Requesting a BOR - Protocol

[Billiken]

Sorry to bother the community with this one, but I'm under a time constraint and need a quick answer.

I've got two Scouts that, upon return from summer camp, will need their Star BORs. (We have held BORs that Saturday afternoon for boys that complete rank at camp. Otherwise they'd have to wait 3+ months..)

I mentioned to our CC that we will need BORs that day.

The CC said that the boys need to request it.
It's my belief that the SM informs the CC that they boys need the BOR.

(I'm the SM)

Which is it???

THANKS

[WeeWillie]

3+ months for a BOR? That is way off base. Try monthly BORs. Pick a week of the month like 2nd week of the month and schedule a BOR. Put in in your annual plan. This will give your Scouts a deadline to aim for (a.k.a. goal setting) and your committee a heads up.

[evmori]

BOR's should be held whenever they are needed. Making a Scout wait 3 months is just wrong.

The Scout's are the ones who need the BOR & they should be the ones who request them, not mom or dad or the SM or anyone else.

[Billiken]

We don't meet in July/August (except for events, like Philmont).
So many of our Scouts are out of town during the summer; family vacations, church/synagogue camps & mission trips, band camp, sports camps,,,,,,,

(e.g. three of our very active Scouts can't go to summer camp...one is going Scotland for June-July, another to Russia from now-August, and another to Australia for 3 weeks.)

[Billiken]

The Scout's are the ones who need the BOR & they should be the ones who request them, not mom or dad or the SM or anyone else.

So the Scout contacts and schedules with the CC?

Also, the number of active scouts in our troop is less than 10.
We know precisely where every Scout is in the advancement process.
Nobody waits more than 3 weeks for a BOR.

[Mrw]

The scouts should be requesting the BOR. In our troop, they need to ask for a SM conference. We try to have them monthly on the second Tuesday. The ASM who tracks attendance keeps a sign-up sheet as well as sending them to the SM to ask.

They normally leave the SM conference and come stright to Craig and I to get their name on the BOR list. We try to do the BOR's every third Tuesday. We take them in the order they got onto the list and continue into the next week if we don't get them finished. We have about 40 active scouts, so it odes happen.

They have done conferences and BOR's at camps if the time is available and the right assortment of old folks is available.

Even when the troop dropped to 6-8 active boys a few years ago, we made every effort to get the SM conferences and BOR's done as quickly as possible.

[Billiken]

During the school year (Sep-Jun) we have BOR dates the last Tue of every month (x-December, 3rd Tuesday). The SM Conferences occur whenever a boy needs one.

[Billiken]

Nobody as yet answered my question:

Does the Scout request (after the SM Conf.) the BOR directly with the CC or MC-Advancement or does the Scoutmaster inform the BOR folks that a Scout is ready for a BOR???

[Mad Dog]

In our troop after the SM conference the scout contacts the CC who then sets up the BOR at a time that is convenient for all parties. We do not have a scheduld time for BOR.

[molscouter]

In the troop I serve, the Scout contacts me (the advancement chair) and I set one up.

The answer to your question likely is it depends on how your troop wants to do it. The boys in question are going for Star. Have you changed procedure since their previous 3 BORs? Otherwise, they should know.

Nothing says the Board has to be done during a troop meeting. If you won't meet for 3 months, see if there is a mutually agreeable time to do so, maybe at a local park, and hold it then. Will the Troop committee be meetng in the interim. Perhaps immediately before or after a meeting would be convenient.

[Billiken]

Mad Dog:

Thank you.

molscouter:
In previous cases the SM informed the CC that Scout XXX was ready for <rank> BOR.

Thanks.

[Mrw]

Our scouts let us know, but at the same time we keep after the SM to make sure he lets us know. That way no one slips through the cracks.

[evmori]

Nobody as yet answered my question:

Does the Scout request (after the SM Conf.) the BOR directly with the CC or MC-Advancement or does the Scoutmaster inform the BOR folks that a Scout is ready for a BOR???

Who is advancing the Scout or the Scoutmaster? Your answer should dictate who makes the request.

[FrankJ]

The answer is there is no answer. It is not a rank requirement about how a BOR is scheduled so troops do what works for them. Generally the scout should request the BOR. BUT when there is a logistics or a time constraint I see nothing wrong with the SM letting the CC know that a scout x needs a BOR. (A scout is helpful). If nothing else, call it a heads up for when the scout contacts the CC.

[RWSmith]

Billiken,

I agree with you wholeheartedly.

Short answer? No CC can require a Scout to request a BoR through him/her, or some other specific person; nor can a Scout's BoR be unduely delayed.

Long answer? IMO, The troop Committee Chairman is incorrect because...

One. I can't see where it matters who asks the Committee Chairman. More importantly, I can find no reference where the Committee Chairman (is the one, or anyone else on the Troop Committee, for that matter) who must be "asked" for a board of review. (This is more important than it first appears.)

Two. The requirement specifically states, "Complete your board or review." It does not say, "ask for"; it does not specify who must ask whom; and by creating a unit-level policy, as such, i.e., requiring a Scout request the board from the Committee Chairman would be adding to the requirements. There is a reason the action word is "complete"...


