Eagle1993

Thanks for the feedback. The scout will be visiting to check out our Troop. I don't plan to contact the other SM at this time; however, I may soon. His feeder pack AOL den is also reaching out to possibly join our Troop. Single scouts moving between Troops happens from time to time. Entire dens, while that occurs, could flag that he needs to reach out and determine what the concern is. For now, I'll let the single scout decision play out.

Here is Arrow WV, INCs latest 990. http://990.erieri.com/EINS/270441319/270441319_2017_0fcc3073.PDF They are claiming it is worth $385M (after depreciation).

This is where the bankruptcy can get very large & complex. I also think it could damage the whole idea of charter organizations. When they start seeing various clubs, churches, etc. pulled into the bankruptcy, expect many COs to question keeping Troops & Packs. BSA should be ready for another model, similar to GSUSA, where councils directly charter units. I also think it is a bit early for nearly every council to essentially guarentee they are not going to be impacted by this lawsuit. If a council has plaintiffs, is located in a state that has no limit on statue of limitations & has big resources ... they will be a target. I understand why they are coming out strong on these statements, and support them, but they probably know there is signficant risk. The good news is that it seems like courts see Catholic Dioceses and Parishes as independent entities … making lawyers sue them individually and working on independent settlements. It seems to be dragging them out, but it also seems to allow most services to go uninterrupted ... perhaps a bit of light for us.

Correctamundo. Do you think we can get out of this whole thing by transferring that "receivable" to the victim's fund? Good luck collecting on that. I also noted that they specifically noted that they did not include Oil & Gas Royalties or the Artwork - Original Rockwell paintings on their asset list. I wonder why they could do that.

They are not, New York State council assets alone are over $100M https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/2020/02/18/boy-scouts-bsa-chapter-11-bankruptcy-sexual-abuse-cases/1301187001/ National Assets: High Adventure Bases (including loan due from Summit) = $408M Cash (some restricted) = $186M General Investments & Order of Arrow = $200M Texas Building & National Supply = $7M Furniture & Equipment = $30M Receivables = $23.6M Pledge Receiveables = $66M Inventory = $68M (that is a lot of Scout shirts) Prepaid Charges = $22M Other Assets = $14M Interfund Receiv = -$10M = $1.014B of assets … out of the above, what can they use for the victim's fund? What is the size of the victim's fund? $408M of HA bases is going to be the juicy target.

From what I have seen, executive compensation actually increases during bankruptcies. The reasoning is that to keep top talent during bankruptcy, you have to over pay.

They listed HA values here: https://casedocs.omniagentsolutions.com/cmsvol2/pub_47373/799102_20.pdf Northern Tier - $6.6M Sea Base $16.7M Philmont $40.1M The Summit high adventure facility is in a separate legal entity, Arrow WV. BSA has a note receivable due from Arrow. The note due from Summit is $345M So, total for HA bases = $408.4M out of total Assets of $1.01B

I don't think this is a good day. A good day would have been a settlement out of court. Significant resources, financial and personal, will be focused on this bankruptcy at National, Regional and Council level. Perhaps in 2+ years, after we emerge, it will be a good day. Thanks to a poster from reddit who reviewed this document. Those who think Councils are out of the woods should read below. (All comments below reposted from reddit) https://casedocs.omniagentsolutions.com/cmsvol2/pub_47373/799040_4.pdf Page 4 Page 6 Some local councils will be turning over financial data as part of the bankruptcy. See page 7 This document goes deep into chartering organizations & ineligible volunteer files. Pages 220 to 230 list the various kinds of sponsoring organizations, and break down how many of each type of group (church, Elks, zoo, National Guard units. etc.) are chartering organizations, which is interesting. Pages (approx.) 237-256 cover the historical Ineligible Volunteer files, with a breakdown of how many crimes of each type were recorded each year. It's just chilling. The whole middle section of the document covers this review by UVA, and while it's good that there was a close examination of the data, the findings are horrifying.

Councils, especially those with land, will be sued over the next several years ... many already are subject of lawsuits and as National goes bankrupt they will be the next targeted entity.Their primary job will be protecting camp(s) that are critical to program success and I expect that means their legal fees will skyrocket ... leaving less paid roles. I believe National, supported by councils, should perform a national call for volunteers. Contact former scouts directly (especially those under 30) and former long term unit leader plus advertiser the need on Twitter, FB, YouTube and other social media platforms. Have a signup list where they can volunteer. Background check that signup list and once they pass, provide names to Districts who can contact them to help fill out District roles and determine what names could be provided to units. I continue to see Troops in my area struggle due to lack of volunteers. There are parents who take on a few roles, but many SMs and ASMs are ready to step down and the parents are not able (time) or willing to take on the roles. Our District committee is ok, but we need more unit commissioners to help. On a personal level, I am serving as a CC for a pack, Den leader for A Wolf den and SM for a Troop (the first year my son joined). I’ve already announced I am resigning my CC role months ago an no one is stepping up (even after asking 4 different parents directly). Our Troop is growing and large (6 patrols) but they had no SM last year and our growth is due to collapsing Troops in the area. After I aged out of BSA, I never heard from them. I spent countless hours volunteering for FIRST robotics including trips to New Hampshire for training and Atlanta for nationals. I could have provided BSA thousands of volunteer hours in my 20s but I didn’t think of it and I never saw the ask/need where as FIRST did reach out frequently. If we are going to survive, we need more qualified volunteers. We need an organized ask.

