News from the Marin Council BSA

December, 2017 Vol. 10, Issue 11

Dear ,

It's December, and the year is winding down. However, in many ways, the Marin Council is preparing for an active and vibrant new year.

Read through the articles below, and pass them on to people you know so everyone is aware of what is coming. Here are a couple of important highlights from what is below:

Of the Year Nominations: Due on January 5. Please read about it.
Roundtable tomorrow night (Thursday)
First Aid meet on January 27
Pinewood Derby Workshop on February 10
Rangemaster training opportunities
And more!

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Please forward this monthly newsletter to other people in your unit that may not be receiving it. They can also click here to subscribe if they are not on our mailing list.

It's Roundtable Time

Thursday, December 7, Is Roundtable

Unit leaders don't forget to send someone from your unit to the roundtable meetings. It's a great time to meet other leaders, share best practices, and ask questions.

Roundtables are at 7:30, the first Thursday of every month from September through June, at the LDS Church, 220 N. San Pedro Road, San Rafael.

Join us for Cub Scout Roundtable!!

Fun and fellowship begins at 7:30 p.m., winding down by 8:30 p.m. Do parents in your pack have questions about BSA's policy about gender? This month our Marin Council Executive will lead our discussion. We'll shed some light on what led to the decision, and new options available next year within the Cub Scout program. We'll also demo a candle-and-steam powered pop-pop boat that the Scouts will love and play a knot-related game that will come in handy as the weather grows colder.

See you there!

Venturing Rally

Our next Venturer Rally is tomorrow, Thursday, at 7:30 p.m.

Please come on time; we will have a speaker after introductions and review.

Speaker: Mr. Jeff Gurrola

Topic: Mountain Travel and Rescue Class, (winter class opportunity in February/March 2018)

If you have any events you would like to share with the other crews, please email them to me.

Of the Year Awards

The deadline for this is coming up just after the first of the year on January 5. So it's time to think about nominating Scouts and adults for recognition. Every year, the Marin Council conducts the Of the Year program to recognize outstanding youth and adults in every level of Scouting.

On time nominations are a must because Scouts will be interviewed by a panel of leaders on Thursday, January 25 at the council office.

Don't miss this opportunity. All Scouts and adults will be recognized at the Marin Council Recognition Dinner on March 12. This is a great opportunity to see all the width and breadth of what is going on throughout Marin County!

Forms can be downloaded by clicking this link.

Code Red First Aid Meet

Code Red is an event that challenges Scouts'/Venturers' abilities to perform first aid in simulated real-life situations. Boy Scout patrols and Venturing crews compete in practical first aid problems, displaying hands-on skills from the BSA Handbooks, First Aid Merit Badge pamphlet, and current American Red Cross guidelines.

Code Red will be Saturday, January 27, from 8 a.m., ending at approximately 2 p.m. This will be held at the LDS church in Santa Venetia, 220 N. San Pedro Rd.

The event will be similar to last year. We intend to have 3 extra opportunities besides the 12 scenario rooms: an ambulance, a Search and Rescue informational booth, and a demo of CPR.

The patch is a shark jumping through a life preserver ring, and the theme is going to be Shark Attack, so we're encouraging the location of the "accident" to be on the beach if at all possible.

Troops and crews should sign up their patrols/crews soon to run a scenario by sending an email to Senior Patrol Leader, Dhruv Pareek.

We'll also be holding an orientation for patrol/crew leaders and adults in January so they can know what to expect. The date will be announced later.

Order of the Arrow News

A busy November and early December for Talako.

30 Arrowmen participated in the Scouting for Food Drive.

The Sunday after Thanksgiving, Talako participated in the annual Christmas decoration service project at the San Rafael Elks Lodge

Finally, on December 3, at Talako's Annual Banquet, awards, recognition, and fellowship were shared. New Lodge officers were installed by W3N Section Chief Andrew Zucker. Chief: Ryan Moynihan; Vice Chiefs: Josh Holzer and Grant Fehring; Treasurer: Adrian Hanson; and Secretary: Sam Shern

Talako is looking forward to 2018. Stay tuned for information on The Pinewood Derby workshop, Klondike Derby, bridgings, and unit elections.

Have a warm, safe and Scoutworthy holiday season!

Marin Council Eagle Scout Scholarship

Do you know a Marin Council Eagle Scout who will be starting college in the fall of 2018? If so we are pleased to announce that the Marin Council, BSA, is offering a $2,500 scholarship that is available only to Marin Council Eagle Scouts to help support their first year of college. This scholarship is funded through donations by Eagle alumni to the Marin Council.

We would encourage all young men who qualify to submit an application for this scholarship, which can be found on our council web site. The deadline for submission is January 31, 2018. This scholarship is only available to Eagle Scouts from Marin Council who earned their Eagle prior to January 31, 2018. Scholarship applications will be reviewed by a panel of Eagle Scout alumni, and our recipient will be notified by late March of the committee's decision.

