Dear Scoutmasters and Troop Committee Chairs:
This is your monthly e-bulletin to all top Scout leaders in the Golden
Arrow District. Please delete or edit items not relevant to your Troop,
then forward to all your volunteers. *** To add a new recipient, please
send me full contact information, volunteer position, and Troop #. ***
*** To delete yourself, tell me your Troop # too because that is how I
have you filed ***
*** Please check that we have your Troop leadership info correctly
listed at <http://www.goldenarrow.org/troops.html> ***
*** Please pick up your Troop mail each month at Roundtable ***
********** ROUNDTABLE, DISTRICT, AND COUNCIL MESSAGES **********
1) JUNE ROUNDTABLE: Thursday June 5 at 7:30 p.m. Roundtable is held
every month EXCEPT JULY in the basement level of the St. John the Divine
Parish Life Center, 2450 River Oaks Blvd. at Westheimer. All leaders are
warmly invited. Your Troop mailbox is available in the foyer and
contains hard copies of important information. What is Roundtable, and
why should you attend? Click here:
<http://www.goldenarrow.org/training/roundtable-bs.html>
2) BACK-OFFICE JOBS: As you plan your 2008-2009 Scouting program, don't
forget to name three volunteers for the "back-office" fundraising jobs
too: Popcorn in the fall, Friends of Scouting in the winter, and Scout
Fair tickets in the spring. These are good roles for parents who do not
want a full-year commitment but can do a diligent, organized job,
maintain focused enthusiasm, and keep good records during a limited
campaign.
3) FRIENDS OF SCOUTING FAMILY CAMPAIGN: We are done! Once again the
Golden Arrow District led the Council in generosity, increasing our
donations by 24% over last year, and shortening the time to completion
by a full month! We have raised over $215,000, one family at a time.
UPDATED Click here to see your own Troop's statistics as of May 30:
http://www.goldenarrow.org/news/fos-2008-troops.pdf
If you would like to pledge electronically right now, click here:
www.shac.org/familyfos
If your FOS Chair is holding pledges, has leftover thank-you premiums,
or needs more premiums, please immediately send an email to
Quartermaster Mike Fitzgibbons: Maytreerd@aol.com
You can drop off or bring materials to Roundtable.
4) SCHEDULE YOUR FALL MEMBERSHIP RALLY: All Troops need to have their
dates (primary and back-up) coordinated with their schools well in
advance! Please turn in your date, time, location, and Rally Chair
contact information to Jeff Hutchinson or Shannon Harlan by early June,
to have fancy flyers printed for your use at NO CHARGE. A permission
letter to your school Principal signed by Dr. Abe Saavedra is available,
ask Shannon or Jeff to email it to you. HISD guarantees your local
school's cooperation on Tuesday September 9 or another date if
necessary.
5) TOP LEADERSHIP CHANGES: If you become the Committee Chair or
Scoutmaster, you MUST turn in a properly filled out and signed NEW adult
leader application to the Scout Office. Until this happens, the old
volunteer remains as the leader of record. No form = no official
change.
6) NEW LOCAL TOUR PERMIT: Please note that a new Local Tour Permit has
been posted to the SHAC web site (under Forms):
<https://www.samhoustonbsa.org/Home/Forms/LocalTourPermit/Local%20Tour%2
0Permit.PDF>
Expiration dates for training are asked for, as appropriate for that
activity: Safe Swim Defense, Safety Afloat, Youth Protection Training,
CPR, Hazardous Weather Training - 2 years
Beginning January 1, 2009, Planning & Preparing for Hazardous Weather
Training must be completed by at least one adult prior to any activity
requiring a tour permit. This training is available online at
MyScouting (<http://www.scouting.org/Applications/MyScoutingFull.aspx>)
and takes 30-45 minutes to complete.
7) CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS: All new leaders since April 2003 have had
criminal background checks. If you became a leader before then and have
not changed positions, a records clean-up project will cause you to get
a form letter. The letter will give recipients instructions to visit a
website, to "opt in" to a criminal background check. Recipients who
decline to authorize a background check will lose their BSA membership.
For more information, VIEW THIS LINK.
<http://www.samhoustonbsa.org/Home/AboutBSA/CriminalBackgroundChec/Infor
mation/Information.PDF>
8) TEXAS YOUTH CAMP SAFETY ACT: Please note that if you (an adult over
age 18) are attending a Youth Camp in the State of Texas, you must
follow specific procedures to be in compliance with State Law.
<http://www.samhoustonbsa.org/Home/Camping/YouthCampCompliancePro/>
9) ONLINE MERIT BADGE CHANGE: www.meritbadge.com is switching over to
www.meritbadge.org. The Boy Scout Merit Badge Worksheets are at:
<http://meritbadge.org/index.php?title=Merit_Badge_Worksheets>
or <http://usscouts.org/mb/worksheets/list.asp>
10) NEW BOY SCOUT UNIFORM: Check out the new retro look in 21st century
fabric: <http://www.goldenarrow.org/news/BSA-new-uniform-2008.pdf>
11) PROPANE SAFETY ALERT: Meth cooks are using the propane tanks from
exchanges such as Wal-Mart, Kroger, etc. to fill instead with anhydrous
ammonia. After they are finished with them, they return them to the
store, where they get recycled for the next customer. Anhydrous ammonia
is very corrosive and weakens the structure of the tank. It can be very
dangerous when mixed with propane and hooked up to our grills, etc.
