Orion District

November 13, 2021

University of Scouting is a semi-annual training event for leaders of all program levels, district and council leaders and parents. Sessions are led by experienced volunteers who will help you enhance your ability to deliver a fun and exciting program to the Scouts. This unique day of seminars provides information, techniques, and best practices on how to improve your Scout program. Whether you are new to the program or a veteran of many years, University of Scouting has something for you.

Classes are offered for leaders of Cub Scouts, Webelos Scouts, Scouts BSA, Venturing and Sea Scouts, and various topics such as outdoors, high adventure, conservation, advancement, and STEM/NOVA and for commissioners. Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills and College of Commissioner Science is also being held.

Learn More and Register

Help promote Scouting on social media by adding a photo frame around your profile picture. Encourage families to Text Cub Scout, Scouts BSA or crew to 833-301-1301. They will be sent to www.shac.org/join, a website with all packs listed by school district and links to register online.

To find the frame, click on edit/update your profile picture (or go to www.facebook.com/profilepicframes), search for a frame by entering Sam Houston Area Council, then choose one of our four frames.

Recruiting Website

It's time to sign up for summer camp. Summer camp is a week-long council-organized overnight camp for Scouts BSA that operates under council-retained leadership. The program provides opportunities for Scouts to earn merit badges along their advancement trail.

Summer camp is held at Camp Strake, a first-class and state-of-the-art facility for Scouts and their leaders. Program areas include shooting sports (rifle, shotgun, archery, sporting arrows), climbing, rappelling, boating (canoeing, kayaking, paddle boarding), swimming, ATV riding, ziplining, merit badge classes and more.

Learn More and Register

Full Throttle is a weekend event for Scouts BSA. Troops who are camping at Camp Strake April 8-10, April 29 - May 1, or May 7-8, 2022, can sign up their Scouts to participate in activities such as shooting sports (rifle, shotgun, archery), climbing, COPE (high-ropes course), zipline, swimming, canoeing, kayaking, paddleboarding or ATV riding. The camp staff provides the program leadership. Registration is now open for spring.

Learn More and Register

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Dear Scouting Family of the Sam Houston Area Council,

The leadership of the Sam Houston Area Council would like to present this, our fifteenth update, on our response to the COVID-19 outbreak and protocols for Scouting operations going forward. We appreciate your continued patience as we navigate this situation.

• Unit programming should be conducted under current guidelines from the State of Texas and the CDC with the approval of the unit’s chartered organization and subject to the current COVID-19 protocols of any meeting or activity facility.
• Effective immediately, all visitors and staff that are fully vaccinated for COVID-19 will be exempted from wearing a face-covering at all council-owned facilities, including the Cockrell Scout Center and all council camps. The council recommends that those individuals that are not fully vaccinated should continue to wear a face-covering where social distancing is not possible, except while eating, drinking, or participating in an activity where face coverings are not feasible, such as aquatics.
• District and Council meetings and events may be conducted in person and will utilize the same face-covering policy, unless held at a facility that is not council-owned, as those facilities may have additional restrictions that should be followed.
• Council camps will continue to utilize the COVID-19 Pre-Screening Form.
• Social Distancing should be followed in all situations where it is feasible.
• Overnight district and council activities and trainings are allowed for all Scouting programs. All district activities should have an event plan reviewed and approved by the District ERM Committee, and all council activities should have an event plan reviewed and approved by the Council ERM Committee.
• Effective May 24^th, the Cockrell Scout Center will resume normal office hours and operations on Monday through Friday, 8:00-4:30 p.m.

Our Enterprise Risk Management Team is working regularly and diligently to determine our plans going forward. If you have any questions regarding the COVID-19 response for the Sam Houston Area Council, please contact Thomas Franklin, Deputy Scout Executive, at thomas.franklin@scouting.org. The council remains committed to keeping our constituents updated regularly with new information as we have it. We will continue to communicate through three main mechanisms – Facebook, Email, and Council Website. Please consult these regularly for updates.

