THE POLARIS The Internationally Famous North Star District, Galacticly Famous Heart of America Council , BSA. N O V E M B E R , M M X I V CATAPULTS!! This past October, the North Star and Pioneer Trails Districts held a joint District Camporee. The weather was perfect for a great catapult competition. Camporee Chairman John Peter and his staff put on an outstanding event. Check out final results on page 9 to see who won the catapult competion. To see all of the pictures taken of the event, check out http://goo.gl/BtefrD. 2014 Year to Date Advancement Summary: Tiger: ................... 212 Tenderfoot: 195 Bobcat:................. 194 2nd Class:.... 146 Wolf: .................... 255 First Class: . 148 Bear: .................... 265 Star: ........... 122 Webelos: .............. 211 Life: ........... 141 Arrow of Light: ... 171 Eagle: ........... 84 1 March, 2015 North Star District Calendar 5 http://www.hoac-bsa.org/Districts/NorthStar/Calendar.aspx November, 2014 1 1 1 6 7 8 8 8 8 8 9 13 15 Commissioner Basic Training, University of Scouting – Park University Naish Work Day - Naish District Roundtable, 7:00 p.m., KCMO Police Training Academy, 6885 NE Pleasant Valley Road, Kansas City, MO. Recharter Turn-In, One-Stop-Shopping, Merit Badge Counselor Training, Chartered Organization Rep Training, & OA Chapter Meeting. Popcorn Pick-Up, Noon - 5pm, Wagner Industries, 1731 St. Louis Ave, KCMO Popcorn Pick-Up, 8:00am - Noon, Wagner Industries, 1731 St. Louis Ave, KCMO Good Turn for Goodwill Bartle Work Day – Bartle Mini-Camps – Naish Walking with Dinosaurs, 7:00 p.m., Sprint Center Walking with Dinosaurs, 5:00 p.m., Sprint Center Joint District Committee & District Commissioner Staff Meeting, 6:30/7:30 p.m., Liberty Stake Center, 6751 NE 70th Street Council Annual Recognition Dinner, 6:30 p.m.., Downtown Marriott - Muehlbach Tower, 1213 Wyandotte St, KCMO 12 April, 2015 2 9 11 Congratulations to Laura Bohlman for being named Scouter of the Month at the North Star District October, 2014 Roundtable. Laura a long-time volunteer to Scouting. Thanks, Laura, for all you do for Scouting. District Roundtable, 7:00 p.m., KCMO Police Training Academy, 6885 NE Pleasant Valley Road, Kansas City, MO. Merit Badge Counselor Training, & OA Chapter Meeting. Joint District Committee & District Commissioner Staff Meeting, 6:30/7:30 p.m., Liberty Stake Center, 6751 NE 70th Street Popcorn Pick-Up All of the Scouts in our District have been busily selling popcorn, and NOW IS THE TIME TO DELIVER!! No, really, we have a lot of popcorn that needs to be delivered. All of the orders will be ready for pickup on Friday, November 7th (between 12-noon and 5:00 p.m.) or Saturday, November 8th (between 8:00 a.m. and noon) at Wagoner Industries, 1731 St. Louis Ave, Kansas City, MO. Be sure that you bring enough transportation (vans, pickup trucks, etc.) to carry the product back to your unit for distribution. If any of you would like to help with the distribution on either of those two days, please call Shannon Zornes at shannon.zornes@yahoo.com or at 816-914-6517. Your help is greatly appreciated. January, 2015 8 15 24 District Roundtable, 7:00 p.m., KCMO Police Training Academy, 6885 NE Pleasant Valley Road, Kansas City, MO. Merit Badge Counselor Training, & OA Chapter Meeting. Joint District Committee & District Commissioner Staff Meeting, 6:30/7:30 p.m., Liberty Stake Center, 6751 NE 70th Street North Star District Dinner, 6:00 p.m., Finnigan’s Hall, 503 E. 18th Ave., North Kansas City, MO February, 2015 5 7 12 20-22 District Roundtable, 7:00 p.m., KCMO Police Training Academy, 6885 NE Pleasant Valley Road, Kansas City, MO. Merit Badge Counselor Training, & OA Chapter Meeting. Joint District Committee & District Commissioner Staff Meeting, 6:30/7:30 p.m., Liberty Stake Center, 6751 NE 70th Street Congratulations December, 2014 4 District Roundtable, 7:00 p.m., KCMO Police Training Academy, 6885 NE Pleasant Valley Road, Kansas City, MO. Merit Badge Counselor Training, & OA Chapter Meeting. Joint District Committee & District Commissioner Staff Meeting, 6:30/7:30 p.m., Liberty Stake Center, 6751 NE 70th Street District Roundtable, 7:00 p.m., KCMO Police Training Academy, 6885 NE Pleasant Valley Road, Kansas City, MO. Merit Badge Counselor Training, & OA Chapter Meeting. North Star District Pinewood Derby - TBA Joint