News
Updates for Unit Profiles
As we are moving into heavy recruitment season, now is the time to make sure that your unit’s web presence is up to date.
First, start by visiting, BeAScout.org. Try to find your unit on the system. Check that the meeting time, location, and personnel are correct.
Visit the Our Units page on the District website. Click through to the appropriate section for your unit. Review the information that I have posted. Send me any updates or corrections. While this section does not get a large amount of traffic, the Scout Troop Page received 98 views in 2016 and has already received 90 views in 2017.
This update is especially important for units that are newer in age or in relationship to the North Star District.
I intended to hold edits for the 15th and 30th of each month, so please be patient if your corrections do not post immediately.
Website Tinkering
If you have been following cacnorthstar.org, you will notice some changes in the right column of our webpage and the potential for some differences when you view the website on a mobile device.
In the right column, all of the old functions remain. A couple have been added. There is now a Facebook Feed for the CAC North Star Commissioner Page. This feed will include a mix of the articles posted to this website as well as less serious but hopefully interesting Facebook posts or third party websites. This is where Facebook updates from around the District and even the Council appear. For example, there were a couple of posts about Crew 408’s trek to Philmont or another crew out of district’s current trip to the International Scout Centre in Kundersteg, Switzerland.
Of the old functions, many of the links that used to take up so much space down the side of the page or at the bottom of the mobile view have been folded into drop down menus. The goal is to be able to speed your view of the page.
A new category for recent additions to the District Calendar has been added.
Hopefully these changes will be useful.
Follow CAC North Star Commissioner on Facebook
The North Star District Website is designed to focus on articles that you might find useful or interesting.
These articles automatically post to Facebook as they go live. If you have followed the CAC North Star Facebook page, you can see these updates as they post. If you are like me, you may not use Facebook, except in spurts. It may not be helpful.
However, if you have a leader in your unit who loves Facebook, you can encourage them to follow the CAC North Star Commissioner page. When they like or post comments on our articles, many more of your unit’s parents are likely to see these artcles in casual perusal.
Our goal is to get 250 followers for the Facebook page in the next 90 days. You can help us by following us and sharing this page with your unit parents.
Always remember to keep in mind the BSA’s rules on social media when using Facebook or Twitter in your unit. If you want to learn more about how to use social media in scouting, download the the Social Media Playbook.
Service Hour Reporting Methods
Recently, the Council asked the District Key 3 to review the statistics of their districts.
In reviewing North Star’s Service Hours, we are missing lots of information from our active units.
Remember we are working toward one billion hours of service in scouting by 2020. Your service hours help us get to that goal.
Make sure that your Advancement Coordinator reports your service hours. One person should be responsible for this information from each unit. Log in to my.scouting.org. Go to the Legacy Tools. Report Service Hours.
These reports include all individual and unit efforts. They include Lion Cub efforts and Eagle Scout projects.
Emergency Mobilization
Thanks to Frank Otte, Scoutmaster of Troop 174 (CORRECTED 4:06 pm) for bringing this to my attention.
Here is a terrific opporutunity for scouts who need to work on their Emergency Preparedness Merit Badge.
Come join us; learn and have fun! The Marion County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) is teaming up with Eskenazi Health, IU Health – Methodist, Riley and University, the VA Medical Center, IUPUI, Indianapolis EMS (IEMS), Indianapolis Fire Department (IFD), MESH and other agencies for a full scale Hazardous Materials Exercise.
We are requesting volunteers from each of the hospitals and service groups to volunteer to participate. Not only are we seeking adults, but also children, ideally ages 8-18.
This is a great experience for Scout and faith- based groups that are looking for an activity geared toward badge work; Emergency Preparedness or community volunteer hours. We do ask that we have an adult per 5 or 6 children as a chaperone.
Please let us know if you have younger children that would like to participate. There are opportunities for the children (and adults if you want to) to wear their swimsuit and get “showered”/de-conned by the Indianpolis
Fire Department and/or at the hospitals.
Girls in BSA Troops and Packs?
At the Council’s mid-year meeting for District Key 3 (District Chair, Commissioner, and Executives), a topic that is getting mixed amount of attention was brought up. The issue was “should girls be admitted to packs and troops?”
I did a quick search online in the hopes of determining how much social media there is on the topic. I found these articles as a sampling:
- Bryan on Scouting (2015 to present) has a long-standing forum on the topic.
- NPR, “Girl who Wants to be a Boy Scout” (April 29, 2017).
- Change.org (date unclear). (Girl wants to be an Eagle Scout. Seems to be source of NPR story). 75% to 10,000 signer goal.
- Patheos and NBC News (May, 2017) (describing National Council scheduled debate on topic).
