Spring Issue 2013 West Central Florida Council What’s Inside This Issue: Dear Scouters, Council News 1-5 On March 21, the Council celebrated the achievements of the 2012 Class of Eagle Scouts and the accomplishments of four volunteers who received the Council’s highest honor, the Silver Advancements 6-9 Beaver award. The annual recognition dinner at the Feather Sound Country Club was a great night for Scouting. The dinner reminded us of all the hard work you freely give to make the Districts/Exploring 10-13 program a success for young people. For a number of years now, the council has struggled to grow its membership and increase it financial support. Certainly the economy in the last few Order of the Arrow 14 years hasn’t helped the latter. Scout Shop News 15 The West Central Florida Council receives a Charter to operate annually, just as you do. The National Council has three Charters it can issue: Boatswain 16 1. Regular Charter Eagle Scouts 17 2. Conditional Charter 3. Transitional Charter Tributes 18 Our Council has received a Conditional Charter for 2013 based upon continued membership Training Schedule 18 losses and operating deficits. Throughout the year, the Council will be evaluated on the following goals: 1. Attain District Friends of Scouting goal of $178,000 by June 30, 2013. 2. Achieve budgeted Council Friends of Scouting goal of $382,000 by September 30, 2013. 3. Grow traditional membership (Cub Scout, Venturer) from 3,576 to 3,648 a 2% increase by June 30, 2013. 4. Grow traditional membership from 4,537 youth to 4,800 youth while maintaining a net unit gain, by December 31, 2013. 5. Grow Explorers from 288 youth to 300 by December 31, 2013. 6. Achieve council net budgeted total direct support (Friends of Scouting, project sales, special events) goal of $447,000 by December 31, 2013. 7. Have a balanced Operating Budget without reducing current youth serving executive professional staff size. 8. Audit completed, board approved and submitted to the National Council on or before June 30, 2013. 9. Attain Silver level in Journey to Excellence moving the needle from 1,275 to 1,300 points. The requirements to be met in the Conditional Charter were somewhat negotiable and were revised and finalized on March 14, 2013 at the Council’s Executive Committee Meeting. Every Council in America is expected to grow their membership and operate with a balanced budget, we’re not in alignment with those reasonable expectations. There are three things that your unit can do to help meet the Conditional Charter terms: 1. Schedule a Family Friends of Scouting Presentation before mid-May. This division is 51% of the District Friends of Scouting of $178,000. As of March 22, the Family Division raised $32,836 towards the goal of $90,000. 2. Encourage your unit to sell Camp Cards as a tool to help your Scouts get to camp, or buy uniforms, books, gear, ect. Camp Cards only cost $5.00 and your unit keeps half. Participate in the annual Trail’s End popcorn sale in the fall. 3. Conduct a membership drive before school is out for the summer. If every unit ended 2013 with 2 more boys than last year, we would make our goal. The Council Executive Board and District Volunteer Leadership are tackling all the other issues in the Conditional Charter. Not meet- ing all of these conditions in the time framed noted will bring to bear serious consequences; the possibility of being forced to merge with another Council which assuredly means the loss of one or both of our camps. We greatly appreciate your leadership in our Council and ask for your cooperation. Tom Stoner Eric Renker William Davis Council President Council Commissioner Scout Executive 11046 Johnson Boulevard Seminole, Florida 33772-4715 Office: 727-391-3800 Fax: 727-392-1080 Scout Shop: 727-391-5373 http://www.wcfcbsa.org Camp Renovation Updates Camp Soule “The Ed Schatzman Training Center at Conover Hall”, formerly known as the Dining Hall has undergone major renovations. A $100,000 gift from AAA Auto Club South and friends in memory of Ed Schatzman, a life-long Scouter and Senior VP of AAA made this much needed renovation a reality. Extensive work has been done to the exterior and interior of the building, including new restrooms. A kitchen upgrade was possible by a grant from Publix Super Markets Charities. Air conditioning the dining hall is the next phase of the remodeling project and will be installed this spring, in time for day camp. This anxiously-awaited improvement will make the dining hall more comfortable and attractive to all kinds of activi- ties in the future. Former Council President, Southern Region Executive Board member, Scouter and friend, Johnny Aide chaired a campaign to raise additional funds needed to complete the