InquisitiveScouter

Primary qualification 🤣😝😎

As SM, I saw it as my role to help (NOTE: "help") recruit new ASMs, and then oversee their training and development. When my self-imposed term limit was coming up, I made a recommendation to the Committee of the top three who I thought would be the best for the Troop. I reminded the CC it was their job to recruit the new SM, discuss and get "advice and consent" from the committee, and then get COR approval of the change (as they would be the one signing the application). [It depends on the mood of our registrar as to whether we have to fill out a new application or not...check with your registrar...your mileage will vary 😜 ] Sadly, none of the three would take the position. We wound up will a suboptimal volunteer, and it has hurt our unit over the past year. As things have spiraled downwards (because I say "No" to things that are not my responsibility), everyone sees the decline, and now one of the three will take over at the beginning of summer.

We camped in a local county park and did rock climbing. (Our local climbing gym has group rates.) Other than climbing for about five hours Saturday afternoon, lights out at 10, and a Scout's Own on Sunday morning, we had no scheduled events. Just hanging around in hammocks, building fires, cooking meals, etc. For those Scouts who wished to work on other advancement, older Scouts and adults were available for requirements. We were all outdoors, as the weather was absolutely beautiful. About half of our Scouts slept under the stars...no tents. (Sorry, but there is no such thing a "camping" in a cabin ) We had to have several attempts at washing dishes, with a review of proper dishwashing outlined in the Scout Handbook...

No, you don't get paid enough, brother😛

Ahhh...I see what you are saying...I misunderstood what you were aiming at... Agreed...I even got skewered by National (and specifically Michael Hohnson) for pointing out inconsistencies and holes in the wording and implementation of policies. As I said in another post somewhere, I have never seen another org "shoot the messenger" as much as BSA.

If BSA goes away, we can still do Scouting. And you should always be fighting hard to keep kids safe...no matter the organization or its age.

John, I am in the same boat...lol But I still file incident reports whenever any of our youth attend district/council events, and there is gross buffoonery going on... (OA and NYLT)

And, as many have said, BSA could have gotten ahead of this with an appropriate PR campaign.

If only... this is one of the greatest tragedies of life 😜 My children chose an absolutely wonderful mother!! Father?...meh 🙄

Agreed. That is why I am such a jerk about every BSA policy, planning, swim checks, permission slips, medical forms, etc., etc., etc. There is a fairly high price (in time required) for due diligence. Scouts who do not abide by instructions and discipline do not last long in our Troop. If you do not do as you are told (in matters of health and safety), then I refuse to take you into the woods... Firm but fair... Due diligence begins before you even depart for the trip. So, @yknot have you ever been sued for something Scouting related?

They'd still be suing a non-profit with no assets (except camping gear and a paltry bank account)... officers of those organizations cannot be held liable for things other than what was listed above, which is tantamount to criminal behavior anyway...

Agreed...which begs the question, why even be a Scout leader, if this is the case?

And guess what...any of those actions can result in problems for any individual acting in any capacity (like an adult leader in Scouting) (except maybe the last one)

The risk of personal criminal or civil liability on the part of individual nonprofit board members is small but difficult to quantify. It is important to note that exercising poor judgment, relying on an expert whose advice is later determined to be faulty, or making a decision based on incomplete information rarely lead to personal liability on the part of individual board members. This means that board members who act in good faith and with diligence and care, are unlikely to be held personally responsible for their actions on the nonprofit’s behalf. However, there are a number of specific situations that create or increase the exposure to personal liability, such as: Actions and activity that intentionally cause injury, harm or damage to persons or property Personal participation in the tortious conduct of a nonprofit’s employees (tortious conduct is conduct that subjects the actor to civil liability under the law) The knowing approval of criminal acts or active involvement in criminal activities by the organization Personal involvement in a contract involving the nonprofit that is tainted by fraud Active participation in a transaction approved by the board with an entity in which the board member had a substantial personal or financial interest. https://nonprofitrisk.org/resources/articles/liability-and-the-board-what-governing-teams-need-to-know/

What "signers"? The risk is the same as for your current CO...and the charter agreement has BSA providing insurance under that agreement.

