New Council Facebook Page En Español
If you have Spanish-speaking families in your pack’s or troop’s neighborhood, you may have difficulty making sure that they have all of the Spanish-language material you need. Council has undertaken a Latino Initiative to overcome this problem. 
Currently, they are working on a dedicated Spanish-language version of the Council website.
Today they are rolling out the first part of this with a Crossroads of America Council En Español Facebook page. Please help us publicize this page by clicking on the link and “Liking” the page. That way your friends and family can find it easier.
This will also help you see how the Latino Iniative is progressing to help serve your unit.
¡Vámanos!
New EAGLE SCOUTS – Spring 2018
CONGRATULATIONS to the following Scouts who passed their Boards of Review this past April and May:
This group had over 1400 project hours, and seven Scouts earned nine Eagle Palms between them (5 Bronze, 2 Silver and 2 Gold). Hearty Congratulations Eagle Scouts!
Philmont FIRE
In case you have not yet heard – a fire at the Ute Park Ranch has thus far consumed 36,000 acres as as of yesterday June 5 was 25% contained. No residences have been lost in the fire but over a dozen Philmont buildings in the center of the ranch were burned as of late last week.
This is the post from the Philmont website on Monday June 4, 6PM EST:
“The safety of our youth participants, volunteers and staff is a priority for everybody at Philmont Scout Ranch and the Boy Scouts of America. While efforts continue to extinguish the fire currently burning in the back-country, the anticipated damage and inability to access the affected areas makes it currently impossible to host back country programs. Until the fire is extinguished, the areas are inspected and the damage assessed, it is impossible to definitively state when those programs will resume.
At this time, we have made the difficult decision to cancel all back country treks that were scheduled to take place in the Philmont back country from June 8 – July 14, 2018. We hope that back country treks may resume after July 14, 2018 with altered itineraries, assuming the back country is safe and infrastructure is restored.
Additionally, programs scheduled to take place at Philmont Training Center will also be canceled through June 23, 2018. The Philmont Training Center expects to welcome back participants beginning with Philmont Family Adventure on June 24, 2018.
The NAYLE program, which takes place at Rayado Ridge Leadership Camp seven miles south of the Philmont Base Camp and is unaffected by the Ute Park Fire, will go on as scheduled.
Over the next few days, we will be contacting the lead advisor or contingent leader of all crews that are impacted by this decision, starting with those that are scheduled to arrive first, as well as affected PTC coordinators. Thank you in advance for allowing the Philmont team to contact your crew – your assistance will help make sure that Philmont phone lines remain open.
We will continue to work with local, state and federal authorities to continuously evaluate the fire and air quality to ensure that we can safely deliver outstanding program.
Thank you for your support and patience.”
For more details see:
– Philmont Fire Information site
– CNN Article
– Scouting Magazine article
North Star’s Troop 56 Camps at Governor’s Residence
This past weekend 12 Scouts and 2 Assistant Scoutmasters from North Star’s Troop 56 camped on the grounds of the Governor’s Residence for the Third Annual Governor’s Campout.
Scouts from Troop 56 along with 8 other troops from throughout the CAC took part in the event. The Scouts met at the Indiana State Fairgrounds and hiked with their packs to the Governor’s Residence accompanied by a police escort assisted by the Lawrence Explorer Scout Post #160. There they set up camp, met Governor Eric Holcomb along with First Lady Janet Holcomb and First Dog Henry.
After a few words from Governor Holcomb congratulating the youth for being selected to participate, he added, “you Scouts are the best of the best that Indiana has to offer.”
The Indiana National Guard was on site with a rotation of activities for the Scouts including inflatable jousting and a trailer that housed a shooting training simulation.
Tours were also offered where the Scouts learned about the history of the Residence and the opportunity to play a fifty thousand dollar grand piano. The Residence’s butler and tour guide, Dexter, was very impressed at how musically skilled some of our Scouts were.
The Scouts also got a surprise at the end of the tour by playing a little basketball with players from the IUPUI Jaguars.
After dinner, which was provided by the Fire Crafter Cooking Crew, a multi-denominational worship service was led by Chaplain Ken Steppe with guest Speaker Muzaffar Ahmad. The service began with an educational session where the similarities between Christianity, Judaism, and Islam were discussed so that our Scouts would understand that the values we all share far outweigh the slight differences we have.
Saturday night concluded with a Campfire Program with counselors from Belzer and Ransburg along with a Cracker Barrel snack.
The Humane Society of Indiana stopped by after Flag Raising and breakfast Sunday morning and the Scouts served by making dog and cat toys by braiding old t-shirt material and making cardboard cat toys for the pets being housed in shelters.
Troop 56 was honored to be selected for this great opportunity and would like to thank the Indiana State Government for its continued dedication to Scouting, the Indiana National Guard for contributing their time, the IUPUI Jaguars for taking time to connect with the youth, and all the Scout volunteers and speakers who served this weekend.
BSA Training the World: YPT
Did you know that the Boy Scouts of America, last year in conjuntion with Kiwanis International, has hosted four symposia on Youth Protection? It has been designed to train other youth-serving organizations.
You can find some of the material on the web. From the 2016 conference and from the 2013 conference.
The symposium in 2018 will be in Atlanta, Georgia, October 8-10, 2018, sponsored by the Atlanta Area Council and run by National Council. More information as it becomes available.
If you know any school, church, or youth-organization leaders who are concerned about this issue, consider inviting them to attend this symposium. They are the intended audience. It will help build BSA’s credibility.
Save the Date! Open House training May 30 – on Facebook LIVE
From Crossroads of America Communication Executive Karrie Baxter:
Join us on Facebook Live: www.facebook.com/bsacrossroads. Follow us if you aren’t already for updates!
Here’s what you can expect to see:
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Supplies to promote your pack at the open house, through your school, and through your community. We’ve got some really exciting and interactive pieces to show you!
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Why is it important to attend the open house? Let us show you!
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An example of an Open House Table Set up
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Breakdown of our NEW lead generation technology and how we will help communicate with people who are interested in your pack.
Trust us, you won’t want to miss it. Come represent your unit LIVE on Facebook- May 30th at 7PM!
Check out Scouts BSA on Instagram!
If you have not already seen the email from Scouts BSA, you can now follow the Scouting adventures on Instagram!
There is a giveaway currently running for some pretty cool camping gear, start by following this post: Giveaway! Rules and details can be found on that page.
Individual Swim Test opportunity
For Scouts needing a swim test with a certified lifeguard – check out the Zionsville Aquatic Center at Zionsville High School, 900 Mulberry Street.
Call 317-733-4808 or email lbrown@zcs.k12.in.us to schedule a time.
Cost is $10 per Scout.
Please use that same contact information to inquire about swim tests for a group of Scouts, as that would be handled with a different schedule setup.
See this Zionsville Aquatic Swim test page for more details.
Don’t Forget! Saturday May 26
Please see the following two posts on service events for Scouts on Saturday, May 26:
Memorial Weekend Grave Dressing
500 Festival Parade Setup
Thank you for all you do for Scouting, and for your greater community!
Scouts – Your Service is requested at the INDY 500 Parade!
On behalf of Bill Hodgson, North Star District 500 Festival Parade Chair:
CAC North Star Unofficial Website 
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