Dear Great River’s Scouters. To keep you better informed of the goings-on
around the District, we wanted to send you the following information so you
plan accordingly.
*Activities:*
*District Pinewood Derby-* The 2012 District Pinewood Derby is being
hosted by Pack 240. It will be held Saturday, March 24, at the
Transfiguration Catholic School in Oakdale. Registration begins at 8:30 am
and the Race will start at 10:30 am. There will be six racing categories
for the Cub Scouts – Lions through Webelos II with an entrance fee of $5
per car. The top 3 Race Finishers from each rank/grade will advance to the
Council Race held at the Mall of America on June 4th. Just for fun, there
will also be an open division race for siblings and adults for the same
fee. The derby rules and the event flyer are available on the district
website.
*Advancement**:*
**
*Advancement Lockin-* for Webelos and Boy Scouts at the Jimmy Lee
Recreation Center in Saint Paul beginning at 8:30 pm on March 2. Aquanaut
and Readyman pins for Webelos. There will be a chance to work on first aid
and aquatics requirements for Tenderfoot, Second and First Class Scouts.
Be sure to consult the flier that is available on the district website for
details.
*Camping:*
****
*CUB SCOUTS- *There are still openings for Polar Cubs...a one day
experience filled with plenty of fun, adventure, activity and advancement
opportunities. Hot lunch will be provided in the camp dining hall for
everyone. Don't let the lack of snow keep you away as the staff has
plenty of snowless activities planned, including learning how to keep warm
and dry in the winter season.
There are two separate programs: Cub Scout Polar Cubs (for Tigers, Wolf &
Bear Cubs) and Webelos Polar Cubs (for 1st & 2nd year Webelos). Polar Cubs
programs will be run weekends in January – the 1st weekend in March at Rum
River Scout Camp, Anoka, MN; Stearns Scout Camp, South Haven, MN; &* *Phillippo
Scout Reservation,* *Cannon Falls, MN. Reservations now open. You can
register online at www.goscouting.org.
*BOY SCOUTS-** ** *Interested in attending the 2013 National Jamboree to
be held at the NEW Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia? Registration
is now open for this great event at this new location. The Northern Star
Council is looking to fill 10 Troops and 3/4 of a Venture Crew or just over
400 participants and many more onsite staff. You can register here:
http://districtoperations.nsbsa.org/NationalJamboree.aspx.
There are still openings for winter camping at either North Winds at
Stearns Scout Camp or Snow Base at Tomahawk. *NEW THIS YEAR:* The Snow
Huskies program for younger scouts now starts Friday evenings instead of
Saturday mornings. Now all your scouts can make the trip together before
going off to their separate programs.
Learn more about North Winds here:
http://www.northernstarbsa.org/Camping/BoyScout/Winter/NorthWind/Prog...
.
Learn more about Snow Base here:
http://www.northernstarbsa.org/Camping/BoyScout/Winter/SnowBase/.
Also Troops can now make their summer camp reservations/deposits for the
summer of 2013.
*Journey to Excellence:** *
The 2011 Journey to Excellence for units is drawing to a close. To qualify
for Bronze, Silver or Gold levels, each unit needs to provide some
information about their program in the 2011 Charter year. Your input and
data drawn from official databases will determine the level of the unit's
award. The deadlines for submitting the data are *February 10 for Troops
and Crews* and March 31 for Packs.
If you haven't given your information to Eric, then you may enter it
directly through the following portals in the Eventbrite system:
http://crewjte.eventbrite.com
http://troopjte.eventbrite.com
http://packjte.eventbrite.com .
Only one entry per unit, please! If you have questions about whether your
data are entered, please contact Eric.
* *
Packs may also turn Journey to Excellence forms and recharter packets in at
the March Roundtable. If you have questions, please call Maggie Knuteson
651-430-2034.
*Membership:*
*** *
*Webelos Transition-* Be sure to turn in the Boy Scout applications and
adult applications for the transitioning Scouts and Scouters as soon as
possible. Remember, Webelos can transition to a troop for only a $1.00
transfer fee if the application is turned in to the office by March 31st.
Also, if you have any inactive Webelos on your roster, give the contact
information to the scoutmaster or troop committee chair and ask them to
contact the youth and invite them to a troop meeting or troop event. We
want to give *all* of our Webelos Scouts *every* opportunity to experience
Boy Scouting! If you have not started a Lion Cub Den, it is not too late!
Call Eric McFee (651-254-9118), John Capecchi (651-739-8225) or Josh Ness
(612-209-8666) to talk to us about getting this exciting program going in
your pack!
If you have any small dens (less than 6 boys, including Tigers or Lions
dens) consider a special recruiting event targeting the appropriate grade
to fill out those dens. Scout to Scout recruiting cards are available.
Scouting is always more fun with more boys involved!
*Order of the Arrow:*
**
*OA Elections- *There are still several troops without a scheduled
election. Please contact Tommy I, Election Vice Chief at
tindykiew...@aol.com or Michael Westfall, Chapter Adviser at
mlwestf...@comcast.net this week. There are very few opportunities to host
an election in February. We still have ample opportunities in March and
early April. Remember, ALL elections must be completed by April 15. There
are NO exceptions. Any adults nominated should attend a pre roundtable
meeting at 630 on March 1 for an informational meeting.
*Roundtable:***
Topics for next month's Roundtable are as follows:
- Cub Scout Leaders’ Breakout Session- Cub Scout Camping
- Boy Scout Leaders’ Breakout Sessions l- Emergency Preparedness
- Boy Scout Leaders’ Breakout Sessions ll-Getting the most out or your
PLC
Just a reminder, April Roundtable will be held on April 12th the second
Thursday of the month.
*Training:
*
*Super Training Day- * March 10th at North Haven Church in North St. Paul.
All Scouting positions sign up at Roundtable or online. Go to:
http://grsupertrainingday.eventbrite.com/ for more information and to sign
up.
*Powerhorn*- is high adventure training. If you are planning high
adventure trips, this is the training for you. Available to youth, age 15
if they are in a leadership position, or age 16 to adult leaders. August 1
st -5th , $200 per person. Check it out at
http://www.northernstarbsa.org/News.aspx?articleID=1056
*University of Scouting*- Saturday, April 21st , Lakeview South High
School. Mark your calendars and go with a friend! You will be amazed at
what you will get out of this day of training!
*Notes from the District Chair*
* *
1. I recently learned of the death of Bernie Johnson, a long time and
dedicated East Side Scouter, on Sunday, January 22. His funeral took place
the following Thursday. Al Linder, another East Sider, wrote of Bernie: "I
met Bernie in 1958. I bought gas from him for my telephone truck. He talked
scouting the entire time he filled my tank. Five years later I became an
Assistant Scoutmaster. Greater East Side District. Bernie had an impact on
the lives of hundreds of young men." Scouting has lost a real advocate for
the program and our youth, and all Scouters have lost a friend.
1. Great Rivers Scouts and Scouters continue to be recognized for their
service. Ellen Aeling, a volunteer with Troop and Crew 294, and Mike
Westfall, the adviser for our Order of the Arrow Chapter, will receive the
Silver Beaver Award, Scouting's highest volunteer honor at the Council
level, at the March 31 Council Court of Recognition. Antonio Vandal, a
Webelos Scout with Pack 515, received the National Certificate of Merit for
putting scouting skills to work to assist others. Antonio put newly
acquired canoeing skills to the test as he and his dad helped a youth who
had fallen out of a capsized canoe without a personal flotation device.
CONGRATULATIONS to these great examples of Great Rivers Scouting.
