Thousands of girls registered in Scouts BSA will be participating in 2019 summer camps. To help you find out all you need to know to ensure you are ready for Family Scouting in the outdoors, BSA will be offering a livestream webinar on Monday, February 25th at 7pm CST (that’s 8 pm for those of us in the DMV). Best practices from around the country will be shared, as well as Q&A time with a panel of BSA professionals from the Scouts BSA program team, Youth Protection, and Outdoor Programs. Anyone serving in camp leadership this summer is invited to attend. Mark your calendar and save this link to join the livestream broadcast.
Articles
Scouting Is for Life – “The Ancient One” (aka, TAO) Continues to Serve as a Scouting Mentor for His 59-year-old Eldest Son
Dick Haas (affectionately known as “The Ancient One” or “TAO” to many throughout NCAC) and his son Mike have over 132 years of continuous BSA Scouting experience between them. They are also the only father/son team actively Staffing an NCAC Wood Badge training Course: a reflection of their unified and lifelong commitment to teaching other Scouters leadership skills to benefit all Scouts and Scouting Families.
TAO was a Scoutmaster for 15 years in New York State, and served as an Assistant Scoutmaster and in numerous BSA training and service positions that impacted hundreds of young men’s lives over multiple decades from the 1960s into the early 2000s. He remains an active Scouter in Stafford, VA, continuing to train and mentor adults in Scouting leadership skills. A World War II Navy veteran, TAO earned lifesaving awards for actions in 1964, rescuing 2 fellow passengers from a bus that crashed into the East River (they were the only 3 survivors). A 1966 Silver Beaver recipient and Scoutmaster of the Year in 1970 in Greater New York Council, in 1976 TAO created a Scouting junior leader training course in New York that trained hundreds of Scouts across almost three decades. Upon moving to Virginia, he energized a similar youth-led leadership training conference which has been running in Aquia District since 2007 thanks to his vision and initiative. Friends and loved ones chipped-in to honor TAO with a brick which was placed on the Camp Snyder dining facility flag patio in 2013 to commemorate his 76th anniversary of BSA service.
The elder 92-year old Haas, who lives with his wife of over 62 years, Rita, in Falls Run in southern Stafford, is a Life Scout who has been in Scouting for 82 years. TAO shook the hand of Scouting’s Founder, Lord Baden-Powell, while a member of BSA’s Scout contingent at the 1939 World’s Fair in Queens, NY. He earned his Wood Badge Beads in 1964, attending Wood Badge training at Schiff Scout Reservation in New Jersey, and was his sons’ (Mike and Alan) first Scoutmaster in Troop 712 in Manhattan, NY. His son Mike, also a Life Scout, retired from the Marine Corps in 2004, and lives with his wife of over 36 years, Lisa, in northern Stafford. Mike earned his Wood Badge Beads in 2006 and has had the privilege of Staffing multiple Wood Badge Courses.
So, when Mike was honored with selection as one of two Wood Badge Course Directors for 2019, a year which celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the original Wood Badge Course organized and led by Lord Baden-Powell at Gilwell Park in England, it’s no mystery that Mike chose his Dad to be one of his Course Mentors. Mike’s other Mentor is John Peloquin, a former NCAC Wood Badge Course Director. Mike and John both started their Scouting Trails together in Troop 26 (“26 Kicks!”) in Stafford with first John and then Mike taking the hand-off from John as Scoutmaster through the mid-2000s.
Any Scouter who will be fully trained in their BSA registered position by the first day of a Wood Badge training Course is eligible to register for the course. NCAC will be offering two 100th Anniversary Wood Badge Courses in 2019. To become the best trained adult Leader you can be for your Scouts and their Scouting Families, please visit: https://www.ncacbsa.org/training/wood-badge/ Register today. Your Scouts deserve it!
Pack 2019 Lions Say “I’ll Do It Myself”
The girls’ and boys’ Lions Dens from Pack 2019 at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society in Sterling, VA, completed their “I’ll Do It Myself” adventure. They made and decorated bags to keep their Scout swag organized and on hand. Each Scout chose how they wanted to decorate and with their parent partners’ help used glue guns, foam letters, glitter glue, and a slew of other craft supplies to make their bags shine.
These two dens have already earned their Lion’s Honor, Animal Kingdom, and King of the Jungle adventure loops and are well on their way to earning their full Lion ranks! Pack 2019 has girls’ dens for Lions, Wolves, and Bears, and are welcoming more Scouts every day.
Scout Exec Presents NCAC Centennial Club Award
On January 20th, Scout Executive Craig Poland presented the NCAC Centennial Club award to Pastor Tracy McNeil Vines during Scout Sunday observance at the Clarendon United Methodist Church in Arlington, Virginia. The church is one of only four in the Council that has sponsored Scouting for over 100 consecutive years!
Lab 1576 Holds Electronics Showcase
Lab 1576, the first STEM Scouts unit in NCAC, held an electronics showcase this past Saturday.
The ADAMS Center sponsored the first Junior STEM Scouts Lab in NCAC, Lab 1576. Over the past few months, these STEM Scouts learned about electronics and innovated “Community Buzzers”, “Burglar Alarms”, and “Electronic Basketball” using littleBits electronics. Their next module is Squishy, Gooey Chemistry. Stay tuned for more fun projects!
STEM Scouts is a national pilot program focused on fun ways for girls and boys to learn more about science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The National Capital Area Council adopted the program this past fall, thus making STEM Scouts open to boys and girls in three divisions: grades 3-5, grades 6-8, and grades 9-12.
In the STEM Scouts program, educational content, developed and vetted by STEM educators, is designed to be immersive and to inspire teamwork, problem solving and independent thinking. Through hands-on activities delivered directly to the unit, this 26-week program is ultimately designed to be challenging, thought-provoking and, especially, fun.
For more information on STEM Scouting, please visit www.stemscouts.org.
26th Camporee Centroamericano
Phillip Fantozzi and his son Jack, a 2nd Class Scout, recently attended the 26th Camporee Centroamericano in Honduras. What follows are their thoughts and recollections on the experience. Thank you to Phillip and Jack for sharing.
Phillip Fantozzi
My son Jack and I attended the 26th Camporee Centroamericano, which was held 26-31 December 2019 near the town of Valle de Angeles, which is about 30 minutes outside Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras. We were the only 2 BSA Scouts out of about 1,000 scouts from Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Panama.
We had a great time at the event. Jack slept in a troop tent with members of Troop 23 from Tegucigalpa who were very friendly and welcoming. The event was split into 4 “trails,” focusing on service, sports, cultural activities, and scoutcraft. We ate our meals at the mess hall and were transported to different events in Honduran Army trucks.
Jack Fantozzi
One of my most interesting experiences as a scout is the Central American Scout Camporee 2018. There were hundreds of scouts there from all over the region, from Mexico to Panama. I went with Troop 23 (“Panteras” or “Panthers”) from Honduras. I live in Honduras near their meeting place in a park, and I was already a 2nd Class scout so I went to learn about scouting in other countries.
It was interesting being the only American scout at the Camporee. I traded BSA patches the first night, and the rest of the time I was there I constantly had scouts asking to trade. There were long conversations about scouting, selfies, and even videos of us talking to people about BSA. It was an interesting experience, and I think everyone should try to go to an international scouting event once in their lifetime. It is a growing, learning, and changing experience.
All photos courtesy of