Eagle1993

October report released. https://casedocs.omniagentsolutions.com/cmsvol2/pub_47373/815753dc-61e4-41a7-b808-4cb4a6794e7b_7517.pdf Total Ending Unrestricted Liquidity - BSA $140,975,000 Total Ending Unrestricted Cash Balance - BSA $74,518,000 So, BSA lost $3,977,000 in cash in October. There is a bit less income from supply, registrations were nearly equal to Sept. The big charge? Bankruptcy. October = $13.142M Sept = $6.379M Remember, October is when they mailed out all of those Size 4 font packages plus probably paid a ton of extra lawyer fees.

https://www.sumptionandwyland.com/resources/sumption-wyland-articles/what-is-the-right-size-for-your-nonprofits-board I am an employee of a formally large organization that nearly went bankruptcy. Nearly every article written blamed our board as one of the key factors. Our board size was too large ... we had 18 members.

This board is far too large to be effective. It is an audience not a board. BSA has been dying for 30 years…. I think I see one major reason here.

Per the mediator this is true. I don’t see why it wouldn’t be legal. Judge didn’t seem to object. I think the BSA can work with any party they see fit as it is their plan. The way I see this. The bankruptcy court is there to call balls/strikes and ensure everyone follows the law. The mediation is there to help parties to work to a plan… it isn’t required. The FCR and TCC are official parties representing groups of claimants. It’s BSA’s job to come up with a plan that will get all classes approval. They can use whatever tools they want to get to that plan. One can question the BSA, but I expect they simply want to focus on pleasing the Coalition and hope that they will deliver the votes. If the coalition fails to get the yes votes, BSA will have to reconsider their tactics.

This isn’t the judge’s first rodeo. Some of the coalition law firms are looking to be similar to some Talc law firms who didn’t do proper claims assessments. She ended up throwing out votes from these claims as they couldn’t be validated claimants. So, if these law firms cannot show how they vetted the claims within the next few weeks, I expect many of those votes could be tossed. This will likely help the anti plan side as the concentration of questionable claims seems to be owned primarily by coalition law firms. https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/ex-jj-talc-supplier-considering-new-path-judge-nixes-bankruptcy-plan-votes-2021-10-13/ Silverstein said it's not clear the Bevan clients even have valid claims against Imerys because the firm did not conduct due diligence on whether they'd been exposed to the company's talc. "In other words, Bevan & Associates simply printed out a list of its clients in excel spreadsheet format and slapped it behind a Master Ballot," the judge wrote.

I think final plans come through mutual trust. The BSA and TCC have 0 trust left. That means nearly every decision will be fought over in court. I’d rather see BSA say… this is our plan, we believe in it, but we will keep working with the TCC building that trust. So, even if not stated, if the plan fails they can quickly come to an agreed upon proposal. I hope I’m wrong, I just think we would be better off if the bankruptcy firms were actually working together in mediation vs fighting every aspect of this case in front of a judge.

There was a hearing today and while I didn't attend, there is a great series of Tweets from @melissabjacoby Richard Pachulski from TCC is stating that the AIS firms are essentially messing up this entire process. The judge must demand they send a joint letter to their claimants or the entire voting process may end up in being subject to debate. The judge basically said it may be too late, but she doesn't know what authority she would have to demand this of AIS. TCC said they would amend their motion. Expect some fast action over the next week or so over: 1) Demand on AIS to send letter. 2) Possible delay of voting deadline (no delay yet, but being requested) 3) Possible appointment of ombudsman. Note that TCC has been excluded from all mediation since Summer (confirmed my mediators). BSA is all in on the coalition. If they don't come through, I have a hard time seeing National emerge. You can blame White & Case if it comes to that. The judge did shoot down some objections to discovery (coming from several coalition law firms). Lawyers who sign off on proof of claims are subject to discovery. I found the Tweet series interesting. One issue ... while there are A LOT of claims ... many times, based on historical info, many do not submit votes. That means those who are voting are more motivated claimants. That could be a big factor into what we see. Another issue ... in addition to BSA and insurance companies, several law firms reps are on the line. If White & Case oversee the downfall of the BSA ... who would hire them again? If PSZJ law ends up seeing a crap settlement ... they won't get another big claimant committee deal. Coalition law firms may be facing legal bills that can't be paid if they don't get a quick payout. A lot going on, just over 2 weeks left until voting closes (unless something changes).

