Scroll
down to read articles, or click on item of interest in the index below.
In this issue:Summer Camp News
| MassJam 2008 | Eagle Recognition Banquet |
Powder Keg NYLT
| Note from H.A. Moses
Summertime Pack Award
| Eagle Scout Candidate
Information
printer friendly copy (includes Scouter's Key articles
posted on our homepage and elsewhere)
SUMMER CAMP NEWS
The Pioneer Valley Council has some very exciting programs for your unit
to participate in this summer. Be sure not to take the “outing” out of Scouting.
Our Cub Day Camp is offering three different locations and three different
themes that include archery, scoutcraft, nature, BB guns, crafts and more
fun than can be fit into a week. Post Road’s “If I Ran a Zoo” day camp
starts on July 7, and will be held at the Swift River Sportsman’s Club in
Belchertown. Springfield/Chicopee District is hosting week 2, “Summer
Olympics” at St. Catherine of Sienna Church in 16 Acres, starting July 14.
Day camp week 3 starting July 21, and week 4 starting July 28, will be hosted
by Knox Trail District at Camp Woronoak on the Horace Moses Scout Reservation
in Russell. The theme for both weeks is “Treasure Hunters.” Week
3 will be “twilight” camp running from 4 PM to 8:30 PM. All other weeks
will run during the hours of 8:30 AM to 4 PM. Day camp weeks run Monday
through Friday. If you have questions or want more information,
please contact Fritz Schmidt at 594-9196.
Cub Resident Camp runs from Sunday, August 3, to Friday, August 8, at Moses
Scout Reservation. The theme for Cub Scout Resident Camp is “Pirates of Moses
Bay” and promises to be a great experience for the boys. The cost of resident
camp is $240.00 for Cub Scouts, and $100.00 for accompanying adults. For more
information contact Eric Roldan at 594-9196. Check your mail for the
informational brochure on all our Cub Scout summer camps detailing dates,
locations, times, and fees; or visit the camp web
pages for the information and registration forms.
Boy Scout camp opens its season with Powder Keg
(National Youth Leadership) Training on June 22. The cost is the
same as Boy Scout Resident Camp. This is an opportunity for your Junior Leaders
or potential Junior Leaders to get the training they need to run your Troop.
It is a rigorous, leadership development course that develops Boy Scouts
into Boy Leaders. For more information contact Jim Burke at 413-596-5598.
Boy Scout Resident Camp starts on July 6, with week 2 starting July 13,
week 3 starting July 20, and week 4 starting July 27. Weeks run from Sunday
through Saturday. The fee for Boy Scout camp is $285.00 per week if
paid in full by May 15. After May 15 the fee will be $310.00.
A Boy Scout can have the time of his life at Summer Camp. We will once again
be offering our Base Camp Eagle and Base Camp Adventure programs, as well
as our newest program feature, Mountain Man, all running from August 3 to
August 9. See the mailing sent to all families with registered Boy
Scouts in our council. You can also download all the
information and forms. For more information on any Boy Scout
Resident Camp program contact Eric Roldan at 594-9196
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MASSJAM 2008
MassJam 2008, “Where
Tradition Meets Tomorrow,” will be held October 11 – 13, 2008, at Barnstable
County Fairgrounds on Cape Cod. The MassJam Steering Committee and Pioneer
Valley-Mohegan Councils Subcamp 3 Committee are now meeting monthly to ensure
a quality program for all participants. Other Massachusetts councils are
doing the same so thousands of Boy Scouts and Venturers can experience this
huge regional jamboree. There are still a few openings on the subcamp staff
to assist with physical arrangements and for Commissioner staff.
This year Venture Crews will stay in their own subcamp and are encouraged
to sign on to assist at program areas. Those Venturers who attend will have
plenty of time to enjoy the weekend as well as help out at the various action
centers.
Please refer to the MassJam
2008 website for the latest information as it becomes available.
Details regarding price and site reservations are being finalized by the Steering
Committee. Pre-sale of MassJam clothing and items will begin shortly. Registration
information will be posted very soon, and units will be able to submit pre-registration
forms and deposits online.
All troops and crews are encouraged to make their plans to attend this regional
jamboree with action centers, spectacular shows, exciting subcamp activities,
and lots of scouting fun and fellowship.