Learn More       BSA National Statement on COVID-19       Previous Updates      Rank Advancement Update  

To ensure that we promote our programs in a clear and Scout-like manner, it important to remind units to follow BSA Brand Guidelines and use approved materials from the BSA Brand Center in developing their recruiting materials. This includes following the requirements included in the Scouts BSA Branding Dos and Don’ts Guide and the associated Brand Training Guide.  

The Scouts BSA Brand Guidance Training is one of the efforts underway to be sure Scouters have a clear understanding of what they can do. This training should be shared with all volunteers to bring this understanding to all parts of our community.

BSA Brand Guidelines     BSA Brand Center    Scouts BSA Branding Dos and Don’ts Guide    Brand Training Guide

While our goal is to encourage youth to join our program, we must always be clear in our communications about the program they are joining.

• We are The Boy Scouts of America.
• The Boy Scouts of America and Girl Scouts of the USA are different organizations.
• We support all other youth organizations and do not disparage them.
• We encourage parents to enroll all youth in a character development program that meets their needs – and the BSA is certainly ready to welcome them.

The council offers are a variety of first aid training courses throughout the year including First Aid/CPR/AED, First Aid/CPR/AED Instructor Course, and Wilderness First Aid.

Learn More and Register

Many units and families are discovering creative ways to have fun Scouting at home. When using digital and online resources, there are some important guidelines from the National Council about youth protection, safeguarding personal information and recording online meetings.

Across the nation, Scouters are finding ways to help keep their youth members engaged and Scouting. These out-of-the-box, in-home activities are centered around providing advancement-related content to help keep kids safe, engaged and to help them make the best of home time.

Digital Safety       Scouting at Home       COVID-19 Updates       Advancement Update

While many Scout units have a desire to return to Scouting activities, they have questions about how to do so safely during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Learn the steps your unit can take to help return to Scouting activities. During the recent webinar on how to hold meetings safely during COVID-19, attendees received tips on the key steps they can be taking right now to find a safe way to return to their meeting activities.

Learn More

The Scouting Trail is a monthly handout provided to units at roundtable describing upcoming council events for the next quarter. This is a great resource for Scouters and parents.

The Scouting Trail: October 2020

Cub Scouting / Scouts BSA / Venturing / Sea Scouting Rank Advancement and COVID-19

Questions regarding advancement have arisen as we deal with closures, cancellations, or other issues caused by the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). Although there are difficulties and constraints, advancement can continue. Youth, parents, and leaders should work together to implement creative, common sense ways to facilitate advancement while adhering to the Guide to Safe Scouting and following the rules of youth protection.

Learn More (link updated frequently)

Now you can support Scouting without lifting a finger — or at least not more than one. AmazonSmile, the simple and no-cost way to donate to the Sam Houston Area Council, now works on the Amazon Shopping app for iPhone and Android.

That means it’s easier than ever to support Scouting anytime, anywhere. Through its AmazonSmile program, Amazon donates 0.5% of eligible purchases to the charity of your choice — at no cost to you. You’ll get the same prices, selection and service found on Amazon.com, but now Amazon gives 0.5% of its cut to a good cause.

The Sam Houston Area Council is an eligible AmazonSmile charity. Individual packs, troops, posts, ships and crews are not eligible.

Previously, AmazonSmile required the user to shop using their browser — either on a desktop computer or through the mobile browser on a smartphone. That meant that when you shopped in the official Amazon app, you weren’t contributing to your chosen charity — even if you had already activated AmazonSmile. By adding AmazonSmile to its official app, Amazon is making the program available anytime, anywhere. So now when you buy a blender from the back seat or a printer from the patio — our council still gets that 0.5%.

If you aren’t yet an AmazonSmile member, sign up at smile.amazon.com using a web browser (mobile or desktop). You’ll sign in with your Amazon credentials, and the site will walk you through the process. Amazon will ask you to choose your favorite charity. This is where you search for “Sam Houston Area Council.”

Learn More