Greetings!
Wow, it's February already? There are many reasons to celebrate being in America this month including these holidays: Groundhog Day (6 more weeks of Winter), Valentine's Day (don't forget that special someone), Presidents' Day (honor our Nation's great leaders), and Black History month.
Perhaps equally important to many of us are Scouting's special days including Scout Sabbath & Scout Sunday events, and the 111th-anniversary of the founding of the BSA. As our CoViD public health restrictions are starting to ease again and unit activities may resume outdoors, don't forget to Be Prepared and keep our Scouting youth safe! Guidelines are found here!
|
|
Cub Scout Speaker Series - the First Wednesday every month! |
|
Join us this Wednesday, February 3 at 5pm for our very popular Cub Scout Speakers Series. Our next presenter is Carol Thies who has a long career in game design research and electronic learning with companies like Broderbund Software, Leapfrog and Lego Mindstorm. She will tell us all about her experiences as an accomplished product manager for innovative, interactive systems including gaming platforms, websites, and cloud-based solutions for users of all ages.
Scouts who attend can ask questions and earn credit toward their rank advancement. Email Senior District Executive Nancy Rozell, or contact your Pack leadership to register your Cub Scout for this special presentation!
|
|
Council Roundtable Meeting - the First Thursday every month! |
|
Our regularly-scheduled Council Roundtable meetings are held the first Thursday of every month, September through June. This Thursday, February 4, we will be meeting again online via ZOOM. The Roundtable will start at 7:30 sharp with current announcements and important presentations until 8:30pm. We have some valuable updates to share regarding our annual unit recharter follow-up, planning for Webelos bridging, and so much more!
|
|
Please see program-specific log-in details below, and forward these invitations to other Scouters and parents in your local units to make sure every unit is represented!
ZOOM Meeting ID # 826 1598 5928
ZOOM Meeting ID # 859 9146 4994
|
|
VOA & Venturing Rally
The Venturing Officer's Association has been holding meetings via the Google Hangout call-in method for the Crew Presidents and other VOA members. The next quarterly Venturing Rally is planned for 7pm on the first Thursday in March. For details, please email Venturing Commissioner Monica Kainz.
|
|
Scout Sunday & Anniversary of the BSA
The first weekend in February is the time to come together as a BSA community in faith and fellowship. Scout Sunday (02/08/21) can be celebrated on any Sunday in February, as it suits your chartered organization best, but each year on February 8, the Boy Scouts of America celebrates its birthday, a date officially known as Scouting Anniversary Day (02/08/1910). This is more than an excuse to commemorate another year of Scouting adventures; it’s also when packs, troops and crews honor a Scout’s “duty to God.” Read more on faith-based celebrations known as Scout Sunday and Scout Sabbath at the Bryan on Scouting blog. A Scout is Reverent!
|
|
Pinewood Derby Workshop - Saturday, February 13
Pre-Registration Required --- Deadline 12noon, Thursday 02/04!
|
|
This fun activity helps Cub Scouts and their parents who need assistance building a Pinewood Derby car. Bring your own car kit purchased from our Marin Council Trading Post, and begin with a design in mind. Adult volunteers and OA Talako Lodge Arrowmen will be socially-distanced onsite to assist with directing traffic, managing check-in and working with power tools and other equipment to help you rough out the car shape.
Due to the popularity of this annual Marin Council event and the necessities of our CoViD-19 response, for your convenience we have moved this year from the Camp Tamarancho woodshop to the upper parking lot behind the Elks Lodge @ 1312 Mission Ave in San Rafael. For more details, or to register your Cub Scout, please click on the PWD Workshop image above. As a reminder on that Saturday, February 13, please wear a facemask the entire time you are on the Elks property. Thanks for your support!
Also, if you are looking for ideas about how to safely hold a Pinewood Derby race event this Winter in your local Pack, click this link!
|
|
Eagle Scouts have been leading positive change in their communities for more than a century. That tradition continues with the historic inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts. Help celebrate the leadership accomplishments of the inaugural class as we highlight the positive impact Scouts make in communities every day. Join us for a national special celebration of the inaugural Class of Female Eagle Scouts on Sunday, February 21, 2021! Check out what’s in store for this live virtual event: https://www.scouting.org/bethechange/. |
|
And locally in Marin Council, we are proud to recognize our first three female Eagle Scouts, all from Troop 1015 in San Anselmo! Jordan Locke, Gina Schneider, and Bella Segovia each achieved their Eagle Scout rank at their Board of Review in late January, less than two years after joining Scouts BSA in February 2019. They are blazing the trail to Eagle for many more Marin Council youth to follow in the near future! |
|
2020 "Of the Year" (OTY) Award Nominations
One of the favorite local events of the year is the annual Marin Council Recognition Dinner, held annually in March. The reason it's so popular is that we recognize dozens of outstanding Scouts and leaders at that time. Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA youth, Venturers, Explorers, and adult leaders from all over the county normally attend this wonderful event.
