What If We Held a District Camporee and No One Could Tell We’d Been There – Not Even the Garbage Man?!?

Is it possible to hold a district camporee and leave no trace that we were ever there?  Not even any bags of garbage in the dumpster?  I believe it is, and I encourage every troop in Golden Eagle District to prove me right!

Make plans now to attend the Golden Eagle District Fall Camporee being held October 5-7, 2007 at Camp Red Wing.  The theme for this unique weekend event is “Take Only Memories – Leave No Trace”, and should be viewed as an “advanced camping skills” event for scouts of all levels of experience and age.

I can imagine what you’re thinking: “But we already know how to camp, what more is there to learn?”  “Been there; done that!”  “Why should I make sure my troop is present for this fall event?  Perhaps the opening paragraph from my June/July Eagle’s Quill “Dave’s Dream” article will convince you of the importance of your troop participating in this camporee.

“Imagine cresting the top of a hill and looking out over the landscape and seeing more natural beauty than you could ever have imagined.  All is quiet around you except for the chirps of birds and the rustling of some small rodents scurrying across the forest floor and up a tree.  You look up and see a hawk – or maybe it’s an eagle! – circling high above.  You see no evidence that anyone has ever been to this place before.  For a few moments you simply stand there in awe, feeling that you are the first human to see this magnificent view.”

We all can learn more, although sometimes we have a hard time admitting it.  This camporee will both educate and test us in fun ways about advanced camping skills related to being active in the outdoors, yet leaving no trace that we were ever there.  We will learn how to enjoy the great outdoors in such a way that our grandchildren can have the same feelings of awe as they crest that same hill we did decades earlier.  We must learn how to visit, but Leave No Trace.

Two months ago, I challenged you with these words:  “If your troop spends 10-15 minutes talking about one of the Leave No Trace principles every two to three weeks from now until the camporee, your scouts will Be Prepared.”  What has your troop done during the last two months to prepare for this camporee and, more importantly, life-long enjoyment of the outdoors?  As a reminder…

Outdoor Code:  As an American, I will do my best to be clean in my outdoor manners, be careful with fire, be considerate in the outdoors, and be conservation-minded.

Principles of Leave No Trace:

•               Plan Ahead and Prepare

•              Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces

•              Dispose of Waste Properly

•              Leave What You Find

•              Minimize Campfire Impacts

•              Respect Wildlife

•              Be Considerate of Other Visitors

This will be a unique Golden Eagle District camporee because:

•               The Saturday night campfire will be built in an open field in such a way that, come Sunday morning,         no one will be able to tell we had a campfire on that site.

•               The garbage dumpster will be no fuller when we leave camp than when we arrived.

•               Scouts will learn advanced camping skills at round robin stations and be “tested” at later stations.

•               Every paid attendee will receive a Leave No Trace reference card “hang tag” for their backpack.

So come be part of history!  My vision of the Golden Eagle District Fall 2007 Camporee includes the participation of every Golden Eagle District Boy Scout troop with all in attendance leaving with a renewed sense of urgency and increased knowledge of how to Take Only Memories and Leave No Trace.

Contact me if you are interested in helping me organize and put on this unique camporee, or if think some of your older scouts might be interested in helping in some way.  Come to the District Program Kickoff in August and the Round Table in September for more information.  Detailed information will be provided to troops as it becomes available.  For now, mark October 5-7, 2007 on your calendar and start working with your troops.  If you need some resources about Leave No Trace, take a look at www.LNT.Org.  Look under “Training”, and then “Resources for Training”.

David Largent , Golden Eagle District Fall 2007 Camporee Chair

DLLargent@Comcast.Net     H: 765-286-8492     W: 765-468-3007 x215     C: 765-215-8082

 

 

 

DISTRICT COMMISSIONER Karen Goth

Wow – it can’t be time for school already!  This summer has certainly gone by too fast.  School nights are almost upon us so we need to have our game plans in place.  Do you have your recruiting committee together?  Know who will be “manning the tables” at school night?  Have a fun joining event planned?  These are just a few of the things that should be at the top of your To Do list right now, and they are things that your Unit Commissioner can help you with.  Involve as many parents as possible, and as many of your unit leaders as you can; but please ask your Unit Commissioner to help you with everything.  We can provide answers to questions that you may not know, or help get an event set up, or just help with registration!  The job of the Commissioner staff is to help units with whatever they need help with.  Consider them as a vital part of your unit committee.  We can serve as a link between the District and your unit and be a major resource for you.  We really have a vested interest in your success but we really don’t want to be just another pretty face!  Get to know your unit commissioner today by calling him and arranging a meeting.  Not sure who your Unit Commissioner is?  Call the Muncie Scout office and ask.  You won’t be disappointed.

