clemlaw Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 I consider it humorous, although others might be horrified. At my Wolf Cub Scout's school, they had a table full of free books. My son spotted one with a BSA emblem on it and brought it home. From the vague description, my guess was that it was a MB pamphlet. It turns out it was an OA Handbook, circa 2000. It was in pristine condition, and had the price tag from a local used book store. My guess is that Junior went off to college, and the parents unloaded some of his old books. For those who are horrified, don't worry--I took it out of circulation. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papadaddy Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 They regularly show up on Ebay. You'd be surprised what you can find with a Google search (maybe not). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SR540Beaver Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 I'll go you one better than that. While helping staff the Trainer's Edge course this past Saturday, I strolled down to the scout shop (run by national) during our lunch break to buy a Chapter Adviser position patch. What did I find sitting on the shelf? No position patches, they were in a controlled drawer behind the counter. What I did find was the Ordeal, Brotherhood and Vigil ceremonies for sale to anyone that wanted to buy them. I asked the manager if he understood that the ceremonies were safeguarded material that only OA members were supposed to have access to based on what honor they were. His response, "you know, we've had other people tell us that". I spoke to the Lodge ADviser and the Council Program Director who both told me that when the council operated the scout shop, they could control things like that. Now that national runs it, they can do what they want and ignore their requests to put the ceremonies behind the counter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papadaddy Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Now that you mention it, I think I've seen OA Handbooks for sale in our Council-run Scout Shop. In fact, I think I bought one...no proof of membership required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle92 Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Ok I was about to say that OA stuff wasn't supposed to be on sale except a few minor items, but things have changed and they can. HOWEVER restricted items like the ceremonies books, chapter adviser patches, sashes,etc are required to be secured and paperwork/proof needs to be offered to buy. They are not suppose to be on the floors but behind the counters. Actually the SE has a LOT of influence over the shop, despite the shop being nationally owned. They can change that, heck they can mandate that NO OA restricted stuff be sold, at least last time I worked for national. We did not sell anything OA related except what could be ordered via the web, restricted OA position patches (and we verified who they were) and DSA knots (we had a few folks who could get those and they were known personally by the staff). If the SE doesn't want to get involved, call the regional VP of supply. He can fix it in a jiffy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SR540Beaver Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Eagle92, In our shop, everything OA is on the floor with the exception of the position patch which was behind the counter. Since the shop management basically blew me off, I sent an email to Scout Stuff customer service. Try going to the natonal BSA website and finding an organizational list with phone numbers and email addresses. That animal doesn't exist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papadaddy Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 They probably don't want us to know who they are... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle92 Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 HMMMM interesting. All I can find is the headman's info. Oh well here's his info Michael A. Ashline Director, Supply Group (704) 588-4260 or (704) 583-9475 Hate using the 5" guns when the 40mms will work just as well. But ya gotta use ya resources, and hit the target. (ASIDE, yes I've been watching SONS OF GUNS and the episode BLOWING UP THE KIDD. They have an absolute AWESOME overnight program, better than the USS ALABAMA and USS YORKTOWN, and a fraction of the course. They actually have tour guides assigned to you to give you the normal tour, plus go some extra places if you want. Tour guides get "interrogated" by the Tim Nessmith before they are able to give tours. Trust me I know. Best placed I ever worked at.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampYankee Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 At my scout store, there is a whole bin of Eagle Life Member knots out on the floor. I went in with my NESA membership card, expecting to be carded, and they didn't say a word, just scanned the knot and put it in a bag. I was a little disconcerted. I'll have to check for OA stuff on the floor next time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortridge Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 In a local Scout shop I once found a stack of Eagle kits sitting out in the open out of sight-line of the cashier, perfect for someone to steal. Disconcerting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now