Council Exec Shares Her Thoughts
Happy New Year! While 2010 was a very exciting year, I am looking forward to a full year here in the Chief Seattle Council. I am excited about all the possibilities that 2011 will bring!

This year's theme is Character – under construction, and that is exactly what we intend to do! If we look at the Scouting program as the construction materials for building young leaders of tomorrow, we would make sure that all parts of the project are superior. That is why we need all leaders trained and understand how to deliver a quality program. We need to continue updating our camping facilities and keep the camping programs exciting. We need to grow our district committees and commissioner staffs so the units have the outstanding support that they need. We need to make sure we are meeting the needs of parents and chartering organizations. That is how we grow a strong Scouting program.

As the council embarks on the 2011-2016 Strategic Plan, we will be looking for ways to retain more youth, recruit more volunteers at all levels and train them, get parents more engaged, chartering organizations more involved and more youth to camp. These are all the materials we need to build our leaders.

As many of you know, 2010 was the last year for Centennial Quality Award. The new award is called Journey to Excellence. This focuses on all those items that are an important part of the development of our youth – camping, advancement, training, service projects, etc. Please take a look at the worksheet that applies: District, Pack, Troop, and Crew by clicking on the appropriate link.

I look forward to working with you this year as we build of future. Thank you!

We NEED Your Photos From Scouting Events!
Our wonderful marketing team at Garrigan Lyman are working on a new video to be shown at our upcoming fundraisers, and WE NEED YOUR HELP!! The video is to feature Scouts in action doing things from fishing to soccer to pinewood derbies or camping. We need photos of your Scouts to make this possible! Please email photos to jmcgrew@seattlebsa.org, or for the more tech savvy, they can be submitted directly to GLG:

1. Copy and paste: ftp://boyscouts:photos@ftp.glg.com into the address bar of your "My Computer" window and hit "Enter"
2. Drag & drop your activity photos into the folder

Popcorn Sale Success
The 2010 popcorn sale had more units selling more popcorn, which resulted in nearly $600,000 returned to packs, troops, and crews in the council! Thank you to the volunteers and Scouts that made this sale another record breaking year.

Congratulations to our Top Popcorn Selling Scouts & Units!

Council Top Selling Scouts:
Daniel McCoy - $4,423, Pack 799 Aquila District
Mathew Craig - $4,329, Pack 4490 Mt. Olympus District
James Joko - $4,130, Pack 556 Sammamish Trails District

Top selling unit in each District (without online sales):
Alpine - Pack 682: $24,586
Aquila - Pack 955: $18,017
Aurora - Pack 167: $18,137
Cascade - Pack 641: $12,107
Foothills - Pack 711: $16,173
Green River - Pack 480: $16,261
Mt. Olympus - Pack 4490: $17,862
North Lakes - Troop 574: $18,846
Orca - Pack 4552: $13,595
Sammamish Trails - Pack 581: $18,974
Sinclair - Troop 1532: $13,101
Soccer & Scouting - Pack 288: $1,864
Thunderbird - Troop 15: $7,454

2011 Commissioner Convention
March 26, 2011 - LDS North Stake Center
Save the date, our location is confirmed. Our host will be the LDS North Stake Center, 5701 8th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105. Registration will be available shortly. The Commissioner Convention our annual conference & training for ALL commissioners and those interested in knowing more about commissioner service. There will be sessions for District Commissioners and Assistant District Commissioners, Unit Commissioners, Roundtable Commissioners and RT staff. We are working on the day's agenda and will have that available very soon. You can look forward to (as we have in the past) the opportunity for extensive discussion about critical issues that we face in the delivery of effective commissioner service. I have appreciated the feedback about offering an opportunity for training with real life examples of how to best apply the training. It's a great combination of training in a workshop setting. Remember...Every Scout & Venturer in the BSA deserves trained leaders & trained commissioners.

Downtown Breakfast
The 2011 Downtown Breakfast will be held on Wednesday, March 16th, 2011 at the Seattle Sheraton, Grand Ballroom. We are excited to announce that this year's breakfast will be chaired by Eagle Scout and CEO of McKinstry, Dean Allen. Building on the tradition set forth in 2010, the Chief Seattle Council will be recognizing another Pillar of Puget Sound to join the 2010 class of Phil Smart, Sr., Phil Condit, and Jack Creighton.

This is the Chief Seattle Council's largest fundraiser of the year. Funds raised will go towards supporting more than 40,000 youth and adult Scouting members in the Puget Sound area.

To get a table at the event or to reserve an individual spot, please contact staff advisor Ryan Larson at rlarson@seattlebsa.org or call at 206-902-2364.

