Spirit Pavilion Dedication

Today I made a trip out to Canyon Camp for the Spirit Pavilion dedication. While out there I ran into a lot of individuals who were at camp for the dedication. Some, like Rich Tobin, were there because there units were at summer camp this week. Unfortunately for Rich he broke his leg on Monday night when the campers were moved to the dining call during a storm. I think he was just looking for a way to stay in the health lodger and avoid the hike up to his camp site. I also met Tim Conway, no not the comedian, who was visiting his son who was on staff for the third year. I found out that Tim had attend Canyon Camp as a youth as did his father. The more people I meet out at camp the more I run across where multiple generations have called Canyon Camp home during the summer. I had dinner with the McFarland's who had recently returned from Scotland and came to the dedication before returning home to Wisconsin (near St. Paul). Another attendee was the daughter of Dr. Gillies. Apparently there is quite a connection between Jean Wurtzel and the Gillies family that Jean filled me in on at dinner.

Unfortunately there were a couple of people who were not able to attend. John Wurtzel was away at summer camp with his troop. John was a key driver in getting the constrution done on the Spirit Pavilion having worked on it almost every weekend this past spring. Fortunately Jean was able to attend. Ron Spielman was also unable to attend due to the passing of his father.

The dedication ceremony put on by Dick Reynolds and Lee Binkley was one of special remembrance. While the pavilion was funded primarily by donations given in honor of scouters who have passed on, the name Spirit is a tribute to those scouters as well as the vast group of other scouters who contribute to the on going spirit of Canyon Camp.

Facilities Weekend

Last weekend must have been construction weekend. It started with a United for Youth meeting Saturday morning at the service center to discuss the efforts on the new service center.

Since I was already out that way I took the opportunity to run out to Camp Lowden and go through the Boeger Leadership Lodge. It is moving along. Most of the utility work is done and the dry wall should get started this week. Last week the stone work on the chimney was finished and landscape retaining walls were put in place. Today Dave sent some pictures that showed the railing on the back deck done on the back and west sides. The sidewalk running from the front to the west side got poured and the air conditioning units were put in place.

100th Anniversary - "A Century of Values"

We continue to develop the 100th Anniversary plans for the council. The next event will be August 25 (Tuesday) at 11:00am (location in Rockford is to be determined) when the Detroit Area Council will be out to present Blackhawk Area Council with a copy of "A Century of Values".

In the spirit of Scouting fellowship the Detroit Area Council’s “A Century of Values” committee commissioned a 24-by-36-inch painting depicting the history of the BSA over its first 100 years. The framed and autographed painting by artist Bill Morrison, an Eagle Scout, who has worked for Walt Disney and Twentieth Century Fox's licensing and merchandising department will be presented to the Blackhawk Area Council. Mr. Morrison worked on this unofficial centennial artwork for over three years.

Details on the mural are available at: http://www.acenturyofvalues.org/mural/.

Suzanne Jones Benefit Dinner

On Sunday I was in Marengo at the dinner for Suzanne Jones was well attended and it looked like everyone was having a lot of fun. Specially when they got the shears out and started shaving heads in a show of solidarity with Suzanne. Here's a picture of Ed Allen getting started on John Jennings.

A number of the scouts from the Marengo troop also got shaved.

BSA Centennial Tree

Have you ordered your BSA Centennial Tree?

Heroism Award

One of the great things about being Council President is that I am able to participate in events that recognize our Scouts and Scouters for their accomplishments. Wednesday night at Camp Lowden was one of those opportunities. I was able to present to one of our scouts, Josh Jahnke, a Heroism Award. These Heroism and Meritorious Service types of awards are bestowed by the National Council when a scout or scouter renders a service utilizing the skills and training that we provide through the BSA program. Below is Josh with his mom, Jane, and dad, Jason.

To receive one of these awards, an application must be filed and approved by the National Council. This is only the second such award in our council over the past three years. Below is Josh's story.

On August 14, 2008, Joshua Jahnke, age 13, and his aunt, Jorie Hess, went sailing on Crystal Lake, in Crystal Lake, Illinois. While sailing, they passed a canoe carrying a boy from Joshua’s troop and his father, Zach and Charlie Wirth. Zach, age 11, stood up in the canoe to wave back to Joshua, thus causing the canoe to tip over throwing the boy and his father in the water. The depth of the lake at this point was 10 feet and they were about 50 feet from shore.

Having canoeing and lifesaving merit badges, Joshua left the sailboat and swam over to the canoe to help right it, a distance of about 10 feet. As Joshua got closer to the canoe he saw that Mr. Wirth did not have his PFD on and that he was having trouble swimming and was starting to panic. Mr. Wirth was not a good swimmer and was tiring fast. He was wearing heavy clothing and shoes that added to his difficulty in swimming. Joshua retrieved Mr. Wirth’s PFD and took it to him. Joshua talked to Mr. Wirth assuring him that everything would be alright. This helped to calm Mr. Wirth down.

Bystanders on the shore observed what had happened and called 911. Two construction workers that were working on a building ran to help with the rescue. One swam out to the canoe with a cord and the other one stayed on the dock to pull them in. Because the cord was not long enough, Joshua pulled Mr. Wirth to the cord. Mr. Wirth was pulled to the dock. As Mr. Wirth made it to the dock, the paramedics and rescue team arrived. Mr. Wirth was checked out and he was fine.

Zach Wirth floated and treaded water during this time. He swam back to the dock with his father. Joshua swam back to the canoe and brought it back to shore.

Because of Joshua’s training in aquatics skills and lifesaving through the Boy Scouts, he kept a clear head, knew what to do, and executed a successful rescue.