Goose Creek District Newsletter August 2020 Volume 12, Issue 1 From Bobwhite Blather, http://bobwhiteblather.com/when-should-you-say-no/ Special Interest: District When should you say “no”? • Popcorn – pg 2 My wife frequently tells me that I look for ways to say no – that I’m Advancement always finding reasons why something can’t be done. • How to Apply to be a Merit Badge Counselor Online – pg In reality, I’m going through a list of obstacles in my head that need to 9 be overcome in order to turn that no into a yes. Council/National • James Stewart Good We tend to do the same with our Scouts. They want to go canoeing in Citizenship Award – pg 10 the wilderness or hiking in another state. Our first reaction is to say that • National Jamboree Postponed – pg 11 it would be too much effort, money, time, or any of a dozen other • Family Fun Fest – pg 12 excuses. • STEMaTHON – pg 13 • Mystery Hike – pg 15 We shouldn’t be saying no too quickly. Sure, there are obstacles to Training almost any venture. An out-of-state trip requires planning, training, • Virtual Leave No Trace money, logistics. None of these are insurmountable. Course – pg 18 If the Scouts want to do something, and there is a legitimate Scouting T intent in it, there should be no reason to say no. Scouting should be about yes. We should rarely use no unless it violates the policies or safety rules of the Boy Scouts of America or our chartered organization. But we don’t automatically need to say yes and take on the responsibility for doing everything they say. If they want to hike the Appalachian Trail, ask them if they know what’s involved, how much it will cost, and what kind of preparation is needed. They can research that for themselves (these days, young people are pretty good at looking things up on the Internet) and find out what sort of commitment they’re willing to make in order for it to happen. If it is necessary to say no, let the Scouts come to that conclusion. In the case of something that’s prohibited, like hunting or dirt biking, you could ask them if it’s a particularly good idea. Ask about the dangers, and if they think there might be any rules regulating it. See if they’d know where to look, and introduce them to the Guide to Safe Scouting if Newsletter Key: they don’t know about it already. They’ll pretty soon come to a conclusion on prohibited activities. Likewise, they may decide it’s not Cub Scout Interest worth the effort to organize a trip to Gilwell Park, even if you’re willing to Boy Scout / support them. Venturing Interest Yes should be the word of the day – as long as it’s the Scouts saying it. For Everyone New Article August 2020 Page 2 District News District Website: www.NCACBSA.org/GooseCreek Friends of Scouting We need each unit that has not signed up or rescheduled their unit Friends of Scouting Presentation to do so by August 15th. They can contact our area’s Field Director, Tonya Dobbins, 239-229-8030, [email protected] or Sue Breen, [email protected]. Popcorn Orders were due July 24th, if there are any unit popcorn chairpersons that need any assistance please feel free to contact Tonya Dobbins, 239-229- 8030, [email protected] or Lisa Snip. Home Deliveries - the week of August 10th Popcorn Distribution - Saturday, August 15th - We need your help. Please contact Tonya Dobbins if you can help for an hour or two that day. If you are planning to pick up popcorn that day, please consider staying to help us that day. More hands, less work. September Orders are due - Friday, September 11, 2020 Home Deliveries - Week of September 28th Popcorn Distribution - Saturday, October 3rd October - Product Returns MSSC & VA Scout Shop - Saturday, October 24th MSSC Monday, October 26th - Thursday, October 29th November Orders are due - Friday, October 23rd Popcorn Distribution - Saturday, November 16th Payments are due - Monday, November 23rd (Home deliveries are available for single orders of $10,000 or more) Membership Join Scouting Night Training was held in July. Slides for your own Pack JSN are available and were emailed to all Membership Chairs and Key-3. All Units, please update your BeAScout pins to ensure contact information for your unit is updated. Please contact Dena McGuiggan at [email protected], VP Membership Chairman for additional assistance or help! August 2020 Page 3 Troop 997 Holds Summer Mini-Camp Like many, Ashburn Troop 997’s summer camp plans were put on hold due to COVID closures. But that didn’t stop the Troop from providing a high-quality summer experience for their Scouts while following all BSA, CBC and state rules and guidance. The Troop set up a campsite at the Hidden Meadow group campsite maintained by the Willowsford Conservancy. Led by