Monday Memo 

Joseph Daniszewski Scout Executive

Good day and welcome to our September 7th Monday Memo

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P.R.A.Y. Program has New Look

The P.R.A.Y. Program has a brand new look. It?s the same great program, but the recognitions and workbooks have had a ?face lift? since July 2009.

This fresh new look is a blend of the traditional and contemporary. The recognitions retain the cross on the shield, but they feature a new color-coded design to symbolize how the four programs come together to build a foundation of faith for young people. The four colors represent the four levels in the P.R.A.Y. series, i.e. God and Me (red), God and Family (yellow), God and Church (blue), and God and Life (green). The four colors converge into a point to create an ?X? at the center of the cross. ?X? is the first letter in the Greek word for Christ, and it is symbolic of how Christ should be at the center of our lives.

This new look coincides with a name change. Rather than referring to the curriculum as the ?God and Country? series, it will now be called ?The PRAY Program,? and the individual medals will no longer say ?God and Country? but rather the specific program name, i.e. God and Me, God and Family, etc. 

These changes stem directly from a desire to increase the number of youth participating in the P.R.A.Y. program and to increase the number of congregations developing a P.R.A.Y. ministry. A large number of clergy perceived ?God and Country? to be a BSA program and hence would not teach it, not realizing that it is actually created by the faith community. There is no other reason for the new changes other than to reach more children, youth and families for Christ. 

The actual curriculum content has not changed: the program themes and requirements (i.e. GAME Boxes, Pizza, Bible lessons, etc.) are still the same. The ?old? books are not obsolete, but the order/application form will need to reflect new prices.

These changes come a great deal sooner than originally anticipated. The new Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 and subsequent regulations and mandatory testing of children?s jewelry, forced P.R.A.Y. to not only accelerate the implementation of the new name and new look, but to also revamp its entire line of awards. Denominational medals have changed in order to reduce the number of items that need to be tested.Instead of having 9 different denominational medals to choose from, there is only one standard medal. Everybody will use the same medallion and have the option of ?customizing? it by pinning a denominational pin into the ribbon. The medallion and pin are sold separately. These denominational pins are available at the God and Church level only.

Out of respect for the older youth who have already completed two of the four programs, P.R.A.Y. will continue to make the standard old style God and Church medal available for the next 2 or 3 years, and the standard God and Life medal even past that. This commitment extends only to the standard Protestant medallions, not the supplemental items such as charms and pins. Please visit the P.R.A.Y. website for more detailed information.

P.R.A.Y. recognizes that these new changes do not come easy. As CEO Mark Hazlewood explains, ?I earned my God and Country emblem as a Scout. I remember my father pinning the medal on my uniform. In one way I understand a sense of loss with the new medals. But then I considered my father. Some people know that he was the first Executive Director of P.R.A.Y. and that he helped write the old curriculum. The curriculum has changed since then, and I know my father would be proud of it. He would love our pizza program!  Not because of the pizza gimmick, but because of the solid Bible lessons behind it. I see his legacy to me as being twofold: upholding our values and beliefs but at the same time finding ways to honor and express them in new ways in the future. That?s how I see the new emblems. ?

Please take the time to visit the P.R.A.Y. website at http://www.praypub.org/ to view the new pins and medals. Click here for a printer-friendly article / news release on the name change and new look.

P.R.A.Y. Exchanges Booklets at Scout Shops

Council stores and Scout Shops were given the opportunity to exchange their old God and Country booklets for the new P.R.A.Y. workbooks. The covers of these new workbooks are in full color, but the content and actual program requirements did not change. All stores should have current inventory in place for the new program year. Store managers should direct any questions to joanw@praypub.org.

Mountain Puzzle Patch Is Back
The Duty to God Puzzle Patch series has come full turn and has rotated back to the Mountain/Sunset segment. If you were missing the Mountain, here?s your chance to complete the puzzle. The Puzzle Patch series is on a four-year cycle to encourage Scouting units to put a constant focus on ?Duty to God? and to promote the religious emblems programs. Puzzle patches may be earned by both youth and adults. The requirements are simple: learn about the religious awards and make a commitment. Information on religious awards and sample presentation resources are available from P.R.A.Y.  To purchase a segment of the puzzle, go to http://www.praypub.org/.

P.R.A.Y. FOUR-STAR RECIPIENTS
Four-star recipients are individuals who have completed all four levels of the Protestant/Christian religious award series (i.e. God and Me, God and Family, God and Church, and God and Life). Congratulations to the following Scouts for achieving this prestigious four-star status!

