Boy Scouts of America – Spirit of Adventure Council

West Wind District

ROUNDTABLE ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWSLETTER

17 Mar 2024

From the District Chair:

Hitting Spring! Time for crossovers, Pinewoods, and all that great stuff. Hope your units are having an awesome time. Great announcements here about District events, including foremost the District Dinner – please, PLEASE do nominate someone from your unit for a Spark Plug, look into the other awards, and do plan to join us for some fun and fellowship.

I’m always around to meet with you or your unit, or answer questions or chase down issues. Email me any time or drop by Roundtable and corner me there.

-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.

District Dinner: We are setting this for THURSDAY May 23 in Chelmsford. Precise details forthcoming. Please do set aside time, and plan on bringing as many from your unit as possible – in particular those you nominate for Spark Plug awards. We will finalize costs soon but it will be around $30/pp – we do not make money on this, we just cover costs. Details for Award nominations and dinner logistics coming soon.

Roundtable recording: The most recent District Roundtable was recorded on Zoom and can be accessed here. Use Passcode #VI1PW7J . This remains a messy process, so I strongly suggest attending Roundtable live in person if you can, or at least live via Zoom.

West Wind District Pinewood Derby: Registrations for the West Wind District Pinewood Derby are coming to a close faster than a pinewood derby heat time. Don't get caught flat. Please sign up! We're setting up a schedule based upon the numbers for each rank, so sign up and keep an eye out on the WWD Facebook page for last-moment schedule adjustments. Hard close on registrations EOD, March 20, 2024. Entry fee is $8 per Cub Scout. We are looking forward to seeing lots of cool cars and happy kids showing lots of Scout Spirit again this year!

Who: Cub Scouts (incl AOL) who placed 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in their rank’s race within their Pack

What: West Wind Pinewood Derby

When: Saturday, March 23, 2024

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

Why: Because it’s fun!

How: Complete the online registration JOT form https://form.jotform.com/240442875735159 (preferably one form per Pack, please)

Send questions and offers to volunteer to: wwdpwd2024@gmail.com

If you have any cool banners that would help liven up the festivities, either reach out to me directly or come by the church Friday, March 22, from 7-9PM.

Yours in Scouting, Chuck Crannell Pack 81 Chelmsford

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

Membership Committee

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

West Wind Scouters are invited to come to the Beading Ceremony of Jennifer Hart at Camp Carpenter Chapel at 6:30 on June 1, 2024.

Upcoming Training

Sean Waite, Chair - Waisean@gmail.com

Solo Wilderness First Aid (WFA) Training: Solo Wilderness First Aid (WFA) Course April 6 and 7 or April 27 and 28 has a few openings. This is a two-day 16-hour course hosted by Chelmsford Venturing Crew 7. This course is 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 in the back country. 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”.

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

(Offered again Oct 5-6, location TBD)

Den Leader Training: May 8, Base Camp Express

Den Leader, Cubmaster: Sept. 26 at Base Camp Express

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

Den Chief: Nov. 20 at Base Camp Express

NYLT- 6/30-7/5/24 at T L Storer Scout Reservation. Registration link on council website.

Advancement Committee

Neil Thomas, Chair - wwadvancementchair@gmail.com

1. District Advancement Notes are here

2. The next District Board of Review is scheduled for Thursday, March 21st.

3. The previous District Board of Review that was scheduled for Thursday, February 15th was cancelled due to lack of Scouts.

4. BSA Advancement News has stopped publication. They recommend Facebook. But I admit not being too keen on that.

5. 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

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

7. From Troop 159, our very own Jeremy Brown has been approved to receive the National Certificate of Merit.

Our current Boards of Review List.

1. Year to date we advanced 4 Eagle Scouts

2. Currently we have 29 proposals outstanding, who have not requested an Eagle Scout Board of Review.

3. In December we advanced 6 Eagle Scouts.

4. In January we advanced 4 Eagle Scouts.

5. In February we advanced 0 Eagle Scouts.

6. For March we have 5 Eagle Scout Candidates lined up. Well almost..

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