Council President Message
Holidays, New Years and Scouting
Over the last few weeks, we turned to family traditions in celebrating the holidays; warm greetings and well wishes, exchanging gifts, visiting family and friends, great meals and good cheer. We watched our children open their presents while the child in us remembered the anticipation. We lifted our thoughts to those who were not with us either because of distance or have passed on. We remembered those who serve in our military so that we can enjoy with each other the blessings of this special season. We reflected on the year past and of the next to come. We planned our resolutions as we watched the ‘ball drop’ and raised our glasses to the promise of the New Year ahead.
I hope that you enjoyed your holidays; laughed and sang and spent hours retelling fun stories and sharing memories.
I wish each of you a Happy New Year.
At NWSC, we close the business and fiscal year of 2011. 2011 turned out to be a challenging year financially for our council but we have remained strong in the deliverance of great programs. We thank all of you who have shared your time and talents, who have donated funds in support of our programs and most importantly made a difference in the lives of our Scouts.
As we usher in 2012 and journey forward, we address our challenges and fine tune our methods to achieve new goals. Officially, our new year commences with NWSC’s Annual Business Meeting on January 19 where we install our Members-at-Large, our Executive Board, our Advisory Board and our new slate of Officers. This next year, NWSC will see a new activity fee instituted, the Resource Development Committee (RDC) poised to reach out to selected community leaders and our Board has been expanded with influencers, financial supporters and business leaders. During the course of 2012, Council, District and Unit leaders will take part in the development of the NWSC Strategic Plan 2013-2018. And lastly, our Order of the Arrow Lakota Lodge will be hosting the Section C-7 Conclave at Camp Lakota in April.
Our Scout leaders will continue to strengthen and guide the time-honored programs: unit and district activities, adult and youth training, Webelos to Scout transition, spring/fall recruitments, week-end camp-outs, district camp-o-rees, FOS (Friends –of-Scouting)–Family and Community campaigns, summer camp, our special events, unit service from our Commissioner Corps, Scout service, and product sales.
Beyond any planning and program execution we can do, what is most important is sharing ourselves; continuing to volunteer to keep NWSC the great council it is. If you haven’t been involved before now, there’s an opportunity waiting for you to join us on this journey. 2012 may be the year you begin leaving a legacy in Scouting.
On behalf of the Council, thank you for what you will do this year. Our Scouts will learn, have fun and advance; they will grow and mature as young adults prepared to meet the challenges ahead.
Best Wishes in 2012!
Marie T. Diffley
Council President
Northwest Suburban Council Presents Award for Distinguished Service to Youth
Palatine, Illinois – December 6, 2011. Alfred J. Knox, a member of the Palatine Rotary Club and active Executive Board member of the Northwest Suburban Council, Boy Scouts of America was presented with the Cliff Dochterman Award in a ceremony conducted at the Palatine Rotary Club.
The Cliff Dochterman Award is the highest award for service to youth presented by the International Fellowship of Scouting Rotarians through the World Organization of the Scouting Movement (of which the Boy Scouts of America is a member organization) and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. The presentation is made by the Northwest Suburban Council, Boy Scouts of America to recognize members who perform outstanding service to youth as volunteer Scouting leaders.
The award was presented by Bill Buchta of the Palatine Rotary Club and Stephen Taylor, Scout Executive for the Northwest Suburban Council, who cited Mr. Knox for his 25+ years of distinguished volunteer leadership in the delivery of the Scouting program.
The Cliff Dochterman Award consists of a medal with the Rotary International logo and world crest for Scouting suspended on a royal blue and gold ribbon accompanied by a framed certificate.
Mr. Knox’s service to Scouting consists of volunteer Scouting leadership at the Cub Scout Pack, Boy Scout Troop, Signal Hill District, and Northwest Suburban Council Executive Board level including multiple years of service as the Council Treasurer and an upcoming term of office as a Council Vice President for Resource Development.
Mr. Knox’s service to the community consists of volunteer service as a trustee of the Palatine Public Library and service as President of the Palatine Rotary Club.
