December Roundtable

At our Annual Christmas themed Roundtable, being held at Peirce Middle school on December 11th, 7:30-9 PM, we will be serving holiday refreshment. Please let us know what you are able/willing to bring with you! Better still, please post a comment here so others may be aware of your plans as well. For more information, please contact Ray Coe at smtrp31@comcast.net or Jim Caron at JCaron1376@comcast.net.

Please plan on joining in on the fun and meeting the key leadership of the Lenni Lenape District! Roundtable is a great place to rub shoulders with your peer scout leadership, to get information about upcoming events and to share in the successes of fellow Scouters. We offer a monthly program for Cub Scouts (based on the monthly themes) and for Boy Scouts and venturers (based on program elements.)

For more information about Lenni Lenape's Roundtable, please visit our District page on the Chester County Council Website.

Hope to see you there!

NOTICE: Good Citizen Event February 4,5 2009

Have you recognized your scout lately??? We have an annual event in Lenni Lenape District where we acknowledge our Webelos Cub scouts and Boy Scouts age 14 or older who have earned recognition as good citizens. Boys become eligible for this recognition by doing a "good turn" as required by the Webelos Program. As older Boy Scouts, they can complete their Citizenship merit badges (Community, Nation and World.) Secondly, they should model behaviors and attitudes of "good citizenship," found in our Scouting program. This is a one-time recognition. If your scout has already received this recognition they are no longer eligible.

There is a $2 cost associated with this event, which defrays the expense of recognizing our youth and presenting awards.

This recognition event is held over two evenings in February, coinciding with the anniversary week of Scouting. It will be held starting at 7:30 PM on February 4th and 5th, Wednesday and Thursday of scout week. The event is hosted by the Chester County Court House, presided over by Judge Paula Ott (or her office.) youth are to attend in Full Class "A" uniform to receive their recognition. Please plan on arriving by 7:15 Pm, as parking may be a challenge.

There are forms on our Council website that parents or Unit leaders should download and complete. We need to receive these forms returned to the Chester County Council office on or before January 12th. This enables us to prepare and provide the recognition items for our youth. For the older Boy scouts, we additionally provide a Job shadowing experience.

The process for participating in the shadowing program begins with completing the "shadowing day" form, located on our website. Once we receive this form, we will then work to match up the forms with public officials who volunteer to arrange for the Scout to spend a day with them, learning about their work environment and the processes they follow.

If you have never heard of this event or want to participate, please contact Ann Marie Moore by phone at 610-431-7957 or by email at annfletchermoore@verizon.net. You can also contact our BSA office for more details.

Fall Recruitment Update!

Good Evening!

As I am writing this, with one week left in the month of October, Lenni Lenape District is closing in fast on having more Cub Scouts registered than in 2007 at this same point in time. Collectively, we need 27 Cub Scouts to be registered this week to be even with last year. At that point, we would also be showing overall growth, as we have drawn even with 2007 year end in Venturing and shown growth in Boy Scouts already over last year.

For the record, we only need about 100 Cub scouts to finish 2008 ahead of 2007 in total membership. Another 15-20 would put us in a balanced growth situation. YAY! Now, I know there are Packs that are still recruiting in November... I also have a strong suspicion that just about every Pack has kids that have joined lately but haven't turned in all their paperwork. Yet a few others are still rounding up their paperwork from their initial sign-up efforts.

The time is now! Two of our Packs have already qualified for the Drive-for-Five growth goal in advance of the November 17th deadline. Congratulations go out to Pack 108 and Pack 199, who both met the standard in September, after their initial sign- ups! There are at least four more Packs, including Packs 31 and 122, (who are both over last year's totals) that are within easy reach of this goal. Remember: if your Pack makes this growth goal, then your ENTIRE Pack qualifies for FREE Pinewood derby Cars at the December Roundtable!!!

A few of you (***and you know who you are***) have a large number of Cub Scouts to bring into our office! It would be greatly appreciated if you could make a special effort to bring those in before the end of October (this Friday.) We are having a successful Fall recruitment effort, and if we work as a team, I believe we will be successful in offering our top-of-the-line youth program to more youth than ever before! Wouldn't that be a wonderful thing to do this year, as we build towards our 100th anniversary?

