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Trails End Popcorn is Phasing out the Scholarship program If your Scout Sold $2500 or more in popcorn in 2019, they have until March 31,2020 to enroll in the Trails end Scholarship Program. After that date there will be no more applications accepted. Those who are registered will be able to add to their accounts for the next three popcorn selling seasons. |
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Why is Trails-End phasing out scholarship and enhancing • Only 1 out of 5 eligible Scouts ($2500+ in sales) actually enrolls in the scholarship and collects their scholarship funds. This utilization is too low. What do I need to know regarding these changes? • Scout families must turn in their 2019 scholarship forms by March 31, 2020. |
Now that you have completed your position-specific training for your Scouting role, it’s time to take your knowledge to the next level. Wood Badge is a 6-day advanced leadership training course. Held over 2 separate weekends in September and October, Wood Badge offers leadership skills training that benefits your unit and all of Scouting, increases personal confidence, and forms an enhanced social and professional network.
Private corporations pay thousands for the Wood Badge course content to be presented at a business conference. Scouters pay a fraction of the corporate price for 6 days of food, fellowship, camping, and a ton of fun. Unleash your inner child as you form patrols, build rockets, sing songs, play games, and enjoy late-summer weekends at Fire Mountain.
Early Bird Registration (with a $50 discount!) opens March 1 online through the Council Calendar. Course dates are Sept 25-27 and Oct 23-25. Participants must attend both weekends.
The other day I heard about a unit driving around in ATV’s. Pictures were shared on their Facebook page. It looked fun, they were wearing proper gear…but something didn’t seem right. I looked in the recent copy of Safe Guide For Scouting. Sure enough, ATV usage is prohibited on the unit level activity.
Did you know using Boomerangs, playing Dodgeball, or even climbing trees are prohibited activities?
Sometimes you just say “no” to an activity when you “know” the program of the Boy Scouts of America. So, did you “know” there are activities and programs that should NOT be part of any Scouting experience? Or that there are limits for when some activities should be introduced? How you can find out about them and why they are on the “list” are what this safety moment is about.
GENERAL INFORMATION
First, ask this question: Is the activity in a handbook or other current literature of the Boy Scouts of America?
If it is, great. Then you know it is part of the BSA program.
Wait, it’s not in a BSA handbook or literature. Then ask: Does it support the values of the Boy Scouts of America? If the activity helps to create good conduct, respect for others, and honesty, then most likely it is good to go. (Note: Values do not use fun, exciting, wilder, crazy, or faster as a test, nor do they include “We have always done it.”)
The next test: Is it age appropriate? For instance, by design the program limits the use of throwing knives and tomahawks to youth in Scouts BSA and above, and limits the use of pocketknives in Cub Scouting to Bears and above. A list of age-appropriate guidelines is in the appendix of the Guide to Safe Scouting.
So, the activity you want to do isn’t in the handbook, but you think it supports the values of the BSA and it appears to be age appropriate. Last test: Is it prohibited or unauthorized? Look at the list of prohibited activities in the Guide to Safe Scouting.
So how does something get on the list? From time to time, cross-functional teams of volunteers and professional staff are asked to evaluate programs or activities to incorporate into Scouting. Sometimes it’s a near miss, social media, or an actual incident that brings an activity forward for review. Other times it’s a request for a new or revised program or merit badge. These requests are reviewed by a team using various risk assessment tools found in the Enterprise Risk Management Committee Guidebook . As of this writing, 21 activities are on the prohibited listing. Prohibitions include failing to deliver program as designed or contained in our literature and common sense restrictions that include extreme sports, pyrotechnics, shooting or throwing at each other, and power tool use. The list is not comprehensive, but it serves as a definitive list of prohibited activities and it offers a broad sense of what is not allowed as a Scouting activity.
In addition, our program literature outlines restrictions or age-appropriate activities. For example, the National Shooting Sports Manual has a list of restricted activities including boomerangs, spears, crossbows, and blowguns; COPE literature restricts belaying.
Finally, there are some activities that may be restricted at the unit level but are allowed as part of a council-level activity. These include all-terrain vehicle and personal watercraft use and the pistol safety and marksmanship program for youth in Scouts BSA. Additionally, certain activities are specifically authorized at the high-adventure bases, such as crossbows at the Summit Bechtel Reserve and reloading ammunition at Philmont Scout Ranch.
RESOURCES
The Annual Business Meeting of the Mount Baker Council, Boy Scouts of America
Thursday, May 28, 2020 at 7:30 am
Stillaguamish Senior Center
18308 Smokey Point Boulevard – several blocks north of 172nd
Arlington, WA 98223-7825
All registered Chartered Organization Representatives and registered duly elected Council Members-at-Large, including current Executive Board members.
The annual meeting will be for the purpose of:
All those planning to attend, please RSVP to Emily Shanahan at Emily.Shanahan@scouting.org or at (425) 338-0380 by Thursday, May 14, 2020.
