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Announcing Giving Day & Summer of Service Kick-Off

May 27, 2021 by The Scouter Digest Staff

Over the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing information with you around the upcoming Summer of Service. The Summer of Service is a national initiative designed to encourage our movement to “give back” at a time when a spirit of community service is needed more than ever.

As we have throughout our history, Scouting families have answered the call to work together in service of the greater good. From public health drives…to caring for the environment…to assisting neighbors in need…Scouts have always been a force for positivity and goodness in our communities. Now more than ever, our world needs that Scouting spirit once again. Let’s step up! Let’s answer the call to put “service beyond self” to make a positive impact in our neighborhoods and communities throughout the summer.

The Summer of Service is a broad initiative that allows families maximum flexibility in deciding the type of service that best fits their circumstances. From big projects to small spur-the moment opportunities, we are asking participants to give back in some way and then tell us about it. Based on the honor system, participants will be able to download printable certificates and order a special recognition patch. All handled through the Summer of Service website, there will be no cumbersome forms or daunting lists of requirements. The important part is to activate on the mindset of serving others.

Fine more details on the Summer of Service here: www.scouting.org/summerofservice/

We rely on the generosity of our donors to ensure we can deliver on our promise to make the DC Metro region a better place. That’s why we are kicking off NCAC’s Summer of Service with a Day of Giving on June 10th. NCAC is in the business of making our communities stronger by serving more than 36,000 families and helping instill in our young people the values of the Scout Oath and the Scout Law. We want every donor to have the opportunity to financially invest in the lives of young people, and our communities. We are inviting you to help us provide this program that they love. To learn more and contribute visit www.ncacbsa.org/summergiving

A Stellar Performance for a Supernova Award Winner

May 19, 2021 by Justin Flinner

It is AOL crossover season once again, and this year the National Capital Area Council’s very own Pack 698 in Burke, VA had one Arrow of Light Scout who became the first ever Cub Scout in his Pack to receive the Dr. Charles H. Townes Supernova Award. Lian Flinner is a fifth grader at White Oaks Elementary School and has been in Cub Scouts since he was old enough to join. As a Tiger Scout, he was always interested in building Legos like most children, but his interest grew as the years went on. He started to become curious about electronics, computers, and eventually robotics. As he neared the end of his Cub Scout journey, he decided to put his skills to the test during his final months in Pack 698. He chose to complete the challenging Supernova Award for the Webelos rank with less than a month to spare. While navigating a pandemic that challenged his ability to complete the requirements, he successfully completed his goal, and on May 1, 2021, he was awarded the medal alongside his fellow AOL Cub Scouts, who all received the Down and Dirty Nova Award.

While working together with his mentor, Neal Erickson (Cubmaster for Pack 698), Lian learned about famous scientists including Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, and Stephen Hawking; performed at-home experiments with his Dad (safely!); and discussed the method of creating a hypothesis and how to apply it to the scientific method in order to complete his main project. Lian’s first experiment involved growing crystals at home formed by two different compounds: magnesium sulfate and aluminum potassium sulfate. He watched them grow in different environments for several weeks and analyzed the growth patterns as well as the shapes they transformed into. He also included sugar as a part of the experiment and was able to make some tasty at-home rock candy!

The main project Lian completed was his “Arduino Car Experiment” for which Lian decided to use his Arduino UNO kit, a microcontroller board designed to take programming enthusiasts to the next level of computer programming and electrical engineering. With the kit, he built and programmed a speed tracker for three of his favorite Hot Wheels cars, which he happily mentions in his final report as being three out of more than one hundred cars that he owns! He measured the weight of each car and then tracked their changes in speed at different angles. Once the experiment was complete, he determined the winning car, analyzed the results, and investigated what could be done differently to make the experiment better the next time. After completing the whole project, Lian thought about how this could be applied to activities like the Pinewood Derby to help measure the speed of every scout’s car and perhaps introduce a new award for the derby that could connect packs across the NCAC: the fastest pinewood derby car based on an actual calculated speed. He looks forward to using his kit and the scientific method in the future to test new projects and perhaps even build his own robot. Speaking of which, he has already been eyeing the robotics merit badge in Boy Scouts.