District Committee & District Commissioner Staff Meeting, 6:30/7:30 p.m., Liberty Stake Center, 6751 NE 70th Street North Star District Klondike Derby, 5:00 p.m., Kelsey Short Youth Camp, 17980 Collins Rd, Smithville, MO 2 Let’s Get Our Leaders… Rechartering Recharter is upon us. AND, all of us need to step up to make sure that every unit in the District gets their charter turned in ON TIME!! There are some changes for every unit in the District to be aware of. Some of these are BIG changes. RECHARTER STARTED AT THE OCTOBER ROUNDTABLE. This is one month earlier than in years past. You may hear that the charters must be turned in by December. Technically, that is correct. HOWEVER, and this is a big one, all of these charters must be completely posted by 12/31/14. There will be no grace period provided. If, for any reason, a charter is not completed and posted in ScoutNet by 12/31/14, then the charter is dropped by National and the Council. Recharter Turn-In will be TONIGHT at the November 6th Roundtable. This is a One-Stop-Shopping event where charters are turned in, OA Elections are selected, your Journey to Excellence forms and all of the other normal paperwork is processed. That will give the units and the District all of November and December to identify and clean up any issues. REMEMBER THE SIGNATURES!!! If you have any questions, be sure to ask one of the District professionals or your Unit Commissioner. We’re the North Star District - - WE CAN GET THIS DONE!! Recruiting. Recharter. RETRAINING!!! There is nothing wrong with updating your Scout training. We are all getting older, and some of the brain cells are fading (Polaris Editor included). Now is the time to take the personal responsibility to make sure that all of our training is up-to-date, and look for other training that will enhance our Scouting skills. Bookmark the North Star Training webpage at http://www.hoac-bsa.org/Districts/NorthStar/Training.aspx. Check it often for updates. It is the MOST CURRENT listing of training classes in the District. Upcoming Training Opportunities: Cub Scout Leader Training o Watch for NEW Training Classes in 2015!! Boy Scout Training o Watch for NEW Training Classes in 2015!! Chartered Organization Rep Training – 11/6 at Roundtable, or by appointment If you have any questions, please contact Jeff Tyler at jstyler2015@icloud.com or at 816-505-2015. Also, be sure to visit the National training web site and check out the new training sections. If you have any questions, let Jeff know. On-line training links: Cub & Scout Youth Protection training (2 year expiration) Venturing Youth Protection training (2 year expiration) Cub Scout Leader Job Specific training (Cubmaster, Tiger, Wolf, Bear, and Webelos Den Leader, Pack Trainer and Pack Committee) Weather Hazards (2 year expiration) Safe Swim Defense, Safety Afloat and Climb On Safely (all 2 year expiration) DEN CHIEF Training at http://www.scouting.org/Training/Youth/DenChiefTraining.aspx The North Star District Remembers Each November, the North Star District remembers those Scouters (adults and boys) and friends of the program that have gone before us in the last fiscal year. This month, the following Scouts, Scouters, or friends of Scouting, are remembered: Ted Fleischman, Eagle Scout, North Star Scouter, Sachem in the Tribe of Mic-O-Say George William “Bill” Gillett, Adult Leader for over 25 years, Vigil Honor Robert (Bob) Atkins, COR – Troop 167, Unit Treasurer, Vigil Honor Thomas G. King, Adult Leader – Troop 122, Vigil Honor John Cooper, Adult Leader – Troop 301, Silver Beaver, Vigil Honor David Ozaki, Eagle Scout, Adult Advisor – Troop 60, Commissioner, Vigil Honor Joseph J. Spohn, II, Past Lodge Chief, Vigil Honor George “Lefty” McKinney, Scoutmaster Will Krahenbuhl, Eagle Scout, Silver Beaver, Medicine Man in the Tribe of Mic-O-Say IIC Leadership Challenge For the 2014/2015 Investment in Character Campaign, the North Star District Leadership Team is being asked to do just that – LEAD. You will be asked soon to make your IIC comitment – well in advance of the start of the Campaign. By doing so, we are setting the stage for the rest of the District. If all of the District volunteer leaders know that the District Leadership Team is “all in”, then they will follow. If you have any questions about this, ask one of our professionals or our Key-3. Let’s set the standard for all others to meet – and exceed!! 