Thanks in advance for all your efforts to extend Scouting to our community youth!

Reminder: Roundtable Tonight!

Leaders of Lenni Lenape: The October Roundtable meeting scheduled for tonight is being held from 7:30 PM until 9 PM at the Chester County Council office, in the Main Board Room, downstairs. Please do NOT go to Peirce Middle School, as we will not be there until December's meeting.

The Boy Scout Roundtable plans to discuss next year's Fall Camporee as well as information leading up to the 2010 National Jamboree event. The Cub Scout side will cover program material for upcoming Cub Scout program. Units can also expect to see their Unit Commissioner, key District Leadership and to pick up their Troop Charter packets. There will be an update for Packs as well on their Drive for Five Goals.

Please make sure your Pack, Troop or Crew is represented at Roundtable!

Have you EVER been to Fort Mifflin?

Whoa! Check it out... The Chester County Council Boy Scouts are camping at Fort Mifflin!
On the weekend of October 3-5, 2008, Boy Scout Troops will be descending upon the historic fort for a weekend of historic good times. Webelos Cub scouts will be able to camp as visiting guests of Troops. All registered Scouts are welcome to attend on Saturday for the program events.

Our Fort Mifflin on the Delaware Camporee has many things to offer Units wishing to participate in an exciting, interactive camping event. The Fort may not be well known in Chester County but is single handedly responsible for allowing General Washington's troops retreat to Valley Forge for the winter. Valley Forge is considered the turning point of the Revolution, so without the gallant defenders of Fort Mifflin we might be speaking with an English accent today!

And history is just the beginning... Scouts will learn so much more about the fort that saved America and they'll get the opportunity to tour the Fort both during the day Saturday and Friday night for the authentic and well documented Ghost Tour.

That's right, Fort Mifflin on the Delaware is haunted!

In addition, there will be lots for the scouts to see and do including participating in musket firings and cannon demonstrations with live firings throughout the weekend. We'll cap the wknd with an exciting Saturday night Campfire program.
So come see the fort that saved America and join in the fun by registering on www.cccbsa.org!
Cub Scouts are encouraged to attend and should also pre-register (if possible) or , if pre-registering is not possible, just show up by 8:30 am Saturday at the Fort.

Directions to Fort Mifflin are available on the Chester County Council website at www.cccbsa.org.

September Roundtable - CANCELLED!

Hi everyone, the September Roundtable meeting, normally reserved for Thursday, September 11th, will NOT be held. Due to numerous conflicts with school calendars, the conflict of Unit Popcorn pickup at Tedco and Patriot's Day activities, we will not be offering any program in September. If your unit would benefit from commissioner guidance, please contact Jim Caron or myself by email and we will arrange a visit to support you!

Our first Roundtable this season will therefore be held on October 9th, at the Chester County Council headquarters, in the Board Room on the lower level. Part of the rationale behind this is that our major space conflict is with the schools (not able to meet there in sept., Oct., or April...)
All roundtables held in Lenni Lenape District begin at 7:30 PM, ending at 9 PM, and are scheduled to be held the second Thursday of every month, through June. Leaders are encouraged to gather at 7 PM for information, handouts and conversation with the Commissioner staff.

The November Roundtable, will be conducted as our first Council-wide Roundtable program, over at the Downingtown Presbyterian Church. Leaders are encouraged to gather at 7 PM for displays and information with a start time of 7:30 PM, ending by 9 PM. The program for this effort will be revealed on the Council Website soon, and directions to DPC will be available online.

We will return to Peirce Middle School for our December Roundtable, to he held on 12/11/08.
As it ever was, our Roundtable meetings are open to the "Scouting public", not just scoutmasters and Cubmasters. Please attend and bring your questions and ideas to share!

Where'd I go?

Hi everyone,

Yeah, it HAS been months without a post... but there will be a few coming soon.

I have been chasing other stuff for a while, but there's a lot coming up and the posts will be coming thick as thieves! I am in the middle of my move, but with the Fall season almost upon us and a little more free time, expect some updates shortly!

stay tuned...

Come, All Ye Faithful! Join The Team...

