Venturing Contest

If you aren't a Venture Scout, you have got a good reason to be one now! We are having a photo contest and you could win this:

The Grand Prize Winner will receive a $400 BSA Supply gift certificate, and a three-day, all expenses paid trip with his/her parents to New York City to attend the annual Explorers Club meeting as the guest of Richard Wiese, the youngest ever president of The Explorers Club. Members of The Explorers Club include: Neil Armstrong (space), Robert Ballard (ocean exploration), Scott Carpenter (space), Jim Fowler (zoology), William Koch (sailing), Steven Squyres (space, Mars), Charles “Chuck” Yeager (test pilot).

WOW!

"Cat in the Dirty Clothes Pile"

Scout-O-Rama

The recent edition of "Scouting Magazine" has a very nice article by Mark Ray on Louisville's Scout-O-Rama.
www.scoutingmagazine.org/issues/current/a-adventure.html

Growing up in Bardstown as a Scout, we used to go to all of the Scout-O's. I remember camping out one time and walking around some field at night. We starting finding and collecting golf balls. Each of us had our pockets full! When we got back to camp, our Scoutmaster informed us that there was a golf driving range near by. We had to take our new found treasures back.

I also remember chariot races, contests, booths with free stuff, and basically like "Hillbilly Days", except Scout style. Glad to hear that they are still going strong.

Blue & Gold

I had the opportunity to attend Pack 12's Blue and Gold the other evening. WOW!

I've been to several B & G's, but their "Chinese New Year Celebration" was the best I have ever seen. Games, decorations, songs, skits, cheers, prizes, awards, and of course Chinese food. A huge crowd too. Leaders in uniform. Scouts in uniform (with neckerchief). The Rotary Club, who Charter's the Pack, was even there and presented them a check. It was like a page out of "Boy's Life Magazine".

Pack 12 has been around for almost 40 years now. It was started by Don Combs' grandmother and is Pack 12, because she started with 12 Scouts. The flag pole in the Pikeville City Park was donated by the Pack and still has a plaque there.

Great Cub Scout Packs consist of good Chartered Partners, Trained Leaders, involved parents, and happy Scouts. Pack 12 is hitting on all cylinders!

Play Time

When I was a freshman back in high school, our drama coach asked me to try out for a part. I did. He told me, "Goff, with that accent, you will never make it. Can you use a hammer?" I could and did. For 4 years I was the behind the scenes guy who did everything, attended all of the practices, and performances. I learned to love the theater!

Over the weekend we had 4 Scouts, 2 Eagle, 1 almost Eagle, and the other well on the way, perform in the musical "Guys and Dolls". I'm not a professional critic for the newspaper, but it was out of this world! Really. Tremendous job by all of the students and I thoroughly enjoyed the show.

Jared, Ryan, Devin, and Baby Goff may never make it to Broadway. Maybe they will? They all got their start doing skits like " I got to go Wee" and "World's Greatest Super Hero" in Boy Scouts.

Climb On!

It was a busy weekend. We had Scouts going skiing. Scouts attending the Council of Chiefs meeting. Scouts in the Pikeville High School production of "Guys and Dolls". I ended up at the Council Banquet.

The really big news though, has to be the March 2007 edition of "Boy's Life" magazine. Red River Gorge made the cover.

http://www.boyslife.org/section/magazine/

We have known about the Gorge and all of the rock climbing and rappelling that is available. Now the rest of the world knows. Climb on!

USS McKee

The USS McKee was a submarine tender from 1980 through 1999. It was one of first ships to integrate female sailors and as a consequence was also known as the "Love Boat" for the many relationships that sprung up during the early 1990s.

USS McKee AS 41 was named for Rear Admiral Andrew I. McKee who was born in Lawrenceburg, KY.

Anybody who is good at genealogy research, please check and see if he is related to P. L. and Gertrude McKee of our Camp McKee?

Whether or not, pretty cool to have had a naval ship and our Camp with the same name!

