Monday, June 15, 2009

Doing A Good Turn Daily. . .For 100 years

Most of you know about Scouting For Food. It is an annual Good Turn Activity - and something that has a huge impact on the community you live in! Scouts from every corner of the Trapper Trails Council participate, and have done so for a very long time.


While looking through some old pictures, I was mesmerized by the following pictures: The first is a picture of Scouts in Clarkston, Utah decorating graves during a 1925 Decoration Day (Now called Memorial Day) celebration. The Second is a 1942 shot of Scouts from the Logan LDS 5th ward participating in an aluminum collection drive. This activity was done for several years during World War II as a way to help the war effort.


It is nice to know, that for almost 100 years, Boy Scouts have answered the call, done their "good turn" and helped our Nation - from Aluminum collection to Beet picking to Scouting for Food drives -- and a whole lot more!

Thanks to the wonderful generations of leaders who have provided such opportunities for generations of young men! Thanks to generations of young men who have answered the call: Do a good turn daily!

Baden-Powell University 2009


Baden-Powell University has been scheudled for September 19, 2009 at Weber High School.


What is Baden-Powell University?: A fun day of supplemental training for ALL ADULT VOLUNTEER LEADERS. Class are offered for Cub Scout, Boy Scout, Varsity, and Venture leaders.

What Can I Expect From Baden-Powell University?: The day’s program is designed to provide ideas and resources to benefit your Pack, Troop, Team, and Crew. At BP-U, you can expect: encouragement through networking with other leaders, enthusiasm, fresh ideas, and quality training!

What Else Should I Know?: Hand-picked, qualified instructors will offer classes in a variety of subjects that will help you understand your role and function in the Scouting program. You have the opportunity to select classes that will benefit you.


University Schedule:

Registration Begins: 7:30 AM
Opening Ceremony: 8:30 AM
Class Sessions:
A: 9:00 AM—9:50 AM
B: 9:55 AM—10:45 AM
C: 10:50 AM—11:40 AM
D: 11:45 AM—12:30 PM
Lunch: 12:30 PM—1:25 PM
E: 1:30 PM—2:15 PM
F: 2:20 PM—3:10 PM

How Can You Register?: register in one of the following ways:


  • In person at your local service center

  • Mail your registration for to: Trapper Trails Council 1200 E. 5400 S. Ogden, UT 84404

  • Online at http://www.trappertrails.org/

  • In person at the university

Contact your local service center for more details about Baden-Powell University. Do not miss out on this wonderful supplemental training experience.


Trapper Trails Council Unveils its 100 year Celebration Logo

You are going to see a lot of this logo in 2010. . .


In conjunction with the 2010 - 100 year celebration of the Boy Scouts of America, the Trapper Trails Council has created a logo that will be used as a part of all camping and program activities throughout 2010.


The official kick-off to the 2010 celebration year will be on October 11, 2009. Information will be available to unit leaders beginning at roundtables and at http://www.trappertrails.org/ in September 2009. A lot of information will be coming, so plan to look for this information as you anticipate September. . .

Nominate a Scouter to the National Hall of Leadership Today!


Has a Scout, leader, or other Scouting volunteer made a significant difference at some time in your life, or the life of others, by the extraordinary service they have given and the Scouting virtues they have modeled?

Nominate them to the BSA 100th Anniversary Hall of Leadership!

The BSA 100th Anniversary National Hall of Leadership provides a one-time opportunity for you to honor and recognize a Scouting leader who positively impacted your life, or the lives of others. To be nominated, a person must be a living Scout or Scouting volunteer who may or may not be officially registered with the BSA. They must have served as an active Scout or Scouting volunteer for at least one year. A nominee may be young or old — there is no age limit — and you can submit as many nominations as you'd like.

Access online registration by using the link at http://www.trappertrails.org/ or put this link into your web browser: http://ww2.scouting.org/100years/100years/NationalHallofLeadership.aspx
The nomination period is open for one year, from February 8, 2009 to February 8, 2010. One inductee will be selected from each local BSA council in the country along with one from the national office. Inductees will be announced at the BSA National Annual Meeting in Dallas in May 2010.

