Prorated Fee for Transfers to Extended Registration and Subscriptions

An annual registration fee is required for all youth and adults who are members of the Boy Scouts of America. Most councils have a common expiration date for all units, so when a BSA member transfers from one unit to another, no additional registration fee is required. In some cases, a BSA member may transfer their primary registration to a unit or non-unit position with an expiration that exceeds their current expiration date, for instance when a new unit registers with a long-term charter. When this occurs, a portion of an individual’s annual registration goes unpaid and there is a lapse in Boys’ Life and Scouting magazine subscriptions service, which ends at the time of the individual’s original expiration date. This results in a loss of revenue to the BSA and dissatisfied Scouts and Scouters when magazine subscriptions unexpectedly stop. To resolve these issues, BSA is changing the current business practice and will begin collecting prorated registration fees from individuals that transfer to a unit or non-unit position that expires later than their current registration.

For example, a Scout that transfers from a unit that expires 11/30/2019 to a unit that expires 6/30/2020 will need to pay $19.25 to extend their registration for 7 months and an additional $7.00 to extend Boys’ Life if they have a current subscription.

It is important to remember that only paid registrations (a transferred registration is considered a paid registration) are included in membership totals. Multiple registrations are not included.

This business practice is changing in 2019, and it will take time to update the BSA registration system. We anticipate this change to be effective mid-to-late summer but are announcing this change now so councils can begin communicating this change to council and district volunteers and unit leaders. You will receive a follow- up communication when the exact effective date is determined.

Thanks for your patience and flexibility as we implement important changes for the organization

The Midnight Sun Council Announces first Scouts BSA Troop for Girls

The Midnight Sun Council, BSA is proud to announce the first Scouts BSA Troop for girls is up and running!

Troop 84, Chartered to the North Star Volunteer Fire Department in North Pole, has been formed with 5 young ladies looking for the excitement that Scouting brings.

It’ll work closely with Troop 42, also chartered to the fire department, as they enter this new and exciting world of adventure and leadership training. Troop 84 is recruiting more new members. Members need to be 11 through 17 years old.

To join or for more information, please contact the Scout Office at 452-1976.

The new tool to quickly input advancement data, Internet Advancement 2.0 (previously known as Scoutbook Lite) is now live.

This free solution replaces the previous Internet Advancement platform, which will be retired (for all programs except Exploring) on June 10, 2019.

Internet Advancement 2.0 will feature a clean, new user interface and will be optimized to whatever device you use: desktop, tablet or smartphone.

Internet Advancement 2.0 will offer optimized functions for everything found in the current Internet Advancement platform and can be accessed by Unit Key 3 users, Unit Key 3 delegate users and Unit Advancement Chairs.

End users will access Internet Advancement 2.0 via one of the following locations using their my.Scouting credentials:

Scoutbook.scouting.org

From the Legacy Tools menu in my.Scouting.org

A link in Scoutbook.com

From the current Internet Advancement Platform

After initial release, the BSA IT team will continue to add additional features on a regular basis. Updates and new features will be communicated with the field as they are delivered.

Visit
http://help.scoutbook.com for answers to commonly asked questions.

The Midnight Sun Council, Boy Scouts of America, announces the conveyance of 230+ acres from the estate of Jim Moody, that are adjacent to Lost Lake Scout Camp about an hour south of Fairbanks.

(The yellow green area in the picture is the original Lost Lake Scout Camp. The reddish area shows the newest addition through the generous donation of the Jim Moody Estate.)

We thank the Jim Moody Estate for its generous donation of the land and cabins, that will allow for broader programs for our Scouts, their families, and community organizations that utilize the camp for their programs.

Jim Moody, a lover of nature and the environment, wished that his land be used for the enjoyment of nature, outdoor activities, and conservation. Plans for this new section of Lost Lake Scout Camp, include hiking trails, outpost camping, and possibly an outdoor education center utilizing an existing cabin. To best meet the needs of our Scouts and the wishes of Jim Moody, our Properties & Camping Committee will be working with the Interior Alaska Land Trust to determine our best options going forward.

There is a one time Eagle Extension request process for youth that are age 16 through 18 and have JOINED on or after 2/1/19.

This extension can be done through My.Scouting.org.

Click here to view/download the extension process.

The Boy Scouts of America and Midnight Sun Council
WELCOME girls into Scouts!  

The mission of the BSA is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Scout Law. Effective immediately, we are proud to announce that our Cub Scouting program is now open to boys and girls in grades K-5. Starting in February of 2019, both boys and girls ages 11-17 will also be welcome to join Scouts BSA, previously known as our Boy Scout program. The organization name, Boy Scouts of America, will not change

The change stems from an overwhelming response from parents who want both their sons and daughters involved in innovative programs that also build character. In fact, recent surveys of parents not involved with Scouting showed high interest in getting their daughters signed up for programs like Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, with 90 percent expressing interest in a program like Cub Scouts and 87 percent expressing interest in a program like Boy Scouts.

