Back to School Night: 17 days and Counting
We are approaching the two week mark from Back to School Night for scouting. At this point, your pack’s to-do list should already have some items marked as “Done.”
First, you should have an annual calendar planned and printed for distribution. The calendar should be sure to include your schedule for adult training, the September 12th Rocket Launch and Pack Family Overnight Campout in October. The calendar does not have to be in depth. It just needs to include the date, time, and one-sentence description of the activity. The goal is all families will be able to block time on their calendar to avoid later scheduling conflicts. The calendar should cover through August 2016. Details such as location, leader-in-charge, rendez-vous times and delegation of responsibilities is immaterial right now.
Second, you have an annual budget for the pack and dens that is broken down to an individual scout. This should include basic information about the initiation fee, the role of popcorn sales or other fund-raisers in deferring the costs, methods for obtaining uniforms cost effectively, and campership opportunities for big-ticket items like Summer Camp. The new family needs to know what this is going to do to their family checkbook. Ultimately, they need to know there is room for all scouts, regardless of family finances. Contact your Unit Commissioner or District Commissioner Jeff Heck for help in designing your budget or sales pitch.
Third, you should now have possession of the model rockets that you are expected to distribute to your new recruits. These were available for distribution at the August 6, 2015 Roundtable. Only a handful of Packs attended to receive their rockets. Contact your Unit Commissioner or District Commissioner Jeff Heck for information on how to arrange pick up of your rockets.
Fourth, you should now know where you are manning tables for August 27th sign up night. Contact District Executive Con Sullivan if you are not sure or have not informed him of your plans for that night.
Fifth, you should now know who, where, and when your Pack is providing speakers for Boy Talk recruiting speeches in advance of August 27th. If you do not, again, contact District Executive Con Sullivan.
Sixth, you should know who your Pack Back to School Night coordinator is.
Seventh, you should have reviewed your website, Facebook page, and other online resources to make sure that they are up to date and accurate. Make sure that the Pack officers names and contact information is correct. Make sure meeting time and place information is included. Make sure that your basic calendar information for special events. If you do not have a Pack Facebook page or webpage, I recommend using wordpress.com. It has free website that a non-techie can learn quickly. Updates can be done as simple posts (like on this website). Old information remains available to review in the archive.
If your Pack has each of these done and you have read this article in full, please have your Pack Committee Chair email District Commissioner Jeff Heck that these are done.
Thank you for your continued support of scouting and Back to School Night.
Sox Report: Final for 2015
Sox reported on the Firecrafter Facebook page that 195 Firecrafter candidates were eligible for ritual. Congratulations to the new candidates.
Grand Ritual is coming up Friday, August 14, 2015.
Back to School: 19 Days and Counting
Part of this year’s Back to School recruitment campaign is to have activities for the Cub Packs to participate in during the first 60 days of the school year. Essentially, these are “just add water” activities.
Pack Overnight Campout
One of these activities is the Fall Pack Overnight. Council has preplanned three different Pack Overnight weekends. All your Pack needs to do is sign up according to the information in the Council’s flyer then show up.
North Star District is encouraging all of its Packs to participate in the Pack Overnight at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from Friday, October 17, 2015 at 6 p.m. to Saturday, October 18, 2015 at 4:00 p.m.
There are many exciting activities already planned.
If your school, athletic team, or Pack has a conflicting event, there are alternative dates and locations.
While participation in these Pack Overnights, Cubs who camp out on a regular basis are more likely to remain active in scouting. This is what they think scouting is all about. (And they are not far off the mark.)
Another Obituary: Don Orth
Melinda Rivelli, Chartered Organization Representative St Joan of Arc Catholic for Pack and Troop 35, delivered the additional sad news of the passing of another long-time scouter Don Orth. Melinda writes to say:
hDon Orth passed away last Saturday. He was 88. At one point, I think he was in charge of Scouting for the state.Visitation will be held on Thursday, August 6, from 4 – 8 p.m. at Indiana Funeral Care and Crematory, Harry W. Moore Chapel, 8151 Allisonville Rd., Indianapolis.The funeral service will be at St. Joan of Arc Church on Friday, August 7th at 10:00 AM.Our Scoutmaster Carter Keith is asking any Scouters who attend the funeral Mass to dress in uniform as he hopes to have a color guard at the door as people exit the Church to leave for the burial site.
Don helped found Troop 35 at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church. He was a devoted scouter and liked to work with the boys on various elements of Scoutcraft-especially building a campfire. Although in his 70’s and early 80’s he participated in many troop functions of all types including a trip to the Halliburton Scout Reservation in Ontario, Canada. Don successfully completed Wood Badge and earned his beads. He was an expert canoeist and loved to go on hikes.His dedication and sense of humor will be missed.Carter C. Keith, ScoutmasterTroop 35P.S. I believe he as a Scout DE in Michigan many years ago.
Mr. Orth was registered with Troop 35 as a member of the committee.
He completed Wood Badge in 2002 and received his beads in 2004
He received District Award of Merit 2006.
