JULY 2011

CURRENT ISSUES

JULY 2011

	INSIDE THIS EDITION Council Calendar Tour Permit Changes Online Youth Protection Training Order of the Arrow  - Lodge News Back to Gillwell (Wooddbadge 2) Amangi Trail District News Amistad District News Permian Basin Dstrict News

SCOUTING VISION
Scouting Vision: Delivering the Promise
By Scout Executive, Rick Reeve

The Concho Valley Council Borad of Directors approved the 2011-2015 "Delivering the Promise" Strategic Plan at our March Board Meeting. The "Delivering the Promise" Strategic Plan will be the council's road map as well as my own for the next four years. We will begin to do what this council does best, BETTER!

I would like to begin by thanking all the volunteers that participated in the surveys and meetings to develop this plan and for Concho Valley Council President Joe Will Ross for heading up the Leadership Pillar, Vice President Don Griffis Finance, Vice President Michael Jenike Membership and Program and Vice President Julie Seay for Marketing. The process began in late fall of 2010 when Concho Valley Council Vice President of Administration Joe Will Ross and I attended the Boy Scouts of America National Meeting and attended the new MS Strategic Planning Sessions facilitated by Ignacio Gonzalez, Team Leader Council Management Solution. Who later came to San Angelo to host our council wide orientations, SWOT Analysis prioritization, Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats; prioritizations and goals and objective setting. We began the process by developing surveys that volunteers completed, staff and board members conducted individual SWOT analysis, committees were recruited and the fun began.

You may view the SWOT Assessment and complete strategic plan documents at www.cvcbsa.org but I do want to highlight a few items that we will be working on over the next four years:

1. Increase Trained leaders by 5% annually
2. Increase membership by 2% annually
3. Implement succession planning
4. Promote a unified image of the Concho Valley Council
5. Review the current council district structure
6. Conduct a capital campaign
   

If you have questions on any of the four pillars of the "Delivering the Promise" Strategic Plan please feel free to contact any of our pillar chairs listed above or staff advisors, Rick Reeve, Leadership and Governance; Lisa Mahler, Membership/Program; Geoff Parker, Marketing; and David Thompson and Teno Navarro on Fundraising.

TOUR PERMIT CHANGES BEGIN

Effective March 1, the current version of Tour Permits will change to the Tour Plan. Listed below are the changes:

1. Council reviews all Tour Plans including trips longer than 500 miles
2. All Units (Packs, Crews, Troops) must have a first aid kit and emergency road kit when they travel.
3. The Unit will have in their possession the Annual Health and Medical Record for every participant.
       a. Part A and B required for short term camp (less than 72 hours)      b. Part A, B, and C required for long term camp (longer than 72        hours)
4. All Units must have a current copy of the Guide to Safe Scouting in their possession during trips. A copy of this Guide is available online for Units to copy.
   
        www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/34416.pdf
   
   All Unit leaders should be familiar with Sweet 16 of BSA Safety:
   
       scouting.org/scoutsource/HealthandSafety/Sweet16.aspx
   
   and the safety measures in the Guide to Safe Scouting.
5. Statement on the new Tour Plan:
   "The BSA's general liability policy provides coverage for bodily injury or property damage that is made and arises out of an official Scouting activity as defined by the Guide to Safe Scouting. Volunteers, units, chartered organizations, and local councils that engage in unauthorized activities are jeopardizing their insurance coverage."
6. Each Unit must include the name of a person and that person's phone number that will not be on the tour. This person will be the Unit's point of contact.
7. Units travelling to a Concho Valley Council or District sponsored event will not need to file a Tour Plan. (for example: summer camp, family camp, district day camp) However, it is the Unit's responsibility to make sure all drivers are insured and currently hold a valid driver's license.
8. Units travelling to Non Concho Valley Council sponsored events or planning an individual Unit campout will need to follow the following time line for permits to be approved:
      a. For trips less than 500 miles, please allow one week for processing.
      b. For trips more than 500 miles, please allow three weeks for processing.
   

Reminder: Packs may only camp at Council approved campsites.Call the Council office for the list of approved camping areas.

