MikeS72

SM may have asked (I assume from your description that he asked in front of the scouts) thinking that if it came from more than one scouter it would be accepted without being questioned as much as if he had just said no himself. That has happened to me several times with both pack and troop, where I know that the person asking knows the rule, whether it is YPT or something else, but knows that the scout (or other scouter) will be less likely to question the decision if they hear it from both of us.

This June will be my 50th year as an Arrowman. When I was elected there was a formula based on the number of active scouts in a troop. If you had 5 scouts you could potentially elect 1 person; 6 - 14 could elect 2; 15 - 24 would allow up to 3 to be elected; 25 - 34 meant up to 4, and so on. This meant that a troop with 40 active scouts and 10 of those scouts met the requirement for election could only elect a maximum of 5 scouts. Those who met the requirements, including SM approval, would be listed alphabetically, and each scout would number his ballot 1 - 5 and list up to 5 names in order of preference. The election team would then tally the ballots, giving scouts 5 points for each ballot they were listed number one on, 4 for second, and on down the line. The 5 scouts with the highest point totals were elected, the other 5 on the ballot were not. Fifty years ago the First Class requirement also had just a little bit of flex to it, in that a scout could be Second Class at the time of election, but must achieve First Class rank within 6 months and prior to Ordeal. There was also a method for electing Eagle Scouts without it affecting the unit quota. I would have no issue at all seeing the Order reinstitute a quota system, rather than everyone who is eligible and gets at least half the votes is elected. I think we would see more interest at the troop level in becoming a member if it was tougher to be elected. Yes, we do frequently see OA members working; service is a core part of our identity after all. We all need to do a better job of letting scouts know about all the fun things that take place at conclaves, NOAC, and yes, even on service weekends.

That is how we approach it with AOL crossover Scouts. They should have already attended one or more meetings while completing the Scouting Adventure. They would have already completed the Cyberchip for their grade level as well. Very easy to complete everything needed for the Scout rank in one night, particularly for a female troop that is linked and has been working closely with that linked troop to hit the ground running.

It is indeed a "real" position.

Despite spending all but the first 8 months of my scouting tenure below the Mason Dixon Line, I have yet to find anything that will make grits edible. The name alone is enough to make my stomach roil.

Our Council Scout Shop had the new ScoutsBSA girl handbook at last weekend's University of Scouting. In addition to changing the cover (kind of glittery) and the pictures/pronouns used, there are a few things added in specific to female hygiene.

Our council camp forbids them in tents, and while I have not had a scout bring one on a troop outing, we would also forbid them in a tent. I have seen on more than one occasion how quickly a tent can become engulfed in flames; thankfully never with a scout inside the tent.

Tie between Caramel Delights and S'Mores

The red beret was always cool, it took just the right amount of swagger to pull it off!

As a Red Cross instructor, I completely agree. I made that same comment to a SM a couple of years ago when two of his scouts were 'teaching' First Aid at Webelos Woods and told the boys that the first course of action for bleeding was to apply a tourniquet, and that the first step in case of cardiac arrest was to elevate the feet and pack the person in ice. First Aid is not one of those things where close is good enough. When my nephew took FA at our troop's second summer camp last year, I sat off to the side observing, and was very pleased with how well the young man teaching the class did.

Camp must have been sponsored by Apple 🤣

My great-nephew was a first year scout last year, and did 2 summer camps. I made the same recommendation to him, that he look at things that can be tough to do at home versus camp. Of course, it was then his choice as to what he wanted to do, other than a couple things he wanted that had restrictions. Between the 2 camps he completed Fishing, Canoeing, Swimming, First Aid, Horsemanship, and Robotics. He had a partial in Rifle, which he will finish this year.

I will take a look at my copy when I get home from work this evening, and see if i notice anything other than that.

This link will show you what changed in January 18. http://www.usscouts.org/mb/changes/mb010-18.asp

When you go to Scoutbook the login page should have a message telling you to log in using your my.scouting.org login, both username and password.

No issues since setting up the link.

Central Florida Council does, although folks with a Doctorate are not very common. I will be doing my Masters this year, and will probably begin work on the Doctorate program next. I think one of the biggest things I got from last year's classes was the networking with Commissioners from other districts, and seeing what they do as compared to my own district.

This is from the FAQ on the official OA page: Q. Will camping be counted retroactively for those currently in Venturing and Sea Scouts? Yes. Camping that has taken place within the two years immediately prior to the election will be counted beginning February 1, 2019. This camping must have taken place while an individual was registered with the BSA as a program participant and must be while participating with a BSA Venturing Crew or Sea Scout Ship. We would not require the camping to be while participating with a Crew or Ship, and not require the same thing of a Troop. I have been an Arrowman for 50 years, and have never encountered a unit of any kind that allowed camping nights with the family rather than Scouts to be counted.

From the currently posted Guide to Merit Badge Counseling: The counselor must be sure the Scout has either another registered adult or the Scout’s parent or legal guardian present at all instructional sessions. This is from the handbook, but is superseded by the changes made last fall requiring 2 registered adults over the age of 21 (so much for those 18 - 20 year old ASM's) at any Scouting activity. From the extensive reading I did after this change was announced, it appear that having the Scout's parent or guardian present is the only exception to that second adult being registered.

I would recommend contacting your local lodge leadership and get their take on this. Many parts of BSA advancement specifically exclude camping done with a pack. As several others have stated above, it may come down to why were they there. If just because it was a family event and they had no choice, probably excluded. If they were staffing the event, may find that the lodge will say it counts.

We were at Woodruff the week following the incident at Bert Adams, and were one of several units there on a Saturday. For a small additional fee, they allowed us to arrive on Saturday evening, as we drove just about 12 hours to get there. Our council camp has an early warning system in place for both storms and lightning. During our week there in June, the entire camp assembled in the dining hall twice, once for about 2 hours due to severe lightning in the area. Not at all unusual for summer in Central Florida.

Just gave it a try and got the following error message: Requests to the server have been blocked by an extension. This is at work, on a school computer, so could have something to do with our network. I will look at it again when I get home. I did a number of the new Scouts BSA segments earlier in the week, but with all the updates they are pushing out, I would not be surprised if there are issues.

Photo links worked fine for me. Impressed by the young man on the far right in the last pic, who braved it in shorts.

Have you tried searching on scoutstuff4sale.com? They have thousands of items related to jamborees there. Also, it is good to see another Wa-Hi-Nasa Lodge alum here. That was my original lodge; inducted in 1969, Brotherhood in '70 and Vigil in '72 as a member of Anawaha Chapter, Cogioba District.

I would think that would be extremely costly. I would also question whether submitting an application for a secondary position (i.e., an ASM who is also a den leader or holds a district position) actually triggers another background check, as there is a cost each time it is redone on an existing volunteer. I can honestly say that other than my original employment background check with the school system, I have no idea if it has been rerun any time in the last 20 years or more. In that instance, it would cost our school district in excess of $350,000 each year if we did them annually. I can imagine the cost for BSA to run a full background check on every volunteer every year would run upward of nine figures annually.