The Lake Huron Area Council is pleased to announce that the Troop Leader Training (TLT) Conference has been scheduled for June 16-22, 2002 at Paul Bunyan Scout Reservation.

TLT is a seven day outdoor program designed to supplement the troop’s training for youth leaders. TLT introduces boys to the eleven skills of leadership and uses the patrol method along with Scoutcraft skills to emphasize the use and teaching of these leadership skills to help the boys become more effective leaders. Strong encouragement is given to help Scouts understand how these newly developed skills can be used in their home unit. The continuing value of the TLT program is best demonstrated by the examples of previous "graduates" now in leadership positions in their troops, District, OA Chapter or Lodge, and Council activities. Many troops have benefited by sending Scouts year after year to be trained at TLT. You too can gain this same advantage for your own troop.

The selection of TLT participants is the responsibility of the troop Scoutmaster. To attend the 2002 TLT program a boy must be a First Class Scout, a current or future troop junior leader, be a minimum of 13 years old on January 1, 2002, have attended at least one long-term Boy Scout camping experience, be proficient in camping and outdoor cooking and have completed a Junior Leader Training Workshop. The course is limited to 64 participants and registration is on a "first come, first served" basis. TLT registration information is available from the Council Service Center.

The staff for TLT 2002 is already working on developing another fine course, incorporating the latest program ideas and challenging leadership activities to make this Conference the best ever. For many boys who have worked hard to complete previous TLT conferences, this event has been a hallmark of their leadership development. Do not hesitate to use this conference to strengthen your troop leadership training program. Send your best candidates to TLT 2002!

2) Compare calendars of troop and pack activities to coordinate activities. Community events can be done together, and planning can help prevent conflicts in use of equipment and facilities.

3) Work with troop leaders to secure den chiefs for each Webelos den and Cub Scout den.

4) Work with troop leaders to plan and conduct Webelos overnight activities.

5) Work with troop leaders to plan visits to troop meetings. Never show up with out calling first in advance

6) Invite the Scoutmaster and troop youth leaders to special pack activities. This will help create familiarity and a level of comfort for the Webelos and their parents as they ease into the troop.

7) Plan a meaningful crossover ceremony at the pack’s blue and gold banquet. Include troop leadership to be present to accept the graduating Webelos.

2) Serve as a resource for overnight activities. The troop can be of service to provide equipment, leadership, and logistics for Webelos parent-son camping.

3) Conduct an orientation in the Bear Cub Scout dens to explain the changing role as boys become Webelos Scout and then again as they become Boy Scouts. Explain how being a Webelos Scout will help them prepare them for Boy Scouting.

4) Webelos den/Scout troop campouts should show Webelos Scouts and their parents what to expect when they move into the troop. The troop should cook and camp by patrol, and use skills that the Webelos Scouts can participate in.

5) Arrange for Webelos dens to visit a troop meeting. This should be planned several weeks in advance.

6) Provide each Webelos Scout a copy of the troop’s activities for the upcoming year.

7) Work with Webelos den leaders to encourage them to become committee members or assistant Scoutmasters when their Webelos move into the troop.

8) Conduct a Scoutmaster conference to cover the meaning of the Scout Oath and Law, the advancement program, troop camping, the patrol method, summer camp, and personal equipment.

This is the online version of the Scouter newsletter. Thanks go out to Jeff Gillman for his help in designing and maintaining the Scouter Online project.

If your unit has a web site and wants it linked to the Council web site, please go to our links page and read the rules for linkage. Please send your web site address to info@lhacbsa.org and our team will get the link listed.

Need a registration form? We are constantly adding new registration forms to the web site. The Unit Resource Center can be found at www.lhacbsa.org/forms/ We cannot accept any forms via e-mail at this time; they must be printed out and signed with original signatures. Feel free to fax them to the council office ((989) 662-4465), mail them or hand-deliver them.

