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| Scout Executive Corner
This month Scout Executive Jeff Schiavone shares some exciting developments as we celebrate 100 years of serving youth in the Miami Valley.
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Lions Are Official!
After roaring success, Lions will move from pilot to a full-time part of Cub Scouting in the Miami Valley this fall!
Recognizing the success of the national Lion pilot program, the Boy Scouts of America's Board of Directors has approved integrating Lions into the Cub Scout program empowering chartered partners with packs to offer the experience to Kindergarten-age children nationwide. The Miami Valley Council was selected as one of the areas for the Lion pilot program in 2017. With the Lion program now officially integrated into Cub Scouting, we look forward to recruiting Lions in all packs across the Miami Valley Council this fall. Please plan accordingly with your pack leadership and your local elementary school for this exciting new change.
Integrating the national Lion pilot into the Cub Scout program enables chartered partners, along with the adult leadership in the pack, to offer the program to Kindergarten-age children.
The Lions uniform won't change. The rank is an official part of Cub Scouting - just like Tiger, Wolf, Bear and Webelos. Lions will continue wearing the blue Lion T-shirt. There's also an optional cap and new neckerchief and slide. All are suitable for wearing with the T-shirt.
Many exciting changes are on the way based on feedback from families participating in the pilot program. These include the introduction of a rectangular rank patch; rank cards, advancement chart and Lion adventure loops. The Lion program offers a great opportunity for your pack to serve more families. Packs that participated in the Lions pilot program saw an 87 percent retention rate, steady growth and excellent parental involvement.
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The Miami Valley Council Welcomes Dylan and Patrick!
Two new members have joined the Miami Valley Council staff this month.
Patrick Higgins joined the Miami Valley Council on February 16, 2018 as Field and Program Director. This is a new position for our council and in this role Patrick will give leadership to all field operations as well as camping, programs and facilities. Patrick began his career in July 2012 as District Executive in the Simon Kenton Council headquartered in Columbus, OH. He was promoted to Senior District Executive and again to District Director where he gave leadership to a full-time staff of four executives covering the Exploring division and three traditional Scouting districts and served as staff adviser to the 2017 Jamboree.
Patrick began Scouting as a Tiger Cub and has continued as either a youth, adult volunteer, or professional Scouter ever since. He earned the Eagle Scout Rank with Silver Palm, the Venturing Silver Award, and was inducted as a Vigil Member of the Order of the Arrow. He is also Wood Badge trained and is a proud member of the Eagle Patrol.
Patrick's favorite memories of Scouting are working for a summer at Philmont Scout Ranch and serving on staff for the 2007 World Scout Jamboree in England. Patrick is a graduate of Purdue University and earned his Master degree from Angelo State University. Outside of Scouting, Patrick is an active volunteer with Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity. He has a love of travel and experiencing different cultures firsthand.
Dylan Melling began his service to the Miami Valley Council on February 1, 2018 as District Director. In this position Dylan will support Wright Brothers district and give direct leadership to the Sunwatch District Executive. Dylan began his professional Scouting career in January 2013 as District Executive in the Sagamore Area Council, headquartered in Kokomo, IN and served the Greater Lafayette area. There he was promoted to Senior District Executive and again to District Director where he gave leadership to a full-time district executive. Dylan managed summer camp fiscal operations, served on National Camp School staff and Jamboree staff as a member of the Green Team in Subcamp Bravo-1.
Dylan is an Eagle Scout from Frankton, Indiana and spent six summers as a camp counselor at Camp Kikthawenund. He is a graduate of the University of Southern Indiana and an alumni volunteer for Kappa Alpha Order. His fiancé Ashlee attended Purdue University and together they spent time volunteering with the downtown Lafayette community helping with local events TASTE of Tippecanoe and Tippyconnect Young Professionals. They are very excited to move to the Dayton area and become involved in the community!
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Our 100 Years!
The Miami Valley Council is now into its 100th year of serving the young people of our five-county territory. The power of our volunteers throughout the generations has allowed local Scouting to reach this historic year. As you may know, there are three individual pillars of our 100th year celebration. After much discussion through our 100th Steering Committee and with many of our families there have been some slight adjustments to our plan.
SCOUTING FOR FOOD MONTH IS APRIL!!!
We are excited to again be sponsored by Dayton Power and Light for this year's historic food drive with the goal to collect more the 100,000 pounds of food to commemorate our 100th year. With the recent partnership of the Hall Hunger Initiative and The Foodbank, we will help eliminate hunger in the Miami Valley and allow our youth to prepare for their lives of service to the community. Please see
www.miamivalleybsa.org/scoutingforfood
to commit your Scouting unit to participate and to request collection bins and door hangers.
