{"id":2631,"date":"2020-06-09T17:12:38","date_gmt":"2020-06-09T21:12:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/?p=2631"},"modified":"2020-06-09T17:12:40","modified_gmt":"2020-06-09T21:12:40","slug":"issue-643-june-9-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/2020\/06\/issue-643-june-9-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Issue 643 – June 9, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

________________________________________
\nHi Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the joys of my Scouting activities is serving as the council representative for Eagle boards of review. I had my first one tonight, since social distancing was put in place. It\u2019s always rewarding to welcome a hard-working, happy Scout to the rank of Eagle Scout. But a big drawback now\u2014I can\u2019t shake their hand!<\/strong><\/p>\n

As other members of the review were congratulating him from six feet away, without really thinking about it, I made the Scout Sign and lightly tapped three times over my heart. Our newest Eagle smiled and returned the gesture. This struck me as a simple alternative\u2014almost \u201corganic.\u201d I don\u2019t know if anyone\u2019s thought of this before. It\u2019s a variation on a theme, but it sure worked its magic tonight. So I hope you don\u2019t mind my passing this along. (James Flynn, CAC Rep., Mecklenburg County Council, NC)<\/strong><\/p>\n

What a wonderful spontaneous gesture! Thanks so much for sharing this \u2013 I\u2019m sure it\u2019ll help others of us for whom the Scout handshake is temporarily off the table.
\n==========
\nHi Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

A 16-year-old, Second Class Scout in a neighboring troop\u2014let\u2019s call them \u201cTroop 1\u201d\u2014asked to transfer to our troop (let\u2019s call us \u201cTroop 2\u201d)from another unit wanted to join our troop. Although he talked about wanting to earn Eagle rank, we leaders of Troop 2 got the very strong impression that this was more his parents\u2019 idea than his.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The adults in Troop 1 had apparently told him he was \u201cout of time\u201d\u2014by the time he earned First Class rank, he wouldn\u2019t have the 4+6+6 months tenure needed for Star rank and then Life and Eagle before his 18th birthday. This is apparently why his parents brought him to our troop\u2026 It was in the hope that our \u201cnumbers\u201d would be different (which is kind of silly, because they could have checked this out for themselves in their son\u2019s own handbook).<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our committee chair checked his birth date against his upcoming rank requirements and came up with the same result: This young man could finish his Scouting career at Life rank, but he didn\u2019t have the time needed for Eagle. Nevertheless, we invited him to join up, work on advancement if he liked, and have fun in his new patrol!<\/strong><\/p>\n

He did join Troop 2 and everything seemed okay until we on the troop committee discovered that\u2014at the same time as we were reviewing his time-line\u2014our Scoutmaster (of all people!), had promised his parents that he and his assistants would \u201cmake sure\u201d their son earned Eagle. (We on the committee decided to say nothing, and let the Scoutmaster figure out what he was going to say to these parents about his completely unrealistic promise.)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fast forward a year. I’m now the Chartered Organization Representative (\u201cCR\u201d) of Troop 2, having stepped up from the troop committee. Unfortunately, I lost contact with the troop for a time, while I was preparing to step into my new role as liaison between our church and Troop 2, which we sponsored. As it turned out, Troop 2 had fallen into disrepair and their meetings had fallen off, to the point where they stopped entirely and the remaining Scouts were \u201cabsorbed\u201d by another nearby troop: \u201cTroop 3.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Then\u2014Lo and Behold!\u2014a couple of us former committee members spotted a Facebook\u00a9 posting with a photo of some of our own former Scouts helping out on an Eagle Service Project for\u2026you guessed it\u2026the Scout who was time-starved to make Eagle!<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is why I\u2019m writing to you. I have some questions and don\u2019t know where to find the answers. Here goes\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

