Hello, I got both the 2023 and 2026 NSJ nova awards. Sadly, I believe I have lost the paper work certifying that I had completed it. I would like to put them on my college applications, does anyone know if I could find records online for proof? Thanks

hi guys i took inspiriation from u/run_amuck and want some feedback on my troop website i recenlty updated. we dont use troopwebhost we use godaddy for some reason im not sure. the link is www.rialtoscouting.org

(I wish you all had "original artwork" as a tag.)

I drew this with Prismacolor colored pencils on brown toned paper.

I'm also an art merit badge counselor, and personally wish Scouting America would stop using AI.

HTTPS://www.troop774.org

I’ve been working on it since January this year. There was another post I had about it but cannot find it anymore. I took what is currently available on twh and using a combo of GitHub and cloudflare, built a desktop and mobile friendly site utilizing the full jscript pages that twh gives us and adding in some pm tools, direct links to scoutbook for scout data, and financials, pulled in our social media , and a lot else. My troops been using it for this school year and it seems to be working well.

Would love anyone who’s a twh webmaster or end user savvy to share any other thoughts , functions features you really like or find useful with twh, etc

Does anyone happen to have an extra patch from this event? I wasn’t able to make it there in time to pick it up.

We’re looking at camps for 2027, traveling from Central Arkansas.

Some options discussed in our latest PLC meeting are Skymont, Lake of the Ozarks (Camp Hohn), and Pfeffer.

Pros/cons from any recent visitors (since 2021)?

Throwaway. I am livid. Just absolutely livid.

I am the parent of an Arrow of Light Scout. We have a troop that we share a CO with. We got the invite to go on a campout with the troop and did so. These guys are a hardcore, 100+ year-old unit. Run like the military. Many of the ASMs have been with the unit for 40+ years.

So we go and do the campout. Okay, fine. I am a mom and noted that not a single female leader was camping. Women are not allowed to be ASMs. Women can only be committee members. Women are not allowed to wear the field uniform.

I also know that there are other troops in the area. So I asked my committee chair at the last pack meeting about that. "Oh yeah, that troop reached out to us, but we are with Troop 123 (not the real number)." Huh? So our options are to go to this troop or get out? "Well, no, if you want to go see another troop..."

So I called or emailed 3 other troops. All 3 indicated they sent emails to the Cubmaster, committee chair, or den leader (or some combo) inviting our Cubs to open houses and campouts.

The committee chair is blocking them.

So I emailed the committee chair, Cubmaster, and den leader: what is going on? "We belong to this church, therefore Cubs go to the troop." And I guess I wasn't paying attention, but I look back and see that in prior years at crossovers, very, very few boys went anywhere else but the troop we are attached to. Meanwhile, many of them drop out; I wonder if it's because the troop is run by guys who have been in for 50+ years and run it like a military boot camp.

Is this unique to my den/pack? Do others have this "feeder" mentality?

Does anyone know where we can get a good discount or coupon code to buy a new MSR Hubba Hubba HD/LT 2p tent? I’ve been recommended a Copper Spur but find it may not allow two square sleeping pads as the Scouts typically need to share. I prefer the HD version since we deal with high winds here in NM, and as of last night tornadoes as well. Also considering a NearZero2p just for the price. Don’t think they come with more solid inners.

My last Intermediate backpacking trip I realized I needed a new tent as well for myself… think 7lbs Walmart tent was great till only walking 5mi then I highly considered leaving it for someone to discover… almost. Need to start getting ready for 2028 Philmont! Start with some gear and actually working out. Maybe looking for some discounts on BlackFriday or CyberMonday deals.

I'm a program straddler (Membership chair for a Troop, Den Leader for a Pack), and wanting to bang my head against a wall with Scoutbook Plus. Wondering if this is user error or a system flaw.

As recently as a month ago, in my Cub role, I could enter and approve advancement for my AOLs. I'm trying to stay on top of it so we award the AOL before crossover season and avoid headaches then.

Today, I logged into enter advancement data but as soon as I selected the Den Admin role, I got this error message and booted out of the system - can't see the pack roster, can't see my den roster, can't do anything except stare at my roster in Scoutbook Legacy and do nothing.

Meanwhile, if I choose my parent role for either kid, I can enter advancement for them individually. That doesn't seem to line up with the GtA (though I won't pretend to be an expert) - 4.1.0.3 says the Cub den leader records advancement requirements even if parents confirm it was completed, and 4.2.0.0 says only parents that have been authorized to approve advancement may do so (and I have not).

Anyone else running into this? Not even sure where to turn, nor is the pack committee chair.

Are these worth grabbing from the scout shop? My pack did them for AOL and troop when you turned 18. Curious if it’s worth the cost to grab them.

Our Council prohibits using out-of-council MB counselors. Specifically:

• Scouts may only utilize online merit badge programs offered by merit badge counselors registered in council or geographically adjacent councils with Scoutmaster approval.
• Online merit badge offerings from councils outside these geographic areas are not permitted.

But GtA says:

It is acceptable for a registered counselor to approve merit badges for Scouts in any council. This is important in areas where counselors are scarce, when Scouts are away from home and want to continue advancing, or when merit badge experiences include high-quality online components provided in another council. However, they must still follow all procedures, including the conversation between Scout and unit leader prior to working with a counselor.

