News Briefs
Jamboree troops will be able to earn an Emergency Preparedness Award
The National Scout Jamboree Emergency Preparedness Award is designed to help jamboree troops prevent and respond to emergencies and aid in recovery while traveling to and from or during the 2005 National Scout Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill, Va., July 25 to Aug. 3.
To earn the award, jamboree units must:
- have all youth members earn the First Aid or Emergency Preparedness merit badge.
- have adult leaders and youth participants take part in emergency preparedness training conducted by community emergency agencies (fire department, local or state emergency management agency, police department, or others).
- prepare and share with members a written emergency preparedness plan for the jamboree trip.
- prepare a jamboree travel emergency kit.
- hold unit sessions on the jamboree emergency preparedness plan.
More information and an award application and brochure are available at www.scouting.org/jamboree/resources/10-290/index.html or by calling (972) 580-2228.
Each jamboree unit fulfilling the requirements submits an application to its council by July 1, 2005. (Applications will not be accepted at the jamboree site.)
Members of qualifying units receive a special patch (funded by Great American Custom Insurance Services), to be worn on the right pocket of the uniform only at the 2005 National Scout Jamboree.
BSA Celebrates 95th Anniversary in February
In addition to marking the 75th anniversary of Cub Scouting, 2005 is also the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Boy Scouts of America, which was incorporated on Feb. 8, 1910.
Scouting Anniversary Week offers councils, districts, and units special opportunities—from Scout Sunday, Feb. 6 through Scouting Anniversary Day, Feb. 8, to Scout Sabbath, Feb. 12—to tell the Scouting story in communities.
Special recognitions, dedications, and other local events will highlight nearly a century of service by the BSA. Community birthday celebrations, Good Turn for America service projects, public appearances, media opportunities, and more can generate positive public relations that help to attract new youth members and their families and new adult volunteer leaders, as well as support fund-raising efforts.
For Scouting Anniversary Week 2005, the National Council has posted a special 95th Anniversary Web page, www.scouting.org/media/anniversary, which includes a history of national Good Turns, historical facts about Scouting, and more.
Check with local Scout council service centers regarding other resources and scheduled events.
Subscriptions Available to Scouting Magazine
All BSA registered adult volunteers receive Scouting magazine as part of their $10 annual registration fee.
Now, for only $9.95, nonregistered individuals can purchase a one-year subscription to Scouting (six issues) by using the online form on the magazine's Web site at: http://shop.scoutingmagazine.org/subscribe/.
Potential subscribers include Scout parents (who are not registered leaders) and others, such as members of organizations that use the Scouting program; Scouting friends, supporters, and contributors; and educators, public officials, administrators, and all other interested parties. Issues of the magazine are January-February, March-April, May-June, September, October, and November-December.
It's also possible to order a magazine gift subscription for someone who is not currently registered in Scouting but who would enjoy reading about current activities of Scouts across the country, the latest news from the BSA National Council, and inspirational experiences from Scout leaders.
Send for a free copy of 2004 index to Scouting magazine
The 2004 Index for Scouting magazine and indexes for each year back to 1970 are available. For an index, send a self-addressed, first class-stamped business-size envelope; for more than three, add additional postage. Order the indexes from Scouting Magazine Index, S304, P.O. Box 152079, Irving, TX 75015-2079. More Scouting magazine indexes for recent years are also available on the magazine's Web site, www.scoutingmagazine.org. Click on Archive/Back Issues and then on Index of Past Issues.
Portable Wall Lets Recruits Climb Into Scouting
The Great Trails Council of western Massachusetts uses an unusual recruiting tool that is hard for prospective Scouts to miss.
The portable rock-climbing wall stands 30 feet high, weighs 5,000 pounds, and requires a well-trained crew and a hydraulic lift system to operate.
 Photographs Courtesy Of Richard Stritzinger, Great Trails Council |
The climbing and rappelling wall is also hard for Scout-age boys to resist, according to Great Trails Scout Executive Rick Stritzinger.
"We use the wall all summer at camp," Stritzinger said, "but because it's fully portable, we can also take it to all 26 towns and cities in our service area. We do town fairs and festivals, block parties, camporees, school parties, sixth-grade graduations, and so on. The kids love it."
Purchased in June 2000 with funds from two grants, the $33,000 wall is constructed of fiberglass and rock dust to look like the "real thing."
"We don't charge for the wall, and we let kids climb as much as they want," Stritzinger noted. "When they get tired, we have teams from a Cub Scout pack and a Boy Scout troop on hand to tell them about their programs."
Stritzinger credits a dedicated team of volunteers for making the big recruiting tool effective. Veteran Scouter Rick Stauffer heads the special Climbing Committee that oversees all wall-related activities within the council.
"It takes a lot of work behind the scenes to handle scheduling, staffing, travel, and maintenance," he said. "Trained staffers provide supervision and instruction for all youngsters using the wall, which is also a great training vehicle for real rock-climbing and rappelling."
—Bill Sloan
2005 National Endowment Tour scheduled to visit 10 cities
Displays of BSA artwork by Norman Rockwell, Joseph Csatari, and others will be the featured attractions during the 10 stops scheduled for the 2005 National Endowment Tour.
The tour is designed to honor local individuals for substantial contributions to their council endowment fund and to serve as a catalyst for additional giving.
At each location, the BSA will host an informational seminar for prospective donors and a gala reception, which will include an induction ceremony for new 1910 Society and Founders Circle members.
Locations and dates for the 2005 tour are as follows: March 3, Boise, Idaho; March 10, Birmingham, Ala.; March 31, Seattle, Wash.; April 7, Peoria Ill.; April 28, Atlanta, Ga.; May 5, Orlando, Fla.; May 12, Milwaukee, Wis.; May 19, Cleveland, Ohio; June 14, Oahu, Hawaii; and June 17, Maui, Hawaii.
On Top Of Kilimanjaro
 Photograph Courtesy of Alan Billingsley |
Youth members and adult leaders of Venturing Crew 53, Lakewood, Wash., celebrate reaching Uhuru Peak, the 19,340-foot summit of Mount Kilimanjaro and highest point on the African continent. The crew's two-week trip to Tanzania in June included a seven-day expedition to the summit; a safari in the Serengeti; and delivering 150 pounds of supplies, which the Venturers collected over several months prior to the trip, to a primary school in Moshi. Trip leaders included crew Advisor Alan Billingsley and international mountain guide Eric Simonson (who is a Distinguished Eagle Scout and a member of the executive board of the Pacific Harbors Council, Tacoma, Wash.).