BobWhiteVA

we use Troopwebhost for calendar and communications, it looks like with the new scoutbook, we can export from Scoutbook into TWH so scouts can see advancements as well.

I'm in the same boat - I can now log into scoutbook after not being able to log into it for the last few weeks, but there are no units under "My Dashboard" - I assume sync is still in progress.

That's the key point in your quote. In a Scout-led unit, the PLC would establish this requirement, not the Scoutmaster. But to me it begs the bigger issue of 'why' are the older Scouts not attending outings. This is pretty common across units I've seen, and usually is attributable to a number of things including lack of a program for the older Scouts, too many distractions, and too much of a focus on the older Scouts simply being their to teach the younger Scouts. Ultimately this should involve a conversation with the older Scouts to find out what they want to do, and what would get them more involved. In a lot of units, this discussion leads to establishment of a venture crew. It could also include having adults bring ideas for outings to the PLC. Good luck!

Right, and as I noted in my original post, when we try that (both our COR and our advancements chair), we get an error: "It looks like your BSA account is not setup with Scoutbook, if you have a Scoutbook account please login with your email/password then choose the option to link your my.Scouting.org account. If you do not have a Scoutbook account please complete the signup form to link your account." I searched for "scoutbook sign up form" and found this: https://www.scoutbook.com/mobile/signup.asp. however, after submitting it I get "whoops! we encountered an error trying to process your request, our webmaster has been notified and will fix it ASAP!" And still no response from Scoutbook to our trouble tickets. Arghhhh.

what did you do to set up the link? We can't even log into Scoutbook.

Our advancements chair and COR are unable to log into Scoutbook using my.scouting.org credentials, all the documentation on the Scoutbook site says that they've enabled single sign-on, so we should use our my.scouting.org credentials to access Scoutbook. WIth IA now going away we're stuck, and Scoutbook support has been non-responsive. Anyone else having the same issue?

I really appreciate everyone's feedback. I'm very new to Venturing as well so it's a learning experience. I started on the committee training program last night. :-)

Hi All, We have a six year-old Troop of approximately 60 boys, given that our first patrols were 11 when we started, they are beginning to age out. Couple with that, we've really struggled to put together a program that keeps our older Scouts involved (various attempts to start a "high adventure patrol" have fizzled as they just went with the normal Troop program, and while older Scouts do mostly attend meetings, they don't really do much). So, we're looking at starting a Crew on the idea that it will keep Scouts active beyond their 18th birthday, give the Crew their own identity, and potentially set the stage to bring in girls. We have identified a COR, Crew Advisor, and Committee Chair. Our concern is that starting the crew would create conflict with the Troop - that is, that the older boys in the Crew would stop participating and being resources for the Troop (e.g. to help out with leading meeting activities). To avoid this, we're considering having crew meetings at the same time as Troop meetings, so everyone would come together for open/close, and then the crew would go off on their own to plan their activities, but be available on an as-needed resource to help with Troop activities. We've had some internal debate as to whether the Crew should be optional for older Scouts as they become eligible, or whether it should be mandatory that all Scouts who are eligible are automatically enrolled. I'm hoping to understand best practices for starting a Crew out of an existing Troop. .What works? What doesn't? What should we avoid? Is the idea of essentially having the Crew meet with the Troop a good or bad idea? How do we avoid the potential scenario in which all the older boys go to the Crew and leave the Troop? Thanks in advance!

https://www.countrymeats.com has good Scout programs. Our most successful fundraisers have been Wreaths Across America, and buying a few hundred dozen Krispy Kreme donuts and selling them at local storefronts or parks during Saturday sporting events. KK will sell them to you for something like $3 a box, with extra free boxes based quantity purchased. We stopped doing the donut sales though as it seemed like people are becoming donut averse. Our next effort is to sell spirit cups - http://www.spiritcupsfundraising.com/fundraising-products/spiritcups/

the scouting alumni association appears to be part of the BSA: http://www.scoutingalumni.org/site/c.ejIPK1NNLgJ0E/b.9309477/k.BF3E/Home.htm

The American Wood Badge Alumni group has created a special award to celebrate 70 years of wood badge. Details here: https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2018/01/24/earn-this-special-patch-to-celebrate-70-years-of-wood-badge-in-us/ To apply for the award: https://www.americanwoodbadge.org/70th-anniversary-award

Some new info from TroopWebHost: ” TroopWebHost will support the ability to transfer advancement data to the new Scoutbook Lite program. The BSA has confirmed that Scoutbook Lite will provide the ability to upload advancement information from a CSV file, similar to the Internet Advancement upload function. TroopWebHost will be able to produce a file in the required format. We are in direct communication with the BSA IT group and expect to receive detailed specifications in plenty of time to allow our customers to make a smooth transition.”

Here's what we received from Troopwebhost:

Some new info posted this morning by the Commisioners of the BSA. They specifically say no API support for third party apps. ——

FWIW at Jamboree we had a few adults who needed a CPAP, they brought solar chargers and large battery packs. There are lots of battery-powered CPAP devices on the market that are designed for travel as well. That might be an option.