Alamo Area Council

 
Boy Scouts of America

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Alamo Area Council Response to Coronavirus COVID-19

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Alamo Area Council UPDATED Response to Coronavirus COVID-19 as of
Thursday, May 21, 2020

Dear Scouting family,

Under the updated developments regarding COVID-19 through the State of Texas Governor’s Office, Bexar County in coordination with San Antonio Mayor Nirenberg’s Stay Home/ Work Safe Order, and nationally through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Alamo Area Council strives to safely and strategically restart and revitalize all aspects of local Scouting in our 13-county service area.

The opening of our Service Centers, Camps, and properties will be done in phases to correspond with a gradual increase in Scouting activity. Phase One includes the opening of our camps for Family Camp, effective immediately. 

With safety protocols, the Alamo Area Council Service Centers will open on Monday, June 1, 2020. The Musselman Scout Shop will open June 3, 2020 with retail hours set for 10 am – 5 pm Tuesday through Friday and 9 am – 3 pm on Saturdays (closed on Mondays). More details to follow on Council hours.

Effective immediately, all units can begin in-person meetings and any Scouting activity, provided they follow all guidelines as set forth by The Governor’s Strike Force to Open Texas and your local authorities. 

If indoors, we highly encourage that meetings and activities be in groups of ten or less, cloth face coverings be worn and that all individuals maintain social distancing of six feet or more. People over the age of 65 are encouraged to stay home as much as possible. 

Outdoor meetings and activities must follow the Governor’s “Open Texas” Checklists which set minimum standard health protocols for Youth Clubs and Youth Club Participants (revised May 18, 2020):

Please check with your sponsoring organization’s guidance if you plan on utilizing their meeting spaces. Unit meeting facility rental opportunities within Alamo Area Council properties will launch during Phase Two. Stay tuned.

Patrol meetings over the phone or video conferencing, merit badges delivered online, webinar training for leaders, and virtual Roundtables and District meetings continue to be an effective and encouraged part of Scouting.

Scouting at Home www.AlamoAreaBSA.org/ScoutingatHome will continue successful programming and Scout TV News will grow as a resource – www.AlamoAreaBSA.org/ScoutTV.

A complete listing of event changes will be published on our Council calendar, within our Digital Adventure Guide magazine, and posted to our social media platforms – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Youtube.

Should you have any questions or concerns about a specific upcoming event or activity, please reach out to your local district executive or email the Council Leadership team at Safety@AlamoAreaBSA.org or the Outdoor Adventure department at Adventure@AlamoAreaBSA.org.

We will do everything we can to answer your question using the information available to us to evaluate the situation and make decisions in the best interest of our members, volunteers, and employees. With safety in mind, we are happy to encourage you and your Scouting family to SCOUT ON! 

Please check back on our website www.AlamoAreaBSA.org for the latest guidelines as this is an evolving situation and any of these guidelines are subject to change. We will take additional steps as needed.

Our most updated Council response to Coronavirus COVID-19 can be found online at www.AlamoAreaBSA.org/Covid19. 

Yours in Scouting,

Angel Martinez, PR Director 
Boy Scouts of America, Alamo Area Council

Scouting in the Alamo Area Council-May 4th

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Scouting in the Alamo Area Council as of Monday, May 4, 2020

The Alamo Area Council will not be opening our Scout Service centers or camps this week.

Opening safely is a very complex project that involves new procedures and equipment, all of which require preparation and training. This is something we cannot and will not do casually or quickly.

Please know we believe in outdoor adventure and the values of the Scout Oath and Law to support our youth and community. Although we continue to offer Scouting at Home adventures (visit www.AlamoAreaBSA.org/ScoutingatHome), we do desire to return to in person Scouting Activities as soon as safely possible.

We thank you in advance for your patience and support of the best youth character development program in the country.

Stay tuned. We are looking at some options for our Scout families. Until then, we ask that you follow the extended Stay Home orders. Do not meet in person until further notice. Please wear a mask if you have to go out for essentials.

Our most updated Council response to Coronavirus COVID-19 can be found online at www.AlamoAreaBSA.org/Covid19.

Yours in Scouting,

 

 

 

Angel Martinez, PR Director

Boy Scouts of America, Alamo Area Council

www.AlamoAreaBSA.org

Join Council Mid-week Moment of Prayer

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Good day Scouting community!

A Scout is Reverent. Join us online Wednesday at 2 pm for the Alamo Area Council’s Mid-week Moment of Prayer. This week’s prayer is led by Pastor Gene Horne while standing at the McGimsey Scout Park Chapel.

Find the live stream at www.AlamoAreaBSA.org/ScoutTV or simultaneously streaming to the Council’s Facebook Live and Youtube Live platforms. More details of the event can be found on this event page HERE.

