Advancement
Eagle Boards: Need Board Members
UPDATED 10/17/15 to add videos.
UPDATED 10/20/15: boards for November and December have been fully staffed. Thank you for the willing participation from so many units!
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North Star District has a joyous problem. We have more Eagle Candidates than our regularly scheduled boards’ capacity.
District Board Coordinator Jerry Simon has set a goal of moving as many Eagle candidates through their boards before year’s end as possible.
District is planning on holding extra boards on November 11th to meet the demand.
We need board members to volunteer that evening, and possibly again in December. Please contact Jeff Heck if you can serve on a board or two that evening.
Please encourage new scouters in your troop to volunteer. This is a wonderful way for scouters to learn about Eagle process. Jerry will give new board members instruction on their duties. They can also learn more from the Eagle Board of Review YouTube video from the BSA, with this blogger’s favorite scouter on the internet Clarke Green as one of the presenters. Since Eagle Boards are nothing more than specialized Boards of Review, it also pays to listen to this YouTube Video from National on Boards of Review in general. More specialized topics on the subject are available on advancement from Scouting.org.
We may need nearly 20 volunteers to serve on these November boards.
Forestry Merit Badge class
On Saturday, October 17, 2015 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm, the Zionsville Park Naturalist Mindy Murdock will offer the Forestry Merit Badge class at Zionsville’s Starkey Park, 667 Sugarbush Drive.
Park Naturalist and merit badge counselor Mindy Murdock will guide you through most of the requirements needed to earn your Forestry Merit Badge. Requirements include: identify species of trees, shrubs and vines, describe contributions forests make, and find examples of animal damage on trees. Boy Scouts should come prepared with their blue card and dressed for the weather.
Register at naturecenter@zionsville-in.gov.
Camporee: 11 Days — Emergency Mobilization
District Camporee Chair Stu Bowes announced yesterday, “Con Sullivan, our District Executive, will be conducting a mass casualty and mobilization drill with our Zombie theme at 4:00 for the Scouts. This should help some of the boys (and motivate others) who are working on their E Prep Merit Badge.”
Con is an Emergency Preparedness merit badge counselor. More importantly, he has a Master’s Degree 
from Ball State in Government Affairs, with an emphasis in Homeland Security. He will make himself available to scouts who wish to do some counseling with a counselor having a professional insight into this world. (As always, scouts should bring their blue cards with scoutmaster signatures.) Check in with the scout cabin to keep up to date on Con’s schedule.
Emergency Preparedness Merit Badge Requirement #7 states, “Take part in an emergency service project, either a real one or a practice drill, with a Scouting unit or a community agency.”
Requirement 8 further requires,
Do the following:
A. Prepare a written plan for mobilizing your troop when needed to do emergency service. If there is already a plan, explain it. Tell your part in making it work.
B. Take part in at least one troop mobilization. Before the exercise, describe your part to your counselor. Afterward, conduct an “after-action” lesson, discussing what you learned during the exercise that required changes or adjustments to the plan.
C. Prepare a personal emergency service pack for a mobilization call. Prepare a family emergency kit (suitcase or waterproof box) for use by your family in case an emergency evacuation is needed. Explain the needs and uses of the contents.
What can you imagine for your scouts can be done to prepare for Con’s exercise to complete these requirements!?
New Eagles from September 9th District Boards of Review
Jerry Simon, chair of the Eagle Boards of Review, has reported to the District that the following scouts have passed their Eagle Boards of Review on September 9, 2015:
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Calvin Bruce T-343
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Daniel Salima T- 269
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Eric Hofer T- 514
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Nicholas Leverenz T- 514
Congratulations to North Star District’s newest Eagles!
Request for Silver Beaver Nominations
In 1931, the BSA introduced the Silver Beaver award as the council-level distinguished service award. Recipients are registered scouters who have made an impact on the lives of youth through service given to the council.
The Council has opened nominations for this award for council-wide recognition at the University of Scouting in January 2016. All nominations are due to council by September 30, 2015.
Presentation can be scheduled for different times and events.
If you have a scouter in your unit who you believe is worthy of this high recognition, you can download the nomination form from the Council’s website. For a flyer that you can print out and circulate to your unit committee, click here.
Looking for Position of Responsibility? How about OA Rep?
