I hope all of you are safe and sound during this extreme weather.

Due to the flooding across much of our area, BOTH council service centers are CLOSED. The National Scout Shop in Mechanicsburg is open for now. If you choose to come shop, please call and ensure they are still open. Their direct number is 717-795-2703.

The Adventure District Roundtable scheduled for tonight is CANCELLED. Next month’s meeting will be held on 10/13/11, and the Scouting for Food door hangers will be available then.

For those of you wishing to register for the fall camporee, there are still spots available. You may register with the council office after we re-open.

Please be careful during the storms and flooding. As a fire/rescue veteran, I have seen people take unnecessary risk in situations like these. Be especially wary of high water on roadways, and removing water from basements. As was seen in Hershey yesterday, this can be very dangerous.

If you are in need of assistance, please let me know and I will try to coordinate help among our Scouting family.

Kevin Gill

kevin.gill@scouting.org

717-620-4527

All show and sell popcorn orders will be available for pickup on September 9, 2011 at GENCO Distribution Center; 700 Allen Road, Carlisle, PA (Last warehouse on the right; located off of I-81). The warehouse will be open from 2:30pm -6:00pm.

Please make arrangements for someone from your unit  to pick up product during the posted hours on 9/9/11.  Product will not be able to be left at the warehouse for alternate times or days. Be sure to bring the appropriate vehicle(s) to haul your order.

Help is needed in the morning to sort product. If you or someone you know is available, please let Kevin Gill (kevin.gill@scouting.org or 717-620-4527) know. Units who help sort will be able to take their order that morning.

The Rebels are coming! The Rebels are coming to the West Shore!

Cumberland County is rich in Civil War tradition, and this will be the focus of this year’s fall camporee.  Open to all Boy Scouts and Webelos (who camp with a Troop), Union and Confederate troops will converge on Camp Conewago, a council camp near Gettysburg on the weekend of October 14-16, 2011.

Please see the 2011 Fall Camporee Leader Guide for more information and a registration form. Be sure to indicate whether your unit wants to represent the North or South!

Reservations are DUE NOW, and will be accepted at Roundtable on September 8, 2011 at Mechanicsburg Presbyterian Church, 300 E. Simpson St., Mechanicsburg.

The Mechanicsburg Service Center will soon be undergoing extensive renovations planned to create an attractive, contemporary headquarters for the Council that will be extremely functional and reflect the high quality of local Scouting programs.

To accomplish the scope of work needed in the least time-consuming and cost-effective manner, we are planning to close the Mechanicsburg Service Center for three weeks (starting June 27 and reopening July 18) to allow workers complete access to the building. During this time when the Mechanicsburg Service Center will be closed for renovations, the Mechanicsburg Scout Shop will remain open for business for all but a few days (when work impacting the shop will occur). All day-to-day work of the Council, including support staff personnel that normally work in Mechanicsburg, will be temporarily relocated to the York Service Center during renovations.

It is important to note that the Mechanicsburg Scout Shop will be able to remain open throughout most of the renovation process.  It will close briefly when work impacting the store itself will need to occur, but those exact dates have not yet been determined.  When we’re sure of the dates the Mechanicsburg Scout Shop will need to be closed, that information will be posted on the council’s website.

For additional details on how to continue to access services provided by the council, contact members of the council staff being relocated, etc. during the closure of the Mechanicsburg Service Center, please visit this web page on the New Birth of Freedom Council website - http://newbirthoffreedom.org/mechanicsburg-service-center-renovations/.  The council’s website will be the best source of the most current information on the status of renovations throughout this entire process.

We would appreciate the assistance of all Scouting units in communicating this information to their families.  Many units have websites where this information can be posted and many units also make effective use of their own e-mail distribution lists to quickly communicate within their unit.

Thank you in advance for your understanding and patience during the renovation process.

Program Launch is almost here!

