Better4itall

Surprise demands on volunteers. So I went to our District Roundtable tonight and the subject was school recruiting, sign up nights. And our district executive told us that he had been instructed by his boss to tell attendees that if a unit information form was not completed and turned in this evening that they would not be able to recruit at any schools with a deadline of tomorrow morning. Less than 1/4 of the district was present at the roundtable, and everyone there scurried to complete the damn form, but what was it all about? The poor DE could only say "this is how we know that you are ready to accept new members." and when pressed, he couldn't say anything more than "you need to have a program in place". What was this all about? Does this council not realize that that the volunteers they are threatening are the foundation of their organization? Let's see how quickly we can crush a once thriving movement for the advancement of character and values by subverting it to job preservation. Please pardon if this sounds like a rant, but it is.

Any chance for a citation for that quote - it's a winner.

This - Scouting is boy-led, or youth-led, so put the decision to them. Remember, as the SPL's advisor you have a lot of influence. Some of the most surprising SPL's I've seen in our troop have been the ones that I thought "oh no!" when they were elected. And remember, it's a week.

Thank heavens my son finished before he saw this thread. Ouch!

Friends of Scouting was instituted because "Because funds provided through the United Way and other sources are insufficient to carry out the program determined by the council executive board". Here's the reference https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/mission/pdf/33071.pdf. Your unit does not owe the council a dime beyond dues. The FOS program was instituted as a direct community outreach to solicit donations from benefactors. But it has become one of the many fundraising channels back to units. So dues, popcorn, camp cards and FOS all now fall to the units. Advice to councils: go look elsewhere, scouting families are tapped out.

Congratulations on your son's achievement! Irregardless of position of national. And yes, there are gems like your friend still left in scouting. I wonder why there isn't a knot for this one . . .

I'm partial to Eagle Scout Mentor pins. I've been awarded 15 at ECOH's, and I only wear them all at formal events, along with my son's Eagle Dad pin. On my regular uniform I only wear one and my son's pin, along with a rotation of event patches that I've participated in. I've been at this scouting thing for a while 😉

It seems our professionals (at both the national and at least one council level) have forgotten the Scout Motto, or perhaps never took it to heart. We have a new Council Executive and he attended a council training class for the fall school recruiting season. One of his staff gave a briefing on the new fee structure, and the new rolling renewal. When asked about how that renewal will work he passed the question to the Scout Executive, who had to dance around the fact that he did not have the answers. This was in spite of the fact that he opened with stories of returning from the national meeting recently. The fact that those answers were not available at the national meeting when the new program was announced speaks volumes to the professionalism of national staff, but more importantly, they were not prepared. In spite of that they announced the program. Our local staff then was put in the position. of not being prepared to explain the program to the affected units, and while national needs to be held accountable for only giving half measure, our local professionals also had the responsibility to hold national to account for that failure rather than just delivering the message. If that had happened, they would not have to be held to account by their units for not having the answers. So our Council Executive was put on the spot, publicly. Instead of simply admitting that he did not have the answers when asked, he gave permission for the units to "vent", and reminded everyone that the programs was going in place in less than 60 days, like it or not. I'm not going to go through the 12 points of the Scout Law, but that missed a lot of them. We teach the Scouts in our units that leadership is about responsibility and accountability, and that the most effective leaders are collaborative and lead by example. The examples our volunteers were shown at that training event reflected none of that. If this was an isolated incident, it could be framed as an outlier, rushing in order to get improved funding in place. But it is not. There has been a pattern of incomplete programs being announced from national that have real-world consequences for unit leaders, chartering organizations and councils. Our nation is in desperate need of effective leaders everywhere, and one of the most reliable sources of that leadership no longer seems up to the task.

Just read through this subtopic. Sad but in a way re-assuring as well since it sounds like most councils have become increasingly insular and funding focused. I've been spending more time looking at WOSM Scouting movements and it's heartening to see growth, involvement, and positive directions. I am hopeful that even if BSA continues in its inwardly focused path that Scouting as a world movement will continue.

Ummm - really low country. Like 35 feet above sea level. Some good advice, but don't let it deter you, sounds like a great trek. Good hydration and conditioning training before you leave are the best preparations. Treat it like you would a Philmont trek - it looks comparable. I'd leave the O2 and Gamow bag at home, but get ahold of the local SAR team, and definitely stair-step your way up over a couple of days.

We haven't done it but it looks like a fantastic trek! As a fellow scouter from the low country, we usually add 1-2 days to acclimatize at altitude to avoid altitude sickness for mountain high-adventure trips. With a trip like this you could fly into Denver, spend a day or two there or somewhere in between and then head out. Mind if we borrow your idea?

I hear that if you are quick you can make breakfast in basecamp. Great way to have a big finish!

It's a canoeing spring - March was a day trip to clean up a local creek with canoes - 17 bags of garbage. April was a short paddle from a major spring 5 miles down river. May will be swimming and water sports at a local lake, and June will be a 2 night river paddle. Nothing but a sliding rock for Summer Camp in July, along with backpacking, climbing, mountain biking and random acts of Scouting.

As an older Scouter, I've got a mild gripe here. Not to diminish the work of the fire crews or others doing everything they can to battle this or other fires. I trekked Philmont in 1971, and we cooked over wood fires made from deadfall and dead branches still on trees (gold in rainy weather). We heard a rumor that they were shifting to lightweight stoves in the next year or two while we were there, and it was an accurate rumor. So that means there is 50 years of fuel now piled up on the forest floors of Philmont. And we see the results. Might be time to go back to old school cooking methods, and start clearing some of that accumulation before it's done for us. Anyone listening?

Loved Indiana Jones as a Scout. He was all about adventure and doing the right thing. The folks that wrote GTSS probably had heart palpitations over it but we need more scouting like that. Can't wait for this one!