The Supernova Award was a significant accomplishment for Lian. Along the way to achieving this award, he came across two powerful quotations from an inventor he now admires, Thomas Edison. The first quote is “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” The second is “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” The crux of these two quotes are time and effort, both of which Lian demonstrated good use of to successfully complete the Supernova award. As Lian becomes a supernova of his own, we can only look forward to his next stellar performance. Congratulations, Lian!

Join National Capital Area Council on Day of Giving

May 10, 2021 by The Scouter Digest Staff

Bethesda, MD — The National Capital Area Council (NCAC) asks everyone to help kick off our #SummerofService on NCAC Day of Giving —Thursday, June 10.

National Capital Area Council is in the business of making our communities stronger by serving more than 36,000 families and helping instill in our young people the values of the Scout Oath and the Scout Law. As a non-profit organization, we rely on the generosity of our donors to ensure we can deliver on our promise to make the DC Metro region a better place. That is why we are kicking off NCAC’s Summer of Service with a Giving Day on June 10^th.

“On NCAC Day of Giving, we hope to ignite a spark that will encourage people to give more, whether it be their time or resources, to help make a profound effect on the youth in the DC metro area.” said Craig Poland, Scout Executive of NCAC. “By contributing to Scouting, more youth will experience a program that will further instill values and character in their moral fiber.”

For over 100 years, Scouting families have answered the call to work together in service of the greater good. From public health drives to caring for the environment to assisting neighbors in need. Scouts have always been a force for positivity and goodness in our communities. It is what we do. It is part of our DNA. We serve others. Now more than ever, our world needs that Scouting spirit once again.

As part of Summer of Service, a national effort, we’re also asking Scouting families to give back to their communities this summer through acts of service. Scouts will serve in a variety of ways as defined by the individual. The spectrum will range from large city-wide projects to small random acts of kindness. Although any type of service is applicable, there will be 4 key areas of focus: The Environment, Health & Wellness, Our Communities, and Neighbors In-Need.

To learn more about NCAC Day of Giving and our Summer of Service, visit www.ncacbsa.org/SummerGiving

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About Boy Scouts of America & National Capital Area Council Boy Scouts of America provides the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training, which helps young people be “Prepared. For Life. ™ The Scouting organization is composed of 2.6 million youth members between the ages of 6 and 21 and more than a million volunteers in local councils throughout the United States and its territories. For more, please visit www.Scouting.org.

National Capital Area Council was organized in 1911 and today stands as one of the oldest and largest councils in America. The Council territory includes the District of Columbia; Frederick, Montgomery, Prince George’s, Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s counties in Maryland; and in Virginia the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Prince William, Loudoun, Fauquier, Spotsylvania, Caroline, King George, Stafford and Culpeper as well as the independent cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, Fairfax, Manassas, Manassas Park and Fredericksburg in Virginia; and the U.S. Virgin Islands. For more information, please visit www.NCACBSA.org.

Pack 1280 Townes Supernova Ceremony

April 28, 2021 by The Scouter Digest Staff

Pack 1280 Supernova and Arrow of Light Scouts (L.-to-R.): Matthew B., Victor T., Ethan N., Leo P., Landon E., John L., Dr. Jim Boyce (Mentor), Ethan M., Matthew Z. and in the foreground Dr. Stanley Fricke of the NCAC STEM Committee who came in person to present the Charles Townes Supernova Awards.

Submitted by: Jim Boyce, Ph.D.

The National Capital Area Council (NCAC) has just recognized eight Webelos Scouts from Potomac District Pack 1280 for earning the Dr. Charles H. Townes Supernova Award. These scouts, have been working together within the Webelos Program on the award requirements for 18 months (Summer 2019 to Spring 2021). Their Mentor, Dr. Jim P. Boyce, who has been serving as a NOVA Mentor and Counselor for almost a decade in the NCAC, says that this was his largest group of scouts to earn this award yet.

Each scout developed their own science or engineering project to fulfill one of the nine requirements of this award and then presented their projects throughout the hypothesis, testing and results stages to each other and their Mentor.