Election Time

Forget all of the news and arguing over the Presidential elections. It is OA election time and time to think about some serious voting.

I ventured across the river and over the hill last night and visited Troop 839 in Martin to help with the first OA Election of the year. Everything went well. Great group of Scouts over there, if you factor out the "Hollywood".

The number of "electable candidates" are down this year. That tells me that we aren't getting as many new Scouts in our existing Troops. Time to revisit our Cub Scout Packs and look to the future.

The Greatest Job

I have had a lot of great jobs in my life. Gas station cleaning, grass cutting, newspaper stuffing, lifeguard, game room manager, Maine Staff, convenience store clerk, DE, etc.

The greatest job that I have ever had though, was being Scoutmaster of Troop 12. The reason that it was so great was because it paid the most. Not in dollars, but in rewards.

Last night we handed veteran Scouter, Kevin Auton, the Scoutmaster patch. Kevin will do well at the job and continue the great Scouting that Troop 12 produces.

I wonder if I'm eligible for retirement benefits?

Price of Freedom

It looks like our group that attended the Price of Freedom conference had a good time. Valley Forge, Philadelphia, and all of the leadership training that could be learned. I see, from this picture, that they learned a very valuable lesson.

Always put your big men up front!

Green Zone

I’m writing to ask for your support for the Iraqi Scouting program. While deployed in Iraq, I found a group of soldiers and civilians in Baghdad who are rebuilding the Iraqi Scouting program. The program needs various supplies for campouts and activities and would be grateful for any direct donations toward their "wish list."

You can also help by purchasing a Green Zone Council CSP or Pocket Patch for $10.00 a piece.

I assure you I’m not doing this for any personal gain. Using my own combat pay (Yes, I personally served a tour in Iraq), I had a patch manufacturer make up 1,150 CSPs and pocket patches, and I’m sending all proceeds to the BSA International Division, with the notation that these funds go to the Iraqi Scouting Program. I have two goals: To raise awareness of this endeavor and need, and to raise $11,500.00 for the Iraqi Scouting Program. If you can help, I’d be sincerely grateful.

CSPs come is 9 different colors. Red, White, Blue, Tan, Yellow, Black, Light Green, Dark Green, and a round pocket patch.

Here’s a letter from 1st Lt Mike Gerson, who’s in Iraq right now and, in his "free time" is directly involved in the Green Zone. If you're interested in either, please feel free to contact me. If you can send supplies, please feel free to contact the GZC directly.

Thank you.

Yours in Scouting,

John Green Captain, U.S. ARMY

CPT John Green
1427 Acacia Dr
Fayetteville, NC 28314

(Eagle Scout Class of ‘91, Troop 391, New Windsor, MD)
John.Green3@us.army.mil or HawkUH60@aol.com

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Fellow Scouter,

Thank you for your interest in supporting the Green Zone Council! Thanks to people like you, we’re able to advance our Iraqi Scouting mission. The Scouts of Iraq, both children and adults, continually express their gratitude for the support people in America and around the world have provided them.

The Green Zone Council (GZC) was founded in 2004 to assist in local efforts to return Iraqi Scouting to its former position of leadership within the Middle East. In this time, we’ve seen more than three dozen members volunteer for varying lengths of time. During their tenure, all have uniformly worked to advance both the short-term objectives and long-term strategic goals of Iraqi Scouting.

The Iraqi Scouting Council works under the auspices of the Ministry of Education (MoE) and counts more than 150,000 youth members and several thousand adult leaders in all of Iraq’s 18 provinces. The GZC has been with the MoE every step of the way, helping to raise funds for training and equipment, hosting meetings of senior Iraqi Scouters, and coordinating with the World Scouting Foundation to insure that funds are available to advance organizational goals and missions.

