CalicoPenn

I don't think it is a coincidence that the "Leadership Industry" resembles Organized Religion. Just as the concept of morality can't be defined as a universal construct (which is why we have organized religion - all with their competing versions of what is and isn't moral, with just enough in common to really make things difficult), the concept of leadership can't be defined as a universal construct, especially when the definition of leadership that we're concerned with essentially states that leadership is the act of leading people. Uh huh. We can all probably point to examples of "good leadership" and "bad leadership" but the big problem with that is that leadership we might consider to be good in one circumstance we might consider to be bad in another set of circumstances. We needed the leadership style of Jimmy Carter when the Three Mile Island incident occurred. We needed the leadership style of Harry Truman to end WW2. Imagine how different those things would be if Jimmy was President at the end of WW2 and Harry was President during Three Mile Island. It really makes it difficult to teach Leadership - because how do you teach it? It's really not something you can lecture about - it's not something one is born with (people confuse charisma with leadership - they're just not the same). My thoughts are that true leadership is a combination of the various styles (I've heard some way there are 30 different kinds of leadership - I suppose that's why I've come up with the comparison to organized religion since there is multiple kinds of religion as well). Can I fully describe it? No - because every time I think I have it, I add or subtract something. I do know that there are a couple of consistent parts that I include. One is inspiration - I think a leader needs to inspire - I see Wendell Berry as an inspirational leader. One is what Stosh likes to remind us - Are you taking care of your people - perhaps that can be servant leadership but at times I can see bombastic leadership styles that also take care of the people. Or maybe - just maybe, we have to accept that there are multiple styles of leadership and that the right leader will emerge when we need a particular style.

And of course: "Da Do Do Do Do Da Do Run Run" - S. Cassidy

For what it's worth - I wouldn't bother to reflect depreciation of inventory for most units chartered by 501c3's - unless the CO is actually paying taxes (and most don't), there is nothing to do with any depreciation amounts as depreciation is used as a credit against taxes.

