“SCOUT SPIRIT”… What is it? How do we “measure” it? How can we get more of it? How do we get our Scouts to pay more attention to it? Why can’t the BSA give us a more tangible definition of it? How do we know when it’s there and when it’s not? Is a rank-directed […]

Dear Andy, A question asked of me by a single mom… For Family Life merit badge, can the word “parent” be substituted for “father” in this requirement: 7. Discuss the following with your counselor: (a) Your understanding of what makes an effective fatherand why, and your thoughts on the father’s role in the family. (b) […]

Dear Andy, In 1999, William Stewart Ward gave me a copy of a poem that he’d written, titled “Eagles Dare to Win.” He’s an Eagle Scout (1988), Wood Badge (SC-454), and a Brotherhood member of Caddo Lodge, in the Greater St. Louis Council. I’ve lost contact with him and hoping maybe your column might be […]

Wendy Duprat is a new Assistant Webelos Den Leader in the Daniel Webster Council, Nashua, New Hampshire, USA. She’s thinking that it might be fun and educational for her son’s Webelos Den to write to other Cub Scouts around the world and exchange life experiences, where they go to school, their sports and other interests, […]

Where are YOU right now as you read this column? Since this column started, folks from 221 BSA councils in all 50 states and Puerto Rico have written to me, plus Scouts and Scouters in Hong Kong; Mexico; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Okinawa, Japan; and, in Germany, Bonn, Frankfurt, and Mannheim. If YOU are reading right […]

Hi Andy! Greetings from Malaysia! I was reading your September column where you noted your readership in the Transatlantic Council (where I served years ago as a Cubmaster). I want to let you know that you also have a reader in Malaysia! Thanks for the good counsel! It really helps those of us who are […]

In my earlier column this month, Tom Hager in the Northern Lights Council asked, “What’s the BSA policy on wearing patches on back of the sash?” and I replied that the INSIGNIA GUIDE is specific about the front of the sash but silent about its back. Well I obviously didn’t read far enough, and a […]

Hi Andy, Well, you’ve done it again! Because of our earlier communication regarding my interest in work as a commissioner, a great old friend and roommate from more than 15 years ago in Boston was able to find me through you on the Internet. Thank you for being discrete and sending me his email first. […]

Dear Andy: Back in your February 2006 column, Rick Pixler asked about a list of BSA National Presidents. After putting a lot of bits and pieces together, I had a pretty good list. I finally opened up the late Robert Peterson’s book, The Boy Scouts: An American Adventure, and found that it had a list […]

Over the past several years, this little column has produced some wonderful “connections.” Here’s one that’s continuing… Hi Andy, I just happened upon your columns, and read the articles about Peter Kronenthal. He’s my father, and I, too, am an Eagle Scout. I last visited Dad this past June, and he’s in good spirits, soon […]