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Scouting News for the DC Metro Area

Leaders

NCAC Scout Earns National Eagle Scout of the Year Runner Up!

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The American Legion offers a number of scholarships and other resources to assist young people in their pursuit of higher education. To be eligible for the American Legion Eagle Scout of the Year award, some of the requirements include: being an Eagle Scout; having received the appropriate Boy Scout religious emblem; having demonstrated practical citizenship in church, school, Scouting and community; and reached the age of 15 and enrolled in high school at time of selection.

Noah Ventura of Mt. Vernon, VA is the 2020 American Legion’s National Eagle Scout of the Year Runner-Up.

Ventura, is a high school Senior at Gonzaga College High School. He is the Veterans Foreign Wars (VFW) Virginia Eagle Scout of the Year and American Legion Virginia Eagle Scout of the Year. He attained the rank of Eagle Scout in January 2017 and was inducted in the NCAC Youth Leadership Society in 2019. Noah Ventura is also an Eagle Scout with Crew 1022/Troop 1509. Other achievements for Ventura include Order of the Arrow (OA) Virginia Central Area Section Chief, OA Golden Tooth Recipient, Vigil Honor Member, National Youth Leadership Training Senior Patrol Leader, and Congressional Bronze Award. He has a strong interest in STEM and has earned the BSA Supernova Awards; Thomas Edison (2017), Dr. Bernard Harris Award (2015) and William H. Townes Award (2013).

The American Legion Eagle Scout of the Year will receive a $10,000 scholarship. As the American Legion, Eagle Scout of the Year Runner Up Noah will receive a $2,500 scholarship.

Eagle of the Week – Micah Brumfield!

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My Eagle Scout project was inspired by a former teacher I admire. She has been a foster mom to many children since I was a kindergarten student of hers. My family has kept in touch with her through the years. While out with my mother one day, she was picking up personal and clothing items that I knew were not for me or my sister. She told me these items were going to be given to a child that was just placed in my former teacher’s care and they did not arrive with much. We discussed how and why children were placed into foster care. At that moment I knew I wanted my project to have an impact on children that find themselves uprooted from their homes. I partnered with Comfort Cases in Rockville, Maryland to pack bookbags filled with personal items, coloring books, and stuffed animals. My church family and scouting friends helped to make our donation large enough to create more than 20 bags that were distributed across the country. I appreciate being able to give back to an organization that does so much for children in need.

Submit your story and become the next #EagleoftheWeek. Rememeber submissions are due every Friday by 5pm! 

Outstanding Commissioners Recognized at NCAC’s 2020 Virtual College of Commissioner Service

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At our 2020 Virtual College of Commissioner Service (CCS) held via Zoom from August 28-30, 2020, NCAC’s CCS Dean Julia Mae-Shen Lesko and Council Commissioner Rick Rogers recognized some of our council’s outstanding commissioners.

John A. Mack Commissioner’s Award of Excellence – Ben Overbey

The Mack award recognizes a Scouter who has a distinguished record of consistent excellence and true servant leadership in a way that has profoundly improved our council’s service to units and youth…

This year’s Mack award recognizes a Scouter who has dedicated most of his adult life to Scouting and who has spent a decade being a master teacher for commissioners as an Assistant Council Commissioner. This person, while serving as an Assistant Council Commissioner for Roundtables improved roundtable quality in Maryland and across the council. He moved seamlessly from this role into serving as a model Service Area Assistant Council Commissioner for Montgomery County, where he has been a mentor and friend to at least a dozen council commissioners over the years. Because our council is so large, the Service Area ACC is a key role, and the requirements, activities, and scope of this ACC role are equivalent to what Council Commissioners would do in medium sized councils. In addition, this person distilled his knowledge of the rhythms of commissioner service into an annual calendar which we all use to plan ahead, and he has served as a master teacher for multiple district commissioner orientations and commissioner retreats. Finally, this person has served in our armed forces with distinction, having received the Legion of Merit and Bronze Star as an infantry officer. Without knowing he had been selected for this award back in March, this person further demonstrated his worthiness for the honor over the spring and summer by collecting and disseminating Scouting@Home best practices for our units as the current pandemic has changed the way we do Scouting. It is our honor to present the Council Commissioner’s Mack Award to Ben Overbey. Thanks to Sue Overbey for conspiring with us to present the award to Ben in person.

Robert L. Dise Gold Dean’s Award – Patrick Berney

The gold award recognizes a Scouter who has served as a commissioner for more than 5 years in a leadership role dedicated to education and training of commissioners at the unit, district, and council level. . . .

