Terms and Style Items - "P"

pack
A group made up of several Tiger Cub, Cub Scout, and Webelos Scout dens. The pack includes not only the boys in the dens but also their families and leaders. Combinations: "Cub Scout pack," "Pack 5."

Palms
See "Eagle Palms."

Pan American jamboree
The treatment of this term varies by actual jamboree year; for instance, no hyphen for the 1994 Pan American Jamboree.

paraprofessional
A registered, full-time or part-time noncommissioned employee whose application has been filed and approved by the Human Resources Administration Division for service in a designated paraprofessional position. Authority and duties are limited to the support of, and are under the direction of, the commissioned professional assigned to that specific area of responsibility.

parent and family talent survey
An inventory of parents' interests and abilities conducted by the Cub Scout pack to determine program potential.

parents' night
An open house conducted by a Venturing crew to inform parents and involve them in the Venturing crew and council.

partner
Do not use "partner" when referring to a chartered organization. Also see "adult partner."

patrol
A small group of Boy Scouts (usually five to eight) who belong to a troop and work together in and out of troop meetings. Normally, there are several patrols in one troop. Capitalize only when part of a title, such as "Fox Patrol." See also "Venture patrol." Note: Webelos dens are not patrols.

patrol leader
Elected by the patrol members, this Boy Scout leads the patrol and represents it on the patrol leaders' council, which plans the troop program.

patrol leaders' council
Each patrol leader, representing his patrol, meets with other patrol leaders and the senior patrol leader to plan their troop program. The Scoutmaster acts as an adviser.

Paul Bunyan Woodsman
A recognition given to a Boy Scout or a Venturer who safely demonstrates skill with a long-handle ax.

Pedro
The long-eared, four-footed mailburro of the "Hitchin' Rack" column in Boys' Life magazine.

people, persons
Use "person" when speaking of an individual: "One person waited for the bus." The word "people" is preferred to "persons" in all plural uses. For example: "Thousands of people attended the fair." "What will people say?" "There were 17 people in the room." "Persons" should be used only when it is in a direct quote or part of a title as in "Bureau of Missing Persons."

percent and percentages
Percent is one word and always spelled out. Also, always use figures for percentages: 2 percent, 25 percent, 2.5 percent (use decimals, not fractions). For amounts less than 1 percent, precede the decimal with a zero: "The cost of living rose 0.6 percent." Repeat "percent" with each individual figure: "He said 10 percent to 30 percent of the electorate may not vote."

petty officer
An elected youth officer in a Sea Scout ship. A petty officer in a Sea Scout ship is the equivalent of an officer in a Venturing crew. They are typically boatswain, boatswain's mate, yeoman, purser, and storekeeper.

Philmont Scout Ranch
Western high adventure happens here for older Scouts and Venturers in almost 140,000 acres of rugged northern New Mexico. The ranch also has a center for volunteer and professional training. The address is Cimarron, NM 87714. (Cimarron is pronounced sim-a-ROAN.)

Philmont Staff Association
Former and current summer and permanent staff members of Philmont Scout Ranch, and of the Philmont Training Center, Cimarron, New Mexico, are eligible for membership. Some association objectives are to promote wilderness camping and other ranch programs, suggest new programs in ranch management, and offer time and talent to local councils for promoting the ranch.

Philmont Training Center
The national volunteer training center of the BSA, located at Philmont Scout Ranch. The center hosts professional and BSA local council conferences.

pinewood derby®
A pack activity that involves making and racing small wooden cars on a track. Combinations: "Pack 1 Pinewood Derby," "the pinewood derby."

planned giving
Making a gift to Scouting as the result of a planning process that takes into consideration the effects that gift will have on the donor's income, tax liabilities, and estate. Do not hyphenate, even when used as a modifier. Also known as "deferred giving."

plurals
With figures, add s: "Temperatures will be in the 20s"; "I was born in the 1950s." With single letters, add 's: "The three R's of Youth Protection." With multiple letters, add s: "She knows her ABCs."

pooled income fund
A charitable trust to which donors make gifts, which are pooled with other gifts and then invested. The investment income is paid to the donor, or beneficiaries, quarterly for life. Upon maturity the council endowment fund receives the remainder interest.

