Boy Scouts of America – Spirit of Adventure Council

West Wind District

ROUNDTABLE ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWSLETTER

12 December 2023

From the District Chair:

As we head into the holidays, I hope all of you will take a well-deserved break and enjoy time with loved ones before diving back into Scouting. I know it’s hard to separate those two aspects of one’s life, and I cannot thank you enough for what you’re doing to help our youth thrive. But I do hope you also take advantage of this time to recharge the batteries, spend some time in self-reflection, and come back with more energy and enthusiasm that will help move us forward.

I thought I would share with you a Scoutmaster Minute I used to deliver every holiday season with my own Troop. We should be aware and empathetic to the tremendous emotional loads on our kids, amplified by the levers of social media and a global internet. With increasing national polarization, global conflict, and widespread nihilism, the social and developmental pressure already on our young people must, to them, seem overwhelming – and to some, perhaps impossibly so. This Scoutmaster Minute was my attempt to get them to see this through the lens of the season:

As we enter the holiday season you will notice that the days are growing shorter. We may wake up in darkness and spend more of our hours in darkness than we are comfortable with. You feel the cold sink into you, chill your bones, maybe more than the campfire can fix, sometimes. Indeed, we may think that the darkness is here to stay, that there is no more light. We may feel like giving in.

But all over the world, remember what humans are doing and have always done – how we have responded to this darkness. Be it Christmas, Hanukkah, Yule, Kwanzaa, or, from my culture, Diwali, you will find festivals that include lighting the night against the darkness. All of these holidays include lighting your house, or the sky, or the field. We celebrate the fact that the days will grow longer, and that the sun, the Power above, will return and bring us light. We trust, hope, and celebrate that the time of darkness will end, and the world will be warm and bright again.

You may find yourself, someday, in a place where you feel the darkness all around you. You may be thinking that there’s no way out, that it will be cold and dark forever with no hope. Just remember the promise of this season, the promise of the celebrations of all of humanity for centuries now. Our shared belief – our shared reality – over generations and generations. The light will return. The Sun will return. And with it, Joy will come. Trust in this, in your darkest hour.

The very happiest of holidays to you all as we await the Sun to return and warm us. And Joy for the New Year, and all the New Years to come, to you and yours.

-Sarath

District Announcements

District Roster: I am delighted to announce the election of Christopher Jenkins to the office of District Vice Chair. I can’t tell you how excited I am to have Christopher helping out with all of the work we have to do as a District. We’ll be working to meet all the units and have some face time soon, over the course of the year. In the meantime, please join me in congratulating him in his appointment.

We are still looking for help! We could really use help with the following things:

Helping find new District volunteers
Helping set up and run the District Dinner
Helping find service projects across the District that our units can participate in, and making a real difference in our communities
Helping identify the next group of Eagles and celebrate their accomplishments
Helping in our core, most critical mission: to extend the opportunity of Scouting to as many youths as possible, and thus to promote and continue the values of the Scout Law.

Please, email me at Sarath.krishnaswamy@gmail.com if you can help even a little or know someone who can.

Roundtable recording: The most recent District Roundtable was recorded on Zoom and can be accessed here. Use password 6Y$fy@5k . This is still a little bit of a wonky process, so I strongly suggest attending Roundtable live in person if you can! But if you missed it, this is a great way to learn about Wood Badge, to hear about religious medals, and to hear from our new Scout Executive John Judge as he begins his time leading our Council. Check it out!

West Wind District Pinewood Derby: Saturday, 23 March 2024 at Aldersgate United Methodist Church, Chelmsford, MA. Every Pack is invited to have their top-3 cars from each Rank race for the coveted District King's Cup!! Registration will open mid-January!

Math Science and Technology Expo: We will hold the Expo at UMass Lowell on April 13, 2024 and need the help of other able and willing Scouters to make it work! We are in need of Merit Badge Counselors. The traditional field trip or second session is held on one of the following weekends (this is up to the counselor, the scope of the badge etc.)

