Dear Advisors
and Crew Committee Chairs:
This is your
monthly e-bulletin to all top Crew leaders in the Golden Arrow District.
Please delete or edit items not relevant to your Crew, then forward
to all your volunteers.
***If
your current Adviser / Committee Chair are not receiving this email and
passing it on to you. Please send me full contact
information and Crew # for the missing person(s). Thanks!
***
*** To add a
new recipient, please send me full contact information, volunteer position,
and Crew #. ***
***
Please check
that we have your Crew leadership info correctly listed on the Golden Arrow
web site at
http://www.goldenarrow.org/venture-units.html contact
James Cauble with updates***
*** Please
forward the EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES Section on to your Crew Officers ***
*** This plus
the last two months of this e-bulletin can be found on http://www.goldenarrow.org/news.html
**********
ROUNDTABLE, DISTRICT, AND COUNCIL MESSAGES **********
1)
SEPTEMBER
ROUNDTABLE: There won’t be a September
Venturing Roundtable.
There will be an October Venturing Roundtable on Friday 10 October,
see item 2. David Coughlen has stepped up to be the new
GAD Venturing Roundtable Commissioner.
Please welcome him and give him your support.
The Boy Scout
Roundtable held on Thursday 4 September at
St. John
the Devine will focus on what the Troops dis for summer camp and high
adventure. The latter item may be of interest for some
crews thinking about what they might do for next summer.
2) GAD
VENTURING COOKOFF:
There
will be a GAD Venturing Cookoff on Friday 10 October at
St. John’s
Presbyterian Church located at 5020
West Belfort.
Crews can start
setting up at
4 PM.
The judging will be at
7:30.
We will clean-up and be gone by 9.
Any charcoal must be done elevated off the ground (Leave No Trace)
Categories:
Main Dish
Dessert
Breads / Side Dishes
3)
NEW
LOCAL TOUR PERMIT: Please note that a new Local Tour Permit has been posted
to the SHAC web site (under Forms): <https://www.samhoustonbsa.org/Home/Forms/LocalTourPermit/Local%20Tour%20Permit.PDF>
Expiration dates for training are asked for, as appropriate for that
activity: Safe Swim Defense, Safety Afloat, Youth Protection Training, CPR,
Hazardous Weather Training - 2 years
4)
NEW
ADULT LEADER
FORM:
Last year BSA worked hard to ensure that all potential new leaders undergo a
Criminal Background Check (CBC).
Adult leaders already on seat have been notified if they lack a
CBC
and were requested to follow up ASAP. Below is the link
to the most current and correct adult application form. Should you have any
paper adult applications that do not look just like this version (28-501F),
please destroy them as the
local
councils are prohibited from accepting them.
http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/28-501F.pdf
Remember that
applications need to be completely filled out, especially these key items:
SSN,
DOB, crime questions, references, and applicant signature; the Committee
Chair signature; and the Charter Organization Representative signature.
When you
become the Committee Chair or Advisor, you MUST turn in a properly filled
out and signed
NEW
adult leader application to the Scout Office. Until this happens, the old
volunteer remains as the leader of record. No form = no
official change.
5)
TOP
LEADERSHIP CHANGES: When you become the Committee Chair or Advisor, you MUST
turn in a properly filled out and signed
NEW
adult leader application to the Scout Office. Until this happens, the old
volunteer remains as the leader of record. No form = no
official change. See next item regarding criminal
background checks.
6) ANY
NEW
LEADER: All new leaders must fill out a proper form and undergo a criminal
background check. New forms are now available – be sure
you are using the brand new one, or else ask for the supplement sheet for
this required authorization.
7) SUMMER
MOVES OR PHONE NUMBER CHANGES: If you, your leaders, or your families move,
remember to phone in any address and telephone updates to the Scout Office.
If you phone in these changes as you learn about them, you save yourself a
chore at rechartering time, and the families continue to get Boy’s Life
without interruption. The direct phone of the Council registration desk is
713 756-3328.