- Outside Online
- Detroit Free Press (February 2017) (good background on current status of debate).
There are many more, but I would not call it a crushingly large amount of recent publications. Now I may have found more if I would have varied my search terms, but all other things being equal, it is not a PR onslaught.
That has some advantages to have having a conversation on the topic. There is less heat, so tempers may not run as hot.
Patrick Sterrett in mentioning this treated as if this is a beginning to a longer conversation for the National Council. He solicited our feedback and invited interested persons to talk to him directly. Patrick is a very open person, so he would enjoy a face-to-face conversation with any interested persons.
Our District Chair John Wiebke is in a unique position. He grew up going to Camp Kikthaweneund, getting his Eagle along the way. He served on staff at Philmont and the International Scout Centre in Konderstag, Switzerland (the Philmont of the Worldwide Scouting Movement). He also served as a scout leader in the Swedish Scout Federation for 13 years. After those experiences, he returned to Indiana and served as the Scoutmaster for Troop 358 for three years. In those different capacities, he has been witness to all types of scouts, single-sex units, and co-ed units.
Part of the impetus to this conversation is that Scouting worldwide is now co-ed, except in the USA and some Muslim countries. The UK went co-ed several decades ago. Scouts Canada did more recently.
After the discussion that Patrick led, I asked John some questions about his experiences and shared some of my concerns. I don’t know that either led me to a clear answer.
Most feedback I have heard from parents of daughters is that the Girl Scouts USA has a program that does not offer the same challenges for girls that Venturing does. Having no daughter nor personal involvement with Girl Scouts USA, I can only listen to these comments.
I would recommend that all units have this issue put to their unit committees and their Chartered Organization in the next several months. You can then share the feedback that you hear with your Unit Commissioner or District Committee Member.
The one goal for me is that this issue of membership is handled more patiently and more respectfully that the last several rounds have. Scouting should always be looking to serve its current members better while looking to serve the community-at-large better, too.
A debate and conversation worthy of the Scout Law is definitely serving all parties well.
NOTES ON COMMENTS: Anyone in North Star or the Crossroads of America Council, especially girl members of a Venturing Crew or Explorer Post, are encouraged to send their thoughts to me. If the comments comply with the Scout Law, we can post them. Even better, comment below. If a commentator is from outside Crossroads of America Council, we reserve the right to refrain from posting the comments. This is a website for scouting in the Council, especially North Star Distict, and not a newspaper.
Day Trip to National Jamboree
Dear North Star Volunteer,
The 2017 National Boy Scout Jamboree is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Scouts and Scouters from the Boy Scouts of America and from other Scouting organizations across the world. The Summit Bechtel Scout Reserve serves as the National Jamboree’s permanent home and is a little over 6 hours away from Indianapolis. The Jamboree is open to day visitors with access to the Summit Center – the hub of Jamboree activity and is home to the stadium shows, the military exhibits, conservation trail, Disabilities Awareness Area, Sustainability Treehouse, merit badges, and a wide variety of other exhibits and displays. Observers and participants can see all the above listed items and visit the main retail store, purchase retail food items, and experience Brownsea Island.
I am reaching out to you today to see if you would be interested in attending a Day Visit to the National Jamboree on Sunday, July 23rd. We will coordinate a bus trip from Camp Belzer for $125 which includes breakfast and dinner on the bus and your day pass to the Jamboree.
Registration is available for this opportunity by clicking here. Please note: if we aren’t able to fill the bus we will refund all fees paid and try to coordinate other travel arrangements for those interested.
If you have any questions please contact me or Program Assistant, Sherry Webb 317- 813-7117.
Regards,
Con
July District Meeting Schedule
In July we will NOT be holding our regularly scheduled meetings for District Committee or District Commissioner’s Staff.
We will be inviting all to attend the District Membership Kickoff on Saturday, July 22, 2017 from 9:00 am to 11:00 am at Luke’s Lodge on the campus of St Luke’s UMC, 100 W 86th St, Indianapolis, IN 46260.
Please plan accordingly.
Cub Scout Fun Day Schedule
For Cub Scout leaders, one of the hardest parts about the Fall is that you are hit with popcorn sales, recruiting, and programming in a sixty day period. All of that ignores that school starts, fall sports start, and Labor Day holidays are in the middle of it.
One of the ways to make both recruiting and programming easier is to take advantage of Council’s offerings. You have just-add-water programming.
One of those opportunities is Cub Scout Fun Days. Multiple dates and locations are offered so that you can make the schedule work for your Pack or Den.
For more information, download the flyer. To assess interest, send it to your Pack parents.
CAC North Star Unofficial Website 
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