Occoquan Troop Scoop

Occoquan Troop Scoop
®
Chairman’s Minute
Recognizing and Valuing Volunteers. Six of the top ten Google search results for “Why do adults
get awards” were Scouting based. One could draw the conclusion that Scouting recognizes adults
more than any other organization. Maybe it’s that I search more on Scouting so Google skewed
the results to what it thought was important to me. Regardless of the reasoning, I think we can all
agree that volunteers deserve to be recognized for their efforts.
Think of awards as a visible “Thank You for your service”. Study after study has shown that
adults are motivated less by salary and more by personal growth, recognition and responsibility.
Well, as volunteers we clearly are NOT motivated by salary. Scouting provides for the other three
of these needs but I want to focus on Recognition. I think it’s critical to recognize adult volunteers.
Every adult volunteer in this District has their own story on why they volunteer with Scouts, whether
it’s to support their son or daughter; or perhaps it’s because they were an Eagle Scout. Many have kids that “Eagled out” of
scouting years ago. Whatever the reasons, our volunteers log countless hours of blood, sweat and tears.
To that I say, LET’S RECOGNIZE THEM. If we don’t, who will? I certainly understand the argument that people should
not submit themselves for recognition. How then, can an adult receive an award or recognition? It’s up to YOU to nominate
someone else and follow through on the award to its entirety. What do I mean by that? Be part of the awards process.
Identifying a worthy recipient is not the end of the process. You can’t just hand off a name to someone else. Yes, this means
you have to fill out the correct paperwork and submit it. Isn’t it worth it? Once that process is done, make sure the awards are
properly received and ready to present to the recipient. If the awards are being presented at a unit meeting, make sure they’ll
be there. If the award is being presented at the District Dinner in April, make sure they are invited and have the unit pay for
the dinner. This is one area that we have struggled. The Lord Baden Powell Award is presented at the District Dinner. Please
invite award recipients to the dinner. Recipients should NOT have to pay for their dinner. Please budget for this. It’s $30 for the
recipient and their spouse or guest.
Ok, you get the point! What awards are available??? On the District website is a guide to the available awards, the criteria
and process for nominating for the awards. Go to http://www.ncacbsa.org/group/Occoquan for the guide. It is (currently) the first
article on our District web page. There is a link to click and download the guide.
In no particular order, some of the awards are:
Lord-Baden-Powell Volunteer Service Award, Gordon H. Lazerson Volunteer Award, Charter Organization Award, Chairman’s
Award, Key and Training Awards, Veteran Award, Unit Leader Award of Merit, District Award of Merit, Silver Beaver Award
Deadlines are fast approaching!
Please put this process into high gear within your unit. Deadlines begin November 30th with most deadlines being December
31st. That doesn’t mean you can submit the nomination on December 31st. I suspect most people know someone right now
they can nominate. In many cases you need time to gather information for submitting for an award. Plan ahead!
Look for other opportunities to praise people. This effort doesn’t stop with adult recognition awards. Look for opportunities to
praise people. Praise alone is as rewarding as an actual award and it couldn’t be easier to say “Thank You” for a job well done.
Another important aspect of recognition is to acknowledge the support volunteers receive from their families. In most cases,
volunteers couldn’t commit their time and efforts without the support of their families. I know I couldn’t. On that note, I want to
say THANK YOU to MY family. Without gracious understanding from Suzanne, my wife and the kids, I couldn’t do what I do. I
truly enjoy the family oriented nature of Scouting. We have all enjoyed this year and look forward to another exciting year ahead.
I also want to thank all our adult volunteers for making the Occoquan District one of the best on earth to support our Scouts.
Without your great help we would not have a Scouting program.
Happy Holidays!