2011 Seattle Mariners FOS Luncheon
The 2011 Seattle Mariners Friends of Scouting Luncheon is on Friday, January 28, 2011 at the Bellevue Hyatt Regency, Evergreen ballroom. Brian Kirkpatrick, EVP and Chief Financial Officer of T-Mobile, USA is Co-Chairing this undertaking where the South end (Seattle Mariners South Luncheon) and the Eastside (Seattle Seahawks Eastside Breakfast) Friends of Scouting events are being combined into one in 2011. Like in the past few years, program at the friends of Scouting luncheon will involve panelists ranging from the General Manager, Jack Zduriencik and new Field Manager, Eric Wedge and a current or past player of the Mariners. The voice of the Mariners, Rick Rizzs will be the emcee the event. This will be the council's first major fundraiser for the year 2011. Funds raised will go towards supporting more than 40,000 youth and adult Scouting members in the Puget Sound area.

To get a table at the event or to reserve an individual spot, please contact staff advisor Keka Majumdar at kmajumdar@seattlebsa.org or call at 206-902-2329.

Commissioner's Corner
by Kevin Baker
Happy New Year! Our Centennial year is coming to a close and we can look forward to the start of our next 100 years in the BSA. It’s been an outstanding year in the Chief Seattle Council. We started the year with a big task…to find a new Scout Executive to replace Brad. The process was a long one but absolutely worth it. We welcomed Sharon mid-year with much excitement. I must add, the council professional & administrative staff does an incredible job to work with and support the volunteers of our council. We have superb leadership and management in our council. Our council camps continue to offer the very best in program & camp experience for our youth. Many of the Scouts, Scouters & professionals participated in an outstanding National Jamboree, celebrating our centennial, a once in a life time experience! Outstanding community service has been at an all time high throughout this past year. The Boy Scouts of America has a very rich history and presence. No doubt he BSA has made an indelible mark on our country’s citizenship. Thank you for all you do for Scouting and making such a positive difference in the lives of your children and the youth of our community. It doesn’t take too much of the news to help validate the importance of our movement. I want to extend a special thank you to all of you for taking the time needed to re-charter your units and to review your Centennial Quality Unit goals for 2010.

As we look at the coming year…what are your goals to make your unit program that much better? We’ve always talked about retention, but this year and in the coming years, we must make that more of a priority. Think of it this way. As parents, we want our kids in Scouting for a number of reasons. Perhaps we had a great experience as a Scout, or maybe not? But still understand the value of Scouting. So what about the other kids that don’t have involved parents? Don’t they deserve the same great experience? Sure they do! Work with all the youth in the same way you would work with your own children. You just don’t know what kind of impact you have made until well after the fact.

CAMP STAFF OPPORTUNITIES
Winter Camp and Mom & Me staff lead at Camp Sheppard, popular weekend programs. Positions are available Fall, Winter and Spring. Click here for an application.



PROVISIONAL CAMP
Do you have Scouts going to camp with their troop but want to go for a second week? Provisional Troop is the answer! Available at Camp Pigott and Camp Parsons – click here for more information.

Trainer Development Conference - Trainer's EDGE
When James E. West, the first Chief Scout Executive, was asked to identify the three most important needs of the Scout organization he responded, "Training, more training, and still more training!" Come join us at the Trainer Development Conference—Trainer's EDGE on Sat., February 5, 2011 at the Mercer Island LDS Church; 4001 Island Crest Way, Mercer Island 98040.

The course is scheduled to run from 7:30 am (registration) until 5PM. It is a full day of training techiques that incorporates the teachings of past Train The Trainers with the current Trainers EDGE syllabus. Additional new material has been added to this year's course! The cost is only $15/person but the cost will go up on January 21st to $20! Sign up now and save $5!!!

This conference is designed to improve the skills of trainers, both adult and youth*. Also this course is now a requirement for those wanting to staff National Youth Leadership Training and/or Wood Badge. Additional information is available on the council website, or contact West Niver at cw.niver@yahoo.com with your questions.

Reflecting on Our Journey Together
A recap of 100th Anniversary activities by Bob Mersereau
In the winter of 2008, we "Set Our Compass" at planning workshops across the country. National and local councils came together to build a plan. What we have achieved together since that time is nothing short of remarkable. We sought to awe, inspire, and have a whole lot of fun—and boy, did we! But we also accomplished much more. While celebrating 100 years of Scouting adventures, we positioned the BSA to continue the journey into a second century of service. We celebrated, with a purpose. Over these two years, every council engaged in the celebration succeeded in recruiting new members and volunteers, building relationships with supporters, and enhancing awareness of Scouting’s tremendous value.

Nationwide, here is a sample of what we achieved:
• More than 150,000 Scouting alumni reconnected.
• Thousands of trees were planted across America, helping to grow the BSA Centennial Forest.
• 286,011 visitors to the Adventure Base 100 campus.
• More than 360,000 award ribbons earned through the Year of Celebration program (open through December 31).
• Nearly 99,000 hits to the Ustream broadcast of A Shining Light Across America, many representing groups of viewers.
• The Scouting story told to millions across America.
• So much more!

See you along the Scouting trail in 2011!