Alamo Area BSA

 
Boy Scouts of America

Live Scouting

Linda Dieguez

Calling all Webelos and Troops! How do you plan to meet each other Fall 2020?

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The Webelos Trail to Eagle is for Webelos to learn what Scouts BSA is all about, while meeting and interacting with Troops in preparation to cross over into Scouts BSA.  The overall goal of this event is introducing Webelos to activities using the Patrol Method while placing emphasis on the parent’s role in a Scouts BSA Troop environment.  We include a wide variety of presentations encompassing many points of the Webelos Requirements counting toward Webelos and Arrow of Light rank advancement.

This is a formal Scout Activity that will be held at McGimsey Scout Park on November 21, 2020.  Registration is open online and only the Webelos need to register (there is an opportunity inside the registration to enter the name of the parent that will be present with the Scout online). CLICK HERE TO REGISTER A WEBELOS

 

As stated, this event is hosted by Troops and gives those Troops the opportunity to offer program and demonstrate how their unit works.  It is a great way for WEBELOS to find local Troops that they may be interested in visiting and crossing into.  If your Troop is interested in running a demonstration or class in the Webelos Trail to Eagle 2020 Virtual event CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP YOUR TROOP TO VOLUNTEER.

2020 Spook O Ree – The Haunted Forest of McGimsey Scout Park!

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This year we are hosting a drive through event at McGimsey Scout Park for our annual Spook O Ree!

To keep the spirit of Halloween alive and remain safe during COVID, we are offering a contact-free event.  You purchase your tickets ahead of time, and then come out to McGimsey on November 7th, 2020, between the hours of 6:00 pm and 10:00 pm.  You will enter by the ranger’s house on Wedgewood and exit through the NW Military gate after driving the campsite loop and viewing our spooky scenes and creations.

Each scene will be adjustable based on age of your kids, so if your family wants something less spooky, just turn on your flashers and we will adjust to you.  If you are ready to see all the fun and creativity of Halloween, leave your flashers off and BEWARE!

In order to create a really exciting event we have asked units to volunteer to design and present specific themed scenes.  Some of these themes are: Creepy Crawly Dinner Party, Hocus Pocus, Sleepy Hollow, Nightmare Before Christmas.  Areas will be a mixture of live action and stationary displays.  The drive through speed is 5 mph, so you will get to see it all!  At the end of the trip there is a dance troop you will see as you collect a goody bag for your kids before exiting out onto Military Highway.

Purchase your ticket here for THE HAUNTED FOREST OF MCGIMSEY SCOUT PARK!

This is a recruitment event and each child attending will receive information on how to join the Boy Scouts of America and enjoy more events like this.

Invitation to Powder Horn 2021

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Invitation to Powder Horn 2021!

We would like to invite you to be part of Alamo Area Council’s High-Adventure Resources Management Course called Powder Horn on September 24-26 and October 8-10, 2021, at Bear Creek Scout Reservation! Now is the perfect time to sign-up…before all the slots are filled! Simply go to https://mycouncil.alamoareabsa.org/Event/9830 to register!

Powder Horn is a hands-on, intense training opportunity designed to expose Leaders to activities and resources to operate a fun, successful, and challenging High Adventure Program. YOU MUST ATTEND BOTH WEEKENDS TO COMPLETE THIS TRAINING!

Powder Horn is designed to expose Scouting Adults and Youth to activities and resources necessary to operate a successful outdoor / high-adventure program of a fun and challenging nature. The course will be limited to 48 participants. Powder Horn is open to any youth who is at least 14 years of age (or 13 and has completed eighth grade, if part of a Venturing crew) or any adult registered in the BSA. Participant guidelines include:

  • Must be a registered youth or adult member of the Boy Scouts of America.
  • Youth must be 14 years of age (or have joined a Venturing crew if 13 years of age and completed eighth grade).
  • Youth must have completed the unit’s version of leadership training (Introduction to Leadership Skills for Troops, Ships, or Crews). Previous attendance at National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT) is recommended for youth participants but not required.
  • Adults must be trained for their position.
  • All participants must complete Youth Protection and Hazardous Weather training online through my.scouting.org. Because we offer water activities, climbing and boating activities at our Course, participants must complete Safety Afloat, Safe Swim Defense and Climb On Safely prior to the course. All these courses may be completed online at my.scouting.org
  • Must meet the physical requirements contained in the Annual Health and Medical Record physical for a back-country environment.
  • May have attended previous Powder Horn Courses as a participant or staff.

Location: Bear Creek Scout Reservation, Hunt, Texas

Participant Fee: $270.00 – this fee includes all meals, training materials, and program materials.

Participants must provide their own personal gear (i.e. camping gear).

You will have a GREAT experience!

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact one of us!

Yours in Scouting,

Hugo Chavez                                    Ryan Harris

Course Director                               ACD-Program

(210) 862-7544                              (210) 284-5053

hvcjr@satx.rr.com                          ryan79260@icloud.com

Service Projects Available and Casita Building Help Requested This Fall

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Does your Scout or Unit need Service Projects or Conservation Projects?  Our Camps can help you with this.  If you would like to coordinate small group service projects at our camps this fall please reach out to Adventure@AlamoAreaBSA.org . Include what you are thinking about doing, dates of availability, how many people will be involved, and if any special skills or equipment is required.  If you are looking for suggestions, just send the dates and number of people in and we will send you projects to choose from.  If you have a specific camp that you would like to work at, be specific, and we will connect you directly with a representative from that camp to coordinate with.  All projects will be socially distanced in small groups (limit of 10 per group) with masks required.