3 Bring-A-Buddy!! Attention Unit Advancement Chairmen and Eagle Coordinators Attention Pack Leaders!! How did your recruiting effort go this fall? Did you meet your expectations? Many of you would say “Yes”. Some would probably say “No.” No matter what your answer was, EVERY unit has the ability to continue to grow. Remember – Scouting is for EVERYBODY!! It is our job to make sure that every boy in our area gets an invitation. What is the best way to get that invitation out? Your current membership is your BEST ambassador for the Scouting program. Encourage every Scout in your unit to ask a friend who is not in Scouting to join him. Are you aware that the Boy Scouts of America issued a new Eagle Project Workbook and Application this year? At the October Roundtable, there was a presentation about all of the new changes to the Eagle Project workbook. If you didn’t get an opportunity to attend this presentation, be sure to look up our District Advancement Chairman, Larry Duncan. He will be able to answer any question you may have. 4000 Annual Award Nominations REMINDER!! All award nominations for the District Award of Merit, the Paul Arend/Virgil Bower Unit Leader Award, and The Council Eagle Project of the Year Award are to be submitted no later than the December 4th District Roundtable. The North Star District has plenty of people who are deserving of recognition. It is your duty to fill out the application and get it turned in on time for consideration. Nomination forms can be found at http://www.hoacbsa.org/north-star-unit-service in the North Star Awards section. If you have questions about any of these awards, contact Larry Duncan at nsadv@kc.rr.com, or at 816-213-9928. One tool that is available to you this year is Invitation Post Cards. These cards are tailored to your unit, and can be personalized from one of your Cubs inviting a friend. Shown here is a sample card from one of our Packs. Then, you need to follow up with a personal invitation to that prospective youth and his parents. Be sure to recognize all new youth joining your Unit. Make it fun and exciting for them and their parents – because without them, there is nobody for you to deliver the Scouting program to. If you have any questions on how to get these cards, be sure to call one of our Professionals, or our District Membership Chairman, Mike Riley at 816-407-7279. Annual District Dinner - 2015 Mark your calendar. The North Star District Dinner will be on Saturday, January 24th, 2015. This year, the dinner will be at Finnigan’s Hall, 503 E. 18th Ave., North Kansas City, MO. The District Dinner is a time to recognize all of the Eagle Scouts of the past year, and also recognize the award recipients – including the District Award of Merit winners. Fellowship starts at 6:00pm, and dinner will begin at 6:30pm. Parents of the 2014 Eagle Scouts are invited to attend. The cost has not been established yet. Keep an eye on the North Star web page for more details. Plan ahead and get your reservation in early. Make sure that every Eagle Scout in your Troop is invited to attend, and bring their families along. We look forward to a great evening of fellowship. A Cub Scout’s Thanksgiving Prayer O, Heavenly Father, we ask for your blessing For loved ones and friends that are near. We thank you for food and for love and for life And the Spirit of Scouting that’s here. We thank you for leaders who care about boys, Who give us their time – that’s better than toys! We thank you for dads who help us learn right, For moms whe sew on our badges at night. For all this, thank you, dear Lord, up above, For being in Scouting is something we love! 4 Comments From Our District Chairman Comments From our District Executive Hello everyone! Greetings Scouters!! What a series for the Royals. And, in the end, they were 90 feet way from continuing to play another inning – and possibly taking the series! I wanted to take some time as we enter into the holiday season to thank everyone in the Internationally Famous North Star District for all of their hard work and dedication to the Scouting Program! Without you, we could not continue to provide the first class program that we have become accustomed to. As I reflect on the season, I continue to see correlations