This Wednesday, June 1, hundreds of volunteer leaders will converge on Camp Tuckahoe in Dillsburg to get a jump start on the 2011-2012 Scouting year.

While all kinds of important information will be presented, highlights include the NEW 2011-2012 program calendar (have you planned your yearly program for Journey to excellence yet?) as well as details on the upcoming popcorn sale this fall.

Districts are competing for the most attractive information booth, so be sure to see what Adventure has in store. Here’s a hint: It is SO BIG it can;t be contained indoors!

The evening begins at 5pm and runs until 8:30pm, and you can arrive at YOUR CONVENIENCE anytime in between. Dinner is provided (for up to 4 people per unit) from 5pm to 7pm.

Please see Program Launch 2011 for more information and to register, email sarah.sheaffer@scouting.org. Don’t delay, register TODAY!

Be sure to attend May’s Roundtable, where you will be able to interact with a special guest!

Council President Alan Boynton will be on-hand to speak on the status of the New Birth of Freedom Council. As the highest ranking volunteer in our Council, Alan is familiar with where we have been, where we are, and where we are headed together.

Oh, and by the way, it will be a good time to meet the “new guy”, your humble Senior District Executive, Kevin Gill.

As always, Roundtable is held at the Mechanicsburg Presbyterian Church – 300 East Simpson St.  We gather at 7pm and the program starts at 7:30pm.

See you there!

The rumors are true. There’s a new guy in town. Or an old one.

Beginning today, May 2, I am the Senior District Executive assigned to the Adventure District. Many of you already know me from my years in Adventure. Although I began my Scouting career in Philadelphia, I “grew up” in Mechanicsburg, a member of both Pack and Troop 195, where I earned my Eagle (under Scoutmaster Mike Pinamonti!) in 1989.  Most recently I served the Union Canal District as their DE for the past three years.

I look forward to working with all of you as we build on the success of the Adventure District. If I can be of any help, please do not hesitate to contact me. My email is kevin.gill@scouting.org and my office number is 717-620-4527.

The Adventure District Advancement Committee will host a Life to Eagle seminar April 14, 2011 at the Mechanicsburg Presbyterian Church on Simpson Street, Mechanicsburg. This informational session will begin promptly at 7:00 PM and is for all interested Adventure District Life Rank Scouts who are seeking guidance in choosing an Eagle Leadership Service Project and obtaining district approval of their plan. All participants should be in uniform and bring with them a copy of the Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project Planning Guide available at http://home.flash.net/~smithrc/eagleprj.htm.

If you have questions regarding this session or if your troop has a large number of Life Scouts and would like a presentation at your troop please contact Bob Stailey at staileyr@aol.com.

This will take place on May 2, 2011 at the Holiday Inn in New Cumberland (off of Limekiln Road).  The Council will present the Silver Beaver Awards, honor several other youth/volunteers and Jack Carr.  Hope you can make it

April 2, 2011  Trout Day – Information Flyer : Trout Day 2011 Flyer

Fun activity for the whole family, no reservations required.  In addition to having fun fishing, we are currently looking for a group of volunteers to sign up to help cleanup the wooded areas around the creek in that area to encourage the “leave no trace” principals.

April 2011 - We would like to help coordinate and provide supplies for additional small tributary (boot deep) and adjacent land cleanups in the Yellow Breeches watershed. If you know of a small stream or a specific area that is in need of our help, please let me know. We have partnered with the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay Clean Streams Project to provide gloves, trash bags, and possibly tee shirts or lunch for any group willing to help us.

June 12-14, 2011 – Youth Sojourn on the Yellow Breeches

If you are located in our watershed and would like for us to come to a meeting, please contact me.

Thank you for considering making these and other watershed events a part of your annual programming.  The Yellow Breeches Creek is a precious resource that we should all strive to preserve by protecting the quality of our watershed

Thank you,

Contact: Debbie Goetz

deborah.p.goetz@gmail.com

717-697-4734

717-514-4288