Taughannock District
Baden-Powell Council, BSA
Announcements
Advancement News - Activity and Program - Upcoming Events - District News - Council News - National News
Special Announcement - June 1,
2010
Youth Protection Training is now required!
See the Training page for details
Advancement and Recognition News
- Cub Advancement News: See our Advancement
page for more information.
- New Cub Academics and Sports Program Belt Loops and Pins are available
- Cub Scouts 2010 - a/k/a "New Delivery Method" - a new way of delivering the Cub Scout program to our Cubs is being introduced by BSA, to take effect in the Fall. For information, see the District Training Page and the Cubs 2010 page on the BSA National Website.
- Scout Advancement News: See our Advancement
page for more information.
- Merit Badge Counselor List: Ben Brown's committee's 2009-2010 project to completely review and revise the Taughannock District Merit Badge Counselor list is complete. All of the counselors on the current list have been contacted and are presently registered and willing to serve. As of June 6, 2010, the old list has been replaced - if you're using a list dated earlier than that, download a new list from the Advancement page.
- BSA will be introducing a number of new merit badges
for 2010:
- Scuba was announced in December 2009 - see here for requirements (off-site link).
- Geocaching requirements were announced in April 2010 - download them here (PDF).
- Inventing was requirements were announced in June 2010 - download them here.
- Scouting Heritage - supposed to have been released in the second quarter. It wasn't, either.
- Robotics - coming in the fourth quarter.
- Centennial Merit Badges: BSA has announced a number of specially revived merit badges from the past which will be available only for the 2010 Centennial Year. Details have been announced - see the Advancement page on this site.
- BSA has introduced two new troop positions: Webmaster and Leave No Trace Trainer
- New Rank Advancement Requirements for Scout Ranks went into effect January 1, 2010
- Be sure to use the latest Eagle Application forms - only forms dated 2009 or later will be accepted
- Venturing News - New Joining Age: In June, the joining age for Venturing will be lowered to allow youth to join if they are 13 years of age and completed eighth grade.
Activity and Program News
Upcoming Events
-
First Ever National Venturing Event - see Activities Page
District News
-
New policy to help with paperwork tracking
The District has developed a new policy to help with paperwork. Here is how the new procedure will work:
When a person delivers paperwork to the District the person delivering the paperwork should expect to receive a receipt from the receiver. With Roundtable being a very busy day for all of us and with the huge volume of paperwork and business transaction taking place at Roundtable, usually between the main gathering and the breakouts, it has become clear that a tracking system needs to be incorporated. The District is going to ask for a volunteer to receive incoming paperwork at Roundtables. That incoming paperwork will be received by a District level volunteer and a detailed receipt of what has been receive will be issued. The receipt will be triplicate and with this new policy we will have a paper trail.
Yes, it is true that the new policy will perhaps slow paperwork hand offs down a tad but it is more important that paperwork goes where it needs to and that through this method everyone will see our attempt to increase our service effectiveness to the units.
Sean Butterworth, DE
-
Help Wanted - Experienced Scouters wanted for Taughannock District Committee positions. Openings in Activities (Cub, Scout and Venturing), Advancement (Cub and Scout), Finance, Membership and Commissioner Corps. Long hours, no pay, great job satisfaction. This opportunity won't come again (until next week), so act NOW! Contact the District Executive or District Commissioner, or e-mail to info@TompkinsCortlandScouts.org
Council News
- Baden-Powell Council 2010 National Jamboree Council Shoulder Patches
As part of the year-long celebration of the Boy Scouts of America’s 100th Anniversary, the Baden-Powell Council is offering a commemorative 2010 Centennial Jamboree Trading Council Shoulder Patch (CSP). This CSP comes in Red, White and Blue borders and is similar to the CSP that will be worn by the Council contingent at the 2010 National Jamboree at Fort A. P. Hill, Virginia.
This patch celebrates the roots of Scouting in America, while showcasing the heritage of the founder of Scouting for which our Council is named for. There is only a limited amount of these patches and once they are sold they will not be
reproduced. Contact the Council Office Trading Post for more information.
- New Scout Executive has been selected! From our Council President, Leon Horwitz:
I am pleased to announce the selection of Roger B. Hoyt as Scout Executive of the Baden Powell Council, effective June 16, 2010.
Roger currently serves as the Director of Support Services, Greater Cleveland Council, Cleveland, OH, previously served as a Program Director and District Director in Kansas City, MO. Roger brings to the Baden Powell council a rich Scouting background and incredible scouting spirit.
Please join me in congratulating Roger and his wife Diana on this fine promotion.
-
Our Council Executive for the last nearly five years, Steve Hoitt, left us on April 15th to take over leadership of the newly formed Seneca Waterways Council, which resulted from the merger of the Rochester and Finger Lakes Councils. We wish Steve well in his new position. In the meanwhile, Field Director Gary Decker will be taking over as acting Scout Executive.
-
Training dates from the Council Training Committee through August 2010 have been posted to our training page.
National News
Boy Scouts: A century of promoting Virtue
The Christian Science Monitor recently published a very good article on the Scouts. Read it here.
100th Anniversary Awards Program
For 100 years, the Boy Scouts of America has created a strong foundation of leadership, service, and community for millions of America's youth. Through A Year of Celebration, A Century of Making a Difference, we will demonstrate the incredible impact of a century of living the Scout Law.
Program participants will earn recognition for making a difference in their communities due to their dedication to five of Scouting's core values: Leadership, Character, Community Service, Achievement, and the Outdoors. Through that commitment, participants can earn each of five award ribbons to display from our 100th Anniversary commemorative patch.
A Year of Celebration will take place from September 1, 2009 through December 31, 2010. The program is open to all Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Venturers, adult leaders, and Scouting alumni. Read the patch requirements to learn more.
You can also download the patch requirements by group:
There will also be four historic merit badges - Carpentry, Pathfinding, Signalling and Tracking - revived just for this year. See our Advancement page for more details.
For 100 years, the Boy Scouts of America has created a strong foundation of leadership, service, and community for America's youth. Through A Year of Celebration, we celebrate this legacy and commit ourselves to inspire and prepare future generations.
For more information, see the BSA National Centennial Page