March 2021
Volume 14, Issue 3
Greetings!

And the ides of March are now upon us! There may yet be winter storms on the horizon to bring much-needed rains, but we are marching on into Spring during this fabulous weather! Wildflowers are blooming along the verdant hillsides at Camp Tamarancho, so now is a beautiful time to come up with your Scouts for a geo-cache exploration, rambling day hike, small-group overnight camping, novice backpacking trek from Fairfax, or a wilderness survival outpost at primitive Dead Heifer. It's all available here in scenic Marin County, just up the hill in Fairfax! For more details, check out our newly-revised Camping & Facilities page on our Council website here. Hard to believe it's been almost a year now, but don't forget to play it safe with CoViD guidelines!
Cub Scout Speaker Series - the First Wednesday every month!
Join us this Wednesday, March 3 at 5pm for our very popular Cub Scout Speakers Series. Our next presenter is Charles Scott, a San Rafael native and former major league baseball player, who is the founder, owner and program director for Future Prospects Baseball.

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!
Cub Scout Recruiting Webinar --- also 5pm this Wednesday!
Join BSA National marketing leader Michael Ramsay for a "Spring Into Scouting" marketing and membership webinar. We remain hopeful that by late Spring, we'll be gathering outdoors with physical distancing and mask-wearing as part of our new CoViD "normal". During this session we'll discuss tips and tactics for recruiting new Cubs and the promise of Summer fun at Cub Scout Day Camp (see post below)!

Click Here to add this webinar to your calendar!
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, March 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 making the most of being "Scoutdoors" this Spring and Summer, 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!

Join Cub Scout Roundtable with Commissioner Roger Dickerson
ZOOM Meeting ID # 826 1598 5928

Join Scouts BSA Roundtable with Commissioner Mike Blum
ZOOM Meeting ID # 836 5520 6973
Quarterly Venturing Rally also this month!
The next quarterly Venturing Rally is planned for 7pm, Thursday, March 3, just before the regular monthly roundtable meetings. We are planning to present an activity interest survey to be broadcast to all Scouts BSA youth (13 yrs or older) and adult leaders soon. For details, please email Venturing Rally Commissioner Monika Kainz, or check out the new Crews' Corner posting below!
Congratulate the Inaugural Class of Female Eagle Scouts!
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. The BSA celebrated the leadership accomplishments and highlighted the positive impact Scouts make in communities every day with a special national celebration "Be the Change", for the inaugural Class of Female Eagle Scouts on February 21, 2021.
Locally in Marin Council, we are proud to recognize our first four female Eagle Scouts, all from Troop 1015 in San Anselmo! Stefanie Iojica, Jordan Locke, Gina Schneider, and Bella Segovia each achieved their Eagle Scout rank at their Board of Review early in 2021, less than two years after joining Scouts BSA in February 2019. They are showing everyone it can be done during a pandemic, and blazing the trail to Eagle for many more Marin Council youth to follow in the near future!
Pinewood Derby Workshop Wrap-up --- Saturday, February 13
This fun day activity helped over 70 Cub Scouts and their parents who needed assistance building a Pinewood Derby car!  OA Talako Lodge Arrowmen and adult leaders were socially-distanced outdoors at the San Rafael Elks Lodge parking lot to assist with directing the drive-through traffic and managing check-in. The volunteers worked with power tools and other equipment to help the young Scouts rough out their winning Pinewood Derby car shape without ever leaving their family car and parent drivers!
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!
"California Prepared" Code Red Update

Code Red 2021 is coming! As the pandemic continues, more community members are venturing outdoors for hiking, biking, climbing, kayaking . . . some for the first time . . .
 
On Saturday April 24, 2021, Troop 1 will be conducting the first (and hopefully only!) virtual Code Red. This year’s theme is “Code Red on Mt. Tamalpais: Outdoor First-Aid”.
 
Each Troop/Crew will have the opportunity to design and run their own virtual scenario within their breakout room. Get your creative juices flowing, because this year we need your ingenuity, originality, and innovation to make this virtual Code Red as interactive, educational, and as fun as ever. There will be awards such as “Most Interactive Scenario.”
 
