Eagle94-A1

WAIT I thought this was the Doctor....

I honestly do not know how it will affect councils and their properties. I do know that the lead attorney has stated on several occasions that he wants the complete dissolution of the BSA. He has also threatened to launch a wave of lawsuits against individual councils where he can, and National has asked the councils to become part of the lawsuit so that the matter is settled once and for all. Always in motion, the future is.

Hi, My name is Eagle94-a1 and I am a Scouting Addict. :) Seriously though, if you don't want to quit, don't. Make sure you do have a corps of ASMs who can do the job when you are on vacation with the wife. If you do want to quit, as @Sentinel947 stated create a succession plan now and stay long enough to have it go through. A troop I was in had the SM die unexpectedly, and there was no one prepared to step up. They did not have a SM for about 6-8 months, and it was not a good time. Good luck.

I would say National is encouraging it. Look at the "one and done" mentality it now promotes in literature. As for virtual MBUs, anyone remember the video from NAM where they are pushing the number of awards earned virtually, and praised one council for their numbers?

I've been in a variety of volunteer and professional positions lover the years.The #2 hardest job in Scouting is being a den leader. I did it for 6 years and was burned out.

Must have been a troop requirement. I was inducted in the late 80s, served on the election/camp promo team (my lodge combined to two activities into 1 visit) in the early 90s, and was a chapter adviser/chapter staff adviser in the mid to late 90s. in that time there was never an official age limit.

One other thing that made the OA special, candidates that were not willing to undergo the Ordeal fully would be told to leave. That is not longer allowed, only candidates can decide whether they should leave or not. If the lodge was to send them home, it would be considered "hazing." I found this out at one Ordeal where an adult candidate complained a lot about doing the work. After three counseling sessions, he was separated from the rest of the Candidate, had 2 adult members to supervise him, and they became a 3 man work party. He still complained, and at one point refused to work any more. When I found out, I asked the lodge adviser why we don't send him home, and was told national no longer allows it.

Must have been prior to the 1980s. BUT I can tell you from my experience in my troop, everyone getting elected tended to be in the 15-17 year old age range. Not because of any age restriction, but because it was considered an honor and we had an active Leadership Corps I remember 1 14 year old getting elected, and he turned 15 prior to the Ordeal.

That was how it was in the 80s. First Class, 15 days and night of camping, including 1 (and only 1) long term camp within the past 2 years, SM's approval, and voted in. Up to 50% eligible got in with an even number eligible. Odd number varied since they rounded up to the next even number, then divided by half. So 2 out of 3 could get elected, 3 out of 5 could get elected, etc. That policy changed in the mid 90s, and a bunch of us thought it was a mistake.

I don't remember any age requirements for OA. But I do remember tenure requirements for Tenderfoot Second Class, and First Class. I also remember "Master the Skill" and "The badge represents what the Scout CAN DO, not what he has done" (sic) were the advancement standards to meet, and not "one and done." like today. I also remember being able to vote for 1/2 the number eligible. In my first OA election, they were 3 of us eligible. I could only vote for 2, and I did not myself as the other 2 were my role models and mentors. I think the old standards produced a more mature, capable Arrowman. I also believe the prestige of being an Arrowman, being recognized by not only your SM ( he had to approve you name on the ballot) but also by your peers through the election. Sadly it is not that way anymore in my neck of the woods. And with the OA hemorrhaging membership, I think it is nationally anymore

Only if your troop does it itself.

Currently Camp Raven Knob in NC is open and looking for units to attend. They have a great program.

@Sentinel947 said it best. There is no way to replace it.

IMHO worse still, first aid. I had a Life Scout with First Aid MB, not able to do basic T-2-1 first aid skills. When I asked him about why he couldn't do the skills, He told me "I took that class my first summer camp, I don't remember that stuff."

Ditto what @DuctTape said, what do the Scouts want to do?

Congratulations to your son!

Folks are still learning about COVID-19 because A) it is such a new virus and B) there are legitimate concerns that information about the virus was initially withheld by the CCP. Plus as more research is done, the information changes.

