For more information on becoming a Scout please contact Ryan Cooper.

*Special Tips from Charles*

• Be sure to READ the packet, there is good stuff in the HOW-TO’s
• There is a new piece where you can mark someone as DUAL ENROLLED – Ensure you coordinate who will pay for the scouter, and you can say that someone is paid for by another unit.
• The ‘UP’ Unit Participant Checkbox is for a scout who is OVER 18 and who is authorized to work on their Eagle POST the age limit.
• To take someone from a Scout (Youth) to an Adult, you must drop them and re-app with a new adult paper app (not online) + YPT+Background Form. There is a way to promote, but they will need YPT. If you are not able to promote them, then drop them and re-add later.

*Handing in your Charter Renewal Package*

For this year we have made a Miccosukee District Checklist. Please DO NOT send the charter to council, if you do – please review the checklist first. Anything you send to council MUST say to the attention of Ryan Cooper – This is important.

• Get your 2021 Charter Checklist HERE.
• If you want to mail your paperwork and checklist into the office, please have your unit commissioner check it first. Last year we had many charters with issues, so this year we are trying to pre-check the charters. But if you send it, be sure it has the checklist, and you have the packet addressed to the attention of Ryan Cooper.

• AB Form Only – Applies to ALL participants — such as local tours and weekend camping trips UNDER 72 hours in duration.
• AB&C Form – Applies to ALL participants where the evnet is OVER 72 hours in duration. (Such as resident campers (summer or winter camps) or any event that lasts over 72 hours or more.

All Scouting Events. All participants in all Scouting activities. complete Part A and Part B. Give the completed forms to your unit leader. This applies to all activities, day camps, local tours, and weekend camping trips less than 72 hours. Update at least annually. Part A is an informed consent, release agreement, and authorization that needs to be signed by every participant (or a parent and/or legal guardian for all youth under 18). Part B is general information and a health history

Going to Camp? A pre-participation physical is needed for resident, tour, or trek camps or for a Scouting event of more than 72 hours, such as Wood Badge and NYLT. The exam needs to be completed by a certified and licensed physician (MD, DO), nurse practitioner, or physician assistant. If your camp has provided you with any supplemental risk information, or if your plans include attending one of the four national high-adventure bases, share the venue’s risk advisory with your medical provider when you are having your physical exam. Part C is your pre-participation physical certification

Prescription Medication. Taking prescription medication is the responsibility of the individual taking the medication and/or that individual’s parent or guardian. A leader, after obtaining all the necessary information, can agree to accept the responsibility of making sure a youth takes the necessary medication at the appropriate time, but the Boy Scouts of America does not mandate or necessarily encourage the leader to do so. Standards and policies regarding administration of medication may be in place at BSA camps. If state laws are more limiting than camp policies, they must be followed. The AHMR also allows for a parent or guardian to authorize the administration of nonprescription medication to a youth by a camp health officer or unit leader, including any noted exceptions

Be sure to keep your BeAScout.Org Info Updated! (New Info as of 5/13/2020)

Today’s parents can do it all online. With a few taps on their tablet, they can buy school supplies, sign up for soccer or hire a babysitter. And, more and more these days, they’re finding out about Scouting online, too. Today’s parents want, and expect, to learn more about the BSA through a simple-to-use, nicely designed website. BeAScout.org is that website. It is the first thing many prospective Scouting families see about the BSA, and it tells them what Scouting is, why it’s a good fit for their family and where they can find a Cub Scout pack, Scouts BSA troop, Venturing crew or Sea Scout ship near them.

If your unit is represented by one of those pins, you want that prospective Scout parent to have a direct line of communication to you. That way you can tell them all about how awesome Pack 123 is or what makes Troop 456 so great.

There’s just one problem: some units haven’t updated their pins, meaning there’s an extra obstacle between you and a new member of your unit.

But don’t worry. Updating your pin is easy, and it’s well worth your time.

How to update your BeAScout.org pin

Updating your BeAScout.org pin is simple, and it’s a good way to make sure your information is current — that it doesn’t list last year’s Cubmaster or meeting time, for example.

Access to update your pin is available to all unit leaders, including committee members in a unit.

To update your pin:

1. Go to My.Scouting.org
2. In the drop-down menu, go to your Unit. (You must be listed as a Key 3)
3. Click into “Organization Manager” and from here you can update your info.
4. For Cub Scout packs: You’ll also want to go to Organization Manager and identify your pack’s gender: all-boy, all-girl or a mix of all-boy dens and all-girl dens. Under Organization Manager, find the settings tab and scroll to the bottom of the page. The default is Boys Dens, but you can change that. Be sure to enter an effective date or it will not update the pin.

For assistance, please contact the BSA Member Care Contact Center at 972-580-2489 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. CST.

Be sure your info is CURRENT.