renovations. Contributions will go towards replacing the roof and installing air-conditioning. You can help support this project by purchasing a personalized brick that will be part of the new outdoor deck at the Dining Hall. $125-$249 4x8 brick 18 characters per line x 3 lines $250-$999 8x8 brick 18 characters per line x 6 lines $1,000-up 12x12 brick 23 characters per line x 10 lines Sand Hill Scout Reservation The Shooting Sports range is being renovated with the assistance of the Hernando County Sheriff’s Department. The firing berm is being replaced and an air pistol range is being built. Congratulations to the 2013 Silver Beaver Recipients: Edward Covel Jeanette McCullough Daniel Mullett Theresa Ronayne The Silver Beaver Award is the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a volunteer by a Council in the Boy Scouts of America. Year-round Online Camp Reservations The West Central Florida Council, Boy Scouts of America is pleased to announce the launching of the Camp Reservation System which is now available at www.wcfcbsa.org!! This new feature allows units the ability to logon and reserve campsites, equipment, program areas and much more. We realize that a lot of you have a busy Scouting year ahead of you and we want to help ease the process of planning your camping trips as much as possible. Even if you don’t have an exact date in mind, logon to see what’s available. Once you have a definite date all you have to do is reserve, pay, get your receipt and have a GREAT trip! Just a few reasons the new system is so awesome (and important things to keep in mind): Eliminates the process of calling ahead to see if something is available Multiple buildings/locations/equipment can be added to your cart at one time Going GREEN is always a plus especially this day in age, we are happy to eliminate camp usage forms, envelopes, postage, or even a trip into the office The ability to navigate from one camp to the other during one transaction Reservations are still made on a first come-first serve basis (**at least 2 weeks in advance**) Campsite reservations are done by weekends only. When checking availability, check by Friday's date as reservations are made from Friday through Sunday. All payments are collected ahead of time, even the $1.25/person/night (refunds to unit accounts are available in cases of over payment/less individuals attending) If you have a special request i.e. equipment please contact Donna Felsh at the Council Service Center at (727) 391-3800 Ext. 212. We welcome your feedback on the new system and please let us know if you find any problems or bugs that we need to be aware of. Please email Donna Felsh ([email protected]) or Debbie Presler ([email protected]) with your questions or comments. Need Quality Trained Youth for Your Youth Run Program? Working on Journey to Excellence? National Youth Leadership Training Conference WHAT IF: Your Youth Leadership Team had a Tool Box of Training, using current corporate leadership skills within the framework of the Scout Oath and Scout Law to: Set a Vision Prepare a Plan and achieve a Goal. Using SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely). Problem Solve. Assessment tools (Start Stop Continue). How to effectively use EDGE (Explain, Demonstrate, Guide, Enable). Conflict Resolution (EAR Express, Address, Resolve). Make Ethical Decisions Communication Skills Skills for Valuing People (ROPE Reach Out, Organize, Practice, Experience). All this while they Play! Team Games, First Aid Challenge, Campfires, Geocaching Game, Round Robin of Team Building Games. National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT) is an intense outdoor leadership training experience for youth troop, team and crew leaders. The course goal is to prepare young men and women to become superior leaders in their troop, crew, district, council, and other organizations they belong to now, and in the future. West Central Florida Council’s 2013 National Youth Leadership Training will be held at Sand Hill Scout Reservation. The training lasts six days starting with check-in at Noon on Sunday, July 14, 2013 and ending on the Friday, July 19, 2013 with check-out at 8:00 pm. The cost is $175.00 per person. Registration forms are available on www.wcfcbsa.org Paddle Craft Safety Purpose April 2013 Paddle Craft Safety expands the Safety Afloat training to include skills and knowledge to prepare a unit leader to prevent, recognize, and respond to boating emergencies 5-7 Wood Badge Weekend #2 during unit activities. Although Safety Afloat training provides guidelines for conducting boating activities and is 12-14 Leave No Trace Trainer required of unit leaders it does not provide the skills training mandated by those guidelines.