Tampa Turtle

Welcome. As others would say: Big Troop.

Durham...I am impressed. Great school and the old part is beautiful. I think have similar start dates in cubbing and scouting. I still have a few years before my youngest ages out at 18. I hope my oldest comes back as a leader when he ages out later this year.

We did the same thing, a County Commissioner who is a neighbor. While he is a good guy and tried to do a good job they are always "running"...it is just their nature.

My wife and I wrote separate letters (mine was more Scouter-like). We both gigged him on Friendly, Courteous, and Kind but with the same proviso that he was as much so as his autism would allow him thus far. Was fun to compare.

No kidding.

Alas, the SM should be the wall protecting the Youth Led from the interference of well meaning adults.

I am pretty discouraged with the whole Eagle process. Paper chase is right. Just the marketability of having the Eagle as the worlds greatest Life Scout gets little cred.

Actually our EBOR person at Council says many parents write the most negative things of all the letters.

Yes, my son picked a few that were not my first choice but it is his decision.

Six, Five if not employed. Parents count as one. Parents, Religious, Teacher, Two Others.

I was wondering what was going on. Really not much news coming out on how this gonna affect things--I keep hearing 'no change, no change at all' which beggars the question 'why do it?". Now the new Tampa Bay Regional Council will have a huge service area. I do not like that I hear rumors that the two OA Lodges will have to merge.

I am sure others will have better answers but I will take a stab anyway. While I am not an expert (Son#1 just submitted his paperwork) I would first read the BSA requirements and second call your District/Council Eagle point person--they will be reviewing it. Read the BSA policy says "If not affiliated with an organized religion, then the parent or guardian provides this reference." I suppose it depends if he considers himself affiliated with the Episcopal Church. In that case they might ask why was he not practicing it or attending. And your religious reference does not have to be a pastor--it could be someone else. My son is using his old Youth Minister from several years ago who he still keeps in touch with and keeps a correspondence on religious issues. I doubt the pastor at our current church knows him beyond his name and that he attends each week. His old Youth Minister has a better handle on his character. A lot depends on the EBOR members IMHO. Some might probe and your son's statement should come in handy. It seems to me the BSA 'Higher Power' test is a pretty low hurdle to jump for a sincere lad provided they are not a hardcore atheist.

I think I was nominated for OA as much because my son was nominated as for my years of service. I suspect the practicality of trying to make sure a father member is more likely to ferry his son and other OA members to OA events.

You could do a flag ceremony at a political rally and as soon as that and the pledge is done all uniformed scouts and scouters leave; they could attend as individuals as long as they change out of their uniforms. In our units we encourage boys to discuss provided it stays civil and does not affect group cohesion. Adults are expected to be apolitical to he boys and always respectful of elected leaders (so someone is always unhappy!). We expect everyone to behave like gentlemen. The boys will be discussing this and religion anyway when you are out of earshot.

So so sorry. All of our worst fears realized. My Troop lost a beloved ex-Scout Master in his prime earlier this year and it deeply affected some boys and many adults. This is so much worse. Boys grieve in many ways and they are not so good in processing their emotions.

I was at a Back to Brownsea for Webelos 2's and the poor boy left a package in the 8" space between tents because he was too scared to walk the 30' to the outhouse. We were so proud of the Life Scout who, when no young boy would fess up, volunteered to use his cat shovel to pick it up and dispose of it properly. He was nicknamed 'scoop' for a month afterword and at the COH was honored with a trowel spray painted gold -- the first troop 'Golden Scoop' award. His ECOH is coming up--I am so using that story.

I never understand why they don't tell you--especially newbies before summer camp. I try talking to them and explain we have had to deal with all kinds of situations including: - A late bed wetter where we would assist in the discrete disposal of the training pants to avoid humiliation. - A night screamer. - A boy who if you didn't give him his 5am meds before he really got up you had a Tasmanian Devil Child. - A extreme claustrophobic--we just made the great outdoors his bedroom. If it rained he slept on the picnic table under the tarp. - Allergies of all kinds. Why so why don't they give us a heads up? I know occasionally when I am the camp medicine officer I hand out some pills for a boy I've known a few years and say 'Whoa that explains a whole lot!".

On a recent backpacking hike weekend we had a couple 13 year olds decide during the night that the 10 miles in was enough and they would skip the 10 mile return. So they used a smuggled cell phone (that mom had insisted he always take) to try to play divorced Dad and Mom to pick him up and take him and his buddy home. Apparently (as we found out later) they refused and talked Grandma to drive down a sand access road at 2am and meet them and take them home. We did not find out until morning; I guess we were so dog tired (it had been 10 miles in hot sand) they must have stepped right by me. We adults were mad because it could have gone south with them that night and the other boys were mad because they didn't pack up their trash and we all had to split up their share of troop gear. The boys and parents were told they were not allowed to come on another outing unless they followed the Troop rules and were put on a two month event ban (that the youth leadership decided). One kid never came back and the other, who deeply apologized is still in and an infrequent camper. My wife observed common sense dictates that Grandma should have found an adult leader and said she was taking them in the middle of the night.

I guess I am lucky--we have a pretty good lodge here. I was real proud of my son for going to bat for the boys with the Scoutmaster. The SM wasn't a bad sort just overstepped the bounds on this one IMHO. I have noticed some of the lazy but popular boys never get around to doing the Ordeal (especially when they hear rumors of work and doing service) and the rest are Sash and Dash (I love that term). But we have a core of boys 'that get it' and bring back youth-led experience and new ideas to the Troop.

Assuming the boy wants to be in scouts and assuming he has some 'issues' then it is more than fair for a parent to come along on campouts 'just in case'. I was asked to do that and rarely needed to step in and help/re-direct my son; but when I did at least he was not knocking the whole event off the rails and I freed up other scouters to help with what was needed. I also could help 'coach' the PL and SPL on how IMHO to handle my boy (some of them were just great) What you don't want to do is have a Dad who jumps in and defends his kids bad behavior and blows up the event either. So it is a dicey balance. This can be somewhat avoided by making sure the parent is trained up.

Yes, thanks for the background. Only takes a few times us adults pull this stuff to turn off the boys who drank the youth-led Kool-Aid. And it takes real adult consensus and majority to make it happen...

Are you talking about National?

Very true. When I used to work for a transit agency we would survey residents on what they wanted in a neighborhood bus shuttle. Even most of 'would very likely use' ever used it. We went back to straight mathematical demographic modeling and always got better ridership.

I agree if a Patrol did their own campout--I would be doing backflips of happiness.

I think there could be a tremendous co-ed Scouting program...I think at some ages the girls would leaven the troops with a little more decorum and a lot of camping girls don't get enough in GSUSA. BUT...and it is a big BUT I have zero confidence that National is competent to pull it off.