Pacific
Crest District
of the San Diego-Imperial Council, Boy Scouts of America
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Site last updated 9/23/2008
| click here to see the previous Post issue Pacific Crest Post - October 2008
Chairman’s Message One of the upcoming activities for each Pack and Troop committee should be in preparing for the rechartering process and evaluating their unit for a quality program. Each unit committee should have held an annual planning meeting in the last couple of months to set up the calendar of events - outings, monthly themes, special meetings such as Blue and Gold and Courts of Honor. Putting the plan in place makes delivering a quality program so much easier. As parents we can quickly tell when a particular meeting is successful. The Scouts are busy interacting, learning, competing, laughing. There is a plan in place for the meeting, an agenda that guides the meeting activities and not only defines the specific events of the meeting but also sets the tone for the meeting - fun opening, focused learning activity, boisterous physical activity, introspective closing. Similarly, when the Scouts are restless, punching each other (more than usual), and being disruptive, most often it is because the meeting is missing some of these key components. It takes a bit of preparation to set up a meeting for success, and it takes additional planning and forethought to create a solid program for the year. A unit should have an Annual Plan, with monthly themes and major events defined well in advance to be able to prepare for them. Each month should be broken down to weekly plans as the month draws near so that materials will be available and delegation can happen. For Dens, these monthly/weekly plans could be from Program Helps, available at Roundtable, and Den Leaders should assign some part of the meeting to other parents or a Den Chief so that they don't have to handle the entire program all the time. For Troops, the Scouts are the leaders and they create weekly/monthly plans in their Patrol Leaders Council meetings. They delegate responsibilities to each patrol, and adult leaders oversee the program and provide assistance where needed. Perhaps the most important message here is to create and use a plan, and to delegate in order to spread the load and to offer the best Program possible. Quality Unit assessment is part of the annual Rechartering process. Recharter training will be available at the October Roundtable. I would also like to welcome Bob Sulzen as our new District Commissioner. Bob has been our Assistant District Commissioner for LDS Units for about two years, and has extensive Scouting experience in the Chattahoochee Council back east. His leadership will help us on track during the Rechartering process. Thanks, Bob! Pack 679 Earns Summertime Award During the summer Pack 679 completed all requirements to earn the National Summertime Activity award. We included a trip to the San Diego Zoo, fishing at Lake Cuyamaca, and a family trip to a local beach for an afternoon / evening picnic and campfire. All of our scouts have now returned to school and the Webelos-II den is preparing for Arrow-of-Light and transfer into Boy Scout Troops in early 2009. Our fall recruitment night was in September at Barnett Elementary and we are looking forward to another successful, fun-filled, Cub Scout year! Adult Leadership Training in Ramona Yes, there will be training this fall in Ramona. For all leaders from Tigers to Venturers, there will be training for you at the LDS Chapel between Ninth and Tenth Streets in Ramona, on October 18, 2008. The training will begin at 8:00 AM sharp with an introductory session for all leaders (Basic). After the introductory session, we will break into groups, with groups for Tiger’s, Wolf & Bear, Webelos, Cubmasters & Cub Committee Members, Boy Scouts, and Varsity & Ventures. The training will conclude at noon. Please arrive a little early to register, so we can get started right at 8:00 AM. Walk in registration will be permitted, but we would really appreciate knowing how many to plan for. So if you could send e-mail to rjwinsd@cox.net, letting us know which breakout session you will be attending, it would help. Cost will be $5.00 to cover materials and refreshments. See you there. District