Boy Scouts of America – Spirit of Adventure Council

West Wind District

ROUNDTABLE ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWSLETTER

9 Feb 2024

From the District Chair:

One month of the New Year gone already! I hope your units are storming into the year having completed rechartering and getting back to the program work that we all love, working with the kids.

We have a lot of program information and other stuff in the newsletter this month, so take a close look. Also, don’t forget it’s time to begin thinking about the District Dinner, planned for late May. We will be releasing detailed information soon, but in the meantime please do be thinking about any award nominations for your unit’s volunteers. In particular, I’d love to see every unit nominate a recipient for the Spark Plug Award – something to recognize that special volunteer who provides the ”spark” that energizes your unit and keeps it going. This is a great way to recognize those amazing helpers who maybe are hiding in the shadows and who really deserve our thanks. We’ll send out links to nomination pages by the end of the month; nominations will run through April.

-Sarath

District Announcements

District Roster: We have critical needs for help at the District level, in particular for Membership and for Service, as well as a need for single-event help or help with training or advancements. A lot of these are “low lift” opportunities and a great way to contribute to the future of youth in our District in a different setting.

Please, email me at Sarath.krishnaswamy@gmail.com if you can help even a little or know someone who can.

Roundtable recording: The most recent District Roundtable was recorded on Zoom and can be accessed here. Use Passcode l1rm+2g! This remains a messy process, so I strongly suggest attending Roundtable live in person if you can, or at least live via Zoom. This month we only have audio, but there’s great information about working as a small unit, updated announcements, and lots more.

West Wind District Pinewood Derby: Calling all West Wind Packs! It’s Pinewood Derby season! While your Cubs are busy getting cars ready for their Pack’s big event, don’t forget we have the West Wind District Pinewood Derby coming up. Pack 81 in Chelmsford is Proud to host the West Wind Pinewood Derby again this year.

Who: All Lion, Tiger, Wolf, Bear, Webelos, and AOL (even if you’ve crossed over) Cub Scouts who finish in the top 3 of their respective rank in their Pack. All Pack’s in the West Wind District are eligible.

What: West Wind District Pinewood Derby

When: Saturday, March 23, 2024

Where: Aldersgate United Methodist Church, 242 Boston Road, Chelmsford, MA 01824

Why: Because it’s blast! Your friends will be there. You’ll make more friends. Your Pack might win the King’s Cup! And you’ll have a great time. You might even win a trophy and be have the pride of the fastest car in the District.

How: Start by making a pinewood derby car and racing your own Pack’s pinewood derby. If you qualify, fill out an online registration JOT form we will provide in the very near future.

In the meantime, keep your cars safe and keep an eye out for more details on the West Wind District Facebook page.

Math Science and Technology Expo: Unfortunately we have had to push back the planned Expo from this Spring to the next academic year; our principal issue was a lack of available counselors. We’re going to keep at it though, so please let me know if you’d be interested in serving as a counselor so we can keep a running list.

Spring Camporee: is planned for the weekend of May 3-5. We will be combined with the Great Eastern district.

Congratulations to Westford Troop 437's patrol "Louis' Kitchen" for winning the Klondike Derby!

Centralville Sportsmans Club was a terrific host, and Arthur Taylor and Don McIntosh did a tremendous job in event planning and execution – thank you!

Membership Committee

Jennifer Hart, Chair - 5ofharts@chris-jenn.net

Mark your Calendar and start the Planning for West Wind District Wide Spring Recruiting Event! Saturday April 27. We are looking for each Community to get all units together and have a day of activities for community members to see Scouting in Action. Scouts do so much, but oftentimes it is in the woods or behind buildings or even inside buildings. From 10ish to 3ish on April 27 we want you in the center of your town being Scouts!

Packs, Troops, Crews, Ships, and Explorers should get together in each community in the West Wind District and plan activities in the center of your community. Send me the location and some of the activities you are planning on doing and I will reach out to Media, (Radio, TV and Papers) in your community and see what I can get for advertising your event. I need this information by March 1 so I can get the advertising in place so let’s get planning!