between our District and the Royals. We have both come so far as a TEAM. The North Star District has had a great year; we are still in the game! By the numbers, our Financial goal and Membership goal are just like where the Royals were at the beginning of the 9th inning; we are within striking distance, all we need is a few solid hits. We have had a great Scouting year, with many wonderful events, like the Camporee, Day Camp, Webelos and Bear Camps, Boy Scout Camp, Cub Family Campout, the Scouting 500, Royal Gathering of Eagles, Scout Day at the Sporting KC, Scout Day at the Race Track, the Scout Strong 5K and Half Marathon, Pinewood Derby, Rain Gutter Regattas, and the many monthly overnights, Pack meetings, Den meetings, and Troop meetings that each of our units have organized and many, many more. Again, I would like to thank all of the volunteers that made these events possible! Let’s make sure we finish out and not leave our teammate stranded on 3rd. Last night I received a note from Trey about two new units that will bring in over 80 youth. If all goes well with those two units, we will be within 126 youth needed by year end to meet our membership goal for 2014 (that’s less than 1 youth per unit in our District). Let’s all continue our push to Gold on our Journey to Excellence! Thanks for all you do for North Star District! Yours in Scouting… Jeffrey Goertz ---North Star District Chairman I also want to thank everyone that has taken the time to help Kyle, Trey, and me transition into our roles as your District Executives and Director. We strive to be the best District Professionals possible; and that does not happen without a lot of good feedback and strong volunteer leadership in the District. Mini-Camp The HOAC Mini-Camp program is in full swing, and they are looking for you to join in on the fun and adventure. What can your Scouts do at Mini-Camp? How about Rifle Shooting, COPE, Wilderness First Aid, Shotgun Shooting, Woodcarvers Workshop, Aquatics, Pistol Shooting for Venturers, and the Naish Climbing Tower. All of these activities are available to Boy Scouts and Venturers. They are day-long programs on various Saturdays in the fall. For more information about Mini-Camp, including dates, times, and cost, check out www.hoacbsa.org/Data/Sites/1/media/activities/mini-camp/ACT-MiniCamp-Flyer-2014.pdf. Space is limited, so register early. As we transition into the Holiday Season, I would like to wish everyone a safe and relaxing season! I look forward to getting out more and visiting more units and seeing how everyone is celebrating! Again, thank you for everything you do! Yours in Scouting… Adam Singleton ---North Star District Executive School Night T-Shirts Have you had any last minute recruits? If you have, be sure to call one of our professionals. The new Scout can receive a free LIMITED-EDITION School Night T-shirt to wear. For more information about how to get these shirts to your new youth, be sure to check HERE. Hey!!! We have a shirt for EVERY boy who joins the program. “Your smile is your logo; your personality is your business card; how you leave others feeling after having an experience with you becomes your trademark.” --Jay Danzie 5 Jamboree On The Air - JOTA The 2014 Jamboree On The Air (JOTA) activity at this years North Star/Pioneer Trails District Camporee was a huge success. About 150 Scouts, Scouters and Venturers had the opportunity to get on the air and talk with their counterparts at almost 40 different stations in at least 5 different countries. Demonstrations all day included voice and digital operations on any of the three stations in operation from Friday night until late Saturday night, when the batteries finally died. Video of the Camporee with a spotlight on JOTA was shot all day Saturday and has already made it to the big time. Showing on the Internet TV show Ham Nation hosted by TWIT.TV helped us to reestablish our claim of being "Internationally Famous". Check it out at http://twit.tv/show/ham-nation, espisode #171. The North Star JOTA story starts at about 7 minutes, 30 seconds into the show. Special thanks go to the following volunteeers who went above and beyond to make this a unique event: Venturers & leaders of Crew 883 Cassandra, CJ, Nikki, and Elli Ham Operators: Doug Roberts (N E 0/ A) Vince Ward (K A 0/ A I G) Jacque (JD) Dupuy (N 0/ I R S) Deb Kaiser (W 0/ D L K) Keith Kaiser (W A 0/ T J T) 6 It’s Never Too Late to Get Excited About Day Camp!! 16th Annual Northland Protestant God and Country Program Sure!! Day Camp is next June. But, NOW is the time to GET EXCITED!!!!!. Planning is now underway for Day Camp – 2015. Jennifer Moyer is forming a North Star District Day Camp Committee to help brainstorm for next year. Now is your opportutnity to help generate ideas for new programs, get donations to support programs and crafts, and provide the support to make Day Camp a GREAT EXPERIENCE. Day Camp will be June 8-12, 2015, and will be at the Platte County Fairgrounds. A breakout session will be held at the February, 2015 Roundtable to go over all of the paperwork that will be required, as well as the registration process. Oh, and that will be streamlined this year. Sally Kim is our new Registrar, and she looks forward to working with you. This year, we’re looking to go all digital. Stay tuned!! Keep reading The Polaris for more information about Day Camp. If you have any questions, or would like to be part of the action, give Jennifer a call at 817-915-2449, or at jennifermoyer3@gmail.com. This fall, any Scout in the Northland area has the opportunity to earn the Protestant God and Country Award for their Grade level. Jeff Cook is heading up the program again and has assembled a wonderful staff. Classes will be held at the North Cross United Methodist Church at 1321 NE Vivion Road, and will begin on November 9th. There will be eight classes running from November through next March. To register, go to www.godandcountrykc.com/20132014.htm. There is a great deal of information about this program, and it would be best to contact Jeff via e-mail at scouter@kc.rr.com. He will be able to forward to you all of the details, along with costs. Be sure to put in the Subject line of the e-mail “God & Country”. Also, let Jeff know what grade the Scout is. That way, he can send you the specific details for your Scout. The Religious Award is one of only three badges that a youth can earn that will transfer to the Adult uniform (the other three being Eagle Scout, Arrow of Light, and any one of the Heroism Awards). It is an important step in the character growth of each Scout, and this program has proved to be very successful. Thanks to the Parents and Leaders who have supported this program since August 1999. Philmont - 2016 Internet Advancement Twenty months away!! Boy, that seems like a long time. But, without proper planning, the event of a lifetime could just . . . slip . . . . . a w a Advancement. It is the cornerstone of an effective Scouting program delivered to our youth. These young men work very hard to earn advancement and awards, and each unit has the responsibility to report that advancement on a timely basis. The Internet Advancement program is a partnership between the unit and BSA. There are two benefits to this partnership. 1) The youths receive timely advancement recognition. 2) Advancement records are backed up at the national level. Although your unit may have wonderful advancement records, we can predict that at some point, your records will become lost or destroyed. When that happens, it’s an easy matter to retrieve them from the BSA system – IF you take advantage of the Internet Advancement system. Internet Advancement training was provided at the September Roundtable. If you missed it or are having trouble with this program, be sure to contact Larry Duncan, North Star District Advancement Chairman, at 816-213-9928. Let’s do everything possible to recognize these youth. y. REGISTRATION FOR PHILMONT IS NOW OPEN!! If your Unit is interested in participating in a Trek during the summer of 2016, you must register for the lottery selection process which started October 29 and will run through November 19, 2014. Get basic Philmont information about the lottery process at http://philmontscoutranch.org/reserve.aspx. Once you have had time to read through all of the information, you will need to identify youth in your unit who will commit to going. Then, you register for the lottery at https://registerphilmont.org/2016/. If you have any questions, reach out to the HOAC High Adventure Committee at kwood@cjnetworks.com. Best of luck with the lottery!! 