San Jacinto District Roundtable

April 11, 2019 |  7:00 - 8:30 pm

Stay Informed, Attend Roundtable graphicLike us on FacebookRoundtable is a district monthly meeting typically held the second Thursday of every month (except July) at 7:00 pm at the House of Prayer Lutheran Church (14045 Space Center Blvd, 77062) to help unit leaders plan and carry out their own program. Roundtable is a form of supplemental training for volunteers. The objective of roundtable is to give leaders program ideas, information on upcoming events and trainings, and an opportunity to share experiences and enjoy fun and fellowship with other Scouting leaders. As a result of the roundtable experience, unit leaders will be inspired, motivated, informed, and able to provide a stronger program for their Scouts. 
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7:00 pm: Call to order
7:15 pm: Cub Scout roundtable
7:15 pm: Scouts roundtable
7:15 pm: Venturing / Sea Scouts roundtable

District Commissioner Meeting

April 4, 2019 | 6:30 - 7:30

commissioner logo District commissioner meetings are held the first Thursday of the month (except July) at 6:30 pm at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (4202 Yellowstone Dr, Pasadena, TX 77504; off Fairmont Parkway and Burke Rd) to review specific unit needs, discuss ways to support unit growth in the Journey to Excellence criteria, examine ways to promote events and provide resources to units, support on-time charter renewal, and evaluate ways to help the units and district maintain the standards of the Boy Scouts of America.

 Learn More

District Committee Meeting

April 4, 2019 | 7:30 - 8:30

District committee patchDistrict meetings are held the first Thursday of the month (except July) at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (4202 Yellowstone Dr, Pasadena, TX 77504; off Fairmont Parkway and Burke Rd). District committee meetings are held at 7:30; committee members work through chartered organizations and community groups to organize and support successful units. Volunteers are invited to attend.

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Award Nominations

Nomination Deadline: April 11, 2019

District Award of MeritNominate Scouters in the San Jacinto District who have served youth above and beyond the call of duty. The awards will be presented at the district dinner.

Nomination Form           

District Dinner

May 3, 2019

fleur-de-leis on a plateDistrict Dinner is an opportunity for a night of fellowship and great food as we acknowledge and thank our adult volunteers for the hard work and dedication that made this year incredibly successful. San Jacinto’s outstanding leaders at the unit and district levels will also be recognized.  All volunteers in the San Jacinto District are invited. The event is being held at Edward H. White II American Legion Post 521 (2221 Preston, Pasadena, Texas  77503). The registration fee is $11.50 for the first Scouter and $10 for each additional Scouter. Check-in starts at 5:30 pm. Dinner starts at 6:30  pm Registration closes 5/1/19.

Register

New District Executive

Please join us in welcoming Eagle Scout Trevor Lewis as the new District Executive for the San Jacinto District.  Trevor grew up in the Houston area and is a recent graduate of Prairie View A&M holding a bachelor’s degree in finance.  He has been delivering the Scouting program to local youth as a program specialist since September 2018. His role as district executive will be to provide leadership and support to the volunteers in our district with a focus on district operations, membership recruiting, unit service, family Friends of Scouting, and product sales. Trevor can be reached at trevor.lewis@scouting.org.

OA Chapter Meetings

Second Sunday of the month

Order of the Arrow logoSan Jacinto chapter logoBeginning in April, OA chapter meetings are being moved to the the second Sunday of every month (except May which is held on the 1st Sunday) from 3:00 - 4:30 pm at St. James Presbyterian Church (9725 Spencer Hwy, La Porte, TX 77571 ). Chapter meetings provide an opportunity for the youth to develop a plan to support units in the district, promote upcoming events, participate in ceremony team preparation and regalia building, learn leadership skills and have fun. 

The Order of the Arrow (OA) is the national honor society of the Boy Scouts of America. For 99 years, the Order of the Arrow has recognized Scouts and Scouters who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives. This recognition provides encouragement for others to live these ideals as well. Arrowmen are known for maintaining camping traditions and spirit, promoting year-round and long-term resident camping, developing leaders, and providing cheerful service to others. OA service, activities, adventures, and training for youth and adults are models of quality leadership development and programming that enrich, support, and help to extend Scouting to America's youth.

