Scout Sentinel
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VOLUME 2, ISSUE 7 JULY 2014 MONTHLY Scout Sentinel EDITION Western Los Angeles County Council NEWS, EVENTS AND The Official Newsletter of the WLACC serving the Antelope Valley, Balboa Oaks, Bill Hart, OTHER IMPORTANT IN- Cahuenga, Crescent Bay, Las Colinas and Scoutreach Districts and Exploring Division FORMATION RELATED TO SCOUTS AND SCOUT- Friends of Camp Whitsett Reunion and ING IN THE WESTERN Family Weekend Slated for July 19-20 LOS ANGELES COUNTY COUNCIL OF THE BOY The Friends of Camp SCOUTS OF AMERICA Whitsett Reunion and Family Weekend will occur For additional infor- on July 19 and 20, at Camp mation and prior news- Whitsett! This is an oppor- letters, Check out the tunity to rekindle old WLACC Website: friendships, make new ones, and rediscover the www.bsa-la.org love each of us share for Please note that web- Camp Whitsett. With mul- sites, pages and emails tiple events spread over are hyperlinked through- the weekend, there's a out all newsletters for little something for eve- Lake Ida at Camp Whitsett, circa 1955. This photo was sold as a postcard in camp in the 1950s and de- your convenience. ryone! tails the old dock area at the lake. The Friends of Camp Inside this issue: Whitsett, born as the Whitsett Alumni Association, was created to bring togeth- er staff and campers who had attended Camp Whitsett in an organization to FOCW Reunion 1 promote and raise money for the Camp. Over the years of the organization’s existence, over $30,000 has been raised for Camp Whitsett. Some of the pro- World Jamboree 2 jects funded by the FOCW include half of the new Campfire Circle (named in Charitybuzz: 3 honor of long-time staff member, Chuck Smith), an updated weather station, New Listings! audio/video equipment, research materials for the Nature Area, funds for a Commissioner’s 4 sailboat for Aquatics, tools and a kiln for the Handicraft Area, a skeet launcher Corner for Shotgun, mountain bikes for High Adventure, Dutch Ovens, staff lounge fur- nishings, equipment for other camp areas, a contribution to build new tent Eagle Affairs 5 platforms, as well as time and efforts given by individual members (especially Chandy Russell) for special Whitsett projects. Youth Ambassa- 6 dor Sought Register today for the Reunion and Family Weekend! Don't forget to bring a Camping 7-8 friend! To register click https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/ eventReg?llr=qxyrr4eab&oeidk=a07e97f9qpf9fabc759 Information Note: This weekend is for former Whitsett Staff members, families, friends and Council 9 supporters of Camp Whitsett. Scout Units cannot be accommodated at this Recognized event. To reach the Friends of Camp Whitsett call (760) 376-6469 or email [email protected]. Scoutreach 10 2 World Jamboree: Headed to Japan!! In 2015, more than thirty-thousand Scouts and leaders from 161 countries around the world will converge on Kirara-hama, Yamaguchi, Japan, for the 23rd World Scout Jamboree. This tremendous international Scouting event will take place on July 28 to August 8, 2015. The event will provide opportunities to raise awareness about global issues, explore the environment, participate in community service, make friends from around the world, and deepen understanding of developments in sci- ence and technology. The world jamboree is a unique opportunity for partic- ipants to experience an exciting program of activities, including: Global De- velopment Village, City of Science, Cross Road of Culture, and the Peace Pro- gram. Participants will live and learn with fellow Scouts from around the world. They will be housed in tents along with the BSA contingent, but will soon venture out to mingle with tens of thousands of people for two weeks of ac- tivities and adventure….a world fellowship exercise on an enormous scale! “Wa: a Spirit of Unity” is the theme for the 23rd World Scout Jamboree. The kanji character “wa” means har- mony, unity, friendship, and peace. It is in this spirit that the Scout Association of Japan will welcome Scouts from around the world to the 2015 World Scout Jamboree. For more information on the 2015 World Jambo- ree, visit www.scouting.org/worldjamboree.aspx. Powderhorn: High Adventure Resource Management Course Offered Hosted by the WLACC, the Western Region Area 4 is holding the 2014 Powderhorn course at Camp Three Falls in Frazier Park. The course will be held over two weekends, August 23-24 and September 6-7, 2014. The Powder Horn course is designed to help troops, teams, or crews by exposing older Scouts, Venturers, and adult leaders to safely conducted outdoor/high-adventure activities of a fun and challenging nature. The course provides an introduction to the resources needed to success- fully lead youth through a program of outdoor adventure and is based upon giving