Holiday hours

So that our staff can fully enjoy the holidays with their families, our Lockport and Batavia service centers will be closed on December 24th and 25th and then again on December 31st and January 1st.

Sign-up now for the 2017 National Jamboree

The Council will be sending a troop to the National Jamboree in 2017. The time to sign up is NOW. Scouts have until March 1st to register with us, while interested leaders have until January 15th to submit their Scouting resume. The adult leadership positions will no doubt be very competitive...we will hold interviews for Jamboree leadership beginning in late January.

2016 Klondike Derby

Be sure to make plans to attend the 2016 Klondike Derby! It will be held January 22nd - 23rd, 2016 at Genesee County Park in East Bethany. It is hosted by Troop 6017 of Elba and Boy Scouts & Webelos are invited.

Details here:

http://itcbsa.org/Joomla/index.php/activities/council-wide/1029-2016winterklondike

Lean-tos going up at Camp Dittmer

Troop 650, in a project led by Camp Dittmer stalwart Jim Tyx, has undertaken a project at Camp Dittmer. They have built the first of 3 lean-tos that they plan to have in place prior to the next summer camp season. Each lean-to will support 4 scouts. He will be placing the blueprints on the council website soon so any troop that wants to build one for their favorite campsite can -- the prints will ensure uniformity  from campsite to campsite. Way to go, scouts, leaders and parents of Troop 650!

Thankful for everyone who makes the Council successful

There's definitely something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving week...it's YOU: Last year, the Council was a "gold council" in the Journey to Excellence rating system used by National, putting us in the top 25% nationally. After 10 months of scoring we are very close to being gold again this year. The year-to-date numbers show us leading all Northeast Region III councils, in many cases by a very large margin. That is a testament to our staff, volunteers, sponsoring organizations, parents and scouts. We are blessed to have so many people who LOVE Scouting. It is something that everyone of you should take great pride in. Keep up the great work -- our boys and young men will go on to greatness in life because of you and what you do for them. THANK YOU.

Our new sign is up

Due to the historical nature of our new Batavia headquarters, we were limited by landmark codes as to where we could put our sign or how big it could be. Nonetheless, it still looks pretty sharp. It is located on the Bank Street side of the building, the same side as our entrance.

2015 Tiger Prowl

Nojay to attend Roundtable Meeting

Attention Scouts - You're Invited to a Special Roundtable Discussion with State Assemblyman Bill Nojay

Assemblyman Bill Nojay will be at the November 12 Roundtable meeting.

Meeting time is 7:00 pm at the Geneseo United Methodist Church, 4520 Genesee Street (Route 63).

All Scouts are welcome, especially any Scout who needs First Class requirement 5 should attend. 

That requirement is: Visit and discuss with a selected individual approved by your leader (elected official, judge, attorney, civil servant, principal, teacher) your constitutional rights and obligations as a U.S. citizen.

Bill was recently in Kiev as co-chair of an international observation team for the Ukrainian elections and will talk about his trip as well.

Parking for the new Batavia office

Regarding our new Batavia office: Parking is located across Bank Street in the big parking lot that is shared by the mall and bank. There is a crosswalk that has yield lights on it, ensuring safe crossing. Entrance to our portion of the building will be had via the ramp that is on the Bank Street side of the building.

A look at GO ART!

The Council will be sharing our new Batavia home with its owners -- the good people at GO ART. They are the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council and they cite their mission as being "dedicated to developing the cultural life in Genesee & Orleans Counties by facilitating the creation, presentation and experience of the arts, heritage and traditions."

Learn more about them at their website: http://www.goart.org/

Batavia office closed as we move this week

The Batavia Scout Shop and Office will be closed from Monday - Wednesday Nov. 2 - 4 as we complete the move to our new location at 201 East Main Street, Batavia (at the corner of Main & Bank Streets).

Our phones and email connection will be out of commission for several days while we complete the move, so please be patient if you can't get through to us. We had planned for a less disruptive move; however, we had to jump on a sudden opportunity to get our phones transferred and the moving truck lined up on the same day.

