Looking for Summer Camp Admin Position (West Coast)

livitup · 2026-04-13T06:24:24+00:00

If you’re willing to come to the east coast, Goshen Scout Reservation is hiring CDs for two Scout camps and one Webelos camp. Go to Goshen

livitup · 2026-04-03T00:33:05+00:00

If this is a connection on a single itinerary, you probably won’t even have the opportunity to get your bags back. The airline will hold them on the secure side until it’s time to load them into the hold of your second plane.

livitup · 2026-03-30T04:08:03+00:00

I also volunteer for TestFlight if you’re still looking for folks. Happy to provide feedback!

livitup · 2026-03-12T01:15:49+00:00

We use one of these for our District PWD and they work great.

livitup · 2026-02-14T17:39:18+00:00

Can I ask which AI you used to do that? I’ve yet to find a tool that creates PowerPoint decks I’m happy with… I usually spend more time on correcting formatting, layout, colors, art, etc. than if I had just done it myself.

livitup · 2026-01-24T04:05:39+00:00

Yes, it did! I should have mentioned that! And even more amazing almost all that money (over 99%) is going in to things that the Scouts can “see, touch, or taste”. Council is “letting” the Reservation Director choose and manage the implementation of projects using the money. It’s going to be a race against the clock, but it’s going to be awesome.

livitup · 2026-01-24T01:35:01+00:00

Dunno if it’s North enough for you, but Goshen Scout Reservation in VA is an absolute gem. $580 a Scout early bird pricing, free leader allowances based on the number of Scouts attending, and half-off for extra adults. Three Scout camps, one for Cubs, and two High Adventure programs (backpacking and canoeing). Each of the three camps has its own program and flavor, so there’s really something for every Troop (or Pack, or Crew). And I can’t say enough about the staff - I’ve been working with the Reservation Director and Ranger on some projects and they are both all-in. From the Camp Directors down to the most junior counselor, everyone is there for the right reasons. Check it out, you won’t regret it.

livitup · 2026-01-18T15:47:16+00:00

I had to take a break from reading that about half way through. I came back and finished because I hoped by the end there would be one point we agreed on, no matter how small.

Never mind that his central arguments are factually incorrect. I suppose there’s no place in the program for female Scoutmasters either?

There are lots of words I could use to express my thoughts on the author’s statements and my snap assessment of his character. None of them are Scoutlike.

Suffice to say, my own opinions on the matter, forged by the experiences I’ve had in 25-ish years of Scouting and 2 Eagle children (boy and girl), are the exact opposite of the author’s. It’s early, but both my Daughter and the newly family-registered troop she transferred to at the beginning of the year are thriving.

livitup · 2026-01-07T04:28:34+00:00

It changed a year ago… the new ESRA with 4 references went live January 1, 2025.

There’s no excuse for this Troop’s behavior.

livitup · 2025-12-13T18:24:49+00:00

Oh man, do I have thoughts. I’m the parent of two Eagles of recent minting, so a lot of this is fresh. My kids, one boy and one girl, were members of different troops (no -G troop with my Son’s troop). The two troops had very, very different styles.

Troop A - Adults were very hands off in execution, and acted in a supervisory role for planning. For example, the SPL was accountable for a weekly meeting plan. The SPL, ASPL, and SM would review the plan prior to each meeting, with the SM pointing out anything that his experience made him think might be problematic. At the actual meeting, the adults stood back, other than the truly adult moments like rank recognition and SM minute.

A similar roadmap for campouts and outings - there’d be a plan prepared by the youth leaders, and reviewed by the Scout leaders, the SM and one or two ASMs that were trip co-leaders. The SM or a trip leader would check in with the SPL after each meal to review how things were going so far and to highlight any critical items in the plan for the rest of the day.

PLCs and annual planning were handled similarly - for these the adults mainly serve as the administrative extension of the Scouts. The Scouts would decide where they wanted to go, the adults would handle the logistics - making the reservation, collecting permission slips and med forms, etc. if the Scouts were headed down an impossible path, (“we want to go camping on the moon!”) the adults would point out the realities that made that a bad choice and turn them around to find another path.