Inspect the propane tank for any blue or greenish residue around the
valve areas. If it is present, refuse to purchase that one. See this
website:
<http://www.npga.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=529>
********** ADULT TRAINING ********
12) TRAINING OVERVIEW: Our goal is 100% trained leaders. This consists
of a "Fast Start <http://www.scouting.org/cubscouts/faststart/>" online
training, then online Youth Protection Training
<http://www.samhoustonbsa.org/Home/Events1/YouthProtectionTrainin/>
followed by live training "Scoutmaster Fundamentals". Finally, outdoor
skills are taught at IOLS. Other Districts also offer these trainings;
a list of training opportunities around the Council is available on the
SHAC website <http://shac.org/Home/Training/TrainingSchedule/>.
13) ONLINE WATER SAFETY TRAINING: Click here to take Safe Swim Defense
and Safety Afloat: <http://olc.scouting.org/>
14) ONLINE HAZARDOUS WEATHER TRAINING:
<http://www.scouting.org/Applications/MyScoutingFull.aspx>
15) POWDER HORN: This activity training for Scout and Venturing leaders
is like "day camp for big people" where you get to sample a bit of many
exciting physical sports and challenges. The next SHAC Powder Horn is
being targeted for three, two-day weekends in Spring 2009. See the SHAC
website <http://www.samhoustonbsa.org/Home/Training/PowderHorn/> The
Chair can be contacted at scoutmaster@SR637.org
<mailto:scoutmaster@SR637.org>
You also might consider a course at Bear Creek Scout Reservation (near
Kerrville), Sept. 19-21 and October 3-5. More info is available at
<<http://www.alamopowderhorn.org/>>
You can register online at
<<http://www.alamopowderhorn.org/register.php>>
16) WOOD BADGE: Wood Badge is a mentally-intense 6-day leadership course
designed for all adult Scouters. It is hoped that every Cub Scout, Boy
Scout, Varsity Scout, and Venturing leader, as well as Council and
District leaders and professionals, will take it to help you focus on
your responsibilities, identify a goal, help you work toward that goal
-- and give you the personal tools to reach it. For more information and
applications go to: <http://www.shac.org/Home/Training/WoodBadge/>
SR-921 September 26-28 & October 10-12, 2008 (begins Friday at 7:30 AM,
ends Sunday at 5:00 PM)
SR-922 October 9-11 & November 13-15, 2008 (begins Thursday at 7:30 AM,
ends Saturday at 5:00 PM)
17) CANOE TRAINING: Prepare for adventure safely by training all your
adult volunteers with these classes:
<http://www.samhoustonbsa.org/Home/Camping/Activities/CanoeProgram/>
********** EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES **********
18) FAMILY FISHING DAT AT ANAHUAC: Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge and
the Friends of Anahuac Refuge will once again be hosting Family Fishing
Day on Saturday, June 7th, from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm for lots of hands-on
activities including Fishing 101, Target Casting, Knot Tying, Fish
Identification, Crabology 101 - Crabbing for Kids, Fish Printing, and
MORE! Kids have a chance to win FREE raffle prizes! For more
information, please call the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge at
409-252-4311 ext. 27.
From the Houston/Baytown Area:
Take I-10 East to Exit #812 (Hwy 61, Anahuac). Head South on Hwy 61 for
4 miles to stop sign. Continue straight through stop sign onto Hwy 562.
Continue for 8 miles to a fork in the road. Bear left onto FM 1985 and
continue for 4 miles to the main Refuge Entrance on your right. Turn
right and proceed 3 miles to the Visitor Information Station.
19) RAILROAD MERIT BADGE: The Galveston Railroad Museum (409-765-5700,
www.galvestonrrmuseum.com)runs a 1-day program for Railroading Merit
Badge. They will do this by appointment with reasonable flexibility to
meet a troop's desired schedule.
If you want to stay down there without camping, Moody Memorial Methodist
Church (409-744-4526, www.moody.org) has a youth facility with a room
upstairs for your cots or sleeping pads. Downstairs, they have an
activity room with a full kitchen and eating area, foosball, ping pong,
pool, and air hockey tables and a 20 ft movie screen with a VCR and DVD
system in a corner with stadium-style pit seating. All of this for $7
per person per night. If they don't have a church activity on a given
night, they are happy to let scout groups use it. <Thanks to David
Coughlen for this tip!>
********** IN CLOSING **********
20) You can contact your Golden Arrow District staff by email:
Jeff Hutchinson, District Director jeff.hutchinson@shac.org
<mailto:jeff.hutchinson@shac.org> or 713-756-3337
Shannon Harlan, District Executive shannon.harlan@shac.org
<mailto:shannon.harlan@shac.org> or 713-756-3338
The mailing address for the Scout Office is P.O. Box 924528, zip 77292
21) Thanks to our dedicated webmaster James Cauble, the Golden Arrow
District website has a wealth of information: www.goldenarrow.org
<http://www.goldenarrow.org>
Enjoy your summer vacation,
Claudia Hackbarth - Golden Arrow District Troop e-bulletin Editor -
SR-446
"The information presented here is not an official communication of the
Boy Scouts of America, but is solely my volunteer work and
responsibility."