October 2002

Edited by Scott Daniels American Legion Names Eagle Scout of the Year Numbers 'What Can I Do?' A Winning Kid Program Resources by the Day, Week and Month

Jamboree-on-the-Air is third weekend in October

The 45th annual Jamboree-on-the-Air (JOTA), sponsored by the World Organization of the Scout Movement, will take place Oct. 19-20.

Thousands of amateur radio stations and nearly a half million Scouts and Guides will participate around the world. In the United States, some Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts participate as guests of local amateur (ham) radio operators. Other ham operators set up stations at BSA district and council events scheduled to coincide with JOTA.

JOTA frequencies are SSB (phone) 3.940, 7.290, 14.290, 18.140, 21.360, 24.960, and 28.390 MHz. CW (Morse code) frequencies are 3.590, 7.030, 14.070, 18.080, 21.140, 24.910, and 28.190 MHz.

Free postcard-size certificates are available from Jamboree-on-the-Air Certificate Cards, S221, 1325 W. Walnut Hill Ln., P.O. Box 152079, Irving, TX 75015-2079. Enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope large enough to hold the number of cards ordered. All orders must be received by Jan. 31, 2003.

JOTA patches ($3.25 each, postpaid) are also available from the same address. Send check or money order, payable to Boy Scouts of America, by Jan. 31, 2003.

More information is available at www.scouting.org/international/jota.html.

New Mexico Scouter is recognized for service to youth with disabilities

Frederick B. Hampton of Albuquerque, N.M., is the 2002 recipient of the Woods Services Award.

Frederick B. Hampton

Presented by the BSA and the Woods Services and Residential Treatment Center, Langhorne, Pa., the award recognizes exceptional service and leadership to Scouts with disabilities.

During 23 years of service, Hampton has impacted the lives of hundreds of youth with various disabilities and influenced the disability awareness of thousands of non-disabled youth. He was instrumental in organizing and leading a Boy Scout troop for youth with cerebral palsy in Peapack, N.J., and two Cub Scout packs for mentally challenged boys in Westchester County, N.Y. In each case, he paired the pack or troop with a unit of Scouts without disabilities.

Hampton has been the chairman of the disability challenge activity at four national Boy Scout jamborees and serves as a Disabilities Awareness merit badge counselor. He has provided an annual camp program for children with Down syndrome and for the past three years has served as council coordinator of Scouting for youth with disabilities.

Hampton is also active in AT&T Telephone Pioneers of America, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Junior Achievement, Friends of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, and the Rio Rancho Presbyterian Church.

Boys' Life Quality Unit Emblem available

Beginning Jan. 1, 2003, members of units that qualify for the Quality Unit Award and also qualify as a 100% Boys' Life Unit can wear a special version of the Quality Unit Emblem on their uniforms.

The new emblem has a metallic gold border and "100% BOYS' LIFE" embroidered under the large Q. Leaders can purchase it, along with other Quality Unit items, on the Special Order Form No. 14-754.

All 100% Boys' Life Units will continue to receive a recognition ribbon for the unit flagpole at no cost.

Scout service projects honored by Prudential

After investigating many possibilities for his Eagle Scout service project, Stuart Kissick, 17, of Troop 181 in Yankton, S.D., decided to make a local bike trail accessible to the disabled by planning and coordinating the construction of a deck and safety railings to a bridge at the trailhead.

"I wanted to build something outdoors that people could enjoy and would last a long time," Stuart said. "A man in a wheelchair was close to tears as he thanked us for doing something most people take for granted."

In recognition, Stuart was named one of the two students from his state among the 104 finalists for The 2002 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. The program annually recognizes high school and middle school students for outstanding volunteer community service.

Sponsored by Prudential in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals, it drew more than 28,000 applications in 2002.

Two honorees from each state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico are named in February. In May in Washington, D.C., 10 of 104 finalists are named national winners.

Adam Beck, 18, of Troop 123 in Copper Canyon, Tex., was also named an honoree from his state for his efforts and those of 4-H members and Boy Scouts in building a bird observation center for physically and mentally challenged children.

Other Scouts honored as distinguished finalists at the state level include Michael Pavlak, 18, of Troop 194 in Rocky River, Ohio, who helped charter and coordinate a Cub Scout pack for boys in a Cleveland inner-city neighborhood; and David Simmons, 18, of Troop 95, Millsboro, Del., who plotted and recorded tombstone records dating back to 1791 for the Ocean View Presbyterian Church.