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Spring Recruiting

Packs are encouraged to hold spring recruiting events. For Cub Scouts, there is no better time to personally invite your kid's friends to a meeting! District and pack campouts are coming up as well as day camp, resident camp and summertime pack activities! And don’t forget about all of those potential Scouts, the kindergarteners who can join on June 1! March and April is the time to get talkin’ with the schools and ask if you can invite kids to join Scouting! Sometimes we think we can only recruit in the fall, but spring is a great time to get new Scouts and their families involved early.

Troops, crews and ships: March is the perfect month to have an open house to invite friends and other potential Scouts for the opportunity to see what your troop, crew and ship is made of. Check out some of the cool resources:

If you have questions, please contact your district membership chair or district executive.

STEM/NOVA Science Fair at Scout Fair

April 6, 2019   |  10:00 am - 3:00 pm

NRG Arena

A council-wide STEM/NOVA Science Fair is hosted by the STEM/NOVA Program Committee and sponsored by GEA Industrial Automation and Robotics is being held at Scout Fair to showcase the talent, ingenuity, and curiosity of our youth. Cub Scouts can showcase a science experiment? Scouts BSA, Venturers and Sea Scouts, can demonstrate their science skills in many categories. For more information, contact June Keller, San Jacinto District STEM NOVA Representative at june_keller@yahoo.com.

Learn More and Register
 

 

Twilight Camp

June 10-14, 2019  |  4:30 - 9:00 pm (except Friday which ends at 8:00 pm)

2017-day-camp-patch-no-loop.pngtwilight camp signGrab your sunglasses, sunscreen and beach towel for an adventure beneath the sea. Cub Scouts and their families will learn new skills and make new friends. Twilight camp is a council camp organized by districts and conducted by volunteers from the local area for Cub Scouts entering 1st through 5th grade for the 2019-2020 school year. Twilight camp is a week of fun with awesome programs and activities such as BB guns, archery, sports, STEM, games and crafts, rank advancements, Scout skills, fun and more.  

Many volunteers are needed to make camp a success, so please consider volunteering. Adult volunteers can also register their non-Scouting children ages 3-5 (potty trained). Scouts in troops, crews and ships can also volunteer. An adult/guardian must register with a Tiger (1st grader). Camp is being held at Lomax Arena (1508 1/2 Lomax Rd, La Porte, TX 77571).

The registration fees are $75 for registered Cub Scouts entering 1st through 5th grade next school year. The registration fee includes a t-shirt, patch, program supplies, and water bottle. Tot-lots (siblings ages 3-5 and potty trained) are $35. Youth volunteers (ages 11-13) are $15 and 14-17 are $10. Full-time volunteers (those that attend from 3:45 to camp closing daily) are free and part-time and job-share volunteers are $10. 

Learn More and Register

Promotional Placemats

Free two-sided placemats are available to use at blue and gold banquets, den meetings or pack meetings to help promote twilight camp and resident camp. 

Promotional Placemat

 

The Scouting Trail

The Scouting Trail is a monthly handout provided to units at roundtable describing upcoming council events for the next quarter. This is a great resource for Scouters and parents.

The Scouting Trail: March 2019

Powder Horn

April 12-14 and 26-28, 2019

Powder Horn is an action-packed, hands-on, six-day course which helps Scouts and Scouters learn how to implement high adventure activities into their troop, crew or ship. Do you have young adults in Venturing who are looking to breathe underwater because they have already learned how to filter it?  What about Scouts who are ready to maximize their shooting skills?  Would you like to expose Scouts in your troop, crew or ship to rock climbing, Dutch oven cooking, geocaching, canoeing, kayaking, sailing, paddle boarding, firefighting, search and rescue, trekking in a different countries, mountain biking, fly fishing, canoeing, wilderness first aid, astronomy, shooting sport (e.g., rifle, shotgun, handgun, archery), equestrian, 1860 baseball, wilderness survival, National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT), Sea Scouts, the Kodiak Challenge, the Hornaday award, Messenger of Peace, living history, Leave No Trace, vendors, the National Scout Jamboree, event planning, scuba diving, and more?