Any unit who has not turned in a Quality Unit commitment sheet yet may still do so.  We will begin the entire process again soon, and starting this year is the best way to understand it.  Your Unit Commissioner has information for you that will help.  Remember, this is a commitment you are making with yourself (your own unit) and it is meant to be a tool to use to make your unit better and stronger.  Please call us with any questions.

Fall Kickoff Roundtable will be held on August 9^th at Camp Redwing .  Be sure that your unit attends.  We will have a lot of information to pass along, packets for each unit, food and fellowship to share!  Let’s make this year  a great one!

Karen Goth

Golden Eagle District Commissioner

(H)765-282-4759; (C)765-730-1549

kgoth@iquest.net

DISTRICT EXECUTIVE Megan Luecke

It’s that time of year again!  Each unit needs to schedule a Fall School Night now and get it on the calendars.  After you have done so, please let our School Night Chair, Terri Cooper know at 765-288-4358 or Leslie Anderson and Megan Luecke at the office know at 765-288-0223.

Wow, how the year has flown! It’s time to schedule Family Friends of Scouting Presentations! Please set these for a Blue & Gold or Court of Honor during November, December, January or February. And get these dates to the Scout Office at 765-288-0223 as soon as possible. Thanks!

 

DISTRICT Public Relations Chair Tim Underhill

Public relations is a constant process and you should always be thinking of how to get your scouting related ideas publicized. Let’s take a look at one way to get the media interested in covering your event.

What makes your event different or unusual? It’s the man bites dog story that gets attention, not the dog bites man. Quirky or unusual stories are interesting and can attract the interest of not only the media, but also the public in general.

Here’s an example I found online at the US Scouting Service Project:

“Special awards, big numbers, etc. should start your story. Avoid beginning "At Troop 0s monthly court of honor . . ." What is different about your court of honor or event. One unit got some great coverage for their Court of Honor (COH) when the bat lady was the program -- "Bat Lady Gives Life to Two Scouts". A professor who studies bats showed some slides at the COH in anticipation on an upcoming outing to a bat cave. They had her present the Life Scout badges to two boys. Meanwhile, the story included all the other recognitions that evening. Another local troop sent in their list of awards from a COH the same night and got no story.”

There are many other examples online, but one of the best ways to determine what the media is interested in is to read, watch and listen. Read the newspapers to see what types of stories they routinely cover. Don’t forget to watch television news and listen to the radio reports as well.

We all believe in the Scouting program and want to share our successes with everyone. Knowing how to attract the attention of the media can help. Pitching an unusual event is just one method. If you feel you have a newsworthy scout related item, I’d be happy to help determine how to best present it to the media.

Tim Underhill – Golden Eagle District Public Relations Chair

tunderhill@bsu.edu

CAMP RED WING COMMITTEE CHAIR Mike Dowd

                                       The FALL Do-It To-It Workday is Saturday, October 13, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.  Come and help us get the camp ready for the spring and summer programs.  We guarantee you will go home feeling tired and feeling very good that you helped make a difference at Camp Red Wing.  So make us part of your annual calendar.  The Do-It To-It Workday 2008 schedule is: Saturday, April 19 and Saturday, October 18.

 

 

DISTRICT PROGRAM CHAIR Jack Spears

Kiwanis Club to Dedicate Lodge - Muncie Star August 14, 1958

 

   This is the Kiwanis Lodge at Camp Red Wing, Delaware County Boy Scout Camp, Lodge at Camp Red Wing Gutted by Fire – Muncie Star October 1974

 

   Two explosions gutted the main lodge of Camp Red Wing Sunday afternoon causing total damages estimated at $150,000.  The 1,300 square foot building housed much of the Boy Scout district’s equipment.  The fire is believed to have originated in the kitchen area of the building, but the exact cause of the explosion is still undetermined. A fireman speculated that the fire might have been caused or perpetuated by propane gas lines, which supplied the kitchen area.

   Temperatures during the blaze were extremely high, as nearby street light covers had been melted off the bulbs and the logs around the propane tank were charred.

   “The tents inside the building were burned,” Camp Ranger Chuck Scroggs said, “and that canvas doesn’t burn below temperatures of 1,000 degrees.”

   The fire was sighted around 4:15 p.m. when two members of the Yorktown Fire Department were driving on U.S. 35.  They notified the Selma Fire Department, which later called the Muncie and Cowan Fire Departments.

   Shortly after the sighting, an explosion occurred and the building was engulfed within 20 minutes.  After the Selma Fire Department arrived, there was another explosion.

   Scroggs had cleaned and checked the building an hour and a half before after the departure of the Order of the Arrow that had spent the weekend at the camp.  He said there had been no sighs of fire then.

 

 

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