The Conestoga Express, March 2016

Last week, the Conestoga extended family lost one of our own, Mark Crater passed away very suddenly at much too young an age. Over the years, Mark was involved with several units in our district at the Cub Scout, Boy Scout, and Venturing levels, and also served on the District Committee.

Mark was an Eagle Scout. He graduated from the US Coast Guard Academy and served our country as a commissioned officer. He changed careers from engineering for a while and became a teacher. He was a very active member of his Church.

At his memorial service on Sunday night, I learned that he played a key role in building a new Church for his parish. Sitting in the Church and looking around, I was a little surprised at hearing that, but not really. Service was a way of life for Mark. He always put others ahead of himself. He was always willing to lend a helping hand. On a camping trip, he was one of the first ones up in the morning, and often would get the coffee started. He liked nerdy jokes and he wasn't afraid of being goofy to help the Scouts have fun at a meeting or on a trip.

He was my tent mate at summer camp. He was my Advancement Chairman when I was Scoutmaster. He served as my Friends of Scouting committee chairman for two years. Mark always had a smile on his face and always had an encouraging word for a Scout who needed it, and advice for a Scoutmaster who needed it. Mark was my friend and I'll miss him.

None of us know when God plans to call us. Tell your kids and your wife or husband that you love them. Tell them often, and mean it when you say it. Mark Crater passed away on Feb 23, 2016 at age 53.

Bob Booth

Roundtable

Tuesday, March 8th

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 special guest Chris Lubkemann (Flyer linked)!

Fun Fact about Chris: Holds the World Record for carving the Smallest Rooster from a Tree Branch!

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

Troop 44 Pancake Breakfast!

Pancake Breakfast - Glenolden's Boy Scout Troop 44 is having a Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser at the Murray Stuart American Legion Post #566, 35 S. Glen Avenue, Glenolden, PA 19036 on Saturday, March 5, 2016 from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM. All you care to eat pancakes and sausage. Orange juice, tea and coffee will be available. The cost is $8.00 for adults and $7.00 for kids under 12; and kids 3 and under eat free (one free kid's meal per adult breakfast purchased). Please tell everyone you know to come and help support Troop 44, Please see the flyer here.

Troop 503 Pancake Breakfast!

Conestoga First-Aid Meet

2016 Camp Card Update!

The 2016 Camp Card Sale is coming soon! Now is the time to sign your unit up. Please go to https://www.colbsa.org/k2/camp-cards.html to sign up. Acme and Shop Rite are back while others are still being finalized. Sale will begin approximately April 1st, 2016.

Please do not let this opportunity go by. If you as a leader choose not to have your unit participate, ask if there is anyone who does want to participate and have that parent become the camp card captain, even if it is only for one family. We will provide training for all camp card captains around March 16th, so everyone will be familiar with the program, whether it be one parent for one scout, or a parent/leader for the entire unit.

If you haven't already, please let me know who the camp card captain will be for your unit. Please email me at lgraeff@verizon.net.

Your District Camp Card Chair,

Linda Graeff

District Award of Merit

Information for Submitting a Nomination for the District Award of Merit

There are three different awards that can be presented to adult volunteer for their work in Scouting at the Council, District, or Unit level. Sometimes there is confusion by the nominee as to which is the appropriate award to consider. The three Awards are The Spark Plug Award, District Award of Merit, and the Silver Beaver Award.

The Spark Plug Award is for service provided at the unit level. Typically this goes to someone who provides support in the operations of a Pack, Troop, or Crew. The award may be presented at Roundtable or a District Dinner.

The District Award of Merit (see form here) is for service provided at the District Level and also is presented at the final Spring Roundtable or District Dinner. Each District is entitled annually to one award for every 25 units they charter. Typically the nominee is dual registered and a member of the District Committee. They are recognized for service above what they may contribute at the Unit Level. The nominee might be someone who works, or runs a District event such as Cub Day Camp, or The District Camporee. They could be someone who works with the District Order of the Arrow youth, or someone who is an FOS presenter. Other District operations for which you might look for a nominee might be in the training, advancement, or membership committees. In summary this award is for District service, not Unit service.

The final award is the Silver Beaver Award which is for service at the Council level or service beyond the Unit and District level. Nominations are sought in December and January as the award is presented at the Council Annual Dinner in April. That is all that needs be said at this time regarding Silver Beaver as we are looking for nominees at this time for the Spark Plug (Unit Service) and District Award of Merit (District Service) so these individuals might be honored.

If you have any questions regarding the Spark Plug Award please contact Jarred S. Barnes, any questions regarding the District Award of Merit, please contact Bob Booth or Steve Perrone. Nominations for the Spark Plug and District Award of Merit for this year must be submitted by April 25, 2015.

Merit Badge College

The 2016 Merit Badge College will take place on March 19th and April 2nd, 2016 at Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne. After an overwhelming response the day registration opened, capacity was reached in less than three hours and is now closed. If you were lucky enough to get one of the 600 slots please make sure you review the Merit Badge Reminders Form and complete the Pre-Requisites in advance, so you don' end up with partials.

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

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 $975. 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 43, jims1954corvette@rcn.com 610-237-9292 who can coordinate with the school.

Area V JTE Conference

Most of us are primarily registered with a Unit, attend Roundtable, and get a taste of what goes on at the District level. Some may even do some work at the Council level. Ever wonder what goes on at the next levels, Area 5 and the Northeast Region. Consider attending the Area V JTE Conference that is coming up on April 9, 2016 and close by at Bucks County Community College. There will be three Key Note speakers, The NE Region Commissioner, the Central Region Director, and the chair of National Committee on New Unit Organization and Retention. Additionally there are five break-out sessions aligned with the five components of Journey to Excellence, Finance, Membership, Program, Unit Service, and Governance. Presenters for these sessions are all tops in their field, including Team Leads from National, Volunteers from the Regions and Area 5, and top performers sharing best practices from the Area 5 Councils.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR JTE

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

Short and sweet this time around; as most of you know I am now a commissioned professional with the Boy Scouts of America! This is exciting because I have become more energized to help serve this District! I wanted to thank everyone for their questions, concerns and all that you have asked for me because I was able to finish the course with honors and be second in the class! This is all because of you, the leaders, volunteers and Scouts of Conestoga. Thank you for all that you do and let's share in this victory together!

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.