Option 6. Create your own 501 c(3), "Troop XX Boosters" or some such... Become your own chartering org, sign your facilities agreement, carry on... Transparent to your Scouts.

If you have time... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syP-OtdCIho In a nutshell...all people act from a sense or construct of hierarchical needs or drives in their lives. Whatever exists at the top of that hierarchy serves as your "God." It does exist, or you would not be able to function in the world. So, what is your greatest good (or what is of greatest value to you)... and what is your duty to act towards imitating that good (or realizing that value)? Worth-ship = worship (it's actually the origin of the word) This ought to be BSA's new Declaration of Religious Principle...or change it to a Declaration of Moral Principle, since so many people get hung up on words they are unwilling to define or admit they live by... Getting a young person thinking about this question, articulating their thoughts on it, and how to apply the meaning of it in their lives...this is what we are aiming at... For Conan...it was something entirely different 😜 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo9buo9Mtos&ab_channel=lampbrain

Lol...so, in your council, asking questions is "spreading rumors"?? Truth is dead, and we have killed it. (with a nod to Nietzsche)

That is why I used the passive voice in the statement... That is to say, if you are following the principles you signed up to in the application (agreement) you made with the BSA, then you cannot welcome atheists, as the national organization does not. BTW, I, too, disagree with BSA's position on this. But that's not the point. When any prospective member, and family, comes to us, I make sure to review the application with them, and discuss the DRP. (Full faith in advertising.) In all my years of Scouting, I have only had one family (adamant atheists) who would not agree with BSA's DRP, and chose not to find a rational way to accept the huge amount of wiggle room the DRP gives you. The individual Scout gets to define what his own duty to God is and means. If a Scout chooses to say I do not believe in anything like that (however he defines it), and rejects the opportunity to define his own duty to God, then that person can simply not be a Scout.

They are not welcomed currently. The application for membership excerpts the DRP... "The BSA maintains that no member can grow into the best kind of citizen without recognizing an obligation to God and, therefore, recognizes the religious element in the training of the member, but is absolutely nonsectarian in its attitude toward that religious training. Its policy is that the home and the organization or group with which the member is connected shall give definite attention to religious life. Only persons willing to subscribe to this Declaration of Religious Principle and to the Bylaws of the Boy Scouts of America shall be entitled to certificates of membership." How can one say the Scout Oath, and then then Scout Law, and then say he does not believe? The contradiction is disqualifying. Agree that BSA has a problem with the Buddhist exception... The way I accept them both is to adopt a mindset that they believe they are their own "god". Insofar as you can define that... That is, they are the author of their own moral and ethical standards... Humanists, if you will... https://www.theguardian.com/global/2021/jan/23/atheists-agnostics-non-believers-on-the-meaning-of-life To be transparent, I also see many who profess a belief, but who then do not act accordingly. It is a very difficult thing to act as if God exists. And somewhat terrifying... I struggle with this constantly.

Wondered why they did this...makes sense.

Very normal for this...record keeping isn't your average council's strong suit.

You must be a wave-maker like me😎😎😎

I had to laugh here when I put in my paperwork to be a Scoutmaster about 7 years ago now. The council registrar told me I had to do IOLS... Eagle Scout, 15 years camp staff, former ASM/SM for 11 years, 4 x NCS grad (Scoutcraft x 2, Aquatics instuctor, Commissioner), Woodbadge (1992l...would they grandfather me for that requirement? Nope. OK, so I took IOLS...and was deeply unimpressed. There were three instructors that were awesome...the rest, I wondered why they were there. The level of knowledge and skills was extremely lacking. I began to understand why Scouts repeatedly came up short on skills and knowledge. So, I volunteered to help teach for the next few years.