We are grateful that the generous donations of so many of our Eagle Scout alumni have provided our council the opportunity to offer this scholarship. If you are an adult Eagle Scout and would like to learn more about the Marin Council Eagle Scout Alumni Association, please email Michael Dybeck.

Marin Council Shooting Sports

Shooting Events in November

On November 4, Larkspur Troop 59 spent the weekend camping and shot .22s, archery, and threw tomahawks. They spent 4 hours on a major service project, working on the 3 ranges. As a benefit for helping maintain and improve the ranges, they were awarded with a day of free shooting. On November 18, Petaluma Troop 74 camped and shot .22s, archery, and threw tomahawks.

Upcoming Shooting Events

The next shooting event is the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby Workshop shoot on Feb. 10. During the hours of the Pinewood Derby Workshop, run by the Order of the Arrow, the Shooting Sports Committee opens the range for drop-in BB Gun shooting.

Upcoming Training Opportunities

If your child enjoys the shooting experience, please consider signing up to help. In order for us to teach gun safety and provide an enjoyable shooting experience, we need parents to be trained and help staff these ranges.

Please consider one of the training certification classes listed. Click on links below for the class descriptions!

December 9 - NRA Range Safety Officer (call if you wish to attend)
December 10 - 2 classes: BB Gun Range Master and Slingshot/Tomahawk Range Master (call if you wish to attend)
January 27 and 28 - NRA Rifle Instructor
January 27 - USAA Archery Level 1 and BSA Archery Instructor

Marin Council Aviation Explorers

On Sunday, November 5, the new Aviation Explorer Post had their first meeting. Pieter Colenbrander and Ernie Ganas took 7 young people, ages 14 to 16, to the Oakland Airport air traffic control tower and tower training facility. Oakland used to have two towers, one for the north and one for the south fields, but a new modern tower was constructed a few years ago between both fields. The new tower is filled with state-of-the-art equipment, and at 250 feet tall, it has a full view of both the north and south fields from one location.

In the tower, the youth observed the controllers in action, while getting a birds eye view of the landing and departing aircraft. After a tour of the tower itself, they went over to the tower training facility at the north field. The training facility has a full working simulator that can simulate up to 16 different towers in the Bay Area, complete with incoming and outgoing traffic, as well as ground operations. The youth got to put on a headset and work the radar screens as simulated Southwest jets with crossing VFR traffic landed and departed.

The next meeting of the Explorer Post will be in January. Contact Nancy Rozell for details.

Camp Staff

Now Is the Perfect Time to Apply

Don't miss your opportunity for one of the greatest adventures you can have: working at camp. Fall is a great time to apply. Interviewing begins after the first of the year.

Marin Sierra

Applications are already flowing in! We are seeking over-21 people to staff waterfront, COPE, climbing, shotgun, rifle, kitchen, and other areas. Over-18s can work as area directors or assistants in shotgun, rifle, COPE, climbing, and kitchen. Over 16s can be lifeguards. 15-year-olds can work all summer and be paid. Counselors-in-training are 14 years old and work for 2 weeks. There is something for everyone!

Tamarancho

For Cub Scout day camp at Tamarancho, we are seeking the same age groups for a myriad of positions as well.

Applications for Boy Scout resident camp can be downloaded by clicking this link. Cub Scout day camp applications can be found at this link. Also you can email Nancy Rozell about Cub Scout camp or Tim Wells about Boy Scout camp.

These camps our your camps!

Save the Date

Wood Badge 2018--A premier adult training program of BSA teaches contemporary leadership and team development skills in an outdoor setting.

August 24-26 and September 14-16

More details will be forthcoming.

We want to hear your good turns!

As the story goes, doing a good turn is what brought Scouting to the United States from England. William D. Boyce was lost in fog when a Scout helped him find his way and wouldn't accept anything in return for his help. Boyce was so impressed by this unknown Scout and the Scouting movement that he and several other leaders established the Boy Scouts of American in 1910.

We all know the positive effect Scouting has on the youth in our community and we're always looking for ways to help more youth. To that end, your good turns can help not just once but twice by reaching out to others via Twitter.

For 2018, the Marin Council would like to Tweet a good turn daily. But in order to do that, we need to hear from you. In December, please ask your Scouts, Cub Scouts, Venturers, and Explorers to submit a good turn each to a leader who can then forward the troop's, pack's, crew's, or post's good turns in a single email or document to the Marin Council VP of Membership, Kevin Krick, at membership@boyscouts-marin.org.

Please ensure that each good turn is no longer than the new character length for a Tweet: 280 characters.

Thanks & we look forward to reading everyone's good turns!

Popcorn Success!

Success again! Units brought in over $50,000 in popcorn commissions to support their programs. Big thank you to all the Popcorn Kernels for their hard work! Don't forget to thank them next time your unit enjoys the proceeds from their efforts!