Recruitment of “Mystery House”
Update 8/20/15: mystery house filled! Thank you!
This just came in from Council’s Development Director Leslie Anderson:
I need your quick help with a fun, last minute request.
We would like to have 1 mystery house in each district during the popcorn sale.
We will promote clues to the mystery house in each of the e-newsletters.
The mystery house prize is GUARANTEED $50 POPCORN SALES!
Once a Scout finds the mystery house, we will communicate that it has been found in that district in the e-newsletters.This will also help promote TAKE ORDER SALES!
Will you find someone in your district that will agree to buy $50 worth of popcorn from the first Scout that knocks on his/her door?
I need 5 clues to that person’s home (and the name & address of that person), and I need them by next Thursday, August 6th. (Sorry for the late notice!!)
Sample clues:
- Near a school or RR crossing
- Red door
- White picket fence
- East side of town / county / city name
- 2 white pillars
We need 5 clues because there will be 5 e-newsletters during the sale. The most general clue will come first and move towards the more specific clues.
Will you help?
If you have a person who would be willing to be the “mystery house,” please contact Jeff Heck at jheck@cacnorthstar.org.
Beta Test: Commissioners’ Coffee Hours
With our busy schedules in the evenings and family commitments, it is often difficult to take an evening when youth are not present. The Roundtableis supposed to be an evening meeting to have an open forum to discuss unit improvement and management.
District Commissioner Jeff Heck is experimenting with a modern twist adaptation of Roundtables, Commissioner Coffees. (Coffees do not replace but supplement Roundtables. No attendance credit for Adult Leaders’ Key Awards are eligible.)
The agenda will be free-form and driven by attendees. If scouters wish to do nothing but story swap, that is fine. If you have questions or concerns that need to be shared one-on-one with a commissioner, the loose format will easily accommodate break away discussions, like an office-hours with a college instructor.
We expect attendees will head straight to work, so no uniforms.
Come see us at Paneras across from Brebeuf on Tuesday, August 11th from 7:30 am to 9:00 am, open house format. (Open house means come when you can.)
Or see us at Cornerstone Cafe at 54th and College (east end of Moe & Johnnie’s) on Wednesday, August 19th from 7:45 am to 9:00 am, open house format.
Or finally, see us downtown on Tuesday, August 25 at 7:30 AM to 9 AM at Bankers Life Dunkin’ Donuts.
Back to School: 24 Days and Counting
For August 27th, we still need volunteers (such as Boy Scout Troop leaders and scouts) to man tables at the following schools. None of them have existing scouting units:
- IPS 109
- Deer Run Elementary
- Eastbrook Elementary
- Snacks Crossing Elementary
- Park Tudor (no confirmations but two families contacted; expect a “yes” from one of two)
Pack 625 needs help at New Augusta South and Central Elementary, their normal feeder schools.
Please contact Con Sullivan, our District Executive, to sign up or with questions.
Importance of State Fair Base Camp for Recruitment
Michelle Carroll continues to seek volunteers for Base Camp at the State Fair Grounds. I was confused about the impact Base Camp has on recruitment. So I asked some questions. Here is what I learned.
Council uses Base Camp to put BSA programs in front of families and to have conversations with families about what Boy Scouts is. Depending on the year, weather, and scheduling of the Fair, between 400,000 and 1,000,000 people pass by Base Camp. Of those people, just short of 15,000 enter Base Camp to see what it is about. This means that as many as 1,000,000 people see BSA in the community, and many have contact with BSA members.
At the shooting range, boys are given an opportunity to express interest in scouting, by the parents’ signing a contact list. Persons on this listed are sent emails to inquire about joining.
Volunteers are important to this process for several reasons:
- Base Camp volunteers have contact with prospective families, telling the scouting adventure stories.
- Base Camp volunteers’ story telling increase the number people who express interest in scouting by signing up in the shooting range.
- Base Camp volunteers cause prospective families to have warm feelings about scouting before the prospective family walks into a scout sign up night. These prospective families are more committed to joining scouting and more likely to draw other interested families to the sign up night.
- Base Camp volunteers help boys experience parts of scouting that no story telling can match. These volunteers help stoke the flames of passion for scouting before any sign up occurs.
Help making recruiting more effective this fall by volunteering your unit for Base Camp.
Making Stronger Units: Cub Den Edition
Around 2010, Boy Scouts of America examined what new packs and troops had in common and what distinguished those healthy ones from packs and troop that died quickly. One conclusion was that there were three people dedicated to the health of the new unit: the chartered organization representative, the unit committee chair, and the unit leader (e.g., Cubmaster or Scoutmaster). These key 3 people consistently worked well together toward a common vision.
BSA subsequently examined all levels of scouting to see how these lessons learned could be applied. BSA rolled out the idea of a Key 3 at every level of scouting.
For a Cub Scout Pack, the Key 3 is identified as the Chartered Org Rep, the Pack Chair, and the Cubmaster. They are what make the Pack function (but, as we used to say until May 31, 2015, “The Cub makes the Pack go.”)