More information is available at www.prudential.com/community/spirit or from Prudential, 751 Broad Street, 16th Floor, Newark, NJ 07102, (973) 802-4568. Deadline is Oct. 31.

SCOUTING FOR FOOD

Photograph Courtesy of Maurice Meredith/Greater St. Louis Area Council

During the Greater St. Louis Area Council's 17th annual Scouting for Food drive last November, Cub Scout Eric Washington, Boy Scout Wes White, Webelos Scout Ryun Davis, and Boy Scout Derek Moss presented St. Louis Rams tight end Ernie Conwell (left) and defensive coordinator Lovie Smith (right) with official collection bags. More than 35,000 Scouts in 37 counties in eastern Missouri and southern Illinois distributed 1.3 million bags and, a week later, collected 1.9 million cans of food. The 2001 council Good Turn—billed as "the nation's largest single-day food drive"—marked the second year that the Rams' Conwell helped with the campaign; both times his food-drive publicity picture appeared in the team magazine.

Recording 'living history'

Troop 30's "living history" campaign began as an Eagle project by Dan Kuba, who enlisted the aid of the local chapter of the Destroyer Escort Sailors Association in finding suitable veterans to interview.

The association steered Dan to 15 WWII Navy veterans who had served aboard destroyer escorts. Among them, they had survived typhoons, suicide attacks by Kamikaze pilots, months of grueling convoy duty, and life-and-death showdowns with enemy battleships and submarines.

Several teams of Scout volunteers helped conduct the interviews with the veterans. To learn more about the role played by destroyer escorts, each interview team toured the U.S.S. Slater (DE-766), one of a handful of surviving destroyer escorts, which is now permanently moored as a museum ship at Albany, N.Y.

"Today, visitors to the U.S.S. Slater are often guided on their tours by former sailors, who provide firsthand accounts of their routine life at sea and the harrowing action they saw during WWII and the Korean War," says Jim Kuba, committee chairman of Troop 30 and Dan's father. "Oral history interviews like the ones Dan and his fellow Scouts conducted are one important way of preserving the history of these ships and the crews who manned them. Any troop could conduct a similar oral history project with living veterans of past wars in their area, and we'd be glad to share what we've learned with them."

Interested units may write Troop 30 c/o Amity Reformed Church, 335 Riverview Rd., Rexford, NY 12148.

—Bill Sloan

New on the Bookshelf

Scout Camps USA ($19.95) is a nonofficial source of information about summer programs offered by Scout council camps around the country. Published by Pfairco Publications, Palatine, Ill., the large paperback is billed as "a guide to BSA camps, camping, and more."

The "more" includes

• state listings of council Cub Scout resident camps, military installations that host traveling Scout groups, and paddlesport providers;
• reports on the editor's personal visits to a select number of camps and where to view photos of those camps on the Web;
• state maps in color with camp locations;
• tips on choosing a summer camp and telling campfire stories.

The Scouting Way, ($14.95) by Sandra and Jeff Schwartz, Scouting Way Press, (949) 481-1190, is a 30-day "guide to living with Scout values." Each day features a value—like "courteous," "appreciate nature," or "be a good sport"—with an inspirational real-life story and several suggestions on how the value can be practiced throughout the day. Celebrity contributors range from Arnold Palmer to Charlton Heston to Wally "Famous" Amos.

American Legion Names Eagle Scout of the Year Paul Corsello, 18, of Troop 129, Pittsford, N.Y., is The American Legion Eagle Scout of the Year for 2002. Paul Corsello The award, announced during The American Legion's board of directors meeting last May, includes a $10,000 college scholarship and recognizes Paul's practical citizenship at school, in Scouting, and in his church, St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church. An honors student in high school, he plans to study biologic anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania. The American Legion also awarded $2,500 scholarships to Christopher Fogle of Plainville, Kan.; Nathan Evans, Mankato Minn.; and Eric Roberts, Chadron, Neb. The American Legion has supported Scouting since the veterans' group's first national convention in 1919. Legion posts are chartered organizations for more than 2,500 Scouting units, serving more than 75,000 youth.