Boys and Girls club receives significant federal funding (at one point $600M+ per year) and big grants from various corporations. They pay their CEO nearly $1M per year. https://www.forbes.com/companies/boys-girls-clubs-of-america/ They dominate inner city programs and I don’t see the BSA with the funding to compete. It’s sad as I do think the BSA has a great program. I’ve seen the Boys and Girls club camps in my area ... they are impressive and well funded when compared to BSA. I think we need new BSA national leaders who are able to mobilize youth, parents and organizations in a belief that the methods and aims are needed in today’s generation. I believe they are, but the message is being drowned out by STEM and abuse cases.

This may be a bit rough, but... Why are our key 3 all retirement age and UK’s head honchos look to be in the prime of their careers? Just one example... Check Twitter... Our new CSE is the only one that seems to have an account and he has 11 followers and one tweet in 2013 about a car accident. Bear Grylls ... very active on Twitter with 1.4 million followers Matt Hyde... 8,000 plus followers, active on Twitter Tim Kidd... 7,000 plus followers, active Twitter is just one way I would expect BSA leaders (as individuals) to connect with parents and youth today. Instead, BSA is run by the individuals that do not know how to connect to scouts in this generation and they send out their messages is website newsletters that probably never reach the youth. Where is our energetic leaders, out there making news, taking charge of engaging youth and local volunteers? Where is the aggressive media arm retweeting the great work of scouts? I see good work out of Bryan... perhaps he should be one of our key 3 (he has over 5,000 followers on Twitter). I question if they really do know millennials (parents) and gen z (scouts) or if they are just relying on surveys. The absence of any communication from our new leader is sad.

Even in rich suburbs the fees are starting to get laughs. When my daughter joined a GSUSA Troop the parents were asking about fees. The GSUSA rep said they were not set yet as the Troop sets their own fee (I think GSUSA charges $25). One parent asked if total would be under $100. The GSUSA (and parents laughed) and said... “of course! we are not the Boy Scouts.” We haven’t paid much since (and no FOS begging) given cookie sales.

How do you handle a situation where a scout is a member of another Troop and reaches out to ask to attend your Troop meeting as they may like to switch? I’m definitely welcoming to the youth, but do you let the other SM know? My concern is that I continue to see Troops in my area collapse. Many have SMs who would like to step down (at least to ASM) but they cannot find parents willing to serve. We have scouts that would have attended several other Troops in the area, which is accelerating their demise. I would never push away a scout, but it would make the Troop he leaves even weaker. Would it make sense to reach out to SM to see if he has ideas on why the scout would leave?

We just received our councils Cub Scout summer camp flyer (we sold off all Scout BSA camps so our council doesn’t have summer camps for them). I don’t believe our council (and perhaps others) understand how families look at camps today. Most families (90%+) in my area are either dual income. When summer comes along they look for week long camps where their kids can go to provide care while the parents go to work. GSUSA camps work well. There is bussing near by and they don’t require adults to attend (as they hire older girls as staff). If adults attend, they can get a discount on their child’s camp. Plus, girls can go on overnight camps as young as 2nd grade. BSA camps require units to provide 1 adult for every 4 kids. Oh, and they charge for that adult. Plus, some camps are only 4 days long. GSUSA camps are similar to how YMCA, museum, local university and other outdoor youth organizations are treating summer camps. All have higher fees (up to 2x) than BSA, but offer parents a full week option that does not come with a requirement of finding adults for every 4 kids that attend. Our participation rate at Cub Scout summer camps has been dropping. They need to hire older scouts/college age students, raise fees, offer a full week, and drop the requirement for unit leaders/adults to attend. Perhaps this is just my council ... but I’m concerned that their current approach will kill Cub Scout summer camp.

My daughter is not selling Lemon UPs yet... just the standard faire. However, this is the last year we are selling Thanks a Lots. I will say selling GS cookies door to door is 100000000x more pleasurable than Boy Scout popcorn. People open the door before you even ring the bell. It was a cold day and snowing and we were invited into homes. The discussion was never if they were going to buy... just how much and what they think their doctor would allow. (Not kidding) BS popcorn... as my son and I would walk up, lights are turned off, doors are locked. When they make the mistake of opening their the door (perhaps they have poor eyesight and think it is a Girl Scout) I see the pained look and the desperate face of how much is this going to cost. The $10 tin is typically purchased and I know they are thinking that is two boxes worth of thin mints. We need new product. Hey, weed is becoming legal almost everywhere.

