Rank Advancement Guidelines Meeting - June 2008

Date: Saturday, June 28th
Time: 5:00 PM
Location: Sunshine Park
Coordinator: Peter Prana
Audience: Parents
Things to Bring: It is going to be held outdoor, so bring a chair/beach blanket.

Agenda

As most of you already know, we had a discussion on the very topic at our last Committee Meeting - June 2008, as requested by one of our members. We ended that meeting with the agreement that a special meeting will be held to further discuss the subject. Since our last regular committee meeting, there are a lot of questions/suggestions/researches made in re: Troop Guideline/Policy.

Please review a research done by Glenn Nishibayashi, posted at BSA Rank Advancement Guidelines for your review.

Hope all of you can join the meeting. It is important for us to understand our current guideline/policy, to be aware of BSA’s guideline/definition and be able to brainstorm/discuss ways to improve our troop for the benefit of our Scouts.

Minutes

What took place

  • The Troop Participation Guidelines were explained in detail in order to clarify to everyone what, specifically, is desired and expected of each Scout in the Troop in terms of their participation in Troop meetings, outings, and other activities.
  • Members of the Troop Committee explained the history of our Troop specific Participation Guidelines and the reason behind why the guidelines were developed.
  • A Q&A session was held to insure understanding of the Troop’s current guidelines.
  • Several parents shared their input, made suggestions, and provided analysis related to the participation guidelines.
  • After a discussion period, several votes were taken to determine what guidelines, if any, the Troop would follow in the future.

Background

Current Troop 693 Participation Guideline

  • Troop guideline for "Active Participation" is 2/3rd of the meetings, 50% of outings (e.g., backpack trips, surfing trips, Camporee, etc), and 50% of the other activities (which includes flag ceremonies, Scouting for Food, service projects, etc.) For Star (4 months), Life (6 months), and Eagle (6 months), the Troop would like to see Scouts participate at this level for those periods of time.
  • Scout are expected to be active at least at this level to fulfill the Active Participation requirement listed in the Scout Handbook for the ranks of Star, Life, and Eagle (4 months for the rank of Star, 6 months for the rank of Life, and 6 months for the rank of Eagle Scout).
  • In addition, for the entire time that a Scout is in a rank, the Troop has established a guideline that defines "active" as 50% of the above guidelines (e.g., 1/3rd of meetings, 25% of outings, and 25% of other activities).

Voting

1st Vote: To decide who should be able to vote and how many votes an individual would have. It was proposed that each Scout should be represented i.e., if a parent had 2 sons in the Troop, they should have 2 votes. Only those in attendance who currently have boys in the Troop would be allowed to vote.

Result: By unanimous decision, the committee voted in favor of this proposal – 1 vote for each Scout.

2nd Vote: It was proposed that the Troop eliminate all participation guidelines and operate only under BSA’s definition of active.

Result: The motion failed by a vote of 6 to 21 (6 in favor of eliminating all Troop participation guidelines, 21 opposed to eliminating all Troop participation guidelines)

3rd Vote: Two options were proposed related to the Troop participation guidelines:

  • Option 1: To continue the current participation guideline
    • To continue with the participation guideline of 67% of meetings, 50% of outings, and 50% of other activities during the BSA required “Active Participation” periods for the rank of Star (4 months), Life (6 months), and Eagle (6 months)
    • To continue with the participation guideline of 33% of meetings, 25% of outings, 25% of other activities during a Scout’s entire tenure in any specific rank (from the date of successfully completing their last rank advancement Board of Review to the date of their next rank advancement Board of Review).
  • Option 2: To modify the current participation guidelines to exclude the guideline related to participation for the entire time a Scout is in a particular rank.
    • To continue with the participation guideline of 67% of meetings, 50% of outings, and 50% of other activities during the BSA required “Active Participation” periods for the rank of Star (4 months), Life (6 months), and Eagle (6 months)
    • To eliminate the participation guideline of 33% of meetings, 25% of outings, 25% of other activities during a Scout’s entire tenure in any specific rank (from the date of successfully completing their last rank advancement Board of Review to the date of their next rank advancement Board of Review).

Result: The committee voted in favor of Option 1, to continue to operate with the current Troop participation guideline. (15 in Favor of Option 1, 13 in Favor of Option 2)

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