From the Council President
“In the last issue you referenced a Council Board. What is this Council Board, and who is on it?”, came a question from a volunteer.
The Council Board (CB) is similar to your unit and district committees. The “book” definition calls the board a voluntary association of citizens, including representatives of organizations that are chartered by the Boy Scouts of America to promote the Scouting program within a geographic area.
The Bay Lakes Council is chartered by the National organization of the BSA and we have an elected volunteer board responsible for the success of our Council. One of the CB’s major responsibilities is to select and employ our Scout Executive, who is responsible to hire, manage, and develop the professional and support staff of the Council. That Scout Executive reports to the CB and we are responsible to assess his or her performance. We are also responsible to establish a budget and secure funds to achieve the objectives of Scouting. Scouting is delivered in the Districts, so we help coordinate the work of the Districts through a committee structure.
Ideally, members of the CB should represent all geographic areas of the Council and have a mix of skills and backgrounds. Many are previous or current Scouters, and some just believe in the program. CB members bring the skills of Scouting programs organization, leadership, financial acumen, community connection, and governance. We are responsible to assure the Council is successfully delivering Scouting today and is prepared to continue delivery far into the future. The CB is guided by a set of bylaws and annual resolutions that guide our actions.
Within the CB, we have an Executive Committee that includes Membership, Finance, Program, District Operations, Property, Governance, Fund Development, and Marketing & Strategy. We also have committees covering Endowments/Investments, Budgeting, Risk Management, Audit, Executive Compensation, and Nominations. Members of these committees do not have to be members of the CB. We tap other volunteers with the necessary skills from across the Council. The CB generally meets monthly.
If you have further questions, or would like the opportunity to help even more, by serving on one of our committees, just send me an email to rgoldhahn@aol.com!
Rod Goldhahn
Council President
From the Council Commissioner
Commissioner Clyde Joins Bay-Lakes Council
Have a Commissioner question and you’re not sure where to turn? Call Clyde!
Commissioner Clyde has joined the Bay-Lakes Council as the Assistant Council Commissioner – Question Handling and Expediting. In this role, Clyde will field Commissioner questions from units and volunteers throughout the Council and help ensure that a Commissioner near you is assigned to your question as soon as humanly possible.
Questions on re-chartering? Call Clyde. Unit issues? Call Clyde. Training or advancement questions? Clyde, again. Questions about Council camps? You got it!
Of course, you should always seek the direct help of your Unit Commissioner first. Clyde won’t be offended if you do, he just wants to be of service in any way he can. So, quit monkeying around, get the Commissioner help you need!
To contact Clyde, email him at BAYLAKESCOMMISSIONERHELP@GMAIL.COM.
Roy LaPean
Council Commissioner
What a year so far! We know that unfortunately the end of the school year was nothing short of out of the ordinary. We would like to celebrate our Scout’s that have graduated this year as best we can! We will be featuring a graduating Senior Scout each edition of The Guide.
We will also be featuring them on our social media platforms. Help us in congratulating our Scouts on this great accomplishment!
Northern Lites District
Nate is an Eagle Scout.
Gathering Waters District
Lakeshore District
As a member of Troop 843 in Oostburg, Austin has worked at Camp Rokilio for the last 4 years, most recently as the Fort’s Theme director.
Austin is waiting to hear back on his Eagle Scout Rank paperwork, and waiting for a Board of Review.
- 1 or 2 pictures of your Scout in uniform or camp and gown
- Name how you would like it displayed in posts and newsletter
- Unit number and town in which you live
- Favorite memory in Scouting
Membership Resources
A series of webinars on both recruiting and Scoutbook will be available throughout the summer that are excellent resources for unit leaders. If you have some time and would like to brush up on these subjects, we encourage you to check out the availability and watch a couple. This membership and marketing hub is a great tool for you to have! Make sure you save it to your “favorites”
To get the full list of webinar dates and times, click here.
The Bay-Lakes Scout Shop is open for business again.
The hours of operation are as follows:
Tuesday-Friday: 10:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. & 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Saturday: 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Contact the Scout Shop with any questions at (920) 831-9504.
The Center for Scouting remains open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
The Kon Wapos Lodge is supporting a number of service projects that need to be completed at Bear Paw, Rokilio, Gardner Dam and Hiawatha.We need adults (age 18+) and youth (age 15-17), accompanied by their parent(s).You do not need to be a member of the Order of the Arrow. We will be operating with safety as a priority.Most work will be outdoors and distancing 6’+. Bring work gloves, water bottle, work clothes, your own lunch. Be prepared with a face mask, if needed. Painting, cleaning, brush clearing, etc.Specialty skills are also needed: electricians, carpenters, plumbing, siding installation, soffit installation.
Anyone who volunteers to do service in our camps will earn the Kon Wapos Award.Patches will be distributed at the next lodge event (to be determined) or we will make other arrangements.
PLEASE NOTE: Before heading to camp contact Mike Mailand, Kon Wapos Lodge Adviser, by email at mmmailand@sbcglobal.net or by phone at (920) 915-7901 (text or call).
Project List:
Camp Hiawatha (contact Erick Kestila, Camp Director)
· Projects around new boathouse
· Electrical work
· Dock repair
· Clean-up downed trees and limbs
Gardner Dam(contact Mike Mailand, Lodge Adviser)
· Set up wall tents June 27
· Painting projects – benches, totem poles, etc.
· Brush clearing
· Repair & paint picnic tables
Bear Paw (contact Mike Mailand, Lodge Adviser)
· Campsite clean-up and preparation for summer camp
· Build additional hand washing stations
· Landscaping – seeding, raking, touch-up
· Waterfront hill clean-up
· Electrical, siding installation, soffit installation, etc.