Coalition members of the GZC have periodic events with the local Scouts to help build relationships and generate support for Iraqi Scouting. One of our biggest challenges is extending the program beyond our small secure borders in the International Zone, but hopefully soon with a change in the security situation we’ll be able to extend supplies and events to Scouts in the remaining Baghdad area and throughout Iraq. We already have basic camping supplies—tents, sleeping bags, mess kits, lanterns, and coolers—all graciously donated by the Spirit of America, with assistance from the Coleman Company.

Supplies we still need include:

Ropes for knot tying (multiple colors and lengths)
First Aid kits, Burn Kits, or supplies to build our own kits
Boy Scout and Girl Scout craft kits
Safety & Survival gear (Compasses, GPSs, etc)
Non-perishable camping food
Ponchos and other outdoor Scout gear
Flashlights (and batteries!).

One of the larger projects for the funds we’ve collected will be to rebuild and improve the Scout camps throughout Iraq. Included in these improvements will be establishing workshops to enable the Scouts to learn a trade and practice skills. These donations would be more involved but if you have the assets available we’d gratefully receive any of the following:

Blacksmithing tools
Carpentry tools
Electrical work tools
Musical instruments of any kind
Sewing machines, thread, and fabrics
Computers

Thank you in advance for your support! If you choose to contribute, please give me a point of contact (name and contact information) so we can send you photos of the Scouts enjoying your donations. I can be reached any time. All donations can be sent to:

Yours in Scouting,

Michael Gerson First Lieutenant,

U.S. Army

MNF-I CSO Plans

APO, AE 09316

Michael.Gerson@Iraq.Centcom.Mil

Make a Scene

The Florida Sea Base is the first Scouting facility in the world to be designated as a S.C.E.N.E. (Scouting Centers of Excellence for Nature and the Environment).
In order to earn this award, you must complete 2 Service Projects. One while you are at Sea Base, and the other once you get home. In recognition of this, all participants are eligible to earn a SCENE award patch at no cost.

Our 1st SCENE Service Project was cleaning up the shore on Munson Island. Barrier reef islands get a lot of interesting garbage! Our guys picked up more stuff than any other crew. I don't think that anybody, had any idea, how much crap goes into the ocean. The next time you throw something down, just remember that it could go down the creek, through the river, out to the ocean, and wash ashore on Munson Island.

Happy Valentines Day!

Ahh, Love is in the air!

Be sure and don't forget that special gal today. The world needs more love, so spread some around.

We received a special Valentine from the local animal shelter yesterday. I wanted to name him "Scout" or "Baden Powell", but that didn't float. Finally, we all agreed on "Chuck". He is truly a Tenderfoot and full of energy.

Good luck to the BGC group heading to Phily this morning for the Price of Freedom conference. Viet, Hollywood, and Mongo are representing us this year.

Sad Robbery

I was doing some research the other day and learned that there was a robbery in 1929 at Pax Hill, the home of Baden Powell. I couldn't find much on it, so I asked Colin Walker over in England about it. Colin is a dedicated researcher of Scouting. His Scouting Milestones web site is wonderful. This is what he told me:

There was a robbery at Pax Hill. Mainly silver items were taken - these have never been listed for public disclosure to my knowledge. I can deduce however some of things that may have been taken being aware of some of B-Ps treasures that have never been seen since that time. I have spoken to members of B-P's family about the break-in and it was quite extensive.

One of the items that I am certain was stolen was a model made in solid silver in the Railway Workships in the Mafeking of the 'The Wolf Gun'- this is documented in my book 'Mafeking's Artillery'.

There were only five- I seem to remember, of these made. All of the other examples are known - but nothing on the B-P one since the robbery. This leads me to think it has been melted down. Most of the other stuff would have been equally distinquishable and/or engraved and so if sold would have been traceable.

Conclave Threads

On Site patch.

Pre-Order patch.

Conclave Backpatch.

Section Backpatch.

3 Piece Set

I understand that the new flap, pocket patch, and CSP will be sold only as a set. Cost should be around the $12.00 range. That is a bargain for all of the threads you get! Some of you guys may want to stock up when they go on sale. Remember, we have NOAC and a NJ coming up. A lot of Lodges will have "sets" to swap and you will need all of the ammunition that you can carry.

