into the fray because we stand for something when it comes to God. If you dont stand for something, if you dont believe in something greater than yourself then the attackers will tend to leave you alone. I for one see the struggle over gays and God to be a true test of what Scouting really stands for based on our values. In God we trust and God bless America. Yours Truly in Scouting, Rick Pushies

Hi Eamonn, You wrote, " While the Kids are real kids, I have to wonder if we are more interested on names on the page than we are about the quality of the product?" I think you have a valid point. Having run an in-school Scouting program for my council and then becoming a professional Scouter, I have seen Scouting from a perspective that I did not understand before. Im not saying that I completely understand it now, but I have a more complete picture of the Scouting movement. Are you directly involved in starting these Scoutreach units in your council? Yours Truly in Scouting, Rick

Hi Eamonn, I'm not sure I understand your reference to OJ and the Order of the Arrow? But if you are looking for support literature on the Scoutreach topic go to the http://www.scoutreachbsa.org/ web site and on the Publications and Resources page you will find a link to a PDF file that has just about every resources you would want. Many of these resources are BIN items. Bin items are a fairly well kept secret that can be ordered by your council at no charge. It may take your council a while to get them ordered but they are available. Now to the meat of your posting. Scouting should be made available to every boy that has a desire. Amen, brother! Just think of all the boys that could benefit from involvement with a quality Scouting program. Volunteer and professional Scouters should really not be at odds on this topic. It comes down to leadership within your district and council. I mean real leadership that has a vision of what Scouting can become. The volunteers and professionals really want the same result. Their focus is just different. When I was a District Executive, I would have treasured someone like you that can really see the importance of Scouting to a young boy who may not have much else to hold onto. Professional Scouters have a very important mission to serve Scouting. They focus on three fundamental issues: Finance, Membership and Program. Often they look to good volunteers like yourself to carry the banner of program. Finance and Membership are often more difficult to delegate to volunteers since they have such a profound affect on their ability to stay employed. If you take a look, membership is part of the requirements for Quality Unit, District and Council Awards. When it comes to membership it very common for the professional to have goals for both new units as well as new members. This can cause some real difficulty as evidenced by the recent reporting on NBC of membership irregularities in some councils. These are extreme examples of how some professional Scouters may have tried to cope with the significant challenges of membership growth they are given. The reality is national membership in Scouting is slipping. Not a lot, maybe 1 or 2 percent, but our numbers are getting smaller. This puts tremendous pressure on our whole organization. It's up to you and me to make the difference. There is a whole army of like minded volunteer and professional Scouters waiting to follow our leadership to help Scouting grow. Yours Truly in Scouting, Rick

The new on-line Internet sale of merchandise from the Supply Division is expected to be rolled out in June of this year. The council merchandise portion is expected in July. Benefits to Councils Council Service - Extending online shopping to a council's customers becomes another example of a council's service to its membership. Council Identity - Your council's masthead (logo) is displayed throughout the online site when a customer enters through that council's Web site. Council Merchandise - Display and sell council-specific merchandise to your customers from the same site, with inventory control, billing, and shipping information coordinated and forwarded to the council for processing. Investment - No investment in Supply Division inventory is required by the council for online shopping through the general e-commerce Web site; however, a return of 3 percent of net sales is realized. Easy to Initiate - A link from a council's Web site will take its customer to the council's online store. I think this is a smart move by National. Ordering by phone is an option, but I like to see the merchandise when I'm placing my order. This is a national trend in commerce that the Boy Scouts should not ignore if they want to stay in the market place. On another note, the University Of Dallas, Graduate School Of Management is in the process of conducting a web site survey of council webmasters. Part of this survey includes recommendations for improving the National Council web site. If there is enough support from this survey we may see some significant changes to what the National Council makes available on their web site. Keep your fingers crossed! Yours Truly in Scouting, Rick

