Blogs

From http://blog.ScoutingMagazine.org...

 

UPDATE (3:15 p.m. Jan. 13): Bill Evans, Youth Development team leader with the BSA, tells Cracker Barrel that these merit badges will count as electives for rank advancement. As if you needed another reason to get your guys to earn these.

A merit badge called Computers would sound just a crazy to a 1910 Boy Scout as a merit badge called Tracking sounds to Scouts today. That’s because the BSA’s list of available merit badges has evolved through the years as the interests of boys have changed.

In honor of the BSA’s 100th Anniversary, though, today’s generation of Scouts will get the unique opportunity to experience some of the activities their predecessors enjoyed. That’s possible thanks to the BSA’s new Historical Merit Badge Program, a set of four discontinued merit badges that today’s Scouts can earn.

Boys can earn any or all of these merit badges:

Signaling

• First offered in 1910 and discontinued in 1992.
• Sample requirements: build a simple buzzer or blinker capable of sending Morse code messages, and send a message of at least 35 words; send and receive messages using semaphore flags at a rate of at least 30 letters per minute.

Tracking

The following Board Resolution was passed during the recent National Executive Board and Committee Meetings in Washington DC:

WHEREAS, the current age and grade eligibility requirements for participation in the Venturing program is 14 years of age and completion of the eighth grade, and
 
WHEREAS, the Program Content Committee has recommended that, effective May 1, 2010, the age requirement be changed to 13 years of age and completion of the eighth grade;
 
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Article VII, Section 2, Clause 2 (a) of the BSA Rules and Regulations be, and hereby is, amended to read as follows:
  Venturer- Be 13 years of age and have completed the eighth grade, or be 14 years of age or older, and not yet 21 years of age.

IRVING, Texas (January 11, 2010) – The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and Dale Coyne Racing (DCR) today announced that the two legendary organizations are teaming up to promote family fun and education through a new BSA IndyCar. Scouts can experience the BSA’s No. 19 IndyCar throughout the 17 race IndyCar® Series 2010 schedule of events including the greatest spectacle in racing, the Indianapolis 500.

The No. 19 car will help commemorate the 100th anniversary of the BSA – the nation’s largest youth service organization. The BSA and DCR plan to utilize the high-tech nature of Indy cars as a platform to promote science, technology and math to those involved in Scouting.

 

Full Article

Interview with Bob Mazzuca

Give 8 hours of community service and Get a complimentary night stay or 50% discount on hotel rooms at all 53 Sage hotels across the country.

Offer ends March 31, 2010

The Details:

Complete 8 hours of volunteer service to a registered 501(c)3 non profit organization by March 29, 2010 to qualify to receive 50% off the published room rate -- or maybe a complimentary night (limited availability).

Hmm... now where can I find a 501(c)3 non profit organization that needs a volunteer?  :-)

More info about this deal can be found here.

Need a Christmas gift for Boy Scout or Scoutmaster? The DVD is out. I don't know what stores would carry it but I know it's available from Amazon and also from the movie website.

The Boy Scouts of America will be kicking off their year-long 100th Anniversary celebration with a float in the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California.

The Boy Scouts float is designed to incorporate traditional images of scouting, such as tents and wooden canoes, as well as more modern scouting items, such as mountain bikes and a zip-line which three scouts will slide down throughout the parade, said volunteer in charge of design and construction for the float, Debbie Bovshow.

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Recently spotted on Craig's List...

32 Ft Pinewood Derby Track - $750 (Wyoming, MI)

32 Foot Wood Track, 4 Lanes, Switch Gate, Fast Track Timer, Digital with all K3 options, with plastic wall, that unscrew if you do not want to use them. We have 3 other tracks, and we do not use this one anymore.

Looking for the perfect stocking stuffer for your water-loving Boy Scout? Here's one: the Scuba Diving merit badge pamphlet, hot off the presses.

The merit badge, the first new one in three years, will officially be released on Dec. 1 when it will be available in Scout Shops and online at scoutstuff.org. It's the result of a newly announced partnership between the BSA and PADI, the Professional Association of Diving Instructors. Officials at the BSA determined that 84 percent of Scouts were interested in the merit badge, and so it was fast-tracked for adoption.

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I know you all missed me terribly while I was working in Illinois but that gig has ended and I'm employed in West Michigan again.  Since I will not be moving to Illinois I have resumed my duties as Webmaster for LakeshoreDistrict.com.  All of the content that was here before has been restored from backup and the software has been updated.  I will begin updating the calendar soon. 

Let me know if anything is missing or not working right.  I do know that the 'links' that were here are not here anymore because the module for that was not updated for the new version of the software.  I am investigating other modules to replace it and will get that up again soon.

Tim L

This is a ceremony I have wanted to try out for a couple of years but... a) I never got around to trying it; b) I was a bit nervous that I'd mess it up and incinerate the neckerchief (which would be really bad if it was preceded by a statement like "if you have enough scout spirit this neckerchief won't burn"); and c) was a bit nervous that I'd mess up and become a spectacular example of how not to play with fire while I quickly learned the most effective way to extinguish burning eyebrows.

Well, BSA National has saved me the embarrasement that I'd surely experience as I earned the nickname of "Sparky"...

It has come to our attention that some Web sites, older publications, and instructions exist for a Webelos crossover or Boy Scout advancement ceremony that involves igniting a neckerchief dipped in a chemical fuel including acetone or alcohol mixed with water.

As stated in the Guide to Safe Scouting and the Boy Scouts of America Policy on the Use of Chemical Fuels: “The use of liquid fuels for starting any type of fire is prohibited.”

Please help us protect the people, property, and environment of the Boy Scouts of America by adhering to this policy. Additional guidelines on the use of chemical fuels can be found in the Guide to Safe Scouting and on www.scouting.org.

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