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Scouts may be thrifty, but some leaders are well paid
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The local council board sets the budget, which in most BSA councils is published. Attend council meetings if you want to see change. Find out who in your area serves on the Executive Board, and let them know your concerns. Also, funding in most councils is not raised the way it is in Utah.
My experience as a professional � being away from my family for 2� months each of the last 3 summers to manage a camp, gone a min of 4 nights a week. And compare the cost of Scout camp to any other week long camp. No comparison � Scout camp is LEAST EXPENSIVE.
While at camp and at district activities I am responsible, accountable, for health and safety of the boys. Including health and safety of LDS boys whose LDS leaders drive through campsites (driving around �no vehicles past here� gates), who flagrantly violate safety rules regarding bringing firearms, who allow boys to ride in beds of trucks � violating rules and laws, who bring generators, DVD players and TVs with R rated movies for their quorum boys to watch, who have boys with less than 60 days tenure in Scouts receiving merit badges that require more than 90 days to complete, and on and on. Tesponse of the Ward and Stake leaders to these issues of health, safety and integrity: Mr. Professional, that is YOUR problem.
Lets watch the stones we throw!
Then you have Camp Little Lehmi issue - where the LDS youth had indecent contact with boys, whose "issues" preying on boys was known by the Ward and Stake leadership who RECOMMENDED HIM to serve at camp WITH THE KNOWLEDGE of his abuse - at least twice - Church recommends the known abuser serve on camp staff - abuse continues - and who is primarily blamed... The BOY SCOUTS.
You know, there are plenty of issues to go around.
No program (inside Scouting or outside) has been good when participants are mandated to participate as YM are.
And before you complain about "BSA registers EVERY BOY, whether they participate or not" - The SLC Church MANDATES the registration. The BSA national, locally and the boys and leaders in the local troops would be better off WITHOUT those quorum membersh who choose not to participate.
Too many "fake" Eagles, too many dangerous situations - Why does the LDS church allow this BEHAVIOR?
Read each comment in the spirit for which it is written. If it is negative and mean-spirited, just delete it from your brain. These poeple are murmuring anyway against something they have no testimony of. Only read the comments that offer solutions, not pettiness. They certainly don't complain about all the tithing money that pays for church worker salaries, and what do they do?
I heard a story recently about a stake that approached the Scouts about how to increase their missionary percentages 18%, and the Scouting professional coached the stake leaders to implement the program with training and activities (roundtable) at all . The stake responded that their percentages increased to 38% in a few months. Sounds like Scouting is still relevent to me.
The corporate side of Scouting runs like a business and probably needs improving. Hold their feet to the fire, and ensure the services they promise are being met. The best way to do that is to GET INVOLVED and change it from the inside. If you don't have time, don't complain, don't donate, but surely don't destroy the good program that it is.
The Church itself has endured many scandals - Should the Church be painted as a "House of Scandal"?
Church members have been convisted of child sexual abuse - Should there be a "Silver Groper" award?
Sad that GOOD PEOPLE have to read YOUR postings and feel the hatred you (supposedly a church member) show others. And the "general public" then equtes YOUR attitudes as representing the church.
There will always be those who sit on the side and complain - Scouting is no different.
I think Scouting, if run as the BSA and the President have presented the program, is a great benefit for the members of the quorum. It acheives the goals of leadership development both in Scouting and in the Church.
But, like anything else, if you CHOOSE not to follow the recipe, do not be surprised is the results are not what you wanted. Make a cake without the flour, eggs and sugar - and what do you get? It is NOT a cake - so DON'T COMPLAIN that it does not taste like cake!
(There is a great Scoutmaster Minute about this point - Check it out!)
Mr Fisher - Who is bloated & busted? Is it the church member entrusted with the health, safety and development of our sons who is putting the boys at risk?
Complain about the money - In my predominantly LDS district the non-LDS families contribute more than 250% more, per registered boy, than the LDS families do. It is the non-LDS family that financially supports the program for the LDS boys.