7 Webelos at Camporee Camporee isn’t just for the big boys. Webelos came out for a day of fun!! 8 Visited By a Witch Bo Qui Chapter Service Project At the October District Camporee, a local radio-controlled flying club came out to show off their planes. One of the “planes” was a flying witch – in honor of Halloween. Many Scouts dropped by to watch these flying machines. On Saturday, October 11th, the Bo Qui Chapter met at the MCC Fab Lab to build Three-chamber bat houses as a service project. Members of the chapter cut wood, stapled mesh on to the inside boards, fastened boards together and sealed the corners of the houses. We were able to complete four bat houses by the end of the day. These bat houses will be presented to the Missouri Department of Conservation for distribution into the community. A big Thank You to all those that gave of their time to this project and for the MCC Fab Lab letting us use their facility. The chapter will be building more bat houses for a 2015 service project. We look forward to more of our chapter brothers participating with the project. Fact: Did you know that a single bat will eat its own weight in insects in a single night. And, a Three-chamber bat house can hold up to 300 bats. Catapult Competition Results The Catapult Competition was very intense at this Camporee. Teams were judged on three criteria – Teamwork, Design, and Distance. 1st Place – Troop 425 – Dragon Patrol – 86.5 points 2nd Place – Troop 354 – Ninja Turtle Patrol – 82.3 points 3rd Place – Trop 46 – Dragon Patrol – 80.6 points Taking the Best of Show trophy was Troop 374 – the Fireballs Patrol with 17.5 ponits. Contratulations to everybody who participated. 9 Comments From Our District Commissioner Our North Star District Professionals Adam and Kyle – outstanding in their field, or is that out standing in a field?? The answer . . . BOTH!! Greetings, North Star Scouters!! What an amazing October we have had this year and It was not just because the Royals made it to the World Series. This fall was special because we had a great Camporee thanks to John Peter and his staff. Add to that the September recruiting efforts of Mike Riley and his team who joined Jeff Tyler and his team to bring new trained leaders to our youth. Add to that Boy Scout summer camp dates were selected. Then the Royals went to the World Series! Yes, it was truly an amazing October! Last month I talked about finishing strong with Webelos visiting Boy Scout troops, recharter, and getting your input to help recognize the efforts of your adult leadership. Thanks to everyone who has helped and to those who are still willing to give us help in finishing strong in 2014. The Boy Scouts of America are making some changes to the Cub Scout program in 2015 and the Boy Scout program in 2016. There are also some changes coming to the commissioner service starting in 2015 beginning January 1. These changes are to help each unit create a better program for each of the youth in the unit. The commissioner of your unit will be meeting with the Key 3 Leadership, which is the Charter Organization Representative, Committee Chairman and either Cubmaster, Scoutmaster or Venture Crew Advisor. Please be sure that you meet with your commissioner and Key 3 team to learn what they can do to help your unit. The commissioner staff is here to serve and assist your unit. As we go into the Holiday Season, please be safe in your travels and spend time with your family and friends. Thanks to all of you who have taken time to work with the scouts in our district helping them become better citizens!Yours in Scouting!! Paul "Gator" Crooks ---North Star District Commissioner Contacts and Information Trey Miller – District Director 816-569-4964 Trey.Miller@scouting.org Adam Singleton – District Executive 816-569-4950 Adam.Singleton@scouting.org Kyle Fulbright – District Executive 816-569-4982 Kyle.Fulbright@scouting.org Heart of America Council Website http://www.hoac-bsa.org North Star District Website http://www.hoac-bsa.org/Districts/NorthStar.aspx North Star Roundtable Information http://bsaroundtable.org Polaris Editor – Brian Blake 816-746-6797 northstar.scouter@gmail.com Your Polaris Editor………. Scout Stuff On-Line Catalog https://scoutnet.scouting.org/BSASupply/ Heart of America Council Internet Advancement http://hoac-bsa.org/Internet_Advancement 10
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