The Conestoga Express, Blizzard Edition January/February 2016!

I hope you all are digging out and staying warm after a the 4th Record snow fall in Philadelphia history hit us this weekend. Like most of you, I get the pleasure of digging out...

Yet in all serio

usness, I hope you got to spend some great time with your family and friends as I did. Please be aware that the Klondike Gold Rush which was postponed, is now March 19, 2016.

Please see below my small write-up in regards to the Northeast Regional Planning Conference that I was at in Atlantic City this past week. I was lucky enough to meet our new Chief Scout Executive - Mike Surbaugh and eat lunch with him!

Yours in Scouting,

Jarred aka Nannook of Fishtown

Roundtable

Tuesday, February 9th

Drexel Hill United Methodist Church

600 Burmont Rd, Drexel Hill, PA

Joint Session 7:30-8:00 pm

Program announcements in regards to Campcards, Friends of Scouting, Merit Badge College, First-Aid Meet and much more!

Program Breakout 8:00-9:00pm

Program-specific discussions and presentations relevant to you.

- Cub Scout

- Boy Scout

- Order of the Arrow

All Scout leaders and interested adults are welcome to attend Roundtable. Every Unit should have at least one leader attend.

Yours in Scouting,

Dave Zimmerman

District Commissioner

Merit Badge College Counselors Needed!

We are in need of Counselors to teach the following badges at MB College. If there is someone in your troop that can teach one of the following badges on 3/19 and 4/2 can you please contact Steve Perrone at Sperrone@ppciga.org The following Merit Badge Counselors needed:

Art, Chess, Citizenship in the Community, Citizenship in the Nation, Communication, Dog Care, Engineering, First Aid, Geocashing, Graphic Arts, Mining in Society, Movie Making, Nuclear Science, Personal Management, Public Speaking, Salesmanship, Sustainability, Weather.

Merit Badge College

Cradle of Liberty Council will present a Merit Badge College on Saturdays March 19 and April 2, 2016 at the Valley Forge Military Academy. A scout will be able to earn up to four Merit Badges by completing pre requisites in advance of the first session, completing additional requirements between the two sessions, and of course by attending and participating in the two Saturday class events.

Fifty badges are being offered including seven Eagle Required Badges, many STEM badges, and other seldom offered badges. There will be a limit of 600 scouts so continue to monitor BSAT and the Conestoga Express for further information. The badges being offered and sign up instructions will be forthcoming shortly.

Registration will begin on February 1, 2016. The cost is twenty six dollars per scout which will include your lunch for both days and a patch. Last year was limited to 500 scouts and was sold out in eleven days.

For additional information or a flyer contact Steve Perrone at Sperrone@ppciga.org

Conestoga First-Aid Meet

2017 National Jamboree!

Calling all Troops!

Registration is now active for the 2017 National Jamboree which will take place from July 19-28 2017 at The Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia. The cost for youth is $1,545 which includes transportation, food, equipment, and just about everything you will need. Campership money for those in need of assistance is available. The two step registration process to sign up for the Jamboree is described below:

First utilize this link http://www.summitbsa.org/events/jamboree/jamboree-registration/ to sign up on the National site. This will require a My.Scouting user name and password, go to www.my.scouting.org to create a password if you do not yet have one. Remember the account needs to be in the name of the person attending the Jamboree, not the parent, and the account has to be linked to the scout's membership id number. Chrome or Firefox are the best browsers to sign up.

After you have signed up on the National System, then submit a Request to Attend Form, which can be found on the Council website, to Cradle of Liberty Council, 1485 Valley Forge Road, Wayne, Pa 19087, with all signatures and an initial payment of $245. You will need the Jamboree Registration Code that you receive from National once you sign up on their site. Further payments of $100 per month can be made by credit card through Doubleknot on the Council website.

