The Board for the new council here in Michigan approved at its first meeting new Field Service Council (FSC) boundaries. FSCs are a new concept in the Scouting structure that we’re developing. Although there is one legal entity there are at this time four (4) local delivery entities who’s primary purpose is unit support. The Coordinating Council, also sometimes referred to as the “Administrative Council”, integrates back office functions and achieves economies of scale that we could not achieve as individual councils. Basically we have been silos working within our boundaries. One of the goals of the Crossroads Recommendation is to not compete with each other but compete  to bring more youth to Scouting.

Here’s the new boundaries approved at the meeting. When will these be effective? Soon but still being worked out.

Note – the boundaries between FSCs is dotted. These will flex over time depending upon who can best serve the needs of a given unit. Within Field Service Councils we may well have additional Community Service Councils that are even more focused on unit service – MMM – membership, manpower and of course money. We’ve had discussions where our shoulder wear will change to the community level. Not as specific as red and white community strips that collectors know but more specific than council shoulder strips we’re used to seeing.

The criteria used are on this slide. The Unit Serving Executives to Total Available Youth ratio is about a third better than the current ‘gold standard’ for the national dashboard metrics in Journey to Excellence.

• » Comments (0)

Just as I blogged earlier that we may never know what all was issued for the 2010 Jamboree, I am thinking there is a corollary. If you don’t get these now, will you ever be able to get them? Right now is the best availability of these. Prior to the Jamboree, eBay had around 74,000 items in the Boy Scouts category. Actually it had dropped as low as 64,000 in late July. Now it is over 81,000 after getting as high as 84,000. We were partly to blame for this bump. 🙂

In our trading we also picked some older JSPs but not many. Most of what we got were from 2005 but we even got some back to 1997. The older JSPs turn up from time to time but very few collections are coming out. Thus, if you are trying to fill in older issues you might find some local ones at local TORs or have to do an awful lot of searching on eBay and dealer sales lists for a long time.

I can tell you this is true about Jamboree neckerchiefs too. I have been picking them up for a few years now. I am more likely to find older, pre-1973, neckerchiefs than I am newer ones. The problem is the same as with modern JSPs. They are dispersed amongst 32,000 participants and are sitting in their closets/attics/basement. There they’ll sit for a generation or two.

• » Comments (4)

One of the nights at the Jamboree TOR Bob Salcido of California and I were comparing patches. Some of the JSPs are hard to separate from CSPs. We were looking at a pair of Minsi Trails patches and concluded they were CSPs for the 100th anniversary and not JSPs. Upon closer inspection, we noticed that we had different troops. Over the next week I looked for them and came up with four. Talking with Bob later he said he ran into their Exec and the Exec said he was not aware of these. Does anyone know any more specifics? Is this a new trend?

Here are the four I found (Bob’s was one of these troops):

• » Comments (6)

Marin Council did Star Wars again (they were the ones behind a Yoda set a few jamborees ago that were the rage of the Jamboree). They have three troops that each have a JSP and then each patrol has their own patrol medallion (a total of 12). Below is a picture of six of them. Some are confusing these as their JSPs but their JSP is a standard shape and is also a dye-sub patch.

These patches were priced at $200 for the 12 before the Jambo and $250 per set after. I don’t have a production quantity yet.

• » Comments (0)

I’m now woefully out of date as about two weeks ago I was talking with Bill Loeble. Bill along with Steve Austin are the primary authors of the Council Shoulder Insignia book, the standard catalog for CSPs and other shoulder patches. Bill said they have over 400 different CSPs listed for 2010/100th anniversary of Scouting. The reason I’m saying woefully out of date is that after this conversation we had a Scout-o-rama. In talking with one of our DE’s he figured that our local council, Great Sauk Trail, is up to seventeen (17) CSPs for 2010. Ouch! If you have information about your or other councils, please post here or e-mail Bill (ask me for his e-mail as I don’t want him to get spammed by web-bots).

Bill also reported that he’s figuring there will be over 2,000 JSPs. I mentioned that we thought that the number of JSPs was going to top out back in 1997 after all of the council mergers. Boy were we wrong. Bill figures there were around 1,200 JSPs at the last Jamboree even though we were down to 310 councils.

There will likely be over 5,000 council/lodge issues for 2010 between CSPs, JSPs, and OA patches. One could spend their lifetime collecting this year alone (although it would make for an interesting collection).

• » Comments (0)

Last week I was at my Scout office for a meeting and stopped by the trading post. They have the new boy rank patches out commerating the 100th anniversary year of the BSA. I think these are neat but the quality control is poor. There are at least three major varieties in this group alone. Some appear to have been made by the BSA. Others have ‘Made in China’ stickers on the back. The latter is a separate sore point but we’ll leave that for another blog. Anyway, variety collectors are going to have a field day figuring these out. I’m told there’s an Eagle patch as well but I’ve not seen it. I’ve also been told that Scout shops are to have returned their inventory of the regular items so as to be replaced with these 2010 pieces.

Then Destry and I went to the Indy TOR this past weekend. Their hospitality was great as always (except for the 9″ of snow.) Several councils now have out 2010 patches. That got me asking around how many items do you think we’ll have for the 100th anniversary? By “items” I mean regular issue pieces – CSPs, JSPs, OA items. I’m figuring it will be up to 5,000. Could be more. And this is not counting camp and camporee items or Jamboree staff items. One could spend a lifetime just to collect this year. Also, I was hearing quotes for “rare, limited edition” varieties at huge prices. Councils and lodges could kill a good thing. If you know of some egregious abuses, please pass on the comment. Thanks.

• » Comments (2)

Scouting Magazine has started a new column called “This Old Patch”, sort of a take off on the PBS series “This old house.” Collector Kelly Williams of Krelman Co. provided them with an interesting patch, the JSP for the 1960 contingent from Yosemite Area Council, CA. Kelly just sent me an e-mail that was sent to him with the pictures below asking, tongue in cheek, if I’d seen them. Its amazing what Photoshop can do.

This is for the part of the story that shortly after this patch came out, the tree had fallen over (actually as I understand it the top came down, the tunnel remained.)

The article made mention that the tree was in Yellowstone Park which it was not.

These did cause a bit of a double-take for me but they were doctored images. Cute. 🙂

It looks like it will be an interesting column. They contacted me about some ideas and material for future columns and we’ll be helping them out. I see it as being good for the hobby as Scouting Magazine goes out to nearly a million registered Scouters. If you have some ideas for what you’d like to see, pass them on to me.

• » Comments (1)

A friend just forwarded a link from eBay of the sale of a khaki and red strip for Grand Teton Council. After looking at it, my first thought was “Give me a f’ing break.”

The description says “This Auction is for a Grand Teton Council Thank You patch. Old School Khaki and Red Full Strip”

Now I don’t know what a “Thank You patch” is. I’m not sure what is meant by “Old School”, but khaki and red strips (KRS) were discontinued in 1953. He also has a red and white strip like this up that he also calls “Old School”.

More importantly, this council did not come into existence until 1993 as a result of a merger with Tendoy Area Council and Teton Peaks. Further, one can’t tell if this was issued by the council or not. As for “Thank you”, I’d certainly say that to anyone who would pay me $49.99, what he’s asking, for a patch that cost $1 to make.

Time to move on, and not bid….

• » Comments (0)

An eBay seller out of Malaysia has surface with some red and white and khaki and red strips that are modern, over-seas manufacture. Here’s one:

That he titled “IMPERIAL YUMA COUNCIL STRIP RARE”. Its a buyer beware world on eBay. I still liken it to the wild, wild west. Ebay has limited ability to police this so know your seller!!!!

• » Comments (0)