#TELLYOURSTORY
The Second pillar of our 100th celebration is an effort to capture your Scouting story. So many individuals have been impacted by Scouting over the last century and now it's time to tell those terrific stories. If you, a family member, your boys, or any other alumni have a story to tell, please reconnect and share your story at
www.miamivalleyscouting.org
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100th COUNCIL CAMPOREE
Lastly, the third pillar is all about bringing our Scouting units together for a dynamic and relevant Scouting experience through a council camporee. Initially the target date was the fall of 2018. After much discussion and to ensure a properly planned program is delivered, the new time frame is Spring 2019. An official date will be forthcoming in the very near future along with additional details of location and program.
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Annual Scout Shabbat Scheduled for
February 23, 2018 at Temple Beth Or
On Friday, February 23, 2018, The Dayton Jewish Committee on Scouting will host its Annual Scout Shabbat at Temple Beth Or with Rabbi Judy Chessin officiating. Services will begin at 7:00 PM.
Tigers, Cubs, Webelos, Boy Scouts, Venturers, Brownies, Girl Scouts and adult Scouters of all faiths are invited to attend the service. Jewish Scouts from all congregations are welcome to attend and participate in the service.
All Scouts are encouraged to wear their Scout uniforms. Each Scout in attendance will receive a free Scout Shabbat patch.
The service will be followed by an Oneg Shabbat with dessert-type refreshments.
Temple Beth Or is located at 5275 Marshall Rd, Dayton, OH 45429. For more information or to volunteer to participate in the service, please contact Scott Segalewitz at
segalewitz@udayton.edu
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For more information about the religious emblem programs for Jewish Scouts, or about Jewish Scouting in the Miami Valley, contact Scott Segalewitz.
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| Youth Protection Update
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Dear Scouting Friends:
Over the decades, the Boy Scouts of America has been a leader in developing training and policies designed to keep young people safe. These comprehensive policies were considered groundbreaking when they were developed and soon became the standard used by other organizations for safeguarding youth. But when it comes to the safety of children, our goal is to continually improve.
Sustained vigilance on youth protection is a central part of our culture.
Over the past two years, we have worked with experts in the field of child abuse, child sexual abuse, and maltreatment to develop new training and resources that will further strengthen our ability to protect youth. These changes include:
- Fully updated and revised Youth Protection Training developed with leaders in the field of child abuse prevention, including insights from experts and survivors and the latest strategies for recognizing and preventing major forms of abuse. This is the designated Youth Protection Training for all adults.
- Expanded youth protection content across all our communications channels will inform and engage our volunteers and parents.
- An expanded ScoutsFirst Helpline to aid volunteers and families in addressing potentially dangerous situations.
- The BSA also provides unlimited counseling and support for healing to anyone who has ever been abused in Scouting.
- Youth Protection Training for youth members will be available in 2019.
In addition to updated training and resources, we recently announced new policies to ensure compliance with mandatory training requirements, including:
- As of January 1, 2018, no new leader can be registered without first completing youth protection training.
- As of January 1, 2018, no council, regional, or national leader will be allowed to renew their registration if they are not current on their Youth Protection Training.
- As of September 1, 2017, no unit may re-charter without all leaders being current on their Youth Protection Training. Registrars no longer have the ability to approve charters without full compliance.
Youth Protection Resources
To aid regions, areas, and councils in this rollout, the National Service Center is releasing this resource kit that provides a comprehensive overview of the updated training, resources, and policy changes, as well as guidance on how to make youth protection and safety a part of every conversation in Scouting. This represents an evolution in our approach to youth protection and is more than just new training modules.
Also included with this information, you will find new supplemental youth-on-youth training resources required for camp staff. This resource is important in delivering a safe outdoor experience.
With these changes, and many more outlined in the attached document, we will continue to build a safe environment for our youth. Nothing is more important than the safety of our children. The Boy Scouts of America will not stand by while people take advantage of our trusted program to harm children.
Thank you for all you do for our youth and for Scouting.
Randall Stephenson, National President
Charles Dahlquist, National Commissioner
Mike Surbaugh, Chief Scout Executive
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MVC 2020 Game Plan
After many recent conversations with a variety of stakeholders, the Executive Board of the Miami Valley Council approved and adopted the 2020 Game Plan. This plan highlights and charts our course and strategic direction for the next three years. Below are the guiding principles for the next three years that will allow our council to develop our young people for their lives of leadership, character and service. See the entire plan at
www.miamivalleybsa.org/2020gameplan
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