Thanks to all who attended the February 22 "State of the District" meeting in Morrow -- many great ideas discussed and shared, and great interest in making Scouting better are among our great volunteers.

Participating and sharing ideas were: Ramon Montgomery (District Executive), David Turner (Cubmaster of Pack 919, Scoutmaster of Troop 919), Nick Brooks (Scoutmaster of Troop 1906), Theresa Ramos (Committee Chair of Troops 919), Eric Marcus (Cubmaster of Troop 1030), Jason Toole (Den Leader in Pack 912), Brent Summers (Scoutmaster of Troop 54), Vonda Shands (COR of Pack 6235, Scoutmaster of Troop 3499, new "STEM Coordinator" for the District), Averil Bryant (Twilight Camp Director, from Pack 3499), Zena Gray (Committee Chair of Pack 963), Amanda Edwards (from Pack 963), Sapphira Smith (Committee Chair of Pack 1341), April Taylor (Cubmaster of Pack 964), Ramona Ryan (Committee Chair of Pack 7250), Robert Ryan (from Pack 7250) and Bert Bender (District Cub Leader Trainer and Webmaster, Chair at Pack and Troops 631).

The next meeting of District Helpers and Committee Members and Those With Ideas is 7:00 pm March 26 at __location to be determined__.  Register your plant to attend here.

Hello out there ... each of you is part of a local Pack, Troop or Crew, and from time to time you might think "hey, is anyone else out there?" and "Who is out there?" and "Do you want to do Scouting Activities with us sometimes?"  Because sometimes it's more fun with more families or more Scouts.  So, if you want to find out what Packs, Troops or Crews have Chartered Organizations (meeting places) near you, see the BeAScout site at https://beascout.scouting.org/, and you can contact them through that site, or if they are in the Southern Crescent District, we have names and emails of leaders/parents of our units in the Roster of District and Unit Adults at https://www.southfultonscouting.com/roster.  (Forgot the login?  Email the webmaster at webmaster@southfultonscouting.com.)  Two other ideas:

1. When you look at your BeAScout entry at https://beascout.scouting.org/, if you're thinking "uh, we could update that", know that you can do it ... See the Atlanta Area Council "Update BeAScout Pin" page at https://www.atlantabsa.org/updateBeAScoutpin.
2. Once upon a time, we ran a list of "what we're going to do" in a Comment here at What Our Scouts and Units are Doing, and that led to some joint Campouts, even a joint Philmont Crew ... in recent years, few have submitted ideas to share, but we still keep the list, because:

• Maybe we will want to start that up again (just Email the webmaster at webmaster@southfultonscouting.com)
• Or look at the list, and you might get ideas about where to go, and maybe you can ask the unit who went there for tips.

You Know What You Did!!  You did a good turn, a service project.  More than one.  You did it not to get a pat on the back, but because it is the right thing to do.  We know that.  We know you'd like more people to do service projects too, but you're humble and don't want to toot your own horn.  We get that.  But toot the horn of the Scouts in your Unit, and share what you've done ... in two ways:

1. JTE ("Journey to Excellence") Reporting.  The BSA asks that Units enter their "Service Hours" on that "Service Hours" page as part of a Unit's "Journey to Excellence".  For more, see the JTE site for how to enter "Service Hours".  Some who enter the hours like to assemble the data first on a spreadsheet like the Service Hours Reporting form attached on our Service Project page.  Yea!
2. Real World Reporting.  Better, let your community know what you did: notices, articles, pictures, posts of your Scouts in your local Church, School, Neighborhood, City Website, local newspaper, the AJC, Facebook, Insta ... let the world know that Scouts Serve.  And your Pack, Troop or Crew is making the world better.  

Why do this reporting?  For JTE, your numbers will now be part of a total number of service hours that gets reported somewhere, certainly on your unit's JTE form and the District and Council JTE form.  But more people will see your example if you do Real World Reporting - your community will respect you, and you might attract more families who want to make the community better.  For more, including Service Project ideas, see our Service Project page.

Does your Unit want to enter advancement in BSA Records?  Was that hard because you don't have your "code" for the Internet Advancement Site?  Is ScoutBook still a little confusing – even though it is free now (see https://www.scoutbook.com/)?  An easier solution now exists!  The BSA has released "Internet Advancement 2.0" (formerly referred to as “ScoutBook Lite”) for all Packs, Troops, Crews and Ships currently reporting advancement via Internet Advancement.  This upgrade provides a web based interface better designed to function on any platform, desktops, tablets, and smartphones.   The site can be found through ScoutBook, at https://scoutbook.scouting.org/login, or through https://my.scouting.org at Menu == > Legacy Web Tools == > Internet Advancement 2.0.

 Internet Advancement 2.0 will not use the Unit ID and shared password any longer.  Instead it will use the same Access Control system as My.Scouting and Scoutbook.  The unit Key 3 (Charter Organization Representative, Committee Chair, & Unit Leader), Key 3 Delegates, and any Unit Advancement Chair designated in Organization Security Manager (at My.Scouting for the Unit) will be able to enter the Advancement updates.  We highly recommend that one of your unit Key 3 go into Organization Security Manager right away to ensure that the unit Key 3 are properly reflected (My.Scouting will show who the Key 3 were when the charter renewed last spring, but may not reflect transition that often occurs at the end of a school year/program year).  We also recommend that a Key 3 leader adds Key 3 Delegates in Organization Security Manager (this has to be renewed every year), and that a Key 3 leader adds a Unit Advancement Chair in Organization Security Manager (this also has to be renewed annually).  For more, see this “Bryan on Scouting” Blog:  https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2019/05/29/internet-advancement-upgrades/.

Highlights of the most recent District News were these (click links for information):  What the National BSA’s Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Filing Means for You ... University of Scouting February 29 ... Sign Up Now: Cub Summer Camp is the Most Fun Event Ever ... VFW Scout of the Year Award ... and from the prior week: "State of the District" Event on February 22, 10 am to 2 pm ... District Awards and District Banquet -- We Need You! ... 

Bottom line:  Scouting continues.  The Program continues.  We continue to serve youth and build stronger families through Scouting.  Yes, the national organization of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to achieve two key objectives: equitably compensate victims who were harmed during their time in Scouting and continue to carry out Scouting’s mission for years to come.  Local councils have not filed for bankruptcy.  Nor have Packs, Troops, Crews or Ships.   

From the Bryan on Scouting Blog: "A common misperception is that “bankruptcy” means a company or organization is shutting its doors. But for non-profits, it’s just the opposite. In fact, you can expect to continue your Scouting experience, complete with unit meetings, service projects, campouts and the many more adventures that fill your schedules."  For more, see https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2020/02/18/the-boy-scouts-of-america-files-for-chapter-11-bankruptcy-heres-what-that-means-for-you/ and this YouTube video explains the Chapter 11 process and how it will help the BSA meet these objectives of equitably compensating victims and continuing to carry out Scouting's mission for years to come.