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April, 2017 Vol. 10, Issue 5
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Dear ,
This is a long newsletter, loaded with all kinds of helpful information. There is quite a bit going on in the next few months. Skim through, and look for ways to help your packs, troops, crews, posts, and families stay informed.
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April Roundtable
Thursday, April 6, is the next roundtable. The Cub Scout and Boy Scout sessions start at 7:30. Come and bring new leaders and parents to learn and be better informed about what is going on around the council.
Roundtable is the first Thursday of every month--starting in September and ending in June. They are held at the LDS Church, 220 N. San Pedro Road, San Rafael.
There will be a Marin Sierra leader orientation during the first 20 minutes of the Boy Scout roundtable.
At both roundtables, there will be information about the membership Open Door initiative. It will be centered around the importance of recruiting new members.
This month, we'd like to say a big THANK YOU to Ron Poggi for running the Cub Scout roundtable for so long, sharing his vast experience, his neckerchief slides, Cubby, and his Cub Scout craft box. Ron is moving on to being the Cub camping committee chair, so he's still available for support and will be seen at Cub camping events!
Nestor Schnasse and Pablo Portillo will be stepping up this month as the new Cub Scout roundtable commissioners. They have years of experience as Cub Scout leaders, and they are looking forward to sharing what they know and supporting the Cub program.
Please come welcome Nestor and Pablo this Thursday at Roundtable!
BTW,
if you have an announcement to make at any roundtable, please email Tim or Nancy so they can ask the commissioners to include you in the evening's agenda.
The next Venturing Rally/roundtable will be held on May 4.
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It's Time to Fish!
Grab your fishing poles because the Marin Council Fishing Derby will be held on Saturday, May 6, from 9:00 a.m. until 12:30! The Marin Rod & Gun Club has graciously agreed to host the event again. The event is open to Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Venturers.
The price is a minimal $6, and this allows a youth (or adult) to fish, get a patch, and have a BBQ lunch. Plus, youth will have numerous opportunities to earn prizes.
Scouts who bring a friend (eligible to join Scouts) will get in free along with their friend. Youth under 13 must have a parent or adult partner with them.
Registration and information is online and can be found by
clicking this link.
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Cub Scout Camping
Registration is now open on our web site
Cub Scout Day Camps at Camp Tamarancho
Day Camp is the highlight of a Cub Scout's year! However, boys who are not currently in Cub Scouts are welcome attend. Day Camp is open to boys who will be entering the second through fifth grades in the fall of 2017.
- First Day Camp: June 26-30 (registration open through 6/15/17)
- Second Day Camp: July 10-14 (registration open through 6/30/17)
- Third Day Camp: July 24-28 (registration open through 7/13/17)
Bus service is available from many parts of Marin if desired.
Cost for Day Camp is $235.00. If your son is not in Cub Scouts now, a minimal charge of $20.00 will apply to register him.
Bus service is $50 per camp.
New this year, you can only register online. Click here to reserve a spot for your Scout!
Family Fiesta
Scouts from around the World
May 19-21, Camp Tamarancho
What is Family Fiesta? Family Fiesta is a family camping experience for Tiger Cubs, Cub Scouts, Webelos, invited friends, and their families. This camp will introduce the Cub Scout and his family to some of the activities that can be experienced in our summer day camp programs. Just like at camp, events and activities are run by Boy Scout troops and Venturing crews. The Cub Scouts will get an opportunity to meet summer day camp staff and older Scouts, and as a bonus, they get an idea of all the fun and exciting things that await them when they become Boy Scouts and Venturers.
Theme and Activities "Scouts from Around the World" will provide an opportunity for Scouts, siblings, and parents to learn and practice international Scout skills, crafts, and values and maybe earn a patch from distant lands along the way. Marin Council troops and crews will lead campers in events ranging from field sports, climbing, nature hikes, shooting sports, techno craft, and international exploration. The day will close with a campfire program.
The cost is $15 per person age 5 and older. This price does not include food, which varies by meal. Meal ticket sign-up deadline is May 12.
More information is on our web site. Registration is only online, so
click here for more information and to register.
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Training: Sign Up Today!
National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT)
June 18-24, Camp Tamarancho
Training of youth leaders is an important step in enabling the individual Boy Scout or Venturer and helping your troop or crew grow. National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT) is the BSA's premiere youth training experience, which is now open to both Venturers and Boy Scouts, young men and young women, starting at age 13 (Venturers must have graduated 8th grade).
Find out all about NYLT and learn how to register by
clicking this link. Registration is online only.