(Updated 9/2020) In the District, we have been having a lot of conversations with people in our District regarding Merit Badge Counselors and how often they are supposed to re-apply to stay current. Please spread the word to all units; Merit Badge Counselors are asked to re-apply YEARLY, that’s right YEARLY. Monitoring this process is the responsibility of the Unit, not the District or Council. Renewing yearly gives the counselor the chance to add and remove some items that they may be more or less passionate about. All counselor’s drop from the Council Charter at recharter time. We are recommending you do this around November, as its a good time to update your troop records.

To Register or Renew your existing registration, you need to do a few things…

1. Login to My.Scouting.Org and Print your YPT Certificate. If you are not current on YPT, this is step 1. Print the certificate.
2. Take the Merit Badge Counselor Training In Person at a District or Council Event. If you wish to do it online, go into My.Scouting.Org and search for “Scouts BSA – Merit Badge Counselor Training” (it’s 2 separate courses). Print BOTH certificates.
3. Print and Fill out the Merit Badge Counselor Application – https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/34405.pdf (need wet ink signature!)
4. Print and Fill out the Adult Application https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/524-501.pdf (need wet ink signature!)
5. Review and understand what it says on https://www.scouting.org/programs/scouts-bsa/mb-counselor-guide/
6. Review and understand what it says on https://scoutingmagazine.org/2019/10/getting-schooled-on-rules-for-merit-badge-classes-fairs-and-universities/ 

The Packet to hand in Ryan Cooper will contain…

1. A copy of your YPT
2. Merit Badge Counselor Traning Completion Certificate
3. Merit Badge Counselor Application (Adult Application) 
4. Adult Application since this is a new District Position, you need one (yearly!) (+ Background Check)

Keep in mind – Typically, when you take the Merit Badge Counselor Class, they do this all with you during the class. I would recommend you provide all form’s to our District Executive, Ryan Cooper. Ryan is typically at District Events such as Roundtable, District Committee Meetings, and other activities around our district. If you want to set up a time to see when you can give him the paperwork, please give him a call at (813) 872-2691. If you swing by the Scout Shop, the office can get these papers to Ryan too. Please do not email or digitally save copies of the adult applications.

Here is a list of known Belt Loop and Merit Badge Classes. If you want something added to the list, please let Charles Love know (contact info on the right)

MOSI Cub Scout Related – RSVP’s @ https://shop.mosi.org/ItemList.aspx?node_id=202053 

MOSI Scouts BSA Merit Badge Classes – RSVP @ https://shop.mosi.org/ItemList.aspx?node_id=201881

Great info about Group Merit Badges -> https://scoutingmagazine.org/2019/10/getting-schooled-on-rules-for-merit-badge-classes-fairs-and-universities/

Often, when we dig into why people are not getting registration alerts from Council or various other locations, it comes out that when the person goes to my.Scouting.Org the email is wrong or a very old one. Please ask your units to verify they have the correct emails in my.scoutging.org and that the primary one is the one that they want to use for scouting. I would remove all others.

When you log in, go to My Dashboard, Then Hit the menu selector (it’s called a hamburger) and go into “My Profile”.

Now here you can see what emails and mailing addresses we have for you. To edit an email click into it. To add a new one hit the green + Mark.

Once you are editing an email you can make it primary. You can also delete old ones here

• IOLS Training 5/2 & 5/3 – https://scoutingevent.com/089-MiccosukeeIOLSTraining
• BALOO Training (Date Soon)
• District Pinewood Derby (Date Soon)
• Miccosukee Awards Banquet (open to ALL) – https://scoutingevent.com/089-miccosukeebanquet#
  • District Award of Merit – Application Here
  • Unit Specific Awards – Application Here

District Roundtable Meetings – Come join your fellow Scouters to learn the tips and tricks to help your unit run better and give your Scouts the best experience possible.  Open to all leaders and interested adults. The Miccosukee Roundtable is held at Camp Soule at 7:00pm on the 2nd Wednesday of every month. For questions about roundtable, please contact the roundtable commissioner, Susan Haslem via email at s.s.haslem@gmail.com. 

District Committee Meetings – The monthly Miccosukee District Committee Meeting is a monthly gathering to review all District events, activities and plans in support of our Units.  This meeting is normally held on the 1st Wednesday of the month at 7:00pm in the Whitehurst Building at Camp Soule unless otherwise scheduled by the Key 3.  All Miccosukee District Chairs, committee members, nominating committee and interested Adult Leaders are invited to attend.  We encourage (1) representative from each Unit visit our District Committee meeting! For questions about Miccosukee District Committee, please contact the District Chair, Jamie Bennett via email miccosukeechair@gmail.com. 