Annual "Bike the Bear" Activity Coming Up

The 3rd annual "Bike the Bear" activity is quickly approaching. It will be held at Camp Hunt on August 22, 2009 (August 21 - 22, 2009 if you plan to camp overnight with your Scout unit).

This event is fully supported with bicycle mechanics and rest stops about every 10 miles of the 50-mile loop trip around beautiful Bear Lake, to re-fuel and make sure all have a great experience!.

The 50 mile and 100 mile divisions begin and end at Camp Hunt, located on the west shore of Bear Lake in Garden City, Utah. Overnight camping will be available at Camp Hunt for Scout units who would like to participate in the pre-event festivities, such as a pasta dinner before the ride.

The Event Schedule is as Follows:

Friday: August 21
4-8 Friday Night sign in
6-8pm Friday Night Pasta Dinner

Saturday: August 22
6:30-7:45am Saturday sign-in
7am: 100 mile start time
7:15am: First 50 mile start time
8am: Last start time
2:30pm: End of Road support by Council

For a registration, click on the following link: http://www.trappertrails.net/pdfdocs/btbflyer09.pdf

With questions, please contact Jason at the council office at 801-479-5460.

Do not miss out on this great event!

FYI. . .Training Updates

Training Updates
June 2009

Selected councils will pilot required training for direct-contact leaders in 2010. Plans are in development to require training for all direct-contact leaders in 2011. Councils should prepare to make training more readily available and to expand their training teams.

The national Web site, www.scouting.org, has been redesigned and will soon be much more user friendly. To get to training information, click on Volunteer, then Training, and you will see the new and improved training resource page.

This Is Scouting is now up and running. It is a six-module training course that can be completed in about an hour. It replaces New Leader Essentials. It is now available on DVD. The catalog number is 36118, and it retails for $9.99. The training code is WAO1. New Leader Essentials should now be discontinued.

The National Office had slightly over 50,000 completed training courses on the Online Training Center during the month of February and slightly over 80,000 completed training courses in March.

A new supplemental training courses now online include Interfaith Worship, Bullying, Leave No Trace, and Disc Golf. These courses can be downloaded to be used as a course outline or they can be a self-study. More new courses are in development.

The Trainer’s Edge course, which replaces Trainer Development is specifically intended for training Wood Badge and NYLT staff and is a daylong course that is focused on platform skills. The syllabus can be downloaded by going to www.scouting.org/boyscouts/adult/training.

The Philmont Training Center will offer a wide range of training courses in 2009. A complete list of the courses is on www.scouting.org. Registration can be completed on www.myscouting.org. The password is “waite.”

Hazardous Weather training is on the Online Learning Center. As of January 1, 2009, it became required to be completed by at least one person in a unit for the unit to receive a tour permit.
ScoutParent Unit Coordinator Fast Start is now on available online. For each unit to participate in the ScoutParents program, they must designate a ScoutParent unit coordinator who will coordinate parent involvement in unit activities.

As of January 1, 2009, the tour permit also requires at least one person to have completed Youth Protection Training within the past two years. BALOO does not have a two-year shelf life.
Two other new training courses are now available online. Both Trek Safely (S76) and Climb On Safely (S74) are available for Scouters to complete. Both of these courses have a two-year shelf life.

A Kodiak mountain trek for Venturing youth and older Boy Scouts will be offered this summer at Philmont Scout Ranch the week of July 26-Aug. 1. Registration is handled through www.myscouting.org. The password is “waite.” Family members can attend a training course at the training center while their youth are hiking the trek.

The centennial edition (12th) of the Boy Scout Handbook will be available in August 2009. It will feature a mixture of parts of many of the early handbooks with a 21st century flair. The handbook features chapters on Leadership and Leave No Trace, which both are firsts. There will be a supplemental 100-year timeline book with the first printing and a mini-book with the rank requirements that is pocket size. A Web site will provide in-depth information on many subjects.
Training courses that require people to be re certified include BSA Lifeguard (three years), Paddle Craft Safety (three years), Swimming & Water Rescue (three years), Climb On Safely (two years), Trek Safely (two years), Safe Swim Defense (two years), Safety Afloat (two years), Camp Visitation (two years), Chainsaw Safety (two years), and National Camp School (five camping seasons).