And a bit more interesting tidbits The BSA has hired a lobbying firm to go to Washington in an attempt to prevent the passage of the bankruptcy reform bill. If the bill passes, it could completely stop the ability of BSA to include COs or LCs in their bankruptcy plan. https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-influence/2021/11/24/boy-scouts-will-lobby-on-bill-to-curb-tactics-used-in-bankruptcy-proceedings-799099

Some pretty major filings on the court docket. The TCC is asking for an independent Ombudsman to be appointed to lead the voting. They are asking for two additional weeks. There are other documents filed under seal that are used to support this. US Trustee is objecting as are others. Another law firm has filed support. What lead to this. Signs are pointing to Kosnoff’s deposition and apparently evidence of some questionable eballots. (Not court approved). There is now official claims of eballots not accurately recording votes. If this is not granted, there is a chance that the vote could simply have to restart from the beginning…. Months of delay. Not sure what should be done, but the examples given show the disfunction going on right now. What a mess. https://casedocs.omniagentsolutions.com/cmsvol2/pub_47373/dd0d8d63-5772-4b78-b3a0-5c03a45a5b20_7447.pdf

Yeah, that is a bit odd. Though there are no gaga pits at the schools in my area (at least town) and the one at the scout camp we went to was removed. However, they appear to be more common than schools playing dodgeball. I'm not sure why gaga is considered safer than dodgeball.

For Lions & Tigers, I do question the need for two leaders when every scout has a parent present.

First, I do thank @RichardB for commenting on this forum. Most from National wouldn’t and it’s great that he participates. Also, I do think the last version of G2SS made some updates that helped, specifically regarding use of tools. Perhaps there are some specific areas that we think could be relooked at. I get the complaints about patrol only activities with no adults. Perhaps there could be flexibility there. I’m not sure it is possible in today’s world of liability but perhaps. I cannot think of many clubs in high school that meet without adults present … I know dodgeball comes up and that impacted our troop as nearly every meeting ended in dodgeball. We’ve excepted it and moved on. To be fair, most schools in my area have also banned dodgeball so I don’t see this coming back. Lasertag is one that we find a bit odd. Nearly every kid in our Troop has played lasertag. Most have played paintball and many airsoft. They know the difference between real guns and gun safety and toy guns. Perhaps it is more about simulation of war and not wanting BSA to look like a paramilitary institution. I’m not sure. What other aspects of G2SS are causing overburden? Perhaps there are some that could be relooked at just as the tools section was.

Well, we may now see if KR’s and some of the aggregators actions are legal. I expect some of what is being provided was what Kosnoff has been alluding to on Twitter. Kosnoff on Twitter Dear friends, thanks for your thoughts and prayers, well-wishes and support. I want you to know that my deposition was probably the most gratifying day of my 41 year career. They will try to suppress my testimony and evidence from public view. They will fail. A hammer blow 4 U.…. You gotta wait til herroner rules on the motions to seal from public view. This may take a while. Hopefully not because this balloting mess has been struck today by a thermonuclear created by the Coalition. Lucas has been dragged through the mud when he deserves a medal. KR’s firm is now asking the judge to seal the discovery. Haven’t seen anything regarding the deposition. https://casedocs.omniagentsolutions.com/cmsvol2/pub_47373/7e135f1b-e37f-4862-97ca-52df8b10704d_7395.pdf

The email went out and probably caused some confusion. The best way to handle that was for attorneys to simply contact their clients and reinforce their recommendations. By making a fuss, the Coalition brought far more attention to the email. That probably got even more claimants to view it and or forward it. Claimants who are suspicious of this whole thing may now be further suspicious of the big push to not read the email. I wouldn’t be surprised if the reaction of BSA and coalition to the email results in more no votes than the initial email. How do you guarantee someone will read a document? Tell them not to read it. I’m looking forward to Dec 14 and seeing the vote count. Most of the news before then seems to be just noise.

I think this is the “big” news. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/coalition-of-abused-scouts-for-justice-secures-support-from-ad-hoc-committee-to-appoint-survivors-to-local-council-boards-301429165.html

One thing I do question is BSA’s drive to start new units. If you have a group of scouts and some willing parent volunteers and Troops really close, it could be better to just join that Troop.

Camp Indian Trails just sold. $3.4M vs estimated value of $1.6M. Purchased by a county to be turned into a park via the American Rescue Act. https://www.hngnews.com/milton_courier/news/local/article_ebdc021b-1f1c-5974-b28d-7c8bd9e52a70.html

Another hearing tomorrow. https://casedocs.omniagentsolutions.com/cmsvol2/pub_47373/58ffd639-8ef1-47e7-841e-36ea38c1e32c_7327.pdf Insurance companies are demanding BSA provide details on the claims tables. The judge agreed back in October and the BSA produced about a million pages of documents. However, many of the details are listed as withheld due to privilege. Various insurance companies are pushing back on discovery. Insurance companies pushing to get groups to comply with discovery about proof of claims (several different insurance companies and a variety (primarily coalition) law firms I don't see much or anything about the email ... so perhaps that has settled for now. The TCC appears to be negotiating with various insurance groups regarding their requested discovery. They appear to have agreed to allow that negotiation to proceed without asking the judge to jump in yet. To me, the biggest question, is the POCs. If the insurance company finds questionable POCs and they really impact the law firms with large numbers, you may see some big impacts. What happens if they find 15 - 20K claims were falsely filed and never vetted? If history is repeated, the judge will exclude their votes. It will be interesting if she forces the hands of Slater Slater Schulman and Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg & Jeck, P.C. Both are coalition members with thousands of claims that are a bit suspect.

