Meridian Matters December 2014 www.bsa-meridian.org

Meridian Matters
December 2014
Website: www.bsa-meridian.org
Contacts
District Chair
Commissioner
Executive
Advancement
Camping
Camporee
Communications/Website
Training
Finance
Friends of Scouting
Membership
Meridian Matters Editor
Kent Screechfield
Sue Oki
Tim Welty
George Gavrell
Dave Newton
Dave Newton
Jim Bergsten
open
open
Rand Mahoney
Dan Chevez
Chris Knaus
(925) 570-1999
(925) 831-9380
(925) 674-6125
(925) 837-6248
(925) 963-8065
(925) 963-8065
(925) 838-4615
OA Advisor
Popcorn
Program & Activities
R/T Commissioner
R/T – Cub
R/T – Scout
R/T – Venturing
Scouting for Food
Eagle Packets
Eagle Projects
Eagle Board
(925) 899-3840
(925) 837-0936
(925) 934-3493
Dennis Bleile
Mike Hoffman
Adrianne Kordelos
Gregg Ankenman
Steve Tom
Ray Chan
James Reeve
M’Lu Knaus
Debbie Wiley
Nicholas Hall
Brent Henderson
(925) 973-0420
(650) 224-2143
(510) 813-8051
(510) 772-0229
(925) 548-6179
(925) 552-6582
(925) 934-3493
(925) 788-4805
(925) 837-3165
(925) 212-5453
Calendar
December 2014
4
Eagle Orient./Packet & Proj. Review (D-LDS)
11 Recharter Assistance (SR-LDS)
18 Eagle Board of Review (D-LDS)
31 Recharters due
No Roundtable! Enjoy the holiday season!
January 2015
No Eagle Orient./Packet & Proj. Review
14 District Committee (D-LDS)
15 Eagle Board of Review (D-LDS)
17 FOS Orientation (Tentative, location TBD
22 FOS Orientation (SR-LDS)
22 District Roundtable (SR-LDS)
31 LEAD (Pleasant Hill – DVC)
Save the Date
April 24-26 District Camporee
attend discussions with BSA Executives, create magic and
games. And…see the new cafeteria (very impressive), and
best of all, see old friends and make new ones!
Wow, that’s a lot to offer! You’ve heard about the “ice
bucket challenge”…..Take the L.E.A.D. challenge!! The
challenge is for all of you to recruit at least 3 people from
your scouting organization. Spread the Scouting word –
MARDI GRAS is in the air at L.E.A.D. 2015
Registration is now open! EARLY BIRD Discount
through Dec 15th. Grab your Mardi Gras beads and
register at http://www.bsa-mdsc.org/training/adult/leadereducation-and-discovery-lead $45 for adults, youth only
$10. Includes lunch!
L.E.A.D Challenge is ON!
December Roundtable
Our December Roundtable program will be focused on
ways to better enjoy the hectic Holiday Season and tips
for spending time with your family. No official meeting
this month, we’ll see you in January!
Recharter
It is recharter season again! Don’t forget charters are
due by December 31st.
We will be holding our annual Recharter Workshop,
Thursday December 11th from 7PM-8PM at the San Ramon
LDS Church. District representatives will be there to help
with recharter questions, collect any new applications,
and/or collect any completed recharters.
Rechartering is very important as it renews the bond
between Scouting and your charter organization. Plus it
secures BSA insurance! Note that current Youth Protection
training certification will be required for adult leaders in
order to recharter!
January, 2015 Roundtable
Our next Roundtable meeting will be Thursday January
22nd 7:30-9:00 p.m. at the LDS Church, 5025 Crow
Canyon Road, San Ramon. Break-out session topics
include:
- FOS Pre-meeting at 6:15
- Cub Breakout: Advancement! A successful Blue &
Gold Dinner! Litter to glitter!
- Boy Scout Breakout: Advancement! Secrets and
resources to help your Scouts get the most from the
wonderful journey to Eagle! Items on the web to help.
- Varsity: The Varsity Letter
- Order of the Arrow: Moluk Apanuc Monthly
Meeting. Don’t miss it! Bring a friend!
