More on the 2012 BSA National Meeting (30/31 May 12)

As suggested, I am pasting this from Notepad because my two previous attempts ended up “timing out” on various internet networks (the one in the Raddison where I stayed; and the Greyhound networks while I was waiting for or on a bus heading back to Nashville). If I missed mentioning you by name, it is only because I am re-creating this for the third time and there’s bound to be someone I miss mentioning. Trust me, each interaction I had during this great event was valuable and enhanced my appreciation for each of you — and the program we work together within! No slights intended!

This is the SECOND BSA National meeting I actually paid lock, stock and credit card for; and the eleventh National Meeting I have attended since 1977, when I was invited to attend the National Meeting and pitched my proposal for something called the Exploring Acheivement Award. In many cases, I would drive or fly to the location, sit in on the training and coaching sessions, and look on the communication board for someone wanting to sell their luncheon or dinner banquet ticket — and I would attend in that manner.

Someone asked me “how does one get invited to attend? Is is just for the “mucky-mucks” of Scouting?” I can tell you with certaintly that I’m NOT a “mucky-muck” — back then, as well as now. While I was a member of several National and Regional-level committees and work groups over the decades, there has been years whereby I’ve attended as a “joe Scouter”, a Scoutmaster or unit Commissioner or one year as a member of a Troop Committee. You should get the permission/approval of your Council’s Scout Executive (just so he or she knows that you’ll be there) and officially, there IS a fee for attending.

I have chosen not to stay in the pricey hotel and let Carlson Properties Inc. pay for my hotel stay through their Gold Rewards(tm) program. I paid 27,000 points for a nice room eight miles away and only had to pay $15 for parking each day in addition to the official Conference fee and breakfasts/luncheon fees.

In addition to Carlson Properties Inc. (the owners of Raddison, Country Inns and Suites and Park Place hotel chains among some others), I have to give my props to the VFW Post in Richfield, MN. I was to speak during their Memorial Day event and they found a better personality at the last minute which “bumped me”. They felt bad about it and paid for my flight via Sun Country Airlines(tm) between Minneapolis and Orlando. I arrived at noon on Wednesday and checked into my hotel room at 1:14pm. Thank you very much for your investment in me and Scouting!!

Thursday morning, I arrived at the beautiful Gaylord Orlando and missed the Duty to God Breakfast. I paid for it and I could have went in, but I decided not to and instead concentrated on the task for this day: voting. My Scout Executive, Vince Cozzone, asked me to be a voting delegate for Dan Coberly, who posted that he was unable to be present this year. Each local Council is authorized to send a small group of delegates — the President and Commssioner of the Council, along with two to five others depending on the size of the Council — as voting delegates. The Council Scout Executive attends the business meeting but DOES NOT VOTE. Thank you to the officers of the Transatlantic Council for allowing me to vote for you during this year’s business meeting — and thanks to Dan for allowing me to go in his place. Hopefully next year we’ll be at the same place together!!

Before the business meeting, I finally met in person the BSA’s Awards and Recognitions lead, Bill Evans. Bill and I have been communicating prior to the National Meeting and he wanted to introduce me to volunteers working with him on the awards front. It was great placing a name to the signature on those National Eagle Scout Association Eagletters over the years.

Bill formally introduced me to Russell Smart. I have run into Russell at a couple of tradeorees in the past, and he immediately knew me. We talked about my quest to find a blue jac-shirt (see previous notes about that) and he pledged that he would help me find one. Now to name drop a bit: Russell is the BSA’s Program Team Lead for next summer’s National Scout Jamboree — the first one at the “Summit” (the Bechtel National Scouting Reservation), and is one of nine folks — three I personally know — who would receive the BSA’s Silver Buffalo Award tomorrow (Friday) night.

After the meeting and voting was over, I went up forward to the stage area and stood in front of the BSA’s National flag. I wanted to get a better photo of me with the flag in the background but the photo I took with my phone will have to do for now. I then turned off my phone and there was a thick grab on my right shoulder. I turned around and greeted Tico Perez, the BSA’s National Commissioner.

A little back story: Tico and I talked about OA things back about ten or so years ago during a National Order of the Arrow Conference. We also talked about my Zit-Kala-Sha brotherhood lodge flap I was wearing then (and still wear on a couple of the uniforms now) and the fact that the Lodge is “going away” (“not in MY heart, Tico…”) as a result of a consolidation of local Councils in the Louisville area.

Tico now said, “Mike Walton — thanks for fighting the good fight for all of us on Scouts-L…” I thanked him for his occassional postings and comments to that same forum. It has been truly been uplifting for Scouters to see that the BSA’s leadership is actually reading, monitoring and responding to some of the many issues facing us as volunteers and field professionals. In the past, it has been mainly backchanneled emails and faxed copies of postings sent to national staffers for action or suggestion. Now, as part of this “New BSA”, our national and regional professionals and volunteers like Tico are engaging us and asking for feedback as well as ideas how to reach more youth.

While this also will mean that people will rely less on longtime Scouters like myself to provide “guesses” or “ideas”, it will strengthen our program by having those folks to at least be aware of what we volunteers and parents are saying about our program — Tico and I talked for a good 15 minutes, interspurced with good wishes and introductions from other volunteers.

