The National Court of Honor has completed a revision of the Lifesaving or Meritorious Action Award application, which can be found HERE.

Effective Jan. 1, 2013, we will no longer accept older versions of this application.

When submitting the application, please include the full name of the applicant as it should appear on the certificate if the award is granted. Provide as much information as necessary using the space provided on this application. No additional documents should be attached. A case should not be forwarded to the council without a signed statement from the applicant and an eyewitness. Applications will notbe considered after a lapse of 12 months from the date of the incident.

Looking for an event that will spark the interest of your Cub Scouts? A trip to the Boston Museum of Science might just be the trick! Your boys will get the opportunity to explore the hallways and exhibits of the museum, do fun and educational experiments and finish the night by setting up their sleeping bags right in one of the museum's exhibits! If you want your Cub Scouts to have an unforgettable sleep over then the Boston Museum of Science's Camp-in is just the event for you!

The dates of the camp-ins are listed before. If you are interested in signing up please first talk to your Cubmaster and have your pack sign up as a group. The cost of this event is $62.50 per person. For more information and how to sign up for one of these nights please go to the council's doubleknot account on the council website. Space is limited and is given on a first come first served basis; you reserve your spot by paying in full. For any other questions please contact Sam Plouffe at splouffe@bsamail.org.

Saturday, Nov 17, 2012

Friday, Jan 18, 2013

Friday, Feb 8, 2013

Friday, Feb 15, 2013

Saturday, Feb 23, 2013

Friday, Apr 26, 2013

Saturday, Apr 27, 2013

Overnight Dates during 

exhibit run:

Saturday November 17

Friday December 7

Saturday January 5

  SHIPWRECK! Pirates & Treasure is on exhibit until March 3, 2013.

Special SHIPWRECK!

Themed Overnight on Friday December 7! Sign up with your Council.

Both of these exhibits are included with your overnight visit.  See them while you can!

With the introduction of the new Nova and Supernova awards comes a fresh opportunity for volunteer positions. A Nova counselor can be any registered adult age 21 or older. Supernova mentors must be 21 or older and be subject matter experts in a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) field and be registered under the new Supernova Mentor position code 52. This is a non-unit position and requires no fee. In addition to the BSA Adult Registration form, mentors must complete the Supernova Awards Mentor

Information application by clicking here.

All Nova counselors and Supernova mentors must have current BSA Youth Protection training and certification appropriate for the programs being administered.

This training can be taken online  HERE.

We are sure that you are aware that insurance costs have been continually rising for almost everyone. It is also true for the Scouting Program. Please note thechanges listed below for 2013. 

Effective January 1, 2013, what is now known as the "Unit Charter Fee" will be renamed the "Unit Liability Insurance Fee" and will increase in cost from $20.00 to $40.00 annually.

As a result, the new fee will begin with units that have a December 31, 2012 charter expiration date 

(a charter period beginning January 1, 2013). All units, including Exploring Posts, are required to pay this annual fee, 100 percent of which goes into the general liability insurance program when submitting their charter renewal application. This fee helps defray expenses of the general liability insurance program.

COUNCIL AND UNIT ACCIDENT & SICKNESS INSURANCE INCREASES 

The Yankee Clipper Council Executive Committee has announced that the Accident and Sickness Insurance fee that is paid at charter renewal time for each registered youth and adult leaders will increase from $1.25 per person to $2.00 per person.

This is the first increase in Accident and Sickness Insurance fees since 1993 and will begin with all unit charter renewals that have a December 31, 2012 expiration date.

Over the years the leaders, volunteers and staff of Yankee Clipper Council have accomplished a great deal in providing The Main Thing to the youth in the 52 communities we serve.  To further improve on what we do we are launching a somewhat new process to help the Council move forward with a pre-determined direction, encompassing goals, procedures, policies and the mechanism to make well thought out and quick decisions.

We are in the process of finalizing a core strategic planning group under the direction of our Vice President of Planning, Brian Sullivan. This core group will be key in establishing where we want to go and how we will get there. To help the core group with its mission we will also be establishing a larger group, probably in the area of twenty-five individuals, to provide valuable input and suggestions to the core group.  Finally, we anticipate holding a very large group meeting numbering several hundred Council volunteers and others to provide ideas for how the Council can proceed.  This large group will most likely meet in the first quarter of 2013.

Finally, your Executive Committee and Executive Board will review the final recommendations and plan of the core group.  Our target date for completion of this planning process is the summer of 2013.  Because the plan will cover all areas of the Council; units, camping, Friends of Scouting, etc. many of you will be asked for your thoughts and we look forward to your input.

