News
Update on North Star Swim Test
From Swim Test Coordinator Brian Crow:
Please find see linksbelow regarding the upcoming Swim Test at the Pike Aquatic Center on Monday, April 17, 2017.To date, I have only heard from four Troops (56,69, 73, 343) and one Venture Crew (1121).And a great big “Thank You” shout out to Jerry Ritchie from Troop 343 for coordinating all of this with the Pike Aquatic Center!!Brian
April Roundtable Focus on Great Program Planning
Our April Roundtable will focus on having great and memorable annual plans. We will start at 7:00 pm at St Luke’s Luke’s Lodge (the outbuilding on St Luke’s Campus), 100 W 86th St, Indianapolis, IN 46260.
We will have ideas. We will have discussions about past successes and failures. We will have calendars for all upcoming district functions through 2018 so that you can plan way ahead.
All units should send a representative . . . or three!
Watch this site for more information.
REMINDER: District Committee Meeting, Room Change
Just a quick reminder about the District Committee Meeting on Thursday, April 6, 2017, starting at 7:00 pm at Second Presbyterian Church, 7700 N Meridian St, COMMON ROOM, Indianapolis, IN 46260. Yes, this is a change from our normal room. The church has a big event and they are using the entire 4th floor.
The District Commissioners Staff Meeting (meaning all unit commissioners, roundtable commissioners, and ADC’s) will meet as usual at 6:00 pm. Room has not been announced yet.
Swim Tests Outside of District
If your unit is looking for swim tests outside of the April 17th North Star District Swim Test, fear not, we have you covered.
- Noblesville High School April 23, 2017 18111 Cumberland Road Noblesville, IN; 1:00pm—5:00pm
- Southport High School April 29th, 2017 971 E. Banta Indianapolis, IN
8:00am – 11:30am - Carmel High School May 21, 2017 520 E. Main Carmel, IN;
2:00pm—5:00pm
For more information, click here.
March Eagle Report
Congratulations to our newest Eagle Scouts on March 8, 2017
| First | Last | Troop |
| Stephen | Barda | 174 |
| Robert | Isakson | 514 |
| Scott | Decker | 56 |
| Dane | Standhardt | 18 |
These scouts will have their date of rank as March 8, 2017, once National Council ratifies their Board. 
Awards Banquet 2017
On Thursday, March 9, 2017, North Star District honored its award winners from the 2016 Scouting Year. Thank you to Banquet Chair Mark Pishon for a wonderful evening, enjoyed by the over 100 attendees.
Thank you to former Pacer Eddie Gill for serving as our Keynote Speaker. He gave a very emotional and powerful personal story of the impact on youth service organizations on his life. He spoke very highly of scouting as a partner in the youth service organization movement.
Congratulations to 2016 honorees:
| Name | 2016 Award | Unit |
| Ron Wells | Arrowman of the Year | T343 |
| Sandra Mitchell-Holder | Boy Scout Committee Chair Person of the Year | T512 |
| Jeff Heck | Commissioner of the Year | |
| Tom Rude | Cub Scout Committee Chair Person of the Year | P358 |
| Jeremy Morin | Cubmaster of the Year | P105 |
| Tom Sugar | District Award of Merit | T358 |
| Michael Rodriguez | District Award of Merit | T514 |
| John Ruggles | Firecrafter of the Year | T343 |
| Derrick Daily | Hooked on Scouting | P105 |
| Geordie Hester | Hooked on Scouting | P105 |
| Seth Fleming | Hooked on Scouting | P105 |
| Joe Seufert | Hooked on Scouting | P171 |
| Brandi Jittjumnongk | Hooked on Scouting | P358 |
| Elizabeth Selm | Hooked on Scouting | P358 |
| Martin Price | Hooked on Scouting | P830 |
| Brendan Cavanaugh | Hooked on Scouting | T358 |
| Nancy Sugar | Hooked on Scouting | T358 |
| Dr. Jay Bhatt | Hooked on Scouting | T69 |
| Jennifer Buddenbaum | Hooked on Scouting | T69 |
| Brent Seiler | Hooked on Scouting | T804 |
| John “Rusty” Hitch | Hooked on Scouting | T804 |
| James Beck | Scoutmaster of the Year | T358 |
| Jeremy Morin | Spark Plug Award | P105 |
| Matt Rekeweg | Spark Plug Award | P105 |
| Theresa Arens | Spark Plug Award | P105 |
| Courtnay Henthorn | Spark Plug Award | P171 |
| Jenny Beyer | Spark Plug Award | P358 |
| Matt Selm | Spark Plug Award | P358 |
| Terry May | Spark Plug Award | P358 |
| Tammie Buchanon | Spark Plug Award | P830 |
| Jane Sullivan | Spark Plug Award | T358 |
| Kevin Russell | Spark Plug Award | T358 |
| Luther Rice | Spark Plug Award | T358 |
| Michael Luciani | Spark Plug Award | T358 |
| Toby Hlade | Spark Plug Award | T358 |
| Ed Parada | Spark Plug Award | T56 |
| Mike Faulk | Spark Plug Award | T56 |
| Mike Yates | Spark Plug Award | T56 |
| Jay Leinart | Spark Plug Award | T69 |
| Scott Stukenborg | Spark Plug Award | T69 |
| Beth Price | Spark Plug Award | T804 |
| James Corridan | Spark Plug Award | T804 |
| Jane Burgess | Spark Plug Award | T804 |
| Martin Rice | Spark Plug Award | T804 |
| David Bruce | Venture Advisor of the Year | C358 |
Director of Field Services Nathan Young was on hand, too, to award North Star District the Journey to Excellence Gold Award. This reflects not just on the District but on all of the units that earned their gold, allowing the District to bask in their glories.
