Scoutmaster's Approval Rating Plummets

Chapman at Speedo Photo Night
December, 2006

On the heels of a series of ill-fated programs, Ducktrap, Maine Scoutmaster Ken Chapman saw his approval rating plunge to 28.9% in a free fall unprecedented in the history of the Boy Scouts of America.

Re-election pressure, which mounts with the approach of each quadrennial jamboree, is a hallowed tradition of scouting's notoriously smarmy politics. Chapman, thrice elected to head Troop 158's 13 members in unopposed campaigns, has wilted conspicuously since popular bus driver Glenn Mosely suggested as an afterthought following the 2003 election that he "might think about running" in 2007, when his son Gary would be 12.

The ensuing 3-year stretch has been characterized by a series of questionable activities in an apparent ploy to boost Chapman's leadership moxy. Staple events like "Frisbee Bridge," "Group Pushup," and "Patrol Spirit Competition" were removed. The 11-17 year olds' schedule instead featured riskier Chapman creations such as "Bomb Squad," "Bear Racing," and "Stab Your Way to Freedom."

Chapman initially weathered the howls of protest from concerned parents by invoking BSA's "Be prepared" motto, and asserting that the boys, not the parents, would ultimately judge the quality of the programming.

The scouts have spoken. A national BSA headquarters official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Chapman's rating is the lowest of the nation's 50,996 troops currently, and the steepness of the drop is unmatched in the organization's 97-year history.

"He's got to be stopped," said Mark Franklin, whose day job is as Chapman's deputy sheriff in this town of 313 residents isolated deep in the dark northeastern timberland. "Thank goodness our boys are showing the courage to vote him down."

"He keeps saying that the word 'safe' doesn't appear in Scout Law," added Danielle Hill, who lost her son Cody shortly following "Bottle Rocket Bonanza" and prior to "Pine Box Night." "What happens once he realizes that 'eat' is missing too?"

"At first, he was kind of fun," said 20-year old Gabe Kessler through a computerized voice program that he's used since participating in "Hangman's Escape" in 2004. "But it's time for a change."