If you aren't a merit badge counselor, there are still ways to help out either during the event or in preparation. The event has been a blast in the past, and is among the more positively memorable ones for participants and adult volunteers. Help us out! More official announcements and detail will be forthcoming through multiple District FB pages, newsletters, and direct contact. You can find the form to volunteer at this link.

Membership Committee

Jennifer Hart, Chair - 5ofharts@chris-jenn.net

Hello West Wind District Members!

Mark your Calendar and start the Planning for West Wind District Wide Spring Recruiting Event! Saturday April 27. We are looking for each Community to get all units together and have a day of activities for community members to see Scouting in Action. Scouts do so much, but oftentimes it is in the woods or behind buildings or even inside buildings. From 10ish to 3ish on April 27 we want you in the center of your town being Scouts!

Packs, Troops, Crews, Ships, and Explorers should get together in each community in the West Wind District and plan activities in the center of your community. Send me the location and some of the activities you are planning on doing and I will reach out to Media, (Radio, TV and Papers) in your community and see what I can get for advertising your event. I need this information by March 1 so I can get the advertising in place so let’s get planning!

Upcoming Training

Wood Badge - April and May 24, limited capacity, filling up quickly. Registration in council website.

NYLT- 6/30-7/5/24 at T L Storer Scout Reservation. Registration link on council website. Looking for youth staff, interviews being held at Base Camp in Milton in January

Advancement Committee

Neil Thomas, Chair - wwadvancementchair@gmail.com

New News

The next District Board of Review for Eagle Scouts is scheduled for Thursday, December 14th 2023. Then on Thursday, January 18th, 2024.
We do have changes to the Guide for Safe Scouting for November of this year. This addresses Safety Afloat.
The Eagle Recognition Dinner (ERD) for the Class of 2023 will be on January 4th, 2024 at the Doubletree Hotel Danvers. The cutoff for this event is any Eagle Board of Review before/on Friday, December 15th, 2023. Registration for ERD has opened up, you can register here.
The keynote speaker at the ERD will be Massachusetts Representative James Arciero of the 2nd Middlesex District who is also an Eagle Scout from Westford.
NESA Outstanding Eagle Scout Award (NOESA) at the Eagle Recognition Dinner will be awarded to our very own Richard Friesner.
Early visibility on 2024 BSA Advancement changes starting January 1st, 2024.
For all Cub Scout leaders, take a look at Cub Scout Program Updates Announced. See Jim Mallon for any guidance.

Old News: WW Eagle procedures

(These can be found linked from the District Web page or at this link )

Life-to-Eagle Scout Training Sessions

• Contact Neil Thomas at wwadvancementchair@gmail.com to receive a PDF of the Life to Eagle Scout training session. We are always happy to run a Virtual Seminar for groups of Scouts that request it.

Guide to Advancement.

• The latest Guide to Advancement can be found here . Scout leaders should make sure they are familiar with the guidelines around Advancement generally and the Eagle Rank in particular.

Eagle Project Proposals

The Form:

Scouts working towards Eagle Rank must use the workbook labeled “Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook No. 2023a February 2023” on the bottom of page 1.
The latest Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook can be found here
Use the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to complete the BSA PDF forms.
When completing the Contact form, please complete the following by contacting wwadvancementchair@gmail.com for this information.
Your Council Service Center
Council or District Project Approval Representative.
When completing the Contact form, please append the BSA ID to the coaches name. e.g. Coach Name (BSA ID: 123456789)

The Process:

Any Eagle Project Proposals that have been approved by the Scout, Beneficiary, Unit Leader and the Committee Chair are ready to be reviewed by the District Advancement Committee.
To submit an Eagle Project Proposal the Candidate must provide the following:
The original PDF of the completed Eagle Scout Project Workbook
Full page scans of the Proposal and Fundraising signature pages on a clear white background.
A PDF of pictures or diagrams of your project idea.
DO NOT combine these documents into a single PDF as they have to be split apart.
Email the Eagle Project Proposal to wweagleproposals@gmail.com . When addressing your email please introduce yourself and state which Troop you are from.

