Secret DE

John-in-KC, I think we as adults sometimes get lost in the meaning of an honor when it comes to the Order of the Arrow. I look at adult selection a little differently than the manuals and or the clinical definition. Adults are choosen for what they can do for the Order. Translated that means that adults are choosen for what they can do to enable our youth members to acheive. To me personally that in and of itself is an honor. Of course, I don't say that to belittle the honor of being elected to the OA as a youth. I just feel that there is honor is both types of service. S DE

The OA Guide for Officers and Advisors says if you are elected to be a member of the Order of the Arrow, you are allowed to hold the status of candidate for a period of one year. If a candidate does not take an Ordeal within that time frame, they must be elected or nominated again for membership. You would remember your Ordeal if you took one. It is a very distinct event. I say this being a Mason, Shriner, DeMolay, Theta Chi and member of many other organizations. S DE(This message has been edited by Secret DE)

Old Gray Eagle, I have knowledge of one such event in my Council. After it was determined that the leader was falsely acused, he was reinstated. S DE

Lisabob, My apologies as it is Name, DOB and SSN. In a case where one person cannot distinguish themselves from another as you describe, I am not sure what they could do. I wish there was an easy answer to the question, but unfortunatly the would probably need to hire an attorney and clear their name. While that is not the greatest solution, it might be on only one available. S DE

lisabob, As a DE I will give you a little insight into the process. First, you would be impressed at the number of people who freely admit to wrong doing on their applications. I have seen a situation where one parent admitted to using illegal drugs and in one district I saw an application where a parent admitted to having committed a crime not covered in the questions and it was rape. In those instances, I have to send the applications directly to the ASE and SE for follow-up. Here is what we look for in the forms. Our background checks are done by name and social security number. The SSN basically allows us to make comparisons in areas where an applicant has a common first and last name. As a District Executive I have nothing to do with the background process, but I contact any prospective volunteer with a listed criminal conviction to get specifics. I then notify the ASE that I am processing an application that will return with a conviction. This is where honesty pays off. There are a lot of things you can be convicted of and still remain a Scout Leader. That is, as long as you disclose the issue up front. A Scout is honest. Likewise there are a lot of things that you can be convicted of that the BSA will not allow you to be involved in the program period. A majority of the issues that I hear about (I never know names, only the situation) concern people who have disqualifying convictions they were hoping to hide or undisclosed convictions that would otherwise be okay had they been disclosed. The action taken at that point depends on the Council Scout Executive. In many cases where someone did not disclose a non-disqualifying conviction the leader might be given a chance to explain the failure to disclose. In the case of a disqualifing conviction the SE works with the the CO to remove the person from a leadership position and then define the ways (if possible) that they might be able to be involved with their child in the program. In the end there are a lot of variables to these situations. As I have mentioned as DE's we rarely get much information from the separation process, but in cases where the Council has acted I have seen no abuse of this procedure. I have not seen an such scenario that you are asking about and I think this is largely due to the SSN being used to help identify specific people among those in groups with common names. I am sure that people can and do get removed because of bad data, but it is the exception, not the rule. Secret DE

Square knots are council and national in scope. The overhand knot is the basic building block to a square knot and used as such for the District Award of Merit which is the only award that District can award volunteers.(This message has been edited by Secret DE)

Well, I am the DE of the Casco Bay District of the Pine Tree Council. I guess that ends the secret part. The Casco Bay District serves about 3000 kids which is almost twice the number of kids served by the KV District. We will end this year with around 97 units which is about 22 over KV. From my home or office (they are only 4 miles apart) it takes an hour and a half to get to some of the more remote areas in my district, and there are a few. The thing you have to keep in mind is population. One third of the State of Maine's population resides within a one hour drive of Portland, Maine. I have estimated that approximately one quarter of the states populcation lives in my district. Portland is the Council Headquarters and by default the office where I work out of as the Portland is the largest City in the Council and District. The KV District has some of the greatest fishing, hunting, rafting, camping and general outdoor opportuities in all of the Northeast US. I know. My wife and I are from Waterville which is one of the larger cities in the KV District. I have hunted and fished entensively in the KV district and would not mind being assigned to the area at some other time. Your current DE, Matt, is a great guy, as is your former DE and our new Council Field Director. Today I talked with Matt about your District and one thing to note is that while there is a large area to cover, there are very large tracts of land in the KV district that are forest. Before joining the professional service, I used to travel 65,000 miles a year in Maine on business. Rangeley is my favorite area of the state. But I have fished the Belgrades, and many other bodies of water and I just love the fish we catch. It never hurts to have an uncle who is one of the better known fishermen in the State. The State of Maine is larger than the other five states that make up New Endland. As a member of the professional service, I will be honest about what I think is amazing in Scouting Districts. No matter where they are or how large an area they cover, I am always amazed at how well the volunteers deliver the same program. Sure there are some slight regional differences, but it is amazing that a Scout or Scouter from California can interact with a Scout or Scouter from extereme rural Maine and never skip a beat. That says a lot about our volunteers and their understanding of the program. Good Scouting! Not so Secret DE

Pack, Remember that you are in life the sum of all the experiences that you have had. As an adult leader the potential you have to positively impact a youth is amazing. Being proud of your past can be one of the best examples of leadership you can give your youth today. I am a Second Class Scout, but all of the youths I deal with in my district know that I personally believe in being the best Second Class Scout I can be. All Scouters volunteers and professionals have something to bring to the table. Use your past to inspire todays youth. Secret DE

John, Thank you for the welcome. If by KC, you are from KC Missouri, I am more from a youth program that was founded in that city than Scouts. I was a scout briefly as a youth, but spent most of my time in that organization at the Chapter and State levels. Then I was a volunteer at the chapter and state level as an adult. I have found this to be a great preparation to become a DE. Secret DE

You are all set to wear this Jambo patch on your shirt for life. I have a leader who wears a Jambo patch from a World event in the 60s. One of the interesting thing about adults and uniform options is that they are much more an expression of who they are. Did they attend a Jambo as a Kid? What programs have they been involved in and earned knots for both with and without thier children? What did they accomplish as youth members? All these things and more can be discovered by all Scouters just by looking at the uniforms that are worn by thier peers. If it conforms to the BSA insignia guide, then wear that patch with pride! As a Jambo participant, you are part of Scouting's legacy and history. That is nothing to be ashamed of. Secret DE

I think if you look closely at what is going on, the National Supply group is out of uniforms because of both the World Jamboree and the Canadian National Jamboree. Scouters who attend these events must have contingent uniforms to attend. Many people bring two or three uniforms. My guess is that national is just plain out of uniform shirts for that reason. While I was in Texas for PD-L1 I was able to ask the Boy Scout division about a proposed change in uniform. They said that the push was on to have the newer switchback pants with action shirts for a class B uniform, but that our standard uniform would remain the same for an indefinite period of time. This is not to say that National won't change uniforms, but I don't expect that anytime soon. Secret DE