The Lenni Lenape District is reviving the tradition of holding monthly meetings of the district committee. Our meetings will be conveniently held on the first Thursday of every month. For now, we will hold them at the Chester County Council office, in the basement meeting room. They will start on time at 7:00 PM, and should end by 8:30 PM. We do not plan to meet as a committee in July, (and will meet in June for a brief meeting prior to the picnic at Oakbourne Park.)

We are actively pursuing willing and able Scouters to re-staff the committee in several vital areas, building towards our annual business meeting in December. Our goal is to fully staff the committee at the annual business meeting by electing a "slate of committee members" to serve in 2009, along with a District Chairman to lead the committee.

Our meeting this Thursday evening will focus on three areas of immediate impact to our district: First, we will be planning our wrap-up efforts for the Friends of Scouting campaign this year. Secondly, we will be addressing Spring recruitment efforts (and planning for a Tiger Day on July 11th, after Day Camp ends at noon.) Lastly, we will be setting up a New Leader Essentials Training for May 29th to meet some urgent training needs within the District.

Additionally, we will be discussing the criteria that we need to meet to achieve Centennial Quality District status. Our mission is to provide the service, structure and support that units in the Lenni Lenape District need to conduct a quality program for youth. If you would like to become a contributing volunteer on one of our operating committees, please share your interest with District Chairman Ken Domboski or District Director Jim Langer.

Please sign up today for the 2008 Sale!

Believe it or not, Council is mobilizing for the 2008 Popcorn Campaign!

To make this year’s campaign more satisfying for participating units and to entice others to participate, Council has raised the unit commission to 40 percent. Unlike in past years, where there were conditions to satisfy, the only caveat to this is that a unit increase their total sale from last year. Units that have not sold last year will immediately qualify for 40%! Units will do NO WORSE than 35%, but should have no trouble selling enough to get 40%.

However, to make adequate preparation for this year's sale, we still need our units to register online to sell popcorn. This can easily be accomplished by clicking on the link below.

http://www.cccbsa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=19&Itemid=135

The next step is to get organized. The “secret” that best selling units have is that they organize. In the days that follow, I will be following up with each unit to ensure that you have a volunteer recruited to lead your campaign.

I am excited to be back involved with the Popcorn Campaign this year. My objective is to help you reach the financial goals you set for your unit. Please feel free to contact me regarding your needs and concerns. I can be reached at Harrison@cpcuiia.org, Connor.Harrison@verizon.net, (610) 430-8607, or (610) 644-2100, 7557.

Eventually, Council will share everything you report to them with me. It would be helpful to me if you include me in your communications with Council regarding popcorn.

Yours in Scouting
Connor Harrison
Lenni Lenape Popcorn Kernel

Spring Tiger Program Opportunity

Hi everyone,

It's THAT time of year again...

Several of our more established Cub Scout Packs are conducting Spring recruitment drives for Tiger Cubs (both first graders and graduating Kindergarteners.)

In order to support their efforts, we are asking that they do a few specific things:
I. Have a recruitment/enrollment event in late May, early June...
II. Plan to have a minimum of 1 scheduled Tiger specific activity per month over the Summertime, on top of already scheduled Cub Scout programming...
III. Appoint a leader to serve as a guide for new Tiger cub families over the Summer.
IV. Make the commitment to offer Training to new leadership and interested parents. "Every youth deserves a trained leader."

If your Pack is interested in doing this or planning this already, please get in touch with us at CCC headquarters. We want you to be successful in this important growth opportunity.

How can we help you? Here's a few ways we can help:
I. We will be conducting at least one New Leader Essentials Course, along with Cub Specific, in late May or early June. Look for more specific details here, coming soon!
II. We will aid your efforts in flyering schools. Need to produce a flyer? Let us know!
III. We will come out and support your sign-up efforts. Let our Commissioner staff or myself know when you are planning your event. We'd be happy to lend a hand.

This leads to the other item I wished to discuss...

In 2007, on Friday (the last day of Day Camp at Oakbourne Park), an event was held for Tiger Cubs to attend. It appears to me that it was a "Tiger fun day" opportunity. The District is considering doing this again on the last day of Day Camp. The date would be 7/11/2008, the time likely from 10 AM until 2 or 3 PM, and the format similar to last year. What I want from all of you who may be interested is your feedback on suggested programs we could offer the boys. I plan to publicize the event (fun day) starting around May 1, but would like to develop more specifics first...