I've got a Scout that just pitched up with seven signed off PDFs from Edmonds Museum, including the big three.

Thoughts ... ?

<edit> Adding that this policy is specific to online merit badges. <edit>

I was recently chatting with my SE after some missteps regarding religious inclusion, and he said that the Council has NO data on the religious needs of registered scouts.

So - here's a question for this virtual roundtable: How does YOUR council ensure that you are being inclusive of the religions present in your council? Has anyone conducted an anonymous survey of their council to determine which holidays to plan around?

Does anyone have any other thoughts?

Also, does any council have someone or a group of people identified as "responsible" for religious inclusion? The more I think about it, it feels like a commissioner role. But could also be a Council VP or the like?

(Just in case it isn't clear - this is more about holidays that aren't the default Christian holidays)

I was wondering if anyone has a 100th Anniversary Mexico Scouts neckerchief that they would be willing to sell. My dad passed away from cancer when I was nine, but before he passed, he always encouraged me to keep working toward becoming an Eagle Scout. He was also involved in Scouts in Mexico when he was a kid, so finding this neckerchief would be a special way for me to honor his memory and connect with a part of his life. It would mean a lot to me to have one before my Eagle Scout ceremony this spring. If anybody knows where I might be able to find one please contact me. Thank you so much

Have any Scoutmasters gotten a registration link for the SPL Summit - https://www.scouting.org/program-updates/scouts-bsa-program-update-spl-summit/

I saw the announcement via ScoutingWire, but haven't received anything. Is there anyone I can contact so our Troop's SPL can attend?

This may be a decision on a case by case basis, and if so that’s the answer I need.
But, is there anything official spelled out in scouting policies that specifies if the 8 hours of volunteer work for the Citizenship in the Community merit badge can also be recorded and counted towards service hours needed for rank advancement?

And if it’s a case by case basis depending on the merit badge counselor/scoutmaster, I’d be interested to hear what opinions from your troop have been about this, if it’s ever come up.

For context, not that it matters, the scout in question is fairly young, not in danger of aging out, and is perfectly willing to wait to find opportunity to fulfill the 6 hours needed for their rank in addition to the 8 they’ve done for their badge, but otherwise could rank up now if the 8 badge hours can be recorded and count towards the hours needed for rank.

Yes, Princess Bride quote. Anyway, https://training.scouting.org/courses District Committee, one module is called Backdating.

I think we can all agree "backdating" means changing a record to make it look like it happened in the past, right? It's completely different from "planning backward from a future date" or "backward planning."

I think I've figured out why National has such a hard time with dates. It's literally organizational policy to backdate and I don't think anyone has ever explained to National exactly what that means.

It's crazy enough to hear about the "new" Journey to Excellence program (which was retired last year) and all sorts of other things I could use to poke fun at National with but this has fully raised both of my eyebrows. Who wrote this and how did they manage to so fully misunderstand what they were trying to convey?

My son (and his mom) did really well with fundraising this year and exceeded $1000. Can anyone comment on what prizes at the level are of decent quality? Is the tent any good? (I realize that you have to get to a much higher tier to get the name brand tent.)

https://www.scouting.org/trail-to-adventure-blog/come-camp-with-us-a-scoutsbsa-membership-pilot/

What would happen if youth aged 11-17 and their families could act on their interest in camping and the outdoors by being connected to an active ScoutsBSA troop in their area? That question guided the National Camping and Trekking Committee, led by volunteers Russ and Rose Hunsaker, and Ken King as they worked with the Marketing department to create “Come Camp With Us.” 

The pilot aimed to grow ScoutsBSA membership outside traditional recruitment channels. One simple invitation was placed on social media, “Come Camp With Us.” Clicking the ad took targeted families to their local Be A Scout page, where selected, active outdoor troops had enhanced their descriptions and committed to following up quickly on any leads. From there, prospects would meet the troop and start camping. Because Scouting is the premier youth camping organization, the team was confident that membership growth would follow naturally once we delivered on the promise of outdoor adventure. 

Early results gave us reason to continue. In two pilot councils in late 2025, click-through rates were significantly higher than for other campaigns (.8%). People wanted to go camping. With added support from Marketing, we expanded the pilot to eleven councils in early 2026 and relaunched in August. The larger group let us test what worked: some councils targeted their entire geography, others specific zip codes, and all received materials and training to help their most active troops update their Be A Scout descriptions to highlight outdoor activities. 

Greetings all, newly minted scoutmaster here. i’m really grateful for this community and the interesting insights and support that you all provide.

Our troop has a number of Life Scouts who also, thankfully, have a couple years left before they turn 18. Some have clear ideas about what they want for their Eagle project, but others might take a little more searching to find it.

In the span of a couple days, I’ve had a few different adults in the troop reach out to share ideas from friends in the community for Eagle projects that they would love for a scout to take on. My understanding was that Eagle projects ideally originate with the scout, but some scouts need a little more help than others in generating ideas. I’m thinking that even if the request for an eagle project comes from outside of the troop, a scout could still have ownership in figuring out and proposing a final plan for executing. What do others think?

Before I order my daughter a Venture shirt, do they run the same fit as the Scouts BSA shirt?

And since the official green pants are not a great fit for our girls, does anyone have a tip on grey pants that fit the bill?