For those of you familiar with Batavia, 201 East Main St. is the red brick mansion just west of the YMCA & directly across the street from Charles Men's Shop. It's the home of the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council (GoArt!), which owns the building and maintains its office space, art galleries, and workshops at that location. 

We'll send out a fresh announcement later this week to let you know that we're up & running.

Thank you to our volunteers!

Thank You to the Organizers and Hosts of our Fall Events!

Fall Flag Fest Camporee @ Dittmer - Thank you to Alexander Troop 650 along with several co-host Troops for organizing a very special weekend.

Webelos Woods - Chair Tim Bucknam and a team of individual and Troop volunteers helped 200+ Webelos kick off the program year.

Taste of Scouting @ Camp Sam Wood- Hosts and Staff - our local Ashokwahta Order of the Arrow Lodge demonstrated why they are known as a 'Brotherhood of Cheerful Service' with this October event that welcomed our newest Cub Scouts and parents.

Cub Scout Spookoree @ Genesee County Park - Chair Terri Martinez and her spook-tacular team of volunteers helped to scare up a day of fun!

Den chief training: November 7th

Annual Summer Camp launch is next week

Camp Claim Stake & Program Review For all Pack, Troop & Crew Leaders and Camp Coordinators

Wednesday, November 4 - 7:00 pm
Batavia First United Methodist Church
8221 Lewiston Rd (Route 63) Batavia 14020

We'll cover all the basics to start planning for an excellent 2016 summer camp experience!

Get a jump start with 2016 dates, deadlines, fees, and forms.

Reserve your campsite and make a site deposit for 2016.

Schedule your camp promotions visit.

Bring ideas, thoughts, and suggestions for next year!

Colton Meyer's Eagle project gets TV coverage

Channel 4 news did an awesome report on the Eagle project of Colton Meyer. Check it out!

http://wivb.com/2015/10/24/eagle-scout-follows-in-fathers-footsteps-through-service-project/

Spookoree: October 17th

Cub Scout Spookoree is 12-4 pm on October 17

Join us at the Genesee County Park for a fun-filled Spooktacular!

Cub Scouts, siblings, and parents are welcome. We also encourage you to invite a non-Cub Scout friend to join you for the Spookoree and your next Den meeting.

Event stations will include a Haunted Hay Ride, Halloween Crafts, Spooky Games, a hot dog snack station and more!

Pre-registration discount is available until Oct. 14. For a detailed flier and registration form pack leaders should click here:

http://itcbsa.org/Joomla/images/Forms/2015/2015SpookoreeUnitSignUps.pdf

If your Cub pack isn't coming as a group, an individual registration form is also available:

http://itcbsa.org/Joomla/images/Forms/2015/2015SpookoreeIndividual.pdf

Our council president's article about Scouting

With another school year upon us, recruiting underway, and parents of school age kids being bombarded with so many choices, it can sometimes be tough to sell a family on Scouting.  Council president Bob Confer hopes he can help with that: In this week's installment of his weekly newspaper column, he lets parents know that Scouting is the perfect one-stop program for their sons.

http://www.lockportjournal.com/opinion/bob-confer-scouting-the-perfect-program-for-your-son/article_34de10f6-4f32-5c0e-9ffc-2fb3aa14ad02.html

Nancy Berger has passed away

The Iroquois Trail Council lost a great friend this weekend as Nancy Berger -- the wife of Frank Berger -- passed away on Sunday. Nancy was a lovely woman who gave so much to Scouting. She was honored with the Silver Beaver award for all that she did for the BSA. Our thoughts and prayers are with Frank and Nancy's entire family. Rest in peace, Mrs. Berger.

Here is her obituary:

http://www.thedailynewsonline.com/obituaries/article_3d4cde82-65d2-11e5-b648-eb5683427cd3.html

VFW SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

Through the VFW’s Scout of the Year program, members of the Boy Scouts who display standout citizenship, patriotism and love of country have the opportunity to be rewarded with college scholarships of $5,000 for first place, $3,000 for second place or $1,000 for third place.    

