News Briefs

BSA names Mazzuca as new Chief Scout Executive

Robert J. Mazzuca became the BSA’s Chief Scout Executive Sept. 1. He was promoted to the organization’s top professional position from his most recent role as assis­tant Chief Scout Executive.


Robert J. Mazzuca
Robert J. Mazzuca
Mazzuca is an Eagle Scout and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, Calif. He began his Scouting carreer in 1971 in Modesto, Calif., where he served as a district executive and an Exploring executive. He became the Exploring director in Sacramento in 1975 and eventually served as a field director and the director of field service.

In 1983, Mazzuca became the Scout executive in Stockton, Calif., before serving as an area director in the Western Region and Scout executive in Sacramento. In 1992, he became the assistant regional director for the Southern Region and in 1995, the Scout executive in Pittsburgh.

Mazzuca and his wife have two sons.


Enter Our ‘Wonderful World of Scouting’ Photo Contest

Photo contestThere’s still time to enter Scouting magazine’s photo contest. The theme is “Wonderful World of Scouting,” and it applies to all BSA programs: Cub Scouting, Boy Scouting, Varsity Scouting, and Venturing.

The contest is open to all registered adult BSA members, and entries must be received by Oct. 1, 2007.

Winners receive BSA Supply Group gift cards and have their photographs published in Scouting’s March-April 2008 issue and on the magazine’s Web site, www.scoutingmagazine.org, where the complete rules and regulations for entering are available.


Illinois Scouter Receives Woods Services Award

Kathleen Marie Henderson of Aurora, Ill., is the 2007 recipient of the Woods Services Award, presented by the BSA and Woods Services, a nonprofit organization in Langhorne, Pa., that serves children and adults with developmental, emotional, and brain-injury related disabilities. She received the award for exceptional service and leadership to Scouts with disabilities.


Kathleen Marie Henderson
Kathleen Marie Henderson
Since 2000, Henderson has been involved in Scouting on a unit, district, and council level in a variety of positions. She has served as a district training committee member, unit commissioner, district special-needs coordinator, and council special-needs committee member.

Several years ago, while making a presentation about Scouting to her local school district special-needs PTA, she met a member of the International Order of the Alhambra, a fraternal organization dedicated to enriching the lives of those with disabilities. An informal partnership was created, and Henderson helped form several Scouting units that now serve more than 1,000 Scouts with special needs.

She was also instrumental in developing the goals, mission statement, and objectives for the Three Fires Council’s special-needs committee and in recruiting volunteers from Scouters, Scouts, and the community to be involved with the program.

As a result, Scouts with disabilities now earn awards and participate in all Scouting activities, such as the annual Christmas party, Lake Michigan boat cruise, zoo visits, baseball games, and more.

Henderson has been recognized with the unit commissioner Arrow­head Honor, the District Award of Merit, and the Silver Beaver Award for her service to youth in the council; and by the International Order of the Alhambra with the St. Francis Award for outstanding leadership in support of youth with disabilities.


NUMBERS

16 — years the East Carolina Council (Kinston, N.C.) has hosted a Wild Game and Seafood Feast fund-raising event. The 2007 feast in March at the Pitt County Fairgrounds in Greenville, N.C., succeeded in raising more than $14,000 to fund council programs. Sponsored by local businesses and individuals, it featured the usual menu of wild, exotic game and seafood, plus hunting, fishing, and boating equipment and other items as door prizes and for auction.

58 — consecutive years the Gravois Trail District of the Greater St. Louis Area Council has hosted a Memorial Day Good Turn in which Scouts place U.S. flags on the graves of military veterans at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. At this year’s event on May 27, following a procession and 30-minute memorial ceremony, some 5,500 Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Venturers, and Girl Scouts placed flags on 160,000 graves. For information about starting a local program, e-mail nebgmike@netzero.com.


Carolina Scout named American Legion’s ‘Eagle Scout of the Year’


Welland Dane Burnside
Welland Dand Burnside
Welland Dane Burnside
, 19, is the American Legion’s Eagle Scout of the Year for 2007, a national award that includes a $10,000 college scholarship. Burnside is a member of Crew 312, chartered to Belin Memorial United Methodist Church in Murrells Inlet, S.C.

The award, presented annually to an Eagle Scout selected from a nationwide field of candidates, was announced in May during an American Legion board of directors meeting in Indianapolis.

A senior honor student and star athlete at Maple Hill High School, Burnside earned his Eagle Scout rank by tackling a long list of conservation-related tasks at nearby Myrtle Beach State Park. These included clearing overgrown nature trails, removing unwanted plants and vines from the park pond, securing an ongoing supply of mulch for pathways, repairing and replacing neglected birdhouses, and installing redwood benches for park visitors.

Despite his youth, Burnside already has a long record of charity work and service projects, American Legion officials noted. Seven years ago, he and his sister, Aubyn, established a program called “Suitcases for Kids” to provide luggage for foster children. As they moved from place to place, many of those children had only plastic bags to carry their possessions. Today, the nonprofit program operates in all 50 states and 83 foreign countries.

The American Legion, an active supporter of Scouting since 1919, is the chartered organization for more than 2,700 BSA units across the country, serving 73,500 young people.


Centennial Program Emphasizes Quality

The goal of the Centennial Quality Awards program, launched last fall as an integral part of the BSA’s National Strategic Plan, is to boost both the scope and quality of Scouting as it enters its second century.

The vision between now and 2010, according to BSA National Commissioner Donald D. Belcher, “is to improve the quality of program in every unit in America—repeat, every unit in America—and I truly believe we can accomplish this.”