Eagle Applications are available online! You can download it off the web site, BUT you must print it out with a color printer. No black & white versions of the Eagle Application are acceptable to National, and we cannot accept them via e-mail. All Eagle Applications must have original signatures. Please call Linda, Tom, or Verlyn at the office for further details.

A free patch will again be provided for youth participants of units that meet minimum collection requirements. These minimum requirements include:

1. Have a unit chairperson
2. Sign-up to participate by March 23, 2002
3. Map out territory(s) to be covered
4. Keep record of # of food items collected, # of youth and adult participants, and # of patches needed.
5. Submit final report from #4 to your district chairperson by May 3^rd, 2002.

Change is exciting for the person implementing it, but change can be a threat to the person receiving it. All of us fall into patterns of comfort by doing the same, same old. And maybe we need to implement a change. Where is this leading? One of the exciting things about Wood Badge Training is that each of us is asked to set goals to attain in our scouting work. Personal goal setting is exciting but it should not end with Wood Badge. Each year we should select two or three new goals in Scouting. They need not be big goals, but something that makes us extend a little. We could plan to take a different training course, or take a training session at Philmont Training Center. Also plan to recruit one or more volunteers for Scouting, or volunteer to be a trainer or help organize a district event. You could do something to help the youth in Scouting like help a unit organize a special event, get youth to T.L.T., or help a youth get on the Philmont Contingent Hike. You could help a Venture Crew go on the White Water Rafting Trip, get Scouts to summer camp and get Cub Scouts to Cub Day Camp, or help organize a Scouting for Food drive. Goals could be more personal in nature like planning to attend the Council Eagle Scout Court of Honor or taking your family to the Family Camp over Labor Day weekend. Goal setting will make us a better person and keep the scouting passion alive.

Recharter time is here. All Commissioners must meet this responsibility to help the units recharter on time and without defects. It is also the time when we ask the units to complete the Quality Unit form to turn in with their charter. Even if the unit has not achieved quality status, the form is be filled out and turned in. This is an excellent time for the unit to review its annual program to see what changes, if any needs to be done to achieve quality status.

Summer is just around the corner, think camping, canoeing and hiking.

Here are a few tips to help: Make sure every adult application is signed by the registered committee chair and charter representative. Do not fill in the dollar amounts, in case they need to be changed. This will be done by the commissioner who is checking your charter. Make sure that program leaders are not listed under any other position i.e. Scoutmasters, committee chairs, etc. Bring the checkbook or be sure there is enough money in your unit account.

April 26, 27, & 28, 2002
Paul Bunyan Scout Reservation

Ever wonder how in the world you are going to take a den of 4th & 5th grade boys camping? Would you like to learn more about the Cub Scout Outdoor Program? Would you like to have as much fun (if not more) than the boys? If any of your answers were "yes" then mark your calendar for Spring OWL 2002!

Outdoor Webelos Leader training is one of the most comprehensive, informative, & fun trainings you will ever attend. You will learn skills & training in areas such as: leadership, communications, campsite preparation, bedding types, weather, building campfires, cooking, skits, songs, ceremonies and much more. Best of all, you will be better prepared to get your boys ready as they prepare to become Boy Scouts.

OWL is a great way to discover just how much fun you can have camping, even if you have never camped before. Talk with other leaders in your pack or at Roundtable and you will soon discover that OWL provides a truly exceptional training experience that will equip you with the tools & knowledge you need to provide your boys with a quality Webelos program. Flyers will be available at Roundtable, or you can use the Generic Event Registration Form found on page 3 of the Scouter. Just send your payment along with your name, address, phone & unit number to Spring OWL 2002, LHAC, P.O. Box 129, Auburn, MI 48611-0129. Registration is $12/person if you register by April 1, 2002 or $17/person after April 1, 2002.

The Lake Huron Area Council is offering several regionalized day camps during the summer of 2002. These 1-4 day camps run from approximately 9 AM to 3 PM each day and include activities such as: Sports, B’B’ Gun safety and shooting, Archery safety and shooting, nature, hikes, crafts and much more.