Have a story you would like to share?
Send an email to debh@praypub.org. We look forward to hearing from you and sharing your story with others!

Please share this news bulletin with others
Please forward this email to other people in program, membership/marketing, newsletter/publications, council store, volunteers, etc. who may benefit from this information. Here is the link to sign up for our mailing list. Please pass it on to those who are not signed up. (If you received this in an original email, you?re already signed up!) Sign up for PRAY's Boy Scout E-Mail List

 

2009 National Order of the Arrow Conference, Indiana University

 

Registration Fee Increase 

The National Executive Board unanimously passed a resolution at its May 2009 meeting to increase the traditional membership annual registration fee for youth and adults from $10 to $15 effective January 1, 2010. The annual Exploring fee will remain $10.

A great deal of thought and consideration went into this decision by both the Executive Board and the Membership Fee Task Force led by National Commissioner Tico Perez. Consideration was given to the impact to program and council support, the necessary funding required to implement planned initiatives over the next several years, and the overall fees paid by councils. Input was sought and received from staff and volunteers at the council level. It was then determined that the best approach was to increase the fee to the level chosen and to make every effort to hold that level for the next several years, rather than raising the fee every year. The last registration fee increase was implemented seven years ago.

The National Council is committed to providing added benefits to local councils and volunteers to support the delivery of high-quality Scouting programs in every community. A key investment continues to be providing more user-friendly Web-based resources. For example, via MyScouting, volunteers will be able to complete even more training requirements on their own schedule, 24 hours a day, utilizing online resources. This will complement their current ability to recharter and manage advancement records online, complete and submit tour permits, and participate in the Scouting Community social network, which continues to grow. The National Council strives to minimize operating costs, and it is worth noting that, even with this increase, youth can receive the full benefits of Scouting membership for only $1.25 per month.  Membership Fee Chart

 

Fall Woodbadge 2009

 

Generating ?Buzz? for A Year of Celebration

There was a lot of 100th Anniversary excitement in August! But most notable was the launch of our 100th Anniversary recognition program A Year of Celebration, A Century of Making a Difference.

Distinguished Eagle Scout, and Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, Sr., Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, and Pistons player Deron Washington joined Adrianna Logalbo of the United Nations Foundation, Thom Linn of the Michigan Council, Jim Terry, and 100 Scouts to announce the program and the important new partnership between the BSA and the Nothing But Nets campaign. Scouts had fun with activities from the BSA/Nothing But Nets toolkit and checked off a requirement for the Year of Celebration Service ribbon!

Other materials and highlights from Detroit:

• Generations Connection overview card and Honorary Chairman Rex Tillerson testimonial videos (in a variety of files)
• Year of Celebration promotional card ? actual patch size!
• Fact sheet on A Shining Light Across America
• Adventure Base 100 planning tips and tour schedule
• Customizable engagement program overview (a great tool to give sponsors and celebration partners)
• Revised Map to 100th Anniversary Success

 

The Crepe Myrtle Trees are Brilliant This Year! 

 

Boy Scouts Hunting the Tech-Savvy Generation

By JOHN McFARLAND (AP) ? Aug 13, 2009

DALLAS ? Surviving in the wilderness once relied on a compass and map, hiking boots and a sense of adventure. Keep those stashed in your gear, but add an iPhone or laptop to the mix and you've got the new direction of the Boy Scouts.

The largest youth organization in the country is taking on a new approach as it targets the tech-savvy generation, and announced this week that its bible ? the Boy Scout Handbook ? is going online.

The 475-page handbook continues to focus on subjects like camping, woodwork, leadership and citizenship, but the 12th edition includes a section on Internet safety and expanded information on GPS navigation. An iPhone application for the handbook will be available next month.

Scouts leaders say they've realized they need other tools to attract boys and teenagers to the organization, which serves about 2.9 million youths but has seen its membership drop in recent years.

"We are talking to boys where boys want to be talked to, which is on the Web," Tico Perez, the national commissioner of the Scouts who oversaw production of the handbook, said in an interview Thursday.

The handbook is the latest of several recent initiatives to modernize scouting that include podcasts, an online scouting community, a YouTube channel and a presence on social-networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

The Scouts' membership has fallen about 16 percent over the past decade, though leaders expect a boost in membership when school starts. They also hope events leading up to the organization's 100th anniversary in February and the technology perks of he handbook will also attract attention.

