Red Jacket Committee Meeting is October 3rd, 2012

This meeting is open to all district committee members, members at large, and any other Scouters interested in the functions of the Red Jacket district.  Core agenda includes committee reports from:  Advancement, Training, Activities, Membership, Finance, Camping, and Marketing.

Coffee and Networking starts at 6:30
Meeting starts promptly at 7:00 PM

Meeting is held in:
Hamburg Central School District Administration Office

For more details, see the Event Page >>

Great Lakes Beach Sweep - Saturday, September 15th

Volunteers of all ages are needed!

The 27th Annual Great Lakes Beach Sweep will be held on Saturday, September 15th, 2012 from 10:00 AM to Noon as part of the International Coastal Cleanup.

Woodlawn State Beach

 Last year’s cleanup was a great success.  With 818 volunteers of all ages reporting from Woodlawn State Park to Westfield, New York, everyone learned a great lesson and became environmentalist for the day.

In New York State there were a total of 6,368 volunteers that cleaned 260+ miles of shoreline, removing 93,644 lbs. of debris in 24 counties.

You can help out at any shoreline you wish. The base will be at Woodlawn State Park and a picnic will be provided for all volunteers.  (Free admission and free parking.)  Bring your family and friends and help in this International event to help clean our shoreline.

Students are more than welcome. If you need volunteer hours or a certificate of attendance, please join us.

Please call the Lake Erie Coordinator: Sharen Trembath at (716) 549-4330, (www.greatlakesbeachsweep.org) or the American Littoral Society (www.alsnyc.org)  for more details, or “like” us on facebook.

Tech Corner - Camp Stoves, Lots of Choices

by Alan Percy

Back in the good-old-days, a wood burning fire in camp was the source of heat to cook most of your food.  Put some soap on the bottom of your pot/pan and a small metal grate for a cooking surface and you were good to go.  When the wood is dry and there are no fire bans, it's not a bad option, but difficult to do in anything other than ideal weather.  Plus, cooking over a fire almost always leaves a scar on the ground, ashes or unburned wood.  Leave no trace and cooking over a fire are quite incompatible.

What's the answer?  Lightweight stoves.  Available in a huge variety of sizes, weights and burning various fuels, the market has created a huge variety of stoves intended for back country camping.

But which one to buy?  That varies based on your needs, but Backpacker Magazine published a great series of reviews that make good reading before you put down your hard-earned money for a stove.

My favorite, when scout camping, you'll usually find me with my MSR Simerlite stove and 16 oz of white gas fuel.  Hot when you need to boil a lot of water and able to simmer, it's turned out to be a very reliable companion.  The refillable bottles reduce waste and near universal white gas fuel is easy to find.

As always, when camping with scouts, make sure at least one adult is GNFC Liquid Fuels trained and is closely supervising the use of liquid fuel stoves.

Can you find your way to the Navigation Camporee?

October 12 - 14, 2012

Sprauge Brook Park

Lunch on Saturday, October 13, included in cost.

Camporee concludes with a Buffalo Orinteering Club Meet on Sunday, October 14 also included in cost.

Guidebook

Activities include:

• Orienteering
• Geocaching and GPS
• Search and Rescue

Cost: $15 / scout until September 28.  $20 / scout after September 28.

Camporee Chair: Phil Wolfling, pwolfling@verizon.net

this Camporee brought to you by the Polaris District Activities and Civic Service Committee.
Pointing the Way...

To learn more or register, visit the Event Page >

  Recognizing the Adult and Volunteer Leaders within Our Units

  by Ron Krawczyk, Training Chair, Red Jacket District <rongkrawczyk@gmail.com>

  Is there a way that we, as adult volunteers and leaders of the packs, troops and crews of the Red Jacket District, can honor those who have worked hard and distinguished themselves in some extraordinary way or,  just  to say thanks for the effort put forth and a ‘job well done’? Absolutely!

  Cubmasters, together with the committee chairs, should inform and invite each den leader in the pack to apply for the Den Leader Square Knot. Effective this December 31, 2012, the Tiger Cub and Webelos Den Leader Square Knots will be discontinued. Each Den Leader can earn the Den Leader Square Knot, and may wear the appropriate device on that knot (Tiger Cub, Wolf, Bear and Webelos pins)

  The Cubmaster Award will be discontinued as of December 31, 2013.Cubmasters may now earn the Scouter’s Key  Award and wear the Scouter’s Key Knot with a Cub Scout device.

  The Cub Scouter Award and Pack Trainer Awards have been discontinued as of December 31, 2013. Cub Scout Pack Leaders may earn the Scouter’s Training Award and wear the Scouter’s Training Knot with a Cub Scout Device.

  There are no changes in the Boy Scout and Venturing Leader’s Awards.