Upcoming Training

Sean Waite, Chair - Waisean@gmail.com

Solo Wilderness First Aid (WFA) Training: hosted by Chelmsford Crew 7 April 6 and 7 or April 27 and 28 has a few openings. This is a two-day 16-hour course open to all scout leaders and youth (14 years minimum). There are no prerequisites for this course. It's a fast paced, hands-on training designed to meet the needs of trip leaders, who may find themselves without immediate help and need to rely on their own skill in the event of an injury or emergency situation when they find themselves 30 minutes or away from front country care. The 2-year certification is recognized by BSA High Adventure bases. To see the available openings or to register, please go to www.chelmsfordcrew7.mytroop.us and click on the bottom left hand menu item “Solo Wilderness First Aid Training. Very few slots remain.

BALOO: April 27/28. https://experiencebasecamp.org/products/soa-special-programs

Wood Badge - April and May 24, limited capacity, filling up quickly. Registration in council website.

NYLT- 6/30-7/5/24 at T L Storer Scout Reservation. Registration link on council website. Looking for youth staff, interviews being held at Base Camp in Milton in January

Fishing Committee

Richard Friesner, Chair - friesner@gmail.com

We have been “on ice” recently. We will heat up this spring and are considering an April vacation fishing merit badge session. We like that in the new Cub Scout program each rank has a fishing adventure!!

Advancement Committee

Neil Thomas, Chair - wwadvancementchair@gmail.com

1. The next District Board of Review is scheduled for Thursday, February 15th.

2. We have advancement news from BSA for this year. Unfortunately the news is that they are stopping publication. So I need to find a clear news source for

3. Early visibility on BSA Advancement changes starting January 1st, 2024. The following Eagle Scout merit badges are affected.

1. Backpacking

2. Camping

3. Cooking

4. Cycling

5. First Aid

6. Life Saving

7. Personal Management

8. Sustainability

9. Swimming

4. This is a really useful reference from US Scouts that shows the before and after changes.

WW Eagle procedures: can be found linked from the District Web page or at this link )

District Information

Regular District Meetings:

Roundtable – First Thursday of the month at 7:30pm Sept-June. Held at Billerica Access Television – 390 Boston Road, Billerica. Note there is limited parking at the BATV; please use on street parking or the town parking across the street

Virtual attendees: Join Zoom Meeting here: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88374654704?pwd=uRGg5wA3GhAPS9ha2WnD3G29Z9X4bc.1

Meeting ID: 883 7465 4704 Passcode: 024298

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District Committee Meetings – Scheduled for the Thursday before Roundtable, via Zoom. Any Scouter may attend, contact Sarath if you are interested.

West Wind on Facebook:

The West Wind District Facebook Group is a great source of information about the happenings within the West Wind District. We attempt outreach through Commissioners, emails, and newsletters but frequently we will post last minute announcements or updates about goings-on to the Facebook Group Discussion page. So please help us serve you by navigating to the FB page and clicking on Follow, and encourage all of your unit’s scouters to do likewise.

West Wind District Key 3 Contacts

Sarath Krishnaswamy, District Chair: sarathkrishnaswamy@gmail.com

Paul Naehle, District Commissioner: pnaehle@gmail.com

Jonathan Pleva, District Executive: jonathan.pleva@scouting.org

Other West Wind District Contacts

District Vice Chair Christopher Jenkins jenkins@gwmail.gwu.edu

Activities Chair Don Macintosh Mcintosh400@gmail.com

Advancement Neil Thomas wwadvancementchair@gmail.com

Scout Roundtable Commissioner Elmer Lyons elyons@dandelyons.net

Cub Roundtable Commissioner Jim Mallon mallonj@gmail.com

Membership Chair Jennifer Hart 5ofharts@chris-jenn.net

Religious Awards Chris Mancuso chris@petemancuso.com