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Wednesday, June 5, 2019

Morning Drive - June 2019

The morning of June 5th, 2019, at KFMO AM 1240 studios in Park Hills, Missouri, Scoutmaster and local amateur  Scouting historian Gene Bannister stopped by to talk Silver Beaver, Scouting in the Leadbelt, upcoming Cub Scout Day Camp at Mineral Area College in July and trying to make the historic move to form a new all female Scouts BSA Troop for young ladies in grade 6th through age 17.  

Listen in as KFMO News Director Mike Ramsey, also the host of the Morning Drive Show, and Scoutmaster Gene have a conversation about Scouting.








Sent from:
The Pirates of the Dangerous & Haunted Flat River 

Volunteer receives Scouts' Highest Honor

When it comes to volunteering for the Boy Scouts of America, the highest national level award the BSA Council can give is the Silver Beaver Award.

This year local BSA Volunteer Gene Bannister received this distinct honor on May 15.

Bannister wears many hats within the BSA Ozark Trailblazers District but it all began in 2005 when his son, Jacob, brought home a flier to join the local Cub Scout Pack. Jacob was at the ceremony in Collinsville, Illinois, to see his mother Michelle place the medal around Bannister's neck and help celebrate this achievement of which he helped begin the journey toward 14 years ago.

This is not the first time Bannister has received an honor as he has also been recognized over the years with the District Award of Merit, Den Leader's Training Award, Cubmaster Award, Cub Scouter Award, Scouter's Training Award, Scouter's Key Awards and the Unit Leader's Award of Merit.

Of all the awards he has been honored to received, Bannister said this one felt amazing but also very intimidating. He said the Silver Beaver Award was definitely one of the high spots of his life besides his wedding day and the birth of his children.

Bannister currently serves as Cub Scout Committee chair and member of Troop 417, Venturing Crew Committee and scoutmaster to Troop 418, Merit Badge counselor, Day Camp director, District Camping chair, Unit commissioner, Friends of Scouting Trailblazer presenter and temporary Round Table commissioner.

On top of his current roles, Bannister is also the father of three: Kayla, Jacob and Gina. He served in the U.S. Army during Operation Desert Storm. He is a member of VFW Post 5741 in Leadington and attends First United Methodist Church where he serves as a Vacation Bible School mentor. 
Bannister said BSA has been so important to not just his life but his entire family. He said the program has a direct impact on the youth, their families and the adult volunteers and their families.

"Scouting is more than just tying knots and putting up tents, it is about learning to be a better version of yourself," Bannister said. "It is about finding your passion and following it. It is about learning to lead by example. It can bring families together in a way that I have rarely seen with other organizations or programs."

Bannister said for youth in the community who feel lost and may or may not have a strong family backing or may have family issues, scouting can give them a new family, a scouting family that will be there through thick and thin.

"There is one moment in the life of each little Cub Scout that I live for and that is the first time they come to a meeting in their Cub Scout uniform," Bannister said. "The smile on their faces, it would light up a room. They feel like they are a part of something bigger and they are."

Bannister said the Boy Scouts of America came to this country in 1910 and since then millions of people have been involved, from Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts to Venturing and Explorers, Sea Scouts and even for a short time, Air Scouts. He said for him the entire program is important because without the adult volunteers to deliver the program to the youth then who will.

"Today I like to think that because of my almost 15 years in scouting, I have changed a great deal," Bannister said. "I am more tolerant of others. I am more considerate of the feelings and the contributions of others. I am more thoughtful about our impact on the environment. I have become a better leader, a better mentor, a better father and husband. All around, I can honestly say that scouting has made me into a better person and because of that I am able to help more youth find their way."
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Link to original article - Article is copyright 2019 Daily Journal, Park Hills, Missouri

Saturday, May 11, 2019

Beaver Blues & Burdens

Beaver Blues & Beaver Burdens

A few days from now there will be the annually held banquet to report on the previous year's progress & achievements of our local Boy Scout Council and they also take the opportunity to recognize & honor some volunteers with the highest national award a local council can give, the Boy Scouts of America's Silver Beaver Award. Created back in 1931 to honor those volunteers that give of their resources not only to Scouting but within their communities; resources like time, mentor ship, heading up fundraisers, organizing activities & events while sometimes still camping, hiking, swimming, boating, and adventuring with local small or large Scouting units; Packs, Troops, Crews, Teams, Ships, Posts, Labs, and Clubs depending on the program and age, the Silver Beaver is not just another fruitstripe knot an adult volunteer puts on their uniform to show their accomplishments much like the youth wear patches of rank and special medals and such, it is the 3rd highest award given by the BSA. The Regional highest award is the Silver Antelope & The highest Nationally presented award for service to Scouting on a national scale is called the Silver Buffalo.