There is one troop with 36 spots available for Conestoga District Scouts and sign ups have started, so please don't delay. For questions please contact Steve Perrone Sperrone@ppciga.org

2017 National Jamboree Camperships

Regional campership applications are now available on line. In order to be eligible the scout must already have signed up for the Jamboree and assigned a Jamboree code as that code is one of the necessary fields. This link will take you directly to the campership page.

http://www.summitbsa.org/events/jamboree/participants/campership-application/

Camperships are available to youth with a financial need, in amounts up to a maximum of $935. In order to have his application reviewed by Regional for a potential campership, a Scout must have also sent the Request to Attend form and sent a $245 deposit to Cradle of Liberty Council.

Scouts are encouraged to submit requests early as our Region will be notifying scout families well before the September 1 Award Deadline that National has established for applications. You should be aware that once submitted the form cannot be edited.

The information required for the application includes:

Participants Jamboree Registration Code (This code can be found on the participants confirmation jamboree email.)
Participants general information: ethnic background, gender, DOB, parent/guardian contact information
Short explanation of why participant needs campership
Short explanation of what participant is doing to raise funds in addition to campership request
Household information-family size, ages of family members, parent/guardian employment information

Amount of assistance being requested up to $975

Need an Eagle Project?

Need an Eagle project ?

Dr. Sandra Cornelius, President of Elwyn in Media said that she would welcome more of the same after a Scout performed his Eagle Service Project there. They were thrilled with the opportunity to improve the well-being of the residents of Elwyn as a result of an Eagle project.

Contact Dr Cornelius or Jim Egleston, Committee Member Woodlyn Troop 44,jims1954corvette@rcn.com610-237-9292 who can coordinate with the school.

Advancement News

-As a reminder, all units are required to report all advancement via the internet by June 1, 2016. Based on records held at Council, most of the troops and packs are currently reporting via internet advancement. If anyone needs assistance, please contact me, Paul Dallatore: pdallatore@yahoo.com

The Council Advancement Committee is searching for assistance in two areas:

-Religious Emblems Coordinator for each district. If you would be interested in this position, please let me know. Responsibilities include encouraging all youth to earn the emblem of their faith and establish relationships with potential religious chartered organizations.

-I am also looking for anyone who would like to become an Eagle Coach, which would help boys that are currently Life Scouts continue on to Eagle. This would mostly include helping them with the paperwork

-For all Life Scouts, requests for approval of your Eagle Project must be completed via a telephone call - please do not email. Those in the district that are able to approve projects are:

Robert Wetzel - 610-328-4429

James Gardner - 610-626-8158

Paul Dallatore - 610-888-4298

-All Eagle Scout Applications should be turned in to the Council office as soon as possible after the scout turns 18. The goal of the Advancement Committee is to schedule and complete the Board of Review as soon as possible.

-Any scout wishing to request an extension of time to complete the Eagle Requirements must send a request to the District Advancement Committee. This request will need to include the name of the scout, the reason for the extension and approximately how much time will be needed.

DE's Note

Last Week I was lucky enough to go to the 2016 Northeast Region "Growth and Development" Conference as we called it. I was able to meet a lot of great individuals and also share ideas with other professionals. I have come back recharged and ready to tackle 2016!

I was also invited to eat lunch with Chief Scout Executive Mike Surbaugh! Wow

This was a once and a lifetime opportunity to break bread with our Chief and get to talk about the Conestoga District. It was also great to let him know that he signed off on my Eagle Scout as the Scout Executive of the then Greater Pittsburgh Council in 2008...small world!

Mike was very honest in that we must make a change to our program to keep Scouts and Volunteers such as yourselfs excited and want to stay in Scouting. Let's keep doing what we are doing in Conestoga and make this the best district in the Cradle of Liberty.

Remember Campcards, Friends of Scouting Presentations and many other exciting items will be coming soon. Stay involved and keep being the best that you are.

Mike said it: WE WILL WIN and that is what we must think of this every day and in our Scouting lives.

Thank you all and take care! JSB

Unit News

What has your unit been up to? Anything you want to share with the rest of the district?

Send article submissions and photos to Jarred S. Barnes by the end of each month to be included.