Newsletter...

President Ford Council—North Service Area

Trails Newsletter - Serving Bay, Northern, and River Trails Districts

September 21, 2012

Scouts of Troop 30 saluting the colors at the 9/11 Memorial dedi­cation in  Traverse City during the Scout Salute.

New Scouting Units - by Chet Collins & Bethann Egan

Come Aboard and Enjoy the Adven­ture! A new Sea Scout Ship will be setting sail this fall! Join the President Ford Council and Inland Seas Education Association in taking on new adven­tures from sailing and boating to scuba and snorkeling! If you are in the Suttons Bay area and would like to learn more about this opportunity, call Bethann Egan at (616)785-2662 ext. 212 or email bethann.egan@scouting.org. When we met with the East Jordan Schools Superintendent, we were asked one thing, "Can you do more?" Exploring Posts that focus on Fire Fighting, Emergency Medical Ser­vices, Skilled Trades, Medicine, Business, Government or Science/ Technology. This is another great example of the BSA being the right partner for our schools!  Chet Collins at (616)785-2662 ext. 238 or email chet.collins@scouting.org. Ship          Suttons Bay/TC Pack          TC Christian Elementary Pack          TC Woodland School Pack          Peshabestown GTBOCI Troop        Peshabestown GTBOCI Crew         Peshabestown GTBOCI Troop        Maple City Pack          Leland Immanuel Lutheran Pack  3128                Lake Leelanau St. Mary’s Crew         Cheboygan Ship          Elk Rapids High School Pack          Pellston Elementary Post          Pellston Fire Department Posts         East Jordan Crew 7      Petoskey Pack 3025                 Mancelona Rotary Club Crew         Manistee Elks Club Pack 105   Lake Ann Elementary Pack          Marion Troop        Marion Pack          Cadillac Lions Club Post          Lake Ann Fire Department

9-11 Scout Salute - by Bob Cooney

September 11th, local Scouts teamed up with Grand Trav­erse Metro Fire Services for the first ever “Scout Salute”.  Nearly one hundred Boy Scouts, adult leaders and coun­cil members, along with dozens of veterans, first respond­ers and members of the general public, took turns salut­ing the flag continuously from sun-up to sun-down that day.  The event was held at the Metro Fire Administration Building located on Parsons Road in Traverse City. A cer­emony was held in the morning with a Scout Honor Guard from Troop 30 (Trinity Lutheran Church Traverse City) presenting the colors.  Captain Joe Buzzella, Commander of the Traverse City Coast Guard Station, gave a speech honoring those who died, and acknowledging the many acts of bravery by both first responders and everyday Americans.  It is hoped that this will become an annual community event so that we may never forget those who died for their country, and the enduring spirit of the Ameri­can People.  Many thanks to the following Scout Units that took part in the event:  Troops 30, Troop 25, Troop 267, Pack 67, Troop 115, Pack 150, Troop 49, Pack 53, Crew 229, Pack 25, Troop 35, Pack 88, Pack 36, Crew 113, Troop 167, Troop 215, Troop 105 and Troop 27.  Special thanks to Troop 30 who performed the opening ceremony, Troop 27 (Long Lake) who performed a final salute during the clos­ing ceremony, Rick O’Neil, Assistant Scout Master at Troop 30, who held a salute for nearly two hours during a thin period in the late afternoon, Pat Parker, Metro Fire Chief who helped organize the event, and Ron Willett of the President Ford Council.

Council’s Highest Award Honorees - by Ron Willett

Woodbadge Training at Camp Greilick - by Jim Hanes

“This was truly the best event I have ever been in­volved in.” - Jim Hanes Course Director and Scoutmaster Camp Greilick hosted Woodbadge Course C2-274-12. The participants range from Den Leaders, Assistance Scoutmaster, Scoutmaster, and a few Venturing Leaders. All participants are registered in the President Gerald Ford Council. The first weekend was gifted with a few new instructors from our lower districts near Grand Rapids. We were blessed with hot weather and very good food from our kitchen staff. The pace was very fast and there was not much free time between presentations. Bonding between the patrols seemed to be happing all over Camp Greilick. Many of them were already forming some good ticket goals as they left for the Labor Day weekend. All returned the second weekend except one. We began with a change in cooler weather and rain, but that did not dampen the spirits. While the troop was being hustled around camp by their SPL Dave Sliwinski, Mike Lange and his crew were busy entering tickets goals into the course web site. The ticket process was changed drasti­cally by the introduction of this web site and the ability to have your goals reviewed right online. Friday night was very busy with each patrol trying to become the first one to have their tickets approved and in the system. Even the staff was setting the bar very high in hopes to have 75% of them complete by nights end. Saturday we hit our goal of 100% complete by 12:38 pm. Saturday night was truly a restful night with celebrations in all seven patrol sites.  Even the persistent rain did not wash out their fun. Sunday began with sunshine, laughter and someone re­ceiving a pie in the face. With tickets all done the patrols relaxed and took in the final presentations. Having been on five Woodbadge courses I can truly say that this one is the best one ever. If you missed it you missed out on a great time. I want to thank everyone on staff for the ex­ceptional time of my life and the lives of our Troop 1 members.

Michigan Crossroads Council Website LIVE!!

The Michigan Crossroads Council is proud to release it's new website. We hope this will be a resource for all of our volunteers and staff to help support the program. www.michiganscouting.org Please visit the site and create a MyCouncil account; just click "Join" in the upper right hand cor­ner of the page. This will allow you to get new, register for activities, camps, trainings, campsites, and other events online.

Traverse City’s NEW National Scout Shop

The Traverse City Scout Service Center is still open at 1499 Business Park Drive just off of Three Mile Road in Traverse City. The new National Scout Store carries over 1700 items and almost everything in the Scout Catalog. Monica Jaissle is the store manager and Randy Averill is the assistant. The store hours are: 11am-6pm Monday thru Friday 10am-2pm on Saturday 231-932-1142

Other Training Opportunities in the Districts

Baloo Training For all Cub Scout Leaders and Parents wanting to know about the Outdoors. Saturday October 13, 2012 9:00am till 5:00pm Hosted by Jason Neid (Bear) at 4242 County Rd 633, Grawn, MI Please RSVP by Wednesday October 10.  231-944-6847 or bearjnied@gmail.com. National Youth Leadership Training It has been confirmed, today, two NYLT courses will be happening within the President Ford Council in 2013.  Roger Mullet, the NYLT Course Director at Greilick in 2012, has been approved again to be one of the course directors and will be taking trainings to make the course even better than before.  The dates and location have not been confirmed yet.  As soon as that information come out you will be notified.