President's Corner #6

      Jim Honan
Council President
Holiday Greetings, Looking Ahead to the New Year, and Plans to Celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Scouting in America

I want to put first things first and wish all our Scouts, Scouters, and families the happiest of holidays and a peaceful and prosperous New Year. Regardless of their specific religious beliefs, most people celebrate this season as a special a time of thoughtful spiritual reflection, thanksgiving for our blessings, enjoyment of family and friends, and hopeful anticipation of the future. In that spirit, I wish you and yours the very best.

As we look ahead to 2010, we face a very special year for the Boy Scouts of America. On February 8, 2010, we mark our 100th Anniversary, and the Des Plaines Valley Council has planned a number of exciting activities through the coming year to celebrate this milestone. It is my hope that every Scouter and youth in our Council will have opportunities to get involved in these activities, which will take place at the Council, District and Unit levels. These activities will be aligned with many more initiatives, both underway and upcoming, throughout the Nation. Some have already taken place, such as the Century of Values Tour and the Great Lakes Centennial Jamboree.

Our 100th Anniversary Committee, led by our past-President Bill Seith, has been planning our Council initiatives in coordination with our District Chairmen, and drawing on suggestions and ideas suggested by our Scouters. You may recall a survey carried out early this year through CyberNews and on the Web Site that helped identify ideas and opportunities to help advance the planning process.

After considering many, many good ideas, the Committee has narrowed the options and developed plans that are ambitious, but which we are convinced are feasible and support our goals for the Anniversary Celebration. Those goals are reflected in the Mission Statement that our Committee developed. I want to share that with you:

Our Mission is to advance the goals of Scouting in our community through a purpose-driven 100th Anniversary Celebration.

We will accomplish this through a sustained and coordinated effort to develop exciting and entertaining events and activities that engage past, present, and future Scouts and Scouters; communicate the values, accomplishments, and benefits of Scouting broadly in our communities; and meaningfully increase support for the Scouting movement.

Some of the primary activities planned for 2010 include:

• February 8, 2010 – Rededication Ceremonies will be held throughout the Council, at the Service Center, Districts, Units and Posts, featuring as many of Scouts and Scouters as possible, rededicating ourselves to the Values of Scouting and our future goals for service to youth.
  
  Board member and Council Commissioner Michael Harkins is leading planning for this activity. However, many of our units may wish to plan their own specific events to participate in the Rededication, on or about February 8.
  
  
• April 30 through May 2, 2010 (Cinco de Mayo Celebration) – Adventure Base 100 is one of BSA National’s most ambitious 100th Anniversary initiatives. It involves a multiple trailer exhibit with state-of-the-art exhibits, multi-media presentations, and live demonstrations supported at each stop by local Councils. In the Chicago area the Adventure Base will be on display for several days as part of the Cinco de Mayo celebration in Douglas Park in Southwest Chicago. Although the Chicago Area Council has the lead, we are a supporting Council and will be responsible for staffing on one of the mornings Adventure Base 100 is in the area. We are seeking volunteers, particularly Scouters who are bilingual.
  
  Part of the Adventure Base 100 involves Time Capsules, contents of which have been contributed by each participating Council. Our DVPC Time Capsule contains Council patches, camp photos, Adventure Camp plans and the historic Joint Venture Agreement. In addition, the Department of Energy and Argonne National Laboratory have contributed artifacts of Chicago Pile One, the world’s first nuclear reactor, and literature about Argonne research programs today. DOE’s Argonne Lab is not only a major research facility in our Council area, but a frequent partner in Scouting initiatives over the years.
  
  Many of our Scouts and Scouters will be interested in viewing Adventure Base 100 and perhaps participating in the activities there.
  
  Assistant Scout Executive Tony Roth is coordinating this activity for the present.
  
  
• Late Spring 2010 (Specific Date To Be Determined) -- A World Record Attempt involving a large number of Scouts and Scouters will be coordinated to generate broad unit involvement, community awareness throughout the Council area, and publicity for the Scouting movement. The specifics are not yet available. Watch for more information in CyberNews and on the Web Site on how you and your Unit can participate.
  
  Discussions are underway to determine a lead for the activity.
  
  
• Mid-September 2010 (Specific Date To Be Determined) – Scout-O-Rama will return to our Council, hosted at world-famous Brookfield Zoo, as part of our anniversary celebration. We hope as many Units, Scouts and Scouters as possible will participate in displays and demonstrations of Scouting skills, activities and fun. This should be a terrific experience for our whole Scouting family and a great way to reach out to the public about the value and values of Scouting.
  
  Advisory Board Member Robert Rada, a past Scout-O-Rama committee chairman with a great deal of experience and a fine track record leading past events will lead this effort.
  
  
• Early Fall 2010 (Specific Date To Be Determined) – A 100th Anniversary Dinner Dance will be held at the La Grange Country Club, offering an elegant, but affordable celebration to mark our Anniversary year. You will hear more about specific details later in CyberNews and on the Web Site.
  
  Kate Mulcahy of the 100th Anniversary Committee is leading initial planning for this activity. The final leadership and subcommittee structure are still being worked out.
  
  
• Early Fall 2010 (Specific Date To Be Determined) – A Council-wide Anniversary Encampment will provide a high-profile, fun, outdoor camping experience for our units with a 100th Anniversary focus. This might be held in conjunction with Scout-O-Rama, but plans still need to be developed by a committee.
  
  Discussion about the lead for this activity are in progress.
  
  
• Fall 2010 (Specific Date To Be Determined) – A major event will be planned for our Council honoring past and present Eagle Scouts.
  
  Discussion about the lead for this activity are in progress.

These activities provide the basic framework for 2010 Anniversary Celebration. There will be many other activities aimed at community outreach and publicity, as well as initiatives planned at the District and Unit levels. We hope everyone will find inspiration in this and plan their own appropriate activities. We will be eager to hear more about them when you do.

As I have already noted, watch CyberNews and the Web Site for more information about Anniversary activities. We hope you will participate in many ways in the year ahead and help us make this celebration a real success for our Council and Scouting.

And once again, Happy Holidays and have a wonderful New Year!

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This page was last modified on Wednesday, December 23, 2009 @ 10:01pm