Great Trails Council Blog

Boy Scouts of America Seeks Permanent Home for National Jamboree

DALLAS, June 3 -- The Boy Scouts of America announced today it is expanding its search to find a permanent home for one of America's great traditions -- the Boy Scouts National Scout Jamboree.

Securing a permanent home for the National Scout Jamboree, beginning with the 2013 event, is one of several initiatives launched in celebration of the BSA's 100th Anniversary.

Boy Scouts hold camporee

The following article appeared in the North Adams Transcript:

Tuesday, May 20
CLARKSBURG -- Boy Scouts converged on Clarksburg State Park on Friday for the start of their annual Spring Camporee.

The theme for this year's event was Back To Basics. Over 130 Boy Scouts and leaders from Berkshire County and southern Vermont participated. Events featured traditional Scouting skills including fire building, cooking, first aid, knot tying, and compass reading.

Scouts began arriving at camporee headquarters in the park on Friday afternoon. Competitions and activities took place all day Saturday and were capped off with a campfire Saturday night.

Scout leaders put their culinary reputations on the line with a Dutch oven dessert competition. Scouts were the judge of their leaders' cooking skills. Scoutmaster Bill Meranti of Troop 88 North Adams had the winning entry a -- a deep-dish, homemade apple pie.

Judged the top troop at the camporee and receiving the Commissioner's Award was Troop 28 from Sheffield. The Pyro Patrol from Troop 70 in Williamstown was rated the top patrol by their performance during the day's competitions.

The camporee was held by the Appalachian Trail District of the Great Trails Council.

Kid Rock comes to Boy Scouts' aid

Kid Rock 's heart is as big as his wallet, reports the OrlandoSentinel .com. Some meanie last week stole a $5,600 trailer belonging to Troop 631 of the Oviedo, Fla., Boy Scouts. The trailer contained $4,000 in camping gear that the troop planned to use on a summer camping trip. Kid (born Robert Ritchie), along with many others, donated money and goodies to the troop. "I will cut them a check for the difference and hopefully will allow the boys to make their trip," Kid Rock wrote in an e-mail to the Sentinel.

Governor Patrick Will Recognize Eagle Scouts

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.

New Eagle Scout Application

The new printing of the Eagle Scout Rank Application, No. 58-728, has a notable change. Now, under Requirement 5, the name of the candidate’s Eagle project is required, as well as the grand total of hours devoted to it (from page 10 of the Eagle Scout Leadership Project Workbook). The new application will be required beginning May 1, 2008.

The information about Eagle projects will be entered along with other information from Eagle Scout rank applications, and will be stored on the National Boy Scout database. Councils will be able to run reports at the district or council level. This new database of Eagle projects will also be available at area, region, and national levels.

Aging Out

I recently ran across a blog posting that I wanted to pass along.  I think it speaks for itself ...

A scout recently earned his Eagle and has now aged out of the troop at 18. We've had some challenges with our scouts maintaining their patrol equipment and it caused some unnecessary expenses last year.
I discussed this with the Eagle to see if he had any ideas. He did!

MBU - Merit Badge University @ UMass

Registration is now open for MBU at UMass Amherst.  This is always a very popular event and usually fills quickly.

First Aid Requirements for Philmont

Beginning with the 2008 hiking season the requirement for participation is that each crew must have someone certified in a 16 hour wilderness first aid course from a nationally-recognized provider.

As stated in the “Council and Unit Planning Guide” the 2008 First Aid and CPR Certification Requirement reads as follows:

“Philmont requires that a least one person, preferably two, (either an advisor or a youth participant) in each crew be currently certified in American Red Cross Wilderness First Aid or the equivalent* and CPR from the American Heart Association, the American Red Cross or the equivalent. The American Red Cross Wilderness First Aid is a sixteen-hour course designed to help in situations when help is not readily available. Several hours may be required for Philmont staff to reach a remote backcountry location after a message is delivered to the nearest staffed camp. First aid and CPR training will result in proper and prompt attention being given to injuries and/or illnesses. You must present current certification cards upon check in to verify this requirement.”

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Patrol Plus

Patrols are the building blocks to a strong, well-run troop. To build up your troop, add a patrol or two, and watch what can happen!

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New Boy Scout Requirements

The National Youth Protection Committee recommended additions to Boy Scout rank requirements that were approved and will become effective January 1, 2008. These changes will emphasize the importance of Youth Protection training.

Tenderfoot Rank Revised requirement 9: Explain the importance of the buddy system as it relates to your personal safety on outings and in your neighborhood. Describe what a bully is and how you should respond to one. Second Class Rank New requirement 8b: Explain the three R’s of personal safety and protection. First Class Rank New requirement 12: Describe the three things you should avoid doing related to use of the Internet. Describe a cyberbully and how you should respond to one. The changes will be represented in the 2008 Boy Scout Requirements book and the revised ninth printing of the 11th edition of the Boy Scout Handbook.