When I began as a Scout Leader, originally my role was just going to be that of an involved parent. My son wanted to join & I remembered fondly my own limited Cub Scouting experiences while being raised in Illinois. We went to the Original meeting and we joined a local Cub Scout Pack. A different individual volunteered to be the Den Leader of their Tiger Cub Den but she was asked, within a couple months, to take over as Cubmaster for the Pack as the existing one quit abruptly. She was new & all the other leaders and parents did not want the responsibilities and/or were planning on moving up to the Boy Scout Troop (when their sons went from 5th to 6th grade) — Trouble is she was not trained & did not have the inclination to stay long term. Before the end of the year was over, She too had quit.


After a little cajoling, I was talked into being my son's new Den Leader. I dove into it head first. I prepared. I read the Leader guides. I trained myself by purchasing handbooks, guides and took both my first youth protection training course and a Den Leader training course. They would not be my only BSA training courses. My son, and his fellow Cubs in the Den graduated one level at a time.

A new Cubmaster was found & at the end of that first program year, I was presented a "Rookie of the Year" by our Pack. A few years and several camping trips, food drives, activities and events later, and I was approached to take over as Cubmaster. My son, bless him, took his Father being a leader in stride. He never complained. When the time came for him to bridge up to our Troop, I offered him a choice:

He could remain in Scouting but if so, I expected him to see it through to the end. However, if he chose to quit, I would understand.

Some studies show that only 7% of those that begin Boy Scouts actually earn their Eagle Scout tank. My son had told me in the cafeteria of the grade school at our first meeting to learn about Scouts that he wanted to be an Eagle Scout. He meant it. When given the choice to quit or continue, at ten years old he made the choice to keep going. Within a few years, he would complete his goal, earning the highest award in the Boy Scouts of America.

Over the years we went to many weekend camps, week-long summer camps, hiking trips, canoe trips, he even swam the Mile Swim at summer camp. He even helped start up a brand new unit, a Venturing Crew, which is a high-adventure based unit that is for young men and women ages 14 thru 21. But, as with all youth, eventually he graduated high school and left home for college. However, whenever he is back in town he visits the other Scouts, attends service projects and keeps active.

Myself, I also continued my private Scouting career. After three-years as Cubmaster, during which I also took on the main leadership position within our Troop as Scoutmaster, I found someone to take over the main leadership role in the Pack. However, adult volunteers are difficult to come by in smaller, rural communities; the new Cubmaster left after a year or two as was followed by another, and another, and another. I stayed on, and still hang on, as a Den Leader and Committee Chair for the Pack.

The same year my son earned his Eagle Scout rank, I took Wood Badge training, an intense mountain-top training course for Scout leaders. After 18-months I finished the Wood Badge program and earned my 2nd Wood Badge bead, forever a member of the Beaver Patrol. Read up on Wood Badge and you will understand the importance of your Patrol and Patrol Critter.

When I returned from my original 3-day training session, the first of two 3-day weekend sessions, my Wife asked me what Critter I was assigned. Buffalo, Raven, Owl, Antelope, and Bear were some of the possibilities but when I replied that I was now, and would forever be, a Beaver, she smiled and laughed and said she hoped that would be the one.

