Recording Scouting expenses on your tax return

The blog at Scouting Magazine has a post about how to deduct Scouting expenses on your tax returns: http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2011/03/03/tax-time/

Niagara Chocolates sale

The council is once again coordinating a special fundraising activity designed to help every Scout to get to camp. Cubs and Scouts who attend our local camps will earn a 50% commission on these sale items.

The Niagara Chocolates Candy Sale is underway now with orders due on Feb 20, featuring an assortment of Easter and other spring-themed candies. Sales kits are now available at both the Lockport and Batavia Service Centers.

Sales kits are available at both the Batavia and Lockport Scout Shops.

Volunteers needed at Council level

The Iroquois Trail Council has some immediate needs for volunteers at the council level. The list of some of the open positions can be found below.

If you know of someone interested or someone who may be a good candidate, please contact Council President Bob Confer and Council Executive Jim McMullen via email. Bob’s address is bob@conferplastics.com and Jim’s is Jim.McMullen@scouting.org

Membership Chair: This is a critical and immediate need for the Council. We have been without a council-level Membership Chair for nearly a year and a half. This person would manage the membership and customer-directed marketing activities of the Council, overseeing a team that would also include district-level membership chairs and other volunteers. The typical workload of this role would be: One Council board meeting per month in Batavia; one Membership Committee meeting per month in Batavia; and behind-the-scenes planning, implementation and follow-up which may be 1 to 2 hours per week of "homework" (which has seasonal peaks with recruiting drives).

Council diversity champion: This new position will aid in our goal of bringing Scouting to underserved populations -- namely, African-American and Hispanic families within our four largest communities, Lockport, Medina, Albion, and Batavia. This individual will work closely with the Membership Chair, Council President and Council Executive in reaching out to church/school/community leaders of those communities and recruiting leaders and youth who will join our existing units. The diversity chair will report to the Membership Chair and attend one Membership Committee meeting per month in Batavia.  

Eagle Alumni committee – 4 total openings, 1 of which will be the chair: This new committee will begin to develop a number of Eagle alumni initiatives from outreach to regular get-togethers to scholarships to events recognizing our newest Eagles. This committee will meet every other month, likely in Batavia, and should be made up solely of Eagles. Workload outside of the meetings depends on the events/activities the committee is willing to undertake. The chair of this committee will report to and interact with the Council Executive and Council President.  

Cub Camp Coordinators meeting

This is just a quick reminder about this week's special Camp Coordinators Meeting, January 25 at the Council office in Batavia, 201 East Main Street, 7:00 pm, in the upstairs board room.

This meeting is for Camp Coordinators old and new. We'll review the details of how to plan your Pack's Cub Scout Summer Camp Experience, how to simplify the process for you and your Scout families, and how to manage the 'paperwork' that goes along with camp registration.

With the Camping season a short six months away, we will help you get ready by sharing all the tools and paper work you'll need to get every Scout registered and ready for Camp.

Key to your success over the next few months will be your enthusiasm as Leader or Camp coordinator at Den and Pack meetings. Any time you talk about Camp it should be clear that Camp is your Pack's summer program, that you expect each boy to attend. Camp is your extra-long summer Pack Meeting - one that's filled with wonderful, once a year activities and opportunities!

2017 camp launch

Klondike Derby 2017

The Council-wide Klondike Derby will be held February 24-26, 2017 at the Medina Conservation Club. For details about the event, download the info and registration packet here:

http://itcbsa.org/Joomla/images/Forms/2017/2017WinterClashofClansKlondikeRegistrationPacket.pdf

Annual recognition dinner

Okpik training at Camp Dittmer

There will be an Okpik cold weather training course offered at Camp Dittmer in February. Okpik is a combination of classroom & outdoor style training designed to make the participants aware of the physiology and psychological aspects of cold weather & winter camping, as well as the great variety of winter camping equipment that’s available or can be assembled from traditional 3 season gear. This training will give you the skills and confidence to lead a winter campout and ensure a safe and fun experience for all of your Scouts! The flier and registration form can be downloaded here as a PDF: http://itcbsa.org/Joomla/images/Forms/2017/2017OkpikWinterAdventureFlyer.pdf

ITC is gold

We're excited to share the news that the Iroquois Trail Council achieved Gold Level in the BSA's Journey to Excellence in 2016.

This is based on the cumulative results of every unit, every volunteer and every staff member in the Council. Thank you to each of you for the time and effort that you invest to bring an excellent and exciting Scouting program to your town and to our region.

This is a major accomplishment and a reason to celebrate. Typically, only 25% of councils across the country achieve Gold status. It's something we did in 2014, too.

Our scouts are positioned to succeed in Scouting and in life because of the top-notch programming they are given by you. They will grow up to be exceptional husbands, fathers and leaders. THANK YOU!

Lonsberry helps launch shotgun range fund drive

Today on Bob Lonsberry's show on WHAM 1180 we officially launched the initiative to build a shotgun and firearms instruction range at Camp Dittmer. This facility will complement our existing rifle range and give scouts access to a world-class shotgun shooting experience. You can donate to this project via the following website or you can mail a check to the Scout office in Batavia (the photo is an example of similar facilities...ours will look a little different):

https://boy-scouts-of-america-iroquois-trail.networkforgood.com/projects/23666-camp-dittmer-firearms-education-range

ITC's market share is high!

How important is Scouting to the fabric of the five counties covered by our Council? Consider this -- market share is a measurable used to determine the percentage of available youth in a given population who are in Scouting. Nationally, 12% of youth are in Cub Scouts or Boy Scouts. In our Council, just under 20% of all area boys are scouts. Think about that -- 1 out of every 5 boys in our coverage area are scouts! Wow!

ITC recruitment bucks local population trends

After a few years of major decline in Scouting all across the country, the ship is being righted. Right now, our 2016 deficit in scout enrollment in our Council is 29 scouts versus 2015. That's the closest to growth we've been since 2012. It's a testament to our Scouters, Scouts, and staff putting on an awesome programs at the pack, troop, district and council levels. To further understand how HUGE of an accomplishment this is, know that our portion of WNY is losing (or not replenishing) young people at unprecedented rates. Consider these examples: In the 2015 school year, the average class size for sixth through twelfth versus kindergarten through fifth were down by these percentages in the these school districts in our territory Barker 23%, Roy-Hart 22%, Wilson 21% and Newfane 12%. Almost every other school district in our 5 county Council is seeing similar declines. Think about that --- almost instantly, we have SUBSTANTIALLY fewer boys in our communities (the population decline of boys is numbered in the THOUSANDS), yet we are recruiting more of them as a percentage of the local population to be scouts. Keep up the GREAT work! Our Council and local scouts are truly blessed.