Training for Adults
Cub Scout Leader Specific Training, April 29, 1:30-5:00
LDS Church, 220 N. San Pedro Road, San Rafael
Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation (BALOO), April 29, 9:00-12:30
LDS Church, 220 N. San Pedro Road, San Rafael
Scoutmaster/Asst. Scoutmaster Specific Training, April 29, 9:00-4:00
LDS Church, 220 N. San Pedro Road, San Rafael
Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills, April 22-23
Registration is through Golden Gate District of the San Francisco Bay Area Council.
Camp Tamarancho
Wood Badge, August 25-27 and September 16-18, 2017
In-depth adult leadership training for every level of Scouting.
Also, don't forget about supplemental adult training that can be taken at My.Scouting.org.
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Eagle Scout Alumni: Exciting News
The Marin Council Eagle Scout Alumni Committee under the leadership of Executive Board Member Gary Butler is pleased to announce that our annual Gathering of Eagles dinner will be held on Tuesday, May 2, at the Spinnaker in Sausalito.
This year marks the 9th year the Marin Council will host this alumni gathering, and over the past year, the committee has been broadening our Eagle Scout alumni efforts. During our dinner this year, we will be presenting the first Marin Council Eagle College Scholarship and recognizing two Outstanding Eagle Scout alumni.
The $2,500 college scholarship will be presented to a Marin Council Eagle Scout who is starting college this fall. The funds raised for this scholarship were contributed by Eagle alumni, and our recipient was chosen by a selection committee of Eagle Scouts. (Marin Eagles graduating high school in 2018 are encouraged to apply for our next scholarship opportunity beginning in December of this year.)
If you are an adult Eagle Scout alumni and would be interested in attending the Marin Council Gathering of Eagles, please contact Michael Dybeck. Pre-registration is required for attendance.
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Almost Time to Party at Marin Sierra
Everyone loves a party! What are we talking about? The annual Memorial Day camp-opening work party at Marin Sierra May 27-29. Every year, a team of enthusiastic workers descend on Marin Sierra to open up camp for the summer. It indeed takes a lot of muscle and willing hearted participants.
We feed and house you for the weekend. The fellowship with other adults and camp staff is wonderful. Plus, the beauty of the camp during that time of year is incredible.
All you'll need to bring is gloves, hat, work clothes, water bottle, and all the usual stuff you would take when coming to camp.
Please plan on attending. You can come for one day or all days--whatever works for you. If you can help, email
Tim Wells with your RSVP by May 22 so that we can make sure to have enough food.
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Recently, the Novato Police Explorer Post celebrated two youth members who have been part of Exploring for over 5 years along with an Advisor who has been instrumental in making the post a fun, educational, and inspirational experience for everyone involved.
The Novato Police Post is for youth ages 14 to 20 who are interested in learning about law enforcement. Explorer meetings are held at the Novato Police Department on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month from 5 to 7 p.m. Contact Nancy Rozell if you are interested in visiting or learning more!
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Back by Popular Demand: Spring Popcorn Kick-Off!
Once again, we will be holding a spring kick-off for popcorn Kernels and unit leaders before the May roundtable. Invites will be going out soon to unit leaders and past Kernels. We will learn about new products, try samples, share tips for best practices, and enjoy dinner together as we begin preparing for the 2017 season! Contact
Nancy Rozell with questions.
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Order of the Arrow News
Klondike 2017--Talako hosted 8 patrols at Marin Sierra over what became an epic winter weekend. Winning patrols from Troop 2000, Troop 42, and Troop 73 made for an eventful, fun competition. Once the games ended the snow began lightly--then in earnest.
We awoke Sunday to blizzard conditions and a hard exit for all, but all would agree it was a real Klondike!
OA Election Season--Please reach out to us at Talako533@gmail.com immediately to arrange for a unit election before our spring ordeal deadline! We have an exciting new election program and team.
The spring induction into Scouting's Honor Society will be held Friday April 14-15. We will end late Saturday evening to allow Arrowmen to spend Easter Sunday with their families.
Cubs: Bridgings, Bridgings, Bridgings--This is that time of the year. Please click the link and enroll your pack for a Four Winds ceremony as soon as possible. Dates are filling up fast.
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Meet Our Shooting Sports Committee
With the retirement of CJ Carrillo, Keith Angerman is taking over as our new Shooting Sports committee chairman. We want to thank CJ for his past years as a shooting sports director and committee chairman. He helped revitalize a great program and ran a well-organized committee.
Keith's qualifications include being a NRA rifle, pistol, and Home Firearm Safety instructor as well as Range Safety Officer. He is scheduled in May to attend BSA National Camping School to obtain his shotgun, muzzleloading rifle, and archery instructor certifications along with becoming a BSA shooting sports director.