Well i just had a visit from one of my son's friends. The his troop is also doing their own extended summer camp since they were going out of state for camp. They are doing a 5 day summer camp of 8 MB sessions and then a 50 mile canoe trip.

The 2 camps I worked at in the UK, used that model. troops stayed at the camp and did their own things. The camp had available different activities on a ala cart model. So if the troop wanted to repel of the Cliffs of Dover, they could do that for an extra fee. Rifle shooting, ditto. Kayaking or sailing in the Chanel, again ther was a fee. My troop is doing their own camp. We got less than an month to prepare, so we are working on 2 options: 1. modern, MB oriented summer camp with limited choices of MB, or 2. hybrid activity based/ merit badge summer camp. Option 2 has them working on 2 MBs Environmental Science and Canoeing. Environmental Science was one of the most requested MB and Canoeing gets them wet since we have no swim area. We are giving them 2 options because there is a push by a few parents to make it MB focused. One in particular is trying to push it so that his son can get the remaining MBs for Eagle. But what is frustrating is that all the MBs he needs, he either has partials in, or started working on, and he has a counselor for those when is working with. We also have a few Scouts wanting a MB oriented summer. The rationale is that it is easier to earn MBs in one week of camp than throughout the year. (An aside, I think part of that is some summer camps are cutting corners. I have known Scouts "earn MBs" that they did not actually complete.) Activities at this moment include the following: First Aid (Helicopter Crash) Pioneering (Catapults or bridges, depending upon how much rope we can get) Orienteering (Patrol vs patrol), and Wilderness Survival (overnight experience). The activities will allow the Scouts meet T-2-1 requirements, and/or MB requirements. Plus they can be fun. memorable experiences. FORGOT TO ADD, all the activities have specific requirements that they meet for MBs and advancement.

My troop is doing their own camp. We got less than an month to prepare, so we are working on 2 options: 1. modern, MB oriented summer camp with limited choices of MB, or 2. hybrid activity based/ merit badge summer camp. Option 2 has them working on 2 MBs Environmental Science and Canoeing. Environmental Science was one of the most requested MB and Canoeing gets them wet since we have no swim area. We are giving them 2 options because there is a push by a few parents to make it MB focused. One in particular is trying to push it so that his son can get the remaining MBs. But what is frustrating is that all the MBs he needs, he either has partials in, or started working on, and he has a counselor for those when is working with. We also have a few Scouts wanting a MB oriented summer. The rationale is that it is easier to earn MBs in one week of camp than throughout the year. (An aside, I think part of that is some summer camps are cutting corners. I have known Scouts "earn MBs" that they did not actually complete.) Activities at this moment include the following: First Aid (Helicopter Crash) Pioneering (Catapults or bridges, depending upon how much rope we can get) Orienteering (Patrol vs patrol), and Wilderness Survival (overnight experience). The activities will allow the Scouts meet T-2-1 requirements, and/or MB requirements. Plus they can be fun. memorable experiences.

Negative, Ghostrider. What I wanted was IF increases occurred, they would give us enough advance warning so that folks could come up with a plan to get the money. Advance notice to help units and members budget is a lot better than A) Waiting until the beginning of Round Up season to announce fee increases or B) Waiting until days before the recharter process goes online.

Not necessarily. In at least 1 instance, I know a council, or more specifically a SE and DFS, that attempted restrict access to a council camp, and with lower attendance at the camp, reduced funding to the camp. The camp was essentially maintained by 2 OA chapters and troops in 2 districts. Rumor had it that the SE and DFS were trying to get the trust to give outright ownership to the council. Thankfully the camp is still in a trust. Later, a different SE not only removed some of the restrictions at the camp, but also invested in maintenance and repairs. That camp usually has more attendance than the other council camps, including the primary one used for summer camp.

I do not know why my council president emailed us on Friday, but he did. and I am glad. The SE's have had a heads up since NAM. While the pros should be notified in advance, because they will be facing the backlash, the info needs to come out in a timely manner. And I agree the infographic did cause more confusion than helped IMHO.

So what will the fee be for 18 to 20 year old ASSISTANT Scoutmasters?

Trust me, I know.