Committee members and Assistant Scoutmasters

[Adrianvs]

DSteele, (I want to call you Greg; I have no idea why.)

 

No offense taken at all.. I mentioned Bob because he is usually very quick and direct in throwing out the official policy to shed some light and/or heat. I wasn't addressing the questions to him alone; I just wanted someone to give any official guidelines for committee member roles. Since Bob gives laoconic accounts of official policy about 90% of the time, I mentioned his name. I consider Bob a big asset to this board, but I will admit it was good-natured ribbing when I directed one of the questions to him.

 

Please do answer or comment on any of the questions I have posed (including the official sources). I will always consider you as "the professional" of the board. The word has a literal meaning, but for me it implies quality of performance, expertice, and dedication. Of course I would value your personal experience, reflection, or account of policy.

[Fat Old Guy]

" But, what is the purpose if they are indistinguishable from scoutmasters?"

 

Rules are often made for the ideal. In baseball, the pitcher is supposed to remain in contact with the pithcher's plate throughout his pitching motion. However, the rules state nothing about what to do if there is a two foot deep hole right in front of the pitcher's plate, dug by the last 20 pitchers. Why? The rules were written for the ideal situation where there are groundskeepers.

 

We should strive for the ideal separation. Adults who work with the Scouts directly should probably get trained and become ASMs.

 

Some troops have a separate advancement committee that does nothing but conduct BORs. These are all parents who don't want to work with the Scouts but are willing to help out.

[FScouter]

I've always thought that questions posted on an internet forum are open game for anyone to answer. In my opinion, the most complete answers come from posts from a variety of people. To request an answer from just one person might make the rest of the group feel just a tiny bit slighted, as if their comments have been dismissed before even being made.

 

In the same vein, some people might also feel excluded from the group if one responds on the public forum that an answer or suggestion to a public question is being sent via the private message system.

[Senior_Patrol_Leader_T15]

In my troop, the BOR is made up of the SPL, JASM, and an adult that is on the Committee(cant be the parent or a ASM or the SM, also cant be on the immediate family{brothers, sisters,etc.}) for Scout- First Class

 

For Star-Life, another situation.

 

In our troop it consists of the SPL, JASM, one committee member (same as above for requirements), and two or three of the merit badge conselors, unless they are the ASM or the SM, or a parent(which it shouldnt be in the first place)

 

Eagle BOR, out of our hands

[Fat Old Guy]

A novel idea, having Scouts sit on a BOR, but grossly out of line with BSA's ideas.

[acco40]

From the SM Handbook: "... he appears before a board of review composed of three to six members of the troop committee. The membership of the board of review for an Eagle Scout candidate is determined by local council policy. An Eagle Scout board of review is often made up of members of the troop committee joined by a representative from the district or courcil or the board bmay be fully composed of district or council personnel."

 

From the Advancement Committee Policies and Procedures: "... board of review is made of of at least three and not more than six members of the troop committee. One member serves as chairman, usually the committee member responsible for advancement. (Following in bold print) Unit leaders, assistant unit leaders, relatives, or guardians may not serve as members of a Scout's board of review (end of bold print).

 

Now to answer some of the "rules" debate, the ACP&P also states, "The Scout should be neat in his appearance and his uniform should be as correct as possible, with badges worn properly. The review is not an examination. The Scout should be asked where he learned his skill, who taught him, and the value he gained from passing this requirement."

 

It also states that after a Scout has satifactorily completed his BOR, he cannot be recognized until that action is reported to the council service center on an Advancement Report.

 

From the Troop Committee Guidebook: " ... a board of reveiw composed of at least three and not more than six committee members."

 

So, in effect, I screwed up in my previous post. Alas, BW is right again! (and has no need to feel sorry). For an Eagle Board of Review, non-Scouters who have knowledge of the Scouting program may sit on the Eagle BOR but not for BORs for all ranks below Eagle.

[Bob White]

I cannot tell you how glad I am that dSteele is on this forum. There are a number of volunteers worth paying attention to, I am especially impressed by Eamonn, dan, acco40, OGE, mk9750, matuawarrior, among others. But no matter how knowledgable volunteers are there are times you need an understanding of the professional side.

 

DSteele in invaluable to us. All too often communication between volunteers and their support professionals is clouded by poor communications from one side or both. Dave has been very gracious to help clarify things that even the most involved volunteer has little exposure to. Plus there are far to many falacies being spread by volunteers who rather than take time to learn, and would rather generate rumors that harm the program and vital relationships.

 

So thanks for being there Dave and jump in any time. (go take a shower and get some rest you smell like butter )

 

So we are fortunate to be able to talk with volunteers with strong program experience and a professional with current administrative and support information who is willing to share.

 

NOW to the thread.

 

SPL T-15 Your Troop is in violation of the BSA advancement policies and procedures and needs to follow today's program. Youth members are not to stafing Boards of review.

 

Acco40 references are correct. (You show great promise Grasshopper)

 

Best wishes,

Bob White(This message has been edited by Bob White)

[dsteele]

Thanks, Bob. You really made me feel good. So did others. It's that good feeling that keeps me coming back.

 

When I first read the above post, I thought "what brought that on?" Then I read my previous posts and was not proud of myself. I don't make excuses as a general rule, so I won't start now.

 

At any rate, it appears I was grousing about my Scout Executive (my direct boss.) I was. He drove me nuts all week.

 

But when Saturday (yesterday) came around, he was a night in shining armor. I knew there was a reason I love the guy.

 

Originally, it was just going to be me and the warehouse guy handling the popcorn Saturday morning. We had a 3 hour window for pickup -- 8:00AM to 11:00 AM. 33 unit orders to fill in those three hours (the rest picked up on Friday when I had 6 people working.)

 

The Scout Executive asked me if I needed help on Saturday and I didn't want to ask him to come. Part of the reason I didn't ask him is that I didn't want someone to come in and take charge of my operation. The other part of it is sheer ego on my part -- my boss is a Scout Executive because he's been there and done that and I wasn't about to ask him to come in and save my bacon. Especially since it didn't need to be saved.

 

He was there at 8:15 Saturday morning. Not 8:00 AM -- the first unit showed up with a semi-trailer at 7:45 (there's always a rush early) and Joe (the warehouse guy and I alone) loaded the thing up by 8:10. We could have handled the entire morning without the Scout Executive.

 

But, and here's where the knight in shining armor label applies to him -- he worked like any volunteer would work. He worked hard and accepted my direction. The entire morning.

 

When I thanked him as he and I filled a van with cases of unbelievable butter, he said, "no problem. Glad to help."

 

By the way, we're talking about a Scout Executive who has been Scout Executive in this council since before one of my DE's (who grew up and earned his Eagle in this council) was even a Cub Scout! My Scout Executive would dance in the streets if he were to hear he's got a 50% approval rating from his volunteers (good thing we don't do polls on professional popularity!)

 

But in my book, my SE is #1. I may get mad as heck at him from time to time, but when my back needs to be covered, he's there to do it and do it well.

 

Sorry. The above was a bit off topic, but I had to tell someone.

 

DS

[Twocubdad]

Still off topic, but Dave, dude, why are you loading popcorn?

 

When we pickup popcorn, there's one Council volunteer there who sits behind a desk with a cup of coffee, a clipboard and points at your pile. Units are required to bring enough help to load their own order. The only exception is that if you have a truck that will hold full pallets, the regular warehouse guys (who donate that space to the Scouts) will load it for you with a forklift.

[kthoman]

Glad to read those requirements for BOR. Is the Charter Rep. considered a Committee member and able to be present for a BOR?