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EAGLE RECOGNITION
BANQUET This year the Pioneer Valley Council
will hold its annual Eagle Scout Recognition Banquet on Monday, May 12, 2008,
at the Castle of the Knights, 1599 Memorial Drive, in Chicopee. We will
be honoring all Eagle Scouts from last May to April. We encourage parents,
friends, and Scout-masters to attend this event. Tickets are $25 and
they are available at the Council Service Center until May 2nd. All
Eagle Scouts should have received a letter pertaining to this event.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact Ken Lynch at 883-5434
or by email at Eaglespirit195@aol.com.
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A REQUEST FROM H.A. MOSES
SCOUT RESERVATION Last summer the chairs / lounges
on the porch of the Nunes Administration building (Scoutmasters’ lounge) were
removed. They had seen a little too much weather. This year we are looking
for a donation(s) of some chairs / tables to replace these items. We are looking
for 4 to 8 resin chairs and 1 or 2 resin tables for the porch. These items
would provide a place for summer camp leaders to relax and perhaps do some
paperwork. If you are interested in making a donation please contact John
Hawley Camp Maintenance / Administration Committee Chairman at 413-789-0143
or jmh0137@ comcast.net.
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SUMMERTIME
PACK AWARDS Packs with year-round programs attract
more boys and retain boys longer. It is very important for your Pack
to operate a full year program. To support this goal the Boy Scouts
of America provides the opportunity for your Pack to earn the National Summertime
Pack Award.
This award recognizes those Packs that conduct a program through the summer
months. Applications are available at the Council Service Center or
as a download..
Packs can qualify by holding at least one Pack activity during the months
of June, July, and August. Individual and den recognitions can
also be earned (see application). All applications should be submitted to
the Council Service Center in September.
Certificates and Pack ribbons (available at no charge) will be presented
to units at Roundtables
Recognition pins for participating individuals may be purchased at the Scout
Shop.
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POWDER KEG
National Youth Leader Training is available
in the Pioneer Valley Council and is known as Powder Keg. The cost of
this weeklong camping and training experience is $285, if paid in full by
May 15, and $310 if paid after the early bird deadline, and counts as a week
of resident camping at Camp Moses in Russell, Massachusetts. But this
isn’t summer camp: no merit badges or camp activities will be offered.
Youth learners will be exposed to team building skills and games, leadership
development skills, hands-on camping and outdoor scoutcraft skills, and a
whole lot more. If you have a boy in your troop who is 13 or older,
First Class or above in rank, has shown promise as a youth leader, and who
deserves a chance to step up and do more, be more, and give more, here is
an opportunity to make it happen. Visit the Powder Keg page
, down-load the registration form and send it with payment to the Pioneer
Valley Council, 249 Exchange Street, Chicopee 01013. The dates of the
training are Sunday, June 22, through Saturday, June 28. For a real
person to talk to, contact Powder Keg Scoutmaster Jim Burke, 596-5598.
He will answer your questions and give you the information your scout will
need to have a successful training experience.
Powder Keg: Training Today’s Youth
To Be Tomorrow’s Leaders!
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IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR EAGLE CANDIDATES
The new printing of the Eagle Scout Rank Application, No. 58-728, has a notable
change. Now, under Requirement 5, the name of the candidate’s Eagle project
is required, as well as the grand total of hours devoted to it (from page
10 of the Eagle Scout Leadership Project Workbook). The new application will
be required beginning May 1, 2008.
Over the past few years several changes have been made to the process of
the Eagle Scout Project. We now require that the Eagle Scout Leadership
Service Project Workbook be submitted for Eagle Board approval of the proposed
project. The book is available at the Council Service Center, and is
also available online by going on line to nesa.org. When the scout is
ready to have his project approved, he should submit the proposal by the first
Tuesday of the month in order it to have it reviewed that month. The
scout will receive a letter from the Eagle Board regarding when and where
to appear for his project review. When the Eagle Board approves his
project the scout will be given his workbook.
The Eagle Application is due to the Council Service Center not later than
the first Tuesday of each month in order to sit for the Eagle Board of Review
that month. The Eagle Application form is also available at nesa.org, and a downloaded
and printed (black and white) copy is acceptable. Remember to make a
copy of everything submitted to the Council Service Center.
If you have questions about any of these procedures, please do not hesitate
to telephone our registrar MJ Klaus at 594-9196