Then, the first of several Scouters found me. I don’t have his name handy, but he looked at me and said “It’s YOU! The guy from LinkedIn!!” I smiled and reached out my right hand to shake his. “I’m glad to meet you but I don’t believe we’ve talked.” He explained that he “lurks” out on LinkedIn, a business discussion and networking site (where there is a forum called “BSA Adult Volunteers” where I serve as senior moderator of) and “anytime I see your face, I have to read what you’ve said. You really have a heart for Scouting, don’t you?”

I do.

At this point, I am going to be a bit misty-eyed. During the business meeting, one of the things we as a National Council decided upon was the implmentation of a national program emphasis called “Messengers of Peace.” I strongly encourage you to participate in this program — not just for the special “ring patch” but because it is IMPORTANT that we in the BSA need to get the word out that we are messengers of peace. I will try to get permission to upload the video so you too can see why I was tearing up during that part of the Business meeting. So were so many others.

The brutality, the criminal behavior, the physical and emotional harm that that patrol of Sierra Leonese Scouts endured — just because they were Scouts — no youth member, no adult member should have even have to worry about. I’ll do my best to see if I can post it somewhere where you can share it with your youth and adults and become “messengers for peace.”

I went downstairs to the exhibits area and got a lot of answers to the questions which were sent to me in advance of my attendance. I’ll be posting those questions and the answers I received to my personal website’s blog (http://www.settummanque.com/blog), to LinkedIn, Scouts-L, and will share it on the U.S. Scouting Service Project’s website and Facebook slice.

By the way, Hal Daume (“Ask Andy” fame on USSSP) was personally recognized for his contributions to a video which the BSA has been using for District level training courses. It was great to see that after a decade of distancing themselves from the USSSP, that the BSA recognizes that we are *on their side* as positive cheerleaders and encouragers of the program and its potential for youth.

One of the places I stopped by was the youth protection area, whereby a new BSA item called simply a “Cyber Chip” is being introduced to the field this fall. Like the other “Chip cards” which Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts earn after participating in training and orientation to safely handle fire, matches, wood tools and pocket knives, this one addresses many aspects of the entire Internet community with regard to safety and participation. There’s even an internet bullying feature in the training materials which the USSSP does not have right now in ours. Good for the BSA!!

I also was stopped and asked to work on some of the “thornier” uniform and insignia issues as part of a task force working on the revision to the Guide to Awards and Recognitons which is coming out later this year. A lot of what they asked me to work on, I already do and many of you know this; it just means that my after work workload will increase slightly.

I asked John Duncan from the BSA’s Properties Team (used to be called the “Camping and Engineering Service”), if he could send me a recent copy of the national Council laydown. In the old Camping and Engineering Service, I used to get them about once every three years. John took my card and said “be watching your mail.” I think this will help Ed Henderson with the USSSP greatly with our mapping project which has stalled.

In the afternoon’s sessions, I finally met Chris Hunt. Chris is the BSA’s Advancement Team Lead. We have been talking back and forth informally on LinkedIn for the past 11 or so months as his team rolled out the Guide to Advancement and of course, all of the questions concerning it. I asked him if he would consider a “note to Scoutmasters” in the revision to the Eagle Scout Leadership Project workbook which will “thumbnail it” for the Scoutmaster, Coach or Advisor/Skipper as to what things he or she needs to do in working with the Eagle candidate.

He told me “no promises, but write something up and send it to us.” I will be doing so in the next couple of weeks.

Again, another LinkedIn Scouter approached me after the Advancement seminar — which by the way, was really great because it distilled the entire booklet into seven slides and discussion. I don’t think that I gave any “keys” out when Chris asked those who are reviewing comments and offering advice to stand — and I stood among some terrific Scouters who have been doing what Bill Nelson and I have been doing: helping to clarify what the Guide to Advancement really will do for the BSA’s advancement program — from Tiger Cub to Silver Venturer.

The other session I sat in on was on Presentation Pitfalls. I went there not for the subject, but to meet and talk afterwards with the BSA’s volunteer and professional training directors.

With the volunteer training director, I asked about the rollout of the BSA’s volunteer training program. He told me that the BSA is doing away with the “origami cards”, the cards one must photocopy and then cut out, fold and tape, before it could become a useful pocket card. “It was a good idea in its time. We’re going with one piece of 8×11 paper, with all of the requirements listed and larger sign-off and date spaces. We know that this will be much better for the average volunteer and will fit better into a binder or folder.” He also shared with me that the National Executive Board didn’t want to go back to a plain green ribbon for the Scouters’ Training Award (the current medal features a green ribbon with a narrow white stripe down the center); it was tabled — but mainly because we have so many of the existing medals in stock that it makes sense to use them up first.

I asked the professional training director about any changes to the professional’s training award, and he said “no, there’s no plans to change it, although we have added the number of optional/additional courses to count toward the award — Kodiak and Powerhorn for two — and that about a good third of the BSA’s professional field leadership have earned the award since its inception in the early 80s.

With all of that information, a bag full of handouts, videos, and “katchies”; and after meeting a lot more other volunteers and professionals and exchanging cards with them, I went to find a Golden Corral, had dinner and returned back to my room to see if I could remember everything, write and type it all down, made a phone call to check up on the homefront and then go to bed. I was beat.

Settummmanque!