The Advancement Committee Guidebook, the Scoutmaster's Handbook, the Troop Committee Guidebook, all address the board of review; each one, in it's own view, states the exact same thing... "the Scout appears before a board of review".

The Scoutmaster's Handbook also states, "A Troop should schedule boards of review to occur on a regular basis so that Scouts and leaders can plan them well in advance."

The Advancement Committee Guidebook also states, "The [board of] review should be conducted at a convenient time and locatiom, such as a meeting, summer camp, or the home of a member of the troop committee."

What can a Scout accomplish w/o a Scoutmaster? Who will be the boy's mentor? What can a Scout accomplish w/o a Merit Badge Counselor? Who will counsel him? How can a Scout advance in Rank w/o a Board of Review? (This is where committee members come in.) Who will review the boy's progress, the Unit Leaders' effectiveness? the Troop's health? The point being... Some issues concerning a Scout's advancement reqiure a certain level of mutual cooperation between the Scout and the unit's Youth Leaders, Adult Leaders and Committee Members. It doesn't matter who asks whom for a board; but, it definitely matters if a Scout doesn't not get one --timely-- when he's justly due.

Obviously, a Scout and his SM would naturally discuss whether or not the Scout is ready for a board during an advancement SMC. Whether the Scout specifically asks for a board at this time, or whether he and the SM mutually agree (not pushed) to proceed, is irrellevant. BTW, A Scout has the right to ask during or following an advancement SMC, for a board and to receive it, even if the SM feels the Scout isn't (for some reason) ready.

[joat]

I find it telling that the committee chair is making an issue about who should request the BOR. The fact is the CC knows a board is needed and is being pigheaded about a minor detail. There is nothing written in any Scout literature that supports the notion that the boy should be making the request. In fact, if the CC would read page 61 of the Boy Scout Handbook, he would find “… and have participated in a Scoutmaster conference, your Scoutmaster will arrange a board of review for you.”

The function of the committee is to support the needs of the troop, not to throw up a last chance hurdle. The way I see it, the Scoutmaster should notify the committee advancement person that a boy is ready for a board of review. The advancement person should contact the other board members, then CALL THE BOY and arrange a time.

There’s no logical reason to make a boy make scheduling arrangements. Does the CC also expect the boy to call all the board members too? It simply appears that the CC wants to make the boy jump through one more hoop, one last CC imposed requirement before a boy is allowed to advance.

Additionally, since the committee is there to support the boys, they should never be holding a boy up for three months for a board of review. Scouting is a year-round program regardless of whatever personal activities individual boys may have that may cause them to miss a few meetings or activities.

Ideally, boards of review should already be scheduled on the troop calendar as part of the annual planning conference. All the advancement person has to do is notify the parties involved. The committee chair doesn’t need to be a part of this at all, unless the advancement person needs the CC to be one of the minimum of 3 committee members.

[Scouting179]

Answer: (see above items), it doesn't specify in the guides but it is the Scout who is advancing so IMHO the Scout should ask. The Adv Chair is the ideal person to set them up once he/she is informed. As for waiting 3 months, totally unsat.

[Billiken]

Here's what's happening:

Two MCs will be attending summer camp with the troop.
Another is coming to camp on Friday for the Camp Honors Program.

By Friday noon, all MB work will be completed and we'll know which boys have fully completed rank requirements.

Each boy that needs one will have a SM conference on Friday afternoon.

The requisite 3 committee members will be there on Friday to hold any needed BORs.

To correct my initial post...NOBODY WOULD WAIT 3 MONTHS for a BOR.
The scheduling would be difficult over the summer, though. For example, we get back from camp on June 30th.
One Scout (likely to need a Star BOR) leaves for a family trip to Yellowstone 4 days later and does not return home until July 21st. Another almost-Star Scout is in the Cleveland Youth Orchestra and leaves for 2 weeks of music camp on July 15.

This type of travel by the kids in our troop (and nearby suburbs) is the reason why most troops in our vicinity don't have regular meetings during the summer. There are 7 troops in our community plus the two adjecent towns/suburbs. Only one of the seven troops meets during the summer and that's not every week (that troop has over 50 boys).
There are 3 Venturing Crews in the same area. While they have events, none has regular meetings during the summer.

[scoutaholic]

This is what we do in our troop:

We have a BOR scheduled on our annual calendar to take place during troop meeting 1-2 weeks prior to each quarterly COH. I (SM) call the CC or AdvChair the week before and simply remind them that we need 3 people for the board on x date. The 3 people show up at the appointed time, and all the BORs needed are done that night.

This system is usually fine. However, there are occasions where a boy needs to have a BOR at other times (because of a birthdate, or other time constraint). In those cases, I notify the CC or AcvChair that y scout needs a BOR by z date, and leave it to them to coordinate with the boy and board members. This usually is all we have to do, as long as the CC or AdvChair does their job. I recently did this just prior to an 18th birthday, and the CC dropped the ball. Getting that Eagle Palm for a boy who is now over 18 may require some extra paperwork.

[lifescoutforlife]

We had a problem with one of the people thinking a scout should not get a BOR until he served out his full time "6 months" at his present rank. A BOR can happen at any time before there 6 months is up. It doesn't have to be the last thing he does in the requirements for the next rank unless it is a EBOR.