Executive Letter A successful Round-up night is dependent on getting parents to the meeting. Those who come are ready to sign their boy up. What the meeting is really all about is getting adult volunteers recruited and to run the program. Therefore it is critical that the preliminary legwork take place. That means getting the posters up, flyers in your assigned schools, etc. Doing everything you can to "get the word out" will increase the number of boys and parents that have the opportunity to get involved with the best youth program available, Cub Scouts. Getting volunteers doesn’t have to be like pulling teeth. Experience has shown that when the group dynamics are allowed to come to fruition, those that volunteer will stick with the job for at least one year and most will stay for the full term of their sons Cub Scout career. This is also dependent on getting those volunteers trained! When we lose a boy or a Den because the leader quits in mid stream, we lose that boy to Scouting forever. He becomes one of those who will never have a chance to be an Eagle. Running your Round-up night is not difficult. That said, I know that it can be a bit intimidating or overwhelming for unit leaders who have not conducted one before or feel like their plate is a bit full. As such, I would like to work with each of our packs to discuss and plan their roundup. Where possible, I will attend roundups and help the unit leaders conduct them. Where I can not attend, I will try and get a member of the district committee to fill in. Below is a condensed outline I hope will benefit you. There is a much more detailed version I will discuss with your unit if I am invited to meet with your committee. Because of space constraints I can not include the complete outline here. I ask that you give this method of running a Round-up night a chance. I realize that many of you have done it differently. However, I firmly believe that if you give this a try, you will achieve greater success than ever before. Like you, the district’s goal is to get as many boys involved in Scouting as possible, because we all believe in the benefits of the program. ROUND-UP NIGHT OUTLINE I. Purpose of Round-up? To recruit new scouts and their parents. II. Who is your audience? The parents are your audience! If the boys come, they are pretty much already sold. Now you have to convince the parents that Scouting is important and beneficial enough for their son to make room for it in their busy schedule. III. Pre-sign up night preparations A. Set a date (or dates) for the Round-up night. B. Get the word out C. Plan with your committee to put on the Round-up IV. Running a School Sign Up Night A. Room Preparations and set up. B. Plan the meeting, don’t wing it. C. Plan to talk with your new leaders after the meeting. V. Follow Up with new leaders and new families!
Explore Old Town S.D. registration time is 9:00-10:00AM. Cub Scouts and their families can explore the original settlement of San Diego, including the Presidio area. Old Town is a California State Historic Park, with historical buildings and sites originally from the mid-1800’s when California was being settled by Fr. Junipero Serra and other San Diego pioneering families. Points of interest include; El Campo Santo Cemetery used from 1850-1880; Mason Street Schoolhouse, Southern California’s first publicly owned schoolhouse; Mormon Battalion Memorial Museum; and The Whaley House- reported to be a very active haunted house! Travel back in time to the period from 1820 – 1880 and complete rank requirements for all levels of Cub Scouts. Pre-registration per unit [with tour permit] is strongly recommended and group pre-registrations are due by Monday November 3, 2008. Groups may register on-site with a valid tour permit. The cost is $1.00 per participant with Guidebooks ($1.00 ea.) and souvenirs ($3.00 ea.) also available on a pre-order basis. Participation in the self-guided tour also fulfills one requirement for the "El Camino Real" high adventure award. Some museums and locations may charge an additional admission fee. Contact Mr. Roark Galloway [frgalloway120@cox.net] for more information. Registration form can be found on the District website at http://pacificcrest.sdicbsa.org. This event is hosted by the San Diego Catholic Committee on Scouting.
