Good Sunday Morning Fellow Commissioner!
We welcome two new Commissioner to our team - Ken Howell - who will be the Unit Commissioner for the Lake Mary LDS units (Pack/Troop/Team/Crew 85). Ken is a former unit leader, and we thank Jim Robertson for recruiting him on to our team. The other new commissioner is Jim Toomey who was recruited by Pete Thompson. We have not put together a unit assignment for Jim yet, but that will be taken care of in the next week.
It was good to see so many Commissioners out for our Thursday night meeting - but especially Frank Carter and Ken Padyjasek. And congratulations once again to Eleanor Johnson for having the most UVTS entries over the summer, and winning the nice Commissioner windbreaker.
Next Thursday night is District Program Launch during Roundtable. We have booklets for all the units that contain the entire year's program. Please make sure your units are attending, and you are there to help guide them around!
Check with your units and see how they are doing towards JTE. Your unit must be at JTE Silver (or Gold) in order to qualify for the Council Blue Ribbon award and qualify for free rank patches (Not merit badges, cub belt loops, or Webeos Activity Awards ... rank badges).
So, on Saturday I completed the first of my final two training sessions. Went to Camp La-No-Che for Sea Scout Adult Leader Basic Training (SSALBT). One down, and Varsity training next Saturday.
Today, Sunday, is the 151st anniversary of the birth of Ernest Thompson Seton - one of the three fathers of Scouting in the US. There are lots of interesting things written about Seton, but, by far and away "The Scouting Party," really was one of the best.
Looking for the List of Commissioner Assignments? You can sort the page by any field shown, and you can download this list as a spreadsheet. If you see any changes or corrections, please, let me know.
Looking for the District and Council Calendar of Events?
BSA Alumni Association
You can check all this out at bsaalumni.org.
The Purple Patch
(This is from the blog "A Scouter's Journey" and I thought you might enjoy an extract)
A couple nights ago at our Troop meeting we had a Scout attend who hasn't been able to attend for a couple months. While participating in one of the activities he made a comment about "I'm not a Scout ..." as he was deferring his level of input to the other Scouts in attendance who’ve been progressing rock-steady with their advancement. I pointed his attention to the purple patch on his uniform worn above his heart -- "Everyone who wears that patch" I said, "is a Scout – and so are you." ...
Of any of the patches on my uniform, the World Scout Emblem is the one I value most. I have a couple knots for service, and my "Trained" patch that I was proud to earn, but what matters most is being apart of the global family that is Scouting. I’ll be honest I get a real kick out of every time I see an episode of Man vs. Wild, where Bear Grylls wears the patch on his right sleeve at all times.
Uniforms and "neckers" vary from country to country. The purple patch is one that is shared by all and represents what has been true since the founding days of BP, whether in Brooklyn or Benghazi "A Scout is a friend to all, and a brother to every other scout, no matter to what social class the other belongs."
Leadership Notes #17 - Debates
"The servant-leader is servant first ... It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature." - Robert K. Greenleaf
(This series of "notes" first appeared in the YahooGroup "VenturingList" and are written by Michael Brown. I thought that they were worth sharing with the Commissioner Corps.)
Debate is the discussion on the merits of a pending question [motion] in a deliberative assembly [your organization, such as your crew]. "It is the essential element in the making of rational decisions of consequence by intelligent people." RONR (10th ed), p373.
Debate is NOT a dirty word. Debate in itself is not something to be avoided. It's our chance to voice our views, for or against, the pending matter at hand.
RULES OF DEBATE:
Dates and such
August 18th - District Program Kick-off - 7:00 p.m. - Lake Mary LDS Ward
August 20th - Varsity Scout Leader Specific Training - 8:00 a.m. check-in - LDS Church on Fiske Blvd Cocoa - email Rocky Raby if you plan on attending
August 20th - Tipisa Lodge LLDP - 9:00 a.m. - Winter Park 1st United Methodist - online registration
August 20th - Tipisa Lodge Banquet - 5:00 p.m. - Winter Park 1st United Methodist - online registration
August 26th - Boy Scout Travel, Sports & Entertainment Auction - 5:30 p.m. - DoubleTree by Hilton Orlando Downtown (formerly the Sonesta) - Registration
August 27th - Poptober Rally at 4 Locations including Wet N' Wild - see the Poptober web site for more information
September 8th - Popcorn Order Due
September 9-11 - Tipisa Lodge Fall Fellowship - Camp La-No-Che - online registration
September 15th - SM and ASM Position Specific Training Part 1 - 7:00 p.m. - Lake Mary LDS Ward
September 15th - Cub Scout Leader Specific Training Part 1 - 7:00 p.m. - Lake Mary LDS Ward
September 24th - Popcorn Pickup - 8:00 a.m. - Noon
September 23-25 - Fall IOLS at the Group Camp - Camp La-No-Che
September 23-25, Fall Woodbadge Weekend I (S4-83-11-2) at Camp La-No-Che - Information - Online Registration
October 1-2 - Webelos Woods
October 7-9, Fall Woodbadge Weekend II (S4-83-11-2) at Camp La-No-Che - Information - Online Registration
October 7-8 - District Cub Family Camp-out at Magnolia Park
October 8th - District Training Day, Cubs, Scouting, and Venturing leaders, including Charter Organization Representative training.
October 15th - Eagle Workshop - Council Service Center - Check-in 8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Workshop 9:00 a.m. - Noon - Flyer - Online Registration
October 20th - SM and ASM Position Specific Training Part 2 - 7:00 p.m. - Lake Mary LDS Ward
October 20th - Cub Scout Leader Specific Training Part 2 - 7:00 p.m. - Lake Mary LDS Ward
November 5th - Scouting for Food Bag Drop Off
November 5th - Outdoor Leadership Skills for Webelos Leaders
November 8th - 2nd Popcorn Order Due
November 12th - Scouting for Food Bag Pick-up
November 17th - SM and ASM Position Specific Training Part 3 - 7:00 p.m. - Lake Mary LDS Ward
November 19th - Popcorn Pick-up #2
December 2-4 - Venturing Camporee at Downtown Camp La-No-Che
December 2-4 - Council Camporee at Camp La-No-Che "The Ranch" - Leader's Guide - Online Registration
December 10-11 - BALOO Training
December 21-30 - 1st Central Florida Council International Scouting Jamborette at Camp La-No-Che - Leader's Guide
December 26-29 - Winter Camp at Camp La-No-Che
January 28, 2012 - University of Scouting at Timber Creek High School (map)
February 5, 2012 - Scout Sunday
February 11th - District Training Day
March 9-10, 2012 - District & Board Staff Retreat at Camp La-No-Che
March 17, 2012 - District Pinewood Derby
March 30 - April 1, 2012 - District Spring Camporee
April 13-15, 2012 - IOLS - Camp La-No-Che
April 28th, 2012 - Scout Show at UCF
May 17th, 2012 - District Banquet
* New additions to the calendar since the last issue.
"Vigorous Scout games are the best form of physical education because most of them bring in moral education." - Baden-Powell
CONTACT INFO:
Ron Blaisdell
1060 Meadow Lake Way #103
Winter Springs FL 32708
321-593-4704
ron@blaisdell.com
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