Monthly Archives: April 2021

Arrowmen Hold Day of Service at Winnebago

The Woapalanne Lodge of the Order of the Arrow had a day of service at Winnebago Scout Reservation on April 17.

Thirty-three Arrowmen zip-lined across Durham Pond to create a trail from the zip line to the start of the eight-platform challenge course and then zip-lined back.

Several took on the challenge of the all-new canopy tour.

Winnebago also had 65 families camping that weekend, 18 participants registered for the Outdoor Leaders Specific training course in the south end, and over 90 participants attending the Sussex District Cub Scout Adventure Day.

Sussex Cub Scouts Have Fun at Winnebago

On Saturday, April 17, about 90 Cub Scouts, siblings and parents participated in the Sussex District Cub Scout Adventure Day at Winnebago Scout Reservation.

Program areas included Duty to God, Scouts in the Wild, Scouting Necessities, and Duty To Country.  Rounding out the day, everyone got to try their hand at BB guns and archery.

Linda Hogan chaired the event supported by a number of adult volunteers and Scouts from Scouts BSA Troop 151.

The weather cooperated and everyone had a great day.

Flintlocks Ready to Help This Summer

The Flintlocks, Boy Scouts of America, Inc., met for its annual meeting on April 15, 2021.

The group elected the new slate of officers for the coming year, updated its bylaws and mission statement, reviewed the accomplishments of the previous year, and discussed projects Patriots’ Path Council needs to have done to prepare for summer camp and the upcoming year.

The Flintlocks, a group of retired Scouters who devote themselves to helping the Patriot’s Path Council, meets every Thursday at Camp Winnebago year-round. The group is organized as a 501c3 nonprofit corporation. All members are registered with the BSA.

Group members provide a variety of skilled services to the council. They have built cabins, picnic tables, painted the dining hall, built the archery range, built all the structures at the waterfront; financed, built and equipped the STEM Lab at Allamuchy Scout Reservation; repaired damage to camp structures, etc.

In addition to building structures and doing repairs and maintenance, they also volunteer at many council activities throughout the year. More than half of the Flintlocks have been awarded the Silver Beaver or have received other council and national awards. They typically provide approximately 5,000 hours of volunteer skilled labor every year.

Last year was interrupted by COVID-19 shutdowns and the camps were not operational last summer, but now the Flintlocks are all vaccinated and ready to get back to work. The council plans to open the summer Scout camps again, but there has been a lot of storm damage over the winter, which needs to be repaired. The Flintlocks are ready to pitch in.

The officers and trustees elected for the coming year are as follows: John Koneski, president; George Van Dyke, vice president; Michael Hart, secretary; Russ Jenkins, treasurer; Ted Marquardt, chair of the trustees; Bob Pysher, trustee; Bob Germinder, trustee; and Frank Wallace, trustee.

The Flintlocks suggest getting vaccinations, hand-washing, face masks, social distancing and temperature checks. The group’s Facebook page is “Flintlocks.” Guests are always welcome. For more information contact Secretary Dr. Michael Hart at [email protected]

Pictured from left in the back row are President John Koneski, Secretary Dr. Michael Hart, Treasurer Russ Jenkins, and Vice President George Van Dyke. Pictured from left in the front row are trustees Bob Germinder and Bob Pysher, and Chair of Trustees Ted Marquardt, Missing from the photo is Trustee Frank Wallace.

 

Packs Participate in Munsee District Webelos Klondike

The Munsee District Webelos Klondike was held on April 17, 2021, at the Scout Area of Watchung Reservation. Eight packs and 46 youth participated.

The winning dens:

1st Place – The Bolt Cats – Pack 53B – Fords

2nd Place – The Red Tail Hawks – Pack 26G – Fords

3rd Place – The Tiger Sharks – Pack 53B – Fords

Dan Turano, event co-chair, wishes to thank event staffers and volunteers this year:

  • Munsee District volunteers staffed the Registration and Event Conditions Preparedness Station
  • Pack 53 staffed the Fire Building Station
  • Pack 83 staffed the Extreme Weather and Knife Safety Station
  • Pack 101 staffed the Knot Tying Station
  • Munsee District volunteers staffed the First Responder Station

The event was a success with many positive comments from participants and their parents. A good time was had by all.

 

Munsee Scouts Enjoy the Outdoors at Klondike Challenge

This year’s Munsee District Klondike Challenge was held on April 17, 2021, at the Loop Area of Watchung Reservation. COVID-19 forced the district to split the event into a morning and afternoon session, each competing in the same four skill towns.

Nine troops and 97 Scouts participated with 16 sleds.

Top finishers for the morning:

  • 1st Place – Rebels Patrol – Troop 83 B – Kenilworth
  • 2nd Place – Tough Toads Patrol,  – Troop 101 B – Elizabeth
  • 3rd Place – Galactic Empire Patrol, – Troop 83 B – Kenilworth

Top finishers for the afternoon:

  • 1st Place – Wonder Pets Patrol – Troop 73 B – Springfield
  • 2nd Place – Artemis’ Arrow Patrol – Troop 168 G – Union
  • 3rd Place – Artic Foxes Patrol – Troop 80 B – Cranford

The overall winner of the 2021 Munsee District Klondike Challenge Governor’s Trophy is the Rebels Patrol from Troop 83 Kenilworth.

For their service project, the Webelos and the Scouts worked together to collect 1,127 canned goods and 120 pairs of socks. These will be donated to local food banks and homeless shelters.

