mrjohns2

Wow. Interesting approach to be a SM.

My Wood Badge course (2019) could have benefited from acting more like a troop. I still felt the staff / senior staff / participate gaps too much.

I'd have to agree. There is zero decision space by the PLC, or the staff, for most of the activities, locations, and who is leading them.

Scouting units are very well thought out structurally. There should be a separation between the program (SM and ASMs) and support (CC, MC, etc). Thus the advancement chairs should be a MC. The ASM should be "busy" with the program, supporting the SM.

The COR could also be CC, but then you need 2 MC's for the same total of 3.

I don't like the wordiness either, but there are ADULTS who work hard to find an easy out. I got into a polite argument with a district & NYLT staffer who insisted that if a Scout set up a tent in a cabin, it would count for rank advancement if they slept in it. I said, no, no it wouldn't, not in my troop; as the SM, that wouldn't fly. They went on to say that they checked with the council commissioner and that it was legit. I said, that, well, in my troop, that is not what we do. I then used it as a SM minute. I asked the troop to think about doing that, that was that the intent, and that would they all like me to sign them off on their next two ranks and go to the council office and buy them the badges? Then there is the other side. I met a SM this summer who said he wouldn't sign off on any first class scout who couldn't do 6 basic knots in under 1 minute. My thought is that the legal-eese of the requirements is to stop either these "supper loose" interpretations or the "supper stiff" interpretations.

That is what they want. It is clear from their rhetoric. Everything they are asking the court to do is to make it as hard as possible for the BSA to integrate girls. They are freaking out. If the BSA gets it girl Cub recruiting act together, Girl Scouts will have little to fall back on as its program is so lopsided to the younger ages. This has nothing to do with trademarks and everything to do with the BSA welcoming girls.

That is the argument the GSUSA has to make. They haven't made it.

To whom? Why? To what end? Definitely not to the GSUSA. To the board? They were the ones that did the action. To the membership? The action was done and won't be going back. I assume it was simply multi-faceted. Declining numbers, running out of money, running out of relevance. What better action to open to girls, expand the market place by 2x, and improve opportunities for girls. What other intentions could their be? The destruction of the GSUSA? No. Cause people to leave because it is now for both genders? No. Case closed.

Their argument seems to be 2 fold. One can be fixed simply (and already has) and the other has no merit. 1) Some Scouts BSA units used confusing, wrong, or protected wording and imagery in the recruiting 2 years ago. This was rectified, apologized for, and stopped. No material loss is shown, none intended, issue done. 2) The GSUSA doesn't like that the BSA is allowing girls. They don't like that we are calling it Scouts and that girls are involved. There is no protection to this at all. If we changed the name to Scouts BSA, but did not involve girls, they would have had no issue. Now that the BSA allows girls, GSUSA is upset. Too bad, they can't dictate our program. Move on.

From the examples I saw early on in the lawsuit, the infringement was done by units. So, if anything, the units would need to “pay”. It seems like. Or ally in these cases, they would first get a cease and desist. That is, unless those infringing made money off of it. They didn’t.

GSUSA was originally Girl Guides of America, but the name didn't catch on and they changed it.

It wasn't super long after I earned eagle when Family Life rolled out. I just remember, as a Scout, being happy I wasn't affected. For Scouts, I just recall them working on it like other merit badges. No drama.

Thank you so much for sharing. Any idea on how much longer this can go on? Is following this filings the best way to stay up to date?

Does this mean they have made progress with the lawsuit with GSUSA or does it mean they are moving forward without resolution?

That is a great question. I don't know if many/most of the bankruptcy choices have flowed to the origination yet. I have assumed that all of the current cuts are just due to budget issues, but I have no knowledge. It would have been neat to have a Girls' Life, Boys' Life, Cub, and Scout editions. But, like you said, with the circulation numbers, it would be hard.

It really is one of the last moves to incorporate girls vs. one to cave in additionally. One wouldn't expect an organization to accept girls, but at the same time have a magazine that is titled for half?

I agree. I know the Scouts in our troop were not at all impressed with the OA callout ceremony. This was not for want of trying at camp (in 2019). They had 3 fires that were about 10-15 feet high, OA members coming by in a cone, etc etc. They were like "ah, why were they dressed like that?" As a Scout I was impressed by the mystery, these Scouts were skeptical.

That is the biggest complain I have heard on the new shirts. Our commissioner said he got 1 size up (via mail order) due to hearing they ran small. He had to get 2 sizes up vs. his current uniform shirt.

That is such a neat and simple way to go. You can get them at a million places and get fancy 5.11 versions or less expensive versions. It is up to the end user.

I hate 50/50's. They are really big here in Wisconsin. Both a for profit and non-forprofit activities. They do them at high school basket ball games etc. I have heard that if you win at a game like that, you are "expected" to donate the winnings back to the team. So, at least for some groups, they do well.

Ok? I guess times change? You and all other Scouts who started before 1960 share that fact.

What do you mean? You can't see the images? www.scoutlife.org still redirects to www.boyslife.org. I assume that is a matter of time.

The did a cool fold out at the "open here" part. It only took 2 years (it is the Jan/Feb issue), but at least they finished.

Is this even for units? ”Organization ‐ BSA Distinguished Conservation Service Award Certificate This conservation award is granted to organizations or individuals by the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Nominations are accepted from any recognized conservation or environmental protection organization. The organization or individual should have demonstrated leadership and a commitment to the education of youth on a regional, national, or international level reflecting the natural resource conservation and environmental improvement mission of the BSA Distinguished Conservation Service Awards program. A letter of nomination should be addressed to the BSA Director of Conservation. Letters of endorsement are encouraged. This application to be submitted to the National BSA Director of Conservation and reviewed by the National Conservation Awards Committee.”