Read section 7.0.4.7 Limited Recourse for Unearned Merit Badges in Guide to Advancement for what official option(s) you have. Did the unit leader sign the blue card and assign the MBC? We publish clear policy to our scouts and parents (though this case sounds like it is not a parent): Parents can always be MBCs in group settings (like a MB clinic) Parents cannot be a MBC for Eagle required MBs (outside the MB clinic) Parents are discouraged from being a MBC for non requires MBs Parents can only be MBCs for a max of 3 MBs for their son/daughter.

Just saw a FB post by a fairly well connected volunteer on number of girls in BSA. Will be interesting to see total numbers including boys. Troops 31,041 girls in Scouts BSA 3,346 Girl Troops Average Troop is 9 girls Cub Scouts 15,375 Packs with at least 1 girl 8,513 Packs with 5 or more girls 129,830 girls in Cub scouts (2018 ended with 77,784) so a 67% increase Total number of girls hit 160,871. I agree I expect this number to increase year over year. I’m not convinced that it will outpace the loss of boys, even excluding LDS. In my area, boy decrease is outpacing the increase in girls (so far) and we have limited LDS units. Edit: These are end of Dec numbers for each year.

They even have FAQs about BSA bankruptcy. https://scoutbankruptcy.crewjanci.com/ Includes this gem: As lawyers prepare hundreds of new lawsuits, the pressure on the BSA’s finances is significant. Whether the impact is ultimately fatal for the organization is likely to depend on the ability of the BSA, its insurers, and victims (through their attorneys) to reach a reasonable compromise through the bankruptcy process . If Boy Scouts of America are unable to come to a reasonable arrangement, the organization could be forced to sell off assets, including camps and large areas of land that are thought to be worth around $1billion combined.

I’m a bit surprised our new CEO hasn’t sent out any message to the scouts and volunteers yet. Does anyone know if he sent anything to councils? I’ve been through transitions of leadership many times before and in all cases the new leader would have sent something out by now. Not a major issue, just a bit odd.

We are mortgaging HA bases, numbers continuing to decline, fees are increasing and we are headed to bankruptcy. .... Other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?

19 of them are lawyers

A good EBOR will bring up items in the letters without disclosing who wrote them. The scout already gets to select who provides the letters, the feedback from those letters should be unfiltered. I am aware of EBORs where letters were negative. The boards asked questions raised in those letters and the scouts responded well (essentially admitting past mistakes and that he has grown and matured). So, instead of whispers by some that a scout isn’t Eagle worthy, he had the chance to confront the negative feedback directly. While I agree with @qwazse that one should have the stones to provide negative feedback directly but many do not and the current method allows those individuals the opportunity to provide unfiltered feedback.

I attempted to think of various ways this forum can change, but it is difficult to see a way unless Mr. Mosby changes how National listens to volunteers. I was/am 100% behind the various changes with respect to gays, transgender and girls; however, it was not handled well by National. I think what we need, to be effective in providing feedback, is more transparency. There is a ton of unit and district experience on this forum. When decisions are being made/debated without transparency, we are left guessing and providing opinions on partial info. So, if Mr. Mosby brings forth more transparency, I think we should be willing to discuss/provide feedback regarding the issues of today without constantly bringing up actions from the past. We should understand that the youth, parents, media and culture today are different than those in the 1980s and prior. So what worked in 1965 or 1985 may not work today. However, we also should stay true to the mission of the BSA. Finding that balance is difficult, and we should be willing to admit that while providing feedback and comments. Now, if Mr. Mosby starts by talking about eliminating god from Scouting, kicks off a poll, refuses to release the results and announces the change ... the gloves come off. 🙂

I expect his first job will be keeping BSA alive through bankruptcy. This will include saving our high adventure bases and major cost cutting. He should read Bullsh*t Jobs by David Graeber and Six Simple Rule by Yves Morieux. Both talk to how corporations (and private enterprise) create inefficient and ineffective solutions to solving problems. Centralize what makes sense for consistency or cost needs (IT, uniform, program requirements, marketing (some)). Distribute the rest back to councils, districts, units. Lay off most if not all assistant chief scout executives ... I see no reason why their high salaries are needed. Find ways to revitalize our volunteer ranks. They (unit, district and council) are the key to our success. Consider dropping non core items to our methods or aims (learning for life, STEM) so focus can remain on the program. Reach out to long term volunteers who quit to find out why... if it is girls/gays, not much you can do, but I expect there are other reasons that may be able to be improved. Just a few thoughts. This will be a significant challenge and I wish him the best of luck.

LinkedIn profile https://www.linkedin.com/in/roger-mosby-a6300a61 He worked for Enron for 11 years... Hope he can guide us through the next few years. I expect it to be a bit bumpy.