participants an exposure to some outdoor/high- adventure activities. The course pre- senters are expert consultants, from inside and outside of Scouting, in each outdoor high adventure activity. It is not a certification event. It is for any youth or adult inter- ested in experiencing a unit-level, high-adventure program. The cost of the program is $200 and in- cludes all meals, materials and demonstration items. A $50 non- refundable deposit is required with registration by August 1, 2014. Participants will be introduced to a wide range of activities including SCUBA, Kayaking, Wilderness Sur- vival and much, much more. As noted, youth can participate, but must be 14. All participants must complete several (free) online e- learning programs in advance of the course. This includes Venturing Youth Protection and others. Participants may register at the Council’s Van Nuys Office. Contact Course Director Jacques Behar at (801) 726-5933 or by email at [email protected]. 3 Charitybuzz Auction Offerings Expand The summer’s online celebrity auctions to benefit the Western Los Angeles County Council continue at Charitybuzz.com. Last month, the Council started listing amazing celebrity experiences including unique sports packages and tickets to show tapings. Auction items frequently featured on the site include concert tickets with celebrity meet-and-greets, unique opportunities—such as lunch with Clive Davis and much, much more. In 2014, the Council is promoting two series of auctions on the site. The first started in June and another is timed for the holidays in December. Currently, tickets to a LA Galaxy game—with a pass for a child to “high five” the team—and tickets to The Soup are being auctioned off. Other items that will be online in July include VIP tickets to “The O’Reilly The LA Galaxy package Factor” in New York, a signed Albert includes one child being Pujols baseball and more! part of the High Five line at the start of the While our Council Staff works hard to game! contact celebrities to develop auction items, we can use your help! If you have celebrity connections or season tickets to events (such as a Dodgers game) or connections to very special venues (like Bid to attend a taping of The Soup Disney’s Club 33) and would be willing to help our Council establish a Charitybuzz item, please contact David Lasher at (818) 933-0104 or via email at [email protected]. To view our Charitybuzz items go to http://www.charitybuzz.com/support/1165. Bookmark the site and check back frequently as we post new amazing items! The WLACC Ad- share Advancement concerns; e.g. commissioners, vancement Com- training chair. Volunteers interested in advancement mittee is pleased and district staff are welcome. to announce a The objectives of the workshop are to educate and special National reinforce the importance of advancement, share the Advancement plans of the districts and their procedures with one Workshop for the another and identify areas of needed improvement. Council. This unique workshop will be held on Satur- day, September 27, 2014 starting at 9:00 am. To attend, please RSVP Larry Lynch at lar- [email protected] and Liz Hernandez Current and prospective Advancement Committee [email protected] by September 23, 2014. members from all districts would benefit from at- tending, as would District Committee Members, who Donate Your Car, Truck or Other Vehicles Through Cars 4 Causes If you are planning on donating a car or boat (or other vehicle) to charity, please consider using Cars 4 Causes. When you mention the West Los Angeles County Council of the BSA, the Council receives 70% of the profit from any sale. They offer free, fast pickup of your vehicle—-in running condition or not! They take care of all paperwork and you get a tax deductible receipt!! You can call them at (888) 493- 9186 or reach them on the web at www.cars4causes.net. Don’t forget to mention the WLACC! 4 Camp Josepho (in Pacific Palisades). Each camp offers different, unique and wonderful experiences. I just returned from a week with my Troop at our own Camp Emerald Bay on Catalina Island. I can tell you that all of our Scouts (and adults) had an incredible time. Our Troop is stronger because of the experi- ence, and each of the Scouts benefitted. Every Scout deserves a long term summer camp ex- Go Camping! perience. Our Council does its best to assist families that are financially challenged by awarding camper- Many studies have shown that Scouts that attend ships (generally up to 50% of the cost). The process is summer camp are more likely to advance and stick easy, confidential, and non-invasive. with the program. The same applies to camping in Our camps accommodate “provisional campers” general. which are Scouts that come on their own, as opposed According to the BSA’s website “organized camping is to with their Troop.