Information, Observation, and Inspiration for Scouters
I’m back with a look at some topics that you may find of interest.
Registration is now live for the 2023 National Scout Jamboree, to be held again at the Summit Bechtel Family Reserve in West Virginia July 19-28, 2023. As that is only fifteen months away, councils are assembling contingents and making travel arrangements. Jamboree is the adventure of a lifetime for Scouts. Continue reading “News & notes – April 2022”
Happy New Year! Thank you for your efforts to bring Scouting to youth throughout the last year despite the challenges we faced. Here’s hoping that the new year brings success and prosperity for your unit and a rewarding experience for you as a volunteer.
At the outset of the pandemic, the Advancement Team approved several temporary changes to a few of the requirements that allowed them to be met despite the isolation and social distancing that we faced. Effective March 1, 2022, these changes will sunset and requirements will revert to those as written. Continue reading “News & notes, January 2022”
A few items for this month:
The requirements for the new Citizenship in Society merit badge have been released, along with guidelines for counselors for the badge.
There is great concern that counselors for this badge have the correct understanding about how the badge is to be facilitated (not taught), and that they have a temperament that will foster discussions without promoting particular views. Â Continue reading “News & Notes, December 2021”
This month’s Scouting topics to be aware of:
It’s easy to invite new members to join. You can send them a link to follow, which will take them directly to register for your pack or troop. Just sign in to my.scouting.org, click Menu, then your unit number. Click Invitation Manager, then Copy URL. Paste this URL into your invitation email, and the prospective member will be taken to your registration page where the national (and, in most councils, local) registration fees will be collected. Note that starting in October, fees are also collected for the following year so you won’t need to collect again when you recharter.
And don’t forget to promptly follow up on leads that are generated from your “pin”. The unit Key 3 will get daily reminder e-mails when unanswered inquiries are pending. Continue reading “News & Notes, November 2021”
The Boy Scouts of America’s National Advancement Team has completed its biennial review and updates to the Guide to Advancement, BSA’s canonical reference to all things related to advancement.
First published in its current form in 2011 and updated every two years since, the Guide has chapters covering all aspects of advancement across all the BSA’s programs. In the past, updates have been quietly published with little fanfare, but in recent years – and especially with changes necessitated in the last year or so – there’s been more publicity surrounding its release. So you’ve probably heard or read about some of the changes.
Just in case you haven’t, though, here’s a quick rundown: Continue reading “Guide to Advancement 2021”