Please respond to this post either by email or by posting a "comment" to the Blog that you are willing to share with the group. This cuts to the heart of the purpose behind this tool... Collecting and sharing your feedback so others can benefit from your input as well as assisting in making program choices using large group input in a timely manner.

For direct assistance with planning your Summer fun and/or recruitment strategy, please email either Jim Caron at JCARON@travelers.com or myself at jlanger@bsamail.org.

OA Trail Crew Opportunity

Attention all Scouts and Scouters:
Octoraro Lodge 22 of the Order of the Arrow has been asked to assist with the restoration of the trails at Camps Horseshoe and Ware. In the past few months, the OATC, or OA Trail Crew has been established to manage this ongoing effort. Troops and groups of Scouters are needed for labor to work on weekends in crews to clear, repair and maintain these trails. Membership in the OA is NOT a requirement.

There is a recognition patch that has been designed by the lodge for volunteers who work 20 or more hours on the trails. OA members who have worked at least 30 hours will be eligible for a drawing to receive an OATC Scholarship to attend either Philmont Scout Ranch or Northern Tier High Adventure (Ely, MN.)

To get more information about getting involved or working a weekend, please contact Camp Ranger Ray Hayden at Horseshoe Scout Reservation. Ray can be reached by email at rayden@bsamail.org, or by phone from our Council website. We hope to be adding some weekend dates soon that the OA specifically would like to promote. This list should be available from Ray Hayden now.

CHECK IT OUT!

Hi, This is your "Neighborhood-friendly" Camp Ranger...

Please, when you get the chance, visit our wonderful Camp website and check out the Provisional camping Page! Here is the direct link: http://www.hsr-bsa.org/provisional.htm

Stay tuned, I'll be back for more...

Ray

Order of the Arrow - Unit Elections

In order to hold a unit election, the Troop must have an election team. The election team is supervsied by trained Troop Representatives. The Lodge election committee can also conduct elections as well. All elections are to be pre-approved by the lodge unit elections chairman. Troops that hold an unapproved election will be considered invalid.

All records and results of the election must be turned into the unit election chairman for his records as well as for the Lodge's records. Any form that is turned in from an unapproved election will be considered invalid and will not be accepted.

You can reach the Unit Elections Chairman via unit_elections@octoraro22.org to tell him who is on your election team, as well as to get the election form.

This has been a public service announcement of the Octoraro Lodge 22 of the Chester County Council Order of the Arrow.

Meet the Key Three at Webelos Woods!

Webelos Woods is to be held at Camp Horseshoe from April 11 through April 13 2008. Troop 31 is hosting Webelos Woods, with a Paul Bunyon theme. It is not too late to sign up and attend this event. Please respond to Jim Langer (District Director) at the Council service center to let him know if your pack will be in attendance, and if so, how many youth and adults we may expect.

The Lenni Lenape Key 3 (District Director, District Chairman and District Commissioner) will be at Webelos Woods, and will be hosing a light lunch for unit leaders. Even if your Pack is not coming to the event, all Cub Scout unit leaders (or someone else from your pack), are invited to join us for lunch. This is intended to be an informal gathering, with no planned agenda. The purpose is to gather together, and discuss any aspect of the Cub Scout program that the group may wish to address. Please advise Jim Langer of your plans to attend.

Kenneth F Domboski
Lenni Lenape District Chairman

Welcome Lenni Lenape District!

Hi,

This is Jim Langer, the new District Director for Lenni Lenape District, reporting to the Chester County Council for duty.

A little about me: I am an Eagle Scout, 35 and father of a 3 year old girl, Sarah. I grew up in Scouting in the Pittsburgh area (Edgewood/Swissvale.) I have been a professional Scouter since April of 1999 (5.5 years with the Del-Mar-Va Council and another 3.3 with the Keystone Area Council, in Mechanicsburg.)

I am looking forward to meeting all of you and making myself available to you as a scouting resource and an asset to your programs.

We shall meet soon!

Jim Langer