SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY

Service Stars (Year Pins)
& Attendance Awards

www.pack132.us
www.usscouts.org , www.scouting.org ,
& Baloo's Archives

We all want our Scouts to attend everything.  We want them to stay with the program.  So don’t forget to recognize them for being there another year and for being at "everything."

Service Stars

Service stars are Gold metallic numbered stars worn with colored background to indicate years of service in Scouting. The sample above is a two year Service Star.  Cub Scouts and Webelos Scouts wear stars with gold background, centered 3/8 inch above the left pocket. Service stars are calculated based on registration information. That's the reason why they are called "service stars". They are not based on "graduation" or "movement" from one program element to another (from Wolf to Bear, for instance) nor from program to program (from Cub Scouting to Boy Scouting, for instance). Each year of service is calculated based on the anniversary of the Scout's date of registration. 

There are six Official BSA service star backings:

ü  Orange for Tiger Cub youth  (Discontinued in 2001)

ü  Yellow for Cub Scout youth

ü  Green for Boy Scout youth

ü  Brown for Varsity Scout youth

ü  Red for Exploring/Career Awareness Exploring or Venturing/Sea Scouting youth

ü  Light Blue for all adult service, Regardless of program

Placement

Stars are worn 3/8 inch above the top of the left pocket.  Or 3/8 inch above the top Square Knot recognition.

Only the correct total number of years should be worn.  When your son receives his 2^nd year Service Star, remove the first and put it in your "Memory Box"

Note for adults on wearing Service Stars

An adult has the option to wear the appropriate color backgrounds for their youth service and blue for their Adult service or they may combine all adult and youth service and wear only the light blue Scouter's service star background.

For example,

I could wear service stars in one of the 2 options:

Attendance Award -

This is often wrongly called "The Perfect Attendance Award"  My Pack always called this the "Good Attendance Award."  Every Scout is expected to attend all Den and Pack meetings.  However, most Packs recognizes that Cub Scouts (Tiger Cubs, Cub Scouts, Webelos Scouts) are involved in other activities and may have scheduling conflicts.  Since you know your community best, the Pack committee sets the requirements for this award.  National Council has not established requirements for this award.  You should make the requirements challenging but doable. 

Sample Requirements:

I found several packs on the web with the same list of requirements, whether they all actually decided to do the same thing or simply copied from one another,
 I do not know.  CD

To earn the attendance award,
A Scout can not miss more than:

ü  One regularly scheduled Pack meeting during the program year (September through August).

ü  Two regularly scheduled Den meetings during the program year (September through August).

A Scout must

ü  Earn the Summertime Fun Award

ü  Attend at least one Camping trip (The Pack has two and Webelos have one more)

ü  Attend a Day Camp or Resident camp

ü  Attend at least 2/3^rd of special Pack activities (trips, picnics, Scouting for Food, ball games, …)

Remember, the Pack sets the requirements. 
If you don’t like these, write your own.

Other Information:

ü  The awards could be presented at the last Pack meeting of the program year or the first of the next year.  Presentation at the first gives you awards for the first meeting of the year when you should have lots of new Cubs who will be impressed with seeing what they can earn!!!

ü  The Official BSA Insignia Guide simply says the award is worn on the official uniform above the left pocket.  It does not give a distance above.  I would put it about the same height as the Service Star.  Let the year bars dangle on the pocket flap.

Boys’ Life Reading Contest for 2008

SAY ‘YES’ TO READING

Enter the 2008 Boys’ Life Reading Contest

Write a one-page report titled “The Best Book I Read This Year” and enter it in the Boys’ Life 2008 “Say Yes to Reading!” contest.

The book can be fiction or nonfiction. But the report has to be in your own words — 500 words tops. Enter in one of these three age categories:

­  8 years old and younger

­  9 and 10 years old

­  11 years old and older

First-place winners in each age category will receive a $100 gift certificate good for any product in the Boy Scouts official retail catalog. Second-place winners will receive a $75 gift certificate and third-place winners a $50 certificate.

Everyone who enters will get a free patch like the one shown above. (And, yes, the patch is a temporary insignia, so it can be worn on your Cub Scout or Boy Scout uniform shirt, on the right pocket. Proudly display it there or anywhere!) In coming years, you’ll have the opportunity to earn different patches.

The contest is open to all Boys’ Life readers. Be sure to include your name, address, age and grade in school on the entry.

Send your report, along with a business-size, self-addressed, stamped envelope, to:

Boys’ Life Reading Contest

S306

P.O. Box 152079

Irving, TX 75015-2079

Entries must be postmarked by Dec. 31, 2008 and must include entry information and a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

For more details go to www.boyslife.org

Adult Special Opportunity of Month

Wood Badge for Cub Scouters?

Kommissioner Karl Henley

Buckeye Council

Kommissioner Karl, Scouter Jim, Bill Smith the Roundtable guy, Alice, and I have all taken Wood Badge and served on Staff.  That's the whole staff!!!

And we all highly recommend it!! CD

Wood Badge for the 21st Century is not your parent’s Wood Badge.  Gone are the hours of crafts and knot tying, replaced by leading edge teaching, team building, management and leadership skill building sessions.  The course was re-developed by the National Council and was written by some of the country’s best corporate trainers and authors.  It remains the most advanced leader training that the Boy Scouts of America offers.  To qualify to be a participant, you must have taken Fast Start, New Leader Essentials, and Leader specific training for your current role as a volunteer.  Fast Start and New Leader Essentials are available online at www.scouting.org ; click on My Scouting and set up your account.  Several types of training are available at this portal and once completed, a training card is available for you to print and the information will be passed back to your council via ScoutNet.

Wood Badge is 6 days (usually split over 2 three day weekends) of fun, learning, relationship building and skill development.  The course is genius in its delivery, using the EDGE method (Explain, Demonstrate, Guide, Enable – a session in the course) participants learn and experience each aspect of the teachings.  As you look back over the experience, you will begin to realize how different sessions and team building skills are inter-related and how the course truly unfolds to not only teach the method, but take you as a participant through the same experience that your cubs and pack committees will have.  The course framework starts you out as a Cub Scout and then runs through how you should see your prospective Boy Scout troops running, which can be handy when you go to look for Troops for your son to crossover to.

As a Cub Leader, what should you expect to take away from the course?  A better understanding of how to follow, lead, and knowing how to recognize the best way to handle situations life can toss at you.  Because the course is teaching leadership and team development, you can apply many of the lessons to your work, family and scouting life.  No matter what role you are playing in the leadership of the den or pack, you will find opportunities to use the lessons learned.  From coaching and mentoring the fledgling wolf scout, to getting your committee on board with developing a plan and successfully carrying it out, Wood Badge will have an impact on you, your den and your pack committee and your personal life.

You also have an opportunity to meet and spend 6 days with other top Scouters in your district and council.  You may find this valuable when you need to find out information, look for a guest to come to your meeting, or just simply know who is in what role and what they do to help your unit.  Since you form your own team, you will have a chance to form long lasting friendships with other like minded Scouters.

My personal experience was very positive.  Two of my best friends I would not have met were it not for Wood Badge.  I was able to take what I learned and apply it to a pack that was struggling, and turn it into a successful, growing pack, with more than 20 parents on our committee and a fantastic year round program. 

If you have a course coming up in your council, you should go.  The best place to get more information about Wood Badge is your District Training Chair, Council Wood Badge Coordinator, or Council Training Chair.  You will not be disappointed.