Eligible are Scouts who are registered, active members of a Boy Scout Troop, Venturing Crew or a Sea Scout Ship who have received the Eagle Scout Award, Venture Summit Award or Sea Scout Quartermaster Award.

Scouts must be at least 15 years of age and have demonstrated practical citizenship in school, scouting and the community and must be enrolled in high school at the time of selection. All applicants still in high school who reach their 18th birthday during the nomination year remain eligible if otherwise qualified.

To enter the contest, Scouts should submit the completed VFW Scouting Scholarship form that can be found online at www.vfw.org, a resume of high school activities, scouting record, community service record and letters of recommendation no later than March 1.

Send the completed information to Dan Marsh, Commander Post 2535, 112 Caledonia St., Lockport NY 14094. For more information, email Marsh at DTMARSH 1221@yahoo.com or call 716.602.5639.

Moms tell the story of Scouting

Who better to tell the story of Scouting than Mom?

The Pacific Harbors Council and the Chief Seattle Council recruited 11 mothers to appear in short videos. These moms were asked to imagine that they were talking to the mom of a young boy that was considering Scouting. The stories, some of them very touching, get to the heart of Scouting and its awesomeness – and should be used by ALL scouts, scouters, and parents to help recruit more boys into Scouting. The videos are not location specific and can be used by any council in any community.

To see these stories (and have access to them for sharing), all you need to do is like the 11 Mom’s Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/11Moms. Starting September 15, 2015 they will be releasing one of the videos each day for 11 days. The videos will be set to come out at 4:00 PM Eastern each day.

They will also release a newsletter with a promo each day five minutes after the videos hit the Facebook page. Part of the promo will be the link to the page as well as a promo for the mom on the following day. 11moms.org is a website that will also house promo materials that you can use if you would like to.

This should be an awesome tool and I look forward to seeing how it turns out. Be sure to like: https://www.facebook.com/11Moms

Spookoree - Saturday, October 17

Who: All Cub Scouts, parents & siblings!

Where: Genesee County Park, Area B & Area D 11095 Bethany Center Road, E Bethany, NY 14054 (Parking Area B and D Main entrance of the Park)

Cost: $8.00 each when you Preregister before 10/14

(Please note the change of date. The County Park recently scheduled a deer management program that will start on 10/19.)

Registration forms are posted on the council web site.

Round-robin program stations will run from 1-4 pm. Check-in from noon-12:45.

This is NOT a Pack event, although your Pack may choose to attend together.

We're planning for a haunted hay ride, storytelling, crafts, apple launching, donut making, games, face painting, a hot dog snack and tons of Halloween fun!

This event is held outdoors and is held rain or shine. Please dress according to the weather!

A retro Sam Wood shirt for sale at Glenn Beck's store

A few years ago Glenn Beck launched a new clothing line to help fund Mercury One, a non-profit initiative that aims to fix America “one town” at a time. Beck named the American-made clothing line 1791 after the year that the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution were ratified. On the 1791 website are almost 4 dozen t-shirts with random themes and logos. Here's one that surprises....a Camp Sam Wood t-shirt!!

http://www.1791.com/1791-camp-samwood-t-shirt/detail.php?p=891646&v=men

Webeloes Woods

The 26th Annual WEBELOS WOODS ENCAMPMENT

A Two Part Program Designed Especially for Your WEBELOS and Arrow of Light Scouts

Camp Sam Wood
7772 Camp Rd.
Pike, NY

September 25 - 27

The Program:

1st-Year Webelos (Taught by experienced adults, Scouters and Boy Scouts) Your Webelos will get a head start on these activities:

Stronger, Faster, Higher
First Responder
Cast Iron Chef
Into the Wild
Into the Woods
Finding Your Way
Walk About
Webelos will also complete many requirements for Camping.

2nd-Year Webelos (Taught by experienced Boy Scouts) All sessions are designed to help earn the Arrow of Light and introduce 2nd-year WEBELOS Scouts to the things they will be learning as Boy Scouts. This weekend can be used to meet the "Attend a Boy Scout Activity" requirement:

Fire Building
Woods Tools
Ropes, Knots & Splices
Building a Better World
Let's Go Camping!