As with any new or revised process, there may be some things that are decided on that will not be "the way we have always done things". In addition, since the plan will set specific priorities for the Council, some people may find we are not putting what they feel to be most important, high on the list. Our goal is and will be to do whatever we can in the best interest of the youth we serve.

To put the above another way, following is how Nick Saban, coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide, describes his approach to a Process for a winning team and success.

"First of all, you've got to have a vision of 'What kind of program do I  want to have?'  Then you've got to have a plan to implement it. Then you've got to set the example that you want, develop the principles and values that are important, and get people to buy into it."

As always, thanks to each of you for all that you do for Scouting. I look forward to working with many of you as we begin to build a plan and process for an even brighter future for our Yankee Clipper Council!

Michael Jewell

President, Yankee Clipper Council BSA

Philmont Training Center, (PTC), 2013 conference registration is now open! Volunteers can register online at myScouting.org under the "Event Registration" tab. For a full list of 2013 conferences, visit HERE>>>

The conferences at PTC are conducted each summer and fall by the various departments and committees of the National Council. We are committed to support your District and Units by providing the highest quality experience, in an environment that is truly unique. The beauty of Philmont and the outstanding program we offer to family members make a Philmont Training Center conference a tremendous atmosphere for learning, sharing, fellowship, family togetherness, and Scouting spirit.

Volunteers who attend, return to their local units better trained and further motivated to serve their local Scouting programs. Many times we have been told that the reason a person attends a conference at the Philmont Training Center is because someone they knew and respected personally asked them. What a wonderful way to recognize volunteers from your unit for their dedicated service to Scouting and give them the opportunity to attend PTC.

The new publications include the "Venturing Recruitment Guide" featuring a variety of information and resources, as well as a "Fast Facts" sheet and fliers that can be customized with your crew's meeting place, time, and contact information. 

Best of all, these new print resources-are fully customizable and intended to be distributed by those who know the Venturing program best: Venturers.

For more information on the items and how to order, have your crews visit www.scouting.org/venturing, and click on the "Venturing Recruiting Toolbox" link.

The new date is November 9th, 10th and 11th at Woodsom Farm in Amesbury.

Thank you for your patience during this time. The Activities Committee has been working hard on a date that would work for all. It was soon realized that there were many conflicts and could not possibly find a date that worked for all. Please accept our apologizes for any inconvenience this may have caused. We recognize some units may have made other plans for November programs.  

Recognizing that Sunday is Veterans' Day the schedule will be as follows:

• Friday night: sign in and arrive
• Saturday: opening ceremony 8:30 am
• Sunday: site inspection and departure

Patrols can circulate through the district activities areas between 9 AM and 4:30 PM. It will be a patrol based assignment system to stations, with open circulation. This would permit some units to only come for the day on Saturday and not stay overnight. It also permits units/leaders to get out early Sunday for the Veteran's day activities/commitments.

The Unit Religious Emblems Coordinator position was created to strengthen units by building an infrastructure that would create cohesiveness between units and district- and council-level volunteers, ultimately to better serve youth members in the realm of Duty to God.

The responsibility of the coordinator is to educate, motivate, evaluate, and facilitate the religious emblems program at the unit level. In addition to serving on the unit committee, a key function of the position is to serve as the liaison to the District Religious Emblems Coordinator. Of course there is a new patch being developed to accompany the position.

Additional information regarding the position, including a complete position description, can be found on the Membership Resources page on scouting.org.

Cub Scouts:

*Adopt the Scout Oath and Scout Law for use in the Cub Scout program, retiring the Cub Scout Promise.

*Revise the Core Values of Cub Scouts to align exactly with the 12 points of the Scout Law.

*Retire the Law of the Pack, while maintaining the concept of "Akela" as leader.

*Maintain the current Cub Scout motto, sign, salute, and handshake.

Venturing:

*Retire the Venturing Oath, Code, sign, and salute .

*Adopt the Scout Oath, Scout Law, Scout sign, and Scout salute.

*Engage the task force and National Youth Cabinet to determine whether Venturing should have a differentiating motto/slogan or adopt "Be Prepared."

These changes will become effective with the release of youth handbooks and leader aids supporting this and other changes related to Strategic Plan Goal 411, approximately Jan. 1, 2014, for Venturing-related changes and May 15, 2015, for Cub Scout- and Boy Scout-related changes. Changes to publications, websites, and other materials should NOT be initiated based on this article. Those will be handled based on the previously stated timing and will be initiated by the task forces working on the respective programs.

Important upcoming dates:

• Friday, November 9th - Take Orders and Prize Orders are due into the Trails End System.
• Saturday, November 17th - All unsold Show-n-Sell Popcorn must be returned.
• Tuesday, November 20th - Show-n-Sell payments are due.
• Saturday, December 1st- Take Order distribution.