Year 2013, No. 8  --  April 15, 2013
 

Ron Walsh Out of Office for Several Months

Ron WalshCouncil Program Director Ron Walsh is undergoing a series of surgeries which may involve him being away from his position for several months. During this period he will be recuperating at different times in the hospital, a rehabilitation center, or at home. Until his return we ask that you send all correspondence for Ron to his administrative assistant Dana Mendoza (alegre@hughes.net) or 686-5167 who will re-direct your inquiry to the appropriate staff member sho is handling Ron's duties. I am sure all of you join the professional staff and Council/District volunteers in wishing Ron a speedy recovery and return to work at the appropriate time.

 

Changes to Eagle Board of Review Procedure

April 15, 2013

With more training, we have altered the way that Eagle Packets will be processed. An Eagle Packet is composed of the actual application, the service project workbook, and up to six letters of reference. From now on, all packets will be turned into your local service center. The eagle application will then be directed to the Council Registrar who will ensure that the application and all supporting documents are in order. Once that is done, all packets will be directed to the various Eagle Board of Review Chairmen, and a Board will be scheduled with the Unit Leader. The Unit Leader will ensure that the Youth Member will be available for this Board of Review.

The application is to be filled out completely; if the Scout is home schooled, then either the director of the Home School Program or a parent are to sign on the line about education, if the Scout is not employed, that line may be blank, if the Scout does not affiliate with an organized religion, then the parent or guardian provides this reference. These letters of reference may be either the form that the council can provide, or just a free form letter. This is at the discretion of the Eagle candidate, and either form is appropriate.

After the board of review is completed, the Youth Member receives the service project booklet, the eagle application is directed back to the council registrar, and the board chairman will destroy the letters of reference to maintain the confidentiality of those documents.

Any questions may be directed either to your District Executive, your district eagle board chairman, or Lynn Johnson (Council VP – Program).

April is National Youth Protection Month

Youth Protection Begins with YOUIn our last issue we noted that April is National Youth Protection Month.  All units should be undertaking some activity to train our Scouts, our parents, and our volunteers in this most essential awareness program. For more information about what your unit can do to make youth aware, click here and then click on "Protecting Our Youth". It is never too late to do this training.

The appropriate adult session (Venturing has its own requirement and program) can be taken online through the Youth Protection Online Training Program at www.myscouting.org. Participants should have available for entry their annual membership card which lists their individual identification number. Youth Protection Training must be taken every two years. Failure to have a current YPT certificate on file could deny a unit a Tour Plan for an outing.

Friends of Scouting

It's the beginning of a new calendar year and once again we begin anew our annual Friends of Scouting campaign.

This year's theme is "Scouting Builds Future Leaders."

To schedule your FOS presentation at an upcoming Blue-Gold Dinner or Court of Honor, please call your District Executive.

How is your District doing? How much did your unit give to this year's campaign? When will the Appeal be made at my units. These questions and others will be answered by clicking on your District's FOS web page.

Del Norte - Camino Real

Live Oak - Cachuma - South Coast

The statistics on the District FOS pages are prepared by your District Executive. If there is a problem, please let him or her know.

To download a special brochure about FOS, click here. For the special LDS unit FOS brochure, click here.

In addition to any money that you pay to your unit, it takes at least $150 annually to support your Scout and keep our facilities open. FOS makes this all possible. Your donation is tax deductible, and we will work with you if your employer has a matching contributing program.

Please be prepared to give to FOS, or go online at the Council's website and make your pledge.

Camp French Sustaining Committee

It's not too late to support the drive to keep Camp French open. Contributions may be mailed to the Council Office at 4000 Modoc Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93110, or online the Council's website:  (https://www.doubleknot.com/Registration/CampaignDetail.asp?activitykey=1323401). For years the Council has been operating this camp at a financial loss which is now established to be at $65,000 annually. This is impacting other program areas of the Council's operations. Please make your contribution soon as the Executive Board needs to make a decision soon.

District Camporees

South Coast District: April 19-21 at Rancho Alegre

Live Oak and Cachuma Districts:  April 26-28 at Rancho Alegre

Camino Real and Del Norte Districts:  April 19-21 at Camp French

For the most up-to-date information about your District Camporee, contact your District Executive.