Scoutmaster Terry Kolb and his adult team of volunteers, ASMs and Merit Badge Counselors, the Troop put together a mini-camp (five days of ‘day camp’ plus one night camping out) allowing the Scouts to earn a number of outdoor- oriented merit badges, including Pioneering, Soil & Water Conservation, Golf, Fishing, Astronomy and Search & Rescue. The Troop’s new Scouts also had the opportunity to work on early rank requirements. Highlights of the week included bridge-building, a search dog rescue demonstration, model-rocket launching, hiking at Manassas and biking around the Willowsford Farm community. Mid- week, the Troop gathered for an evening event, including the infamous Scoutmaster Campfire Extravaganza, an outdoor movie and an astronomy star party. As the camp closed, the Scouts headed offsite to do trail maintenance for the Conservancy. In their newsletter, the Willowsford Conservancy complemented the Troop and the Leave No Trace principles of Scouting: Last week, a troop of young scouts chose the Hidden Meadow Event Field as the site for their week-long scout mini-camp. We were excited to offer residents the ability to host camp at Willowsford, and delighted by the feedback from other residents about the care the scouts displayed toward nature and toward our community’s resources; true to the Scouts’ principles of “Leave no Trace.” They can be applied anywhere, at any time. August 2020 Page 4 . District Rangemasters Needed If you like shooting sports and ever thought of becoming a certified NRA Instructor, please consider taking one of the courses for Rangemaster, Instructor, NRA RSO, Chief RSO or USA Archery. Goose Creek is looking for trained Rangemasters to help with Cub Scout Day/Twilight Camps and other possible shooting sport events. The NCAC Shooting Sports committee has a page on the Council website (www.ncacbsa.org/council-committees/outdoor-adventuring/shooting-sports/) that can be useful in finding classes (currently only those in 2019 are listed though). Also please contact Steve Wolfson ([email protected]) if you are interested. Webelos-o-ree 2019 The date for the Goose Creek’s annual Webelos-o-ree is set for October 3-4, 2020 at Camp Snyder. This event is open to all Webelos so mark the date down on your calendar now. Note: Those that are currently Bears will be Webelos this fall and are eligible to attend. This camping event is designed to show Webelos and their parents what a Scouts BSA troop is all about. The activities will be run by our own troops and can include such things as: Fire building, cooking, monkey bridge, BB shooting and/or archery, first aid, and knife safety. We provide dinner and in the evening there is a campfire run by the Order of the Arrow. For the adults we’ll provide plenty of Scout leaders to answer questions about camping, joining a troop, and camping equipment. We will also hold a Webelos to Scout orientation for Arrow of Light Scouts. The Webelos-o-ree starts off with an opening ceremony Saturday morning and wraps up Sunday after chapel services. For those who don’t want to camp over, there are also registration options for staying just for the activity periods and for joining us for dinner and the campfire before going home. Troop Participation in the Webelos-o-ree At the Webelos-o-ree each troop selects an activity/skill that their Scouts teach the Webelos and their parents during a morning and afternoon session. And the cost? Nothing! There is no registration fee for Boy Scouts, even if they camp. The only thing required is a service project to help keep the event running (starting cooking fires, cleanup, food prep, etc.). If your troop is interested in participating in this year’s Webelos-o-ree, even if you were at last year’s, please contact [email protected] so we can coordinate the activities to be run. We have space for seven troops to camp over and, as always, there is no fee for troops to attend. They just have to supply their own food. For the past few years we have tried to keep certain activities reserved for the troops that have done them in the past, this has often had us scrambling to fill them in when we finally heard that a troop doing one could not come that year. This year all activity slots are open and will be given to the first troop that requests them. August 2020 Page 5 Goose Creek Help Wanted (actually, Help Desperately Needed) Does your Pack rely on a strong JSN to keep your unit healthy? Does your Troop rely on District Events such as the Camporee, Freeze-o-ree and others to help deliver the best possible program to your Scouts? In order for this to continue to happen, the Goose Creek District Committee is in need of your help to grow the Membership and Development Committee.