r/BoyScouts

My wife is the Committee Chair and I am Cubmaster for our son's pack. Since the new features have been rolled out for information contained in our Unit Pin under Organization Manager on My Scouting, prospective families have been receiving text messages from a "Sam" telling them when meetings are (we haven't started meeting this year yet due to the availability of the school where we meet) and later asking them if they went/enjoyed the meeting. Has anyone else experienced anything similar and have you found out how to stop it? We almost had a new family show up for a meeting we didn't have (had they not reached out to my wife telling them they were excited to check the pack out on Monday).

Related, the meeting frequency options under the Unit Pin are garbage. Only options are Weekly, Bi-weekly or Monthly and what day of the week. No option for custom schedule (we meet 1st, 3rd and 5th Monday for den meetings, 4th for Pack meetings, 2nd is committee meeting) so none of the options really work, on top of the fact that there are dates we don't meet due to other scheduling issues, but "Sam" just assumes if it's Monday, there's a meeting.

Very frustrated at prospective new families being given incorrect information with no way to stop it. If my wife or I text the number that "Sam" sent from asking who they are/what information they have, we get no response.

Giving prospective scouts and their families incorrect information is, I'm sure, great for pack growth and retention.

Maybe it's just "Scouts" now, but I need to buy a "Camp Card". Had one last year and it saved me a bunch of money and helped "someone's kid" (Don't remember who I bought it from). So if anyone knows a scout--let me know.

Ciao ho 23 anni e non ho mai fatto scout, per da qualche mese sto iniziando ad interessarmi a questo mondo e mi chiedevo se ci fosse la possibilità di entrare oppure se fosse troppo tardi. Nella mia zona ci sono gruppi scout agesci.

Context:
I’m 15 years old, male, a Life rank Scout (almost Eagle), and I have been involved in Scouting since the 6th grade. I want to join the OA so I can gain leadership experience, have fun, and strengthen my college applications. I’m absolutely willing to go through the challenges of the induction so I can have the chance to join.

The issue:
Every time I ask my parents if I can attend the next OA induction, they say “No.” I’ve been eligible to join OA for two years and have been voted to be the OA representative in my Troop twice, yet they still deny me. I ask persistently and never nag about it. It has now reached a point where whenever I ask, they jump to negative conclusions.

More Context:
I believe my parents only see the OA as a bad organization and don’t see any benefits in joining.

My mom has never been involved in scouting before, but my aunt only tells her the negatives about my cousin’s induction (which was in 2024), such as small food portions, being forced not to talk, and service projects. Whenever I bring up the benefits of the OA, she resorts to lecturing me about a horrible (not true) exaggerated version of the induction.
She also believes that joining OA won't help me in college admissions, that I’m too busy with two sports, clubs, and scouting, and she tells me to focus on getting into the National Honor Society (even when I can join the Scouting honor society). I even told her that I would consider dropping an activity. (I have good grades too)

My dad is an Eagle Scout and went through his induction in the 1990s. He also doesn't want me to go because he had a bad experience with his induction. He tells me how he was hazed by older scouts and did nonstop service for 6 hours. He agrees with my mom that I’m too busy for OA.

I’ve tried to convince my dad that Scouting is a completely different organization from what it was in the 1990s, and I’ve explained to my mom that the induction isn't a terrible initiation. I have friends in the OA who are a third party and try to convince my parents about the benefits of joining. I also informed them about the new 2026 induction transition.

I understand that my parents want what’s best for me and believe they’re trying to help. However, I want them to realize that I should be the one leading my own life and choosing what I want to commit to.

In my opinion, I believe it's unfair that an experienced Scout has to be denied the chance to join the OA for reasons such as these.

In conclusion:
How can I persuade my parents to let me attend the OA induction without starting an argument, given our situation?

Thank you for taking the time to read, and please share any suggestions on what to do.

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I'm looking for information on Boy Scouts/Cubs in Regina in the 70s, specifically 1977 to 1979. What were the troops called and where did they meet?

Thanks, everyone!

We are based on Long Island and are planning a February ski trip in the NE next year.

I’m trying to find mountains that would be good for a range of skiers, we expect some younger scouts to join us, that also have a good hotel nearby. It would be great if the hotel had a pool.

Any ideas are appreciated.

I am an Assistant Scout Master. And I was wondering what are good tourist spots or destinations throughout the state of Minnesota.

Hello fellow scouters. Our troop is looking to revamp our recruiting night activities. So, would love to hear any FUN activities do with your troops, have heard about, or seeing other troops do. I was thinking fire starting where the recruits can actually light the fires. Ending the night with s’mores around the fire. Maybe have the recruits do some cooking (IE Dutch oven desserts or guacamole), fireman carry is always a fun one but makes me nervous that somebody’s going to get hurt. Anyway you get the idea, looking to up our recruitment percentage. Thanks in advance for your time

Today I completed my board of review and got my eagle rank