Only 592 other Cliff Dochterman Awards have ever been presented worldwide amongst Scouting’s 40 million members in 161 different countries. This award was a first for the Palatine Rotary Club and the Northwest Suburban Council. Other notable Cliff Dochterman Award recipients include former Chief Scout Executive Jim Tarr and Charles W. Dahlquist, II, General President of the Young Men’s Organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"Voice of the Scout"
In 2012, the Boy Scouts of America will introduce a new on-line survey tool called "Voice of the Scout" which is designed to be "Guiding Our Future with Feedback." This new survey program is optional in 2012 and will become mandatory in 2013 for local BSA councils on their "Journey to Excellence" criteria. The Northwest Suburban Council has opted to participate during the optional 2012 "opt in" time period to get an early start on using this new tool.
The surveys will be conducted no more than once every six months and will start in March 2012. Those surveyed will include Scouts over age 14, parents, volunteers, and Chartered Organization Representatives. Each survey will be composed of six or seven questions that will help the local council and the national organization with valuable customer feedback.
There will be three basic steps to the survey. The first step will be to gather feedback from the customer. The second step will be to better communicate with the customer. And the third step will be to respond to the customer's needs.
What can and should be done now in January 2012 as we prepare for this new survey tool in March 2012? Please ensure that our Council Registrar (Dee Ryan) has an updated e-mail address on file in the BSA ScoutNet system with all of your members and leaders. This can be done through the unit charter renewal process when we update addresses and phone numbers for members and leaders. Just make sure that Dee also has an e-mail address for your members, parents, and leaders. Or you may send individual or group listings to elryan@bsamail.org. Dee can also be reached at 847-824-6880 xt. 1002.
Best regards,
Stephen J. Taylor, CFRE
Scout Executive
Changes Coming to Tour Plan Process
Since rolling out a new tour plan process to replace both the local and national tour permits earlier this year, the BSA has been gathering and listening to your input on ways to make this important procedure easier and more effective.
Thanks to your feedback, we are introducing a new tour and activity plan in the coming weeks. As with its predecessors, the tour and activity plan is intended to be an interactive planning tool that allows you greater flexibility in helping your unit volunteers provide a safe camping environment.
The tour and activity plan will consist of an easy-to-use online application rather than a fillable PDF. The first phase of the application is undergoing testing, but stay tuned for more information in coming issues of THE DRUMBEAT.
NATIONAL SUPPLY SALE EVENTS
DECEMBER 26 - JANUARY 12 Clearance Web and In-store
DECEMBER 30 - JANUARY 5 Blue & Gold Web and In-store
JANUARY 13 - JANUARY 19 Scout Sunday - Web Only
JANUARY 20 - JANUARY 26 Prepared. For Life. Web and In-store
JANUARY 27 - FEBRUARY 2 Sliding Scale Discount- Web Only
Event dates, themes, and/or merchandise are subject to change due to inventories or product availability
BSA Reaches Out With New Alumni Association
The BSA has launched the Scouting Alumni Association, giving former Scouts an opportunity to reconnect with the organization that has helped shape the lives of America’s youth. For more than 100 years, nearly 200 million men and women have been positively influenced by their experiences with the BSA.
In addition to being open to former and current Scouts, the association is open to anyone who has been positively and personally affected by the BSA, including former and current volunteers and their family members.
To learn more about the application process and the benefits of joining, visit the Scouting Alumni Association website.
NEW- Welding Merit Badge
When it debuts in the next month or two, it will become the BSA’s 128th current merit badge, joining fellow newcomer Chess, which made its move onto the list during the summer.
Some merit badges are all about enjoying the outdoors — Whitewater, Camping, Backpacking. Those active subjects are an essential part of a boy’s involvement in Scouting.
But those merit badges that focus on career exploration are just as important. Welding fits right in with those.
Where else but Scouting can a young man learn from industry practitioners in real-world fields? It’s the perfect, hands-on way to explore a subject that a Scout may one day make his career.
You can help there, too. If you know someone in the welding field, ask them to teach the merit badge to your troop. There’s no exact release date or finalized list of requirements just yet, but stay tuned right here as we get that information.