4 Reasons to Recharter on time; You call your Chartered Organization Executive for their needed signature only to find out they already left on their holiday vacation - $ You won’t receive multiple phone calls from the District asking if you’ve finished yet - $$ You aren’t collecting recharter fees from your scout families during the expensive holiday season - $$$ You can proudly sit back and relax during the busy holiday season and say "My recharter? I finished that last month!" - PRICELESS
An Eagle ‘Three-peat’ On Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008, three scouts, from three different units, earned the rank of Eagle Scout at an Eagle Board of Review (EBOR) held at the LDS Church trailers. If that sentence looks familiar, it’s because the exact same sentence, with a different date (June 19, 2008), was used in the last Pacific Crest Post. Thus, not only have we now had two consecutive EBORs where three scouts have earned the rank of Eagle, as of Thursday, September 18, marked three consecutive EBORs (one held on June 19, one held on Aug. 21, and one on Sep. 18—there was no EBOR held in July) where we had three Eagle Scout candidates earn the rank of Eagle – a Three-peat! That has never happened before in our District since we have been holding EBORs in Ramona. The new Eagle Scouts from the EBOR held Aug. 21 are: Justin Smith – Troop 628 Kyle Wimmer – Crew 635 Chris Boyle – Troop 768 The three new Eagle Scout from the EBOR on Sep. 18 are: The panel members on Aug. 21 included: Greg Creswell,
Charlie Teichert, Chuck March, Jeff Koffel, John Melville, Craig Warner, Rick
Tallman, Sandy Tallman, Tom Andrews, and Ken Carr. Merit Badge Night II By the time this is printed, we will be in final preparations for our second Merit Badge night. This time around we have an improved Web registration thanks to the efforts of Steve Sherbondy. Steve is a professional Web Developer who is also an Assistant Scoutmaster from Troop 679. He designed and developed our October MB Night web registration site that we can use for future MB events as well. We have another five Merit Badge Counselors who will be helping us put on this event: Bill Stevens: Reptile and Amphibian Chris Sherbondy: Scholarship Don Scott: Radio Jeff Koffel: Citizenship in the World S.D. Sheriff’s Dept: Fingerprinting Special thanks to these individuals who offered to give their time and talent. At press time, we have some merit badges that are wide open for any Boy Scout who wants to register. They are free of charge. If your Scouts happen to have any suggestions or recommendations for future MB Nights, please feel free to contact us at mbpacificcrest@cox.net.
As another school year begins, Pack 692 is off and running with a full schedule of meetings, activities and events. Our returning scouts are thrilled to be beginning their next level of Cub Scouts and we are proud to have added members! We extend a warm welcome to all of our new scouts and their parents and also a thank you to Steve and Joe Holabird for becoming our newest leaders! They have jumped in with both feet to show our newest Tiger scouts how to "Search, Discover and Share!" Once again, our Cubmaster Jim Stemper and Assistant Cubmaster Janine Stemper have led by example and we have already had our first parent leader meeting. We encourage anyone interested in our Pack, to contact Jim or Janine Stemper at jimstemper@cox.net. Day Camp 2008 - It’s A Wrap! Archery, BB-shooting, nature hikes, and many more surprises transformed the Ramona Outdoor Community Center into the 2008 Pacific Crest Day Camp experience – LIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION! Our Ramona Scout community [and the entire community at large] came together to contribute time, talents and financial support to produce another memorable day camp event from June 23-27, 2008. Significant financial contributions were also provided by the Ramona Kiwanis Club and The Ramona Rotary. More than a dozen Boy Scouts also contributed their time and skills in assisting with program stations and dens. Outstanding Program direction from Beth Johnson and administration by Sharon Galloway provided guidance in the program station areas where more than 100 new and experienced Ramona Cub Scouts met new friends through their den assignments and also got to participate in sports and games, science and nature, cooking, scout spirit and shooting sports. For the first time in the past few years our camp was able to provide both Archery and BB-rifle shooting sports giving scouts the opportunity to earn belt loops for each. Several experienced and newly trained program station leaders kept scouts busy providing instruction in the program stations- and noontime activities provided entertainment including a Mad Science demonstration, karate, a trained dog performance and a visit from Ramona’s heroic fire department. Our day camp received full accreditation upon inspection. Troop 768 provided wonderful assistance with our Friday Night closing dinner thanks to Scoutmaster Larry Shepler, Dawn Perfect and other parents and scouts from Troop 768- closing with a night of skits and recognition for those participating. Our tot-lot supervisors Candy Pianowski and Katie Greer kept younger siblings busy while their parents were participating on staff. Pacific Crest District can be proud of the following volunteers for producing such a successful event: Jeff Young – Pacific Crest District Director and Professional Advisor PACK 647 - Lynda Blau, Den Leader; Katie Greer, Siblings Camp Leader Thank you so much for sharing your Scout Spirit from your Day Camp key staff! Roark Galloway, Sharon Galloway and Beth Johnson
Unit Commissioners Are you prepared to assist your units in rechartering? On Thursday October 9 at 7 PM during Roundtable at the LDS Church in Ramona, there will be detailed information on rechartering your units. It seems that each year there are some changes and refinements that differ from the previous year. Please attend the Roundtable to get the latest rechartering information. As a Unit Commissioner, you should attend the San Diego-Imperial Council 2008 Commissioner Conference to be held on Saturday, November 1, 2008. The Conference will be held at the Mission Valley Church of the Nazarene, 4750 Mission Gorge Place, San Diego. There is a $15.00 fee that covers Official Course Material, Snacks, and Lunch. You can get an Official Registration Form from me, your new District Commissioner, Bob Sulzen, at the Roundtable on Thursday October 9, or from the council office. The fee goes up to $20.00 if postmarked after October 15. I hope to see you there. Poppin’ Popcorn Sales Popcorn sales are in full swing. My favorite is the cheese popcorn, what’s yours? With 10 different varieties there’s a favorite for everyone, and new this year for sale and Operation Popcorn is the delicious trail-mix tin too. Popcorn selling tips:
There’s still plenty of time to get in on the action. Sales continue through October 30th. Have any questions about popcorn? Contact your Unit’s Popcorn Kernel, or me at 788-7476 or pacificcrest36@cox.net.