8)
SILVER BEAVER AWARDEES: Congratulations to
our Distirct's newest Silver Beaver recipients, just announced: Scott
Coleman, David Grizzle, Kent Johnston, Ben Royce! You can come to the
annual recognition ceremony and reception following on October 13 at
Chapelwood
UMC,
click here: http://www.samhoustonbsa.org/Home/Events/AnnualRecognitionDinne/CouncilRecognitionRece/
********** ADULT TRAINING ********
9) TRAINING
OVERVIEW: Our goal is 100% trained leaders. This
consists of a "Fast Start" online training, then online Youth Protection
Training followed by live training "Venturing Leader Specific Training”, see
below. Other Districts also offer these trainings; a
list of training opportunities around the Council is available on the SHAC
website.
10) ONLINE
HAZARDOUS WEATHER TRAINING: Beginning
January 1,
2009,
Planning & Preparing for Hazardous
Weather Training must be completed by at least one
adult prior to any activity requiring a tour permit.
http://www.scouting.org/Applications/MyScoutingFull.aspx
11)
IOLS (Introduction to Outdoor Leadership Skills): Learn what you need
to successfully transition entering boys into Scouting!
This class consists of an evening orientation followed by a weekend campout.
See District website for details - no advance registration is required and
cost is usually about $35 including shared food costs.
www.goldenarrow.org/training/outdoorskills.html The
next upcoming dates are an orientation on October 1 at location <TBA>,
with the weekend campout on October 10-12.
www.goldenarrow.org/training/adult-pack.html
12) VENTURING
LEADER SPECIFIC TRAINING: All adult volunteers who work with Venturing crews
need the VENTURING LEADER SPECIFIC TRAINING. The next opportunity for this
is in Golden Arrow District on Saturday
September 6,
2008
from
9 am
to
3 pm
at the home of Troxel and Kelia Ballou, 3842 Grennoch Lane, Houston [inside
West Loop 610 off Stella Link between Bellaire and Beechnut/North Braeswood].
Requested donation for the training is $7 (due at the training), which
covers training materials and lunch. For those trainees who have not taken
the New Leader Essentials training, an NLE will be offered immediately
before the
VLST
(i.e., at
7:30 am).
NLE is required along with
VLST
for one to be considered a trained Venturing adult. To complete your
registration please arrive at least 15 minutes before the training (7:15 am
or
8:45 am)
that you will be taking. Please contact Kelia Ballou at kelia@ballou.cx or
713-661-1309
(H) to pre-register or for more information.
Eight adults
have signed up so far. There is still room for a couple
more. Please contact Kelia by this Thursday evening.
13) WOOD
BADGE: Wood Badge is a mentally-intense 6-day leadership course designed for
all adult Scouters. It is hoped that every Cub Scout, Boy Scout, Varsity
Scout, and Venturing leader, as well as Council and District leaders and
professionals, will take it to help you focus on your responsibilities,
identify a goal, help you work toward that goal -- and give you the personal
tools to reach it. Upcoming classes in 2008 include:
·
SR-921 September 26-28 & October 10-12, 2008 (begins Friday at 7:30 AM, ends
Sunday at 5:00 PM)
·
SR-922
October 9-11 & November 13-15, 2008 (begins Thursday at 7:30 AM, ends
Saturday at 5:00 PM)
For
more information and applications go to:
http://www.shac.org/Home/Training/WoodBadge/
14) POWDER
HORN: Powder Horn will happen over three 2 day weekends;
21/22 March 2009, 4/5 April 2009 and 2/3
May 2009.
The first session will be at El Rancho Cima and we’ll have people
there starting Friday afternoon 20 March to let those in to a camp site.
The other two weekends will be at different, closer to home camps.
More information to follow, stay tuned. Bill Berry our course
director can be contacted at scoutmaster@SR637.org if you’d like to join
before the rush.