With the Covid-19 pandemic and required social distancing, etc., is it not BSA National\u2019s policy that there can be physical meetings, no physical camp-outs, no physical projects, etc., until all restrictions have been lifted? I know that this is our council\u2019s policy. So how does Troop 3\u2019s decision to support this project fit in with these rules? Are there exceptions for Eagle projects?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Also\u2014and I do get it that, as you\u2019ve often said, we\u2019re “gate openers,” not gatekeepers\u2014this particular young man simply spent too many years without any rank advancement, which ultimately shut down his path to Eagle. Nobody did this but this Scout and the adult leadership of his first troop: Troop 1. Consequently, I\u2019m deeply troubled that the leaders of Troop 3 are somehow \u201cfinagling\u201d Scoutbook and council record dates to give this Scout the extra time he needs to complete all Eagle requirements including tenure-in-position. I just don\u2019t think this is some simple case of an adult’s arithmetic error,\u201d because his parents have known for at least a year that there\u2019s just not enough time unless requirements are altered or dates are fudged. In this circumstance, what are our own responsibilities\u2014since we\u2019ve run the calculation and it\u2019s impossible to make Eagle without stepping over the line at least once and maybe twice? Or do we just let this slide through as if we know nothing about it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

My gut says the council advancement committee needs to check into this. If we were wrong, and time is on this Scout\u2019s side, then God bless him and I hope he makes it to Eagle. But if someone\u2014regardless of who\u2014altered either one or more requirements or one or more dates, then I think this needs to be exposed and allow the chips to fall.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Andy, you’ve helped me in the past with some very tough questions, and I\u2019m hoping you have some guiding for us on this one. Thanks! (Name & Council Withheld)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, I\u2019d say this is worth investigating by the correct people in your council, and this can\u2019t happen unless you speak up. But please don\u2019t do this alone. The council\u2019s advancement chair needs to know that it\u2019s not just you and you\u2019re not just one gray-haired grumbler on a witch-hunt!<\/p>\n

The CAC chair needs to know that there are several of you who ran the numbers and came up with the same result and that you\u2019re happy to acknowledge that you may be wrong! The chair also needs to know that you invited this Scout to join up anyway and continue to advance as far as he could. So meet with the chair as a group no fewer than the former troop committee chair and yourself, and even better if it\u2019s three or perhaps four.<\/p>\n

Tell the chair what you\u2019ve told me. Stick to relevant facts only. Bring Troop 2\u2019s advancement records for this Scout, including the records you received when he transferred from Troop 1.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d omit your own Scoutmaster\u2019s empty promise because it\u2019s simply frivolous and clutters the story.<\/p>\n

I wouldn\u2019t bring up anything along the lines of the Scout himself having wasted his own time by not advancing, because you don\u2019t know his family background or possible extenuating circumstances that may have prevented more active participation in Scouting at Troop 1.<\/p>\n

And I\u2019d allow for the fact that this coronavirus pandemic may have paved the way to a time extension based on \u201cextenuating circumstances beyond this Scout\u2019s control\u201d which is permitted in certain circumstances of which this pandemic is certainly one.<\/p>\n

Finally, for your own health and sanity, unless this is \u201ca hill you\u2019re willing to die on,\u201d state your facts and leave the rest to the chair and the council advancement committee.<\/p>\n

I hope this is useful. Thanks for taking the time to write!<\/p>\n

Please stay safe, stay healthy, and stay positive!<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Happy Scouting!<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Andy<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Have a question? Facing a dilemma? Wondering where to find a BSA policy or guideline? Write to askandybsa@yahoo.com. Please include your name and council. (If you\u2019d prefer to be anonymous, if published, let me know and that\u2019s what we\u2019ll do.)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although these columns are copyrighted, any reader has my permission to quote or reproduce any columns or column parts so long as you attribute authorship: \u201cAsk Andy\u201d by Andy McCommish.<\/strong><\/p>\n

[No. 643 \u2013 6\/9\/2020 \u2013 Copyright \u00a9 Andy McCommish 2020]<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

________________________________________ Hi Andy, One of the joys of my Scouting activities is serving as the council representative for Eagle boards of review. I had my first one tonight, since social distancing was put in place. It\u2019s always rewarding to welcome a hard-working, happy Scout to the rank of Eagle Scout. But a big drawback now\u2014I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2631"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2631\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2635,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2631\/revisions\/2635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}