Potomac Council, Boy Scouts of America

Were you a Bronze, Silver, or Gold unit in 2011?  Now is the time to start thinking about what you will be in 2012!  2012 Journey to Excellence Scorecards are now available.  Start planning now!  Use your 2011 results to figure out how to build on last year's successes and address areas you need to work on.  To get this year's scorecards go to the Journey to Excellence page of this website by following the link below:

Journey To Excellence

The 2012 Scout Show Info Guide is now available.  See a letter from Council Scout Executive Don Olsen and the guide below.  2012's theme is "Scouting: A Game with a Purpose!"

Letter from Don

2012 Info Guide

The 2012 Cub Scout YMCA Lock-In will be held Friday February 17, 2012.  For all the details check out the links below:

Lock-In Info Guide and Registration Materials

Y Climbing Wall Release Form

Y General Release Form

There is a 100 Cub Scout Limit for this event.  Registrations will be taken on a first come, first served basis.  Registrations fees are due at the time of registration.

An updated verison of the Eagle Service Project Workbook has been released to support the revised wording of Eagle Scout requirement 5, which calls for a project proposal to be approved by the council or district, rather than "the project plan."

If a Scout has already had his project approved using the old workbook, he may continue with that workbook.  This new workbook takes effect January 1 and must be used after then.  In between now and January 1, a scout has a choice which workbook to use but once started must finish with the one chosen.

To download a copy of the New Eagle Service Project Workbook follow the link below:

Eagle Resources

Cub Scout Leader Trainings will be held at the Following Locations in October:

Saturday, October 8-Moorefield Presbyterian Church

• 9-10:30 AM-Webelos Den Leader and Cub Master Specific
• 10:30 Am-Noon-Cub Scout Leader Intro
• Noon-1:30 PM-Tiger, Wolf, Bear Den Leader Specific

Saturday, October 15-Mineral County Fair Grounds-Ft. Ashby, WV

• Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation (BALOO)
• Cub Scout Leader Basic Training
• A more specific schedule will follow

Saturday, October 22-Council Service Center-Cresaptown, MD

• 9:00-1:30 PM
• Cub Scout Leader Intro, Tiger, Wolf, Bear, Cubmaster, Pack Committee Training
• For More information about the Oct 22 Training click HERE

All Potomac Council Cub Scouts are invited on Saturday, October 15 to the Fall Camporee for the Cub Scout Rocket Launch.  Launch activities will begin at 10 AM at the Mineral County Fair Grounds in Ft. Ashby.  For more information download the info below

Fall 2011 Camporee Cub Scout Rocket Launch Guide

Please pay attention to the materials that need to be brought for each Cub Scout!

Potomac Council is working to host its very first National Youth Leadership Training from August 5-11, 2012 under the leadership of Mark Miller, Scoutmaster, Troop 1, Oakland.

To hold the course we need to reach a minimum number of participants.

Help us know what the interest is out there.  Download the Letter below from Mark and see what he has to say about his NYLT experience.

NYLT Interest Letter

Help us celebrate Camp Potomac's 60th Anniversary on Saturday, October 1.  Anyone and everyone who has ever been to Camp Potomac is invited to come and have a great time at Camp.  Download Reunion information and registration materials below:

2011 Camp Potomac Reunion

Get Ready! Get Set! Go!

The 2011 Potomac Council Pinewood Derby will be Saturday, November 19 at the Kelley National Guard Armory in Keyser, WV.  Any and All Cub Scouts are invited to bring a car and race.

For more information about the Pinewood Derby and for Derby Rules download the flyer below:

2011 Potomac Council Pinewood Derby

but wait there's...

The 2011 Cub Scout Family Overnighters are scheduled for Friday Evening, September 30 to Saturday Morning, October 1 .

Two Locations:

1. Hampshire Park-Outside Romney, WV
2. Midland Ball Fields-Midland, MD

Cost: $7.00 will include a patch and breakfast

Any and all Cub Scout and their parents are invited to come campout before it gets too cold.

For More Information Download this flyer:

2011 Cub Scout Family Overnighters

The 2011-2012 Potomac Council Calendar is now available.  It can be found on the Council Calendar Page of this site or by clicking the link below.

2011-2012 Council Calendar

Interested Scouts, Venturers, and Adults can now begin signing up for the 2013 National Scout Jamboree, the first National Scout Jamboree to be held at Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia.

Potomac Council has been allocated 1 Troop of Boy Scouts and 1 group of Venturers for the Jamboree which means:

Troop=36 Scouts, 4 Leaders

Venturers=9 Venturers, 1 Adviser

Sign up early!  Spaces will fill up.  To register, follow the link below:

The 2013 National Scout Jamboree

As the use of social media grows, including use of such sites as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc., it is important that the Scouting community understand how best to make use of these services and the impacts they may have on Youth Protection.

To help with this, the National Council of the BSA has released a set of Social Media Guidelines.  If your unit is making use of social media, please take a look at these guidelines:

BSA Social Media Guidelines

Internet Advancement, the online service for units submitting youth member advancement, has been enhanced with some important new features:

• The Youth Protection Training (YPT) completed date, if any, is now displayed for each person on the unit roster report.
• Users may now view previous advancement reports online.
• Academic and sports belt loops for Cub Scout Packs are now trackable online.
• Cub Scout Packs may enter completion of the Tiger Cub rank for members who earned the award but did not have it in their records.

Effective March 1,2011, all unit trip and activity information must be submitted using the new Tour Plan form.  This Tour Plan replaces the Local and National Tour Permits, and those forms will no longer be accepted.  Also, the online Tour Permit Submittal System will be suspended until further notice.  For more information about this change and to get the new form go to:

Tour Plans

The BSA has just announced an update to the current Health and Medical Record Form.  The form has been reorganized and asks for some additional information.

Participants in overnight activities are asked to completed Parts A, B, and C.

The new form can be found by following the link below and are availalbe in dowloadable, fillable PDF format:

Annual Health and Medical Record

Youth safety is the No. 1 concern of the BSA.

To increase awareness of this societal problem and to create even greater barriers to abuse than already exist today in Scouting, the Boy Scouts of America is implementing several important changes to further enhance its Youth Protection policies:

Effective June 1, 2010:

Youth Protection Training is required for all registered volunteers.

New leaders are required to take Youth Protection Training before they submit their application for registration. The certificate of completion for this training must be submitted at the time application is made and before volunteer service with youth begins.

Youth Protection Training must be taken every two years. If a volunteer’s Youth Protection Training record is not current at the time of recharter, the volunteer will not be reregistered.

For More Information Download this letter from Assistant Chief Scout Executive Jim Terry

Youth Protection Training Policy Update