The LighthouseNov/Dec 1996
The Lighthouse
We have booked our flight for CJ and the balance will be due March 27, 1997. Final flight cost is $362.08 less your deposit. We are trying to organize a couple of busses to go to and from the airport. We will let you know later.
Good Scouting,
Scouter Jack
Born in Cape Breton, Hugh began as a Cub in 1939, and as a Scout he earned the King's Scout Award. His adult experience includes leadership and management positions in Nova Scotia, Quebec, British Columbia, Great Britain, and Ontario, and he holds the Silver Acorn and Silver Wolf awards.
He is a past Provincial Commissioner for Ontario, and served as Provincial Vice President responsible for Partner and Group Committee Relations, before accepting his similar role in our district, where he lives.
Hugh is responsible for liaison between the District Council and the partner organizations who sponsor the various groups in the district.
Registration cost is only $15.00 (including lunch, coffee breaks, and a crest) if you register before November 30 and there must be a minimum number of people registered by then or the conference will have to be cancelled, so don't delay! (This is not considered ``training'' so district training funds are not available, but many group committees pay the cost of members of their group.) Noreen Wild (668-5588) is the conference representative for Whitby District. Registration forms should be submitted though Noreen if you haven't already registered.
In addition to displays in the gym, there is a full range of information sessions to choose from; everything from how to lead crafts, songs, and stories with your Beavers and Cubs to ``effective recruiting'' and how to write honours and awards applications. Check out the full schedule on our web site or ask your group's council rep.
The Lakeridge Regional Conference is being held Saturday, March 22, 1997, at C.O. Bick Police College in Scarborough. Don't miss it!
``To maintain a strong focus on growth in youth membership, the Ontario Council has developed a membership incentive program called `Scouting for Scouts.' This program will recognize sections that achieve growth in youth membership by giving a 10% discount on the purchase of section program badges and section program resource material. The funding for this program has been made avaiable from a trust fund.
``When a section exceeds the youth membership from the previous year, the section Scouter will complete an application form, sample attached. The form is then sent to the office for verification. Once the registration has been verified the Ontario Council office will issue their discount card.
``The applications that are sent to region and district offices are to have the membership figure verified, both for the base number and the current registration. Once the region or district has verified the numbers the form is to be forwarded to the Ontario Council office to have the card issued. The applications tat are sent directly to the Ontario Council office will have the same check made and then have the crd issued. Please note that we will only recognize growth that is supported by proper and complete registration.
``The discount card is then presented when making a purchase at a Scout Shop for items that have been approved for the section.''
See your service team member for a full list of Scouts Canada publications and badges available at a discount to your section through this program.
After exploring some alternatives, we came to the conclusion that the reports' original ``Region 2'' was our basis for planning in this area. This is our current Lakeridge Region, with the exception of the district north of Metro Toronto, combined with what's currently Quinte Region, extending east to Peterborough and Belleville and north to the southern edge of Algonquin Park.
The fall of 1997 will see a dramatically different look for the regional and provincial levels of our Ontario Scouting organization. The regions across the province are being reduced to about half their present number and much of the office work now done by the provinicial office is being transferred to the new regions. This is designed to bring the support organization closer to the people and we should have better control of its organization and costs in our local area. A similar re-organization has taken place in the B.C.-Yukon council and is currently in process in Saskatchewan.
A committee has been working throughout the summer at developing a preliminary plan for our new region, which extends from Ajax-Pickering to Napanee and north to the edge of Algonquin Park. These areas are currently served by Lakeridge Region in the western portion and Quinte Region in the east. The province has also asked that we incorporate the present St. Lawrence region and this is being investigated. St. Lawrence region includes the area east of Quinte to the Quebec border and north past Ottawa, but not the National Capital Region.
One big change under the new plan is that all regions will have paid staff and probably offices. Under the present system, some regions, like London and Hamilton are employing, whereas others like ours are served by an employee of the Provincial Council (a Provincial Field Executive--PFE).
A contest will be announced soon for youth to name and design a badge for the new region, so it's not too soon to start thinking about it. There'll be more details on this available later.
We have managed to escape one fee increase this year, mostly because the announcement came too late to incorporate into the provincial fee. The national Scout insurance has increased from $1.25 to 2.50 and the cost to send the Leader magazine has also risen, by a dollar. The third factor is an increase in membership fees for the World Organization of the Scouting Movement. Part of this is due to an attempt to balance the load from the poorer countries towards the richer countries. The provincial executive committee has decided to absorb this $100,000 expenditure without raising provincial fees.
The provincial portion of this year's fee breaks down as follows: service (for our region): $10.49, provincial office (administration/maintenance): $5.04, training and Blue Springs provincial training camp: $3.26, Provincial Council management: $0.92, program activities and communications (Provincial Notes newsletter, promotion, honours & awards): $1.54, liability/indemnity insurance: $2.00, national fee: $3.55, world fee: $0.95, for a total of $27.75. A district levy is added to this in our district and some groups add a group levy as well.
Next year, due to regional restructuring, most of the provincial money will be administered by our new region, who will be responsible for processing registration forms and other functions that are currently provincial.
Many adult groups in our district are using the meeting room at Coffee Time donuts. When you book it, please give your name and the name of your group. If it's just booked for ``Scouts'' it's hard to find who to contact if there's any scheduling conflicts.