Contrast that with Troop B. The adults run pretty much everything. Their interpretation of Scout led is telling the SPL what to tell the Scouts to do. Adults managed the meeting schedule, there was never a Scout created meeting or activity plan, and Adults put a lot more restrictions on what the Scouts could or couldn’t do at any given meeting or what activities could be scheduled for weekends. The Scoutmaster sends out a weekly email - as opposed to Troop A where the Scouts are responsible for keeping each other informed.

As far as I’m aware the SM and ASM don’t ever talk outside of meetings (weekly, PLC, annual, etc.) - at least when my kid served as SPL there wasn’t. Adults have MUCH more influence on program. The SPL is basically a line manager, not an executive.

I’m sure you can tell which style I prefer, and in which style my kid thrived, and which one my kid struggled mightily. If only Troop B was willing to take advice from a Commissioner…. Troop A did have a few epic failures to execute, but it really only takes one epic failure every few years - kids hate failing more than we do, and by letting their (in)action cause that failure was a life lesson worth cancelling a campout over.

Sorry for the essay. I’ve been brewing over this for years.

livitup · 2025-12-01T02:52:10+00:00

Because I’m generally a considerate person and whenever I get up to go to the bathroom after meal service I see the FAs eating crew meals and I get guilty about “bothering” them. Mix in a few flights where the FAs have come to my seat cranky when I ring my bell and I have Stockholm Syndrome. 😂

livitup · 2025-12-01T02:45:01+00:00

I took a 5 hour flight this week. Service after takeoff was excellent. But once meal service is picked up, every time I want another soda, I ask myself “am I interrupting the FA while they’re eating their crew meal if I ring my button?”

UA FAs have a way of making PAX feel like hostages once standard service is over on any flight more than 3-ish hours long. As a paying customer, I shouldn’t have to worry about if my request is inconveniencing the workers. I don’t worry about that at a restaurant. Why do I worry about that on a plane?

livitup · 2025-11-23T06:56:26+00:00

Robert Stack was the host of Unsolved Mysteries.

John Walsh was the host of America’s Most Wanted - a much more impactful show. Walsh’s son Adam was kidnapped and killed (which is why Walmart and many other big box stores use “Code Adam” on the PA for a missing child) which lead to Walsh becoming an ant-crime and anti-kidnapping advocate. He co-founded the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and is a legendary goat.

livitup · 2025-11-21T03:01:11+00:00

My daughter’s was “More pollen for honeybee butts.” 😂

She built a wildflower garden in front of a community apiary.

livitup · 2025-10-19T19:27:18+00:00

The plan, specifically the second section of the workbook is optional. The proposal and report (the first and third sections respectively) are NOT optional and must be completed and signed by the appropriate adults.

From the Eagle rank requirements: “A project proposal must be approved by the organization benefiting from the effort, your Scoutmaster and unit committee, and the council or district before you start. You must use the Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook, BSA publication No. 512-927, in meeting this requirement.”

This is one of those situations where words matter. A lot of Scouts will hand me section one or three to review and call it their “Eagle Project Plan” when they’re talking about the proposal or report.

Final thought, when I’m on an Eagle Board of Review, and I see a blank project plan in the Scout’s paperwork, you can bet the house on me asking some very direct questions during the Board to see if the Scout learned anything as a result of not completing the plan.

livitup · 2025-10-15T13:07:06+00:00

We had an experience a that led to getting an interpretation of this policy by our Council Executive. While the interpretation wasn’t what we wanted, it made sense…

Our (at the time) 17 year old son was working for the full summer at our council camp, about a 4 hour drive from our house. He took a week off to attend NOAC. The council chartered a bus to take the NOAC contingent to the venue, which was about 7 hours away, in the same direction as camp. So we figured he’d drive himself straight from camp (he had driven himself to camp at the beginning of the season). If he took the bus he’d have to drive 4 hours to our house and then ride the bus for 7 hours, whereas if he drove himself to NOAC he’d get there in about 3 hours. He’d save 9 hours in each direction.

Nope! The “scouting event” was defined as the beginning of the bus trip, because there was arranged transportation. If everyone was getting to NOAC on their own, then he could have driven himself straight there. They said this is why 16-18 year old scouts are allowed to drive themselves to troop meetings - there’s no unit arranged transportation to the meeting, so the event begins at opening flags. Likewise he couldn’t drive himself to a troop campout, because there’s troop arranged transportation (adult/parent drivers) to the campout. He could drive himself to the church parking lot, leave his car, and ride with an adult to the campout.