Suggested nominees:
Suggestions for Nominees to the Mount Baker Council’s Executive Board may be offered by any registered Scouter in our council. Please submit nominees in writing, prior to April 1st to:
Council Nominating Committee
Mount Baker Council, BSA
1715 – 100th Place SE, Suite B
Everett, WA 98208
Recognized at the Top 60 in Growth Conference.
Congratulations to the Salish Sea District on being recognized at the 2020 Growth Conference for their 2019 year-end membership growth.
The Leadership 60 Growth Conference is a unique event recognizing outstanding success in membership recruitment and provides opportunities for high-performing professionals to share best practices in growing the Scouting movement.
Having not one but two of our district executives from our council, out of the top 60 in the nation, is impressive and certainly worthy of applause.
It is humbling to have our district recognized for the efforts of the volunteers and professional staff in meeting and exceeding their membership goals and was an excellent opportunity to network with like-minded professionals.
The event consisted of various presentations by National Directors of Membership, Cub Scouts, Scouts, BSA, Exploring, and Marketing. Topics included the latest membership strategies, research, trends and initiatives directly from the BSA’s top leadership.
Congratulations to District Director Brian Lenhart, and District Executive Jose Rodriguez, and thank you, to each volunteer and staff member who worked hard to surpass the goals.
We are right in the middle of a great season for Scouting, it’s our Birthday! It is also the time for transition with many Cub Scouts and their parents prepare to move from Cub Scouting to Scouting BSA. Blue and Gold Banquets have always been a bittersweet time of graduation and departure, but they are also a time of new beginnings. We need to make sure we don’t let the opportunities to grow pass us by.
A unit prepared for growth will be ready to meet the challenge. The first step in preparing is to have an effective new member coordinator. Besides the Key 3 leadership, the new member coordinator is one of the most vital members of the unit committee in ensuring growth and retention. The new member coordinator stays on top of council wide recruiting initiatives by regularly attending roundtables and working with their assigned Unit Commissioner. At the troop level the new member coordinator can provide transitional information for Webelos Scouts planning to continue with Scouts BSA.
A second part of being prepared to grow is to remember there are different seasons of recruitment. Autumn is usually when a significant number of new youths join Scouting as they are heading back to school. However, spring recruitment is just as vital in identifying leadership candidates from new families and preparing them for new positions by fall. Having sufficient time for training is so important to the success of that role. And for the troop, growth primarily occurs during February or March when Webelos Scouts are bridging over.
The third, and perhaps most important area, is program execution. Nothing else affects unit growth more readily than program quality. And the delivery of program quality relies on having a specific and written plan for the program year. It is vital to maintain trained leadership and ensure leaders stay relevant with program changes. Every Scout deserves a trained leader, and many leadership positions require regular training in order to remain effective.
In summary, growth is a constant activity in which unit leaders work together with district and council resources (commissioners, trainers and professional staff) to maintain a healthy unit. These three key activities are part of forward momentum, and every unit needs to participate.
Spring is in the air. Blue and Gold events have come and gone. Webelos have transitioned (or will be soon) to Scouts BSA. Now what?
For our Scouts BSA troops, it means adding new scouts and families to your group and continuing the way towards the rank of Eagle Scout. For troops looking for assistance with Webelos transition, check out this article from Scouting Wire: “8 Ideas for an easy Webelos to Scouts BSA Transition” at https://scoutingwire.org/8-ideas-for-an-easy-webelos-to-boy-scouts-transition/.
For our Cub Scout Packs – it’s time to recruit and fill in your pack. Spring is a great time for recruiting. Take a look at your membership goals, review your plan and get started.
First, make sure your Key 3 are keeping up with leads from BeAScout.Org. Try to check in at least weekly, so no leads are missed.
Second, participate in community events or parades. BE VISIBLE! Check your school for activities as well. Kindergarten registration is starting-how can your unit be a part of that? See if you may hand out pack information flyers or host a table promoting your unit.
Schedule a Pack open house; and encourage your scouts to bring a friend to a den or pack meeting. Plan a special spring recruiting event! Try an ice cream social. Everyone loves ice cream! Have the scouts make their own ice cream. What about a rain gutter regatta? This would fit right in with our spring weather. What about a S’mores campfire party! Yum!!
If you still needs ideas or assistance with how to fill the gaps in membership, since your Webelos transition, please contact your District’s field staff or Membership Chair. They may have additional suggestions and can assist with flyer requests and more!
If your pack or troop has planned a creative recruiting event – I would like to hear about it and share it with others. Please email the details to campdenise2006@yahoo.com.
#ScoutMeIn
Denise Lesniak
Senior Vice President, Membership
There is an old computer saying, “Garbage in, Garbage out.” (I can’t believe I just said “old” in reference to a computer.) Now you may be asking me how this applies to shooting sports and I will get to that. First, let’s talk about what this saying means or at least my interpretation. What this is saying to me is in order to get a meaningful output from a computer, something of value or significance must be put in.
