[22574] in APO-L
Re: [APO-L] Insurance
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Scott Begin)
Thu Apr 25 02:15:02 2002
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Message-ID: <3.0.5.16.20020425002014.43c78534@mail.pyro.net>
Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2002 00:20:14 -0500
Reply-To: Scott Begin <scott@THEBEGINS.COM>
From: Scott Begin <scott@THEBEGINS.COM>
To: APO-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU
At 11:44 PM 04/24/2002 EDT, Mark Skidmore wrote:
>Hello APO members!! I am the newly elected president of the Lambda Omicron
>Chapter at West Virginia University. We have been unable to vist our local
>scout camp recently, due to the fact that we do not have any liablity
>insurance, as WVU does not cover us off of their property. Surely, we are
>not the only chapter who has needed to get insurance. If there are any
>chapters who have insurance, I would appreciate any information you can
>supply that would help us obtain coverage, especially the name of your
>carrier. Our chapter typically has about 60 active members, and 30 pledges
>per semester. Any information would be helpful!!!
>Thanks,
>Mark Skidmore
>Lambda O.
Mark,
What is the purpose of your visiting the local Scout Camp?
If the purpose is recreational (fellowship weekend, etc..), my question is
"Why aren't you doing a service project while you are there?" Scout Camps
ALWAYS have something that needs to be done. Many camp project are great
bonding experiences. See additional reasoning below....
If the purpose is to hold your chapters annual Chapter Program Planning
Conference (CPPC), make sure you include a service project while at camp.
It breaks up the program, gets some service in, the bonding thing, etc...
If the purpose is to perform a service project (even if the service project
doesn't consume the entire time you are there) and it is a Boy Scout camp
operated by a local Council of the Boy Scouts of America, you should be
covered by the BSA's liability insurance. Check with the Council Scout
Executive for the council to be sure.
I base this on statements made by Jim Chandler, BSA Liaison to the APO
National Board of Directors at a Scouting and Youth Services Committee, at
National Scouting and Youth Services Committee meeting a few years ago in
regard to BSA registration / chapter chartering of BSA units to get
insurance coverage. He indicated that if a person is present at a BSA event
and providing service to the BSA, that person is covered under the BSA
insurance, even if the person is not registered with the BSA.
Now, if when you contact the Scout Executive of your local council, you get
an indication that, even if you perform a service project during the visit,
you are not covered, contact Jim Chandler for a clarification.
Also, if your local Scout Executive indicates you need to register your
chapter as a Venture Crew at $7.00 per person to be covered, contact Jim
Chandler for clarification / assistance. This may be caused by a Scout
Executive that either doesn't understand the coverage or wants to pad the
council's numbers.
The only thing is that Jim Chandler doesn't have an email address. You can
get his contact information from the APO National Leadership Directory
(every chapter gets one at least annually) or directly from the APO
National Office. He is the Director of Personal for the BSA, very
knowledgeable about the BSA, and very knowledgeable about APO, having
served as an Advisor and in other capacities before serving on our National
Board.
Yours in LFS,
Scott Begin scott@thebegins.com Oak Forest, IL
Epsilon Beta Alumnus, Central Michigan University
Gamma Sigma Advisory Chair/Scouting Advisor, University of Chicago
Region VI Rep. to APO National Scouting & Youth Services Committee