While many units have participated in the Centennial Quality Awards program in 2007, its initial year, hundreds more are expected to fill out the simple commitment forms, available at all local Scout council service centers and online at www.scouting.org, to join.

“This fall is an ideal time for units that haven’t yet signed up for the program to get involved,” said Keith Christopher, director of Leadership Support Service at BSA national office. The deadline for submitting commitment forms for next year is Feb. 15, 2008.

“The beauty of this program is that each committed unit sets its own goals and priorities for improvement, rather than being bound to [prescribed] levels or percentages,” Christopher pointed out. “No quotas are forced on anybody. If you show improvement over last year for each criterion based on the goals you designate, you earn the award. This flexibility is one reason that participating councils and units say they love the program.”

All members of award-winning units will receive recognition patches color-coded for their years of participation, and units will receive color-coded ribbon/streamers for each participating year—red for 2007, white for 2008, blue for 2009, and red, white, and blue for 2010.

Lapel pins and plaques for each year are also available to order, and a special recognition is being developed for units qualifying all four years.

As a part of the National Strategic Plan, each of the four years has a special focus, Christopher said. The focus for 2007 is on helping each local council become fiscally sound, and 2008 will feature a campaign to add one million new BSA volunteers.

In 2009, the BSA will salute its chartered organizations and other strategic alliances, and 2010 will be devoted to celebrating the BSA’s 100th birthday.

Meeting the goal of recruiting a million more volunteers over the next three years will be a challenging but achievable task, said Belcher, a lifelong volunteer.

“This campaign will bring our volunteers into the forefront, and it offers us a great opportunity to expand Scouting to meet the demands of the next century.”

Bill Sloan



RACE TO CUB SCOUTING

NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon gathers some of his Cub Scout friends for the “Race to Cub Scouting” recruitment campaign.

Cub Scout leaders can contact their local council service center and/or district executive for special Race to Cub Scouting recruitment materials that include postcards, stickers, and business cards.

Visit www.JoinCubScouting.org for more information.



Scouting magazine names new managing editor


Scott Daniels
Scott Daniels
Scott Daniels
is the new managing editor of Scouting magazine. Daniels succeeds Jon Halter, who retired as the magazine’s editor April 30.


Jon Halter
Jon Halter
Halter, a 35-year veteran of BSA’s Magazine Division, served in several editorial
positions on Boys’ Life magazine before moving to Scouting. He became Scouting’s executive editor in 1988 and was promoted to editor in 1996. During his tenure with Scouting magazine, Halter initiated many improvements to the magazine and oversaw the development and debut of its Web site on the Internet.

Daniels, who was promoted from executive editor of Scouting, has been with the BSA Magazine Division 30 years. A native of Fort Worth, Tex., Daniels earned his Eagle Scout rank in the BSA’s Longhorn Council. An avid outdoorsman who has written many high adventure articles for Scouting, Daniels also volunteers as an assistant Scoutmaster for his son’s Boy Scout troop.


Two-in-One Uniform Pants Available for Youth and Adults

Switchback and Switchback2 uniform pants, new additions to the official Scouting wardrobe, are now available from the BSA’s Supply Group for Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and adults.

The versatile pants, which can be converted from full-length trousers to shorts via zip-off pant legs, may be purchased at Scout shops nationwide or from the Supply Group’s Web site. Go to www.scoutstuff.org and do a keyword search for “Switchbacks” or “S2.”

The Boy Scout pants, priced at $39.95 per pair, are made of quick-drying, 100 percent Supplex nylon. They feature an elastic waist with adjustable nylon web insignia belt, mesh pocket bags that drain easily and dry quickly, a gadget loop, cargo pockets, and boot zippers at the ankles for quick on-trail conversion.

The specially formulated Cub Scout Switchback2 (S2) pants are priced at $24.99 per pair and are made of stain-resistant cotton/poly canvas with rugged “jean-like” features.

Each pair is equipped with bellowed cargo pockets with hook and loop closures, hammer and gadget loops, secret zipper pocket, separate coin pocket with embroidered Cub Scout logo, reinforced front pockets, and hidden adjustable waistband. The Cub Scout pants come unhemmed to allow for frequent growth spurts.

The zip-off legs of both the Cub Scout and Boy Scout pants are clearly marked for
easy re-attachment.

—Bill Sloan


Briefly noted . . .

• Philmont Scout Ranch, long a recognized leader in water-management and conservation practices, has received the New Mexico Rural Water Association’s first-ever Excellence in Environmental Achievement Award for its outstanding record of environmental stewardship. The award is the latest in a growing list of honors to Philmont from the association. In 2005, Philmont was named one of the top five finalists in the drinking-water taste tests.

• The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has instituted an online procedure for unit leaders to print commendation certificates for Boy Scouts who earn the Eagle Scout rank, Sea Scouts who earn the Quartermaster rank, and Venturers who earn the Ranger Award or the Silver Award. The pdf files can be downloaded from www.fws.gov (click on the site’s Kids/Educators link at left, then the Educators’ Page at the top right).

• Boy Scouts and Venturers who hike and camp in areas formerly used as military installations or artillery ranges should know what to do if they come across any type of unexploded ordnance.

A Boy Scout in Oklahoma recently discovered some glass vials containing an unidentified substance while digging for crystals in a national wildlife refuge. The area had once been a military bombing range. Luckily, the Boy Scout followed the Department of Defense’s three R’s of explosives safety and was not harmed.

Those three R’s are “recognize” when a munition is encountered; “retreat”—do not touch, move, or disturb it, but leave the area; and “report”—call 911 and advise the police of what was seen and its location. More safety information is available at www.denix.osd.mil/uxosafety.

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September 2007 Table of Contents


Copyright © 2007 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.