Mornin’, all! Happy New Year! I’m Jake brown, coming to you from the West Quoddy Head Light House in Maine, where I’m happy to share that the sun rose a whole 48 minutes earlier on New Years’ Day than it did in Cleveland. I tell ya, the 14 hour drive one way to get here was very worth it!
Okay, in this week’s three minute update, we have: Training updates, Event Updates and Camping Updates, and a note about annual planning and Journey to Excellence.
First, here’s some BIG NEWS! The LEC is hosting a University of Scouting at the Lorain County JVS on Saturday, March 16th. Participants will be able to dive into the details of how to cook in the outdoors, learn more about the upcoming Cub Scout program changes that take effect in June, and much much more! In addition, you’ll get to meet Lord Baden-Powell himself, risen from the ashes of time to bring our events’ closing address to us! Registration is live with the event and course descriptions, and you can send questions or inquiries to Dave Sechnick.
Also in training, its important to note that there will be a Rangemaster training on February 24th at Firelands, BALOO, Scoutmaster Basic, and Wilderness First Aid Trainings are open upcoming in April, and the Wood Badge and NYLT course registrations are open now!
And speaking of Wood Badge and NYLT, their annual scholarship fundraiser breakfast will be held on March 9th at Lakewood High School. Come support future participants to Wood Badge and NYLT by attending the fundraiser breakfast, and bid on some great live auction items while there! Send questions to Linda Gray; the Early Bird closes on February 4th.
Moving on to events: Klondikes are about to begin, and in fact, the deadline to register for the High Adventure Klondike is this Saturday, so sign up today! Also, upcoming is the Class of 2023 Eagle Scout Celebration on February 24th, with Monty Gibson of the Cleveland Browns delivering the keynote address. The annual Celebration of Scouting will be held on March 2nd, in addition to Sap Camp. On March 17th, Scouts looking to represent Scouting can join in the St. Patrick’s Day parade in downtown Cleveland. Lastly, Cub Scouts should note that the date of the Winter Mud Day at Firelands has changed to March 9th.
Finally, I have a note to share about Journey to Excellence: if you are familiar with this planning tool, please note that it is being phased out and replaced. If you have never heard of Journey to Excellence before, please disregard what I’ve said. If you have ears and are involved with Scouting, however, please listen to this: the Lake Erie Council has established a replacement to Journey to Excellence, what will be known in the future as “The Unit Performance Objectives worksheet.” This worksheet is available on the Council website, and should be used by Packs and Troops to assist in planning and executing the ideal year of Scouting. More about this tool will be shared in the coming weeks and months, but be bear aware that there’s a new tool in town, and it’s here! If you have any questions about how to use this tool, send them over to Mike Evano.
And that’s a wrap for this week’s three minute update! Thanks for all you do and thanks for being you! We’ll see you next week, take care!
