sdcc57

Thank you;I tried the links shown above,and they directed me to charts I'd already seen.I realize both the professional and volunteer charts show only the professional groups/volunteer committees without showing their components.It's those components that I'm interested in:the professional divisions and services(or whatever they're now called),and the volunteer sub-committees. I expect this is probably posted on the Scoutnet intranet,but I don't have access to that.

I have a question which I haven't seen addressed above.What is the current national policy concerning registration for potential volunteers who have various criminal offenses? What offenses are considered? Only felonies? Only those comitted as an adult? My council had a terrible experiance when I served on its board with a former summer camp director who was convicted of several charges of abusing his staff.As I recall the legal advice we received was the BSA would automatically pull the registration for those convicted of offenses regarding abuse of youth.But for other offenses(such as "white collar" crimes)it was not automatic,and handled on an individual basis. Is this still the case?

I have observed the changes in the national BSA office from a distance for many years.I believe the largest sub-divisions of staff have been known as "groups",whose directors were members of the CSE Cabinet,the top staff policy making/implementing entity.These groups were composed of "divisions",some of which were composed of "services". I believe the chart posted earlier shows only the groups.I would expect they still have divisions or their equivalent,though I haven't seen a list/chart of these;perhaps this was distributed later.I'd be very interested to see how the new groups are organized,since it appears to be based on similar functions rather than by programs. I also have noticed that various assignments have been changed over the years due to various factors.For example,supply began as a service,was "promoted" to a division,and later to group status. It also appears the volunteer committees track the professional structure fairly closely. If anyone has details on the internal structure of the new professional groups and/or volunteer committees I would be very interested.

The American Camp Association(formerly American Camping Association),as was mentioned earlier,is a trade association of camping professionals and those with a personal or business interest in camping. They have an accreditation program similar to the program operated by the BSA for its camps. My first exposure was in the 70's as a summer staff member responsible to prepare documents for both the BSA and ACA camp "inspections".Both groups now use the term "visitations" for the visits by outside personnel to verify compliance with standards. I've been involved in BSA visitations since the 70's,and in ACA visitations since the 90's.I've learned that while they are similar,they aren't identical. The primary advantage most councils mention in deciding to comply with ACA standards is to qualify for funding from local campership organizations.I'd guess the camps that are ACA certified are operated by councils with such organizations.

There's a subject which I've found can produce some strong opinions,particularly among SE's and council camping professionals:participation in the camp acceditation program of the American Camp Association. I was very surprised to learn that of the hundreds of BSA camps in the country only about a dozen have ACA accreditation,which includes the three national high adventure bases. If there are people with an interest I'd enjoy beginning a discussion.

A couple points concerning NCS selection. First would be to be sure to go through your council office with your application.They need to approve it and pass it on to the region office.I'd expect attempting to register directly with a region office would not be productive,and would probably delay the processing. Another would be to double check dates and locations shown on region websites.I've seen cases where the annual calendar dates for NCS courses don't match the NCS materials,probably because the calendar hasn't been updated.I'd expect that in case of conflicting information the NCS materials would probably be correct. I attended NCS twice in the 70's,and served on the support staff several times when one of our council camps hosted it.One summer I served as host council representative when our Director of Camping became ill shortly beforehand.It can be a great experiance,both from exposure to some impressive NCS staff,and fellow camp personnel from other councils.

I'm afraid I can't answer the questions listed in the previous message. 1.I don't know whether Mr Bolingbroke had permission to include his BSA position in his statement submitted for the voter's pamphlet.As I'd mentioned,I'd guess that Bob would have checked with someone at the council/region/national office.I could inquire,though he might not choose to reply. 2.Since I no longer serve on the council's board I don't know whether it's been officially discussed there.This leads me to learn if they have,since I'd expect the subject was brought up. 3.I have no reason to believe that he is immune from criticism concerning his actions in this regard.

I have been involved as a member/leader of area resident camp visitation teams since the early 70's.I have some topics I'd like to share with fellow visitors,and possibly could assist as a resourse for staff preparing for visits.Would this be the appropriate forum for this subject? Thank you.

As mentioned in earlier messages both Venturers and Sea Scouts may work on their Eagle as members on those units until they turn 18,as long as they were at least First Class when they joined those units.Since a youth can only become First Class in a Boy Scout troop or Varsity team this restricts the Eagle rank to males,since these elements of the Boy Scout program level are restricted to male youth. While it's not required for these youth to continue their registration in a Boy Scout or Varsity unit to continue working on their Boy Scout ranks there are some good reasons to encourage them to do so.Probably the most basic is that these are Boy Scout ranks,best worked on in the setting of a Boy Scout/Varsity unit.Another reason is that by remaining active in a Boy Scout/Varsity unit the young man can give back to that unit,and hopefully reduce the concerns of the unit leader in having his older youth "stolen" by Venturing/Sea Scout units. I've heard current and former members of the Venturing Division discuss this point,which I believe can be helpful to both the Venturing/Sea Scout and the Boy Scout/Varsity units involved.

I happen to know both the person being discussed,the author of the article in the San Diego Reader,and the paper's owner/editor. Yes,Bob Bolinbroke is a retired president of the Clorox Company,who lives in Rancho Santa Fe,an exclusive community in coastal San Diego County.I believe when he was previously in the Bay area he was president of the BSA council up there.Before serving as our council commissioner he served as our council president.Both positions are volunteer.I have served with Bob on our local board,and he is an effective and popular leader.He also has been interested in the day to day operation of the council,once spending most of a day attending a small training that my program offered to represent the council leadership. Though I don't recall discussing politics with Bob,since it wasn't relevant to our Scouting functions,as a prominent retired executive,and leader in the LDS Church,I'm not surprised at his stand on Prop 8,or his listing in the voter's guide.Knowing his background I'd guess that he obtained advice from our council staff before including his BSA position in his statement for the voter's guide. The San Diego Reader is an alternative weekly newspaper.It is distributed free,and largely supported by ads.Although it has a reputation as a liberal publication,its editor Jim Holman has some conservative views on subjects such as abortion and gay marriage.I know from my contact with him in a previous employment that he has been a generous,and sometimes anonymous,contributor to organizations with which he agrees.The author of the article about the proposition,Matt Potter,began as an occasional contributor,and is now the number two person in the paper's newsroom.