Thank you to Nancy Sugar, Troop 358 and supporter of Pack 180’s rebuild, for taking these wonderful photographs of the evening.
Welcome to new Crew 56!
This month we have officially added our fifth Venturing Crew to North Star District! St Luke’s United Methodist Church successfully completed its chartering of its new Venturing Crew. This is the first crew in Western Washington Township in many years.
Venturing Advisor Bill Cherry, long time Troop 56 Assistant Scoutmaster, says, “We would welcome older scouts from neighboring troops. More importantly, we would love to have young ladies join our crew.”
Crew 56 chartered as co-ed and would like to add more young ladies.
Crew 56 will be encouraging all participants to give back to their home scout troop. The crew seeks to enhance the value of the scout troop experience by providing older teenagers and young adults challenges that are beyond the experience and skills of boys under 14 years of age.
Scouts seeking to pursue Eagle rank must maintain their primary registration with their home scout troop and fully participate in the troop. Even so, advancement activities done with the Crew will count toward Eagle rank.
500 Festival Parade Planning Begins
We have a long tradition in this Council of assisting with the chair setup at the 500 Festival Parade. This tradition is so ingrained, it takes little thought or preparation to run. Old habits just run the show.
With the expected formal approval of the reorganizatin of our districts at the March 29, 2017 Council board meeting, it is going to force to have to communicate more than in the past.
We already know that T’Sun Gani’s units already work certain sections of the parade route. North Star units work other sections. With the realignment of the districts, we will need to make sure that knowledge is shared with the District leadership. This will allow us to maintain old traditions where practicable, but allow us to move forward together, too.
We should also expect some changes within other districts that would cause us to have unforeseen changes. Pioneer District is picking up several old T’Sun Gani units. How Pioneer chooses to handle manpower issues is up to them. It is foreseeable that they may want to consolidate the locale of work for easier management. What would that do to our North Star units?
Old Trail and Iron Horse joining together to become the new Bear Creek District may have other impacts.
This is just one example of issues that we may see over the coming months. Since a “Scout is . . . helpful, friendly, [and] courteous . . .,” we need to work to anticipate where these changes could affect us moving forward.
Still Seeking Camporee Range Safety Officers
We are still seeking Range Safety Officers. Any help you can help us find would be worthwhile.
Spring Camporee Update
From Mark Pishon, Spring Camporee Chair:
Dear Troop Key 3 and Camporee Adult Volunteers:
There is a Camporee Meeting this Sunday, April 2, 2017 most likely at St. Luke’s Lodge from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. [Confirmation from church on room reservation still pending.] Please have a troop representative there.
Registration is open at this link.
Remember the troop registration deadline is Midnight April 3, 2017 for shooters.
The updated Committee Work Plan is attached.
The updated Flyer and Patch is attached to use in you communications.
The Spring Camporee Committee needs 3 things from each troop by April 4, 2017 (Email: mpishon@gmail ).
- Top 3 Campsite Preference
- Name of an Adult Volunteer that will support North Star on Saturday (one minimum per troop).
- Select at least one of these troop assignments:
- Saturday Morning Flag
- Saturday Flag Lowering
- Scouts Own Service
- Troop to feed range and orienteering volunteers (16)
- Friday Campfire
- Saturday Campfire
Yours in Scouting,
Mark Pishon
Spring Camporee Chair
North Star District
Cell 317.374.2262
Shoot the Moon Overview PowerPoint
Spring Camporee Planning Summary 3_21_2017 Update
CAC North Star Unofficial Website 
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