Eagle1993

Looks like in addition to new fit... covered buttons, smaller front pockets and BSA vs Boy Scouts of America. Any other changes? Glad they didn’t go with some of the more drastic changes, but this is definitely more than just size.

Some people have received the book a and the only changes are pictures and perhaps a few pronouns. There is a section that some said would be updated to include tampons/etc. info but that was not updated. Also, family life MB requirements have not changed for girls.

Wow, I’m sorry to hear this news. I don’t pray often but I did for you. I’m glad to hear you are on the path of recovery and hope and pray it is as quick and full as possible. Your examples and stories on how you run your den put the bar extremely high. I certainly hope the new leader is thankful for the information, organization and leadership you display. I can’t think of much more you can do, other than letting the leader know you are there to answer any questions or provide recommendations as needed. Again, wishing you see a full recovery soon!

Family Life Merit Badge has a requirement about talking what makes an effective father and why. I think the separate gender Troops won’t be followed fully and is doomed to fail, but that was BSA’s decision so separate books align with that bad call. They are being consistent..

100% agree. Though one of my female leaders joked that female Boy Scout leader uniforms are the only “small” size clothing she can fit into.... so that was a positive.

Covered in other threads, but based upon some input I have heard, the difference include images of girls, pronoun updates, some minor requirement changes (family life.. you probably ask a girl about being a mother) and hygiene. Rumors only as I haven’t seen the inside of the book yet. I’m sure they could have created one, but given how they are rolling this out it makes sense to release separate books.

See attached for pictures, prices, etc. ScoutsBSA.pdf

I linked my account once and it worked. A few days later is lost the link and I had to sign on via email. Also, there are 5 leaders in my unit now listed twice. They apparently had multiple BSA numbers and now Scoutnet is synchronized with Scoutbook. It’s a mess....

@shortridge Note that the author was referencing two sources. These sources are indicating membership didn’t surge. I agree that the 70,000+ growth was healthy and a good start, but I’m not sure what National was expecting or hoping for.

Follow up article from Forbes... They are hiring more consultants and reviewing both financial and operational plans.... https://www.forbes.com/sites/debtwire/2019/01/08/boy-scouts-of-america-seeks-survival-skills-to-deal-with-abuse-allegations/amp/ “The organization’s financial state could be in peril should its insurance reserves not adequately resolve the litigation claims, the sources noted. In addition, BSA’s efforts to be more inclusive— by dropping the ‘Boy’ in its main program and welcoming girls and transgender scouts to join— has not resulted in a membership spike.”

I’ve also heard there may be different info about hygiene for girls while camping, etc.

100% agree... one technique my teams use to get to root cause(s) of issues is the BOB and WOW method. BOB simply stands for Best if Best and WOW is Worst of Worst. Essential you study the difference between units that perform the best (high retention, consistent membership, active, etc.) and worst (high attrition, less active, etc.) and really deep dive to understand why. Ideally, these units would be in the same district so regional differences can be eliminated. Then build this up District by District to see what changes need to occur with training, professional’s focus, etc. The key would be to not change the overall mission and goal just to try and capture a few more head count.

The interviewer’s questions were odd.... it seemed like he had a clear opinion of scouting but no real experience in it (or even research of it). SFE was actually defending BSA for much of the interview. Are there really no experienced scouters in media that can actually write an in depth article or hold an coherent interview? I only see poorly researched hatchet jobs or shallow and short quick reads.

So, our final count hit 73, with 17 girls. We had two girls drop, one due to sports and Irish dancing and the other as the girl who dropped was her only friend in the pack. We had 22 boys drop.... one moved and most due to sports. Looking at years past, the only major attrition increase was our Lion to Tiger Scouts. I do think we lost a lot of scouts due to a nice but poor den leader.... that was a lesson to watch new den leaders more closely in the future. Recruiting was a bit tougher this year as the school prevented us from emailing all parents. We have done that in the past as the school does not allow us in their doors for recruiting, but now they told us to not email parents as well. I asked my den leaders if any boys left due to girls, they said no. Most of the ones that left rarely showed up to meetings anyway. I know we can’t know for sure, but we saw nearly no loss of Bear or Webelos Scouts... only younger ones. That seems to be consistent with years past, before girls. Our Pack is now functional a coed pack. On paper we do talk about boy and girl dens, but in practice it appears coed. We were not able to recruit enough leaders nor garner support from parents to split up Den meetings. In some cases this is helping boy dens (the Tiger den is run by parents of the girls) and in some cases it helps the girl dens. We tried the multiple age den meeting last spring, and we didn’t like the results. Not sure if I’ll add more to this thread. Adding girls was a bit more work due to YPT rules, but seeing the results was worth it. What worked for us will not work in all areas. Unit leaders know their parents and youth more than the District, Council or Nationals. I also know Cub Scout age youth may handle coed Scouting differently from older youth. Overall, I think our Pack’s implantation was successful. We have an active and growing pack that can serve all youth.

