Extremely Conflicted on Scouting

[pam]

Originally Posted by Palerider

I have been involved in Scouting for a long time myself. I was a Scoutmaster and served in the District and have gone thru and completed a Wood Badge Course. I currently serve as a Merit Badge Councilor which I have been doing for years now.
I like the program and what it teaches the boys and I have one beef with it......its too expensive and its tough for a single Mom to have boys in the program due to the expense. The BSA does not make it easy for them.

Amen to that. I was spending a fortune on scouting for my two boys. I finally just couldn't do it anymore.

[Just_A_Guy]

Just wanted to take a moment and thank everyone for their input.

[scorpionace]

our scoutmaster and treasurer wont show us the bank records. They recently bought a very used trailer from the treasurers brother in law for $2000.00 you can buy a new one for $2500.00 I wish there was a way to get rid of these parasites
any suggestions???

[scorpionace]

they think its their money
it belongs to the boys for their camp outs
SHAME ON THEM

[Palerider]

Originally Posted by scorpionace

they think its their money
it belongs to the boys for their camp outs
SHAME ON THEM

if this is an LDS troop.....I believe the checking acount gets audited when the ward financial records get audited....

[BenRaines]

As an LDS unit we are not allowed to keep a separate account. All our funds are in YM or Other. We purchased a brand new trailer last year. Church will not own it for liability reasons but with Bishops permission it is in Scoutmaster's name and is to be transferred when he is changed.

Ben Raines

[prospectmom]

I was in the scouting program as a Cub Scout leader and then as a Leader and a Trainer... I also taught at the Round Tables... While I see alot of the negatives being said I also feel the good that comes out of it is so much more ........ It is not just with scouting... Anyone wonder how much money the Girl Scout Troops get to keep on cookie sales??? When my daughter was it was 30 to 40 cents on the dollar. There is corruption in any organization sadly that starts looking at is as a way to make profits / saleries of the backs of the youth.... I love the program .... not the money side of it... but can't throw the baby out with the dirty wash water.

[Palerider]

Originally Posted by BenRaines

As an LDS unit we are not allowed to keep a separate account. All our funds are in YM or Other. We purchased a brand new trailer last year. Church will not own it for liability reasons but with Bishops permission it is in Scoutmaster's name and is to be transferred when he is changed.

Ben Raines

thanks Ben......I knew that had changed......

[Michael_Newman]

Our scoutmaster has been a scoutmaster for 18 years in several wards. Seems each time he moved into a new ward, the called him to be the scoutmaster.

When he moved into our ward he started with the usual 5 boys who came to play basketball on Wednesday evenings. Although they camped a few times a year, there was no real scouting program, and no uniforms.

After six months our scoutmaster had grown the unit to 65 boys (with about half non-member boys). For the older boys, we worked with the Young Men's President to form additional patrols - including a patrol for the priests that wore the dark green Explorer uniforms.


All of them were in uniform (including the classic Campaign Hat from the early days of scouting), organized into patrols, camping every month, and were getting ready for their summer fund raiser (which earned them $3000).

After a year and a half our scoutmaster formed a provisional troop comprised of boys from all of the troops within the district. The provisional troop included 81 scouts and 19 assistant scoutmasters. The troop traveled by Amtrak for a week-away expedition.

By his own choosing, our scoutmaster and the boys did not promote FOS. That was left up to the bishopric and the ward families. He had discovered years ago that one dollar given to United Way resulted in one penny that went to one of his boy scouts. But for the boy to qualify for the penny, he would have to match the penny with another penny. So if I have $5,000 to UW, the boy scout would get $50 toward his summer camp fee of $100. His scoutmaster decided to do their own fund raisers.

Funny thing, our scoutmaster never did set out to get a Quality Unit Award for the troop. They had no need for it.

And as for Eagle Scouts, sure - there were several - but most of the boys enjoyed the journey, no matter what award the journey resulted in.

The key is finding a dedicated scoutmaster that will be in the calling long enough (at least five years) with a dedicated Bishop that will sustain him. (The complainers I have seen haven't a clue as to their options. Our scoutmaster studied scouting, studied boys, and as a result of an outstanding annual program - the boys showed their respect by wearing the uniforms and doing the scouting program).

All my best,

Michael

[Misshalfway]

Originally Posted by Palerider

I have been involved in Scouting for a long time myself. I was a Scoutmaster and served in the District and have gone thru and completed a Wood Badge Course. I currently serve as a Merit Badge Councilor which I have been doing for years now.
I like the program and what it teaches the boys and I have one beef with it......its too expensive and its tough for a single Mom to have boys in the program due to the expense. The BSA does not make it easy for them.

I will confess that I have issues with the scouting program. One of which is the money. I just visited the scout office and forked out $85 on two shirts and one badge. Ouch! Most of the time, I am happy to give of my resources to the church no matter what the activity is. It just feels rather inequitable for me. My daughter attends the activity days program and I don't spend a dollar on her. No uniform or book or camp out or awards night. It just seems a little strange for the church to put so much effort into training boys and less focus on girls. I mean, don't girls need to learn to use a knife or do first aid? Heck...as the cook for this family, I use a knife every day.

I do think the church is improving things as it is much more equitable than when I was a girl. But my boys do scouting once a week. My daughter attends once every two weeks. She doesn't even get a weekly activity let alone countless awards ceremonies.

I wonder if the church sees this as a problem or a discrepancy as they have their meetings up there in SLC. I would like to know their reasoning.