District Newsletter

Spring is almost here!!! Are you planning activities with your units?

Recharter packets are available if you have not yet picked them up from your commissioner or at last month’s roundtable. If you would like yours, call me at 815-988-2339 or email condrmn@aol.com and we can arrange drop off. They will be available at roundtable on March 11th.

Recharter special dates:
March 1st – First day to access Internet Recharter
March 4th – Early Bird Charter Turn-In @ Commissioner Meeting,
6:30 p.m. St. Paul Lutheran Church, Dixon
March 11th - Charter Turn-In @ Roundtable, St. Paul Lutheran Church, 6:45 p.m.
March 13, 2010 @ 9:00 – 12:00 pm First Aid/Medicine Merit Badge Midway - Sterling
March 30th - Charter Turn-In @ Commissioner Meeting, 6:30 p.m. St. Paul Lutheran Church, Dixon
April 10, 2010 @ Adult Leader District Recognition Dinner – Wesley UMC, Sterling
April 19, 2010 @ Last Chance Turn in @ Carol Conderman’s – 5:30 p.m.- ?,
Stillman Valley – 815-988-2339

Scouting for Food door hanger distribution is this Saturday, February 27th. The weather looks like it may hold, so let’s get out there!!! And if they want to give food now, please accept!! Pick up food on March 6th. Remember – if these dates don’t work for your unit, feel free to set your own dates and times in your community. Contact Karen Merlak at merlakfamily@essex1.com or 815-946-3522 to report your success in the food drive. Remember to also go to ‘Good Turn for America’ and report your service hours and projects!

OATH CAMP 2010 – This joint Bears/Webelos Scout and Boy Scout event will be held on April 30 – May 2nd at the Morrison – Rockwood State Park. Packs can be ‘buddied’ up with a troop to assist in camping upon request. This great event will include: Map & Compass Belt Loop, Leave No Trace for the Cub Scout Level, Knots for the Scout, Campfire Preparation/Skits, Songs, etc., Flag Etiquette and Citizenship Badge, Cooking – demonstrating the different kinds of outdoor cooking. Many of the events will apply to the BSA 2010 A Century of Making a Difference Award for the Scouts.
Cost: $10 per Bear Cub Scout or Webelos Scout (current 3rd and 4th grade scouts)
$5 per Boy Scout if Camping
Parents/Adults/Scouters/Staff - $5.00 if Camping (includes patch and cracker barrel)
Staff NOT Camping - free
Fee includes patch, program supplies and camping fees.
For more information, contact Don Rastede for Boy Scouts, Carol Conderman for Cub Scouts and Webelos Scouts.

Roundtable is Thursday, March 11th, 7:00 PM at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Dixon. Please plan on arriving 15 mins early to check in. Bring a Friend!!! The Boy Scouts will be learning more about National Youth Leadership Training and Order of the Arrow – and a good discussion about ‘anything and everything’ will follow. For the Cub Scouts – following the national themes, discussing the changes coming to Cub Scouts, and day camp materials and sessions will be passed out. Bring your completed District Award of Merit Nomination forms and the Making a Difference Award forms to turn in.

2009 and 2010 Centennial Quality Unit forms are due. Currently, we are only at 52% of 2009 Quality Units, with 28 turned in. For 2010, only 28 forms are turned in. That is only 50% of the district. YOUR RECHARTER WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED IF YOUR UNIT HAS NOT COMPLETED THE FORMS. Every goal is a measurable goal, please be a good scouter and take the time to complete them.

First Aid and Medicine Merit Badge day is on March 13 at CGH Hospital. Contact Don Rastede for more information at 815-65-3542 or rastededental@att.net – registration is ongoing!!! Lunch is provided this year.

TRAINING –
Scoutmaster Specific Training will be offered on March 11th and the following roundtables at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Dixon, starting at 6:30 PM. Contact Jack Stone at rjstone@mchsi.com so he can have enough handouts. There are people planning on attending, so please encourage your Assistant Scoutmasters and upcoming Webelos Scout leaders to attend!

Webelos Leader Outdoor Training and Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation will be held on May 8th, at Camp Lowden in Oregon, beginning at 8:30 AM. Flyer is available on the district web site, www.whiteeaglebsa.org or council web site www.blackhawkscouting.org, under training. If your Pack will be camping, someone in attendance at that event needs to have attended this training.

Trainer’s Edge – (White Eagle District Needs Trainers!) This training is designed for all current and potential trainers and those who want to update their current training skills and techniques – district Cub Scout, Boy Scout, Venturing, and Varsity
trainers; pack trainers; council-level trainers; district commissioners; roundtable staffers; NYLT staffers, and Wood Badge staffers.
This will be held on Saturday, March 6th; 8:30 – 4:00 PM; Boeger Leadership Center at Camp Lowden in Oregon. Cost is $10, includes snack and hot lunch. Register by calling the council service center at 815-397-0210, or FAX to 815-397-7306, or mail to Blackhawk Area Council, 1800 7th Ave., Rockford IL 61104. If you have any questions, call Mike Condon at 847-542-8850 or mjcondon5@comcast.net See the latest online Courier for the flyer.

Friends of Scouting Presentations are still being given – be sure to have your unit’s pledges in by April 30th to be eligible for the free ranks incentive. Contact Lee Kraut for more information.

White Eagle Scouters’ Appreciation Dinner Birthday Party! On Saturday, April 10, 2010 Gathering at 5:30 PM; Dinner at 6:00 PM at Wesley United Methodist Church, 2200 16th Avenue, Sterling, Illinois (corner of 16th and Lynn Blvd.) District Award of Merit and Make a Difference Awards will be announced and awarded. Cost: $15.00 per person. Includes Meat, Vegetables, Dessert, Drinks and entertainment! Contact Rosemary at 815-772-7965 - Make reservations no later than March 30, 2010.

News Bulletins:

Venturing Age/Grace Eligibility Change – go to www.scouting.org/scoutsource/venturing

The Boy Scouts of America's National Executive Board today announced a change in the age and grade requirements for the Venturing program.

Effective May 1, 2010, the minimum age/grade requirement will be changed to 14 years of age or 13 years of age and completion of the eighth grade. The previous requirements mandated that participants be 14 years of age and have completed the eighth grade.

The change was made to accommodate boys and girls who have late birthdays, usually from June to September. Under the previous requirement, these boys and girls were not able to immediately join a Venturing crew with their friends when their class graduated from the eighth grade. Now that's no longer an issue.

The new requirements do apply to Sea Scouts, who are part of the Venturing program. But Explorers are Venturers who are part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints won't be affected by the change.

District Committee Members and scouters - the next district committee meeting is Thursday, March 4th at 7:30 p.m. at St. Paul Lutheran Church. If you cannot attend, contact Jim Pepper with your report on what is going on in your responsibilities. Any scouter is welcome to attend the meeting.

Commissioner meeting for unit commissioners is Thursday, March 4th at 6:30 pm at St. Paul Lutheran Church.

Save the Date!

Medicine Merit Badge Midway on 3/13/2010

~~Cub Scout Fun Day on 3/13/2010~~

District Adult Recognition dinner on 4/10/2010

US Grant Pilgrimage in Galena on 4/23/2010 – 4/26/2010

Webelos and Boy Scouts Joint Activity on 4/30/2010 – 5/2/2010

Cub Scout Fishing Derby on 6/5/2010