The units really appreciated that their Scouts were able to have a real skills competition, even if they had to wait until April. The Scouts were able to get outdoors and move from town to town for the competition. That made this year’s Klondike Challenge a huge success.

The Klondike would not have been a success without the support and determination of the committee and the outstanding job of the event town mayors during this trying time, according to Pat Lewis, 2021 Klondike governor.

 

 

Fishawack Cub Scouts Earn Ranks at Adventure Day

On April 24, Fishawack District had 107 Cub Scouts gather at Lewis Morris Park to earn some of the electives for their rank.

There were 12 stations at the Cubs Adventure Day offering electives from Lions doing Gizmos & Gadgets to Webelos building birdhouses and taking home saplings for planting. Everyone had a great time in the outdoors.

Chairperson Lisa Shohen rallied volunteers from Fishawack troops.

A food collection was included as community service, and the Interfaith Food Pantry received 280 pounds of food.

Non-Registered Adults Removed From ScoutBook

As of April 12, all adults who are not registered as a member in the BSA will have been removed from your unit’s Scoutbook adult leader roster.

This does not affect parent connections to their Scouts. Parents will still receive unit messages and have access to their Scouts as they do today.

If you notice adults now missing you thought were registered, please reach out to your district executive.

If you have questions about this change, you can ask them on the Using Scoutbook forum.

On the unit roster in Scoutbook, unregistered adult leaders will appear having a yellow triangle with an “!” next to their name. Often this is caused by the wrong BSA member ID in their Scoutbook profile. This can be changed by the user with Manage Member ID at https://my.scouting.org. For assistance, contact your local council or ask on the volunteer forums: http://discussions.scouting.org.

Note: Some executive officers (IH) may have an unregistered indicator next to their name because of how they are included in a unit’s registration. Even though they have an indicator, they will not be removed.

Note: Unit leaders can find correct member IDs in the Roster Tool at http://my.scouting.org or by contacting your local council.

If someone thinks they are registered in the unit and their name on the Scoutbook unit roster has a triangle on it, they probably are not registered correctly, and they should have their unit committee chair check the unit roster in https://my.scouting.com. If they are not on it, contact the council registrar.

A common problem that would cause the caution icon to appear next to a leader’s name is that the leader’s member ID in Scoutbook is not the same as the one he or she is registered under. The leader should find out his or her official member ID as it appears on the unit roster in https://my.scouting.org (the unit committee chair can find that), click on the menu in the upper left, then select manage member ID and add the correct member ID and make it primary.

Note: The connections between unregistered adults and Scouts are now limited to View Profile or View Profile and View Advancement. Only View Profile or View Profile and View Advancement connection types will be allowed for new or edited connections between unregistered adults and Scouts. All current connections between unregistered adults and Scouts, with the exception of parent/guardian to their own Scout, have been changed. Parents/guardians will continue to have non-revocable full control connections to their Scouts.

Deb Reidmiller Honored with National Award

Each year, the BSA presents the national Woods Services Award to an adult in Scouting who has demonstrated exceptional service and leadership in the field of Scouting for disabled people.

Given by the Woods Services in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, the Woods Services Award is the highest recognition awarded by the BSA in this area of service.

This year, Troop 1150’s Advancement Chair Deb Reidmiller has been honored with this award (of two nationally) for her work with the National Disabilities Committee of the BSA, where she is currently serving as the chair of the education and training subcommittee. Scouting is lucky to have Deb as a leader and a mentor.

Bob Brady and Mary Lynne Capen, who is also a recipient of the award, had the pleasure of notifying Deb during the Patriots’ Path Council Executive Committee meeting. Deb will be formally recognized during the national annual meeting of the BSA in May, and at the Patriots’ Path Council recognition event on June 19.

Raritan Valley Klondike Attended by More Than 350

A total of 33 units with over 370 Scouts, adult leaders and support staff participated in the Raritan Valley District Klondike on Saturday, March 20, at Winnebago Scout Reservation.

From older Scouts teaching Webelos and Scouts BSA troops competing against themselves to a troop getting restarted, the Raritan Valley Klondike was a success.

The district followed strict guidelines to reduce the transmission of COVID-19. Units competed in outdoor Scouting skills independently in their campsites spread across the entire camp. Masks were required to be worn. Everyone’s temperature was taken and they were obligated to fill out a COVID-19 questionnaire before participating. The day was filled with the sounds and smells of Scouting.

Only Complete Adult Applications will be Accepted

A Reminder from Council Registrar Mike Wellech:

We’re no longer accepting adult applications that are incomplete.

If an adult application is handed to a district executive, Scout shop associate or any other employee, and is incomplete, they have been instructed to hand it back to the person to have it completed and then bring it back.

As long as the unit has the application, it will be more aware this volunteer is not registered. If we take it, and possibly put it in our error file, the unit will be under the assumption that volunteer is registered. When recharter season comes back around, too many of you are asking why you’re missing volunteers, and then it’s a rush to get the volunteer’s error fixed and on the charter so the unit processor can complete the charter renewal.

A completed application consists of the following:

  1. Main page with the contact information
  2. Social Security number
  3. Answers to questions 1 – 6a-f
  4. Initials above the volunteers signature line
  5. Signatures of the volunteer and the charter representative
  6. Position
  7. Criminal background check disclosure form
  8. Certificate proving Youth Protection Training is valid
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