So is there a Key 3 in a Cub Scout Den? According to official BSA literature, I have not seen that official designation yet (but I have not read all the new material cover to cover yet).
But, if we were looking for such a designation, what would be looking for?
In the Pack Key 3, the Chartered Org Rep handles obtaining facilities and communicates with the Chartering Organization (e.g., school, PTO, church, etc.). The Pack Chair handles planning and parents. The Cubmaster handles program delivery to the boys by leading meetings, pack activities, and pack campouts.
Using that model, what parallels are there in a Den to what we see in a Pack?
The Den Mother often feels like she has to provide the room at her house, plan the program, talk to the parents, and deliver the program. Is this the correct answer? Maybe not.
The Den Mother certainly may be responsible for offering the room, if the meeting is at her house. She definitely needs to communicate with the parents. Does she need to plan the program and deliver it?
There are two positions in Cub Scouts that are underused. The Den Chief and the Denner. We have looked at a Denner before.
A Den Chief is a Boy Scout who is fulfilling his rank requirement for Star rank or above by serving in a Cub Scout Den. His job is to serve as the Den Mother’s assistant and mentor to the Cubs and the Denner. For many Boy Scouts, Den Chief is their first role of responsibility. They need coaching. Once coached for a couple meetings, the Den Chief usually knows his job with a Denner and takes over the job of coaching each successive Denner.
The Denner is the temporary senior Cub Scout in the Den. He leads the other boys with advice and guidance of the Den Chief and the Den Mother. Good Dens have the Denner lead discussions about what the Cubs want to plan to do and help deliver that plan. Denners do not have much in leadership experience so they will need constant coaching.
Many Den Leaders do not like using Den Chiefs or Denners because it prevents the operation of a smooth meeting. Our goal in scouting is not to have smooth meetings without drama. It is to teach citizenship and responsibility through experiences. A successful meeting is not necessarily a smooth meeting. A successful Den Meeting has a clear chance for the Den Chief and Denner to talk to the Den Mother for 2-3 minutes before the meeting about the plan. Then before a new task, the Den mother reminds the Den Chief and Denner what to do for their next task in a matter of 15-30 seconds. There is no expectation that either the Den Chief or the Denner will remember from the before-meeting conversation. The reminders go faster, though, because of the before-meeting conversation. At the end of the meeting, before closing ceremony, the Den Mother coaches the Den Chief and Denner to have a Stop-Start-Continue conversation with the entire Den. This may only take a minute or two — short-attention spans and new concepts, you know.
Getting Den Chiefs can be difficult with the Boy Scouts hectic extracurricular schedules. Even so, don’t skimp on working on building your Den Key 3. You will be astounded by the results in a very short time.
Sad News about “Uncle Mikey” Stalcup
Update 8/11/2015: a few pictures from yesterday’s funeral for !ike Stalcup.
Update 8/6/2015, 11:00 am: Mike’s funeral visitation is confirmed for Monday, August 10th from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Flanner & Buchanan Broad Ripple, 1305 Broad Ripple Avenue, Indianapolis 46220. Services at the same location at 3 p.m. A celebration of life at Camp Belzer at 4 p.m. (Indy Star obituary scheduled for Sunday.)
Scouts and Scouters attending should consider wearing Class “A” uniforms. Members of camp staff may choose to wear their camp uniforms.
To understand the magnitude of the loss to North Star District and the Crossroads of America Council, just review Uncle Mikey’s own autobiographical scouting resume. Just a few highlights, among many:
- Eagle Scout with Bronze Palms, Eagle Board of Review October 23, 1954 with Troop 82 in Indianapolis according to the National Eagle Scout Association database.
- Assistant Scoutmaster beginning in 1961 with Troop 82 of North Star District and many other adult leadership positions through 1978
- Silver Beaver Award (highest award for service to Council)
- Continuous tenure as member at large of the Crossroads of America Council since 1982 until his death
- Western Section of National Council Training staff for 32 courses
- Firecrafter Minisino and member of the Order of High Bark
- Order of the Arrow Brotherhood member
- Doctor of Scouting Science
- Master of Commissioner Science
- Wood Badge Staff
- Unofficial Council Historian since 2000
- North Star District Commissioner or Staff for 18 years
- North Star District Committee for approximately 25 years
Update 8/3/2015, 11:00 am: Mike Stalcup passed away Monday night at 8 p.m. May he rest in peace.
4:14 pm: Sandi Hobbs at Council office has spoken to Nancy Stalcup. Plans are not finalized yet, but Nancy hopes visitation and viewing will be Monday, August 10, 2015 at 1 pm at Flanner & Buchanan Broad Ripple with the service immediately thereafter. The wake will be at Camp Belzer.
Original post: Mike Stalcup, known to many of us as “Uncle Mikey”, blacked out and fell on Saturday, August 1st. He is in a coma at St. Vincent’s Hospital 86th Street. An aneurism is suspected. The family has been called to the hospital.
Mike, most recently of Troop 56 and Pack 830, has been a long time volunteer for North Star District and Crossroads of America Council volunteer.
CAC North Star Unofficial Website 
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