TAKE ORDER Popcorn Money Due Friday THIS WEEK

All TAKE ORDER POPCORN MONEY IS DUE FRIDAY.

Council office is open till 5:00pm

Yours in Scouting

Rodney Gibson

2011 Cross Timbers Popcorn Kernal

Kelsey Clark

District Executive

Cross Timbers District

Longhorn Council, BSA

817 231 8529

662crosstimbers@bsamail.org

Mailing

PO Box 54901

Hurst Texas 76054

Woodbadge Beading

Congratulations!

From left to right:

Greg Anderson

Pack 398

Bobwhite Patrol

Kirsten Ward

Fox Patrol

Pat Wittner

WB-116

Course Director

Larry Swinea

Pack 398

Fox Patrol

Visiting Pack 398 - An experience to remember!

I get the change to visit many packs and troops in the Crosstimbers district at there monthly pack meetings. Seldom do I get the opportunity to tag along on a camping trip.  This past weekend, I was able to and it was a treat.

I was able to be a part of their pack for the weekend and really felt at home. I was able to see many new things. Among them, seeing Larry and Greg get beaded from the completion of Wood Badge.  It was an honor for me to watch and certainly for them to achieve them. If you have not looked into Wood Badge you should!

They even let me tell some "scary" campfire stories.  My 2 boys jumped right in and did not miss a beat making new friends in the pack. You would have thought they had known them for years. It is amazing when you all have a single thread in common (Scouting), how easily you find similar interests and acceptance.

Each time I am able to spend time with other packs, I always pick up valuable information to help with my own leadership skills. If you get the opportunity to visit other packs you should do so and see what you can learn.

Not to mention the great friendships I was able to develop along the way!

So to all at Pack 398,  Thank you!!

Robert Blake
Communications Chair

Scout Days at Six Flags Holiday in the Park

Hop on the sleigh ride to the best deal in town!

$20.00  

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9 or December 16, 2011:  5pm-10pm

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10 or DECEMBER 17, 2011:  2pm-10pm

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11 or DECEMBER 18, 2011:  4pm-9pm

 

How to order tickets:

1.     Download order form online at the Longhorn Council website – www.longhorncouncil.org

2.     Buy your tickets online at sixflags.com/overTexas.  Enter Promo Code: LONGHORN

3.     Order by phone: 817-607-6150. Phone order must be made at least 2 business days prior to visit.

Promotion begins November 24, 2011. Must order a minimum of 4 tickets to receive the special discount!

 

Enjoy Holiday In The Park at Six Flags Over Texas, featuring:

t The NEW Texas Giant! Go Higher, Go Steeper, Go Faster!

t A GIANT celebration! Celebrating 50 YEARS of FUN!
          t A real snow hill, carolers, and much, much more!

Due to maintenance and other circumstances, certain rides and attractions, including new rides, may not be open to the public.  SIX FLAGS Ò, Ô and Ó 2011 Six Flags Theme Parks Inc.

Texas Brahma Scout Nights

The Texas Brahmas Hockey Club of the Central Hockey League would love to have your Scout Group come out and catch a game this season at the Nytex Sports Centre in North Richland Hills .   Scout groups receive tickets for just $8 each (Normally starting at $13).    This season we will honor this rate at ANY of our home games.   To secure the rate all you need to do is set this up with me directly, preferably at least a week before the date of the game. 

We have some cool opportunities for Scout groups this year including: sitting on the players bench during pre game warm ups, performing the color guard at the start of the game, assisting with the pick up of Teddy Bears at our annual Teddy Bear Toss, Assisting with the picking up of chuck a pucks during chuck a puck, just to name a few.   For more details simply email me back, and I will be happy to help answer questions.   I have copied this seasons schedule for you to review, let me know if there is a date that works for your group!

Chad Siewert

Director of Sales

Texas Brahmas Hockey Club

817-520-3327 (direct)

Facebook

Troop 545 Open House - We're Invited!

Attention Web II's!

We've been invited to an Open House hosted by Boy Scout Troop 545.  They will have snacks, games, demos of Scout skills and more!

Date:  Monday, November 14

Time:  7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Place:  Most Blessed Sacrament Church

            Parish Hall (first building entrance on the South side)

            2100 North Davis Drive

See you there!

Invitation: Fireside Chat with Scout Executive John Coyle

Cross Timbers Members

Come meet the new Scout Executive for the Longhorn Council, John Coyle. We will have a meet and great December 1, 2011  7:00pm at the Richey/Yarbrough Scout Facility, 407 North Mesquite, Arlington Texas 76011.

If you want to help or have question feel free to contact Steve Barnes 817 228 4849  stevebarnes@sbcglobal.net

Training Records - Journey to Excellence

BSA's Journey to Excellence Program uses a number of key performance indicators to measure success at the unit, district, and council levels.  For more information on Journey to Excellence, visit the following links:

http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/Commissioners/Journey.aspx

http://www.scoutingnews.org/2010/11/24/bsa-journey-to-excellence/

One of the performance measures is Trained Leadership.  Training leaders originates from a variety of sources: online training through MyScouting.org; district-level training; council-level training; Philmont Training Center; and many other sources. 

While the courses successfully completed online are easily tracked and recorded by BSA National, in-person or classroom training records are not always tied back to the individual's MyScouting account.  This can occur for several reasons: the name of the individual registered for the class does not match BSA records (e.g., a scouter signs in as Herb Smith, when he is recognized by BSA as John Herbert Smith); records get turned in, but are never entered or misplaced; or, records never get turned in to council.  The Cross Timbers District Training Chair is responsible for submitting all in-person training records to the Longhorn Council.  Please note that while the Cross Timbers District is responsible for providing training, we do not track individuals at the unit level.  This is because volunteers constantly change positions, change units, or leave scouting.

To assist the units in record keeping of adult training, I have developed a Unit Training Tracker.  The first tab of the spreadsheet is the BSA Training Continuum.  This represents 95% of the training that is available to adult leaders and identifies required and recommended training for each position.  The second tab is Unit Record Sheet that allows you to track specific training records within you unit.  For example, this would easily allow you to determine which scouters need to update their Youth Protection.

BE FOREWARNED, in the near future, scouters will NOT be allowed to recharter if they are not fully trained for their positions.  So, this is a great time to get your training records in order.  It is a good idea for each unit to record each leader's date of training and maintain a copy their training card.  The first training card is always free; the next one will cost you. J

If you have taken any classes in the last six years from the Cross Timbers District, it is highly probable that I have a record of your attendance/completion of the course.  The courses most likely include: Cub Leader Specific Training (prior to MyScouting.org); BALOO – Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation; SM/ASM Leader Specific Training; IOLS – Introduction to Outdoor Leadership Training; and Committee Challenge.  I do not have records from training attended in other districts.  Remember – Youth Protection Training (YPT) is required for all registered scouters and can be taken online atMyScouting.org.    

I hope this is helpful tool for your units.  Please do not hesitate to call if you have any questions or recommendations.

Sincerely,

Jerry Smiley

Cross Timbers District Training Chair

214.437.2055 (cell)

Updating Youth Protection

Cross Timbers Leaders

Remember that all adults must update their Youth Protection once every TWO years. Whether you are processing a pack, troop, team, or crew you will be asked to make sure all adults have updated their youth protection. To help attached is a PDF "Taking YPT through MyScouting" that can be share will all adults.

Also please encourage your leaders to associate their Scout ID number in their MyScouting profile. Scout ID numbers can be requested by e-mailing Kelsey (662crosstimbers@bsamail.org) with the subject: Scout ID Request (UNIT TYPE and Number) then included the names of the adults that are needing numbers.

Download instructions