District Banquet

We had our Lonesome Pine District Banquet last night at Shoney's in Pikeville. A good time was had by all.

Several folks walked away with some nice recognitions.

Cubmaster of the Year: Bradley Moore

Scoutmaster of the Year: Ralph Mullins

District Award of Merit: Hugh B. Hall, Jr.

Whitney M. Young, Jr. Service Award: Doug Ramey

I've Scouted all over the Council, the US, and even the world. We have some of the best Scouters, right here in the hills. I'm proud to know all of you!

Project Name

We have a new Eagle Scout Application form out.
http://www.nesa.org/trail/58-728.pdf

No major changes to one of the most important pieces of paper that we shuffle around. #5 now wants a name for the project and total number of service hours. That got me thinking,...

Will Hogg's The Horse Barn Needs a Hay Stall Really Bad.

Don Combs' I Raised Money through a Car Wash to Plant Trees and Paint the Play Ground Equipment at the Catholic School.

Stephen Burke's Adopt a Highway, because I was Adopted Too.

Will Goff's Map Out, Draw, and Print Maps for the Trail behind Pikeville Elementary School and Build and Plant some Wildflower Beds.

Ryan Glass' Collecting Aluminum Cans to Help Buy and Build Picnic Tables and Give the Leftover Money to Habitat for Humanity.

Devan Allara's Beautification of the City of Pikeville through Planting New Flowers, when They Get Ready for me to Plant Them.

Billy Zoellers' Make a Real Web Site that Teachers and Students Can ACTUALLY use.

Andy Smith's take Pictures and Make Photo ID's for EVERY Pike County Fire Fighter in the WORLD!

Viet Pham's Collect Used Eyeglasses for Poor Kids.

Aaron Shepherd's Fix up the Outside of the Pike County Domestic Violence Shelter, but You Can't See It, because it is at and undisclosed location.

Michael Shepherd's Fix up the Inside of the Pike County Domestic Violence Shelter, but You Can't See It, because it is at and undisclosed location.

Somebody tell National that 2 inches ain't big enough for an Eagle Project name!

Pepsi Stove

I discovered that a backpacking stove could be made out of a Pepsi can several years ago. I researched it, but it was way to complicated for my little brain. So what do you do, if you want something practical, yet technical? Ask Glen Felty to do it!

After checking the Guide to Safe Scouting (remember this is a Glen Felty thing), we tried it out last night in Venturing. It works great! Boiled a cup of water in 10 minutes.

It may not be the best stove out there, but for the cost of an old can and a spoon of denatured alcohol, it is pretty cool.

Best Patch

I know, I know. I buy too many patches. It is more than a hobby, I have my reasons (that is another story though).

If I had to choose my "Best Patch", the Seboomook Staff piece, from my days at Maine National High Adventure, would be one of the first to come to mind. I spent 2 summers at Pittston Farm and I almost grew up there.

The Farm is now a Bed and Breakfast, but my buddy and my old boss, Dave and Sarah Hostetter, still run a program out of Matagamon. Maybe I can talk Ken or Benjamin to take a Council contingent some day?

http://www.mainehighadventure.org/

Eagle Reunion

I normally don't like banquets. I'd rather be camping or doing something outside. However, the Eagle Scout Reunion gathering over the weekend was awesome!

A crowd of around 250 came together to celebrate Scouting's highest achievement. Troop 12 had 6 Eagle Scouts in attendance.

I think every one walked away with a good feeling and a rededication to our cause. Guess I'll have to make more banquets!

Chugging

I just heard that the new Guide to Safe Scouting has a new rule. Water chugging and related activities are not authorized for any program level.

That may change several things that we know of as fun.

Baby Bottle Suck at Conclave
Pop Chugging at Conclave
Water Carnival games at McKee

That sucks!

However, we all must understand that this is not the safest activity. How many times have you seen gagging, choking, and puking after those chugging games? I've seen several.