Don’t forget to put the ‘outing’ in your ‘Scouting’
Troop 679 Summer Camping Our troop had a great time this summer enjoying camp Whitsett and Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. We had 11scouts with 5 adults attend Whitsett in July and 6 boys and 3 adults attend Philmont. One of the adults and his son attended both camps. We also have transitioned our Scoutmaster position from Greg Creswell to Bob Chisholm in August. Bob will have some big shoes to fill and had a good start by attending Whitsett with the boys. Camp Whitsett is a 6 day camp north of Kernville on the Kern river. We shared a bus with troop 1212 from Mira Mesa making the trip to and from very enjoyable. Whitsett had good weather and the scouts enjoyed the early dawn hike to Sentinel Peak, Aquatic merit badges and sports at Lake Ida, some took advantage of the horses doing an hour ride to a nearby waterfall. We made ice cream the old fashion way with salt and ice, I don’t know how many times we had to answer the question where does the salt go, why isn’t it in the can with the rest of the ingredients? We have a fishermen among our midst with Travis Stevens. He caught 2 trout on a fly he bought at the trading post with a few feet of line at dusk. The troop cooked them. He caught 5 more that he released. boys found one good size trout in the stream near our campsite in about 8 inches of water. We were clearing debris from the stream when it was spotted by a scout near his feet. He tried noodeling it out but it was too fast once it new it was soon to be lunch for someone. to say all the boys were in the stream after that. I must mention our senior patrol leader, Taylor Schedine, did an outstanding job with leading the scouts, he was a shining example for the scout-run leadership and made us all proud. Three of our adults went through the Cope course and had a blast. Four went through the training offered for Scoutmaster Essentials. The Philmont trip was a high adventure back packing trip for 10 days. It took 2 days each way to drive. Our drivers Bill Stevens who just got back from a short trip at Whitsett and Bruce Hill, the leader in charge, literally went the extra mile. It rained almost every day, temperatures in the low 70’s ideal for hiking and mild nights in the 50’s. Our scouts, not accustomed to rain, thought it was great to experience. Imagine getting wet without a field sprinkler or mud puddle. With little opportunity to dry out their gear Bruce Hill was happy he prepared the boys prior to the trip to make sure essentials were kept reasonably dry once faced with the weather. The scouts hiked 75 miles with layovers in staff camps to do events like rock climbing and relays. Some trails were obscured by meadow growth and the group had to wing it on their journey to the next campsite. Almost all the hiking was in pouring down rain. Lighting fires was near impossible since matches were difficult to keep dry once unpacked. Even the park ranger visiting one evening was surprised the scouts had a fire going in the wet conditions. He mentioned another unit's had been going but the last downpour put it out. This trip was a challenge for all who attended and I’m sure the scouts will remember that with their own sons fondly in the years to come.
Recharter training will be held at the October Roundtable. All units should have a representative present. 7:00 p.m. on
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