Numbers Photo Courtesy of Gamma Press 6— lucky number for Distinguished Eagle Scout Steve Fossett, 58, who on July 3 succeeded in his sixth attempt to be the first solo balloonist to circumnavigate the globe. Fossett, who is a member of the BSA National Executive Board, spent nearly 15 days aloft in his Spirit of Freedom balloon, covering 19,428 miles between takeoff and landing in Australia. The Chicago, Ill., businessman and adventurer holds numerous other world records in sailing, flying, and ballooning, and has completed events such as the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii, the Iditarod dogsled race in Alaska, the English Channel swim, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car race. He said he hoped his latest triumph would inspire others to "try and achieve something [important to them]." 12—years the Special Needs District at the Denver Area Council has hosted an annual fishing derby for special-needs children from area schools. Last year's event was attended by more than 430 students from 18 schools and 130 adults. 29— years the Turkeyfoot District of the Erie Shores Council, Toledo, Ohio, has hosted a hike on the 10-mile Jim Nessle Memorial Trail. Named after the late naturalist and Scouter who, as a council volunteer, began the trail along the Maumee River near the area of the old Erie Canal. In October, some 600 Scouts and family members participated in the 2001 hike, which was sponsored by Venturing Crew 257. 45— years the Lincoln Heritage Council has held an annual spring Scoutorama. More than 10,000 Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Venturers, and Explorers filled the infield at Louisville's Churchill Downs and share their experiences and skills with displays, booths, demonstrations, and games. 54th— annual parade and Report to the State ceremonies conducted in Austin, Tex., by Scouts from councils throughout the Lone Star State In February, more than 3,100 youth from 139 packs, troops, crews, and posts participated in this year's parade, after which 347 youth and leaders representing 16 of the state's 20 Scout councils delivered reports of Scouting activities and accomplishments in their area to Texas Gov. Rick Perry. 61— years that Scouts have marched in the annual St. Patrick's Day parade in Buffalo, N.Y. In March 2002, Scouts and Cub Scouts representing units from the Silver Lakes District of the Greater Niagara Frontier Council carried flags at the head of the parade. Parade director Michael D. O'Sullivan also serves as Cubmaster for Pack 517, chartered to Seneca United Methodist Church in Buffalo. 75— years the Racine Scout & Explorer Drum and Bugle Corps of the Southeast Wisconsin Council has entertained the public in concerts and marches. For more than seven and a half decades, Scout musicians have performed in venues as varied as the 1933 Chicago World's Fair, national Scout jamborees from 1937 to 1973, Green Bay Packer football games, the 1955 opening of Disneyland, and events with Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Nixon, and Reagan. 753— frozen turkeys collected last November from churches, businesses, schools, and individuals in Greenville, S.C., by members of 28 packs and troops to provide Thanksgiving dinner for area needy and homeless. The 2001 total in the Blue Ridge Council's annual "Gobbler Grab"—a service event started in 1997 by the A-Ni-Wa-Ya Chapter of the Order of the Arrow's Atta Kulla Kulla Lodge—was more than four times the number of turkeys collected the previous year. $1,458— money earned last October in special sidewalk bake sales and donated to "the victims and heroes of Sept. 11" by Cub Scouts in 12 packs in the Three Rivers District of the Del-Mar-Va Council, Wilmington, Del.

'What Can I Do?' By Olivia Ogren-Hrejsa Lukas (Luke) Grine is a compassionate kid who showed how much one 10-year-old can affect people. Watching TV reports of rescue efforts following the attacks of Sept. 11, he saw rescue workers cut their hands digging through the rubble at Ground Zero. That was enough to send him into action. Luke Grine displays the plaque and other mementos received from Ground Zero rescue workers in gratitude for the 1,200 pairs of protective gloves collected and sent to New York by Luke and his fellow Cub Scouts in Pack 187 in Baltimore, Ohio. Photograph Courtesy of the Grine Family Luke distributed fliers around his hometown of Baltimore, Ohio. Then, dragging his wagon with an American flag stuck on the back, he went door to door, collecting 400 pairs of gloves from the residents. It was more than his wagon could carry. Despite the number of gloves, Luke wanted to personalize each pair. With the help of his mother, Terri, he stuffed a penny and thank-you note into a finger of one glove in each pair. The note explained that he and his neighbors did not want any of the rescuers' hands to bleed while they were searching for survivors. The penny was to bring them luck. Soon the collection was off to New York. The rescue workers were touched by Luke's work and his personal message. They wrote. They called. They sent gifts. All were thankful. The pack Luke belongs to, 187, renewed the drive, collecting 800 additional pairs of gloves. The Cub Scouts also added a penny and note to each pair. Then Luke and his father, Cubmaster Bill Grine, traveled to New York to deliver the new supply of gloves. Word had spread about what Luke had done, and rescue workers wanted to meet him. Luke and his dad were given a special tour of Ground Zero, where they met many of the people who were helped by the glove drive. Weeks later, one of those workers came to Ohio to visit Luke and his fellow Cub Scouts. Dominick Maggiore, a lieutenant for the New York City Fire Department Emergency Medical Services, thanked the Cub Scouts for their work and said he was deeply touched by the note he found in his pair of gloves, which was written by Tiger Cub Joshua Matthews. Maggiore had noticed that the number on his badge, 187, was also the number of Joshua's pack. "I think it was meant for me to get that particular pair of gloves," he wrote to Joshua the day after receiving the note. "I will always keep your letter and penny in my helmet; they will be my shield/lucky charm forever." Maggiore presented the pack with appreciation plaques from the Basil Joint firefighters and from New York City firefighters. Badges, coloring books, hats, and posters were also sent to the pack from the New York City Fire Department. Luke's desire to keep the workers safe helped show the difference one Scout can make.