 

Mays Family Scout Ranch has begun to build the Casitas.  These will be built in an assembly line fashion and initially all the work will be very repetitive.  Our Ranger, Adam, is looking for volunteers with certain skill sets who are available and interested in helping to prepare and build these casitas with him.  This will all be coordinated directly with Adam and if you are interested in being on his list of Casita Volunteers, please email Adam.Arntson@Scouting.org. Adam is already working on this project so volunteers are needed immediately to assist with the Casitas.

 

 

Cub Scout Shooting Sports Days – August and December, 2020

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Looking for an opportunity for your scouts to earn their Cub Scout Shooting Badges?

Outside of Summer Camps, this is the event you need to register for to do just that.

Due to COVID these events are limited as we have to keep the groups smaller.  We will work in sessions of 16 scouts; breaking those 16 scouts up into 2 separate groups 8 scouts each. That means that while 8 scouts are learning the history, parts of the bow (for example), and the other educational part of the training, the other 8 scouts will be getting the safety brief and practice time on the range.  Then we will rotate.  Each session lasts 90 minutes and that is plenty of time to rotate 2 groups of 8 through all that is required to earn the badges.

Everyone present will have to sign a waiver and wear a mask while on property. Our equipment will be cleaned in between each group rotating through the ranges and hand sanitizer will be used upon entry and leaving the range.

Parents are required to be present at the event, though they may be asked to stay outside the range for social distancing if their scouts are able to participate without direct assistance from a parent.  Lions and Tigers must have a parent partner present on each range. Lions may only participate in archery and sling shots.

At the end of each session you will be given a card, signed by your instructor to take back to your Cub Scout Pack leadership to show proof that you completed the requirements.

For this event you must sign up for each individual activity session separately. BB, ARCHERY and SLINGSHOT are offered.   Each one takes 90 minutes to complete, so if you sign up to attend BB and SLINGSHOT you are committing to being at camp for 3 hours.

You must register to attend this event, space is limited and walk-ins will not be accepted due to COVID Precautions.

Click on the date you choose to attend, once you add your activities the cost will be added to your cart.  Each activity is $15 so your total will depend upon how many activities you register for.

August 22 – Cub Scout Shooting Sports Day

December 5 – Cub Scout Shooting Sports Day

If you have any questions about these events, please email Adventure@AlamoAreaBSA.org 

 

Shooting Sports Trainings (NRA and Archery) and Opportunities to Get Involved

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The Alamo Area Council Shooting Sports Advocates are working hard to bring opportunities for you to get involved with one of the most beloved and exciting parts of the scouting program….Shooting! Who doesn’t love knocking that clay pigeon out of the air with a well placed shotgun shot or creating holes in it with a BB Gun at one of our camps?  These activities are vital to the excitement of our program and one of top reasons scouts initially join the Boy Scouts of America.

Volunteers are a vital part of this program and trained volunteers are extremely hard to find in the shooting arena. For older units (Scouts BSA, Venture, Sea Scouts) if you have trained adults you can run a program in your unit.  How nice would it be to add some range time to one of your weekend rentals at Bear Creek Scout Reservation?  You can do it.  For Cub Scout Packs, scouts can only shoot at a Council level event and we always need volunteers willing to help on the ranges during those events.  The more volunteers we have, the more likely we are to be able to share the load (schedule 1-2 hours volunteer on the range instead of volunteers giving their whole day).

So, how do you get more involved?

  1. NRA (Shotgun, Rifle, Pistol) –  Click on this link to find the dates of the upcoming classes we are offering and how to register.  There is a minimum of 8 participants for a class to make, so register early and bring your friends to ensure your class holds!  NRA_BSAInstructorClassesFall2020
  2. NRA Range Safety Officer (RSO) – Any range that runs is required to have an NRA RSO present and in charge of the safety of that range.  We are currently in need of more RSOs as we need them for every range. If you hold a current NRA Instructor certification you can take the RSO training online through the NRA.  If you don’t, you will need to attend an in person class. We are gauging interest to be able to schedule a class in person at McGimsey or Mays this fall.  Please email Adventure@AlamoAreaBSA.org  if you are interested in attending an in person NRA RSO certification training, we will add you to a contact list and notify you when we get a class scheduled.
  3. Archery – We have a USA Archery Level 1 training scheduled for August 1 from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm at McGimsey Scout Park.  Course materials need to be ordered in advance so registration closes on July 15th.  Register here
  4. Cub Scout Rangemasters (BB or Archery) – To volunteer to help at a Cub Scout event you must either be NRA Trained or hold a current Cub Scout Rangemaster Training certification (good for 2 years).  You must be 18 years old to be trained as a Rangemaster.  We are offering shooting activities beginning in July at McGimsey and continuing at all of our Cub Scout Events through December 2020.  If you are interested in receiving Cub Scout Rangemaster Training for either BB or Archery please email Adventure@AlamoAreaBSA.org and let us know.  We will add you to a contact list and let you know when we get training scheduled.
  5. Shooting Sports Advocates – We have a wonderful committee of volunteers that are considering how to best support our scouts in both what events are offered, how they are run, and considering facility and equipment requirements.  If you are interested in joining this group, please let us know, we are happy to have you join us.  We support all the Cub Scout level events, Powderhorn, Council Wide Campout, and we host the Beast Feast and Shooting Sport University each year.  Email us at Adventure@AlamoAreaBSA.org and let us know you are interested in joining our Advocates and we will add you to the communications list.
Scouting Adventures