Our district volunteers (LDS & not) spend twice as much "problem solving" time with LDS leaders - And the professional does even more than that.
I know part of issue is there are SO MANY TASKS for the Ward to manage, and simply not enough members. That carries into Scuting, too - you cannot always call the best to be the Scouting leader - BUT WHY does the church NOT CALL THE BEST to prepare the yong men for mission (eg. Scouting!)
If these high-paid scouting professionals do so much, they sure don't let anybody know about it. It would be reassuring to know they they are actually worth what they are being paid. And for that matter, how do you even determine that?
What I find irritating is the pressure applied to local congregations by the Scouting organization to meet the goal set for them by the Scouts themselves. Failure to meet that goal results is a great deal of additional pressure to measure up.
The LDS church is scouting's biggest fan!
LDS money goes to help these sp called BSA "professionals?"
This summer I got the same feeling of prejudice at a BSA camp in Nebraska. I guess my impression is now confirmed. Sad!
The justification given for the salaries is that "its not our fault", the Scout Executive Board okayed these salaries. Well ... then it is time to FIRE this board and put men and women on the board that understand what a fair salary should be!
For our leader to justify his salary because he carries many hats including "carrying out the garbage" and that if we don't pay him that he will go to another state .... this is arrogant and outrageous.
The whole scouting SALARY program needs to be scrapped but this will only be done if everyone lets the Executive Board know their feelings.
I have been involved in scouting for over 7 years. I sacrificed my holidays to help the boys setup flags so they could earn money ... but to hear that the main leader received a million dollars is hard to sacrifice anymore.
Please contact the Scout Executive board today!!
If you ask me, giving $50 to $100 every year towards Friends of Scouting will help a decent, private organization continue to do good for us, for our children, for our communities and for our country.
And this is coming from someone who hated Scouting!
I suppose there will be some shifting in focus after this article. Perhaps there should be. It is good for any public non-profit organization to be transparent and be examined in the light of day. Afterwards there will be those who will use the past as an opportunity and excuse to not donate. But those who recognize the true value of a local Scounting program will do as they have always done; put a little extra in the FOS envelope and still contribute to the local Scout Troop in multiple ways.
My hat is off to all of those grat souls... but espcially to John, Jay, Fred, Russ and Larry. Also to Mary, Sister P., Penny, Elva and Susan. God bless us all to see clearly, speak softly, express gratitude and give generously. Shalom, rhp
By the way President Thomas S. Monson is the ranking member of the National Board that also approves the National Budget and the Chief Scout's salary. Maybe those whiners should think again the next time they are asked to sustain him. It's mind boggling to me that so many are willing to badmouth a program of the Church endorsed and supported by living Prophets.
It seems inconsistent for many of these comments to be condemning these Scout executives when Church leaders are in a similar situation.
Trying to compare these salaries to the that of the church's is disingenuous.
Are you another professional scouter family member?
People who work for not-for-profit organizations pay the same for groceries, clothes and gas as everyone else. Pay should be comparable.
Salaries are set by the local council executive board, as are the budgets. Get a copy of your council's budget to see how the funds are spent, and communicate with your board representative about your concerns.
Scouting rarely files for government grants with all of the paperwork and BS required of federal grants.
With all of this said its amazing that scouts can support executives where taxpayers can support similar positions with tax money. Competition becomes the driving factor.
As an eagle scout and an assistant district commissioner, I support the district and council executive salary structure.
Sorta like a "five pound bag of Manure"...
No matter how you shake it, it's still five pounds of manure.
If they don't go or vote, they are de facto agreeing to the salaries, budgets and audits. I think a big problem in corporate America [profit or non-profit] is the lack of true accountability by the "Board Members". If the only people who come to vote are the boss's friends and cohorts, then no one is holding them accountable.