Order of the Arrow, Osceola Chapter Meetings are generally held in conjunction with District Roundtable Meetings at 7:00 PM on the 2nd Wednesday of the month at Camp Soule, 2201 Soule Road, Clearwater, Florida.  Any future activity meetings held at a different date or location will be announced during chapter meetings.  See Uh-To-Yeh-Hut-Tee Lodge for information on the lodge schedule and events.

Looking for a specific leader training? If so, please reach out to Steve Tincher (727) 804-8692 to see what options are available.

We will be posting items related to Roundtable in this section. We will be putting all kinds of information in our ‘RoundTable Recap Share’ that is posted here.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Our District Facebook Group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/201331701481/

Our Council Facebook Group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/480685062133018/

Remember, the name of our Organization is STILL Boy Scouts of America. The old ‘Boy Scout’ Program is now called Scouts BSA. You can still call it a Troop, it’s just not a Boy Scout Troop, it’s a Scouts BSA Troop. For detailed info, please visit https://www.scouting.org/familyscouting/

Once each calendar year a troop or team may conduct an election within their unit to select scouts (up to age 21) and nominate adults for membership in the Order of the Arrow. In order to be eligible for election, a Scout must have:

1. achieved the rank of First Class
2. participated in 15 days/nights of camping in the past 2 years (must include but may only count one long term resident camp under the auspices of the BSA)
3. the recommendation of their Scoutmaster

Click here to request an election for your unit!

If you have any questions, please contact Chris Schwab (727) 278-4705 or Travis Baldwin (813) 999 5841

Scouts BSA Troop 135 and Scouts BSA Troop 431 are the only all-female Troops in our District. 

Make an IMPACT by working with a unit (Ship, Pack, Troop, Post or Crew) on being the behind the scene leadership on building youth with Character. Volunteer with a Purpose! Become a Unit Commissioner 

Unit Commissioners are one of the most rewarding volunteer positions I feel there is. When you are a Unit Commissioner, you help units make an IMPACT by working with unit resources behind the scenes. Unit Commissioners are not a part of the units day to day operations but are a resource to the committee and leadership. 

The primary role of a Unit Commissioner is to help units behind the scenes. They should not be in the unit as a Parent, Leader or Committee Member. Unit Commissioners should not be involved in the day to day operations of a unit, but should be leveraged as a resource to the committee and leadership. When a Unit Commissioner is involved in the running of a unit, there is a potential conflict of interest, and they can’t always be fair and impartial. In most cases Unit Commissioner should only communicate with leadership and not the members of the unit.

Unit Commissioners are here to help keep units operating at maximum efficiency so they can deliver a quality program to a growing membership. Unit Commissioners help by providing program resources by acting as the liaison between a Unit and the District and Council. Think of the UC as your GO-TO for all District Needs. When a unit has access to all of the resources available to them, it ultimately helps assure that individual Scouts have the best opportunity to achieve their best. Sometimes Units do not know where to turn for help, and that’s where Unit Commissioners come in.

Unit Commissioners in the Miccosukee District are expected to visit their assigned units at least once a month. Unit Commissioners are also required to attend the Unit Commissioner monthly staff meeting and Roundtable. All in all that is around 3 to 4 hours a month of service. 

If you want to get started, please take the Unit Commissioners Training located at https://www.scouting.org/commissioners/training/. If you want to learn more about the role, please visit https://www.scouting.org/commissioners/ to see what we are all about. When you are ready, reach out to me for an interview, and we can start the process. 

Yours in Scouting,

Charles J. Love
Miccosukee District Commissioner
727-282-4404

Applications (National)

• Youth Application:
  • English  and Spanish 
• Adult Application:
  • English  and Spanish 
• Member Transfer Form 
• Merit Badge Counselor Information 

Eagle Rank Related (National)

• Eagle Scout Rank Application 
• Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook
• National Eagle Scout Association Scholarship Applications 
• National Eagle Scout Association Membership Application 
• Spirit of the Eagle Application 
• Duplicate Eagle Scout/NESA credentials 

Unit Resources (National)

• New Unit Application
  • English  and Spanish [524-202] 
• Membership Inventory
  • English  and Spanish 
• Unit Renewal Application Instructions
  • English  and Spanish 
• Annual Charter Agreement
  • English 
• Charter Renewal Overflow Page
  • English  and Spanish 
• Unit Advancement Report 
• Activity Consent Form (Permission Slip) 
• Incident Information Report 
• Meeting Place Inspection Checklist 
• Annual Health and Medical Record
• Uniform Inspection Sheets:
  • Boy Scout/Varsity Scout 
  • Scout Leader 
• Campfire Program planner 
• Worksheet for Building a Merit badge Counselor List 
• Application for Alternative Eagle Scout Rank Merit Badges 
• Troop Meeting Plan 
• Application for BSA Lifeguard 
• Historic Trails Program and 50-Miler Award 
• Unit Money-Earning Application 
• Wood Badge Pocket Card 

Award Applications (National)