Click here for a detailed outline of the Webelos Woods program along with a full schedule and registration form: http://itcbsa.org/Joomla/images/Forms/2015/2015WebelosWoods.pdf

Questions? For More Information contact Event Chairman Tim Bucknam: (585) 507-6847 htbuck@aol.com or Timothy.Bucknam@parks.ny.gov or give us a call at the Batavia Council Service Center

Looking ahead to 2016's LDS week

A message from Bob Confer…

Throughout the year we have shared the news with everyone in the Council that we are moving ahead with a Mormon-only week at Camp Dittmer in 2016 that run from July 11 to July 16. We plan on running this LDS (Latter Day Saints) week every year in conjunction will the Hill Cumorah Pageant which is only 10 minutes away from camp.

Called “Zion’s Camp” it capitalizes on the Pageant experience and makes Camp Dittmer a major destination where we can celebrate friends, fun, and faith.

The need for this is apparent and the LDS community is raring to go! We are extremely excited to say that the sign-ups have been out of this world. We are looking at 400 scouts attending next year’s Zion’s Camp with troops coming from as far away as Virginia. That’s 3 to 5 times as many scouts as we have on a normal week. It’s awesome – it reminds me of the memorable experience I had as a staff member in 1994 when we had 450 campers for an LDS week (we’ve had only 2 such weeks at the Camp).

This will be a transformative event for Camp Dittmer, one that redefines its future and changes the type of programming and facilities that will be offered not only during Zion's Camp, but all “regular weeks” as well.

There is a lot of work that needs to be done – we will be working with various committees and work crews to address those needs up to (and beyond) the big event. If you’d like to volunteer to participate on any work crews, please email me at bob@conferplastics.com and I will your share info with the appropriate committees in charge of those tasks.

In the coming months and years we will address some of the items on our “wish list” that will become a definite “to-do” list because of this event and what comes from it….like re-opening Axoquenta and Kalutra, building shelters, launching an older boys program, making a family camping area and so much more.

Also, in late-winter I will be looking for some volunteers to augment our staffing for Zion's Camp. We will know more about who is needed and where at that time as the Church will be providing staff members as well.

I can’t say enough about how exciting this is. Camp Dittmer is a place I love dearly – it’s been a part of my life for almost 30 years now and a special camp that offers so much for our scouts. It will be awesome to see Camp at capacity, especially when shared with our friends from the Church who have never experienced Dittmer before. They'll be hooked!

I hope you have that same love for camp, too. It’s OUR camp – yours and mine. Let’s show it off next year, and make it EVERYONE’S camp, a true destination for troops from and outside of our Council.

Schuth brothers become Eagle Scouts

Two Boy Scouts from Kendall Troop 94 became Eagle Scouts at their Court of Honor on Monday, August 10. Matthew Schuth and his brother Nicholas Schuth, sons of David and Cathy Schuth, were also recognized for their achievement by Assemblyman Steve Hawley.

Matthew and Nicholas have an older brother, Michael, who is also an Eagle Scout.

Matthew's Eagle project was building a picture place at the Kendall Community Park. Beginning by clearing trees and brush, the site was then backfilled for planting arborvitaes. A foundation and concrete pad from a former building are the base for a vinyl Arbor and are accessible by the stone walkway. This low maintenance backdrop has already been used for many formal photographs.

Nicholas' Eagle project was improving the Kendall Food Cupboard. Housed in the Kendall United Methodist Church, this vital community service needed additional storage space. Wood shelving was installed to allow overhead storage for light weight items and a full wall of shelves that more than doubled the shelving used for food. All food was removed from the shelving, inspected and placed on the new shelving per direction from Marty and Zina Goodenbery.

Using Facebook to promote your troop or pack

With the fall recruiting period coming soon, it's imperative that your pack or troop have an online presence to maximize your efforts.

The internet has made it easier (and cheaper) to spread the word about Scouting. Now, with Facebook (beloved by young and old) we can share our experiences with countless people in our communities and around the world -- and advertise the awesomeness that we do.