Today, I continue to serve our Pack, in reality I serve in two different Packs, I also serve in my original Troop plus I was asked a few years ago to do double-duty as Scoutmaster of a new Troop at one of the nearby Children's Homes. I serve in our Venturing Crew and I volunteer at a District and Council level as Cub Scout Day Camp Director, District Camping Committee Chair, a Unit Commissioner, I served as Cub Scout Roundtable Commissioner for several years and have helped as a District Trainer, Boy Scout Roundtable Commissioner, former District Membership Committee Chair, a Friends of Scouting presenter plus have been asked by both the local schools and the local Girl Scouts to come teach Scouting skills like how to properly pitch a tent, tie knots, or work the STEM program with things like rockets. My life has been active and full of Scouting activities, trainings, meetings, conferences, camp outs, Order of the Arrow weekends and even national high-adventures at Northern Tier and Swamp Base, things I got to do with not only my son but other Scouts that needed volunteers with them. To date, I have accompanied three Council treks to Northern Tier for a week of canoeing the Boundary Waters.

Next week, I will be presented the highest national award a Council can give, the Silver Beaver. No longer will I just be a Wood Badge Beaver but an Old Silver Beaver that will join the less than half-a-dozen still active Silver Beavers in my District. Although we have many dedicated leaders in our area, many do not think to put in their peers for recognition and awards BUT I will always be thankful for those that nominated me and for my Wife, she talked with other leaders in our area and was one of my biggest supporters, one whom without I would never have had the dedication or ability to volunteer like I do.

The Burdens & Blues leading up to next week's banquet that I have been feeling have to do with some of what I have been asked to do since being informed of being nominated for the Silver Beaver and having been chosen to receive it; Assembling 20 or so photographs of my Scouting career (which consists of literally thousands of photographs), write a short biography, plus decide which 7 other people I would like at my table for the banquet. All of that is now done, as I have went on two camp outs and held two activities since finding out, Scouting marches on and my Blues & Burdens are in the rearview mirror.

Now, as I watch the rains outside, I relax a bit and prepare myself mentally for next week. Large crowds make me nervous and I hope to get thru the night of the banquet despite the ease it seems I have with public speaking. It is all smoke and mirrors. I follow the old Cub Scout motto; Do Your Best. Maybe if more people did the World would be a better place.

Some great people have assisted me and been by my side for most of my time in Scouting. Paid District Executives, Fellow Volunteers, and Parents & Families not only in our unit but others have all been my support and cheering section as I support and cheer on them. I would not be the Scout Leader I am without them. I would not be the Person I am without them. Not just in Scouting. When my Mother passed away, my own family did not come out to assist with expenses but my Scouting Family did. Whenever I have been down and troubled and wondering if all I do is worth it, sometimes these folks show me not only how much our youth, the kids need me to keep going but so does our families and communities. I will keep going as long as I can. Beavers Rule!!

Sunday, February 3, 2019

Welcome Scouts, BSA

WELCOME TO SCOUTS BSA

I could not be more excited for what this means for our movement and for the next generation of leaders in our nation. I fervently believe in the strength of our programs and their ability to change lives. In just a few days, young men and women will be able to benefit from our unique approach to character and leadership development through any of our programs. At the same time, those who continue to provide Scouting to all-boy packs and troops are supported in their decision to offer youth in their community that opportunity. Regardless of unit-specific approaches, through Scouts BSA, more young people than ever before will get to experience the benefits of camaraderie, confidence, resilience, trustworthiness, courage and kindness. They will have the opportunity to progress through a program that has been proven to build character and leadership.

This step better aligns our offerings with the needs of today's families, who are busier than ever and want their daughters and sons to be able to grow through activities that spark their interest and imagination. Right now, most families in this country – 70 million children – are not engaged with any character-building youth development program. Scouts BSA can now help address that unmet need. Our country needs and deserves more young people focused on the values that serve as the bedrock of our movement; duty to God and country, with a desire to help other people at all times.

Thank you to every person whose efforts have brought us here. And thank you all in advance for the energy and heart that I know you will put into giving new Scouts and their families a warm welcome into our programs.

To those who are new, I am proud to welcome you, and to those that return, thank you for being the heart of what makes our movement great. We are thrilled for the steps you take today and for the journey and life lessons that await in the adventures ahead.

Yours in Scouting,

Mike


Michael Surbaugh is the Chief Scout Executive for the Boy Scouts of America and a member of the organization's "Key 3" providing leadership and vision to the Scouting movement all across the United States. Find weekly posts at the Chief's Corner on Scoutingwire.org