All the scouts participated regularly in NCAC STEM programs including the 2020 Labor Day weekend STEM-a-Thon, the 2020-2021 STEM at Home speaker series and the 2020 William D. Boyce Potomac District Scout Chess Tournament. Scouts met with scientists and engineers from NASA, NIH and Astra Zeneca to learn about careers and also shared their STEM projects at local school and independent Regional Science Fairs. One scout entered their Townes project in the 2020 Rockville Regional Science fair and earned 1st place for age and 2nd place overall. Collectively this Cadre of scouts has previously earned 28 NOVA Awards from 2016 to 2021 with several different Counselors and one previously earned the Louise Alvarez Supernova Award in a Cadre in 2017.

The projects were exceptional in their creativity and spanned the fields of chemistry, environmental biology, microbiology, and physics. For example, Webelos Matthew B. used local soil bacteria that he aerosol- sprayed over agar Petri dishes and that were protected with different types of face masks to quantitate the effect of mask material on prevention of transmission of germs. Webelos Matthew Z. demonstrated the principal of radioactive decay. Webelos John L. and Leo P. studied different properties of liquids under different conditions. Webelos Ethan M. studied the ability of soil microorganisms to decompose different types of materials. Webelos Ethan N. studied solar energy and the effect of different wavelengths and intensities of light at charging a battery connected to a solar panel. Webelos Landon E. made a study out of measuring the elasticity of polymers made from different combinations of monomers. And Webelos Victor T. studied the Ideal Gas Law by taking balloons with him on an elevation gain hike in the Rocky Mountains to measure their volume under different atmospheric conditions.

The ceremony was conducted April 17, 2021 at a masked, small group, outdoor campfire ceremony at Locust Grove Nature Center in Bethesda MD. All of these scouts also earned their Arrow of Light Rank at about the same time as finishing their Supernova requirements and are continuing together in their journey in scouting by crossing into Scouts BSA, after two more planned campouts together this Spring as Webelos.

Meet 2021 Silver Beaver Recipient Forrest Horton

April 27, 2021 by The Scouter Digest Staff

Forrest and his twin brother Horace grew up on their parents’ Millbrook Farm in Blue Hill, Maine, and earned their God and Country, Eagle Scout, and Order of the Arrow Vigil together. Following graduation from George Stevens Academy in Blue Hill, Forrest earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Naval Engineering from the United States Naval Academy and a Brevet Technique from the French Naval War College in Paris, France.

Upon commissioning in 1965, Forrest served in a broad range of operational and staff assignments in the Naval Surface Warfare command. After joining the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, he served as Navy planner for international negotiations, arms control, and combating terrorism. Forrest retired as a Navy Captain in 1991 with a Legion of Merit.

His subsequent efforts as a Director of ANSER, Incorporated and The Tauri Group helped shape corporate growth, particularly in homeland security.

Forrest joined the National Capital Area Council Executive Board in 2014 as Endowment Committee Chair, and subsequently joined Amangamek-Wipit Lodge Order of the Arrow and the Interfaith Working Group. He was awarded the National Eagle Scout Association’s Outstanding Eagle Scout in 2020.

Forrest and Janet, his wife of 52 years, live in McLean, Virginia. His community work with youth programs included McLean Youth Athletics and Saint Luke Catholic Church. They have two married daughters, Sarah and husband Brian Halweil, Emily and husband Brian Baran, Eagle Scout son Matthew, and three grandchildren, Clio, Cyrus, and Cub Scout Matthew who are the lights of their lives.

You can watch Forrest receive his Silver Beaver Award on Saturday, May 15th at 7:30pm by reserving your seat at the virtual Court of Honor.

Culpeper Scouts Soar to the Rank of Eagle

April 27, 2021 by The Scouter Digest Staff

Scoutmaster Donald Demory of Troop 196 discussed in an interview with Emily Jennings of The Free Lance-Star shares how three Eagle Scouts were able to complete their projects despite the challenges that the Covid-19 pandemic may have presented.

Andrew Flack made custom-built free community library boxes for Culpeper area parks. When asked about the program, he stated, “It teaches great skills, good ethics and morals, and a lot of life lessons to carry with you your whole life.” For Aiden Durica‘s Eagle project, he constructed an awards platform for the Soap Box Derby and installed micro-libraries. Eddie Fleming organized a group of volunteers to helped him install 150 feet of fencing at Cedar Mountain battlefield. His group also installed a new sign that was laser-engraved by a local business.

We are proud of our newest Eagles Scouts and their contributions to the Culpeper community!