InquisitiveScouter

And again, @DuctTape for National Commissioner!!

I am guilty of this...mostly because of convenience, and to thwart the parents who previously did this on behalf of their Scouts. That is, when I provided Scouts with MBC info, about 75% of the parents would make the call on their Scouts behalf to set it up. I agree with you, and will modify my behavior on this one...putting this back on the shoulders of the Scouts. What do you think about this idea? When Scout asks for counselor info for a MB, I will send an email to the Scout with about three counselors' contact info, and explicit instructions that this is their responsibility, not their parents'. CC the parents, and BCC the counselors. Sets expectations for all three parties in one fell swoop. Couldn't do this before, as our MBC lists had only telephone and address info. Now Scoutbook gives you email & phone for MBCs. Thoughts?

Reminds me of a military joke about government issued equipment..."Remember, your weapons are made by the lowest bidder..."

Darn it, @qwazse, didn't we tell you to stop peddling your pesky common sense around here...sheesh!!

That was one of the most well-balanced, well-told stories I have seen on the news lately. Very glad is was done by Scouts! Thanks for sharing

Agreed...point is, they have to mark up all the other merchandise to help cover the costs of the stuff that doesn't sell. If they move to a smarter model of on-line publications, the cost savings could be translated into lower costs for other Scout Stuff...but you and I know that would never happen

And probably thousands upon thousands printed... Having a close friend who works in a Scout Shop, I can tell you the markup on all Scouting merchandise is high. Some things over 100% (double what was paid to National Supply at wholesale.)

Yes, hmmmm... Stamp Collecting, one of my favorites...only 919 Scouts awarded in 2019. https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2020/02/17/2019-merit-badge-rankings-which-were-the-most-and-least-popular/ How many books do you think they printed? There are five sitting in our Scout Shop (although I'm not sure they are current versions.) (I did not mention Bugling, another favorite, at the bottom of the list, because it is incorporated into Music MB pamphlet; 12882 awarded.)

Inconceivable!

It's less than half of what our current guy gets... Your definition of similar is not similar to mine.

Cringe...

As a baseline....a suggestion...add percentages based on performance. It's as good, or arbitrary, a scheme as saying pay them a percentage of their expenditures...which seems really whack, especially if most of those expenditures are fixed and they don't control that money anyway... Best comment of the day, @mrjohns2 If I could give it ten likes, I would.

You are a bit ignorant here, brother...O-4's with two years of service are pretty scarce...usually only medical career fields, who are people with their professional degrees already. Doctors, lawyers, etc. The average person is promoted to O-4 at around the 11 year point. So the comparison is an O-4 at 10-12 years service, as you point out. And, sorry for the vague pronoun antecedent, but I meant doubling the E pay for the council level. Hire the O's for Regional/National level...99% of the retired officers I know have more integrity in their pinkie than any council execs I have met.

Don't know. But if you pay me 5 million dollars, I'll be glad to come up with a pay structure that provides adequate compensation for the tasks, while attracting the needed skill sets to meet those tasks. I would trust our local grocery store manager to better manage our council than it currently is. Most separated or retired military officers at or above the rank of O-4, and most separated or retired enlisted at or above E-6 would be great candidates as well. Give them double what they were making on active duty, and you'd have a good start.

Only a Sith deals in absolutes. Do you really think I am advocating that people work for free? At the council level, I could see a structure of using the median income of the population you serve as a baseline. Add a percentage increase year by year based on performance. Many ways to skin that cat. But no council (that I know of) gets to select its own talent. BSA selects the "talent pool" for them. And they must select one of those. So, ultimately its about surviving the long con in the network of who-you-know to land a slot at the feeding trough.

I acknowledge that "This is the Way", but I believe, at it's heart, this model is flawed. And I know I ain't going to be the one to change it. This data, when presented to Mom and Pop on main street, doesn't fly. Especially in the light of the "value-added" discussions we have had. And I do not buy the 'we have to pay these kinds of salaries to attract the talent" argument.

Except that the execs will still be getting their six or seven figure salaries and retirement compensations, no matter which way it goes.

What were your recharter fees this year, compared to last? Wanna place bets now on whether those fees will increase with a future-payments-victim-compensation-fund? You can bet your sweet campfire they will. You and I and our future Scouts will be the ones paying into this. That's the connection...

There is a Chesapeake Bay Sailing Adventure offered thru Rodney Scout Reservation in Del-Mar-Va council. https://www.delmarvacouncil.org/high-adventure-opportunities/high-adventure-sailing-on-the-chesapeake/9297 Cost is less than Sea Base. You can cut costs even more if you plan for and procure your own meals, which, according to my sources, is really all the Rodney provides for you....so, camp food. You can charter with the Captain directly, provide your own meals, at substantially lower cost, and still get a High Adventure program, including merit badges. DM me if you want more contact info.

How is it a disadvantage to lawyers and claimants, unless the settlement includes mandated future payments into a victim's compensation fund? If that is the case, then who has to bear that financial burden?

Just thinking about this...and please help me flesh out these thoughts... The IRS allows individuals to receive monetary gifts, up to a certain amount, tax free. I have often thought units might give (even anonymously) gifts to value-added council employees to support them directly. 2020 & 2021 exclusion is $15K. Give privately, so council doesn't reduce their salaries. Having done Lone Scouting in various locations around the world (registration and support processes through electronic means), and with Scoutbook and Scoutshop on line, I can see a future for unit-level Scouting without the need for a district/council structure. We ran our own Summer Camp. Kids loved it. Agree that many units would not be able to mount that sort of effort. Maybe "Council" should just be centered around the Summer Camp (or a long-term camping experience). Now that I think of it, that is where most of our council's expenditures are (outside of salaries) anyway. (So, if we have a full-time paid Camp Director on staff, why should the SE be making a salary that puts them in the top 7% economic bracket, nation-wide?? The SE isn't the one managing the top expenditure in the council, the Camp Director is. Hmmmm) Training done regionally...maybe with smaller regional area divisions, supported by National??? What to do about insurance, though...we do need that support... Again, musings...have a great weekend. Going camping now

https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2014/03/13/interpreting-under-the-auspices-in-national-outdoor-awards-requirements/#:~:text=If it's part of a Scout's work on merit badges,state park wouldn't count.

Lol...at the unit level, concur...and IMHO, this should be the case for district and council level events for units. This is a great role for the OA! And as I shared in a previous post, our PLC had planned and geared up to staff/run several stations at two separate district events, and were waved off at last minute by district committee volunteers who said ,"We have enough adults to run things now." Our PLC corporate memory still bears a bit of scar tissue from that. I don't blame them...

Not at district or council level...right?

A tool, of course, but one of the best in the tool box of things to attract, recruit, engage, and retain youth.