Cub Scout Day Camps

Three of the Districts plan on holding Cub Scout Day Camp during June this year. Below are the locations and dates.  This year's theme is Galactic Trek. So get your rocket ship fired up and blast over to the site near you. Please click on the link to obtain more information and registration forms.

South Coast District - June 17 - 21 - Bishop Garcia Diego High School, 4000 La Colina Road, Santa Barbara
Camino Real District  - June 24 - 29 - Camp Mable French, Lake Lopez
Del Norte District - - June 17 - 21 - Paso Robles LDS Church (Creston Road)

New Year Program Kick-offs Scheduled

ATTENTION ALL UNITS!!

IT’S TIME TO START PLANNING YOUR UNIT’S UPCOMING PROGRAM YEAR!

JOIN YOUR DISTRICT FOR THE 2013-2014 PROGRAM KICKOFF!

FREE – Program Planning Packets for Each Attending Unit!

Prizes! Fun! Fellowship! Fun! Up to Date Resources! Fun!

Interactive Information Booths on Training, Camping, Advancement, Unit Fundraising, Activities, and Finance!  You will be able to pick up your unit’s free copies of the following: program helps; pocket calendars; training dates; membership materials; district calendar; and information on upcoming council/district activities and events for the coming year. 

The Los Padres Council will be holding Annual Program Kick-Off meetings in each district. This is a very special event that all Cubmasters, Scoutmasters, Advisors, and Committee Chairs should plan on attending. Items to be covered at the event include upcoming activities and events, program planning, 2013-2014 calendars, and much more! All brought to you by Friends of Scouting donations!

Please take the time to attend this event. If your unit leader cannot attend please send a representative on your unit's behalf. A light dinner will be provided for $5 each person!

So, Join Your District for the Fun Beginning at 6:00 P.M. at the Site Listed Below.

District Program KickoffDEL NORTE DISTRICT
WHEN:  Thursday, June 6, 2013
WHERE:   Atascadero Scout Hut
Hot Dogs, Chips, Drink Meal available for $5.00
RSVP TO:  Jillian Shumate; jishumat@bsamail.org

CAMINO REAL DISTRICT
WHEN:  Thursday, May 22, 2013
WHERE:  San Luis Obispo Elks Lodge
Hot Dogs, Chips, Drink Meal available for $5.00
RSVP TO:  Jillian Shumate; jishumat@bsamail.org

LIVE OAK DISTRICT
WHEN:  Thursday, June 20, 2013
WHERE:  Santa Maria LDS Stake Center, 908 E. Sierra Madre, Santa Maria
RSVP TO:  Angel Ortega; angorteg@bsamail.org

CACHUMA DISTRICT
WHEN:  Tuesday, June 4, 2013
WHERE:  Mother Hubbard’s, 373 Avenue of the Flags, Buellton
RSVP TO:  Justin Jepsen; jjepsen@bsamail.org

SOUTH COAST DISTRICT
WHEN:  Thursday, May 9, 2013
WHERE:  Santa Barbara LDS Church; 2107 Santa Barbara St.
RSVP TO:  Andrew Royster; aroyster@bsamail.org

Cub Scout Recruitment Nights Planned in San Luis Obispo County

Do you know of a young man who would benefit from being a Cub Scout? Two Come See Recruitment Nights are planned in SLO County. The first is May 22nd in Paso Robles from 5:30 to 7:00 pm at Central Park. The second is May 30th at a place to be determined. Cub Packs should contact District Executive Jillian Shumate to arrange for an activity and a table for recruiting new members into the unit.

Reporting Service Hours

Recording of service hours to the community is an essential part of Journey to Excellence recognition and the National BSA's report to the nation on the hours contributed by Scouts. Many units wait until the end of the year to report them and the leader is left scurrying going over lots of paperwork to make sure everything is entered. We are asking every unit to record service hours minimally once each month. In one District that held Scouting for Food in March, not one unit entered their service hours by the end of the month. Don't forget that Eagle Project Service hours count also. At a recent Roundtable a number of units admitted that they hadn't reported these hours previously. If you don't know the procedure or have the login id, contact your unit commissioner or district executive. So please make that effort to get all your hours reported!