In addition, Keith brings a wealth of Scouting experience from being a den dad, Scoutmaster, and Venturing Crew Advisor in the past.
The committee is responsible for maintaining all the ranges and shooting equipment and administering all shooting programs except those at summer camp. The committee recently added a new tomahawk and slingshot range at Tamarancho and are planning on reconstructing the rifle range.
The goals for the committee are to increase the opportunities for Scouts to shoot and to learn about safe gun handling. Cub Scouts may only use the facilities at councilwide shooting events so they hope to increase the frequency of those events. Boy Scout troops and Venturing crews may reserve use of the facilities at any time by contacting the council office. Opportunities to shoot are only limited by the amount of trained staff to operate the facilities.
The council often provides training, including range master training for BB Guns, archery, tomahawk throwing, and slingshots. We also occasionally offer classes for NRA rifle instructors and USA archery instructors. Training opportunities are regularly posted on the council web site and promoted at roundtable and through the Dispatch.
For information on the committee and its operations, please contact the council office at (415) 454-1081 or email Tim Wells.
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Cub Scout Bunny Shoot
Similar to the Turkey Shoot held in October, this fun event is for Cub Scouts to enjoy archery and BB shooting. The date is April 15, and it will be held at Camp Tamarancho from 9:00-3:30. No, we will not be shooting bunnies!
With half-hour periods throughout the day, your Cub Scout will have the opportunity to experience one session of each of these activities. Click this link for a descriptive flyer and shooting sports release form.
When you click the link below to sign up, you will be given the opportunity to choose one half-hour period of each activity. THEN, return to the Marin Council web site to pay and download the shooting sports release form if you have not done so already. If you do not return to pay, your reservation will be dropped.
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Make sure your Scouting Door is Open!
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One of the key elements of an Open Door in Scouting is social media. This can be a public Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. page for your unit, or it can be parents posting Scout photos on their personal pages. Getting the word out that Scouting is active and doing great things in Marin is the goal!
Marin Council has three Facebook pages and one Instagram page. The FB pages are: Camp Marin Sierra, BSA, Marin Council, BSA, and Camp Tamarancho, BSA. Our Instagram page is marincouncil. Feel free to follow one or all of our pages, and send photos that you'd like to share.
Please remember to confirm that it's ok to post photos of the youth in your units. There is a permission box on the medical form that says it's ok, but it's a good idea to confirm anyway, especially if faces are clear. And never tag youth in your postings, or share any personal information. Scouts and adult leaders should abide by the guidelines outlined in the Scout Oath and Law when participating in social networking.
The Marin Council has put together a very basic flyer to help us all see some of the ways we can use social media. This flyer lists 6 different options: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, NextDoor, your own web site, and newspapers.
Of course, the key, especially online, is to keep the information fresh and current. It's definitely easier said than done. However, find someone (or a couple someones) in your unit that will dedicate themselves to putting new information up continually on one or more of these services.
Click here to download the flyer.
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Speaking of Having an Open Door
Look at these great examples!
Here are some photos shared with us by units identifying how they are opening their doors!
Mill Valley Pack 33 posting on social media about their recent overnight to the Aquarium.
Pack 27 posting on social media about their trip to the police department.
Scouts from Troop 73 and Pack 42 teamed up to have a "Presence" at the Rancho School Multicultural Day. They taught knots to hundreds of youth.
Scouts and den chiefs from pack 42 pulled weeds and cleaned the campus for their chartered organization. Their door is open a bit farther!
Here below,
Pack 186 helped build a fence and picked up litter at school for service and community presence.
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Northern California Commissioner College
Saturday, February 25, 2017, Marin Council commissioners attended the Northern California Commissioner College held at Diablo Valley College. The keynote speaker was Scott Sorrels, Chair National Commissioner Team, and Director for the 2019 North American World Scout Jamboree. The event was hosted by the Pacific Skyline and Marin Councils.
Attending the event were Chris Cardinal, 2nd Banana, Sam Guyton, Asst. Council Commissioner, Tony Mei (co-host chair but out of town), Monika Kainz, Venturing Roundtable Chair, Ron Poggi, Cub ScoutRoundtable Chair, Nestor Schnasse, Cub Roundtable Chair 2017, Mike Madias, Boy Scout Roundtable Chair 2017, Joshua Szarek, Unit Commissioner.
Continuing education classes were offered to help commissioners at all levels improve on their skills.
Three new commissioners from the Marin council earned their Associates degree in one day: Mike Madias, Nestor Schnasse, and Monika Kainz. All three were able to take a class relative to their current position as roundtable chairs as well as other continuing education courses.