An interesting thread of discussion, as is often the case taking a trip back to the basics helps keep things on track and in focus. The basic basics of Scouting are the Aims: of Scouting: Participating Citizenship, Character Development and Emotional & Physical Fitness. There are four steps in the Boy Scout advancement procedure: learning, testing, reviewing, and recognition. What should the board of review process accomplish? "A periodic review of the progress of a Scout is vital in the evaluation of the effectiveness of the Scouting program in the unit. The unit committee can judge how well the Scout being reviewed is benefiting from the program. The unit leader can measure the effectiveness of his or her leadership. The Scout can sense that he is, or is not, advancing properly and can be encouraged to make the most of his Scouting experience. Not only is it important to review those Scouts who have learned and been tested for a rank, but also to review those Scouts who have shown no progress in their advancement over the past few months. The members of the board of review should have the following objectives in mind when they conduct the review. To make sure the Scout has done what he was supposed to do for the rank. To see how good an experience the Scout is having in the unit. To encourage the Scout to progress further. The review is not an examination; the board does not retest the candidate. Rather, the board should attempt to determine the Scout's attitude and his acceptance of Scouting's ideals. The board should make sure that good standards have been met in all phases of the Scout's life. A discussion of the Scout Oath and Scout Law is in keeping with the purpose of the review, to make sure that the candidate recognizes and understands the value of Scouting in his home, unit, school, and community." This is taken directly from Advancement Committee Policies and Procedures. This publication also makes these points about the Eagle Rank board of review. "Eagle Scout Boards of Review The Boy Scouts of America has placed the Eagle Scout board of review in the hands of either the troop, team, crew, or ship committee or the district or council committee responsible for advancement. The council will decide and promulgate which method or methods may be used. The board of review for an Eagle candidate is composed of a minimum of three members and a maximum of six members, 21 years of age or older. These members do not have to be registered in Scouting, but they must have an understanding of the importance and purpose of the Eagle board of review. At least one district or council advancement representative shall be a member of the Eagle board of review, when conducted at the unit level, and may serve as chairman if so requested by the unit. Because of the importance of the Eagle Scout Award, a unanimous decision must be reached as to the Scout's qualifications. If a unanimous decision is not reached, a new review may be convened at the request of the applicant, the unit leader, or the unit committee. The review should take approximately 30 minutes." Many of those involved in Scouting often do not know this information. One of the great things about Scouting is there is a publication about most everything that gives a great deal of information to us all. Cookie Scout, I am glad to see you bring your concerns to this forum. We all need to keep our eyes open to the challenges and opportunities we face each day in Scouting. Keep asking questions, get all the training you can, read everything that interests you and don't forget the basics. Citizenship, Character, and Fitness. If we can all keep these in focus, it will make it easier to keep things on track. Yours Truly in Scouting, Rick

Hello fellow Scouters. I have read through this thread on developing web sites. I would like to share my perspective. Keep in mind that the council and district guidlines reflect the legal ownership of these sites by the local council. If you develop a web site for your unit, keep in mind that your unit is owned by your chartered organization and not your local council. Therefore, you may want to make sure the content of your web site meets with the approval of your chartered organization. Also, when determining what to put in your web site look to the reason you decided to create the web site. More often than not, you look at the web site as a way to communicate. Then the question becomes, comunicate what? The answer is: program or activity information, meetings, policy issues and other who, what, where, when types of information. Get permission of adults before posting their contact information on your web site. If people object to having their contact information posted on the world wide web, consider creating a password protected area of your site or a password protected document such as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file. Either way you will still want their permission before posting the information. On the issue of obtaining permission to publish photographs of your youth members, consider including the parent authorization to publish photographs into your activity notice. Parents often support the idea of their child's picture being placed on the unit web site. But, they want to be assured that their child's safety is being protected and your permission slip lets them know you are sensitive to this issue. Including the permission into your activity notice makes it easier for them to say yes and reduces the pieces of paper you need to keep track of. Yours Truly in Scouting. rpushies