Hello Everyone,
I hope this post/email finds you all well!
We are always looking to expand on and improve our scouting program and to make it more fun and enjoyable for our youth. Because of this, we have put together a survey to help gauge interest in the different aspects of the program and information that may be helpful to support it (access to camping, equipment, etc).
When you have a moment, please take the survey and also have your youth (if you have any) take the survey so we can figure out how best to plan for upcoming events and next year.
You can find the survey at the following link:
https://qtrial2014.az1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_0GGUishWx3spHnf
Thanks in advance! If you have any questions let me know.
I wanted to take a quick moment and reach out to our Troop’s Arrowmen. I just wanted to post this message about the Fall Fellowship & Banquet in case you did not get a copy. This event is expected to fill very quickly, so make sure you get your registration in soon!
Nawakwa Arrowmen,
The annual Fall Fellowship & Banquet Weekend is next month (October 16-18), and registration is now open. The registration form can be downloaded from the lodge website — http://www.nawakwa.org — or you may register online through the link on the lodge website. The deadline for registration is Wednesday, October 7th. This will be our lodge’s OA Centennial event, and it is the final requirement many of you need to earn the special Centuries of Service sash patch award: http://www.oa-bsa.org/pages/content/arrowman-service-award
This year’s theme is “James Bond 007”, and we plan to have several secret agent themed events and activities throughout the weekend. Bring your favorite Q-Branch issued devices and be prepared for your assigned mission from Chief M (McNeilly…Ryan McNeilly).
We are especially excited that OA National Chief Alex Call will be attending our event weekend. This is a very special treat for Nawakwa, and we know that his participation will be a high-point of the weekend. Alex hopes that he’ll be able to speak with each of us in attendance, so we hope to overwhelm him with a large Nawakwa presence and a great showing of Heart of Virginia hospitality.
The high point of the event is expected to be the awards banquet on Saturday evening. Nawakwa plans to honor those chapters that have excelled in unit elections and camp promotions as well as our fellow arrowmen who will have just been awarded the Vigil Honor. We will also present the Founder’s Award and the James E. West Fellowship to several deserving Nawakwa brothers. As a special treat, and in celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Order of the Arrow, National Chief Alex Call will present the Centurion Award to Nawakwa’s twelve recipients.
This will be a tremendously popular weekend, and we will need to limit attendance to about 450 people, so please be sure to register today. Also, if you haven’t yet paid your 2016 dues, there is the opportunity to do so when you register for the Fall Fellowship & Banquet.
If you have any questions, please contact Lodge Chief Ryan McNeilly (LodgeChief@Nawakwa.org) or Lodge Adviser Michael Lynch (LodgeAdviser@Nawakwa.org).
The Nawakwa Lodge leadership and the OA National Chief hope to see you at Fall Fellowship at Camp T. Brady Saunders on October 16-18!
–Scott Street, Webmaster
If you have any questions, please feel free to let me know. I plan on being there, and I hope to see all of our OA members there also. It should be a fun filled weekend!
Yours in W.W.W, Scouting and the Gospel,
-John
Hello Everyone! I hope this email/post finds you well! I wanted to take a quick moment and outline our plans for next month. We are going to be starting/continuing the Personal Fitness merit badge. This is an Eagle required merit badge. However, before you can start the merit badge, there is a pre-requirement that need to be done.
- Do the following:
a. Before completing requirements 2 through 9, have your health-care practitioner give you a physical examination, using the Scout medical examination form…
This needs to be done before any of the other requirements can be completed. If you already had a physical for school, ask your doctor if he would be willing to fill out the scout medical form after the fact (most are happy too). If you have not yet had one, just print the form and take it with you.
We plan on starting this merit badge on the 16th of September with our merit badge counselor, Brother Stinson. We will have another session on the 30th after our Court of Honor.
Please go over the requirements yourself so you know what we will be covering. I want to remind scouts that this is not a simple merit badge to finish. It requires improvement after 12 weeks as well as keeping logs during the 12 week period itself. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Brother Stinson or I.