I also know for a fact that every professional DE or SDE contributes at least $250 to FOS each years and many have donated $1000.00 to local endowment funds. Higher executives give much more. Like I said earlier. People who don't give money to charity are just covetous and selfish
Sorta like a "five pound bag of Manure"...
No matter how you shake it, it's still five pounds of manure."
BS of A, You should look at the whole picture and not just the slanted report from the deseret news.
The salary comparison chart shared by the Deseret News is disingenuous. The article shared the total compensation package of scout executives including salary and benefits. Whereas the article only shared the salary of the President and other elected officials. If you included all of their benefits including lifetime pension, food, travel, security, and other items it would be in the millions.
You know how much (or how little) the GA's make?
Guaranteed, you would probably be surprised how little these men are compensated in this life.
They all take a cut in pay to work for the church.
Get a clue before you post...
Unfortunately...they just cashed my check for this year. I am so disappointed to hear this.
I too have never heard of the "discount". NOBODY has ever offered me a discount and our ward exceeds the "requested" amount every year.
I do feel like a sheep. My bishop was asked to go to every house in our ward to ask for money for FOS. He did. People that had NO business giving...gave! And why? Because he asked them to. When the Bishop says give...people will always give.
Shame on the FOS executives who shamelessly took advantage of this ward relationship. My Bishop is sick to his stomach over this.
I'm going to print this article and mail it in with my next donation of $0
They work ridiculous hours - including most weekends and evenings - and are basically on call 24/7, especially when at camp spending their summers away from family.
As for Mr. Moore, seems to me his salary is right on considering the scope and importance of his work.
The stories of these leaders' experiences in war and in life told under a canopy of summer stars as we sat around a dying fire were far more memorable and informative than anything in a merit badge book. These brilliant men condescended to baby sit us teeny-bopping brats at their own expense. By so doing they rendered added depth to our lives. They were volunteers. I do not recall them wearing uniforms. I recall nothing from the corporate world of Scouting. What I do remember is their care, commitment, and devotion to duty. On their honor they did their best to serve God and to help others. I was blessed to be one of those "others." Their service had nothing to do with any office, administration, or bureaucracy it was an extension of their religious devotion. Is that perhaps what Robert Baden-Powell had in mind when he started the Boy Scouts?
When run correctly, Scouting blesses the lives of youth. In this day and age, video games, ipods, televisions and cell phones rule the lives of our youth. We are raising a generation of youth that have little to no social skills, are doped up on prescription drugs because we think they have problems, have no leadership skills, learning skills, problem solving skills, don't have many positive role models and don't have many positive experiences.
What these boys need is a group to belong to that will teach them how to be men, how to be leaders, how to be good citizens, how to be friends, how to solve problems, and most importantly, self-worth through accomplishment.
These youth need positive role models. They don't get that from the socially backward lives they are living. They don't get that from gangs. A well run Scouting program can offer these things to youth.
The key is a "well run" scouting program staffed with leaders who are teaching the boys to lead and then allowing them to lead, and who want to be there.
But here is the problem WE have. We are living a lie. The prophet told us not to set a quota for Friends of Scouting more than a dozen years ago. Yet our scout leaders continue to push for more and more money. If my stake president and bishop ask me to I will continue to donate to the Friends of Scouting, because I sustain them and intend to keep my word. It is just sad that the men who dress like boys seem to find more value in money then they do in being trustworthy.
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I do believe however that in an organization like the LDS church we have the resources to expand our Duty to God program with several different fields of emphasis. We could interest a broader spectrum of young men and women, at a much better use of funds. Apply the amount of money we raise from FOS, registration fees, purchase of badges and what we collect from families to go to BSA camps now, and imagine what we could do with that amount of funding combined with so many who are willing to volunteer to help youth.
As for camps, what a wonderful mission call that could be. I believe that many within the church would even consider donating land for the camps knowing there were not millions used up in overhead. This would bless the lives of both our young men and young women.