If we have other members of the Scouting community, especially unit chaplains and chartered organizational reps, that wish to continue the Council’s Mid-week Moment of Prayer, please email the Council’s Prayer Committee at prayer@AlamoAreaBSA.org. Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of the Scouting movement, would be so proud!

Yours in Scouting,

Angel the Council marketing guy

Council-Wide Virtual Roundtable Continues

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Thank you to all for your help and participation in making the Alamo Area Council’s first virtual roundtable in April so successful! This was a great way to communicate one Scouting message with all of our volunteer leaders, parents, and Scouting families. It keeps Scouting moving forward in this difficult period of time! It was a team effort and we appreciate everyone’s support.

“Baden-Powell said Scout Spirit is an attitude that Scouts around the world are supposed to show…Our virtual Roundtable showed us that a virus can’t stop that Scout Spirit!  Scouting is alive and well, not just at home, but in our hearts.  I was proud of the turnout and contributions everyone made during our April Roundtable,” said Lance Hirsch, Alamo Area Council Commissioner.

Remember, we are one Scouting family.

We had almost two hundred people participate in the General Session, sixty-five in the Cub Scout breakout session, ninety-nine in Scouts BSA, and twenty-one in the Venturing breakout session. That is a lot of Scouters learning about what is going on in the Alamo Area Council. And, we’re finally on the same page…or the same video conferencing screen, in this case. It is also the largest Zoom meeting I have ever seen since adjusting to our new normal!

Special thanks to Council Commissioner, Lance Hirsch; Council Roundtable Commissioner, Sean Basinger and Assistant Council Commissioner, John Haines for their leadership and assistance in making sure that this happened smoothly.

All Scouters from the Alamo Area Council’s Six Districts – Fiesta, Coyote, Roadrunner, Mesquite, River, Oaktree – and beyond are invited to attend the virtual May Council-Wide Roundtable on Thursday, May 7, 2020. Join us for program updates, fellowship, news, and training starting with a 30-minute general session then continuing with program breakouts for Scouts BSA, Cub Scouts, and Venturing.

For more details and to register for FREE, please visit this May Council-Wide Roundtable 2020 event link.

Jason A. Gates
Director of Field Service
Alamo Area Council, BSA

Future of Fiesta District in 2020!!!

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The Fiesta District is located Downtown,Southside and Eastside of San Antonio.These areas are starting to spread their wings in 2020 into a growing Scouting community. We are excited about what the future holds!

As we look at the history of Scouting in Alamo City, you have to look at Troop 10, which is located in the heart of the Southside. This unit is over 100 years old, and is still going strong, with units like Troop and Pack 177 from St. Mary Magdalen’s Catholic Church, where they have been making Eagle Scouts since 1968, truly a foundation within Scouting .

   

Troop 1021 from Highland Park Lutheran Church on the Eastside of District 2, has also been growing over past few years, and they are producing young men with character and leadership. Although we have great units,there is still more work that needs to be done in order to bring Scouting to the forefront of the community. The Future of the Fiesta District is moving in the right direction. We are close due to COVID-19 but you can still do Scouting-at-home.

Oak Tree Units Finding Success Scouting at Home

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After reaching out to the wonderful volunteer leaders of the Oak Tree District, here are some of the creative way they are making the best of our current ongoing “stay at home” situation to keep Scouting relevant and fun.

Sara, a Bear Den Leader from Pack 18 has put together BALOO The Builder kits for her Bear Cub Scouts to come pick up off her front porch.  They can then take the kit home and do the project at home. Once done they check in online or send a text with a picture. How cool is that!

Pack 60 in Kerrville kept it simple and just did a simple Facebook live Pack meeting on the Pack’s Facebook page. Keep it simple, make it fun!

Pack 109 took a page from Pack 60 and held their last Pack meeting online using Goggle Meets. The only “fun” problem was keeping the boys from not hitting the mute button and trying not to laugh at all the funny faces the Scouts kept making at each other.  Sometimes you just have to be silly!

The Webelos of Pack 102 in Boerne are taking advantage of all the resources the Council has to offer online. Way to take advantage of the resources that are all around you!

Back up in Kerrville, Pack 1205 will take advantage of ZOOM the online meeting app and hold their next Pack meeting online for free if they keep it under 40 minutes.  Way to go 1205!

The Cub Scout Roundtable Commissioner for Oak Tree is working with the American Heart Association to try and set up an online CPR class for anyone who wants to participate. Once we can all meet face to face, she will set up a meeting to go through the final process of working with the actual CPR test mannequin.  I almost said CPR test dummy, but I did not want anyone to think I was talking about Ted their current DE.

There are so many was we can all get creative in our current situation. It is a simple matter of using the technology we have combined with our creativity and our passion for Scouting. Please visit our Council resource Page for all  Scouting at Home ideas.

Scouting Adventures