A Winning Kid By Sylvia Blair, staff writer, Epilepsy USA magazine Bryan was a 9-year-old Cub Scout last year when he was selected as the Epilepsy Foundation's national Winning Kid. Photograph Courtesy of the Epilepsy USA Magazine Webelos Scout Bryan Raymond, 10, is always prepared to inform people about epilepsy, a condition he has battled since he was 4 years old. As the Epilepsy Foundation 2001-2002 Winning Kid, Bryan has represented the nation's 300,000 children with seizure disorders and has carried the message that all children with epilepsy deserve understanding, acceptance, and respect. "I try to tell everyone about epilepsy so they won't be afraid of other kids that have seizures," says Bryan. "I show people that you can have epilepsy and still be smart, fun, happy, and kind. In other words, I would like others to treat us with respect." Despite having three different types of seizures that have been at times difficult to control and have interfered with his work at school, Bryan commands respect from other children by working hard to get good grades, playing baseball and soccer, and swimming. His teachers sometimes tell him he's not paying attention in class when he has a seizure and loses awareness momentarily, but Bryan is determined to explain his epilepsy to them and to his classmates. "Bryan is a role model for how children with epilepsy should be treated because he proves they can do anything they try to do. He is very well rounded and very involved in his community," says Christine O'Dell, R.N., M.S.N., clinical nurse specialist for the Epilepsy Program at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, N.Y. (O'Dell, a member of the Epilepsy Foundation's professional advisory board, participated in the panel that selected the Winning Kid from candidates from across the nation.) The Epilepsy Foundation of Kansas and Western Missouri selected Bryan as a Winning Kid. The family now lives in Jacksonville, Ark., where Bryan is a member of Pack 355, chartered to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Darlene Raymond, Bryan's mother, says she believes her son is a Winning Kid because he "makes everyone around him feel like a worthwhile person, no matter what is different about him or her." Reprinted with permission from Epilepsy USA magazine. The Epilepsy Foundation of America's Winning Kids program honors children with epilepsy who have overcome difficulties, succeeded in a special activity, or represent a common experience of children with this disorder. The national Winning Kid is selected from the Winning Kids (children age 5 to 10 with epilepsy who are named by foundation affiliates) and represents the nation's children with epilepsy for 12 months, beginning in November, National Epilepsy Month. More information is available at the Epilepsy Foundation's Web site, www.epilepsyfoundation.org, or from Epilepsy Foundation of America, 4351 Garden City Dr., Landover, MD 20785-7223; phone (301) 459-3700 or (800) 332-1000.

Program Resources by the Day, Week and Month OCTOBER: Chow down. Studies show kids who dine with the folks during Eat Better, Eat Together Month will eat more nutritiously, do better in school, and have fewer behavior problems. For an online tool kit with tips on simple, nutritious eating, see "Network Activities" at www.puyallup.wsu.edu/nutrition, the Nutrition Education Network of Washington site. OCT. 4: Have a happy day. Harvey Ball, creator of the "smiley face" icon, also thought up World Smile Day. The day's theme is: "Do an act of kindness. Help one person smile." For celebration ideas, see www.worldsmileday.com. OCT. 6: Reach across the generations. Get ideas and promotional materials for celebrating Intergeneration Day, an event to connect the old with the young, from the Intergeneration Foundation. See www.intergenerationday.org or call (719) 282-8190. OCT. 6-12: Don't let sparks fly. Learn about the dangers of fire and how to prevent one during Fire Prevention Week. See www.firepreventionweek.org for an online Fire Service Campaign Tool Kit. —Melanie Radzicki McManus

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Copyright © 2002 by the Boy Scouts of America. All rights thereunder reserved; anything appearing in Scouting magazine or on its Web site may not be reprinted either wholly or in part without written permission. Because of freedom given authors, opinions may not reflect official concurrence.

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