Updated nomination forms were emailed to all unit leaders last year, and the nomination deadlines for these awards have all passed. The Council Advancement & Recognition committee is evaluating all the submissions for Scout youth and adult volunteers. These Scouts and Scouters will be recognized at the Marin Council recognition event in late Spring or early Summer, conditions permitting. More details will be announced in the coming months.
|
|
Annual "California Prepared Code Red" Update
Scouts BSA Troop 1 in Mill Valley is planning to host a virtual "Code Red" event later this Spring, likely in April or May. Further details will be announced soon! We thank you for your patience and look forward to working with all Marin Troops to make the best of this important emergency-preparedness activity!
|
|
50th-anniversary Environmental Protection Agency Award |
|
The Environmental Protection Agency, as part of a public awareness campaign to celebrate its first 50 years, has partnered with the Boy Scouts of America to create an award for members of troops, crews and ships. This new award will recognize youth who research and learn about the subjects of human health and the environment, as the EPA develops its vision for the next 50 years.
The objective of the EPA award is to combine a variety of disciplines to challenge and educate youth; introduce them to the breadth of the EPA’s involvement in environmental protection and conservation; and encourage them to research, investigate, experiment, demonstrate, survey, and study air pollution, water pollution, solid and hazardous waste, and ocean dumping. Click here for more details on this exciting award available only during 2021!
|
|
Boys’ Life is now Scout Life!
There's something familiar, but a little new, finally coming to your mailbox! They finally updated the name, but it's the same great youth magazine. Check it out soon!
|
|
National Youth Leadership Training @ Camp Tamarancho |
|
National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT) is an intensive week-long leadership training course conducted in an outdoor setting. As members of an NYLT patrol, Scouts BSA and Venturing youth learn the tools of leadership, communication, problem solving, ethical decision-making and much more --- experiencing the Patrol Method of Scouting first-hand while they camp, cook, eat, work and learn together.
NYLT is a six-day course held June 13-20, 2021 at Camp Tamarancho. In order to attend a NYLT course, all youth must have the following qualifications by the start of the session:
- Must be a registered member of a Scouting unit.
- Must have a current BSA Health and Medical Record form parts A, B, and C.
- Scouts BSA members (male and female) must be at least 13. They must have completed Introduction to Leadership Skills for Troops (ILS-T) and have earned First Class rank.
- Venturers must be at least 14. They must have completed Introduction to Leadership Skills for Crews (ILS-C).
- Apply with a unit leader recommendation.
- It is recommended that all youth have had at least one year of camping experience. NYLT is not an outdoor skills course and it is important that each participant have basic camping and outdoor cooking experience.
|
|
Leadership Training Continues Online for Youth & Adults!
In response to the needs of Youth Leaders in Troops and Crews during the extended CoViD pandemic, Scouting U has released a new virtual training program for Introduction to Leadership Skills for Troops (ILS-T) and Introduction to Leadership Skills for Crews (ILS-C). This new temporary instructional training program is available by logging onto https://my.scouting.org and launching the BSA Learn Center.
|
|
The Scouts in your Pack/Troop/Crew deserve TRAINED adult leaders. This will help develop a better Scouting experience for your sons & daughters, improved preparedness when something goes wrong, and it fulfills an important adult volunteer requirement for unit programs.
For now, the best way for your Pack/Troop/Crew to maintain "Trained" adult leaders is to complete the important online courses from BSA at my.scouting.org. Scouting’s most important training for adult volunteers is the mandatory Youth Protection Training (YPT). YPT must be renewed every 2 years online, and your YPT status must be maintained in order to continue as an adult leader. Please see instructions below:
|
|
Youth Protection Training, Cub Leader Position Training, Scoutmaster/ASM Position Training, and Venturing Advisor Position Training: all are available online for free! Follow these easy steps to register and complete your training:
-
Create or log-in to your personal account at my.scouting.org;
-
Next, renew your Youth Protection training (YPT) by selecting the YPT logo at the upper right corner of the screen;
- For the primary Leader Specific training courses noted above, click on the "BSA Learning Center" icon to select the online versions you need for your position.