Commissioner’s Corner
Well...what have you volunteered for lately? Scoutmaster, Committee Member, Den Leader, Crew
Advisor? Occoquan District has many leaders who have left positions and have "nothing to do" in
their units. I have the solution - become a Unit Commissioner. December 12th, Occoquan District
will conduct a Basic Commissioner Training session. Why be a Commissioner? The concept for
commissioner service focuses on the unit. The commissioner’s specific mission is to keep units
operating at maximum efficiency so that they can deliver a good program to a growing youth
membership. Today’s commissioners are results-oriented rather than procedures-oriented. They
are successful in their mission when units continue to operate, units regularly accept new youth,
and units effectively deliver the ideals of Scouting to their members. Commissioners are involved
with carrying programs to the unit, and their main concern is to develop strength within the unit
operation.
Read this slowly and carefully...we are losing units in this District and a contributing factor is - we do not have a sufficient number
of Commissioners to oversee each of the units. When a Commissioner has more than 3 units, is a unit leader in one or more
units...this Commissioner is pretty much ineffective. I personally was doing well with my Scouting jobs until I gained 10 more
units to be their Commissioner, because there are not enough Commissioners to go around. I have become inefficient as a Unit
Commissioner and the Commissioner Corps of Occoquan District needs help. Occoquan District has 81 Units and about 20
Commissioners, do the math...4 units per Commissioner. My goal, as District Commissioner, is to have no more than 2 units per
Commissioner...can you help? If you volunteer, I will assign only one unit to you.
Mark Chipman
(O) 703-767-5709; DSN 427-5709
NIPR: [email protected] • SIPR: [email protected] • JWICS: [email protected]
District Executive Comments
Good Evening Scouting Leaders and congratulations on a successful fall season this year. With
growth in several of our key indicators of a successful district, I want to thank you all for your
diligence in offering the promise of scouting to the thousands of scouts we serve here in the
Occoquan District.
At the end of October, the district did something it hasn’t done in 4 years. Occoquan is tracking
ahead of the previous year for membership growth. We ended the month with 35 more youth
registered than last year. With only two months to go, take every opportunity you have reach out
to new families and potential scouts and share with them the scouting promise and fun that you
can explore in our programs. Another campaign of scouting is also wrapping up, Popcorn. At the
end of October, the district had sold more popcorn than the previous year, continuing to lead the
council in popcorn sold per youth.
A special thank you is in order for John Larkin. John has conducted the popcorn sale as the District Kernel for the past couple
of years and has always brought a level of professionalism and accessibility to provide the units the tools to succeed. We also
want to take on this opportunity to welcome Sue Straka on board as she has agreed to step into the role of District Kernel for
the 2016 Popcorn Sale.
Another key demographic that I am very proud of is the level of increase in Community Service. Currently we are reporting
over a whole hour per scout in our program over last year. That’s is truly an incredible number, resulting in over two thousand
more hours than last year. With this year of service coming to a close, and scouting for food just around the corner, let’s
continue to do our good turn daily and remember to report the community service through online advancement.
In closing, I’d like to take this time to invite all of our adult leaders to our District Annual Business Meeting on December
10, 2015 at 7:30 PM at Potomac Crest Baptist Church on Cardinal Drive. This is our annual meeting to approve the slate of
candidates for the 2016 program year and celebrate all of those that contributed to the success of the district and scouting
from 2015. COR’s are encouraged to attend as they and District Members-at-Large hold voting rights at the meeting, but all are
welcome to attend. Thank you all for another incredible fall and I’m looking forward to working with you going forward into the
new year.
Announcements
Pumpkin Catapult
Friday November 20 - Sunday November 22 at Dugan Park 6040 Greenway Court Manassas, VA 20112. Depart
6 p.m. Friday from First United Presbyterian Church of Dale City, or just join us Saturday for the fun part. Families
are welcome.
Have fun with us camping, cooking, and catapulting massive orange gourds across the field. Bring as many
halloween pumpkins as you can save up for more catapulting fun.
RSVP: Help us ensure we have food enough for everybody. Please let us know if you plan to visit with us by
emailing [email protected] or [email protected].