Let me see if I understand this issue - the CO holds the charter, provides a place to stay and even funding to purchase equipment. Does the unit do any other kind of fundraising or does the CO contribute enough to fund your entire program? The CO thinks any money going to the unit is dropping in to a "black hole". And on top of that, the Charter itself doesn't mention that the CO "owns" the unit. Let's tackle the easy one first - the CO believing that any money they give to the unit is going in to a "black hole". If they have not received any financial statements from the Unit on at least an annual basis, then of course they're going to think the funds are just disappearing. I would do three things right now - the first would be to take a full inventory of every piece of equipment that the unit has. If it's a Cub Scout Pack - what does it own? Perhaps a Pinewood Derby track? If it's a Boy Scout Troop, inventory every tent, Dutch oven, mess kit, tarp - etc. (If it's a Troop and you have a functioning Quartermaster, you should already have this - if not, now is a good to get in to the practice of inventory control). If possible, include on the inventory the purchase year and purchase price - this is something that should be on every inventory. When a piece of equipment is lost or damaged and removed from inventory, there should be a separate record of equipment removed from inventory, how it was disposed of, and why it was removed - it should remain on the list for a certain amount of time before rolling off the list (I use 7 years). The goal here is to remove any and all doubt about where the money is being spent and on what - it's easy to say you bought a tent - here's where you prove that not only did you buy a tent (proven by receipt) but that it went in to the inventory (and not just the SM's closet). You should be able to show that there is an inventory entry for 5 tents if you bought 5 tents this year - if you bought 5 and only show 4, that's a red flag that needs to be investigated. The second thing I would do right now is to provide them with reports going back 3 to 5 years showing where money has come in (including their donations) and how it was spent. An annual detail on this probably suffices. The third thing I would do is to start copying the CO's treasurer on the unit treasurer's monthly report to the committee - a report that should show income, expense and a reconciled bank statement. Once a year, I would have an informal audit conducted by two other committee members and send that as well. Not getting a monthly report from the Treasurer? Time to get started on the habit (and sometimes that's the reason - it's not how it's been done before - now is a good time to start the practice). Treasurer balking at an annual audit? I don't know any good volunteer Treasurer that wouldn't welcome someone else looking at the books once a year to make sure things are on the up and up or to catch any mistakes that might have been made. If they won't submit to an annual audit of the books, then it's time to find a new Treasurer - right away - that should be a huge red flag. So the simple part is done - you've shown the CO where their money is and how it's being spent, and that you've got good records on it. Now for the Charter part - the Charter is necessarily vague an a lot of things - it's a fairly simple document that just can't possibly cover every question. However, the Charter refers to the BSA's rules and policies - which can be found on the BSA website. You are correct when nothing says outright that the CO owns the Unit - and that's because the Unit consists of a number of different things and I hope I can do justice to the different ownership parts. The policy states that any funds or equipment must be used to benefit Scouting. That doesn't really clear things up. It also says if a Unit dissolves, the Unit Committee needs to pay the bills first then send any excess to the local council. Ok - now we're getting somewhere - except this is where it get's hinky. It also states that, in the case of a Chartered Organization, that the Chartered Organization is to hold the funds and equipment in trust until the unit can be resurrected or unless the funds and equipment are used to benefit Scouting in some other way. So there is a contradiction - what's going on? Though not explained well, it's a solution to how units are organized. If a unit is chartered and is operating under a CO's Taxpayer ID, then the Unit Committee can't legally, in most jurisdictions, send excess funds to the Council - it's not theirs - the money is tied to the TIN (or EIN if you prefer) and remains with that organization. However, if the unit has their own EIN number and disbands (or if the unit is chartered by a Friends Of organization that exists solely to charter the unit), the BSA is simply making the claim that because it was a Boy Scout unit and the funds were raised by Boy Scouts, that the funds can't go to The World Wildlife Fund (as an example) if the unit breaks up. So where does that get us? A unit chartered by a CO operating under the CO's TIN belongs to the CO, and all funds and equipment belongs to the CO, though must be used to benefit Scouting. All that being said, there is something the CO does NOT own, that is retained by National (and local Council) even though it's an important part of the Unit's identity. What the CO does not own is the Unit Number. Let's say the Church of the Green Man has been chartering Troop 280 for 20 years, and for some reason, the Troop disbands and the Church does not renew the charter but 5 years later, starts a new Troop. There is no guarantee that their new Troop will be Troop 280. National and/or the Local Council, can re-assign that number to another new unit once the unit has dissolved. Is that very likely? Probably not - but the possibility is there because the CO does not own that number. By the way, something most people don't think about - we all know we need Council permission for fundraisers - most people are unaware that you also need the CO's permission for those fundraisers too. Just another way that shows the Units are owned and controlled by the CO. If I were you, my first priority would be to get your inventories and financials to the CO Treasurer - eliminate that "black hole" thinking and let them see what you're doing. I don't know that I would worry about fund and equipment ownership unless you're about ready to disband - and then it's simply a matter of pointing out to the CO the portion of the rules and regs that state a CO is to hold the units funds and equipment in trust until another unit is started of for some other Scouting purpose.

What jumped out at me was that the SM said something offensive to the Advancement Chair and that she feels badly about it - I'm surprised that she is still the Advancement Chair and hasn't made it clear that his conduct towards her is beyond the pale. Should this SM be removed? I'm not going to play the "we need both sides of the story" game here - normally I would agree but I will say, without one doubt, that he's got to go.

What is your role in the Troop? This ASM/Commissioner is not interpreting the rules correctly - makes me wonder how effective he can be as a Commissioner. You've asked him to put his e-mail where his mouth is - if he hasn't responded by the next meeting, ignore him. He's an ASM - he can't hold up anyone's advancement since the SM can override any of his sign-off decisions (if he has authority to sign off on requirements) and he can't serve on the Board of Review. It's incumbent on the SM, the CC and the Advancement Chair to make sure the BOR understands the rules so that he doesn't try to undermine any of the Scout's advancements by "poisoning" the board and trying to "pull rank". If you are the SM, the next time he tries to pull rank, your response should be immediate - you are the Scoutmaster - he is an Assistant Scoutmaster - and this is his only warning - if he tries to pull the District Commissioner card again, his services as ASM will no longer be needed. Make sure your CC is on board. This is exactly the reason that the BSA recommends that Commissioners do not hold positions in units.