The online version will include links to videos that show Scouts exactly how to perform tasks and will help scoutmasters teach. The videos can be downloaded so kids can take them out in the field, Perez said. It will also have "Internet bugs" suggesting Web links about subjects highlighted the book.

"If there's more first aid or more camping or more gear they're interested in, we'll be able to send them to sites that are monitored by us and that we're comfortable with," said Perez, who has been involved in Scouting since he was a boy.

Anthony Thomas, a 16-year-old from Lakeville, Minn., who in June was named the 2 millionth Eagle Scout, said he's excited about the technological possibilities.

"Maybe you don't know when you're going to need to use your Scout book, but when a situation comes along where you might need it, it's right there on your phone," he said, referring to iPhones' access to the Internet. "With the new applications starting to come around, the computer's taking a bigger and bigger role in scouting."

Evan Chaffee, a 21-year-old former Eagle Scout who was on the committee that designed the handbook, said the committee felt the technological advance is important for Scouts studying for rank and badge advancement.

"If they don't understand the topic or requirement, they can go onto their phone or to their laptop to do more research," said Chaffee, now a student at the University of California at San Diego.

"I think a lot of times in the past, a lot of kids have nodded their heads and said, 'OK, I guess i got it.' But this way, they have the opportunity to actually research and learn more."

While excited about the technology, the Scouts aren't letting it cloud their long-standing motto: Be prepared.

That's why the handbook includes Internet safety tips that aim to keep Scouts safe not only outside but online. Scouts are urged to alert adults to any Web sites, e-mails or anything else that makes them uncomfortable. They also are reminded not to give out their personal information, open e-mails from strangers or buy anything online without checking with a parent.

"As Scouts, we're supposed to be on top of our games in anything as far as health and safety," Chaffee said. "We need to learn how to use the Internet."

On the Net:      Boy Scout Handbook: http://www.bsahandbook.org/

 

Scouts in News!

What a great story! Troop 99 continues the legacy of service built by the BSA over its first 100 years. Young men and adult leaders with Boy Scouts of America Troop 99 traveled from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to undertake a week-long volunteer project at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in conjunction with the National Park Service. Click here to read more: http://bit.ly/spX8y.

By Melissa Eiselein
The Press-Enteprise
Brothers Matt and Mike Herrick of Moreno Valley received their Eagle Scout rank during a court of honor ceremony on July 26. View Full Story 

 

FOS Report

9/4/2009	American League	Goal	Actual	% of Goal	cash to date	% of cash	cash 12/31
Scoutreach	Tony Hayes	$35,000	$38,308	109.5%	$16,915	44.2%	$27,483
Mt. Rubidoux	Jim Nelson	$115,000	$114,732	99.8%	$103,681	90.4%	$93,910
Tahquitz	Donna Baker	$160,000	$133,525	83.5%	$113,991	85.4%	$139,447
3 Peaks	Bill Marshall	$85,000	$69,344	81.6%	$60,693	87.5%	$71,834
High Desert	Owen Spencer	$115,000	$88,240	76.7%	$77,239	87.5%	$102,208
Grayback	Paul Foster	$115,000	$87,431	76.0%	$75,781	86.7%	$99,442
	National League
Temescal	Grant Clark	$142,000	$105,100	74.0%	$85,840	81.7%	$128,149
Sunrise	Ron Miller	$70,000	$51,472	73.5%	$46,207	89.8%	$58,095
Old Baldy	Lynn Anderson-Castillo	$140,000	$94,622	67.6%	$73,671	77.9%	$118,167
Arrowhead	Maj. Russell Fritz	$95,000	$62,516	65.8%	$52,523	84.0%	$70,970
5 Nations	Carolyn Bailey	$60,000	$42,093	70.2%	$29,184	69.3%	$35,929
Learning for life	Andrea Mitchell	$40,000	$20,926	52.3%	$7,835	37.4%	$31,538
		$1,172,000	$908,309	77.5%	$743,560	81.9%	$977,172

Congratulations! The hard work shows, way to go!!!!!

 

Positive Quote
--------------------- 

"Work is God's gift to man!"
My Grandpa Nick Fatcheric 1907-1973 

Have a great Scouting week!
Yours in the Spirit of Scouting,

Joe Daniszewski
Scout Executive/CEO
California Inland Empire Council, BSA
1230 Indiana Court
Redlands, CA 92374
909.793.2463, Ext. 120
877.732.1450
909.793.0306 Fax

Monday Memo is from Scout Executive Joe Daniszewski and contains his reflection on what is happening within the Council. The purpose of Monday Memo is to communicate information about the week ahead, to acknowledge the
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