LEAD – Leadership, Education and Discovery
Come checkout what L.E.A.D. has to offer on Saturday
January 31, 2015 at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant
Hill. There is something for everyone; so whether you are
a district executive, scout leader, charted organization
representative, parent or friend and join in the fun. This is
also a great way to introduce new parent volunteers to the
adventures in scouting. Just a small snapshot of the 100+
classes offered: Position Specific Training, upcoming
changes to the Cub, Boy Scout and Venture Programs,
cook in a box or Dutch oven, run a troop, sustainability,
leave no trace (LNT), magic, chemistry, courts of honor &
ceremonies, where to go hiking, kayaking, STEM, and
Issued: Thurs 20 Nov 2014
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Meridian Matters
December 2014
Website: www.bsa-meridian.org
scheduled dates of Thursday Dec 18th and Thursday Jan
15th.
Friends of Scouting (FOS)
Thanks to all who contributed to the
successful 2014 FOS campaign. Thanks, too, to the Unit
contacts for their efforts in driving the success of the
campaign. Building on the success of our 2014 campaign,
we will start the 2015 FOS campaign with training for our
FOS unit coordinators in January. Please make sure you
have a person identified to be the FOS coordinator for
your unit. 1-hour FOS orientation/training on:
- Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015; 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. (tentative)
- Thursday, Jan. 22, 2015; 6:15 to 7:15 p.m. (just before
Roundtable) at the San Ramon LDS Church
For questions, contact Rand Mahoney, (925) 899-3840,
[email protected].
Youth Protection Training
Did you know that it is a requirement that all Scouters
are trained in youth protection? MDSC policy is that all
Scouters to submit proof of YPT with any original
registration or recharter; there will no longer be a 30-day
grace period. The good news is that as of mid-September
the Meridian District has 74% of its members trained, 21%
had expired training and 5% have never been trained. The
other bit of good news is that Youth Protection Training
is easy and readily available online at
www.scouting.org/training/adult.aspx. Beat the December
rush! Ensure your YPT training is up-to-date for your
benefit and the benefit of your Scouts.
Scouting for Food
Meridian District was able to raise over
33,000 lbs of food to support the food
banks in our area at this critical time.
Thanks to all of the Packs and Troops who were able to
contribute to this outstanding achievement!
Adult Training
For a great training website and to get more detailed
information, go to http://www.bsa-mdsc.org/basicleader-training or http://www.3districttraining.org/
For more info, contact Jerry Dees, [email protected],
Camporee 2015
All together now! (Lennon & McCartney) Camporee
2015 will be Friday April 24th – Sunday April 26th at
Rancho Los Mochos. More details soon! For now, Units
should note the date on their calendar and begin selecting
Unit youth leadership and adult coordinators! Contact
Dave Newton [email protected] (925) 963-8065
Order of the Arrow
Attention Arrowmen! Meridian OA Chapter (Moluk
Apanuc) would normally meet at the time of the December
Roundtable, but since there is no Roundtable, you
get the night off! To confirm details or for more
information, please contact Christian Campbell
(Moluk Apanuc Chief) at
[email protected]; or Dennis Bleile (Chapter
Advisor) at (925) 216-1086 or [email protected].
Meridian Summit
Our November Meridian District Round Table will be
hosting the FIRST Meridian District Summit THEME: "A Time to Gather" where we will gather all
Committee Chairs, Scoutmasters, Coaches, Crew Advisors,
and all interested parents to meet and chart out relevant
topics that we will like to discuss and plan out future
Round Table meetings to cover those topics.
We are all in this together and we would like to use Round
Table as a forum to share ideas, continue to learn, and
create inter-unit relationships.
We need your help to reboot our Boy Scout Round Tables
and make them FUN, ENTERTAINING, and RELEVANT
for YOU and your UNITS.
We hope to see ALL of you at the November 20th Round
Table! -- a Good "Time to Gather"
Recruiting
It is never too late to bring a new family
into Scouting. If you need ideas or
assistance with recruiting, contact District
Membership Chair, Dan Chevez, at 925837-0936. [email protected].
Opportunities to Support the District!
Our committees are recruiting for additional support. If
you’d like to get involved more at the District level just let
us know – there are always opportunities. All levels of
commitment are possible; it’s only an hour a week. 
In particular we are seeking to fill the following roles:
-
Unit Commissioners
Communications Coord.
Finance Chair
Asst FOS Chair
- Training Chair
No January Eagle Project Reviews
Happy New Year! With the holiday, there will be no Eagle
Project Reviews and Orientation/Packet Hand-out in
January. Project Review and Packet distributions will be
held on Thursday Dec 4th and Thursday February 5th.
Board of Review sessions will be held on the normally
Issued: Thurs 20 Nov 2014
Contact:
- Asst Camping Chair
- Asst Finance Chair
-Youth Protection Coordinator
Kent Screechfield, [email protected], or Sue Oki, [email protected]
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