Based on their biographies

Neither the Archbishop of St. Louis nor the Bishop of Bismarck are moderates. Both are aligned with the conservative wing of the Catholic Church.

I've experienced the dynamic that Matt suggests - the rebelling son. I've experienced the "preacher's kids" dynamic where they aren't rebelling against mom or dad but rather the expectations that they're supposed to be an exemplar of how Scouts should behave (the thinking goes if a Scout is a Scoutmaster's son, then he should "know better" and be a bigger role model for the Scout Oath and Law than a "normal" Scout - big shoes to fill if he's 11 or 12 and is expected to behave better than a 16-year old). What I've seen a lot lately is the parental "Don't you dare discipline my kid" approach leading to kids believing they can at up at any time (not suggesting that's the case here). I've also seen parental over-reactions where their sons are acting no differently than the other Scouts, in a non-harmful way, and parents freaking out on them because they think their son should be better than that. It's a tough line to know where folks stand. My best advice is that if you aren't leading the workshop or whatever it is, leave it to the workshop leader or presenter to deal with it - they know their own limits and a lot of experienced Scouters have learned how to let snarky comments just sit there and die (sometimes the worst a leader can do is bring attention to it). You're there to support that Leader/Presenter in his disciplinary decisions (unless of course they're really going overboard). It's not to play backseat driver (not that you personally would, as we see by your thoughtful post). On campouts, its up to his PL or SPL to handle it (unless its something that needs an adult to handle - and in that case its the SM). My last piece of advice is that once "discipline" has been meted out for something as minor as this, leave it - it's done unless your son wants to bring it up.

One solution you could suggest would be that a copy of the monthly bank statement be sent to the church treasurer - that way you would still be responsible for operating the account but they would have something for the a possible audit trail. As long as each check requires two signatures, most auditors aren't worried about how many accounts a church has under their tax id number, just that the church has records for all the accounts.

If the PLC is considering "impeaching" the SPL, then someone has failed, and should consider resigning. That someone? The Scoutmaster. One of the main jobs of the Scoutmaster is to mentor the SPL. If the SPL is failing that badly, then the Scoutmaster has not been doing his/her job. Sometimes, a Troop will elect an SPL where it just comes naturally, where they've already learned the skills to lead and just get right to it without the SM needing to do much but sit back and enjoy the ride. This is not the most common, though. Consider this SPL on the right side of a standard bell curve. Most often, Troops elect SPL's that need quite a lot of mentoring to start but then start taking off on their own and do a fine job. Consider this the center of the bell. The there are the SPLs on the left side of the bell curve. They need a lot of mentoring and contact by the SM to get things done - sometimes Troops elect them. Too often, the SM and ASMs will just let them flounder because they have the "the boys elected him, the boys need to feel the consequences" attitude. If this describes you, please consider taking a position on the committee and stay away from the boys - you're not doing them any good and, in fact, are harming them. When you have that kind of SPL, it's a lot more work, and it can be hard work - but if you've taken on the SM role, it's work that you need to take seriously. Yeah, that means you may need to be in contact more than you would like - you may need to be constantly reminding the SPL what needs to be done and help him along the way. But sometimes, you might have to take the boy aside and suggest that it would be best if they turned over the reigns to the ASPL and they take on a different POR if they're too busy with other things going on in their lives and sometimes you may need to sit down with the SPL and let him know that the PLC is coming to you with complaints about the SPL. The toughest thing you're likely to handle is trying to rehabilitate the SPL when those complaints are coming - and it may take a really frank discussion with the SPL where you open yourself up to criticism because it's also possible that the SPL just isn't responding to you well due to your own style and that perhaps one of the ASMs might be a better mentor for him. I've never seen anything that suggests that a PLC can impeach an SPL. The SM can remove an SPL (or PL) but I would make sure it's for disciplinary reasons and not because the SM is failing at his job. Troops should be holding elections every 6 months. Sometimes, it can take 6 months for the SPL to settle in to the role - it happens - it's something that we should expect.