Medal of Merit
Scouting offers a lot to youth in today’s world: The lifelong memories of a rainy campout, the experience of leading peers, and skills for everyday life. At the base of it all are first aid and CPR. These skills are invaluable and tie directly to the motto of “Be Prepared.” On occasion, a Scout must jump into action and use these invaluable skills to save a life.
The BSA has 5 Lifesaving or Meritorious Action awards: National Certificate of Merit, Medal of Merit, Heroism Award, Honor Medal, and Honor Medal with Crossed Palms. All of these awards may be given to a youth or an adult. The National Certificate of Merit is given for an act of outstanding service to others. The Medal of Merit is for an act of service which “reflects an uncommon degree of concern for the well-being of others.”
The Heroism Award, Honor Medal, and Honor Medal with Crossed Palms are given for showing heroism and skill in saving, or attempting to save, a life. Each level represents greater risk to one’s self: no risk, considerable risk, and extreme risk.
If you know of Scout or Scouter that has used his scout skills to perform a meritorious action please take the time to send a nomination to the council office.
Boy Scouts of America Launches New E-Funding Website, Enables Support of Local Scouting Online
Site provides options to donate to local council programs
Irving, Texas —Supporting the Northwest Suburban Council of the Boy Scouts of America, one of the nation’s largest and most prominent youth character development organizations, is now just a mouse click away. A new website, http://aplacetogive.scouting.org/, provides the ability to support the Scouting programs here in the local community, to provide funding to send a youth to camp, and to support the development of the Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve, the BSA’s newest national high-adventure base and the future home of the national Scout jamboree, with online donations.
As a nonprofit organization, the Northwest Suburban Council relies on the generosity of charitable donations to support its ongoing operations and future capital expenses. Each gift, regardless of size, provides invaluable funding for BSA programs that benefit Scouts right here in the community. The introduction of this new website offers supporters of Scouting the ability to help nurture youth development in a convenient, meaningful way.
“The e-Funding website represents a quantum leap forward—both in the way it enables people to donate to Scouting and in the way it enables councils to customize their page to provide donors with a number of options,” said Assistant Chief Scout Executive Brad Farmer. “Despite tough economic times, supporters continue to graciously invest their time and resources to help the BSA develop young people into the leaders of tomorrow.”
Most youth members’ day-to-day experiences with Scouting come through their individual packs, troops, teams, crews, and ships. These units are overseen by nearly 300 local councils, including Northwest Suburban Council. Initially, when an individual navigates to the new e-Funding website, the site will identify where that individual is located and will automatically populate the information for the nearest BSA local council.
In addition to supporting local council programs, visitors to http://aplacetogive.scouting.org/ will be able to select the “Send a Kid to Camp” option, provide funding for the James E. West Endowment, and/or support the development of the Summit by purchasing new trees and sponsoring walkway paving stones, wooden sustainability benches, and stone benches. Other options will be introduced in the future, providing donors with a variety of ways to personalize and individualize their gifts to the Scouting program.
“Our supporters and members want to see the amazing Scouting program continue to grow and thrive in meeting the needs of today’s youth,” Farmer said. “One of the ways we are doing that is by expanding our reach in the digital realm and giving supporters and members more ways to connect with Scouting.”
About the Northwest Suburban Council of the Boy Scouts of America
Located in Mt. Prospect, IL, the Northwest Suburban Council, aided by over 4,000 adult volunteers, provides the Scouting program to over 19,000 youth in 34 surrounding communities.
Last year, over 150 local area Scouts earned Scouting’s highest rank, the Eagle Scout Award. In addition, local Scouts donated over 450,000 hours of service to their communities. For additional current news, please visit the council’s website: www.nwsc.org and its Facebook: www.facebook.com/NWSC.BSA
About the Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America prepares young people for life by providing the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training. The Scouting organization is composed of 2.7 million youth members between the ages of 7 and 21, and more than a million volunteers, in nearly 300 local councils throughout the United States and its territories. For more information on the Boy Scouts of America, please visit www.scouting.org.