Confusion for Den Leaders

This is a followup to an earlier posting labeled "Really Good News for Den Leaders!" Click here to see that posting.

This was good: In January 2017, BSA National decided to simplify lots of Cub badge requirements.
Not so good: In September 2017, handbooks being sold in the Scout shops were not revised. They still talk about the older, harder requirement sets.

The band-aid solution: Each copy of each handbook needs a separate insert called an "addendum."

If you did not receive an "addendum" when you bought your handbook, you can download and print a copy for insertion:

Click here for the Tiger Addendum.
Click here for the Wolf Addendum.
Click here for the Bear Addendum.
Click here for the Webelos+Arrow of Light Addendum.

Registration Fees - Save this Chart

Effective December 1, 2017

Click here for a chart showing how much to charge a new Scout or Cub (or adult) recruit when he signs up.

The fee for a full 12 months is $42 (plus an optional $12 for Boys' Life = $54). The chart shows how to pro-rate the fee, so you should charge less for a Scout who signs up in the middle of the year.

Example: Most Three Rivers District units recharter in January, which means that your fiscal year starts in February and ends in January. Thus anyone you recruit in January or February pays the full amount. A March recruit pays for 11 months, April pays for 10, etc. When you recruit in September, charge for 5 months: Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan.

Note how the chart is titled "Registration and Insurance." That's because of the high insurance rates in New Jersey. Other Scout councils in other states likely charge just $33 (= $2.75 per month), but NNJC had to impose a $9 surcharge to cover our high premiums.

List of Events in September 2017

Three Rivers Events During September 2017

Sep 5 - TRD Unit Commissioners Meeting
  http://www.nnjbsa.org/registration/calendardetail.aspx?ActivityKey=2202388&OrgKey=944
Sep 7 - TRD District Committee Meeting
  http://www.nnjbsa.org/registration/calendardetail.aspx?ActivityKey=2185063&OrgKey=944
Sep 12 - TRD Roundtable
  http://www.nnjbsa.org/registration/calendardetail.aspx?ActivityKey=2185052&OrgKey=944
Sep 19 - TRD Assistant District Commissioner Meeting
  https://nnjbsa.doubleknot.com/registration/calendardetail.aspx?ActivityKey=2202477&OrgKey=944

Training Sessions During September 2017

Sep 15-17 - NNJC Outdoor Skills Weekend
  http://www.nnjbsa.org/registration/calendardetail.aspx?ActivityKey=2167879&OrgKey=2104
Sep 16 - Cub Leader-Specific Training
  http://www.nnjbsa.org/registration/calendardetail.aspx?ActivityKey=2161188&OrgKey=2104

Other Council-Approved Events in September 2017

Sep 22-24 - OA Induction Weekend #3 at Yaw Paw
  http://www.nnjbsa.org/registration/calendardetail.aspx?ActivityKey=2082897&OrgKey=1921

Death of Three Scouts in Texas

Death of Three Scouts in Texas

Their sailboat ran into an overhead power line. Two died immediately, one later. 

"Two Texas Boy Scouts, aged 16 and 18, were killed and another was hospitalized after their sailboat collided with an overhead power line, likely sending a jolt of electricity through the boat, Texas officials said on Sunday." Click here to see the NY Times article of August 6 by Jon Herskovit. The third Scout was taken to a hospital in Shreveport, LA, but died later.

The Scouts were camped on private land near Lake O' The Pines in East Texas and took a catamaran onto the lake. They were just off shore when their boat struck the power line, so help arrived almost immediately. Rob Walker, general manager of Upshur Rural Electric Cooperative, said in a statement that the company is working to determine what happened.There was a candlelight vigil on Sunday night.

2017 Popcorn Sale: Dates

2017 Popcorn Sale: Dates

Aug 1 or Aug 10: Required popcorn training: Register
Aug 12: Show-n-Sell #1 orders due
Aug 24-26: Show-n-Sell #1 pickup
Sep  9: Show-n-Sell #2 orders due
Sep 21-23: Show-n-Sell #2 pickup
Oct 28: Show-n-Sell returns due
Oct 28: Take-order orders due
Nov 9-11: Take-order pickup
Nov 11: Prize orders due
Dec  2: Absolute last date for prize orders
Dec 17: $1,000 sellers invited to view Star Wars VIII
Jan 6: Top 100 sellers party.
Link for popcorn orders and prize orders: scouting.trails-end.com

Two Ways to Sell Popcorn

Show-n-Sell:
•    Estimate what you think you can sell this way.
•    Place an order online, either or both Aug 12 and/or Sep 9.
•    Pick up that order (without paying for it) on Aug 24-26 and/or Sep 21-23.
•    Spend the next month selling at a table you've set up, door-to-door, or at parents' workplaces.
•    Turn in money and leftover product on Oct 28.

Take Order:
•    Sale starts on Aug 10
•    Scouts go door-to-door with an order form and ask people to support the Boy Scouts by buying popcorn. They pay for it on the spot but get no popcorn yet. The Scout takes the money and writes pertinent information on his order form.
•    On Oct 28 the unit popcorn coordinator uses the online system to enter all the orders.
•    On Nov 9 or 10 or 11 you drive to a warehouse and pick up all the popcorn that was ordered and then distribute it to the customers. 

America's First Eagle Scout - Baden-Powell Was There

America's First Eagle Scout - Baden-Powell Was There

Arthur Eldred was America's very first Eagle Scout, passing his Eagle Board of Review on January 31, 1912. The Boy Scouts of America was founded on February 8, 1910, so clearly Eldred was a speed demon.

What's really cool is that Lord Robert Baden-Powell sat in on the Board, as did Ernest Thompson Seton and Daniel Carter Beard, three of the giants of early Scouting history. Baden-Powell happened to be in America at the time on an inspection visit, and so he was invited to participate in Eldred's Board.

Although lots of details about this very first Eagle Board were already known and published, some new details about dates recently came to light, which prompted Scouting Magazine to revisit the event. By the way, in addition to an Eagle badge, Eldred also received a Bronze Honor Medal for saving a boy from drowning.

Now Easier for New Eagle Scouts to Earn Palms

Now Easier for New Eagle Scouts to Earn Palms

Note: This change applies only to Scouts who pass their Eagle boards on or after August 1, 2017.

The change: When the new Eagle receives his badge at his Eagle Court of Honor, he may also receive one or more eagle Palms at the same time. 

For example, assume that your over-achiever attends his Eagle Board of Review with 41 merit badges on his sash; that is, 20 more than the 21 needed for Eagle. At his Court of Honor, he will receive an Eagle badge + silver palm + bronze palm!

Any palms due to merit badges earned after his Board will have to wait for three months, which is in line with the portion of the palm requirements that have not changed, BUT...

But the additional 3-month post-Board palms have also gotten easier to earn. No palm Board of Review is required, and the "be active for 3 months" requirement has also gotten easier. Here's a link to a Scouting Magazine article with lots of details.

By the way, a related article talks about the non-intuitive silver palm is better than a gold palm. Just be happy that, as in the Olympics, a gold Journey to Excellence award is better than a silver.