It’s been a while with number updates, but National is stating over 73,000 girls are in Cub Scouts.

Just curious... what do you use your membership card for? I have a note on my phone with my ID number, so have never used my card. Just curious when you use your card. For packs this makes sense as I think most kids/parents throw them out or lose them. The certificates sit in a plastic file cabinet in my office. I guess it is nice for historical purposes.... but again if this saves paper and cost (as most units probably won’t even print them out) it seems like it could be a good idea.

If “It’s a Wonderful Life” is a Christmas movie, then Die Hard and Gremlins are as well. Case closed! Merry Christmas!

BSA just settled 19 suits in Idaho (LDS Troops). Not sure if the Church settled as well. https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/northwest/idaho/article223365950.html I found this comment to be interesting.... “From what we understand the only way these [four new] settlements will work is if the Boy Scouts do not file for bankruptcy for at least 90 days,” Dumas said. “If they file within 90 days, these settlements may be at risk. We really do not know what will happen.”

I can’t find any official statement, but based upon FB chatter from adults who had daughters in BSA photo shoots for the new handbook - the new female cut uniforms will be available in Scoutshops by Feb 1 - there is virtually no change from the current uniform other than fit It sounds like they dumped the idea of a major uniform change that was floated earlier. Again, not official but they did share some pictures that seemed to validate their story.

Catholic Church, USA swimming, USA Gymnastics, US Soccer all have had issues. Any group that deals with youth better have strong YPT training and background checks or face lawsuits. This is not BSA unique. For example, see this law that went into effect this year https://unitedsoccercoaches.org/web/web/News/Articles/March_2018/New_Law_Brings_New_Responsibility_to_Youth_Coaches.aspx

Yes, I have seen COs (only when churches) named as many times the individual, church, council and national are all being sued at once. https://www.ajc.com/news/breaking-news/another-georgia-boy-scout-leader-sued-for-sex-abuse/zHH6ygpw9CAlhnygOVpCXP/ https://nypost.com/2018/07/24/4-men-sue-boy-scouts-of-america-over-alleged-sexual-abuse/ I’m sure more are coming https://www.classaction.com/child-sexual-abuse/boy-scout-lawsuit/

Stepping aside from the debate regarding the point of religion, I don’t see much upside for the BSA if the drop the faith requirement. It is already extremely weak tea. There is not a large new member group out there that would join (such as when they added girls) and I haven’t heard widespread loss of corporate sponsors or COs like I saw with excluding gays. All that would happen is further controversy and loss of experienced members. In my pack, which is essential tied to a public school, we tell parents to handle the duty to God requirements and let us know when they are complete. Yes, I’m sure that there are a few kids and adults that are excluded and more that are uncomfortable with the religious aspects, but BSA needs some stability now and I don’t see this as something they should stir up anytime soon. I don’t lose kids to g,g,g.... I lose kids due to band, soccer, hockey, friends and fortnite.

I’m sure they are thinking FOS impact... and I don’t blame them. People will not want to give to FOS if they think the money will simply to to Nationals and be part of a bankruptcy fund. I was already asked by multiple parents if they should stop buying popcorn or contribute to FOS until after the bankruptcy.... Councils need to get their message out quickly or they will see major losses in donations.

I hope Philmont would be safe given your comments. But what about Sea Base? I was really hoping to go there with my son in a few years.... but I could imagine that is prime real estate. Hope that they can hold onto it.

It’s not the end of a National office if BSA does proceed with bankruptcy. I think BSA could protect anything that generates net income and is critical to their continued existence... which I think would include the HA camps they own; however, I’m not 100% sure on that and I’m concerned that a judge would decide if they have to sell Philmont. I’m also concerned for the employees. It seems like typically the highest level employees (and highest paid) are rarely impacted as much as lower level (and in my view more critical) ones. Pensions, benefits and salaries could be at risk... I hope any impact would be minimal. My understanding is that this would force all lawsuits to stall and into settlement talks. I would expect BSA would setup a victims fund similar to the Catholic Church. I hope that fund is large enough to cause significant pain to BSA so they ensure our organization never Harbors those creeps again. I believe this will also halt the damages aspect of the GSUSA lawsuit. Perhaps that will force the two organizations to figure out how BSA can add girls without causing massive confusion with GSUSA. Finally, I hope this would then be a new beginning. BSA could look at using this to stop (or at least minimize) making decisions based solely on insurance actuaries and income. They can put the threat of massive litigation and bad contracts behind them and hopefully restructure.... ensuring more funds remain local and keeping overhead down. One can hope....