Alternatively, in non-mixed Patrols, the younger Scouts don't get an opportunity to observe how their older PL(s) lead the Patrol.

Late-60's to late 70's Every unit did a window display at the town shopping center - 5 packs, 4 troops, 6 girl scout units (yeah - they participated in Scout Week too). Sometimes, packs, troops and girl scout units (troops?) would share a window if they were from the same chartered organization. The local department store also had a Scout Uniform shop so they would do up their window displays with Scout uniforms - they had found a uniform collector somehow and would set their windows up as a "History of Scouting Uniforms" with the latest and greatest displayed last. (One year, some prankster (and yes, inside job) reset the Girl Scout and Boy Scout manikins (which came from the "teen shop") in the middle of the week as sharing a hot embrace and kiss - took two days before anyone complained). Packs promoted Scout Sunday but unless they were sponsored by a church, didn't attend together - I don't think any of the local church's congregations wouldn't have appreciated our Pack attending as one group - we fluctuated between 80 and 120 boys, add parents and siblings and you've got a few hundred people to deal with. The Troop was sponsored by a church men's group so we went to church as a unit - if parents came, they sat elsewhere. The church is non-denominational and the pastor was well acquainted with the diversity of religions in the unit so he would always plan that weeks services accordingly (he would leave out hymns and prayers that referred to Jesus and stick with those that mentioned God in deference to our Jewish Scouts, for instance - and they did attend). The sponsored Troop (and Explorer Post) would take the first 4-5 rows of pews on the right hand side (those that regularly sat there were always glad to give them up that day). We didn't always use all of the spaces but any Cub Scout or non-unit member in Scout Uniform was welcomed to join us too. The sponsored Girl Scout units would take the first 4-5 rows of pews on the left had side. The pastor really made a big deal out of the day. The "District" Pinewood Derby would be held the following Saturday in the "indoor mall" portion of the shopping center (one of the strip-mall owners came up with the idea to connect the bank (a separate building), the department store (a separate building) and the by building an indoor pedestrian courtyard that also took up 6 of the strip center's shops and call it a mall to take advantage of the mall craze). The "District" Pinewood Derby started out as a get together of the 5 in town packs to race against each other on each other's tracks (3 of the 5 packs had their own - the other 2 borrowed). It wasn't unusual for the towns 5 packs to get together on competitions - we had a Cub Scout Olympics as well. The pinewood derby morphed in to a real District Pinewood Derby when one of the DE's decided it wasn't right for just part of the district to have a big event like that - he tried to get us to open the cub olympics to the other town too but it overwheimed the organizers so it just fell by the wayside. It was also kick-off to Scout-O-Rama sales - and we sold a lot - always a highlight of everyone's year. The last Scout Show was in 1988.

Not on a regular basis, and often not at all. The Scoutmaster is the liaison between the Committee and the PLC/boys. Too often, I've see SPL's invited to committee meetings to report on the annual plan the PLC has come up with only to be told why the Troop can't do this, that and/or the other. On the other hand, with the right Committee Chair - that rare CC that understands the Committees real role (one of service to the boys), it can be a good thing. For a while, we had a couple of Committee Chairs that really got it and would invite the SPL to stop by towards the end of their term to report on the Troop's activities and accomplishments, rather than future plans. Those CC's would introduce the SPL as the leader of the Troop and the representative of the people they all worked for - the boys. If that's the plan, and the schedule works out, I'm all for it.

And Bad Wolf would know that episode has some of the best lines ever including my favorite: The Doctor: Mr. President. That child just told you every you need to know, but you weren’t listening. Never mind, though, ’cause the answer’s yes. I’ll take the case. Fellas, the guns? Really? I just walked into the highest security office in the United States, parked a big blue box on the rug. You think you can just shoot me? River stepping out of the TARDIS: They’re Americans! The Doctor: Don’t shoot! Definitely no shooting.