You can’t expect a computer to be able to balance your books just by sitting down at it and saying, “Balance my books.” This requires a piece of software, that was written by someone or many people that took many hours to create, test, rewrite, test, rewrite, test, and so on until you get a final product that can operate to balance you books. In addition to this it requires you to input the meaningful data about “your books” to allow the software to achieve the final outcome of “balancing”. This process still requires some input from you. If you put in good information you can get good information out. Not to say that you will like the number that you get out, but it should be accurate.
If you want to be good at shooting, this “old” saying applies to any of the sports. To start with, you must have a good working instrument, which went through the same process to design and develop as the above software. You then have to be in the right position, have the correct hold, breath correctly, have the correct finger placement, Release or fire correctly and have the proper follow through. You also have to have a target and be aligned to it, and the proper ammunition or projectile. These are the necessary inputs to a shooting evolution that should allow you to get an accurate output. Again, you might not like the numbers or the score of the target, but by putting something in you will be able to get something out.
If you would like to improve those numbers, either from your books or from the target, you will need to talk to a trained individual to help you. For the shooting sports, that is an instructor and it can be hard to get in touch with one of those. Luckily, the Shooting Sports Committee has taken steps to make that process easier!
We have created a survey through the Black Pug site in order to collect the names and contact information of everyone in the Council that is Certified to provide this instruction. Now, we are asking for relevant, meaningful data input so that we can, when asked by someone requesting an instructor, give out relevant, meaningful direction.
We’ve had this issue identified for a while now but struggled to find the best solution to gathering instructor information quickly and efficiently. We believe this tool will help extend the enjoyment of shooting sports to much more of our Scouting community. We hope that everyone can appreciate the sport of shooting as much as we on the committee do.
Visit the following webpage to share your information with us. And if you would like to become an instructor, please give us that information as well.
https://247scouting.com/forms/form.php?OrgKey=BSA606&id=1213
I hope to see you all at the range enjoying all that these sports have to offer!
Paul Visocky
Mount Baker Council Shooting Sports Committee Chair
By Neal Kazmi
Council Advancement and Recognition Chair
Now is the time to submit nomination forms to recognize adult leaders in your unit, District, or Council! There are a variety of awards and recognition available for Scouting’s volunteers. One of them is the Silver Beaver Award, which is the highest honor a Council can bestow to a volunteer who have made an impact on the lives of youth through service given at the council level.
Scouter awards can be used to honor registered Adult Leaders for their dedicated service to Scouting. Most Scouter awards are ‘knots’ which are representative of pin-on medals, around-the-neck awards, or award certificates, and are designed for the convenience of the wearer. Nominations are required for many adult awards.
The knots are worn centered on the left side of the uniform, above the left pocket and in rows of three with the bottom edge of the knot emblem(s) touching the top edge of the pocket flap. Subsequent rows of knots are placed above the initial set, in rows of three and again, at the discretion of the wearer.
A variety of Nomination Forms for adult leader recognitions can be found at:
https://mountbakerscouting.org/advancement/nomination-forms/
A Council’s highest adult leader recognition is the Silver Beaver. Nomination forms at:
https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/92-103.pdf. Silver Beaver nominations are due to the Council offices by 5:00 PM on Friday, March 6th, 2020.
Attention All Scouts and Scouters
Face The Challenge – 2021 National Jamboree – Date July 19th – 30th
Get Ready , Get Excited !! The 2021 National Jamboree is coming, and you will not want to miss this once in a life time Scouting experience. Scouting’s flagship event is one of a kind . The 2021 NJ is a gathering of over 40,000 Scouts (Male and Female) and volunteers who gather together every four years to experience the best Scouting has to offer .
What should attendees expect at the NJ – Serious High adventure – one of the longest zip line courses in North America , a world class skate park , ATV offerings, tree top canopy tours, rock climbing , shooting sports, whitewater rafting, mountain biking ,patch trading and much more .
The Jamboree will be held at the Summit Bechtel Reserve in the mountains of West Virginia. Mount Baker Council is planning on 108 scouts and a minimum 12 adults attending as Scoutmaster and Assistant Scoutmasters . This number will include both male and female patrols/troops along with trained leaders.
We need to hear from you ! Do you want to be a part of this amazing lifetime event ? If so we want to hear from you. Let us know if you are interested in participating and attending the 2021 National Jamboree. The Mount Baker NJ committee has already started the organizational process . Our next steps are to identify interested Scouts (who want to attend) and Scouters who may want to be considered for leadership positions . We have already heard from a number of Scouts and Scouters and we want to hear from you .
Adult Leaders for Jamboree Contingent: Leader interviews are happening THIS MONTH! Sign-up online to get your name on our list:
https://247scouting.com/forms/form.php?OrgKey=BSA606&id=1192
Scouts Attending Jamboree: The application process for Scouts to join the Council Contingent will begin soon. Add yourself to our interest list at the following link:
https://247scouting.com/forms/form.php?OrgKey=BSA606&id=1193
You can get a sneak peak at Jamboree plans at the website: https://jamboree.scouting.org
Should you have questions please do not hesitate to contact either Mark or me. We look forward to hearing from you very soon
Dave Edenfield
Co-chair Mount Baker National Jamboree
Mark Hallerman
Co-chair Mount Baker National Jamboree