In this day and age, the internet is the perfect marketing tool because, as you know, boys and parents alike are addicted to their smartphones. So, the more often we can put content onto that device, the more often we can have interactions with them…daily, every other day, weekly,  it’s up to you!

Prior to the internet we had to rely on mass marketing endeavors that were costly and time consuming (banners, fliers, handouts, advertisements, newspaper reports, etc). It’s so easy to market now.

For prospective Scouting families, a Facebook page will attract them to our organization. For new Scouting families, it will keep them in your unit. For the long-term Scouting families, it can serve as a communication tool more so than a marketing tool (so they can’t say they never got your phone call or email message – how often have you heard that while leading a troop or pack?!). 

Over the next few pages we will look at simple, inexpensive ways to take advantage of the internet.

Building your page

When making a Facebook presence make it a “page” and not a “person”. A page can be liked and viewed by anyone (which is what we want --- MASS EXPOSURE). A personal page needs people to be added as friends, and the public at large cannot, in most cases, look at the content of your page (which defeats the purpose of your Facebook efforts). Likewise, you shouldn’t make a “group” for your unit as most groups are invitation only and many Facebook users steer away from groups because they are stereotyped as free-for-alls.

To create your page on Facebook go to this link:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php

Once there, six classifications will be presented to you. Choose the “Company, organization, or institution” category.

Then, fill out your unit name (example: “Troop 18 – Gasport, NY”). Keep in mind that your category and name cannot be changed once your page is created. So type wisely, otherwise you’ll have to delete the entire page and start fresh.

Facebook will then ask you to upload the main photo for your page. This photo will appear as your icon every time you comment on a post or your post appears in a fans news feeds. Ideally, it should be your unit logo.

Next, Facebook will ask for your “about” information. This will be a 2 or 3 sentence description of your unit. It will be on your main page, so make it descriptive but short.

Managing your Facebook page

Your admin panel is the main hub for managing your unit’s page. It's filled with various features and options to optimize your page and your monitoring of it.

The “Edit Page” section provides various options. The first option, “Update Info” will allow you to enter a description, which is an extended version of the “About” information you entered earlier. Share lengthier and more detailed information in your description such as a brief unit history, meeting times/locations and a list of names of the unit leadership and phone numbers and emails for the unit leader.

You can also manage the roles of your page administrators. This allows you to invite various leaders/board members from your unit to be administrators on your Facebook page in order to respond to comments or create messages specific to the unit activities, without giving them complete power over your page. My advice: Allow no more than 2 administrators --- you don’t want too many people involved as you want a consistent message post-after-post and you don’t want someone to put out questionable or errant information about the unit.

The other options under 'Edit Page' allow you to manage your notifications and add page permissions.

Using your Facebook page

Once your page has been built, invite scouts and their parents, local newspaper reporters, community leaders and friends and family to be ‘fans” of the page. The more the merrier!!

To really add some pizzazz to your page, add a cover photo. Be sure to select a creative horizontal image that will appeal to users who land on your page --- like your scouts doing something really cool at camp or a picture of your whole unit.

When posting to your page, be sure to put lots of content -- and varied content -- on the page. Some things you should post include:

Lots of picture from camping events and other activities
Stories and photos of community service projects
Updates on the subject matter of upcoming meetings
Details on upcoming campouts
Anything that would make a prospective scout join your unit!

Be creative.

Post often.

Use Facebook as an in-unit communication tool and a means to share the good news of the unit with the community at large.

Make the posts awesome…every post will help bring more boys into Scouting!

Monitoring your page

While having a gorgeous Facebook page is awesome, you want to ensure you're monitoring how fans are interacting with it. Be sure to respond to comments and messages as needed to ensure your fans know you not only care about them, but to avoid the detrimental impact of ignoring some folks like disgruntled parents and scout-haters from the community (they exist!). Spam can ruin a Facebook page and its efforts. So, visit your unit page as often as you visit your personal page or your kid’s Facebook pages.