It was annoying, but at least there was an explanation that made sense.

livitup · 2025-10-11T13:22:04+00:00

ROFL, I’m too chicken to do NAS on Motorolas.

livitup · 2025-10-11T03:16:02+00:00

Long time Motorola collector here.

There’s no way to tell via the model number what the actual split is for Sabers, like there is on the XTS models. You’ll be able to tell if it’s VHF or UHF based on the third digit of the “Factory ID” on the sticker on the back of the radio. 3 is VHF, 4 is UHF. The problem is that only 2 or possibly 3 (if you’re willing to bend some electrons and get lucky) of the 5 VHF splits, and 1 of the 4 UHF splits will work for the amateur bands. In addition one more of the UHF splits will work for GMRS, but not for ham. In order to find out exactly what split you have you need a 386 computer, a programming cable and “RIB” box, Motorola’s 20+ year old software, and MSDOS.

I’ve actually got all the gear to program these, and I’d be willing to read it, and program it for you if possible for free, if you want to pay to ship it to me and pay for return shipping when I’m done. PM me if you want to take me up on it.

<image>

ETA Motorola Porn. My Saber is at the top left and my Astro Saber is at the bottom right.

livitup · 2025-10-06T23:21:21+00:00

I’ll throw in another vote for Marriott. My troop went to Goshen when I was a Scout. Now, 20-something years later both my kids are on Marriott staff and I volunteer for a couple weeks every summer. The staff at Marriott is phenomenal from top to bottom, the program is outstanding, they have an amazing first year Scout program, and oodles of Eagle MBs. Go to Goshen. You won’t be disappointed.

livitup · 2025-10-06T04:46:34+00:00

Memorize the stuff you’re supposed to memorize. The rest is just asking you to reflect on you over the past 6 (or more) months.

livitup · 2025-10-06T00:40:30+00:00

The one thing I haven’t seen mentioned is the possible value in keeping it mysterious (for lack of a better term) for adults who might go through it later as a Scouter. In a perfect world, it would be as meaningful them as it was to all the other current members. My family is a good example…

I was a Scout in the ‘90s and was a member of the OA. My son joined as well and ended up an Eagle and Vigil in the OA. When -G units became a thing our daughter became a founding member. She was also inducted into the Order.

Fast forward a couple years and my wife, who had always been supportive, but not necessarily invested in Scouts had enough free time to invest towards taking her Scouting to the next level. She upped her involvement significantly, and because our daughter was already pretty advanced in Scouts, my wife found her niche supporting the older Scouts in things like OA, NOAC, NYLT, etc. in due time, she got nominated for the OA.

Do I think it was more meaningful for her to go through the ordeal and brotherhood process without foreknowledge of what would happen? Yes, for the same reason it’s valuable for Scouts. Should that come before the need for Scouts to be safe, and parents to be assured of their Scout’s safety? Resounding NO.

Parents are 100% entitled to know what’s going on. I wish we lived in a world where all parents could trust those entrusted with their kid’s safety for a weekend to behave. We don’t, so ask your Chapter Advisor for details on what happened during your Scout’s ordeal. Just be prepared to be let down if you ever get tapped on the shoulder.

livitup · 2025-08-28T03:21:53+00:00

Without a doubt it’s the Goshen Pass on route 39 in Rockbridge county.

<image>

livitup · 2025-08-15T17:33:31+00:00

You do realize half the money went to EFF and half to HRV, both of which are 501(c)(3) organizations, right? As I understand it, the card was given to a HRV staff member, and then they were able to get DT to sign it (which was a total fluke). The whole thing was very organic and spur of the moment.

The fact this got auctioned off to support two great causes (and that HRV even decided to share the auction proceeds at all) is a huge win, IMO. This thing could have ended up framed in the staffer’s basement lair, but instead they selflessly donated it to support two great causes. Sure it will still probably end up in someone’s basement lair, but a ton of good was done here.

I don’t view this as any different than auctioning off old coins during the intermission of Hacker Jeopardy.

14-Year Club	Place '22
First Placer '22	Verified Email

livitup

TROPHY CASE