Author: Jeffrey Heck
Webelos Cross Over
Check out this cool episode.
Webelos are beginning to cross over into your troop and while getting boys into your troop is one thing, it’s important to know how to keep them in the troop and coming back week after week. Charles “Doc” Goodwin is the Scoutmaster of Troop 236 in Kettering, Ohio, and for more than 30 years his troop consistently has had more than 100 Scouts! So what’s his secret?
Sagamore Council’s University of Scouting in Kokomo: mixes MBU with adult trainings.
If you need training in the Spring for new leaders in the Fall, consider sending them in March. Here is their flyer.
Reminder: District Meetings Thursday
Friendly reminder that Thursday, March 2, 2017 at 7:00 pm is the monthly district committee meeting at Second Presbyterian Church, Room 405.
District Unit Commissioner Meeting is the same date at 6:00 pm in Room 401.
Executive Committee Recommends District Re-alignment
The Executive Committee of Crossroads of America Council has made a recommendation to the full Board of Directors to re-align the districts in our council.
The plan, if approved by the Board in early March, would move the southern border of North Star District southward from 38th Street to 30th Street from Keystone to MLK Blvd. Then down to 16th Street over to Tibbs Avenue.
This would result in the Cub Scout Packs and Boy Scout Troops at Tabernacle Presbyterian Church (Pack 72 and Troop 72) and St Richards School (Pack 747 and Troop 180) joining our district.
Unrelated to North Star District, the plan would abolish T-Sun-Gani District, i.e., Center Township’s district. The remaining part of that district, not absorbed by North Star, would be split between Pioneer and Hou-Koda Districts. Further Old Trail and Iron Horse would merge. Part of their districts in Eastern Hancock County (15 units) would be absorbed by Pioneer District. No After-School units are affected, since they are administered separately.
This realignment would strengthen all districts and result in larger volunteer pools to support the units.
This re-alignment would also have the Order of the Arrow Chapter Lowaneu Allanque and Firecrafter Ember cover only North Star District once again.
As a result of anticipating this re-alignment, North Star District has invited its future, new units to participate in the Unit Key 3 Conference tonight. So if you see some strange unit numbers, don’t be surprised.
Tonight is Unit Key 3 Conference
Just a quick reminder of tonight’s Unit Key 3 Conference, hosted by the North Star District Committee.
We will be covering a lot of territory very quickly. So, listen fast!
See you tonight at the Scout Center at 6:00 pm.
If you have not made a reservation yet, you can still join us, but food may be limited.
If you, as a member of your Unit Key 3, cannot go, send a proxy.
We are still looking for any participants from Packs 18, 35, 84, 171, 174, 179, 180, 625, & 586, and Troops 18, 35, & 512. Please come join us.
Out of 37 units, that is nearly 67% participation. Thank you!
Snapshot of Scouting History
The invaluable Clarke Green has another post of great interest to me. Since I love history, this is right up my alley.
Clarke has scanned a camping equipment catalog from 1925.
My how technology has changed for the better!
Planning a Good Campout
Many scout troops have learned how to have successful campouts through the School of Hard-knocks.
Some of these lessons can be learned by Cub Packs. In the following quote, Packs should translate “patrol” to “den” and “troop” translated to “pack,” and many of the lessons still hold true.
Bobwhite Blather takes some of these key lessons and reduces them down to some primary concerns:
There are a few things that can improve Scout enthusiasm for, and help increase participation in, a troop’s monthly campouts.
- Patrol-based. A troop is a collection of patrols, and the patrol is the fundamental building block of Scouting. Each patrol camps, cooks and does things on its own. There are troop-wide activities, which can include campfires, competitions between patrols, and an interfaith service, but most of the time should be spent as patrols. Campouts where everyone does the same activities as individuals does nothing to leverage patrol spirit, the heartbeat of a healthy troop.
- Patrol-planned. Scouting is something that the Scouts make happen for themselves, not doing things that others have planned for them. Boys being boys, it’s certainly easier for them to let others (read: the adults) do that planning for them, but character and leadership are developed when boys actually do the things that make a campout happen – find places to go, make phone calls, arrange rides, and own their weekend. We’re here to build leaders, not followers. Scouts need to have some skin in the game, or they’ll become indifferent and just stay home.