Hazardous Weather training is also required to be considered a trained leader and wear the "Trained" patch on your uniform. It's only 30-40 minutes online and you will learn some great information for your next outing! Just click on the title and the link will take you there!
|
|
Wood Badge Training: is this appropriate for new adult volunteers? Yes, Absolutely! This BSA National leadership training course is open to all Scouting volunteers. If you’re a registered adult and have completed YPT, then you’re eligible to attend Wood Badge. Scheduled dates are the weekends of September 10-12 and 25-26, 2021 at Camp Tamarancho in Fairfax. Find more information about the 2021 Wood Badge course here!
|
|
2021 Cub Scout Camping Programs Announced!
After the many challenges of 2020, we look forward to having "in-person" Cub Scout camping events again this year . . .
|
|
Cub Scout Day Camp - "Under the Sea" Theme
Day Camp is the highlight of a Cub Scout's year! Local boys and girls who are not currently in Cub Scouts are welcome to attend also, so invite your friends! Day Camp is open to youth who will be entering the second through fifth grades in the fall of 2021.
- First Day Camp Week: July 12-16, 2021
- Second Day Camp Week: July 26-30, 2021
Cost for Day Camp is $295, with a $20 discount for currently registered Cub Scouts. Bus service is available from many parts of Marin if desired, and is only $70 additional per week.
There is an early-bird registration discount of $15 until March 31, so don't delay! Click here to reserve your spot for FUN!
NOW is also time for Scouts BSA and Venturing youth to apply to be on our staff; please download an application. It's all about having fun outdoors with our younger Scouts!
|
|
Put the following events on your family calendar!
Webelos Woods @ Camp Marin Sierra, September 3-5
Theme: Back to Baden-Powell
Family Fiesta @ Camp Tamarancho, September 17-19
Theme: Cub Scout Superheroes
It takes many hands to produce these events each year, from planning the festivities to staffing the actual activities themselves. As we look forward to 2021, we could use your help! Please consider joining our fun committee. Contact Chair Ron Poggi or SDE Nancy Rozell.
|
|
Scouts BSA Summer Resident Camp
We are well into planning for our delayed 70th-anniversary celebration in July 2021 at Emigrant Gap! Our Camp Marin Sierra forms are updated, and the Council website has all the exciting details to plan your best week ever for Scouts BSA resident camp! Opening camps in 2021 is critical to the mission delivery of the Boy Scouts of America. The decision to open and how to operate involves a solid plan for mitigating the risk of COVID-19 for your safety while at camp. Click here to register your troop for the best Sierra summer camp experience you can provide your Scouts!
|
|
One of the most important parts of preparing for a successful summer camp operation is recruiting that right balance of camp staff and training them well. In the CoViD-19 era this may be more difficult for us to get some staff back who you were not able to be employed in 2020 because camp did not open. Please refer any Scout youth and young adults 15 years and over. Click here to apply for the best seasonal Camp staff a young person can enjoy!
Now is a great time to consider what campsite to reserve, or apply early to ensure you get a place on staff and even the job you desire! If you don't see what you're looking for, please contact District Exec/Camping Director MJ Andrews for further details!
|
|
What's New at the Marin Council Trading Post?
Pinewood Derby Car Kits are well-stocked just in time for the Winter racing season; only $4.49 each! Please call ahead to purchase a bunch to hand out at your Den or Pack members.
The Trading Post is open for inside sales with these considerations:
- Hours open Monday to Friday, 10am to 3:30pm, and Thursday evenings until 5pm.
- Inside sales, curbside walk-up sales, as well as orders placed in advance can all be accommodated by our staff.
-
We recommend that large orders be placed in advance by calling (415) 454-1081, or emailing BOTH Mary Vasser and Cynthia Mueller.
|
|
Venturing BSA --- Crew Corner
We have formed a new Council Venturing Committee to help guide our older Scouting youth toward the benefits of this co-ed program with fantastic leadership opportunities. More information about our Venture Crews, their special interests and the Venturing Officers' Association (VOA) will be provided at the Scouts BSA Roundtable meetings during the next few months. For further details, please email Venturing Rally Commissioner Monika Kainz.
|
|
Talako Lodge News Bulletin --- Order of the Arrow Members |
|
Important Reminders Upcoming
- Our second Lodge meeting of the year will be held at 7pm February 9 via ZOOM. Our new slate of LEC officers is starting off the year strong, so everyone is encouraged to log-in.