Pope Paul VI national unit recognition
A recognition given by the National Catholic Committee on Scouting to units organized by Catholic churches and organizations.

possessives
Some general guidelines for more troublesome matters:

• Plural nouns ending in s: Add only an apostrophe-"the horses' food," "the girls' toys," "states' rights," "officers' meeting," "Chief Scout Executive's Winners' Circle."
• Some words ending in s do not take the apostrophe if they are being used in a descriptive sense: "Teamsters union," "citizens band radio," "a writers guide." A Scouting example: "Founders Circle Award."
• Singular nouns ending in s: Add 's unless the next word begins with s: "the witness's answer," but "the witness' story."
• Singular proper names ending in s: Add only an apostrophe-"Achilles' heel," "Dickens' books," "Kansas' schools."
• Pronouns: Be careful not to use an apostrophe with "yours," "ours," "hers," "its," and "theirs."
• Joint possession: Use the possessive form after only the last word if ownership is joint: "Jason and Bill's tent" (both Jason and Bill own the tent). Use a possessive form after both words if the objects are individually owned: "Jason's and Bill's tents" (Jason and Bill each have a tent).

post office
Lowercase to refer to a specific office, but the agency is now called the U.S. Postal Service.

pow wow
A one-day training conference for Cub Scout leaders. Combinations: "Cub Scout leader pow wow," "Apache District Pow Wow."

P.R.A.Y.
Abbreviation for Programs of Religious Activities With Youth. An organization outside the BSA that administers religious awards for youth-serving organizations, including the BSA, Girl Scouts, and Camp Fire. Note the periods in the abbreviation.

prefixes
More often than not, you'll find that a hyphen is not needed. Refer to the latest edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Some general rules: (1) Do not hyphenate a prefix with a word that starts with a consonant: "pretax," "nonbeliever," "nontraditional," "unconvinced," "coworker," "extraterrestrial," "multicolored," "postwar." (2) Except for "cooperate" and "coordinate," use a hyphen if the prefix ends in a vowel and the word following begins with the same vowel: "co-ownership," "pre-exist," "pre-empt," "re-establish." (3) Use a hyphen if the word that follows is capitalized: "mid-Atlantic." (4) Use a hyphen to join doubled prefixes: "sub-subparagraph."

preprofessional
A paraprofessional who is currently pursuing either an associate's or a bachelor's degree while obtaining on-the-job training and intends to qualify for professional service with the Boy Scouts of America. See also "paraprofessional."

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Encompasses the former northern and southern branches of Presbyterianism, which merged in 1983.

president
Capitalize only as a formal title before one or more names: "President Reagan," "Presidents Bush and Clinton." Lowercase in all other uses: "The president was ill today." "He is running for president." "Lincoln was president during the Civil War."

Specific BSA usages: (1) An elected volunteer executive. See "area president," "council president," and "regional president." There is also a national president of the BSA. (2) A Venturer elected by peers to this office conducts crew business.

Professional Circle
See "Professional Training Award."

Professional Development Levels 1, 2, and 3
Abbreviated as PD-L1, PD-L2, and PD-L3. See "Center for Professional Development."

professional Scouter
A registered, salaried, full-time employee who is commissioned to serve in an approved professional position in a local council or on the national staff by having successfully completed formal training (Professional Development Level 1, National Executive Institute, or National Training School), or who has been designated by the Chief Scout Executive as a member of the national management executive staff.

professional-technical (pro-tech) employee
A registered, full-time employee whose professional application has been approved by the Human Resources Administration Division to serve in a professional-technical position not requiring a professional commission, but designated and approved as having executive, administrative, or professional status.

professional trainee
A registered, full-time employee serving as a trainee in an approved entry-level professional position whose application for service as a professional Scouter has been approved by the Human Resources Administration Division and who has been assigned to a class at Professional Development Level 1.

Professional Training Award
Professional Scouters are eligible for this award and membership in the Professional Circle when certified by their Scout executives and the Professional Development Division as having fulfilled qualifications of basic and advanced training and tenure. See "square knot."

program
Generally lowercase: Cub Scout Academic and Sports program; BSA Family program. However, see specific program names in this guide. Also see "Scouting program."

program manager
A Varsity Scout who supervises one of the five program fields of emphasis: advancement, high adventure, personal development, service, and special programs and events.

Progress Toward Ranks beads
See "immediate recognition patch."

Project COPE
A Challenging Outdoor Personal Experience that may include problem-solving exercises, low-course activities (conducted from ground level to 6 feet above ground), and high-course events (several combined activities that require each participant to be belayed, conducted 30 feet or more above ground).

project selling
A fund-raising method of isolating specific budget items or projects for presentation to interested donors. "To project sell" may be used as a verb if needed.

promise
See "Cub Scout Promise" and "Scout Oath or Promise."

proportions
Always use figures: "2 parts powder to 6 parts water."

ProSpeak
This newsletter for all career men and women in the BSA is distributed monthly from the national office.

provisional unit
When individual Scouts or Venturers are to participate in an activity (such as a jamboree), they may be organized into temporary (provisional) troops, teams, or crews.

public relations committee
A volunteer advisory committee for the council and its districts charged with creating and maintaining a climate of public understanding and support.

punctuation
Think of punctuation as a courtesy to readers designed to help them understand what is written. Following are some rules and guidelines.