No. The Tweets and all reference to those tweets were removed. Your comment was fine; however, since it included the tweet it was removed. As you asked. It sounds like something was mentioned about an announcement tomorrow. I'm not sure where this came from (perhaps the Coalition townhall). Perhaps someone knows.

One of the concerns we have brought up early about the bankruptcy is that BSA seems only focused on CSA. One can argue if the payments are sufficient or not, but BSA seems to have completely ignored the other financial perils it faces. In particular, the massive debt it entered into bankruptcy with (when you include Summit) and the fact they are adding $100M to that debt, if not more. Well, I think the first shoe is dropping on how we are going to pay that debt down. Here are the Philmont trek rates: 2022 12 Day - $1,295 9 Day - $1,200 7 Day - $1,000 2023 12 Day - $1,490 9 Day - $1,375 7 Day - $1,150 2020 (as reference) 12 Day - $1,025 9 Day - $850 7 Day - $650 2020 - 2023 % Increase 12 Day - 45% 9 Day - 62% 7 Day - 77% I'm not sure if we are seeing this elsewhere (Sea Base for example). BSA needs to pay down the Philmont loans ... I expect these massive price increases are the plan. (Note I also expect some of this is to pay higher salaries and deal with inflation pressure, but expect loan repayment is the big driver.

My experience that I am seeing are assets that are listed as restricted by the BSA and LC and TCC but are going for possible sale anyway. TCC did consider restrictions. That said, I’m sure LCs don’t agree with what the TCC is saying. I think the main point of the article is that LCs or COs shouldn’t be part of the National BSA bankruptcy. If there are CSA claims, they should proceed in state court. If they lose cases or believe they don’t have enough money, then they should enter their own bankruptcy.

Looking at this further, they don't seem to have a CSA expert in the mediation team left. They have a former bankruptcy judge and Timothy Gallagher who's focus seems insurance (and 1/2 his pay is from insurance companies). https://casedocs.omniagentsolutions.com/cmsvol2/pub_47373/823873_812.pdf Finn gave up $1,500/hr walking away from this.

Paul Finn didn't sign the last mediator report. Looks like he had a lot of experience in CSA mediation: https://www.nadn.org/paul-finn I expect everything he did was protected so he can't talk. I wonder why he quit.

If it was my district, I would ask other units to share ideas of events they put on, camping locations, hiking spots, etc. and share them with the new unit. Perhaps even see if some units would be willing to invite the new Troop to their events. Trop XYZ would invite this new group of scouts & parents along. The new group would be in their own patrol. Perhaps by going to 2-3 other Troop/s outings, the new Troop would start seeing how other Troops operate and start forming their own culture aligned with the one they like best. I agree with starting with setting up patrols and youth leadership early and give them the list of ideas (ones that the adults are willing to support). Let them select and then get out camping, hiking, etc. I would look a bit at advancement as I do see kids who earn advancement as more likely to stay onboard, but advancement should be done as part of outings.

@PeterHopkins While our recruiting went well, I am still not convinced BSA is on a path to rebound. I'm stepping down as CC of our Pack (as my daughter is dropping out). I had a meeting with our current CM (parent of a 5th grader) and new CC (has many kids so will be in a while). We all agreed ... for 95%+ of our pack, scouting is not their primary activity. Sports, school, family all rank higher in the priority list. I think it dropped further down the list during the pandemic (family time increased in priority). This is just a hunch from conversations with families, so I'm willing to admit we are wrong. Our new Committee Chair owns a healthcare IT company and is an executive of two others. He understands leading businesses, how to raise VC funding, etc. He believes BSA expects far too much from volunteers. Parents are willing to help out here and there, but to expect the amount of time BSA expects exceeds most parents willingness to volunteer. Our CM is also a GSUSA Troop leader. She says BSA is much more complex to lead than her GSUSA Troop. GSUSA is pretty simple, you have a few parents get together and lead their own grade's group of girls. There is no complexity of Packs, Charter Org/CORs, etc. She said that stuff is draining energy from just leading your group of kids. So, even though recruiting went well for us, I am still concerned about the future. While some here talk about Wood badge, most units barely have volunteers to even have enough YP trained leaders to allow outings to occur. Your experience is likely not unique and is probably the norm for many units, especially given long term trends.