How many COH's are we talking about? We tried having them quarterly but the Scouts thought it was too much so it was dropped to a "formal" COH two-times per year - one in September and one in May. We don't wait to award badges until COH's - they are presented to the Scouts at a Troop meeting at the next possible meeting since earning the badge. COH's are about acknowledging progress, not rewarding it. The Scouts decide if there will be snacks at COH's and what they'll be but they tend to follow traditions that were set years ago. Our May COH is held outdoors with a campfire (even if it is in one of those campfire bowls you can buy at Home Depot) and is usually started with a Patrol demonstrating their dutch oven cobbler making skills, with cobbler served at the end. Our September COH usually has a 10-15 minute power point slide show of summer camp (and other outings) photos. Quite a ways back, a Patrol in charge of snacks for the September COH had the idea to hand out individual boxes of popcorn and bottles of lemonade just before the slide show for that "at the movies" experience - and that's been a tradition ever since. Every once in a while, one of the Patrols on dutch-oven "duty" (they actually compete to earn the honor) will mix it up with dump cakes instead of cobbler - one Patrol did pineapple-apple upside down cake which was a big hit. Leave it to the Scouts to decide if they want to do it, and then what they want to serve - this is a great opportunity to assign the snack duty to a Patrol if the PLC decides that snacks are the way to go.

I'd insist on a SWAT team ready to mobilize, street-level maps covering all of Florida, a pot of coffee, twelve jammie dodgers, and a fez. I'm with you - no to Merit Badges, no to OA or Girl Scout sales (Scout-Mom shows up at dinner with Girl Scout selling cookies is promptly escorted out of camp), yes to patrol competitions, no to uniform police. Troops are responsible for their own Scouts, in all respects, not just health forms. Create an overarching theme for the weekend and adapt the competition stories to it. 6 months minimum to plan, and must have at least two volunteers from each unit to help run the competitions (those adults need something to do during the day). Awards given by patrol, not troop. All patrols must have a patrol flag with them when they do the competition events or they don't get scored. No FOS pitches at the SPL's cracker-barrel (yeah, yeah - but what about Patrol method - you still run Patrol method, you just have one Scout who gets the information then spreads the word via the Patrol Leaders). Note I said SPL's cracker-barrel - no separate CB for adults, but the SM or his designee is invited as well. If adults in a troop want a cracker-barrel, they can have their own in camp after lights out for the boys (but why would they want to do that anyway - as if most of us really need more cheese, sausage and crackers in our diet). Scout's own service on Sunday - optional, but still nice to do. Here's the kicker - must have a minimum percentage of Troops in the district commit in advance to the camporee (60%??) or there will be no camporee.

Just a thought - There is at least one, but likely multiple, copies of cookie order forms going around the offices of these media outlets and that has gotten the editor's to decide to make a story out of it. How often do we see Boy Scout Popcorn order forms at offices?

This might be the most cynical statement I have ever read on these forums - schools and movie theaters are high crime areas? Because most won't allow people to bring guns in to their establishments? What about Churches - most won't allow you to bring guns in to church either - are they high crime areas too? (no comments about the Catholic Church and Evangelical Mega-Church Money Pits). How about the offices of the NRA, which doesn't allow the average joe member to bring in guns, concealed or otherwise - is that a high crime area too? How about the NRA's convention, which has a rule stating that people have to leave their weapons in the car, and can't carry while in the convention (oh how ironic that is) - is that a high crime area too? Yesterday, a woman watching a movie was shot by a drunk fumbling with his gun - supposedly in a place he wasn't allowed to carry a gun - maybe that's what you mean by high crime area? You know who is making me more and more wary about camping outside? All of you folks who insist you have to carry a gun with you everywhere you go because you need it to bolster your confidence when camping. I am far more afraid of some jamoke getting drunk in his campsite and discharging a firearm because he's fiddling around with it than I am afraid of being attacked by a bear or a smuggler. If you're that scared of life that you feel you have to carry a gun with you every where you go, then do us all a favor and stay home - lock yourself in your house - have the local grocery store deliver your food - just hide yourself away behind your guns. Anytime there is a mass shooting (by a white person - for some reason this doesn't apply to minorities) the NRA and gun owners are quick to claim we need better monitoring of mental health issues and we need to keep guns away from people with mental health issues. Well guess what, this idea that you don't feel safe unless you can carry a gun is borderline paranoia, and that's a mental health issue which should preclude you from owning guns in the first place. The question of what is the best concealed gun to bring along on Scouting trips? The answer is simple: The one that you keep at home. If I found myself on a camping trip with one other leader and discovered s/he was carrying and is not a law enforcement officer, the outing would be immediately cancelled, we would be packing up and heading home early.