Eagle Scout Rank Applications:

The Form:

Scouts applying for Eagle Rank must use the application labeled “512-728 June 2022 Revision” on the bottom of page 2. The latest Eagle Rank application can be found here
Please note that this can be printed out using ScoutBook with many fields automatically populated.

The Process:

To submit an Eagle Rank Application the Candidate must provide the following:
1. The original PDF of the completed Eagle Rank Application with a picture of the signature page, including the signatures of the Scout, Unit Leader and the Committee Chair.
2. A PDF of the Candidate’s statement of ambitions and life purpose (see page 2 of the Eagle Rank Application).
3. A PDF of the Candidate’s listing of positions held in your religious institution, school, camp, community, or other organizations, during which you demonstrated leadership skills. Include honors and awards received during this service. (see page 2 of the Eagle Rank Application).
4. The original PDF of the completed Eagle Scout Project Workbook.
5. Full page scans of the Proposal, FundRaising and Report signature pages on a clear white background.
6. A PDF of your Individual Advancement Record from ScoutBook.
DO NOT copy/paste signatures into these documents. They must be signed by people.
DO NOT combine these documents into a single PDF as they have to be split apart.
Email the Eagle Rank Application to wwadvancementchair@gmail.com. When addressing your email please introduce yourself and state which Troop you are from.
Once the application has been submitted and accepted as complete, the Advancement Committee will verify the application with Council, solicit references for the Scout, and notify the Troop and Scout when a Board of Review can be scheduled.
DO NOT solicit letters of recommendation, that is the purview of the Advancement Committee. If you want people to submit letters then add their names to the Eagle Rank Application.

Eagle Boards of Review

We have moved back to In-Person Boards of Review for Eagle Scouts.
These are held on the third Thursday of each month.
These are scheduled on a first come first served basis. Subject to the availability of Board Members and Letters of Recommendation.

District Information

Regular District Meetings:

Roundtable – First Thursday of the month at 7:30pm Sept-June. Held at Billerica Access Television – 390 Boston Road, Billerica. Note there is limited parking at the BATV; please use on street parking or the town parking across the street

Virtual attendees: Join Zoom Meeting here: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88374654704?pwd=uRGg5wA3GhAPS9ha2WnD3G29Z9X4bc.1

Meeting ID: 883 7465 4704 Passcode: 024298

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District Committee Meetings – Scheduled for the Thursday before Roundtable, via Zoom. Any Scouter may attend, contact Sarath if you are interested.

West Wind on Facebook:

The West Wind District Facebook Group is a great source of information about the happenings within the West Wind District. We attempt outreach through Commissioners, emails, and newsletters but frequently we will post last minute announcements or updates about goings-on to the Facebook Group Discussion page. So please help us serve you by navigating to the FB page and clicking on Follow, and encourage all of your unit’s scouters to do likewise.

West Wind District Key 3 Contacts

Sarath Krishnaswamy, District Chair: sarathkrishnaswamy@gmail.com

Paul Naehle, District Commissioner: pnaehle@gmail.com

Jonathan Pleva, District Executive: jonathan.pleva@scouting.org

Other West Wind District Contacts

District Vice Chair - Christopher Jenkins - jenkins@gwmail.gwu.edu

Activities Chair - Don Macintosh - Mcintosh400@gmail.com

Advancement - Neil Thomas - wwadvancementchair@gmail.com

Scout Roundtable Commissioner - Elmer Lyons - elyons@dandelyons.net

Cub Roundtable Commissioner - Jim Mallon - mallonj@gmail.com

Membership Chair - Jennifer Hart - 5ofharts@chris-jenn.net

Religious Awards - Chris Mancuso - chris@petemancuso.com