Commissioner Service
“Coffee Chat” to learn about service in a Unit Commissioner Role – March 10
District Commissioner Stephen Heath is inviting folks interested in learning more about serving the District to a “Coffee Chat” on Saturday March 10, 8am at Starbucks (96th and Meridian).
The role involves meeting with units, sharing ideas, help where needed, and communicating their needs up to the District Committee. Those in the Commissioner role have to have relevant experience in scouting, and a desire to meet with units on a bi-monthly basis.
We also need people to help coordinate and lead elements of the Monthly Roundtables. This may be as simple as ensuring we have a crock pot of food, and/or leading a discussion.
The Unit Commissioner role is open to
- Leaders from all Cub, Boy Scout, and Venture Units;
- Eagle Scouts in the area not (yet) affiliated with a unit;
- Former leaders;
- Really involved parents who never bought the khaki shirt.
The intent of the Coffee Chat is to explain the commissioner role, our organization, answer questions about either the role itself or any questions you or your teams might have regarding serving in the operational side of the district.
Please pass the word!
If this date will not work out please contact Stephen Heath for more information.
Thank you for considering and for passing this information along to your Units.
Roundtable This Week
As previously announced, the roundtables topics this Thursday will be:
- Cub Scouts: “Keys to Successful Annual Planning”;
- Scouts: “STEM and Explorer Scouting / Canoeing Trip Ideas”.
The Roundtables will take place this Thursday, March 8, 2018 at 7:00 pm at Luke’s Lodge, the 
outbuilding on the northeast corner of the campus of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 100 West 86th St, Indianapolis, IN 46260.
Please forward this information to your Den Leaders, Committee members, and Assistant Scoutmasters. They are an important part of the Roundtables’ target audience.
Remember, attending roundtables is a key requirement to earn the Scouter’s Key for both Cub Scout leaders and Boy Scout leaders.
Reminder: Commissioner Staff Meeting Thursday
As announced previously, District meetings’ times and locations have changed. All Commissioners meet this Thursday, March 8, 2018 at 6:00 pm at Luke’s Lodge, the outbuilding on the campus of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 100 W. 86th St., Indianapolis, IN 46260.
Direct any questions to District Commissioner Stephen Heath.
District Committee meets next week, Thursday, March 15, 2018 at 7:00 pm at Zionsville’s Town Hall.
Review your Unit JTE Scorecard
North Star District Commissioner Stephen Heath recommends that all units take some time at their next unit committee AND the Patrol Leader Council (and Venture Crew Officer) meetings to review their 2018 Journey to Excellence Scorecard. We recently discussed the minor changes for 2018. You can download copies of the scorecard for your unit here.
Stephen recommends focusing on the section headers and picking one to be the focus of 
the committee’s attention for the next 30-60 days and state a clear goal the committee wishes to accomplish with that subject. At the end of that period, assess your progress and determine how well you met your goal. Then either renew your commitment to that topic with new efforts, or pick another topic to be the committee’s focus for the next 30-60 days.
Stephen believes that a unit committee, PLC, or Venturing officers that regularly review the JTE Scorecard and makes a conscious effort to improve a section at a time will have remarkable improvement before the end of 2018.
If you know where you need improvement but cannot come up with a plan to move the score forward, this is the perfect time for the committee chair or the chair’s designee to reach out to your Unit Commissioner or District Commissioner Stephen Heath to open discussions on what can be done. That is what the Commissioner Service is intended to do for you!.
Reminder for Roundtable Next Week
As previously announced, the roundtables topics will be:
- Cub Scouts: “Keys to Successful Annual Planning”;
- Scouts: “STEM and Explorer Scouting / Canoeing Trip Ideas”.
The Roundtables will take place Thursday, March 8, 2018 at 7:00 pm at Luke’s Lodge, the outbuilding on the northeast corner of the campus of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 100 West 86th St, Indianapolis, IN 46260.
Please forward this information to your Den Leaders, Committee members, and Assistant Scoutmasters. They are an important part of the Roundtables’ target audience.
Remember, attending roundtables is a key requirement to earn the Scouter’s Key for both Cub Scout leaders and Boy Scout leaders.
REMINDER: No District Committee Meeting This Week
Just a quick reminder that the District Committee and Commissioner meetings dates and locations have changed. There are no meetings this week, especially Thursday, March 1, 2018.
Roundtable Schedule Announced for 2018
District Commissioner Stephen Heath, newly appointed Assistant District Commissioner for Education John Wiebke, and Cub Scout Roundtable Commissioner Bill Buchalter have set a schedule for this year’s roundtables.
National Commissioner to Speak at Commissioner College
Crossroads of America Council Dean of the Commissioner’s College (November 2-3, 2018) announced that National Commissioner Charles Dahlquist will be the keynote speaker at a reception at the Friday, November 2, 2018 opening ceremonies. The reception is open to all scouters across the council.
Accompanying Mr. Dahlquist will be Fred Wallace, Central Region Director, and a return visit from Kandra Dickenson, the Central Region Commissioner.
The college will begin the next morning.
For more information see the flyer.
Reminder: Roundtable Thursday! Summer Camp!
From the new District Commissioner Stephen Heath:
All,
First of all, apologies for the late notice on this. We’ve been working through people transitions, and kicking off 2018, and this came together late.
We’ve come up with a plan for roundtables for the year!! Roundtable Commissioner for Cub Scouts Bill Buchalter, Assistant District Commissioner for Roundtables John Wiebke, and I hope to share that when we meet.
This Thursday, we meet at Luke’s Lodge [the outbuilding on the campus of St Luke’s United Methodist Church, 100 W. 86th St, Indianapolis, IN 46260] to talk summer camp. The goal is a general discussion, followed by focus discussion.
Bill will lead a discussion on cub scout camps, and this is a great place for leaders (old and new) to learn about how we might effectively get ALL of our scouts to summer camp.
On the Boy Scout side, Patrick Covell from Crossroads of America Council has agreed to provide an overview of the great things available at each of our council camps.
The end goal is to keep our camps full year round, and we figured the best way to do that is by providing information and giving Patrick a chance to do a little marketing. I’m also hoping we might generate a needs/wish list from our Units of what the BSA can do to make the camps more attractive to our boys in their planning.
Kindly forward this within your Unit. The goal is to make Roundtable topics interesting and relevant, and my hope is to improve attendance to include every unit by year end.
See you Thursday,
Yours in Scouting.
Stephen Heath
District Commissioner North Star District, Crossroads of America Council
Assistant Scoutmaster Boy Scout Troop 358, Zionsville Indiana
Roundtable Thursday (CORRECTED)
Just a quick reminder that we will hold the first Roundtable of the year on Thursday, January 11, 2018 at 7:00 pm at Luke’s Lodge, the outbuilding on the campus of St Luke’s United Methodist Church, 100 W 86th St, Indianapolis, IN 46260.
The Scout Roundtable will focus on different advancement softwares including Scoutbook.com, TroopWebHost, and TroopMaster (PackMaster). These three will have specific presentations and opportunities to see the software live. Others will be discussed. If your unit uses a different software that you like, please contact Jeff Heck to provide more information for presentation purposes. This open to all packs, troops, and crews. Please suggest that your unit chair and advancement chair attend.
The Cub Scout Roundtable, led by Roundtable Commissioner Bill Buchalter, will focus on Blue and Gold Banquet planning and preparation for use in the next 30-90 days. Come learn how to make this memorable and valuable to your Cubs and Webelos!
Correction h/t on date to Mark Pishon.
CAC North Star Unofficial Website 
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