The one thing that really stood out for me is that there is a "special vounteer committee" being formed to review the application for the all-inclusive Troop. Agree or disagree with the policy all you want (and is it possible to discuss this without it devolving into a hate/love the policy discussion?) but how many new unit applications had to be approved by a "special volunteer committee" before being approved in the last few decades? Is this new "special volunteer committee" going to be consulted if the LDS church applies for a new Troop, or for that matter, if any other long-time relation has a new unit application in the works? This stinks of National and the Council not wanting to take responsibility for either approving or not approving the unit - they want to be able to point to the "special volunteer committee" when whichever "side" gets upset about the decision and lay blame at the volunteers feet. Any volunteer that agrees to serve on this "special vounteer committee" should have their head examined. A Scout may be Brave, but apparently Professional Scouter's are allowed to be cowards.

Category Influencer? Ok - I understand that - (Yes, influencer is a word, it can be found in Webster's Unabridged and in the OED, but it is mainly used in marketing so it is considered job-specific jargon rather than being a word in common usage - most jobs have them - in this case, it identifies a person who wields influnce). An example of a category influencer would be a famous chef recommending a particular brand of chef's knife and it could be a formal recommendation as part of an ad campaign or an informal recommendation (I think most of us have seen or read news stories where the person being interviewed mentions some product, or the interviewer mentions something seen in someone's home as a way of adding color to the story and in the next week, that item becomes a hot buy). Oprah, with her book club, is a category influencer. My biggest question is who qualifies to be an expert? Do you have to be in Scouting for a certain length of time? Is it based on how many camping trips you take in a year? What's the criteria? Otherwise, this might turn out to be a good thing. We have folks asking our advice on gear all the time in here - in fact, there is a current discussion about a replacement tent. Just recently, we had a discussion about lights that generated a lot of opinions. We're already providing our opinions on gear - in a lot of ways, we're already category influencers - but our reach is limited - and there are a lot of experienced Scouters who may have some other really good suggestions but are just not participating here. And ok, I get it, we're cynical - but I would venture to suggest that we are cynical because we're experienced - we can walk in to an REI, or Cabelas, or Bass Pro, or Dick's and know what we're looking for and what we're looking at. Most folks new to Scouting don't have that experience so maybe this will turn out to be helpful if the sales folks are basing their recommendations of recommendations by experienced scouters - I don't know about anyone else, but I've seen enough new Scouts coming to their first campout with a new sleeping bag just not appropriate for conditions to last a lifetime. My biggest complaint - and one I'm surprised no one has mentioned yet...SCOUTfitters? Really? Really????

Skip - maybe this is a radical idea but given how much you liked your Vango tent, a brand not really seen much over on this side of the pond, have you considered giving Vango a call and asking them what their new equivalent to the Hydra is? Seems to me that if they've discontinued the Hydra, there is a good chance they did so because they have a replacement out there for it that was just different enough that they decided to rename it - I know that North Face and Kelty will often make improvements on their tents that may not be really obvious to us but that they think is significant enough to require a name change.