See http://troop964.org/ for more info.
Webelos Scouts
Geology Lab Tour & Class November 21 & 22, 2015 at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA
This is a 3 hour educational program sponsored by the Northern Virginia Mineral Club & George Mason University
Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Earth Sciences. The program was designed and run last year for over
288 youth to earn the Geology Belt Loop, Pin and part of a Nova. This year webelos may work on the Earth
Rocks! Adventure and Down and Dirty Nova Award. This program is guaranteed to be a fun and great springboard
into BSA Geology and STEM Awards. The sessions include interactive tours of the GMU microscope and
paleontology labs. Fee is $10/youth.
Eagle Scout Project
Troop 1352 has two Eagle Scout candidates that have
completed their project. Kyle Engborg’s project helped clear
invasive species from the Rippon Lodge Historic Property.
Anthony Marovelli’s project was labeling storm drains to raise
awareness of pollutants entering them which leads directly into
the Chesapeake, along with hanging door hangers to raise
awareness of our cause, and doing a count of drains yet to be
marked for future projects.
Five New Eagle Scouts!
The Woodbridge Elk’s Lodge Troop 1390 celebrates this year
on presenting Five New Eagle Scouts. They are Matthew Doyle,
John Dumoulin, Ryan Johnson, Sean Scanlon and Billy Ward.
The Lodge presented each recipient with an American Flag,
Certificate of Achievement from the Elk Grand Lodge.
Congratulations!
Fall Camporee
Our Scouts had a great time at the district Fall Camporee
at Camp Rock Enon in Gore, Virginia. Nearly 400 Scouts
participated in the weekend full of patrol competition and fun.
There were many who assisted with the event to make it a
success.
From traffic control and parking assistance from Crew 295, to
knot tying demonstrations from Ship 7916, field sport shooting
activities run by Crew 35, the Woodbridge Wireless club
overseeing the ‘Jamboree on the Air’ activity, to the campfire
program run by our O/A Chapter. It was with everyone’s
assistance and participation that we were able to make it one
of our best Camporee’s yet.
During the campfire program there were several activities
including ‘Rindercella and Cousin Cletus’, and taking time to
honor Scout Master Alan Gravely for 16 years of service. It
was also great that during that program our two eldest Scout
Troops and our newest Scout Troop were in attendance.
At the conclusion of the Camporee, patrol competition awards
were presented. Troop 1656 was awarded ‘House of Honor
Patrol’ with first place, Troop 1365 was awarded with second
place in ‘Buffalo Patrol’, and Troop 1919 was given third
place for ‘The Alpha Patrol’. There was also a flag retirement
ceremony for the O/A Chapter and Troop 1919.
Following the Camporee, the Camp Rock Enon Camp Director commended our district for hosting
the largest off-season activity in the camp’s 71 year history, and for representing the Boy Scouts
organization in an honorable way.
Fall Camporee Gallery
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Local Scouts support Chesapeake Bay Education
Foundation on Smith Island
Several Scout units participated in a service
project on Smith Island in Maryland this past July,
in support of the Chesapeake Bay Education
Foundation.
Twenty-three participants, including Scouts ages
12 to 20, traveled to Smith Island for the project.
Scouts from Troop 1404, Venturing Crew 1919
and Sea Scout Ship 7916 were present for the
outing.
During their time on the island, Scouts and adults learned
about the Chesapeake Bay, the impact of human and
animal populations, and watershed on the Bay, as well as
preservation efforts. Scouts
also walked through marshland
near the Bay, while learning
about it’s importance for Smith
Island’s ecosystem, and its
role as a habitat for animals
like the muskrat.
In addition to learning about the island, the Scouts performed several
service projects, including deconstructing a flower bed inside of a
broken boat, relocating flowers, filling in hazardous holes, and moving
old debris to a safer location. By making these improvements, the
Scouts helped provide room for a
future food and herbs garden, which
will further the island’s self-sustaining
capabilities.