  Scouters who have earned the old square knots may continue to wear them

  Scouters who have begun to work on the Cub Scout Leader Recognition Awards, will be able to earn them as long as they are completed by the dates listed above. Cub Scouters who have not started to work on an award may only earn the new awards and must use the new requirements.

  To recognize an adult leader or any volunteer in the unit, the Red Jacket District has developed an award for such an occasion, namely, The Spark Plug Award. The Spark Plug Award is presented to an individual who has performed in some noteworthy fashion, or who has assisted the unit in some extraordinary measure. The forms may be secured from the Red Jacket Library, Council Headquarters, the District Executive, Director or your Unit Commissioner.

  Any unit leader who, over the course of several years,  has performed in a noteworthy fashion, or who may have extended him(her)self on the District/Council level, instructed courses or were members of training staffs, to mention a few, could be considered for the District Award of Merit. The nomination form for this award may be printed from the Red Jacket Library. Once completed, submit to Herb Schmidt, District Director for consideration.

Good Turn Corner

Putting a spotlight on some of the good deeds done by scouts in the Red Jacket District.

• Pack 1776 "Scouts for Food"
  Cub Scout Pack 1776 aids the Food Pantry by collecting more than 2,500 food items.
• Burchfield Center Gets New Sign and Benches
  Thanks to Eagle Scout candidate Matt Reilly, the Burchfield Nature & Art Center in West Seneca now has a new bulletin board and benches.

Marketing Corner - Integrating Social Media

By Alan Percy, RJD E-Communications Chair

Surely some of you have started to dabble with the various social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and maybe old-school MySpace).  Others of you are keeping your distance hoping that like many fads, will fade into the abyss.  If you are part of the latter group, you may postpone your entry into social media, but I suspect you are missing an opportunity to better communicate with your friends, family and potentially scouts.

Like the web itself and email, social media is a double-edged sword.  Used correctly, it can be a powerful communications tool and improve your life.  Used incorrectly, it can cause untold trouble.

At a recent sales meeting with my co-workers, I presented a "top 5 rules" to remember and easy to follow rules to help with your entry into social media:

1. Be polite and follow some tried-and-true rules of etiquette:
   1. If you wouldn't say it face-to-face, don't say it. 
   2. If you don't have something good to say, don't say it.  
   3. Treat others as you would like to be treated.
2. Know your audience - you should know who has access to your posts, comments and pictures.  Especially in scouting, you should always assume scouts can see your posts.  Before hitting send, think to yourself "will this be good for Timmy in the troop"?
3. Use the 12 hour rule - if you have a controversial  or "hot topic" post, type it up, but give yourself 12 hours before hitting "send".  You may think of a better way to say it or change your mind after you sleep on it. 
4. Remember that everything on the web lives forever.  Just because you hit "delete" doesn't mean someone didn't do a screen capture of your comment and it may come back to haunt you.
5. Actively manage your privacy - don't assume that the default settings in Facebook or any other social media platform will protect your privacy.  Just the opposite it true - social media companies want you to share more personal information, not less and they make the default settings based on this policy.

Next month, we'll cover a couple basic ways to engage parents and older scouts with social media.

Until then, be sure you read and understand the BSA policies on Social Media use >>

Gone Home: David M. Suffoletto

June 26, 2012 - David M Suffoletto, Committee Chairman for Troop 335 in South Buffalo has Gone Home. Beloved husband of Barbara A. Kern; devoted father of Michael Suffoletto and Anita (Jeffrey) Arrigo; cherished grandfather of Anthony Arrigo; loving son of Henry M. and Annette M. (nee Donaruma) Suffoletto; dear brother of Thomas (Barbara), Suffoletto, Sandra (Daniel) Ryan and the late Cindy Suffoletto (late Andrew Topolski); also survived by relatives and many friends.

More on David's life and contributions to scouting can be found on the Buffalo News

Contacting the Red Jacket District Newsdesk

Share your news, successes, community service projects or upcoming events in the Red Jacket Newsletter.  The Newsletter reaches roughly 1,000 scouting volunteers, parents and staff in the Red Jacket District on a monthly basis.

Send your comments, suggestions or news to rjdmarketing@wnyscouting.org >>

Can't wait 'til next month for your news?  Join us in the Red Jacket District GNFC group on Facebook where you can share your ideas or just catch up on Red Jacket District "buzz"?  .  Just click on the logo below to join the fun!

The Red Jacket District GNFC group on Facebook is intended for for the adult volunteers, parents, or friends of the Red Jacket District.   Enjoy responsibly and be sure to follow the BSA policies on Social Media use >>

This newsletter is edited and distributed by the volunteer committee of the Red Jacket District, Greater Niagara Frontier Council of the Boy Scouts of America and is solely responsible for its content.