Lastly, the following link provides a TOUR PLAN that you can save to your desktop.

http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/680-014_fillable.pdf

ONLINE YOUTH PROTECTION TRAINING

• Log in to www.myscouting.org
• Create a username (IF YOU ARE NEW TO THE WEBSITE)
• Next page, fill in name, address, email address, etc.
• Submit
• National BSA, will contact you through the email you provided. Open email. ~~ The email will prompt you to create a password.
  
  Note: keep up with your username and password. You may need to go back into the account for additional training.
  
• Once you have your username and password, go back to www.myscouting.org and log in.
• You will see "Welcome to MyScouting". On the left side of this page, click on "E-Learning "
• Scroll down until you see "Youth Protection" Click on "take course"
• Take the course and answer the questions.
• Once you have completed the course, hit the refresh button and go back where you found "E-Learning." You should see a button that says "view certificate". Click on that button and print a copy of your completed youth protection training. Keep a copy for yourself and for future camping requirements.
• This training is good for one year from the date you took the course.

2011 LONE STAR FELLOWSHIP (UPDATE)
By Tyler Coplen, Vice Chief of Communications

During the weekend of July 15-17, 2011, Five members of the Wahinkto Lodge traveled to the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas for the 2011 Lone Star Fellowship. The Lone Star Fellowship is a weekend of fun and fellowship for all the Arrowmen of our region of nine lodges.

The First day began with registration and getting settled into the dorms at A&M. After everyone was settled into the dorms, a show was set at the dining hall to officially open the conclave. The National Chief of the OA welcomed all of us to the Conclave and introduced all the staff members. The night concluded with all of the Arrowmen getting to know each other at the Ice Cream Social. The next morning all the activities began. There were classes in the morning to help improve your knowledge and help you be more active in the Order. After a good lunch it was off to the Arrowman Bash where all the lodges participated in games such as Kickball and Marshmallow Golf. Yes, they are goofy games but are really a lot of fun. Also lodges could compete in Indian Dance Competitions and Individual competitions. From the Arrowman Bash, we went to dinner, and then to the Closing Show, where goodbyes were said and Awards were given for the competitions. As a part of the closing show all the lodges set up booths and we had a Lodge-a-Palooza and Pow-Wow to close out the weekend. The next day we left our dorms and parted ways until next year.

I would highly suggest to all old and new Arrowmen to attend this event next year. Registration should start in January and we really want to have at least 30 members from Wahinkto attend next year. Be sure to join the Lodge Facebook Page for Information on Upcoming Events.

BACK TO GILWELL
 In 1911, Baden-Powell took the first steps in training Scouting's adult leaders by organizing a series of lectures for Scouters. He made great strides in the years that followed, culminating in 1919 with the establishment of Wood Badge training. Wood Badge recipients now number more than 100,000 Scouters around the world. Wood Badge for the 21st Century is intended for all leaders in Scouting—Cub Scout, Boy Scout, Varsity Scout, and Venturing leaders, as well as council and district leaders. The focus is on leadership, not out-of-door skills. The object is to demonstrate the aims and methods of Scouting through the presentation of leadership skills, organizational tools, and a variety of activities based on the best of Scouting traditions and the latest in team development theory. In addition, participants will enjoy the fellowship of sharing the experience with volunteer and professional Scouters while having a great deal of just plain fun.

This course will be a tremendous opportunity for you to:

• Understand Scouting as a family of interrelated, values-based programs providing age-appropriate activities for youth
• Recognize contemporary leadership concepts and discover how those concepts are relevant to our values-based movement
• Apply the skills you learn from your participation as a member of a successful working team
• Revitalize your commitment to Scouting

Many Scouters consider Wood Badge to be a peak experience of their Scouting careers. It has served as a source of training and inspiration to thousands.

Concho Valley Council, Wood Badge 2 will be held in fall of 2012. If you would like to be added to the contact list for more information, please contact Geoffrey Parker, Council Training Staff Advisor at the office: (325) 655-7107ext. 30.

DISTRICT NEWS