- Next, mark your calendars for the annual Pinewood Wood Derby Workshop Day being planned for Saturday, February 13 at the San Rafael Elks Lodge. Subject to COVID restrictions, a limited staffing sign-up will be coordinated soon.
- Finally, our annual Klondike Derby weekend is scheduled for March 5-7, and we will need Arrowmen to assist with this fun event. Unsure if this will be an alternate style in-person activity at Camp Tamarancho or virtual broadcast from Camp Marin Sierra; more details to follow.
|
|
January Highlights
We held our First Lodge meeting of the year, and it was fantastic! We discussed goals for all the Lodge positions and decided on a theme and some activities for the Klondike Derby --- Tropical Paradise! Several Lodge Members attended the Winter Camp Awareness Training held by Yerba Buena Lodge, and came away with some great ideas for improving our own Klondike Derby/Winter Camporee in the future.
|
|
Annual Lodge Registration and Dues
If you are a Talako Lodge member of the Order of the Arrow, and you have not paid your dues for 2021, please use the link below. Paying your $15 dues helps the Lodge grow, and if you want to attend events or purchase our new PATCHES, then you have to be a member in good standing!
Currently, we have available the new No-NOAC 2020 patch sets shown. They can be ordered when you are completing your annual registration and dues payment online. Also, there is a new link for the Lodge Trading Post where you can order other OA or Talako memorabilia and swag!
If you have any questions about the National Order of the Arrow organization, or the local Talako Lodge in Marin, please contact Lodge Chief Alex Perry.
|
|
Denman “Denny” McNear
At the beginning of this year, the Marin Council lost one of its longest-tenured volunteers, Denny McNear, who passed away at the age of 95.
Mr. McNear was the Chairman and CEO of the Southern Pacific Transportation Company, a caring father and husband, as well as a dedicated Scouter. He served on the Marin Council Executive Board for decades; he and other key leaders were responsible for ensuring our Council’s independence during the 1990’s when many smaller councils were being forced to merge. Denny also served as a Trustee for our Council trust and endowment funds. In that role he and the other trustees helped steward Council assets to preserve our camps and improve our overall sustainability.
|
|
He was a generous man with a great sense of humor and always a warm smile. Scouting was a match for Denny and provided him a great social outlet that built many friendships that lasted years. He delighted in working with people and supporting young Scouts every chance he could get including on occasion having the Southern Pacific Railroad train make a special unannounced stop across the road from Camp Marin Sierra so that troops who had taken the train to camp that year could disembark and march smiling into camp.
Denny McNear was recognized with the Silver Beaver, Silver Wolf as well as being named the 1998 Marin Council Distinguished Citizen. He will be missed but his legacy lives on through the strength of our Council thanks to his leadership.
|
|
Continuing Local Scout Unit Meetings and Activities Safely |
|
As a reminder, under the Marin County Public Health directives, social distancing and face masks are required. Our Risk Management Committee has produced several important documents to assist with determining your response for planning events and activities. These include Marin Council guidelines and FAQs, as well as a valuable unit restarting guidebook loaded with details and available by clicking on the image at right . . .
Other Helpful Links and Resources on CoViD-19
|
|
Marin Council Service Center: Office Status Updated
While the Trading Post is open weekdays for limited hours, the Marin Council administrative offices are not accessible to the public. However, our office staff is still available to support you with Scouting inquiries almost anytime. Please be aware:
- Council staff is onsite and available by phone Monday through Friday, 8:30am - 3:30pm.
- Staff may still be working remotely on some days, so if you need to visit a specific staff member in person, it is suggested you schedule an appointment or arrange a phone conference or ZOOM meeting.
-
No matter what . . . Council Executive Staff are always available via email here: (Michael Dybeck, Nancy Rozell, and Michael "MJ" Andrews).
Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding during these novel times; please contact Scout Executive Michael Dybeck with any questions or concerns in this regard.
|
|
Scouting . . .
Prepared. For Life.
|
|
At the Marin Council, we will continue to do our best to keep you informed of changes in our program calendar for the New Year. We will also strive to highlight new ways for your family continue to enjoy and benefit from Scouting-at-home under these unique circumstances.
Please check our Council website homepage regularly for the most current information updates and event calendar, and the frequent social media activity on our Instagram and Facebook pages linked below, as well as those for Camps Tamarancho & Marin Sierra.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
