How’s this for a “success story”… Hi Andy, I’ve been reading your column avidly while looking for a unit Commissioner opportunity. Great column! I’m an Eagle Scout with grown children and am looking for a volunteer Scouter opportunity in NH. In order to find the right fit I decided to attend several district meetings (Roundtables, […]

To lead off this New Year, let’s first give a tip of the Commissioner’s Cap to John Szpytman, of Dearborn, Michigan, who wrote this Letter to the Editor of NEWSWEEK magazine: “Howard Stern in a Boy Scout uniform insults those in Scouting who work to show young men a better path of values. I just […]

In my Mid-December column, Dave Sutter was looking for movies that fit requirement 5 of the Citizenship in the Community merit badge. I came up with “Inherit The Wind,” “Norma Rae,” “Erin Brockovich,” “A Civil Action,” and (my personal favorite) “Pay It Forward,” and asked YOU for YOUR thoughts. Here’s what a couple of readers […]

This column is read by upwards of 30,000 Scouters, parents, and Scouts each month, across 157 councils (that’s nearly half of all councils in the BSA!) in 44 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and overseas, too! Would YOU be willing to tell just five of your Scouting friends about this column and […]

So far, this column is regularly read by Scouters, parents, and Scouts in at least 154 councils across 44 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, Germany, Hong Kong, and even Iraq! Here’s a special request: Would YOU be willing to tell five of your Scouting friends about this column and the website where […]

I love readers with sharp eyes! Read on… Dear Andy, I need to help you out a little with some information you gave a Cub Scouter in your November column. Charles asked you about the timing of when a Cub Scout begins to work on his next rank. You indicated that this occurs in September […]

Dear Andy, I’m a brand new reader of yours and, as I’ve been browsing through back issues, I’ve loved your responses. I’ve bookmarked your column as must-read. But I’m concerned about something. While responding about a Christian, home-schooled Troop, you said, “Finally, if the unit in question persists with its discriminatory practices, this must be […]

The first October column led off with a letter from a Cub Scout parent who considered their family’s language usage standards superior to those of Scouting because the word “heck”—a word tantamount to swearing, they said—is used in some songs Scouts sing: “In my home, it’s considered a curse word, and when my son’s Cub […]

Here’s a letter from concerned parents. But before I offer my own “two cents,” I’d love to hear what YOU, my READERS have to say… Please give me your “take” on this one: Andy: The Boy Scouts are designed to encourage morality, but many of the songs they sing contain the word “heck.” “Heck” is […]

Webmaster extraordinaire and equally terrific Scouter, Mike Bowman, responds to a question… Does your primary registered position need to be as a Commissioner (UC, ADC, or otherwise) in order to serve as a Commissioner? We maintain http://netcommish.com as one of our sites—It’s devoted to Commissioner service matters. Your primary registration should be that of Commissioner […]