Comments can be left for any post on the Great
Trails Council Blog!
Comments can be left for any post on the Great
Trails Council Blog!
Entire families, not just Scouts and parents, bring along grandparents, older and younger siblings, and other relatives who enjoy the great outdoors.
The weekend will be at Chesterfield Scout Reservation. This is a 500 acre camp owned by the Great Trails Council. It features 15 campsites, a dining hall, program buildings, playing fields, a 40 acre lake and much more!
This is an overnight camping experience happening Saturday June 14th till Sunday June 15th. It runs 9am Saturday through 10am Sunday.
More Information ...
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| The Great Trails Council recently received a 2007 Centennial Quality
Council Award plaque. Pictured above (L-R) are Rick Stritzinger, Scout
Executive; Joe Case, Council Commissioner; Bill Johnson, Area 1
representative; and Rich O'Brien, Council President. The Appalachian Trail District was also recognized as a 2007 Centennial Quality District. |
The Great Trails Council Executive Board voted on April 29 in favor of the consolidation of the Great Trails Council and the Pioneer Valley Council. The Pioneer Valley Council had previously voted to consolidate. The next steps are information meetings for voting members of the Councils (notably, Chartered Organization Representatives) and the scheduling of a final vote.
Important Information: Some dedicated volunteers who have been consistently registered prior to April 2003 in the same position may not have ever had a criminal background check (CBC) conducted by the BSA. In the continued efforts for youth protection, the National Council will address this situation by providing a vehicle for having a CBC conducted on those volunteers. Please read the information sent to Scout Executives across the nation. The Great Trails Council and the National Council are dedicated to making this as easy as possible for everyone involved. If you have questions, please contact your D.E. or the council service center.
ROLLING STONES rocker KEITH RICHARDS has credited a stint in the Boy Scouts as a child with nurturing his leadership skills.
The guitarist quickly moved up through the ranks in the youth organization, and insists the experience honed his ability to guide others.
He tells British magazine Esquire, "I got to be patrol leader within six weeks - I just shot to the top. That was the first time I realized I might have that (leadership) possibility. I'm like, 'Hey, I'm just going to duck and dive.' "Once I had a bunch of guys together, it doesn't matter if it was the Scouts or a band, I could see my way clear to pull all their various talents together."
The above article appeared on PR-inside.com.
We are currently conducting a poll on the Great Trails web site to find out how our scouters feel about the possible consolidation between the Great Trails and Pioneer Valley Councils. You can get more information by reading the Consolidation Committee reports and minutes.
You will find these at: http://www.greattrailsbsa.org/consolidation/consolidationinfo.htm
Be sure and vote.
Maybe you've noticed the "Stay in Touch, Download Our Toolbar" link on the Great Trails web site. There are a lot of toolbars out there on the net, but the Great Trails Toolbar is customized especially for Great Trails Scouts and Scouters. If you are not a current user of our toolbar you are missing out on a simple tool that packs a big wallop. Features include:
Unlike many toolbars, the Great Trails toolbar has no irritating advertising and it's virus free. It's easily removed and easily customized to suit your purposes, If you don't like or need a particular feature, simply remove it using toolbar options.
Download and try the Great Trails toolbar today!
Have you created your "MyScouting" account?
Do you know what it is?
"MyScouting" is the portal for our members to access to the following resources:
Visit MyScouting.org
Governor Patrick is happy to recognize the achievements of young people, especially those who have reached Eagle Scout or are the recipient of the Girl Scout Gold Award. Please e-mail the recipient’s name, troop number, date of event and where to send the letter to constituent.services@state.ma.us, by fax 617-727-9725, by U.S. Mail to Governor Deval Patrick, State House, Boston, MA 02133, or call 617-725-4005 to speak with a member of Governor Patrick’s staff.
In August of last year, the IRS released new filing requirements for small tax-exempt organizations. In summary, the filing requirement states that any small tax-exempt organization that has annual gross revenues of $25,000 or less may be required to file an electronic notice Form 990-N with the IRS.
If you feel your unit may be affected or if you just want more information, be sure and read the following two documents:
Letter To Units Re IRS Form 990-N Local BSA Unit Federal Reporting
The Great Trails Council Consolidation Study Committee met on
March 26, 2008 with the Study Committee from Pioneer Valley Council.
Read more about
the consolidation
Study Download the
meeting minutes
Here's a great little commercial I found on YouTube
Pioneer Valley
Council & Great Trails Council
Consolidation Study Group
February 6, 2008
Attending: Pioneer Valley-
Steve Nelson, Joe
Tutty, Phil Brodeur, Dave
Southworth, Steven Schwartz and Larry Bystrand.
Great Trails Council-
Rich O’Brien, Lydia Carollo, Joel Wiest, Bill Hart and Rick Stritzinger
Area 1-
Bob Sirhal and Dick Trier
Northeast Region-
Bill Grogg and Ron Rogers
The GTC's Consolidation study group met again with its counterparts from Pioneer Valley Council on Wednesday evening, in Northampton. This was the third meeting between the two groups, which continue to discuss the prospect of a consolidation of the two counsels. The purpose of last evening's meeting was to consider and discuss the information which has recently been exchanged between Councils. The meeting was productive, and all participants left on a positive note. The Consolidation study groups agreed to each now move forward to discussion of the merits of consolidation with their respective boards of directors.
It was agreed that the Legal Study Group begin their process of due diligence and report to each board in March.
The Great Trails Council will conduct a Board Retreat on March 12, 2008, at 5:30 at Spice Restaurant in Pittsfield to discuss the potential consolidation.
Both councils will be holding their respective Board of Directors meetings on March 19, 2008.
Please feel free to contact any of the individuals to discuss your concerns or questions.
Some desirable benefits to our scouts and families by council consolidation:
Neutral effect on most district programming
Additional Considerations
No show stopping negatives were identified to consolidation.
The Great Trails Council is the local not-for-profit organization chartered to the Boy Scouts of America to build and support the programs of Scouting in our area. The Council is based in Dalton, MA and covers Berkshire, Franklin and Hampshire counties of western Massachusetts.