• North Star Award Nomination 
• Silver Beaver Nomination 
• Silver Buffalo Nomination 
• Silver Antelope Nomination 
• George Meany Award Application 
• District Award of Merit Nomination 
• Roundtable/Huddle Staff Progress Record for the Scouter’s Training Award 
• Roundtable/Huddle Commissioner Progress Record for the Arrowhead Honor/Commissioner Key 
• District and Assistant District Commissioner Progress Record for the Commissioner Key/Arrowhead Honor Award 
• Unit Commissioner Progress Record for the Commissioner Key/Arrowhead Honor Award 
• Progress Record for the District Committee Key 
• Progress Record for Training Awards
  • Den Leader Training Award 
  • Scouter’s Training Award for Cub Scouting 
  • Scouter’s Training Award for Boy Scouting 
  • Venturing Training Award 
• Progress Record for Keys
  • Cubmaster’s Key 
  • Scoutmaster’s Key 
  • Coach’s Key 
  • Advisor’s Key 
• Quartermaster Award Application 
• Journey to Excellence
• Venturing Leader Progress Record 
• Venturing Leadership Award Recommendation 
• Venturing Summit Award Application, No. 512-941 
• William T. Hornaday Award Application

GTBAC Forms and More (Council)

Additional forms used by the Council are listed below:

• Accident Insurance Policy
• Accident Insurance Claim Form
• Eagle Scout Processing Checklist
• Greater Tampa Bay Area Council Float Plan
• Maureen Donovan-Dobiesz Scholarship Application
• Request for General Liability Insurance Certificate
• Tampa Bay Scout Shop Pack Advancement Order 
• Training Registration Form
• Unit Position Codes
• Informed Consent Agreement
• Campmaster Application
• Confidential Campership Request
• Camp Usage Form
• Greater Tampa Bay Area Council High Adventure Hold Harmless
• National Council High Adventure Hold Harmless
• Cub Scout Pack Overnighter Approved Sites
• 2018 Winter Camp Staff Application

Ceremonies: What and Why?

Planning

Preparation
Staging
Group Dynamics

During a Troop Meeting

OPENING CEREMONIES
Standard Flag Ceremony
Pledge of Allegiance w/Meanings
Pledge of Allegiance – Two Lines
Pledge of Allegiance – Spotlight
Scout Oath – 3 Candle Opening 1
Scout Oath – 3 Candle Opening 2
Scout Law – Single Points
Scout Law – Newest & Oldest Scout
Scout Law – Twelve Scouts
Outdoor Code – Unison
Outdoor Code – 4 Candle Opening
Outdoor Code w/Explanations
Video: Posting the Colors Opening
Video: Sample Troop Meeting Opening Ceremony

CLOSING CEREMONIES
Retiring the Colors
Scout Law and Prayer
Counting Off w/Law or Oath
Class A Clap
Scout Benediction
Scout Benediction w/Gestures
Troop Circle – Scout Benediction
Troop Circle – Repetition
Video: Troop Circles
Counting Off – Scout Benediction
Taps

INVESTITURE CEREMONIES
RECOGNITION CEREMONIES
– Sample Presentation
– Providing Additional Information
– Visual Aids
INSTALLATION CEREMONIES
– Senior Patrol Leader Installation
– Patrol Leader Installation
NEW MEMBER JOINING CEREMONIES
– Joining Ceremony 1
– Joining Ceremony 2

Troop Courts of Honor

Sample Agenda
Special Presentation: Law & Oath
Visual Aids
Advancement Presentations
RECOGNITION CEREMONIES
– Simple Presentations
– Lighting Candles
– Spotlight Rank Ceremony

Eagle Courts of Honor

Sample Agenda
Video: Sample Opening Ceremony
Eagle Charges
SCRIPTED CEREMONIES
– Trail of the Eagle
– Video: Trail to Eagle
– Voice of the Eagle
– Eagle Scout Obligations
– Eagle Pledge Script
– Challenge Ceremony
– The Four Winds
– Video: The Four Winds
– History of the Eagle and Man

Campfire Ceremonies

Troop Campfire Guidelines
LIGHTING THE FIRE
– Torch Lighting
– Magic Fire Lighting
– Flaming Arrow
– Enhancing the Lighting of the Fire
– Gifts from the Scout Oath
OPENINGS
– Poetic Opening 1
– Poetic Opening 2
– Poetic Opening 3
– Words to Set the Mood 1
– Words to Set the Mood 2
– Opening Applause
CLOSINGS
– Thorns and Roses
– Closing Wish
– Troop Circle – Scout Benediction
– Taps
– Scout Vespers

Webelos Crossover 

The Bridge
What’s Presented
Outdoor Ceremonies
Simple Bridge Crossing Ceremony
Simple Pack Meeting Crossover
Rudyard Kipling Crossover