Scouting For Food

September 3, 2010 -- This year, more families in Maine are facing choices between increasingly expensive food, fuel, medicine and other basic necessities. The pain is real. Our local food agencies are witnessing it firsthand. Requests are up; donations are down. We can help! Scouting for Food has been a national Scouting Good Turn for 24 years, and this year we need to work even harder than before. Our 2010 program will begin with the distribution of door hanger flyers on Saturday, November 6, 2010 and will instruct on the food pick-up to take place on Saturday, November 20, 2010. In order to help coordinate the effort, please provide your unit #, contact name, phone number and email, as well as which local food pantry your unit will supply to: Julie Kahler, 127 Hanscom Road, Eliot, ME 03903 or via phone (207) 439-1229 or cell (603) 531-1229 or email scouting4food@aol.com. A flyer about the Scouting for Food program for 2010 is downloadable here. Thank you for doing your good turn.

Training Opportunities

September 2, 2010 -- With the start of the Fall Scouting season, a number of training opportunities have been announced for Scout leaders to prepare to deliver a great Scouting year. The Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills (ITOLS) will be held at Camp Hinds in Raymond over the weekend of October 22-24, 2010. Click on the ITOLS tag to left to download the registration form. Webelos Leader Outdoor Training (WLOT) and Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation (BALOO) will take place also at Camp Hinds in Raymond over October 22 through October 23, 2010 and is focuses on Webelos Leaders and Pack Leaders respectively. Click on the BALOO and WLOT tags on the left to download the registration form. Cub Scout Basic Leader Training (CSLBT), Scoutmaster Fundamentals, Troop Committee Challenge, Venture Leader Training and Den Chief Training are all available on Saturday, October 2, 2010 at the Saco City Hall, 300 Main Street, Saco in the period of 8am-5pm. Check the flyer at the left to download the registration form and get more details on the correct times. Manditory Youth Protection Training (YPT) will also be available on October 2 in Saco.

York District Award of Merit

June 4, 2010 -- Congratulations to the 2010 District Award of Merit recipients--Pam Doyle, Bill Frederick and Ron Lance! Honored for their outstanding service to Scouting youth in York District, Pine Tree Council, the distinctive overhand knot of the District Award of Merit is the highest honor for service that can be bestowed by Scouting at the District level. Congratulations!

Silver Beaver Nominations Sought

June 4, 2010 -- David Sinclair, Pine Tree Council Advancement Committee Chairman, announced recently that Pine Tree Council is seeking nominations for the Silver Beaver Award, the highest honor for service to Scouting youth that the local Council can bestow to a registered member of the BSA. Award nominations are being sought through August 1, 2010 and can be submitted in writing to the Pine Tree Council Office, 131 Johnson Road, Portland, ME 04102 via the Silver Beaver nomination form. Download a nomination form here.

Historic Merit Badges for 2010

April 6, 2010 -- The Historic Merit Badge requirements for 2010 are now available online at http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/AdvancementandAwards/MeritBadges.aspx. This Merit Badges are only available during this Centennial Year. Earn them before they are gone again!

University of Scouting

March 28, 2010 -- Slides and handouts from a few of the University of Scouting presentations at Central Maine Community College in Auburn on Saturday, March 27, 2010 are available on the York District University of Scouting Page.

New District Commissioner--Denis Hamann

March 27, 2010 -- Congratulations to the new York District Commissioner Denis Hamann of Lyman! Denis, current District Training Chairman and former Scoutmaster of Troop 399 in Lyman, became the District Commissioner in March. We wish Denis the best as he serves all of the units in York District! Thank you Denis!

Klondike Derby News

March 5, 2010 -- Hey gold rushers!!! The results are in. . .and boy howdy did you guys find gold!!! The assayer’s office has posted the tally with the top miners posted.

Top miners – Senior
1st Place           313      Nightcrawler
2nd Place          323      Redneck
3rd Place           304      Grizzly
4th Place           308      Panther
5th Place           340      Flaming Arrow
Best Sled          301      Cobra
Fastest Sled      399      Imperial Scout
Lightest Sled     304      Grizzly

Top miners – Junior
1st Place           340      Ghost Wolf
2nd Place          330      Crazy Banana Bomb
3rd Place           329      Lightning
4th Place           312      Cobra
5th Place           304      Preposterous Panda
Best Sled          340      Ghost Wolf
Fastest Sled      312      Cobra
Lightest Sled     338      Iron Squirrel

Frozen Few
Troop 301
Troop 320

- Klondike Pete!

