Author: Jeffrey Heck
Adult Education at Central Indiana MBU
For those needing adult education, Greenfield’s Central Indiana MBU will be offering Scoutmaster Specific and Venturing Advisor Training.
While the classes are marked as sales closed, look at the opportunities. Maybe there is a way to attend.
Roundtable: Open Forum
Tomorrow night from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm we will have an open forum roundtable. This is because of the rechartering turn in next door.
Bring questions or topics that you want answers for. Our scouters are a great resource.
Commissioners will be available for unit issues, too.
Rechartering Update
Tomorrow night is the last Recharter Turn In Night. We will be first come, first serve at St Luke’s UMC’s Luke’s Lodge (a lot of apostrophes) from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. (We often start slow and get busier through the night, so word to the wise.)
Congratulations to Troop 514 and Troop 56, in order of submission, to be the first units to (a) turn in all paperwork and all dues payments, and (b) certify all of their adult leaders as Trained!
We also have 22 (updated: 11/9, 12:20 pm 20) Gold Journey to Excellence units and 1 Bronze.
At this time we have only 5 units that have not submitted their rosters online. Of these, we already have plans in place on how to proceed.
The great news is that 7 units that have submitted all of their paperwork but are working on completing their training.
In addition we have 11 units that have submitted some of their paperwork but have technical problems. Many of these also have training needed.
All units have open lines of communication with the District staff. Thank you for that.
We look forward to seeing you tomorrow to wrap this up! (Please come no matter what stage your paperwork is in.)
Carts and Horses by ScoutmasterCG
Clarke Green is back after taking a well-deserved mourning period for his late father, sounds like a man who was worth knowing. Our condolences to Clarke.
Clarke comes back with an important podcast entitled, “Carts and Horses.” Have a listen on how to prioritize different parts of the scouting program.
The Other Troop Library
Bobwhite Blather has a great post on the library that troops should maintain for adult leaders. Take a look.
Camporee Planning Meeting 11/20
The Camporee planning meeting is Sunday, November 20, 2016 at 6:00 pm. It is scheduled for St Luke’s United Methodist Church again. Room is to be announced. (Trying for Luke’s Lodge.)
Winter camporee 2017 planning will be first topic.
Outline of spring camporee 2017 will be second topic.
Selecting dates and location for Fall Camporee 2017.
All scoutmasters are asked to make sure that their troop is represented. SPLs or their representative are especially welcome.
Popcorn Wrap up
Just a few quick thoughts with popcorn ending:
- Make sure all your scouts turned in the forms for sales. Marilyn Lopez, Field Director for Western Section of CAC, reports that every year 50-60 scouts fail to turn theirs in.
- After all product return, we are $17,000 in hole. This means that we have inventory yet to sell.
- If your unit still has product orders that are not covered, there will be product Cash n’ Carry sales at Belzer on the following dates:
| November 11 | Last Day to Transfer Popcorn |
| November 16-19 | Sort/Distribute at Warehouses |
| November 29 | Cash ‘n Carry at Camp Belzer |
| December 2 | Final Payment Due |
| December 6 | Cash ‘n Carry at Camp Belzer |
| December 13 | Cash ‘n Carry at Camp Belzer |
| December 20 | Cash ‘n Carry at Camp Belzer |
So please help us sell this excess inventory by participating in these Cash ‘n Carry dates.
For more information see http://www.crossroadsbsa.org/BSA160page157.php.
Thursday 11/3 Rechartering report
As of this morning, November 3rd, out of 35 units in rechartering, 28 units have now completed their online rechartering process and hit the “SUBMIT” button!
Of the remaining 7 units, one is nearly complete and three are in the process of updating their rosters, usually needing to confirm the status of particular individuals in the unit. Only three have loaded their rosters with no editing online.
That is terrific news.
Even better, 17 have submitted signed charter agreements and recharter applications fully signed by all parties. They have all have various punch list items to complete. Most are related to training adult leaders.
Pack 35 and Troop 514 have turned in all of their paperwork and have certified 100% of their adults fully trained!
Report on Rechartering and Thursday’s Roundtable
UPDATE Wednesday 11:41 am: I omitted Troop 804 in the report below. They appeared at their scheduled turn-in with everything in hand. Thank you to Scoutmaster Greg Hoyes for advising me of my oversight so that their troop gets proper credit for their efforts.
After our three district turn-in nights, we have made great strides. Thanks to the following units for completing the electronic portion of rechartering, as of Tuesday, November 1, 2016 at noon:
That is very impressive. But, even more impressive is the fact that every one of our units except one has begun the online rechartering process. No other district comes close to 97% started. Sugar Creek is 74% started. Del-Mi is 90% started.
We had 81% of our units appear at turn-in nights as scheduled. Of the 19% that did not appear, two of those submitted draft recharter applications that have allowed the commissioners to review their applications for foreseeable problems. That means that the commissioners have reviewed 86% of our units already.
We have 100% of our units that have open and on-going communications with our commissioner staff. Thank you for that diligence! It makes serving North Star District such a joy!
Now we are asking that all units submit their online recharter application this week both electronically and with the necessary signatures (alongside the Charter Agreement). These documents allow us to prepare a clear punch list of incomplete tasks. These task lists are an important step in winding up rechartering quickly.
Remember the final night to turn in recharter paperwork by the deadline is November 10th from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm in Luke’s Lodge on the northeast corner of campus of St Luke’s United Methodist Church, 100 W. 86th St, Indianapolis, IN 46260 in lieu of our regular roundtable agenda. This is a first-come, first-serve event. We have tended to be slower at the start of these events and busier at the end, so plan accordingly.
We will have tables set up for interested scouters to have a true open-forum roundtable session in the neighboring room. If you come for rechartering and have to wait, you will be given a number and invited to participate in the open-forum roundtables while you wait.
In Person Training Dates
If you need Introduction to Outdoor Leadership Skills (IOLS) or Scoutmaster Specific Training (SMS), those must be done in person.
Those trainings are available as noted below:
- IOLS: This Saturday at Camp Kreinstein.
- SMS: We will schedule a session in November once we have determined who needs it. We will announce it the next week. We will likely offer one session but will seek input to maximize attendance.
Cub leader training is also available in person at the Scouter Service Center on November 9, 2016.
CAC North Star Unofficial Website 
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