Learn More and Register

Scout Fair Coupon Books

Scout Fair coupon books are a brilliant way for units to raise money and prepare Scouts to earn their own way! The Scout Fair coupon book offers great savings for the buyer, while Scouts earn commissions for every $10 coupon book purchased. Buyers support the Scouting program while receiving hundreds of dollars in valuable savings from partners. All units receive a 30% base commission for each $10 Scout Fair coupon book sold, for funds turned in on or before April 6, 2019. Participate at Scout Fair with a booth and earn an additional 10% commission. Units can also take advantage of early bird turn-in dates offering 5%, 3% and 1% additional bonus commissions. In addition, your Scouts will qualify for prizes once they sell 15 coupon books. Please refer to the Scout Fair prize brochure for prizes and sales levels. 

Scouts and the entire family will enjoy visiting hundreds of booths with fun activities and crafts, learning Scout skills, meeting new friends and tasting the delicious outdoor cooking. Meet leaders and Scouts from your neighborhood. Sample the amazing dutch oven creations and other delicacies in the outdoor cooking area. Watch demonstrations, interact with participating booths from our community partners and pick up free offers. The unit leader should sign-up the unit to sell Coupon Books.  

 Learn More      Sign Up to Sell Coupon Books

Scout Fair Booths: Every pack, troop, crew, ship, and post is encouraged to participate in Scout Fair on April 6, 2019. Units that participate at Scout Fair with a booth earn an additional 10% commission on Scout Fair coupon book sales. Every unit is encouraged to sponsor a booth at the fair. This is your opportunity to show our community what Scouting is all about and to share your Scouting skills with fellow Scouts and Scout leaders. In the past, booths have included craft stations (Cub Scouts), rope making (Scouts), orienteering (Venturing), and law enforcement (Exploring). Keep it simple and fun. By involving all the Scouts and parents in your unit, booth preparation and set-up, manning and take down can be shared to keep it simple and make it fun. Each unit hosting a booth will receive a ribbon. The unit leader needs to register the booth by March 31st. 

Unit Booth Registration

New Scouts BSA Brand Guidance Training

As the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) welcomes girls into Cub Scouts and older girls into the Scouts BSA program starting on February 1, it is important that families understand the program or organization they are joining.

There have been some instances where our volunteers may have inadvertently used the name or trademarks of the Girl Scout of the USA (GSUSA) brand in spreading the word that girls are or will soon be part of all BSA programs. GSUSA recently have filed a lawsuit asserting that these instances have caused confusion. While we don’t believe there has been any such confusion, we respect and support the GSUSA and their rights to their brand.

To ensure that we promote our programs in a clear and Scout-like manner, we have developed resources to make sure our leaders are aware of the do’s and don’ts in promoting BSA programs.

The Scouts BSA Brand Guidance Training is one of the efforts underway to be sure Scouters have a clear understanding of what they can do. This builds on the infographic, and the guidance provided to councils in April.

Scouts BSA Brand Guidance Training     Infographic 

This training should be shared with all volunteers to bring this understanding to all parts of our community. While our goal is to encourage youth to join our program, we must always be clear in our communications about the program they are joining.

  • We are The Boy Scouts of America.
  • The Boy Scouts of America and Girl Scouts of the USA are different organizations.
  • We support all other youth organizations and do not disparage them.
  • We encourage parents to enroll all youth in a character development program that meets their needs – and the BSA is certainly ready to welcome them.

To aid you in this effort, councils and volunteers are encouraged to use these intro talking points as you host info sessions and launch efforts for Scouts BSA. Additionally, please use this resource to help address any questions you might get in the community about this matter.