This year’s gold award recognizes a Scouter who has served continuously as a unit commissioner for over 30 years, while also serving 3 years as the immediate past District Commissioner.  According to the district, this Scouter is known as the quintessential servant leader who strives to help units run a better Scouting program.  This has included filling in the voids caused when another commissioner moves out of the area, and personally visiting unassigned units in addition to assigned units. The district greatly appreciates all the wealth of knowledge and advice this long-time commission shares in educating fellow commissioners, which includes mentoring of the new District Commissioner.  It is our honor to present the Commissioner College Dean’s Gold Award to George Mason District’s Patrick Berney.

Robert L. Dise Silver Dean’s Award – Mark Stoffel

The silver award recognizes a Scouter who has served as a commissioner for more than 3 years and has spent a substantial portion of time educating and training commissioners . . .

This year’s silver award recognizes a Scouter who began commissioner service 12 years ago as a unit commissioner and has continued to serve in that role while also serving the past 3 years as the roundtable commissioner for Cub Scouts as well as the district commissioner.  The district expresses great appreciation for this Scouter’s substantial contributions to education and training, not only for Commissioners, but also for the District’s unit recharter teams, which led to a notable reduction of unit frustration and the highest on-time submission of re-chartered units for the District.  It is our honor to present the silver award to Chain Bridge District’s Mark Stoffel.

Robert L. Dise Bronze Dean’s Award – Josh Willberger

The bronze award recognizes a new commissioner.  Someone who has been involved in Commissioner Service for less than 3 years . . . a shining star. . . 

This year’s bronze award recognizes a Scouter who became a unit commissioner in 2017, and made such an immediate impact providing valuable leadership and guidance to multiple units, that the district now is excited to have this Scouter as their new District Commissioner.  According to the district, this Scouter has brought great energy and enthusiasm to the commissioner staff, and already has increased their ability to serve units.  It is our honor to present the bronze award to Mattaponi District’s Josh Wilberger.

Scoutmaster Seminar on Delivering ILST

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Join us for the Adult Series Training Seminar: Delivering ILST to Scouts this Wednesday, July 15 at 7pm. Introduction to Leadership Skills for Troops (ILST) is the training Scoutmasters deliver to Scouts to teach them to basic leadership skills they need to run a Troop. It’s a great course, but working over Zoom presents many challenges. This 50-minute overview for Scouters will cover some lessons learned from around the Council. (Youth welcome, but material is tailored for at Adults.)

 

Register HERE:

National Youth Leadership Training Seminars

Free Leadership Seminar July 9th at 5pm EST

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Join us for our third Seminar for youth leaders this Thursday, 7/9 at 5pm, delivered by youth NYLT staff. The topic for this seminar will be titled, “Mastering the Art of Improvement.” Scouting provides opportunities to try new things and take on new roles. But few people are instantly good at something they’ve never done before, like cooking over a fire, or holding a new position of leadership. Learn the tools Scouting gives us to improve after each experience.

Register here today!

Summer Leadership Seminar!

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Leadership Training is one of the four Aims of Scouting. Through these seminars Scouts will have an opportunity to continue their leadership development despite the cancellation of NYLT this summer. Each seminar will be fast-paced and last about 50 minutes. Content is delivered by NYLT staff and is designed to help Scouts develop as leaders. It is recommended, but not required, that participants are in a position of Unit leadership and have attended ILS(T/C/S) or NYLT.”

The first seminar will be held this Saturday, June 20th at 5pm. This seminar will focus on Planning for Success: Valuing Your Team & Preparing Small Team Events. All Scouts in leadership positions will benefit from this webinar as it will be covering topics and tools to help you execute your role more effectively. The event is FREE, but space is limited so don’t wait to sign up. Early registration is recommended.

FAQ

  1. Is this an “Online NYLT course?”
    A. No. NYLT is a 6-day practical learning experience. We are offering this webinar to help Scouts who have attended NYLT (or are thinking about attending NYLT) focus on a few specific leadership topics in a fast-paced online format.
  2. Will this session be offered again?
    A. This is currently the only time we are offering this seminar.
  3. Is there a certificate of completion I can share with my Unit Leader?
    A. All Scouts will have an opportunity to receive (via email) a certificate of attendance.
  4. Will these webinars be recorded?
    A. Not currently.
  5. When is the next opportunity to take NYLT in NCAC?
    A. We are planning on holding courses in 2021, starting with a Winter course running across two 3-day weekends (MLK and Presidents’ Day). Registration typically opens in October but fills quickly. We anticipate running courses in the summer of 2021 as well.

Sign up today at https://tinyurl.com/y9pre9xc!