The long awaited announcement has been made. I am happy to say that relationship between the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Boy Scouts of America will not be changing.
The Church issued the following statement Wednesday, August 26, from the Council of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles regarding the Church’s relationship with the Boy Scouts of America on Mormon Newsroom:
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints appreciates the positive contributions Scouting has made over the years to thousands of its young men and boys and to thousands of other youth. As leaders of the Church, we want the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) to succeed in its historic mission to instill leadership skills and high moral standards in youth of all faiths and circumstances, thereby equipping them for greater success in life and valuable service to their country.
In the resolution adopted on July 27, 2015, and in subsequent verbal assurances to us, BSA has reiterated that it expects those who sponsor Scouting units (such as the Church) to appoint Scout leaders according to their religious and moral values “in word and deed and who will best inculcate the organization’s values through the Scouting program.” At this time, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will go forward as a chartering organization of BSA, and as in the past, will appoint Scout leaders and volunteers who uphold and exemplify Church doctrine, values, and standards.
With equal concern for the substantial number of youth who live outside the United States and Canada, the Church will continue to evaluate and refine program options that better meet its global needs.
Source: LDSLiving – First Presidency Makes Final Decision About Scouting
Here is our newest newsletter!
August 2015 Newsletter
We want to thank all the scouts and leaders that have submitted articles for our newsletter! We hope you enjoy the newsletter and we look forward to you reading it!
You can read all of our other newsletters by clicking here.
This weekend we had a three day campout planned. We started with a nice long road trip to Tennessee and stayed the night in a bunkhouse playing games and having fun. We woke up early the next day and headed out to go white water rafting. We had a few bumps along the road including our scoutmaster getting lost, but all the scouts had a great time on the water especially riding the class three Rapids, and hearing cheesy jokes from our river guides. The road trips were fun learning new things about each other, hearing jokes, and watching scouts cringe at the sound of country music, but they were great and memorable events. This was the first trip with this troop for two of our scouts and they had a great time though they came out with a few bumps and scratches. After the rafting trip we headed out to our final campsite which was in the middle of nowhere and to even get to our camp we had to wade through a river or climb a hill and go over a bridge.
Though we ran into some bumps and issues, had some scouts injured, had to come home early, and had ridiculously long car rides this campout brought us closer together and will always be unforgettable.
Here are the details for the upcoming trip this week.
Drop-Off Location: Church
Drop-Off Time: 12 noon on Thursday the 6th
Pickup Location: Church
Pickup Time: TBD – Depending on Traffic (Around 6pm Saturday the 8th)
Cost: $50 For the Trip and food during the Trip + $10 for Red Robin on the way back.
What to Bring:
- Clothes (at least 2 changes)
- Swimwear + Swim Shoes
- Tent/Hammock and Accessories – If you don’t have a tent, please let me know.
- Sleeping Bag or Blanket
- Toilet & Hygiene Kit
- Flashlight
- Water Bottle
- Sun Protection / Bug Spray
- Mess Kit
- Signed USA Raft Waiver
- Rain Gear
Note: Space is VERY limited for this trip so please pack as tightly as you can. You may end up sitting with it in your lap on the 5 hour drive there and back.
We will be traveling down to Damascus VA on Thursday. We will setup, hang out and stay the night there. Friday, we will go rafting on either the Nolichucky or the French Broad River in TN depending on the weather. We will return to Damascus that night to stay. On Saturday, if time allows, we will do 17mi of easy biking down the VA Creeper before we start on our way back.
Weather does not look the best for the weekend, but it should still be a fun trip. Please make sure you have the gear you need. Also, please ensure that you have your waiver! If you do not, you will not be rafting.
I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow! If you have any questions, give me a call.
We are sure many of you have heard by now, that the BSA national council had a vote to change the current status of the policy regarding the sexual orientation of registered leaders. You may have also heard that the church was left out of this vote and because of this (and other reasons) the church is reconsidering its stance on supporting and using the Boy Scouts of America as its official youth program.