Scouters Rendezvous

April 6, 2010 -- The Ninth Annual Scouters' Rendezvous is scheduled for Saturday, April 10, 2010 at Camp Nutter, Acton, ME. The cost is $10 to cover the CD of information, rental and insurance. Scouters are welcome to attend the entire weekend (April 9-11), but Saturday is the "big day". An informational handout is available here. Make plans now for your unit leadership to attend and email David Wade to RSVP to ensure enough food is available for the participants.

Don’t forget!!!  This weekend is the Rendezvous at Camp Nutter!
Would you like a copy of the first 1910 Scout handbook and the 1912 handbook?  They are yours by showing up. 
Come for a few hours, the day or the weekend.  Cost $10.00 to cover the 1,000 plus page CD you will get and other goodies.
Schedule - Doors open Friday night at 4:00 for fellowship, set up and a visit to Ted’s. 
Saturday morning things start hopping around 9:00 with morning full of programs and open floor discussions. 
Lunch is pot luck, with mysterious meals.  Have you ever had Savory Spam Cheesecake? 
Saturday afternoon will include more program and an opportunity to do a good turn at the Camp. 
Museum & Displays - Also there will be a preview of the Spring Camp-O-Ral Museum items including old Scouting movies and displays. 
Saturday Dinner - The rendezvous’ers will be helping out Troop 345 fundraising efforts by going over and eating all of their pulled pork BBQ.  Yummmmm. 
Saturday night more opportunities to have your scouting questions answered.  You can even sleep over night.
Scouter’s, and soon to be Scouter’s, one and all are Welcome!!!

New District Executive--Steve Saucier

January 25, 2010 -- For those of you who do not know yet, I am your new District Executive. I have served the Downeast District for the last 4 years and I am excited to be working with all of you. I can be reached at ssaucier@bsamail.org and 797-5252 ext. 24. I will be sending an update email out at least weekly, so watch your email accounts and please pass that information on to your unit leadership. The same information will be posted to the District Website here.

Friends of Scouting

January 25, 2010 -- Every year at this time, we like to have a representative from the Scouting program talk to all of our units about the Pine Tree Council and give Scouting Families the opportunity to support the program. If you have not scheduled a Friends of Scouting Presentation please contact me. Blue & Golds and Courts of Honors are great opportunities to schedule your presentation.

Cabela’s Letter for Eagle Scouts

January 25, 2010 -- Dick Cabela, founder of Cabela's sporting goods store is an Eagle Scout. Requests can be made to the following contact information for letters of congratulations for Eagle Scouts. Greg Sirpis is the Events Coordinator at the Cabela's in Scarborough and Exalted Ruler of the Elks Lodge in Portland. Greg in particular is excited to help honor Eagle Scouts.
Greg Sirpis, Events Coordinator, Cabela's, Inc., 100 Cabela Blvd, Scarborough, ME, 04074-5507, greg.sirpis@cabelas.com
Mr. Dick Cabela, Chairman of the Board, Cabela's, Inc., 1 Cabela Dr., Sidney, NE, 69160-1001

Council Training Schedule Online

January 5, 2010 -- The current Pine Tree Council Training Calendar has been put on the District Website with the latest information as to locations and dates of the upcoming training events. There is a contact coordinator for each training event if you are interested in further information. The Training Calendar is located at http://www.yorkdistrict.org/trainingschedule.php.

Cub Scout Activities Guide Posted

November 30, 2009 -- The York District Cub Scout Activities Guide has been posted on the District Website in the Program section. This guide is full of York District Cub Scout-tested program activities around the area that might be the source of your next great Pack or Den adventure. Thanks to Bruce Theriault and the District Camping Committee for their work in compiling this set of information. A quick link to download the guide (in Adobe PDF form) is here.

Roundtables--A Place Where Everyone Knows Your Name

The 2010-2011 District Roundtable Program is off to an active start in both the Cub Scout and Boy Scouting worlds. Cub Roundtable Commissioner Jody Hart has planned an information-filled program co-mingling a traditional discussion and exercise in the following month's National theme for Cub Scouting that follows the new Cub Scouts 2010 program delivery method, along with training presentations on Cub Scouting-relavent topics from local Scouting leaders. In the Boy Scout Roundtable program, seasoned participants are experiencing topics that have timeless value to Scout leaders. Boy Scout Roundtable Commissioner Dave Wade, in conjunction with the Roundtable Staff, have planned topics specific to each month's roundtable that can be used by the new Boy Scout Leader or the "Old Timer" alike. Roundtables are operated separately as compared to much of the combined manner of the last several years. For more details on the Roundtable Programs, see the Roundtable section of the District Website, and better yet, attend the Cub Scout or Boy Scout Roundtables, both held simultaneously at Sanford High School, Route 109, Sanford from 7pm-8:45pm on the First Thursday of each month. See the District Calendar for the 2010-2011 dates. And, see you there!