A new resource of information that you may not be aware of is now available on http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org.

COR fast start training is in development and will soon be available online.

The Florida National High Adventure Sea Base will be the site of a Volunteer Development Training Conference the week of Jan. 18-23, 2010. Courses to be offered will be Strictly for Scoutmasters, Strictly for Cubmasters, Advancement Policy and Procedures, Webelos to First Class, Geo cache and Scouting, and Administration of Venturing. Additional information and registration is available on www.scouting.org.

Annual Varsity Scout Rendezvous A Success!

By Reese Gregory

So how did the Varsity Scout Mountain Man Rendezvous turn out this last weekend (June 4th - 6th)? Well, let me tell ya’…

I pulled into camp just before sunset. The first thing I noticed was the old canvas tents and period lean-tos in the staff camp area. When I got a little closer I noticed the leather leggings and cotton shirts with deer antler buttons, bone and brass beads, fox skin head dresses, moccasins, powder horns and hand-made knives of all sorts and sizes. So I think to myself, “These guys are really into this stuff!”

Then Brock Benson, the Booshway (rendezvous leader), and I went around to visit the Varsity Team campsites. Right away I regretted my first mistake—I had already eaten dinner before visiting the campsites. As we wound around the columns of smoke and Dutch ovens we realized that nearly every campsite was just finishing up their dinner and had offerings for us. We sampled Dutch oven potatoes, barbecued chicken with a bit of an Australian barbeque twist, t-bone steaks with an incredible marinade seasoning, and the traditional tin foil dinners, each with their own creative touch. We even came across a Dutch oven chocolate cake laced with fresh blackberries and blueberries. The cook was whisking up home-made whipped cream as we spoke. Just as with the old Mt. Man rendezvous, these guys each brought with them the ideas, customs and techniques from wherever they had come. Again I thinks, “These guys are good!”

Many of the Team coaches commented on the prime location. Camp Fife is beautiful this time of year. With the extra rain we’ve had this Spring, the Bear River was high and everything was lush and green. We watched a few pelicans fishing on the river, a bald eagle swoop down and make his catch, and deer grazing on the hillside. There’s something fundamentally rejuvenating about being in a setting like this.

Friday morning started about 6:00 a.m. with breakfast and a flag ceremony, then on to the games. The day was spent in Mt. Man activities such as black powder rifle shooting, archery, knife and ‘hawk throwing, scrimshaw (carving on bone), cabor tossing, fire building without matches, trap setting, and in true Mt. Man fashion, a nap or two here and there during an occasional, quickly passing thunderstorm. We capped off the day with a Mt. Man feast of beef stew cooked over the open fire in a huge cast-iron cauldron, followed by a traditional trading blanket and a campfire program. The day’s events, followed by a hearty, hot stew—a perfect recipe for a peaceful night’s sleep. A little rain and a big train, but I think we expected that.

Saturday was the final event, the Coulter Run. Each team made the rounds to each of the events they had practiced the day before in a timed race, scoring extra points for marksmanship, accuracy and distance, etc. I was amazed at how much the boys had learned in these stations. Most teams were able to complete the run in less than 15 minutes! That’s with 7 events, most of which these boys had never before done until they came to this camp! There was a quick awards assembly with prizes for the winners, including Dutch ovens, a big yellow water cooler, knives and camping equipment.

Speaking of which, we need to thank those who donated and/or gave us a break on prizes and some of the materials needed for the Rendezvous: IFA, Ace Hardware, R&R Hardware and Kent’s Market in Tremonton. Smith and Edwards has supported us this year and in the past with knives and equipment. Thanks to Brock Benson and a terrific staff for putting on the event! And thanks to all the Varsity Team coaches for taking time from their families and bringing their boys to this event. Plans are already in the works for next year’s Varsity Scout Mt. Man Rendezvous. We look to have the location, date, and rough details in place by September. Keep an eye on trappertrails.org for details!