It is important to note that the Cub Scouting and now Scouts BSA programs will not be co-ed. Instead, the BSA has introduced a unique model that builds on the benefits of a single-gender program while also providing character and leadership opportunities for both boys and girls. In Cub Scouts, girls and boys will be in an all-boy or all-girl den. In Scouts BSA, boys will form an all-boy troop while girls will form an all-girl troop.   

Cub Scouts and Scouts BSA will now join the ranks of Venturing, Sea Scouts, Exploring, and Learning for Life, in having young ladies involved in the programs.

FAMILY SCOUTING OVERVIEW AND INFORMATION LINKS:

  Family Scouting website

   The BSA Expands Programs to Welcome Girls from Cub Scouts to Highest Rank of Eagle Scout

BSA Chief answers Scouters’ questions about welcoming girls into BSA.  

FAMILY SCOUTING OVERVIEW VIDEOS:

 Family Scouting  Q&A.mp4

ADDITIONAL FAMILY SCOUTING RESCOURCES:

BSA Family Entry Fact Sheet

Family Scouting Q&A 

Girls Troops FAQ

Program talking points for all Family Scouting June 2018

Scouts BSA 06.06.18

Scouts BSA Cub Scout Message Card(1)

The Programs of Scouting

The number of overnight campouts required for a young man to earn the Second Class and First Class ranks will be reduced under new requirements that take effect Aug. 1, 2017.

But the total number of camping nights a Boy Scout will experience in the program as he progresses toward the rank of Eagle Scout will not change.

In 2016, alongside the release of the 13th edition of the Boy Scout Handbook, the BSA increased the number of campouts required for Second Class to three since joining from two. It increased the number of campouts required for First Class to six since joining from three.

The August 1, 2017, revisions return the number of overnight campouts to pre-2016 levels but preserve the amount of time spent outdoors.

The change maintains a focus on life-changing outdoors experiences while recognizing that not all outdoor activities need to include overnight camping. For more, read a full explanation in “Bryan on Scouting.”

New Affinity Group Targets Wood Badgers 

For nearly seven decades, Wood Badge has been Scouting’s premier training course for adult leaders. In every BSA council, Wood Badge-trained Scouters are known by their beads, their tartan neckerchiefs, their theme song (“Back to Gilwell”), and their commitment to providing the best possible program for Scouts.

Now, 69 years after the first American Wood Badge course, Scouting Alumni and Friends has created an affinity group, American Wood Badge Alumni (AWBA), to connect Wood Badgers with each other and with the BSA. Its mission is to build a network of alumni for the betterment of American Wood Badge, the Boy Scouts of America, and especially local Scout councils.

“Two of our most prominent and largest affinity groups, Eagle Scouts and members of the Order of the Arrow, already have a well-defined alumni program,” says SAF Senior Vice-chair Rick Bragga. “What better group to go to next than Wood Badgers?”

One advantage of creating the new network is that Wood Badgers tend to be among the most spirited and committed of Scouters. Another advantage is that they’ve all had a similar experience, no matter when or where they took the course. Bragga knows that firsthand. He took Wood Badge in Wisconsin in 1970, even though he lived in Illinois. He then reconnected with the course in Oklahoma, where he attended law school, and Virginia, where he now lives. “The spirit and the purpose of it I think transcend course and place,” he says.

As the AWBA mission statement says, a key purpose of the group is to support local councils. To that end, the group’s website, www.americanwoodbadge.org, offers information on how local councils can engage with and re-engage Wood Badgers. Ideas include everything from planning service projects at local camps to promoting upcoming courses to holding Wood Badge reunions. “As with all of our alumni programs, we want the opportunity to have them tell their story, and then we want an opportunity to tell the BSA story,” he says.

Bragga thinks reunions will be a key entry point. “Are we going to have a feast? Well, we’re going to have a mini-feast. Are we going to sing the song? You bet. Are we going to have a fire? Absolutely. Are we going to swap stories? Oh my gosh, the stories that will be swapped!” Bragga says. “But all of that leads to an ending which is purposeful: to allow people to feel good about it and to find ways for them to stay connected or to reconnect with a local council.

To join AWBA, a Wood Badger must first join Scouting Alumni and Friends at www.scoutingalumni.org, either as a Hiker (free) or Pathfinder ($35) member. From there, they simply set up a profile and choose the appropriate Wood Badge patrol critter.
For more information, visit www.americanwoodbadge.org or www.facebook.com/WoodBadgeAlumni/.

Sons of the American Revolution

The program is open to Eagle Scouts, under 19 years of age.

The award will be based on a theme essay by the scout.

The National Award is $10,000 for the winner, $6,000 for the 1st runner-up, and $4,000 for the 2nd runner-up.

A possible state award for the top 3 will be published later.

The state society will conduct a judging of applications in the spring of 2017, date to be announced later.

The top 3 state applications are to be forwarded to National SAR by June 1, 2017.

Please see https://sar.org/education/youth-contests-awards/arthur-m-berdena-king-eagle-scout-award for more information or

contact

John Rogers,member of the Alaska Society SAR.