Examples

For a good example of a good Scouting Facebook page, check out the Council’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/itcbsa 

Not to toot our own horn, but it’s chock full of useful and fun info, news, photos, and interaction -- it is far and away one of the most active Facebook pages in the BSA’s Northeast Region.

Questions

If you have any questions about building or maintaining your page and keeping it healthy and vibrant, please do not hesitate to contact Council President Bob Confer by email at Bob@conferplastics.com or phone Monday – Friday; 5:00 AM till 4:00 PM at 1.800.635.3213. 

Fall Camporee at Camp Dittmer

If you haven't signed up for the Fall Camporee at Camp Dittmer, please do so now. It will be a great flag-themed event with a camp-wide game of capture the flag, flag football and many more activities! 

NYLT at Camp Dittmer --- it's not too late to sign up!

Silver Lake Golf & Tennis Classic

The Council's 34th annual Silver Lake Golf & Tennis Classic will take place on Monday the 27th at Silver Lake Country Club. If you would like to participate in this popular, fun-filled event, download the flier here:

http://itcbsa.org/Joomla/images/Forms/2015/2015BSAGolf-TennisTourneyFlier.pdf

Pete's last summer at camp

When you go to Camp Dittmer this summer, please thank Pete Scarborough for everything he's done four the camp and our scouts. This is his 16th and final season as a member of the camp staff. What a run it has been -- he has impacted so many young lives.

A change to your Camp Dittmer routine

For unit leaders and parents who, on their way to or from Camp Dittmer, had grown accustomed to getting gas or ice cream at the Byrne Dairy next to Midlakes High School in Phelps, we are sad to report that Byrne Dairy burned down overnight and is a total loss. The story from WHEC...

http://www.whec.com/article/stories/s3844884.shtml

Tyler Davis: Our first-ever youth board member

We recently announced that we were creating a position on the Council’s executive board that will be manned by a scout who is not the Order of the Arrow chief. We want the boys represented on the board, and who better than a scout – one of our “customers” - to offer insight on what we are doing or what we could be doing for our scouts?

We have our man -- Tyler Davis.

Tyler is a member of Troop 4027 in Caledonia who will be entering his junior year at Caledonia Mumford High School.

An Eagle Scout, he has an accomplished Scouting career.

In 2012, he was selected to become a member of the Order of the Arrow. In 2013 he was selected to be the Ceremonies Chairman of Ashokwahta 339 and earned Brotherhood membership. Later that year, he was asked by Section NE-3A Section Chief Kyle Piper to become the Council Vice-Chief of Native American Affairs where his duties included securing a Native American Dance team to dance at the 2014 and 2015 conclaves.

He has also completed the Northeast Region National Leadership Seminar. In 2014 he was elected as the Ashokwahta Lodge 2nd Vice Chief. In 2015, he planned the centennial conclave and was elected as the Vice Chief of Service. At the Conclave he ran for Section Vice Chief and got elected.

This August he will be attending NOAC 2015 at Michigan State University. In 2016, he intends on going to Philmont, in 2017, the National Scout Jamboree, and in 2018 Sea Base and Northern Tier. He hopes to be lucky enough to attend the 2019 the World Jamboree at the Summit. Tyler aspires to one day become a professional scouter to bring the same impact scouting had on his life to others.

Tyler's duties on our board will run from July 2015 to June 2016, when another youth -- be it a scout, venturer, or explorer -- will assume that role.

This is an excellent opportunity for Tyler --- it will give him experience on an executive board at relatively early age; it will look good on his college application and professional resume; and, most importantly, it will give him the chance to give back to an organization – the BSA -- that has hopefully contributed a great deal to who he is.

Likewise, it's an important opportunity for the board --- there's a lot we can learn from this young man and we're certain he has many great ideas to help advance our council and Scouting in our communities.

Endowment campaign

Here is a message from Thomas J. Madejski M.D. who is overseeing our endowment campaign...