This post is here to serve nothing more than to make you aware of what is happening at the national level of scouting and the church, as well as reminding you what scouting stands for. We all have free agency and we all have the right to choose. However, we wish to remind scouts, parents and leaders that until an official announcement has been made regarding the ties between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the Boy Scouts of America, Scouting is, and always has been the young men’s youth activity program of the church.
No matter the stance of the national policy, at this point in time it is still up to the chartered organization’s to dictate leadership over the troop they represent. The church is very clear on the standards expected from its youth program leadership and that will not change.
With everything that is happening over the next few weeks, we encourage you all to pray, and be vocal regarding this change where appropriate. Remember that no matter the situation, all scouts and leaders who truly believe in the program should also follow in the core values of the program and the church.
The Scout Oath
On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.
The Scout Law
A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.
We leave this with you as a testimony of the impact a great youth organization can have on the lives of our young adults. We truly believe, that the scouting program upholds many of the core values that our youth need to have. However as adversity causes change in the world, we trust in the leadership of the church to make the correct decision for our youth when the time is right.
Yours in W.W.W, Scouting and the Gospel,
Gain Foster and John Oliver
Evening everyone,
I apologize for the lateness of the details regarding this trip. We have had difficulties locking a few things down. However, with that being said, we are all set and ready to rock this weekend. Here is the information you need to know…
- Date: July 24th and 25th
- Time: 6PM
- Location: Lake Land’or Campground
- Access: When asked at the gate, just let them know you are with Troop 767 and that you are going to the campground. If you have any issues getting in, please give me a call at 496-1680.
- Plans: So this campout will be an easy relaxing night on Friday with good weather. Saturday morning, we will be heading to 3 Lakes Park to assist with the eleven year old stake activity.
- Food: We plan on kicking it old school Friday night and doing hot dogs. For breakfast, we will also be keeping it simple by pancakes, bacon and eggs. For lunch, due to the unknown time constrictions at the stake event, we will be doing cold cuts.
- What to bring: All scouts need to bring $10 for food. Make sure you bring a mess kit for eating. Also, each scout should bring his scout book! This is important because we will be helping to teach from the scout book at the stake activity. Also remember to bring a water bottle.
For anyone in Hanover that needs a ride, please let me know. If you have any questions, please let me know.
You can sign up by visiting: http://troop767.us/rir/
Hello Everyone!
I hope this post/email finds you all well! It is nearing that time of year again where we get to salt pretzels and squeeze lemons to earn money for our scout troop.
As you may know, this money helps the troop buy equipment, helps pay for scout camps and also helps make our normal camping trips (fees, travel, food, etc) less expensive for parents and youth.
If you have not worked with us before at one of these fundraisers, here is the gist of it all…
Adults and youth (16 or older) work concession stands for a company that we have worked with for many years selling pretzels and lemonade. At the end of the event, we make 10% of all sales made. In the past, we normally walk out with between $1,200 and $1,800 depending on the race and how many stands we run (normally between 3 and 4 stands).
We work both days of the race (Friday and Saturday) starting from around 10 or 11 in the morning until the race is over (normally around 11 or midnight). If you wish to help, you can work all day or part of a day. Please be aware that if you only work part of a day that traffic and parking is very difficult. We normally need the most help right before and during the race (4PM to Midnight).
There are 2 major changes that have happened if you did not help at the last event.
- Credentials are MUCH easier to get now. I pick up ALL of the credentials for our group before the event. This means you do not need to visit the credential office the day/week of the race.
- Youth get to help now! The minimum age has changed from 18 to 16 meaning that some of our youth can help now! YAY!
The more people we have, the more stands we can run. We normally like to put 2 people on a stand and have one or more people who “float” around relieving people at stands so they can take breaks.
If you are willing and able, please sign up early so we know how many people we have and when they can work. The company we work with normally likes to lock down rosters 3 to 4 weeks before the race so they know how many stands we need.
You can sign up by visiting: http://troop767.us/rir/
Thank you in advance for your willingness to serve and help raise money for our youth! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me (804-496-1680).
Yours in W.W.W, Scouting and the Gospel,
John Oliver
