Camp Lowden Weekend, October 16, 2010

I was out at Camp Lowden on Saturday to help with a couple of projects.  It was great to see all the activity at camp.  There was training going on, OKPIC cold weather camping training, NYLT staff development, and Scoutmaster outdoor training.  There were two troops that went canoeing and another that was out to use the shooting range.  Mighty Pack 5 from Winnebago was out for the day as well.  All together there must have been 350 scouts, parents, and volunteers using the camp facilities.  In addition we had work crews out staining Winnebago Cabin - Frontiersman Cabin was done on Thursday by Ed Allen and hit brother Don - as well as work on the soffit and fascia for both cabins. It's great to see our camps getting this much use.  Next Saturday, October 23, is the Wood Cut day at Camp Lowden, consider coming out to help.

NYLT 2009

I was invited out to attend the closing Feast for the 2009 NYLT course. This year course director Jim Reilly had a packed house with 112 participants. The largest group ever to attend NYLT in Blackhawk Area Council. Congratulations to Jim and his staff for putting on this important training and good luck to Rick Haffelle.

May 16 & 17 Scout Activities

This weekend started with a meeting of the 100th Anniversary Steering Committee at the service center. While there is a lot of planning left to do things seem to be coming together. Next was a visit with Jim Boeger who seems to be doing as well as can be expected. He was in good spirits and gave me one of his new books "Trains & a Camera". It has pictures of trains framed in some of the best scenery from across the country.

Then it was off to Camp Lowden where a lot was going on this weekend. My first stop was to check on the status of the Boeger Leadership Lodge. The upstairs interior has had a lot of work done since I was there last. Below is a picture of the fireplace.

After that it was a stop at the Main Lodge where I ran into Bill Brosch and his team putting on BALOO and Webelos Leader Outdoor Training.

At the same time Geoff Heberlein and his staff from Wanchanagi were putting on an Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills course. Below is a rare picture Ramona and Carl taking a break.

NYLT was also out at camp for their last staff development before the course starts.

The main reason for being at camp this weekend was to present Wood Badge beads to two of my participants from C-23-07. Brent Pierson and Evan Michel are very active with NYLT and asked to have their beads presented during their final staff development.

That was all for Saturday, but on Sunday there was an Eagle project being started by one of the scouts of Troop 152 who is helping to do some renovations for a local animal shelter. This was just the first of several phases of his project.

Camp Lowden Work Day

Thanks to everyone that came out Saturday to help get Camp Lowden in shape for the spring season. We had a lot of activity at camp. Work was done on the deck on the back of the Main Lodge and the ceiling of the Wienke Handicraft Lodge. NYLT staff was out at camp and once again pitched in when they had some extra time. The last tree to be removed near the Boeger Leadership Lodge came down and another team spent the day splitting wood. Other volunteers spent the day collecting and cutting old metal scrap to be removed from camp. Of course the highlight is always a wonderful lunch. Thanks Maureen.

The Canyon Camp work weekend is coming up on May 2-3. This weekend is sponsored by the Monroe Kiwanis and everyone is invited to come out. There are a number of projects that will need help along with typical spring preparation.

Leadership Training

One of the things that the BSA does very well is to provide opportunities to develop leadership. It is provided for in training and experience for both our youth and adults. Is your unit taking full advantage of the training opportunities?

In Boy Scouts, the National Youth Leadership Training or NYLT course is offered to provide your troop leaders with the skills they need to be able to successfully operate a troop. If you talk with scoutmasters around the area that have youth running their programs that have been through NYLT they will tell you that it makes a big difference in how their troops operate. Many units help subsidize the cost to the youth by funding at least a portion through a reimbursement to the youth upon successful completion of the course. For more information on the next NYLT course, go to www.blackhawkscouting.org/nylt/index.html .

As important as having our youth trained is having our adults trained. The adult leadership course is Wood Badge which is open to any registered adult. This is not an outdoor training course and it is much more than team building. This course covers, among other things, the stages of team development and the appropriate leadership skills that should be utilized. Over the past several years we have had a growing number of cub scout leaders attending Wood Badge to where recent courses have had more cub scout leaders attending than either boy scout or venturing leaders. Each unit is encouraged to send at least one adult on a regular basis. A number of units help subsidize the cost through a reimbursement following successful completion of the course. For information on the next course see www.boundless.hostrefugee.com/~wbadge/ .