- Not the “same old same-old.” The boys will certainly find it easier to just fill in last year’s activities onto this year’s calendar, but once you’ve slept on a submarine, or in a cave, or visited a museum, you’re not going to want to keep going back year after year, or even every other year. The same can be said for high adventure. A troop that only goes to Sea Base or Philmont and never tries either the other BSA high adventure bases or making their own high adventure plans is missing out on new opportunities that keeps Scouts interested and engaged.
- Calendar-aware. When the patrol leaders’ council does its calendar planning, important school and Scouting dates need to be written in first (right along with the Scoutmaster’s wedding anniversary) as weekends to avoid. School dates like final exams, college entrance exams, big sporting events and homecoming are potential conflicts that can hurt participation. Council events, like adult or youth leader training and Order of the Arrow weekends, can pose a dilemma over which to attend, with negative impacts either way.
If your troop is struggling with spotty participation, look deeper to find the cause. Unless Scouts are taking advantage of opportunities to do the things that Scouts do, they’re missing out on everything Scouting has to offer them.
Thoughts on Merit Badge Counseling
The role of the Merit Badge Counselor always needs to be re-examined. It helps us keep the mission of the Counselor top of mind.
To that end, read this short article on Bobwhite Blather.
An important point is
Although not expressly prohibited, large group counseling is generally frowned upon. The Guide to Advancement cautions that in such situations, the counselor must confirm that each and every Scout completes each and every requirement, including the show, demonstrate, do and tell actions. It is not sufficient for a Scout to just sit in a class, write notes on a worksheet and turn it in.
The counselor, therefore, needs to tailor his or her counseling style to the merit badge and to the Scout. This means determining just how much teaching and hand-holding the counselor should do versus how much self-study and learning the Scout is expected to accomplish. Generally speaking, a Scout will learn more if he studies on his own, but he can certainly benefit from the teaching that a counselor can provide. As with other interactions with Scouts, it’s more effective if the counselor leads the Scout to learn and discover the answers on his own, rather than handing them over, as might be done in a classroom setting.
Del-Mi’s Merit Badge University 2017
From Con Sullivan, our District Executive:
The Del-Mi Merit Badge University is approaching early next month. At this event we have 1,600 slots for Scouts over the course of Friday evening and all-day on Saturday. There are numerous Merit Badges that are offered and might make a good program offering for your units. I have included the information below. Please forward out to your units in your district if you believe this opportunity would fit with what your units might be looking for. We already about 900 of those 1,600 slots filled by Del-Mi Scouts, however there is plenty of room left. Here is info you can copy and paste while sending to your units:
What: Del-Mi District Merit Badge University
Where: Carmel High School, Freshman Center (520 E. Main Street, Carmel, IN) – Entrance 13
When: Friday, March 10th and Saturday, March 11th
Online Registration: https://scoutingevent.com/160-DMmbu
The Merit Badge University is open to any registered Boy Scout, Varsity Team member or Venturer working towards Boy Scout rank advancement. Tiger, Cub, and Webelos Scouts are not eligible to participate (even if they will be crossing over into a troop later this year after the merit badge university).
- Pre-requisites are required for many badges.
- Online registration fee is $6 per Scout per session. Individual courses may have additional equipment or material fees.
- Three sessions are available. Some merit badge classes span across 2 sessions.
o Session 1: Friday evening from 6:30 to 10 p.m.
o Session 2: Saturday morning from 8:30 a.m. to Noon.
o Session 3: Saturday afternoon from 1 to 4:30 p.m.
Lunch is available from Noon to 1 p.m. at a cost of $6 per person.
There are over 1,600 Merit Badge slots open and available for Scouts. If your first choice is not available, there are plenty of other options.
Questions? Contact: Laura R. (lkr@isbits.com)
Ryan Kelleher | Del-Mi District Director
BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA
Crossroads of America Council
Golden-Burke Scout Center
7125 Fall Creek Road North
Indianapolis, IN 46256
P: 317.813.7085 | C: 317.445.0658
CAC North Star Unofficial Website 
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