Monmouth Boy Scouts Council to Charge Annual Fee of $52

WINS ^ | 01.23.06

[Coleus]

Monmouth Boy Scouts to Charge Annual Fee

(MARLBORO, N.J.) The Monmouth Council of Boy Scouts will start charging a $52 annual membership fee, beginning March 15.

Previously, parents paid a one-time registration fee.

The group says it needs the money to help erase more than $1 million in debt that was caused by expenses and professional fees.

The group also is asking parents to match the fee with a voluntary donation.

Families with more than one Boy Scout will get a 25 percent discount on each additional child.

Membership in the Scouts has been on the decline in recent years.

Monmouth BSA

[RonF]

Got my first two beads at C-19-96; my Dad, who used to be an Owl, put them around my neck. Got my third as a Troop Guide at C-19-02. I trained as SPL for a course in '05 that got cancelled, so we're trying again.

[RonF]

I have never met a female Scouter who was in Scouting for a political/social agenda.

how do you know?

O.K. I'll restate; I have never met a female Scouter who was in Scouting for any political or social agenda that they have revealed through either word or deed.

[RonF]

Well, I got my first two beads in the previous course and got my third in the new one. I liked both courses. I'm more of an outdoors type of guy and so I liked that aspect of the previous course better. Apparently the BSA found that it was more important to pass along the ideals/methods than outdoor skills and also got a lot of feedback that people no longer responded well to getting sandbagged as an instructional method (at least, that was the perception). Me, I thought it added a little spice. They've really turned it more into a management course, although it's still obviously BSA training. I still think that every unit leader should take it.

[Myrddin]

Sounds like he's motivated to get that one done. Parental support is important to getting merit badges completed. In my case, it was a critical need for transport as I wasn't old enough for a driver's license. I did have to work to cover the material costs. The push lawnmower was mine to use as necessary. I didn't have to compete with lawn service companies at that point in time.

[MarMema]

Well he likes science badges and some outdoors stuff very much but actually he's not thrilled about Communications. He's had the blue card for awhile now and not started it on his own.

Frankly he knows it is an ER badge so he is going to do it. He is very Eagle-motivated.

It's really hard these days, or maybe just where we are, for teens to find jobs. Our oldest has been looking hard and not had one phone call. She is in a Venture crew and volunteers on weekends at one of the BSA camps here.

I bet that was a great experience for you - mowing lawns. Sounds like your parents were terrific.

[Myrddin]

Most of the best jobs aren't advertised in classifieds. That is a last resort. Check out businesses where you have an active interest. Learn as much as you can about the prospective employer. Bring some new ideas in the door to pique the interest. If you have done your homework, many firms will create the job.

When I was at PacBell I frequently had requests for help from people at my current employer. I had no real intent to leave PacBell. When I decided it was time to go, my current employer hand carried an offer to my door. It was acceptable and essentially locked down a new position about 10 days before I left PacBell. That was 1991.

Landing the first position before you have any track record or opportunity to network with people who know your skillset is difficult. Many students intern at my current company while they are in school. It gives them work experience, a chance to build a track record and a set of references with people who know what they can do. I've had an intern on my railcar project for 6 weeks each of the past two summers. A bright student from MIT. He worked on some signal processing algorithms to convert Matlab code and some numerical recipes algorithms into a first draft of C language versions.

[MarMema]

Hey I found this for nostalgia.

Share the ones you remember now!

[Myrddin]

Firemanship was the one I earned while my mom was visiting my dad in Hawaii (mid cruise stop). Rifle and shotgun shooting (including earning my hunter's safety certificate).

[MarMema]

My son wants both of the shooting badges and has been practising. It's hard to find MBCs who will do them outside of a camp setting though. I think he is going to have to wait until summer camp to begin them, and hopefully his practise time now will pay off.

He is on a kick now where he says you can do older, retired merit badges. He wants to do one from the early 1900's! And find someone to make a badge for him to wear.

[Myrddin]

I take the scouts at church to the range to give them some "hands on". I usually bring the Ruger 10/22 and a Ruger MKII .22LR pistol for pure marksmanship. They like a little kaboom in the trip and that brings out the Ruger .454 Casull, S&W 500 Magnum and Magnum Research BFR 45-70 revolvers. I also bring out an S&W 686+ with many boxes of 38SPL ammo that gives them a chance to fire a centerfire revolver with enough recoil to be realistic, but not enough to knock them over.

If you don't have anything around the house, a Ruger 10/22 is a great starting point. Leave the iron sights on it as the merit badge requires shooting with the stock open sights. A box of 500 rounds will cost you about $10 at most stores. Don't forget shooting glasses and ear protection. Even the lowly .22LR produces enough of a supersonic "crack" to damage hearing over a prolonged period.

See if you have an indoor range in your area. The required distance for the merit badget is 50 feet. Most indoor ranges are set up with 15 or 25 yard lanes with a target trolley to carry the target downrange. The 15 yard is just short of the requirement. Take a measuring tape and have the range officer call a halt so you can put some masking tape on the floor at the 50 foot point in the 25 yard lane.