You also
might consider a course at Bear Creek Scout Reservation (near Kerrville),
Sept. 19-21 and October 3-5. More info is available
at <http://www.alamopowderhorn.org/>
You can register online at <http://www.alamopowderhorn.org/register.php>
15) CANOE
TRAINING: Prepare for adventure safely by training all your adult volunteers
with these classes: http://www.samhoustonbsa.org/Home/Camping/Activities/CanoeProgram/
16) ONLINE
HAZARDOUS WEATHER TRAINING: Beginning
January 1,
2009,
Planning & Preparing for Hazardous
Weather Training must be completed by at least one
adult prior to any activity requiring a tour permit.
http://www.scouting.org/Applications/MyScoutingFull.aspx
17) HOW DO I
GET
MY PERSONAL ID NUMBER? When registering for online training classes, if you
put in your leader ID#, the system should automatically record your
achievement. This number is found on the annual ID cards
you are issued at recharter time. (Hint: The Committee
Chair should photocopy the sheet of cards before tearing them apart and
distributing them, then you have a back-up paper record.) However your
Advancement Chair can look up your Unit's list of personal ID numbers
anytime, if your Unit is registered for Internet Advancement.
************
EVENTS
AND
OPPORTUNITIES **********
18) AGGIE
EAGLES WEEKEND: Twice a year, the Texas A&M Corps holds a recruiting weekend
for academically qualified junior and senior high school Scouts (Eagles or
near-Eagles) on their campus. For 2008, the next date is
September 19-20. Click here:
http://www.aggiecorps.org/home/AggieEagles/
19) BOVAY
HIGH ADVENTURE LUAU: Crews and Ships from all over SHAC will meet for a
weekend of camping, small boat sailing, swimming, hand gun shooting,
archery, volleyball, limbo, great food, a dance, Guitar Hero Rock Off and
more. The event date has been moved to September
19-20 and location is Bovay Scout Camp. The cost is
$25 and includes 3 meals. For more information, contact
Traci Talley, ih4bt@aol.com or at (713-419-6020).
20)
A mass CPR/AED
course conducted by the American Red Cross and sponsored by
Methodist
Hospital
is being offered on
Saturday,
September
27,
2008
from
8 a.m. - 12
p.m.
or
1 p.m. - 5
p.m.
The location is the Methodist Training Center
8335 Lantern Point Drive Houston, TX 77054. For additional details, go to
www.methodisthealth.com/savealife
21) PRAIRIE
PANDEMONIUM: On October 18, help
Armand
Bayou
Nature
Center
restore a critical native habitat- the Texas Tall Grass Prairie. This
important effort will bring the ABNC prairies closer to a climax state of
native wildflowers and grasses.
Volunteers
will become part of a team planting effort. Sign-in
will begin at
8AM
and the activities will last from
9AM
to noon. Lunch is included, and there are door prizes. Volunteers should
be 12 years of age or older, and if under 18 to be accompanied by an adult.
Participants will need sturdy shoes and clothes that can get muddy. The
nature center will provide tools and work gloves.
Pre-registration is required to participate. For
more info, visit
www.abnc.org. To
register, contact Chris Mattox at
281-474-2551
ext. 20, or email chris@abnc.org.
**********
HIGH ADVENTURE OPPORTUNITIES **********
22) PHILMONT
FOR ADULTS: Philmont is open to adults only during the
September through November for hikes (Autumn Adventure).
Need 7 to 12 adults. For more information talk to John
Curry and/or go to website:
www.scouting.org/philmont/camping/season/autumn.html
********** IN
CLOSING **********
23) You can
contact your Golden Arrow District staff by email:
Jeff Hutchinson, District Director (jeff.hutchinson@shac.org) or
713-756-3337
The new mailing address for the Scout Office is
P.O. Box
924528,
Houston
TX
77292
24)
Thanks to our dedicated webmaster James Cauble, our Golden Arrow
District website has a wealth of information: www.goldenarrow.org
Mike
Fitzgibbons - Golden Arrow District Crew e-bulletin Editor – with material
supplied from the GAD Troop e-bulletin, Claudia Hackbarth Editor
"The information presented here is not an official document of the Boy
Scouts of America, but is solely my volunteer work and responsibility."