Cub Scouts (graduated Tiger Cubs and boys in grades 2-5) can attend camp for one, two, three, or four days. Registration information is available through roundtables or the council service center. Information will be sent to each Cub Scout and leader home in early April.

For information about other council camping opportunities please see the special camping insert in this issue of the Scouter. If you would like a camp presentation at an upcoming pack meeting please contact your Cub Scout Chairman (listed on top of your district Scouter article.

*Ojibway Day Camp will be a twilight camp that will run from 3 pm-9 pm each day.

District Location Date(s)

Chippewa Midland June 18,19,20,21
Shoreline Bay City July 9,10,11,12
Thumb Cass City July 9,10,11,12
Thunderhead Alpena July 15,16 (2 days)
*Ojibway St. Charles July 23,24,25,26
White Birch Mt Pleasant July 23,24,25,26
Ausable PBSR August 5,6,7,8

The cost is $30 per person for the weekend. Fee includes all food, materials, and special equipment. It is recommended that participants have some camping experience, cold-weather camping is recommended. Advanced OKPIK will be offered on the same weekends to anyone who previously attended OKPIK. Plan to spend two nights outdoors learning the latest techniques in winter camping.

Youth must have their leader’s permission to attend either Okpik or Advanced Okpik. Each weekend is limited to 44 participants (22 per course) Register with payment early to guarantee your spot.

For more information, contact John England at 989-781-1385.

 What’s New At Camp II

Please complete the Sale Commitment Card to indicate your unit’s intention of participation in the 2002 Spring Popcorn Sale. The boys in your Pack or Troop deserve to have the quality program which participation in the 2002 Spring Popcorn Sale can provide.

March Roundtable: Popcorn Sales packets distributed

March 22 Popcorn Sales begin

April 14 Popcorn sale ends

April 18 Popcorn product and prize orders due*

May 3 Popcorn picked up & paid for with a postdated check cashable 5/14/02*

May 14 POPCORN CHECKS WILL BE CASHED; all accounts are closed*

The Lake Huron Area Council’s annual finance campaign that supports:

During the fall of 2001 and early 2002, district volunteers assist in the Friends of Scouting campaign through the recruitment and organization of Scouters to assist in FOS presentation.

• Pack and troop pacesetters hold FOS presentations
• District unit campaign coordinators briefing

• 100% of presenters and unit coordinators recruited with presentations set

• Final unit campaign coordinator briefing meeting
• Family campaign officially kicks off

• Family presentations conducted at Blue and Gold Banquets

• District follow-up conducted as needed

• Family campaign goal achieved

Gifts can be made in many ways: personal contributions through your unit’s Friends of Scouting campaign, business gifts, and gifts of cash, stocks, insurance or property.

Gift Levels

Earn a Friends of Scouting decal $50
Support one youth for one year $125
Leadership Gift $250
Patron Gift $500
Guardian Gift $1,000

This conference is designed to be part of a continuous process of updating trainers with the latest methods, principles, and technologies of training.

Instead of two daytime events, we will be having both a daytime Ski Day (January 6 from 10 a.m.—4:30 p.m.) and an exciting new nighttime event (February 2 from 5 p.m.—10 p.m.)! Also new is the availability of snowboard rental (first come, first serve!) and a snowboarding lesson ($6.00 extra). This is a great activity for your den, pack, troop, or crew. Don’t miss out!

Reservations due at least 10 days prior to the scheduled event.

The cost is $21 which includes a ski lift ticket, rental pass plus a complimentary beginner lesson. There is an optional pizza/pop lunch special for $3.

There are limited number of snowboards available to rent and are on a first-come, first-serve basis. The cost to rent a snowboard is $20 plus the special lift ticket price of $11.

Cubs and Scouts who would like to send messages, pictures, or words of encouragement to our service men and women overseas are encouraged to do so through the web site: yourmyhero.org.

Due to security concerns for the protection of our service men and woman, the U.S. government has discouraged listings of troops by individual name or where they are stationed.