Fellow Scouters and Families,

The Iroquois Trail Council has embarked on a fund-raising campaign to double the size of our Council endowment. The Council Board of directors continuously reviews the financial situation of the ITC. We also attempt to meet certain benchmarks based on the performance of similar size councils. Our current endowment fund is approximately $ 750,000, about half of the recommended size per national standards. The income generated from this fund is used to fund camperships and Council operations. We have a need to generate an additional $36,000 annually in order to secure and operate a new Council Office due to expiration of our lease at our Batavia site.

Based upon those considerations, our goal is to double the endowment fund to $1.5 million over the next 5 years. This would allow us to generate earnings of $30,000 to $ 60,000 annually, and help us secure the future and independence of our Council and our camps.

Prior to the start of the campaign we have secured pledges of over $150,000 towards our goal.

There are many ways to make a gift, including by check, gifts of stock, or through various methods of planned giving or estate planning. Gifts at all levels are helpful and appreciated.

To learn more details about our campaign please review the Campaign Overview available our our Council website:

http://itcbsa.org/Joomla/images/Forms/EndowmentCampaignOverviewIroquoisTrailCouncilBSA.pdf

For details and to learn more about contribution options please contact Scout Executive Jim McMullen (585) 343-0307 or jim.mcmullen@scouting.org.

Thank you for your consideration.

Yours in Scouting,

Thomas J. Madejski M.D.
Iroquois Trail Council President Emeritus

A new face at the Lockport scout shop

The Iroquois Trail Council welcomes the newest member of our team. Marylou Maier has joined us as the clerk at our Lockport Scout Shop. Local Scouters may know Marylou from her volunteer roles with Pack 3071, Troop 82, and the Lockport Day Camp. Stop in to say hi and browse our newest selections M-Th 2-6 and Fri 8-Noon. Marylou is also surveying our customers regarding the Lockport Scout Shop hours, so stop by to share your thoughts!

Eagle Scout alumni event

Board position available for a scout (revised)

Over a month ago, we posted a "help wanted ad" looking for a scout who, as a high school senior, would be interested in serving on the Council board. There hasn't been any applicants, and I believe that's because our search required too narrow of a demographic. As boys get older, they tend to be less involved in Scouting, maybe due to the rigors of the senior year, and the "fumes" -- perfume, gas fumes, and grill fumes (or girls, cars, and jobs). So, there are too few high school seniors in Scouting.

We have expanded the search and allow anyone who will be a high school junior or senior in 2015-2016 to apply.  

Here is the modified request...

We will be creating a position on the Council’s executive board which will be manned by a scout. We want the boys represented on the board, and who better than a scout – one of our “customers” - to offer insight on what we are doing or what we could be doing for our scouts?

This position will be available to an active scout regardless of rank (he does not have to be an Eagle) who will be a high school junior or senior during the 2015-2016 school year. His duties will run from July 2015 to June 2016.

The board typically meets 6 to 8 times a year on the fourth Tuesday at 7:00 PM at the Batavia service center. On the off month, the much smaller executive committee, which he will not be a part of, meets in place of the full board. We typically have August off for summer break, and this year we will be having our first ever board retreat at Camp Sam Wood on July 18^th and 19^th at which board members will receive training, work on strategic planning and conduct a service project. Beyond those meetings and get-togethers, the scout might find himself interested in helping out with any of our various committees (finance, membership, properties, etc.).

This is an excellent opportunity for the scout who will be selected…it will give him experience on an executive board at relatively early age; it will look good on his college application and professional resume; and, most importantly, it will give him the chance to give back to an organization – the BSA -- that has hopefully contributed a great deal to who he is.

We will be accepting applications until June 21st from which we will select one scout. Interested parties should send a letter via email to Scout Executive Jim McMullen (jmcmulle@bsamail.org) and Council President Bob Confer (bob@conferplastics.com). In that letter, please give us a brief bio and a rundown on your scouting history, tell us why you are interested in the board position and please describe how active you currently are – and will be -- in Scouting.

Jamboree registration is now open

It might be 2 years away, but it's time to start thinking about the National Jamboree. The Council will be sending two contingents to the event. Sign-up is open now. If interested, apply and budget accordingly. It shows a $975 fee on the Jamboree website -- that's just National's fees. There will also be travel fees, side trips, council shirts & patches and more, so the total cost will likely be around $1,500 (more on that later this year). We will begin our team-building and preparation exercises in the summer of 2016.

