Multi-unit events in the time of COVID

[DuctTape]

10 minutes ago, RichardB said:

Perhaps one of you could point out where it enables an CO to do events for others in the name of scouting on behalf of the local council or BSA?   I don't think you are going to find that in there.   

Because that is not what is being discussed. COs are doing events themselves at the same location.

[David CO]

2 hours ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

There are 3 troops that have the same CO. They have been putting on their own summer camp and allowing others to attend for ages. Do not know if they still do it or not. 

There aren't very many CO's who have more than one troop.  It's cheaper to run one large troop than 3 smaller ones.  Besides, if you use the patrol method, what difference does it make how large the troop is?

Some units take a broad view of the meaning of CO when it applies to multi-unit camping.  My Catholic unit would not have hesitated to do camping activities at our diocese owned facility with other units who were chartered by other Catholic CO's.  As a matter of fact, our annual scout mass was always a multi-unit event.  It didn't much matter to us if the CO's were parishes, schools, or KC's.  We were all Catholic units.

I would think the same thing was true of public school units, back in the day when public schools chartered units.  I doesn't matter if the unit was chartered by a school or a PTA.  All of the units chartered by the various entities of a public school district should have felt free to do joint scouting activities together, so long as they were under the same "umbrella".

 

Edited November 2, 2020 by David CO

[ParkMan]

14 minutes ago, RichardB said:

Perhaps one of you could point out where it enables an CO to do events for others in the name of scouting on behalf of the local council or BSA?   I don't think you are going to find that in there.   

Troops have had joint activities as long as there has been Scouting.  A Scoutmaster has a really fun event his/her troop enjoys.  That Scoutmaster invites a local troop or two to join them for the weekend.  I've seen this happen in Cub Scouts and Scouts BSA alike.  No-one is trying to organize shadow district/council events.  It's just volunteers smartly working together to bring more fun to youth.

In 100 years I never would have imagined going to the rules to see if Troop A is allowed to work with Troop B & Troop C to plan an event.  At the volunteer level this just seems like common sense that independent units can work together.  Each unit follows the rules and G2SS.  Why would professionals even care about this?

 

 

[Eagle94-A1]

33 minutes ago, RichardB said:

Perhaps one of you could point out where it enables an CO to do events for others in the name of scouting on behalf of the local council or BSA?   I don't think you are going to find that in there.   

Who said anything about 2 troops deciding to do a joint activity and calling it a council event? Nothing in the CO agreement or GtSS prohibits units from different COs doing things together.

[David CO]

8 minutes ago, ParkMan said:

Why would professionals even care about this?

When my unit stopped attending council and district events, our parents became less inclined to donate to FOS.  The execs know this.  It is all about the $$$.

[Eagle94-A1]

21 minutes ago, David CO said:

There aren't very many CO's who have more than one troop.  It's cheaper to run one large troop than 3 smaller ones.  Besides, if you use the patrol method, what difference does it make how large the troop is?

Some units take a broad view of the meaning of CO when it applies to multi-unit camping.  My Catholic unit would not have hesitated to do camping activities at our diocese owned facility with other units who were chartered by other Catholic CO's.  As a matter of fact, our annual scout mass was always a multi-unit event.  It didn't much matter to us if the CO's were parishes, schools, or KC's.  We were all Catholic units.

I would think the same thing was true of public school units, back in the day when public schools chartered units.  I doesn't matter if the unit was chartered by a school or a PTA.  All of the units chartered by the various entities of a public school district should have felt free to do joint scouting activities together, so long as they were under the same "umbrella".

 

It was a very interesting arrangement if memory serves. The 3 units were chartered by a land trust, which was a very nice size property. Each had their own troop cabin, and they met on different nights of the week. They did a joint fundraiser, doing their own summer camp. IMHO it was good competition for my summer camp. When I went to the council summer camp, it was OK. The local units' camp created some competition, and today my old council's camp is one of the best camps in the nation.

[ParkMan]

5 minutes ago, David CO said:

When my unit stopped attending council and district events, our parents became less inclined to donate to FOS.  The execs know this.  It is all about the $$$.

If this is what it is, it's a really strange way to do this.  Have the people who write the rules make a rule that units cannot work together.  

I can respect that the rules people got carried away here and made this rule thinking that units were trying to hold shadow camporees to get around the new short term camping rules.  In the process they went too far and suggested that units cannot work together anymore.  In @RichardB's statement you can see a misalignment on what we're talking about here.  My gut tells me that this is one of those times that the people in Texas don't really understand what happens in the field.

But, if this really is about FOS money, it's a ridiculously clumsy way to do it.