Learn More

Resident Camp

Resident camp is a three-night campout at Bovay Scout Ranch for Cub Scouts entering the first through fifth grade the following school year. From Cub Scout skills to rank advancements, these camps are full of fun and learning. Cub Scouts attending resident camp are also encouraged to register for day camp, as the advancements offered at resident camp add to those offered at day camp. Resident camp includes activities such as riding BMX bikes, shooting archery and BB guns, playing sports, canoeing, fishing, making crafts, learning about STEM (science, technology, engineering, math), exploring nature, stargazing, branding, and splashing in the pool. In addition, the resident camp program will focus on the program electives:

Learn More and Register

New Eagle Scout Reception

Sunday, May 5, 2019   |  2:00 pm

The New Eagle Scout Reception recognizes the previous year’s Eagle Scout class. The council continues its tradition of providing this reception free of charge for new Eagle Scouts and their guests. Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Eagle Scout alumni, Scouters, Scoutmasters and Cubmasters are all encouraged to attend this special program to recognize the 2018 Eagle Scout class, the Adams Project of the Year Award, and NESA Outstanding Eagle Scout Award recipients. Eagle Scouts and their families will not want to miss this once in a lifetime opportunity to be recognized by accomplished Eagle Scouts. The evening is underwritten with generous sponsorships by many Eagle Scout alumni, charter members and patrons. The event is being held at Crowne Plaza (8686 Kirby Dr., Houston, TX 77054).

Learn More and RSVP

District Commissioner Meeting

First Thursday of Month | 6:30 - 7:30

commissioner logo District commissioner meetings are typically held the first Thursday of the month (except July) at 6:30 pm at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (4202 Yellowstone Dr, Pasadena, TX 77504; off Fairmont Parkway and Burke Rd) to review specific unit needs, discuss ways to support unit growth in the Journey to Excellence criteria, examine ways to promote events and provide resources to units, support on-time charter renewal, and evaluate ways to help the units and district maintain the standards of the Boy Scouts of America.

 Learn More

District Committee Meeting

First Thursday of month | 7:30 - 8:30

District committee patchDistrict meetings are typically held the first Thursday of the month (except July) at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (4202 Yellowstone Dr, Pasadena, TX 77504; off Fairmont Parkway and Burke Rd). District committee meetings are held at 7:30; committee members work through chartered organizations and community groups to organize and support successful units. Volunteers are invited to attend.

Learn More

Pack Coordinators for District Events

Every pack must have a minimum of one volunteer per event to assist at each district event in which the pack participates. The coordinator promotes the event within the pack, attends volunteer orientation meeting, and attends the event and assists event staff in the assigned job.

Sign-up to be a Pack Coordinator

 

San Jacinto Scoop

newspaperSign up for our electronic newsletter called the San Jacinto Scoop.

 

Scout Days

Scout Days are awesome opportunities to get your Scouts, friends and family together for some exciting experiences around the area with other Scouting families. All Scout Days are offered at a discounted price of admission. Also, many of our partners offer merit badge classes and advancement workshops for Cub Scouts and Webelos.

Learn more about Scout Days

Donate to Scouting

SHAC CSP with car keysHelp ensure the success of Scouting in the Sam Houston Area Council with meaningful gifts including donating cars, trucks, RVs, trailers, boats, motors, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, securities, uniforms, camping equipment, memorials and tributes, planned giving and yes, even services.

Many corporations match employee contributions made to the Boy Scouts. Some companies even make financial contributions for volunteering time to Scouting. Numerous local companies recognize volunteer time through the donation of cash grants to non-profits in which their employees volunteer. This means that for each hour of volunteer time, employers donate funds to support the Sam Houston Area Council, Boy Scouts of America. Volunteer time is money with volunteer grants.

Employment Opportunities

The Sam Houston Area Council is continually searching for potential career employees who would like to work in a profession that has a meaningful, rewarding purpose. Bring to the BSA your varied life experiences, education, and perspective, and in return, have an opportunity to combine those skills and experiences in a career that values and respects others. Scouting is a profession with a purpose!  

Job Openings

 

Help us Promote Scouting

SHAC FacebookThe Sam Houston Area Council is focusing on leveraging the power of social media through Facebook.  The more Scouters share and repost, the more powerful our marketing can be.

We are compiling a list of unit social media sites so we can work together to spread the word about Scouting by tagging, liking commenting and sharing each other posts. 

Learn More          Take our Social Media Survey