Here is the link for registration:

http://www.summitbsa.org/events/jamboree/overview/

The Bittners: NIagara County's Distinguished Citizens

Jim and Margo Sue Bittner will be recognized as our Niagara County Distinguished Citizens at Thursday's BoyPower Dinner. Here's a nice write-up about them from the Lockport Union Sun & Journal:

http://www.lockportjournal.com/news/local_news/a-role-model-couple/article_f92f6af9-9124-5834-baab-a8cdb2a687d9.html

Offices closed on Memorial Day

Both Council service centers will be closed Monday, May 25th in observance of Memorial Day. Enjoy the unofficial start of summer with your families and PLEASE take the time to recognize the true meaning of Memorial Day...quietly and genuinely reflect upon and appreciate the accomplishments and lives of our military men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

Camp Dittmer work weekends

Please join us for the May 30 or June 20 Work Days at Camp Dittmer. A variety of projects are slated to be done, and both skilled and unskilled labor will be helpful! For details & to let us know you will be joining us, please email Bob Drury: rdrury@bsamail.org

A family of Eagle Scouts

How's this for an awesome story: Four brothers, FOUR EAGLE SCOUTS.

Check out the nice report in the Lockport Union Sun & Journal:

http://www.lockportjournal.com/news/local_news/four-eagle-scouts-in-one-family/article_09d608f5-5af2-5da3-b55c-97e685659cf2.html

June 15th golf tournament

The June 15  'Character Counts' Golf Tournament is a brand new event that will be held at the Livingston Country Club in Geneseo. Join us for a day of golfing, dinner, and auction.

Details here:

http://itcbsa.org/Joomla/images/Forms/2015/2015LivingstonGolfFlier.pdf

Save the date: Fall Camporee

Troop Leaders - save Sept 18-20 to for the Fall Flag Fest Camporee at Camp Dittmer. The BIG EVENT will be a camp wide game of CAPTURE-THE-FLAG. Other activities will include a large scale Flag Retirement Ceremony, a Short-Squad Rapid-Fire Flag-Football Tournament, and multiple stations where you can earn your own Morse Code Interpreter Strip or complete the requirements for the new Signs, Signals & Codes merit badge.

Darien Lake Scouting Days - June 11 to July 1

Scouting families and friends can take advantage of great savings over the gate price at Darien Lake during these special Scout Days. Tickets may be purchased at the Batavia or Lockport Scout Shop after April 27 or online from Darien Lake.

Board poistion available for a scout

We will be creating a position on the Council’s executive board which will be manned by a scout. We want the boys represented on the board, and who better than a scout – one of our “customers” - to offer insight on what we are doing or what we could be doing for our scouts?

This position will be available to an active scout regardless of rank (he does not have to be an Eagle) who will be a high school senior during the 2015-2016 school year. His duties will run from July 2015 to June 2016.

The board typically meets 6 to 8 times a year on the fourth Tuesday at 7:00 PM at the Batavia service center. On the off month, the much smaller executive committee, which he will not be a part of, meets in place of the full board. We typically have August off for summer break, and this year we will be having our first ever board retreat at Camp Sam Wood on July 18^th and 19^th at which board members will receive training, work on strategic planning and conduct a service project. Beyond those meetings and get-togethers, the scout might find himself interested in helping out with any of our various committees (finance, membership, properties, etc.).

This is an excellent opportunity for the scout who will be selected…it will give him experience on an executive board at relatively early age; it will look good on his college application and professional resume; and, most importantly, it will give him the chance to give back to an organization – the BSA -- that has hopefully contributed a great deal to who he is.

We will be accepting applications until June 14^th from which we will select one scout. Interested parties should send a letter via email to Scout Executive Jim McMullen (jmcmulle@bsamail.org) and Council President Bob Confer (bob@conferplastics.com). In that letter, please give us a brief bio and a rundown on your scouting history, tell us why you are interested in the board position and please describe how active you currently are – and will be -- in Scouting.