To avoid duplicate scenarios, we will have a virtual lottery and draft from a large bank of topics on Wednesday 3/17/2021 from 6:30-7:30pm via Zoom meeting where we will have:
  1. Lottery: Pick order will be decided by pulling participating troops/crews at random from a hat.
  2. Snake Draft of topics: Pick order from first pick to last pick, then second round last pick to first pick.
 
Similar to the in-person Code Red events in the past, participating Troops and Crews throughout the Marin Council will work together to evaluate and resolve the various outdoor first-aid scenarios. Does your Troop/Crew have what it takes to be the Marin Council Code Red Champs!
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!
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!
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.

For more information, contact Course Director Beth Bailey-Gates.
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 $375, with a $80 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 in July!

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!
Announcing Marin Sierra Family Vacation Camp in August!
Parents, are you tired of hearing about all the fun your Scouts are having at our beautiful camp properties? Well now you'll have the opportunity to share some quality outdoor time together as a family with all the traditions of Scout Summer Camp. While celebrating our CoViD-delayed 70th anniversary of Camp Marin Sierra, we are also in the planning to introduce a week of family vacation camp from Sunday, August 1 through Saturday, August 7, 2021.
Imagine packing for your family camping vacation, but not having to worry about setting up a tent, or cooking your food, or planning activities! For one low price per person, you will be able to register your family members to spend a couple days beside crystal-clear Chubb Lake, breathe in the fresh mountain air, and gaze at the amazing night skies while our camp staff takes care of all the basics necessities such as tent, meals, and all the standard program activities including waterfront, shooting sports, crafts, nature and more! Further details will be released soon!
Leadership Training Continues for all Adults!

Is it challenging to know what adult leader training is needed and to keep track of it for your unit? A great solution is to have a Training Chairperson on your unit committee. It’s not a time-intensive role and it really helps to promote leader training and keep track of it all. Click this link and scroll down to the Unit Training Chair Information Guide for further details.
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. With outdoor activities expected to increase this Spring and Summer, be sure to take advantage of the Hazardous Weather training, which is 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 to get started!
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!
Venturing BSA --- Crews' 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. We will also be sending out an activity interest survey to all Scouts BSA youth 13 years or older, and all Scouts BSA adult leaders, as well as all current Venturing participants. For further details, please email Venturing Rally Commissioner Monika Kainz.
Talako Lodge News Bulletin --- Order of the Arrow Members
Important Reminders
Our third Lodge meeting of the year will be held at 7pm March 9 via ZOOM. Our new LEC officers are planning for many events this Spring, so everyone is encouraged to log-in!
  • Our Spring Induction will be in-mid April (dates TBD). Similar to last fall's big event, we will be providing a modified CoViD-friendly ordeal. We will be discussing at future planning meetings all the specifics, so be on the look out for that!
  • We will be coordinating with all the Marin Scoutmasters and SPLs in the coming weeks to schedule Unit OA Elections (Scout Troops) or Bridging Ceremonies (Cub Packs). Please contact through SLACK either Vice Chief of Ceremonies Sam Silvestri or Lodge Chief Alex Perry for additional details.
  • Finally, the annual Klondike Derby weekend scheduled for March 5-7, has been moved to May at Camp Tamarancho as a Spring Camporee with alternate troop competition activities. We will need Arrowmen to coordinate this fun event; more details to follow!
February Highlights
  • Our second Lodge meeting of the year consisted of preparation for the Pinewood Derby Workshop and a training session for our communication platform on SLACK. If you haven’t joined Slack, please download the app and connect with us!
  • Special recognition to the many Pinewood Derby workshop staffers who helped over 70 Cub Scouts create their dream wheels in a CoViD-conscious environment. It was a huge success and provided new ideas for future workshops of this type.
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.
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 County Public Health webpage
BSA National Memo webpage
BSA National Videos webpage
BSA SAFE Restart checklist
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 DybeckNancy 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.