This service project was done with the
support of the I-95 Corridor Project,
Quail Upland Wildlife Federation, and
Delegate Scott Lingamfelter’s Office.
Special thanks go to Jerry Saggers,
Jim Whipple and Bob Maestro for
planning and facilitating the project.
Good Scout Award Dinner
After the sun set on a warm Thursday evening
in late October, more than a hundred donors
and community supporters of the Boy Scouts
of America in Prince William County gathered
for the 2015 Good Scout Dinner at the Hylton
Performing Arts Center. This annual event,
a fundraiser and recognition event, brings
together local leaders in business and the
community to celebrate the achievements
of the two honorees selected as well as
the great work that scouting is doing in the
community. This year’s Occoquan Honoree,
Jason Hickman of Compton & Duling LC, is a
local attorney and community leader, who has chaired several boards for groups like the Boys and
Girls Club and Leadership Prince William.
The event was highlighted by a life scout
from Troop 91, a young man named James
Halstead who has autism. James talked
about his struggles with autism early on in his
life and about how scouting and having the
opportunity to build relationships with others
his own age had helped him grow and begin
to communicate. James also credited his
leaders for his growth, who showed patience
and understanding to make sure he was
always included in the activities and truly felt
like part of the Troop.
In Jason’s closing remarks, he talked about
community service and how when you’re a
part of a community and you see something
wrong, it should be your mindset to go and
fix it. If more citizens approached community
service with this mindset, many more issues
that affect our communities could be resolved,
and the community, on a whole, would be
made better for our families and ourselves.
A message that truly resonates with scouting
oath and law.
Introduction to Outdoor
Leadership Skills (IOLS)
What makes a trained leader, and why is that important?
Let’s say that you were asked to be a football coach. You
had played some football in school, you had watched it on
TV, and even attended a professional game once. How
difficult could it be?
After your first game, where you got a shellacking 0 to 52,
you say in bewilderment and suspected that your team just
played a lousy game. Close to the truth was that while you
generally knew what was expected of a coach, you were
not trained by experts in their field of defense, offense, and
special teams. You can’t get that type of training on the web.
How do you think the team felt? Let down, to say the least.
Our Scouts deserve the best, and to become skilled leaders
they need the benefit of having fully trained adult Scout
leaders to lead by example and impart Scouting skills that
will be important for the rest of their lives. The Occoquan
District just completed its Fall IOLS course, held at the
Coast Guard Telecommunication and Information Systems
Command (TISCOM) in Alexandria, Virginia. This modified
and compact course was designed to accommodate Scout
leaders that have been unable to come to other IOLS
courses.
From their arrival on Friday evening, through their course
graduation on Saturday evening the IOLS candidates, using
the ‘patrol method’, were tutored by some of Occoquan’s
most experienced instructors, which gave participants not
only a refresher in Scouting skills, but how to effectively
teach those skills to their troops, teams, and crews. The
training was intense, and there was never a dull moment
as the new leaders learned outdoor ethics, cooking and
camping sanitation, Scouts Own service, first aid, map
and compass, camping and hiking equipment, wood tools,
ropes, knots, and lashing, plant and animal identification, fire
building, and leadership, service and citizenship.
Course are being offered twice a year – once in October, and
once in May. If you do not have the ‘trained’ certification distinction, then you are restricting your
unit’s opportunity to ‘play the game and score’.
Special Needs Committee
Occoquan District establishes their first Special Needs Scouting committee
“Since its founding in 1910, the Boy Scouts of America has had fully participating members with
physical, mental, and emotional disabilities.”
How many of us knew that our first Chief Scout Executive, James E. West, had a disability? As a
small child he had tuberculosis, and one leg was shorter than the other.