Rokilio (contact Mike Mailand, Lodge Adviser)
· Paint Rosie shower house (inside walls, clean-up, doors, trim)
· Pressure wash Space Station exterior; Paint access walkway to roof top
· Bog trail work – add walkway on top of existing because of higher water level this year
Popcorn Time!
That’s right everyone — it’s our favorite time of year! Let’s have our Scouts gear up to participate in our largest annual fundraiser of the year. The sale will look a little different this year, but we are moving forward!
Sign up your unit today at https://pecatonicariverpopcorn.com/ to get in on the communication regarding the upcoming sale. If you need assistance with signing in, please contact Nikki Woolf at Nikki.Woolf@Scouting.org or call (920) 734-5705 ext. 118.
Who wants a free $500? Everyone, right! If your unit has not sold popcorn in the past, this is your chance. Each new unit to the sale gets $500 in free product to sell, no strings attached! If you are interested in learning more about how your unit can participate in the sale, contact Alex Behrend at Alex.Behrend@scouting.org or call (920) 734-5705 ext. 114.
Volunteers are the lifeblood of any organization, and we are grateful for everyone of them. Much continues to happen this “off season” thanks to many hands hard at work. The Council’s Vice President of Properties, Craig Berndt, provided us this update:
“There’s a huge number of projects underway at council camps intended to improve your Scouting experience this summer. At Gardner Dam, the lower bridge upgrade is underway, a new deck for the Adventure Lodge is being added, and improvements to the swimming area will be completed before summer camp. By the way, the new dining hall is being designed as well. Camp Hiawatha has a number of maintenance projects underway as well as finishing up the new boathouse at the waterfront. At Camp Rokilio the Rosie shower house is being remodeled to provide individual showers and dressing rooms, the new Welcome Center is being readied for use, and building painting projects are underway. Bear Paw Scout Camp is rapidly recovering from last year’s storm damage. The new buildings include the Program Storage building, a new shower house, a new Nature center, five new staff cabins, the fantastic new STEM/Sugar Shack building, and the Leader’s building. While work will continue to finish these buildings this summer, these buildings will go into use later this year and used for resident camp in 2021. So, great things are happening at Council camps to add to the already great experience provided by our camps.”
ORDER OF THE ARROW UPDATES
Call-out Ceremonies:
Newly elected Order of the Arrow candidates attending camp will be recognized during “call out” ceremonies at Bear Paw and Camp Hiawatha this summer. If a Bay-Lakes unit is attending an out-of-council camp, the unit leader should contact the Kon Wapos Lodge Adviser for a letter to request a “call out” ceremony by the host lodge of the camp they are attending.
Induction of Newly-Elected Members:
Kon Wapos Lodge is working on plans to safely conduct induction weekends for newly- elected candidates to become members in the Order of the Arrow. The lodge will be contacting candidates and parents when details are available.
Heading to the Summit:
A contingent of 18 Order of the Arrow members from Kon Wapos Lodge will be attending a National Order of the Arrow event, Momentum, at the Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia this August. They will be participating in the latest leadership training and participating in the Summit’s adventure areas.
2021 JAMBOREE UPDATES
Registration Continues (Early Bird Deadline is June 30):
Nearly 30 Scouts have already registered for the Bay-Lakes Council contingent to next summer’s National Jamboree at the Summit Bechtel Reserve. There is still time to qualify for the early bird discount. Youth participants can register by June 30 and qualify for the early bird discount with a $200 deposit and first payment of $400 by June 30. Register online here.
The contingent will travel to Washington, D.C. for 3 days followed by 10 days at the Jamboree. Adults can apply to serve as a leader by contacting jheyer@prodigy.net. To apply to serve as a member of the Jamboree Service Team, go to the National Jamboree website.
With questions and for more information, contact Mike Mailand at mmmailand@sbcglobal.net.
Did you know that Bay-Lakes Council has a nationally-recognized Museum, whose members actively solicit and preserve Scouting’s history? Many of its traveling galleries can be seen at Council/OA Lodge and district/OA chapter events. We caught up with Director, Dale Opgenorth, about their plans to celebrate 100 years of Scouting within the Bay-Lakes Council territory next year.
Scouting in the Bay-Lakes area started between 1919 and 1920. Scouting in Upper Michigan started in 1915 and 1917. The original Council names and the years they started are:
- Fond du Lac founded in 1920 and changed to Badger Council in 1926
- Manitowoc founded in 1919, changed to Manitowoc County in 1929 and finally changed to Waumegesako in 1940
- Green Bay founded in 1920 and ended in 1922. Reformed in 1930 and changed to Nicolet Area in 1934
- Neenah-Menasha and Appleton founded in 1920 and changed to Valley in 1925
- Oshkosh founded in 1919 and change to Twin Lakes in 1935
- Sheboygan County founded in 1919 and changed to Kettle Moraine in 1935
- Marquette founded in 1915 and change to Hiawatha in 1933
- Sault Ste. Marie founded in 1917 and changed to Chippewa Area in 1929
Senior summer camp staff has been on location since late May, and the directors reported this past Wednesday. The remainder arrive Sunday and begin a long and intensive week to finish preparing for summer camp. For those of us who have been working toward July this past year, these are exciting and nerve-wracking days. Training, practicing, rehearsing, wrapping up needed construction work. Right up to opening day, the excitement is building. These are the days to experience what scouting in summer can be all about. And, it’s almost here!
Till we “meet” again: Scout on! And, see you at camp!
Until next time…it IS a great day for Scouting!
In the Spirit of Adventure,
Warren Kraft
Vice President-Program Development
Bay-Lakes Council
Adventure beyond the Expected
warren.kraft@baylakesbsa.org
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