I suspect you read the opinion that the PL is the top leader in a Troop right here in this forum - and it's a strong argument, especially if your unit isn't large enough for or chooses not to use a Senior Patrol Leader. But if your unit does have a Senior Patrol Leader, he is the top leader in the Troop. The strongest argument for it being the PL seems to center around the idea that the PL has more direct interaction with the boys in his patrol and that Patrol Leaders are the more important leader in a Troop using the patrol method. However, we're really not talking about the leader with the most interaction with the boys, or the most important leader - we're talking about the "Top" leader - and right from the start, that suggests a singular leader, not 4 or 5 leaders. From an interaction perspective (or as a wise Scouter on this forum would say, on a "taking care of your boys" perspective), The Patrol Leader may be a little closer to the action but the SPL is also responsible for taking care of "his" boys as well - A Patrol Leader may be taking care of 6-8 boys, the SPL should be taking care of ALL the boys - and while much of the time, he's doing this by leading and mentoring the PL, there are going to be times when he's doing so directly as well. Fom an organizational perspective, the top leader may not be the most important leader. No one would say that the CEO of a company is not the top leader of the company, but we could certainly argue that the most important leaders of the company are the ones on the ground directing the sales force. The same is true here - the PL's may be the most important leaders, but they aren't the top leader. They still report to someone - and that is the SPL. I know there are a lot of Troops out there that like to say the SPL is the top "junior" leader of the Troop. I disagree with them - the SPL is the top leader, period. The Senior Patrol Leader is the top leadership position in the Troop. But what about the Scoutmaster, I hear some of you screaming (if just in your head), or the Committee Chair? It's popular to call the Scoutmaster the top leader in the Troop - I blame the 1966 Fred MacMurray movie "Follow Me Boys!" for that. Maybe that was truer back then, but that's not what the BSA is trying to do now. If that movie were re-made today, the title should be "Lead On, Boys!". The Scoutmaster is the top Mentor, Guide, Coach, and Guardian of the unit (there is a rather famous Norman Rockwell painting titled "The Scoutmaster" showing a Scoutmaster standing at a campfire, keeping watch while the boys are sleeping around him - that, to me, is the epitome of a Scoutmaster - he's not "leading" in that painting - he's keeping watch, he's guarding his flock). Any leading he's doing is limited to leading his ASM's and "leading" through mentorship the SPL. On the trail, the SPL is out front leading - not the Scoutmaster. The Committee Chair? He's head of the support team - that's what the committee is - the support team for the Troop - his leadership is leading the committee - not the Troop. Need any further convincing? Take a look at the job titles - there is not one job title for adults in a Troop that has the word Leader in it. There are four job titles for youth in a Troop that does - Assistant Patrol Leader, Patrol Leader, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader and Senior Patrol Leader. Of course, as has been mentioned, this really only works out is you have one of those "ideal" Troops with multiple patrols and a good age range of active Troop members from 10 1/2 - 17. A lot of us don't have Troops that are anywhere close to ideal so mileage may vary.

I wonder if that one word: Eagle - has anything to do with it.

Sleepover, at your house, with your son's friends? Not a Scout function? Not wearing your DL/CM Hats? Not a 2-deep or YPT issue. Sleepover, as a Den, at a local museum? That's when YPT kicks in. I also wouldn't worry about the other dens . Those Cubs can have sleepovers with whomever they want. I will suggest, however, that there is a potential problem no one has pointed out. You have a den of 5 - one assumes that includes your son. 3 of the other Cubs are in his class and you say that those 3 wouold be the likely people your son would ask. If you do a group sleepover of your son and those 3 boys, how do you think the Cub/Friend from the den not in his class will feel about not being invited? Sorry - this is where being the DL has an affect - the parents of the boy not invited might think you're playing favorites within the den - and they might not see any difference here between a den activity and a personal activity if 4 out of 5 den mates are doing something together. If you do a group sleepover, I would make sure, as a parent, that my son invited everyone from the den. If you do individual sleepovers (one at a time) and the other three boys had a turn, I'd make sure (as a parent) that my son had a sleepover with the other boy too - they're all in the same den, and while he might not be as close to the boy not in his class, as a Cub Scout in his den, he should still be looked upon as a friend.