One of the most common concerns that I hear is that a troop needs more positions of responsibility. What do those include?
The Boy Scout Eagle Requirements state,
4. While a Life Scout, serve actively in your unit for a period of six months in one or more of the following positions of responsibility. List only those positions served after your Life board of review date.
Boy Scout troop. Patrol leader, assistant senior patrol leader, senior patrol leader, Venture patrol leader, troop guide, Order of the Arrow troop representative, den chief, scribe, librarian, historian, quartermaster, junior assistant Scoutmaster, chaplain aide, instructor, webmaster, or Leave No Trace trainer.
Varsity Scout team. Captain, cocaptain, program manager, squad leader, team secretary, Order of the Arrow team representative, librarian, historian, quartermaster, chaplain aide, instructor, den chief, webmaster, or Leave No Trace trainer.
Venturing crew/ship. President, vice president, secretary, treasurer, quartermaster, historian, den chief, guide, boatswain, boatswain’s mate, yeoman, purser, storekeeper, webmaster, or Leave No Trace trainer.
Lone Scout. Leadership responsibility in his school, religious organization, club, or elsewhere in his community.
(Underlining added for emphasis.) So it would be reasonable to expect that each troop in North Star District should have an OA Representative attend our Chapter meetings on the first Sunday of each month. (See the District website for upcoming meeting times and locations.)
Newest Eagle Scouts
The following North Star scouts passed the Eagle Board of Review on August 12, 2015.
- Joseph Haines T- 269
- Trenton Moore T- 269
- Alexander Ray T- 358
- Samuel Teague T-56
Congratulations to our newest Eagles!
District Publishes Eagle Board Guidebook; Eagle Project Coordinator News
Long-time and recurring Eagle Board of Review Coordinator Jerry Simon has summarized his years of experience in one guidebook. Jerry has written some of the material. He has also used some of the material written by his immediate predecessor as the then-titled Eagle Coordinator Charlie Meyer, a life-long North Star Scout and Scouter.
Jerry’s experience has taught him that new scoutmasters and all Eagle candidates are slightly bewildered about the Eagle application process. He has reduced the process down to a how-to guide for our district.
District Training for August
As part of our effort to streamline and improve North Star District, the Commissioners Service and the District Training Committee are offering three trainings in August 2015:
1. Unit Commissioners Training on Monday, August 3rd at St Luke’s UMC.
2. Merit Badge Counselor Training at Roundtable on Thursday, August 6th at Second Presbyterian, 4th Floor.
3. Chartered Organization Representative Training on Monday, August 10th at St. Luke’s UMC.
For more details about times, locations, RSVPs, go to www.cacnorthstar.org/calendar.
How Do I Add or Remove Merit Badges for Counseling
UPDATE: 11/5/15: District is working at updating its list of MBC’s right now. If you see the draft and find that you are not included on it, please read this article about why and how to proceed.
For all of the blog’s information about Merit Badges, click here.
If you want to add or subtract from the Merit Badges that you counsel, please complete this North Star MBC Drop/Add Form. The form must be on file for all counselors. It is required along with the Adult Application.
Please have your troop’s Merit Badge Counselor Registrar contact the District MBC Registrar Mike Yates with any questions about a counselor’s current registration.
The District records are the authority on who is properly a Merit Badge Counselor. Troop registrars are for the convenience of the troop and its members to have a sole point of contact who is familiar with the system.
When a Merit Badge Counselor turns in his or her Drop-Add Form, please encourage them to offer their services to the District or Council, not just your unit, especially if they offer a rare badge. They will not often receive many calls.
For recent history on the MBC registration process and why changes have occurred, please read this blog article. To see options for bringing counseling into the 21st Century, read about the BSA’s acquisition of Scoutbook.com. Regardless whether your unit uses Scoutbook.com or not, it has some invaluable tools for Merit Badge Counseling that are not available elsewhere. Encourage your MBC’s to enroll. Their list of badges offered will then be added to the District list.
If you are retiring from serving as a MBC for the new year, make sure that the District MBC Registrar Mike Yates is aware. Your Troop and Crew leader, committee chair, and chartered organization representative were emailed his email address in October 2015.
If your troop does not have a person listed on your troop’s roster as the MBC registrar, please contact your Troop Committee Chair for more information.
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