Today more than ever, our society is recognizing and accepting Scouts with disabilities, and
finding a way to get them involved. Almost every Pack or Troop out there has at least one Scout
who has to cope with challenges that other Scouts will not have to face. These Scouts just want to
have a chance to camp, hike, fish, and be a part of the program like the rest of their peers.
We are committed to finding ways to provide resources and support the Scouting tradition
of providing opportunities to all Scouts, to join in on the fun, and be treated with respect.
Accommodations are available to all Scouts with physical, developmental, and intellectual
disabilities.
Accommodations available for Scouts include:
●
Ability to register as a Scout beyond the age of eligibility
●
Flexibility with Advancement requirements
●
Alternative Merit Badge requirements for Eagle Scout Rank
●
Extensions for time to achieve Eagle Scout
Our district has formed a Special Needs Scouting committee, which is being headed by Cheryl
Dorwin from Troop 1919. Cheryl has experience in this area, as she copes with a hearing
impairment, and has a son dealing with the challenges of ADHD.
Cheryl will be announcing
the first meeting for the
committee in the coming
weeks, and needs
participants that would
like to be involved with the
committee.
For those interested in
taking part, please contact
Cheryl at cheryld@aol.
com.
Occoquan District Spring Camporee
®
CHEERFUL SERVICE @
CAMP SNYDER
www.ScoutingEvent.com?2016OccoquanSpringCamporee
March 4–6, 2016
Camp Snyder
$12 per person
No late or on site registration.
All units must provide a copy
of Individual Medical Forms
and a List of their Youth
and Adult Attendees at the
Camporee Check-In Station.
Onli
ne R
egistr
ation Opens
Dece
Fi n a
mb e r
l De
1, 2015
adlin
e Feb
ruary 8, 2016
Camp
S er v i
ce Projects
Patro
Ord
er o
l Comp
f th
etition
e Ar
row Ca
ll-Out Ceremony
Klondike Derby
KLONDIKE DERBY 29 – 31 JANUARY 2016
The 12th Annual Old Dominion District Klondike
Over a decade of Winter fun! The venue will be the KOA campgrounds again. Same fun, but new
challenges… The Klondike consists of winter activities that test your Scout skills and your patrol’s
ability to work together. The main competition lasts all day Saturday with the overall goal to accrue
as much gold as possible. Gold is mined in a variety of ways: accomplishing a variety of Scout
skills, demonstrating Scout Spirit, and working closely as patrol. Socials are held both Friday
and Saturday to strongly encourage Scouts (and Scouters) of different troops to intermingle.
During the event, the patrols (with NO adult supervision) get to choose the events they want to
do and are rewarded for the choices they make. The Klondike Derby is a District Event, but more
importantly it is an option to your Scout program – and one which many troops return to because it
delivers the fun and “outing” of the Scouting Program. Troops can choose to either camp or stay in
bunk rooms. The competition lasts all day Saturday, but activities Friday and Saturday night make
the whole weekend a great event. Registration for participants will begin in November on line at
the district website. Watch your emails and the district website for news on the costs for Scouts
and Scouters and for tenting and cabins. As we have done for the past few years, any troop
desiring to sponsor a station – create, supply, and help man the station will be enable one free
adult registration and reimbursement for any station supplies/expenses.
If interested in creating a unique station for this year’s Klondike, contact Fred Woody. Examples
from the previous year included PAUL BUNYON’S SVENSKA FICKLAMPA (saw, hatchet,
firebuilding in one!), YUKON CORNELIUS AND CHIEF PIHCNITOT (Totin’ Chip and Knife
Throwing), and LUGING YOUR MIND (first aid). If you have any questions or want to volunteer to
help, please don’t hesitate to contact Kevin Doyle at [email protected].
Climbing Tower
High Ropes Elements
Shooting Sports
Outdoor Adventure
Vendors
Door Prizes
Food Trucks
and more!
Bring
Scouting For Food
donations for
door prize ticket
Hurry, limited
camping available!
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