Boy Scouts of America – Spirit of Adventure Council

West Wind District

ROUNDTABLE ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWSLETTER

10 November 2023

From the District Chair:

Welcome to the first WW newsletter for the 2023-2024 year. I hope you will share and discuss this information within your units and committees and as importantly communicate key messages to our youth members – important information follows on the Eagle process, project work policies, and the like. It is critical that we communicate as broadly and often as possible! To that end, please note also the West Wind Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/697871440359302; here you will find more timely postings of upcoming events and a great forum for ad hoc discussions among leaders. And, of course, do try to attend District Roundtable events – ideally in person, but virtual options are available – to get news and share ideas.

As someone new in the position I’d like to use this space not only to get announcements and policy out to our leaders, but to solicit feedback about how we can better serve you, our volunteers. Please, do reach out at sarathkrishnaswamy@gmail.com at any time if I can help with a question or hear your suggestions or frustrations. I look forward to working with all of you and reiterate the two major themes I will be focusing on this year: Cherish Volunteer Time and Everybody Gets to Play.

-Sarath

District Announcements

District Roster: The District Committee has updated the membership roster in order to simplify and clarify the roles and to identify key open positions. Our updated roster will be posted on the Council website and key positions and contact points are given at the end of this message. Please note the following positions are OPEN and we are soliciting nominations – if you are interested or know someone who would like to help, please contact Sarath (sarathkrishnaswamy@gmail.com). Volunteering at the District level can amplify your reach and is generally a smaller lift than youth-facing work, so it is a great way for new adult volunteers to begin to explore Scouting outside their local unit.

Key Open positions for nomination:

District Vice Chair – Cover for the District Chair, special projects as required, support committees.

Nominating Chair – identify candidates for District positions.

Friends of Scouting Chair – help identify corporate/private sources for funding

*** We ALWAYS need / welcome people to help serve on committees or with one-off events.

Chain Saw Use: Scouters should note that the Guide to Safe Scouting and the SAFE Project Tool Use (https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/healthsafety/pdf/680-028.pdf) limit use of chainsaws on Scout projects to licensed and insured professionals or to adults who meet specific BSA training requirements. At this time we highly discourage unit projects that include chainsaw use. In general, the more any power tool use is required for a project, the more that project becomes adult-featured and not youth-centered. Please take this into consideration for your service projects.

Membership Committee

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

Hello West Wind District Members!

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 lets get planning!

Advancement Committee

Neil Thomas, Chair - wwadvancementchair@gmail.com

New News

1. The Eagle Recognition Dinner (ERD) for the Class of 2023 will be on January 4th, 2024 at the Doubletree Hotel Danvers. The cutoff for this event is any Eagle Board of Review before/on Friday, December 15th, 2023.

2. Due to the ERD cutoff date: the last Eagle Scout Boards for 2023 will be on Thursday, December 14th, 2023.

3. Registration for ERD will open up in mid-November. When I know, you'll know, or probably know before me.

Old News

1. Please subscribe to and read the Spirit of Adventure Newsletter.

2. Eagle Boards of Review

a. We have moved back to In-Person Boards of Review for Eagle Scouts.

b. These are held on the third Thursday of each month.

c. These are scheduled on a first come first served basis. Subject to the availability of Board Members and Letters of Recommendation.

3. Life to Eagle Scout Session

a. Contact Neil Thomas at wwadvancementchair@gmail.com to receive a PDF of the Life to Eagle Scout training session. We are always happy to run a Virtual Seminar for groups of Scouts that request it.

4. Guide to Advancement.

a. The latest Guide to Advancement can be found here

5. Eagle Scout Rank Application.

a. Scouts applying for Eagle Rank must use the application labeled “512-728 June 2022 Revision” on the bottom of page 2. The latest Eagle Rank application can be found here

b. Please note that this can be printed out using ScoutBook.

6. Eagle Project Proposal.

a. Scouts working towards Eagle Rank must use the workbook labeled “Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook No. 2023a February 2023” on the bottom of page 1.

b. The latest Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook can be found here

c. Use the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to complete the BSA PDF forms.

d. When completing the Contact form, please complete the following by contacting wwadvancementchair@gmail.com for this information.

i. Your Council Service Center

ii. Council or District Project Approval Representative.

e. When completing the Contact form, please append the BSA ID to the coaches name. e.g. Coach Name (BSA ID: 123456789)

7. Eagle Project Proposal Process.

a. Any Eagle Project Proposals that have been approved by the Scout, Beneficiary, Unit Leader and the Committee Chair are ready to be reviewed by the District Advancement Committee.

b. To submit an Eagle Project Proposal the Candidate must provide the following:

i. The original PDF of the completed Eagle Scout Project Workbook

ii. Full page scans of the Proposal and Fundraising signature pages on a clear white background.

iii. A PDF of pictures or diagrams of your project idea.

iv. DO NOT combine these documents into a single PDF as they have to be split apart.

c. Email the Eagle Project Proposal to wweagleproposals@gmail.com . When addressing your email please introduce yourself and state which Troop you are from.

8. Eagle Rank Application Process.

a. To submit an Eagle Rank Application the Candidate must provide the following:

i. The original PDF of the completed Eagle Rank Application with a picture of the signature page, including the signatures of the Scout, Unit Leader and the Committee Chair.

ii. A PDF of the Candidate’s statement of ambitions and life purpose (see page 2 of the Eagle Rank Application).

iii. A PDF of the Candidate’s listing of positions held in your religious institution, school, camp, community, or other organizations, during which you demonstrated leadership skills. Include honors and awards received during this service. (see page 2 of the Eagle Rank Application).

iv. The original PDF of the completed Eagle Scout Project Workbook.

v. Full page scans of the Proposal, FundRaising and Report signature pages on a clear white background.

vi. A PDF of your Individual Advancement Record from ScoutBook.

vii. DO NOT copy/paste signatures into these documents. They must be signed by people.

viii. DO NOT combine these documents into a single PDF as they have to be split apart.

b. Email the Eagle Rank Application to wwadvancementchair@gmail.com . When addressing your email please introduce yourself and state which Troop you are from.

c. Once the application has been submitted and accepted as complete, the Advancement Committee will verify the application with Council, solicit references for the Scout, and notify the Troop and Scout when a Board of Review can be scheduled.

d. DO NOT solicit letters of recommendation, that is the purview of the Advancement Committee. If you want people to submit letters then add their names to the Eagle Rank Application.

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:

West Wind District: https://www.facebook.com/groups/697871440359302

West Wind Cub Roundtable: https://www.facebook.com/groups/westwindcubroundtable

West Wind District Key 3 Contacts

Sarath Krishnaswamy, District Chair: sarathkrishnaswamy@gmail.com

Paul Nahle, District Commissioner: pnaehle@comcast.net

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

Other West Wind District Contacts