Two commissioners, Sam Guyton and Joshua Szarek, have earned 95% of credits to achieve their PhD and are currently working on a their thesis topic. The concept of a PhD thesis in commissioner science has evolved to a highly researched document. The candidates will be choosing topics that will help assist the BSA to serve youth across America.
Two commissioners were able to teach classes at the college. Sam Guyton taught "How to use the National Roundtable Guides," and Ron Poggi (assisted by Mike Madias) taught "Cub Scout Roundtables."
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No More Leaks
Do you recognize this building? You probably do. It's 225 West End Avenue in San Rafael--the Marin Council service center.
Do you recognize the man on the roof? You might if you look closely. It's Dan Hixenbaugh.
Dan Hixenbaugh is an assistant Scoutmaster. He is also an Award of Merit and Silver Acorn recipient, and he has quite a collection of Eagle mentor pins from all the young men he has guided over the years.
Dan is also the owner of All Phase Roofing, and last week he came by the council office to tell us that he wanted to take care of our leaky roof.
Over the course of the week, Dan and his crew stripped off the old roof and completely replaced it. Not only will it stop our leaks, but they also finished it with an aluminum based seal to help lower our utility bills for years to come. And all of it--the time they spent and the materials they needed--was a donation from All Phase Roofing.
For their work on the council office and for past work at Marin Sierra with the kitchen building, the Family Showers, and Ibach Lodge, a huge Scouting thanks go out to Dan Hixenbaugh and All Phase Roofing!
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Derby Cars Galore
Every year, the Marin Council has a council pinewood derby race at the Marin County Fair. This race is for all the winners of pack races to run off against other packs, and it is the highlight of the year for many Cub Scouts.
We need volunteers to set up, run, clean up after the race, as well as conduct two check-in days in June for packs to register their cars for the race and provide a track and software. This race cannot happen with people to run it.
Cars that are not in the race can be part of the Marin County Fair pinewood derby car exhibition. Forms will be available on our web site soon. We'd like to get as many cars from Cub Scouts at the Fair as possible.
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The heavy rains have finally let up, and while we are all happy for the water they brought, the rains also caused a fair amount of damage to our road into Camp Tamaranancho.
First the good news: We still have access to camp. The two significant slides along Iron Springs Road that resulted from the heavy rains have cut into the roadway, but normal cars, pick-ups, and SUV's are able to travel up to camp as always.
Now the bad news: We need to repair these slides and need to do that before our 2017 summer camp season. The repair needed will be the construction on two separate retaining walls (the two slides are in different portions of Iron Springs Road) along with resurfacing those sections of the roadway. Depending on the depth required for drilling of the wall supports and scope of the engineering needed, some initial cost estimates are in the neighborhood of $75,000. Of course, we would hope to take advantage of the construction period to also tackle the general condition of Iron Springs Road with better surfacing in major sections of the roadway, but that will depend on available funds.
Since this expense was not anticipated, we are seeking donations both large and small to fund this project and would welcome support. Donations designated for this project are tax deductible and will be used solely for that purpose. Checks can be sent to Marin Council, 225 West End Avenue, San Rafael, CA 94901. Include "Tamarancho - Emergency Road Repair" on the memo line of your check. If you would like to make a donation through a gift of securities or need additional information, contact
Michael Dybeck.
Thank you in advance for your support of Camp Tamarancho.
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Goodbye Tour Plan
Tour plans are no longer required for Scout outings. There will be a checklist coming soon for troop planning. For details on the policy change,
visit this link.
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More News
First Cast
North Bay Trout Unlimited and Fish First will be again hosting their First Cast day on May 21. This is a wonderful opportunity for youth to learn all about fishing.
Their capable volunteers are there to assist everyone and to teach and guide. The event is held at the Civic Center Lagoon from 9:00-1:30, and there is BBQ. Boys and girls ages 8-18 are welcome.
If you have questions, email
Larry Lack.
Scout Day with the A's
Individual tickets for Scout Day on Sunday, May 21, vs. the Boston Red Sox have just gone on sale. To get the best possible seating, you can purchase here today by
clicking this link.
Your special ticket will include a pregame festival, an on-field parade and all uniformed participants will receive the 2017 commemorative A's-Scout Day patch.
If interested in getting the lowest rate and extra perks, let me know and we can get you details on discounted group tickets.
Earth Day
Volunteers will converge on San Rafael on Saturday, April 22, to help everything clean.
Download this flyer to find out how you can be involved.
The same day, Novato is offering the Clean and Green Day.
Here is the link.
These are two of many ways to have a community service presence!
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