Order of the Arrow

OA LogoOrdeal is coming up on May 17-19 at Rancho Alegre. We will be working on some major camp improvements at Rancho Alegre, such as trail safety, our Low COPE Course, and campsite renovation. Hope you can be there to work side-by-side with our Ordeal Candidates. Online registration is now available.  Registration Form.

Have you paid your 2013 Dues yet? Still only $15. Click here to go online for a form or make the payment.

Rancho Alegre Summer Camp Registration Opened April 1st

Rancho Alegre Boy Scout Summer Camp Merit Badge and Program Registration opened up on April 1st as promised. It was amazing to see all the registrations come pouring in during that first week. Advance registration is essential if you want Scouts to get their first choice in program selection. Advance registration of classes allows the camp to plan by adding additional sessions of a program where possible and to order the correct number of supplies for each program area. If your unit is attending Rancho Alegre this summer, get your registrations in now (this is good advice for any camp you may be attending). To get registration forms and schedules from the Council website, click here.

Schedule the Date

Rancho Alegre Camp Work Day - May 11th. Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity and Council volunteers will be in camp assisting with the projects. APhiO is the National College Scouting Fraternity.

Varsity Team Leader Specific Training - May 4 (8:30 am to Noon) at the Santa Maria LDS Stake Center (908 E. Sierra Madre). This course is a half-day course for Team Leaders and Assistants of a Varsity Team. No charge for this course.

Venturing Crew Adviser Specific Training - May 4 (9:00 am to 1:00 pm) at the Santa Maria LDS Stake Center (908 E. Sierra Madre). This course ia a half-day course for Venturing Crew Advisers and Assistants. There is a $10 fee for this course.

Webelos Woods - We regret that it is necessary to cancel the Webelos Woods weekend scheduled at Rancho Alegre during May. Units which were planning to attend that weekend can contact Dana Mendoza at the Rancho Alegre Office to arrange for use of Larsen Meadow to do their own activity. All Webelos and Cub Scouts are encouraged to attend Cub Scout Day Camps and Cub Scout Overnight Camp.

Memorial Day FOS Weekend - Rancho Alegre is open for overnight camping and day activities for FOS Contributing families. It is our way of saying thank you to those individuals and families that contribute a minimum of $150 to our Friends of Scouting campaign. Come enjoy the pool, handicrafts, shooting sports, archery, nature, and all the other great areas that make for an enjoyable weekend. Your Friday night dinner will be served by our staff as well as a cracker barrel after the campfires and movie night. Letters will be in the mail shortly.

Woodbadge - September 26-28 and October 17-19. The first weekend is at Rancho Alegre; the second is at Camp Three Falls in this course hosted by Los Padres and Ventura County Councils. Woodbadge is the ultimate Scout training leadership program. Fee is $240 if paid in full at least 30 days prior to the start of the sessions.

Summer Camp and Programs - Check out our different Summer Camps and Training Activities coming up later this year. Click here to go our camp web page for any of these events.

  • Lifeguard Academy - June 24-28
  • Staff Training Week - June 30 - July 6
  • Boy Scout Camp (Traditional) - July 7 - 13
    • Applications now being accepted for Provisional Scouts and Day Campers
  • Boy Scout Camp (LDS) - July 15-20
    • Venturing Days (LDS) - July18-20
    • Cub Scout/Primary Day (LDS) - July 19
  • Cub Scout Resident Camp - July 21-24

National Youth Leadership Training - August 5 - 10 at Rancho Alegre (coed course). Applications for participants are now being accepted. For more information and to enroll your youth leadership, click here.

Below you will find a list of some upcoming Council-wide events for Los Padres Council. To register and/or pay for any of these events, click on the line and it will take you directly to the registration page. Included in the calendar are major civic and religious activity dates as well as dates of college testing for college students. This enables units to plan activities around these events. For events beyond the last date, click on the link to the calendar.

To find out about upcoming Scouting events, log on to the Council website at www.lpcbsa.org. 

This newsletter to our valued Scouters in the Los Padres Council is issued twice monthly on or about the 1st and 15th of each month. Deadline for articles is four days prior. Send all articles, pictures, etc. to the webmaster at RanchoAlegre@cox.net.