bkale

Thank you for taking time to look at the program and the kind words.

These medals would be treated the same as Historic Trail medals and non-BSA issued awards. They may be worn along the left pocket flap seam (no more than 5 medals at any one time) and only for "special occassions" such as parades, COR, Blue and Gold, etc.

Not to toot my own horn (but I will).. but I have started up a replacement program....

Youth Patriotism Awards

www.youthpatriotism.org

Thank you for considering it.

TA-TONKA!! TA-TONKA!!

We may be slow but people know where we go....

BUFFALO!!!

DanKroh.. that is a GREAT point. I was so totally in the mindset of American History that I did not think outside of that box. It probably didn't help that I was a Civil War re-enactor for over 12 years and think in those kind of terms.

I will make changes to the requirements and repost them in the next day or so.

Thank you so much for reviewing the program for me and for your kind words.

YIS,

Brian

Received the Heritage medals (both silver and gold) from the manufacturer and I am very pleased.

Really looking forward to my first person completing the requirements.

YIS,

Brian

Received the Heritage medals (both silver and gold) from the manufacturer and I am very pleased.

Really looking forward to my first person completing the requirements.

YIS,

Brian

Ok... just finished the first weekend of my Wood Badge course and had a BLAST. My patrol struggled a little with a good Buffalo cheer/yell. Part of it is that Buffaloes roam and grunt for a natural sound. We ended up landing in Ta-Tonka (from Dancing with Wolves) but it just doesn't seem right. I am tasked with coming up with some other alternates before the second weekend.

Does anyone have any suggestions? sources of historic yells? Past experience?

Help...

Thanks. Brian

Hello everyone.. and have a safe Patriot's Day.

The Youth Patriotism Awards program officially starts TODAY.

Please take a moment to read thru the requirements and hopefully find ways to incorporate the program in scouting, schools, youth groups, and whatever else youth are doing. We really need to make a larger effort to promote patriotism and constructive involvement in this country.

http://www.youthpatriotism.org

Thank you all for your time and attention.

Once again.. thank you all for the words of encouragement.

The program opens up on Thursday, Sept 11. I would love to hear from anyone that is using the program.

Thanks,

Brian

The Nations Trails awards has not been "discontinued" exactly. The biggest problem with the Nations Trails program is that the company has ceased mailing out awards (or if they do it is very sporadic and after 6 months or so). They will still cash your check but after that it is hard to say.

Thank you for taking the time to consider the program that I have put together. I can't wait until it takes off the ground. I would have started it earlier but am awaiting my first batch of medals from my supplier (arrive Sept 9th).

Please feel free to contact me with any questions and/or comments.

Brian

ypa@youthpatriotism.org

Service requirements are up. I will spend the weekend working on the site so the requirements show up in html and not just PDF. I am also, after great advise, going to add a section talking about the why this program began and a little about the people running it (me right now).

Service requirements

Silver (6-10)

http://www.youthpatriotism.org/Youth_Patriotism_Awards_Service_SILVER.pdf

Gold (11-18)

http://www.youthpatriotism.org/Youth_Patriotism_Awards_Service_GOLD.pdf

Adult

http://www.youthpatriotism.org/Youth_Patriotism_Awards_Service_GOLD_adult.pdf

Please feel free to send questions and comments my way.

Thanks for looking at the program.

Well.. the site and requirements keep growing. I have posted the PDF version of the Citizenship requirements. (only Service to go)

Please review the requirements and I hope start thinking about how you can integrate this program in your year.

Youth 6-10

http://www.youthpatriotism.org/Youth_Patriotism_Awards_Citizenship_SILVER.pdf

Youth 11-18

http://www.youthpatriotism.org/Youth_Patriotism_Awards_Citizenship_GOLD.pdf

Adult

http://www.youthpatriotism.org/Youth_Patriotism_Awards_Citizenship_GOLD_adult.pdf

Thank you all that have sent me encouraging emails. It really does help keep me going and hopeful that this program will be well recieved.

Tell others about the program and talk about it at your Roundtables.

More is up on the web site. There are a few bad links still but I am moving ahead as fast as one person can.

I have added the requirements for the Freedom awards (Silver, Gold, and Adult)

http://www.youthpatriotism.org/Youth_Patriotism_Awards_Freedom_SILVER.pdf

http://www.youthpatriotism.org/Youth_Patriotism_Awards_Freedom_GOLD.pdf

http://www.youthpatriotism.org/Youth_Patriotism_Awards_Freedom_GOLD_Adult.pdf

Please look at the site and the requirements and tell me what you think. Hope to have the Citizenship requirements up by the end of the upcoming weekend.

Requirements have been completed for the Heritage portion of the Patriot Awards. I am in the process of populating the website but couldn't wait to get the requirements out there and hear some comments.

Cub Scout Age

www.youthpatriotism.org/Youth_Patriotism_Awards_Heritage_SILVER.pdf

Boy Scout ages

www.youthpatriotism.org/Youth_Patriotism_Awards_Heritage_GOLD.pdf

More info when the website is updated and I complete requirements for the other three medals.

I have put out some feelers on this forum a couple of time but most of them I guess were too buried in multiple threads.

With the apparent demise of the US Heritage Award by Nations Trails, I was very saddened to not have a program for my Cub Scouts to follow to learn more about our country as well as allow the boys to earn a medal for their uniform. I grew up in scouting and with a very solid base in patriotism and thirst for knowledge about my country and I want my Cubs (as well as my sons) to have the same).

I have finally come to a decision about what I want to do about this. I have started a new program called the Patriotism Awards. The awards are a set of four medals. The four medals each focus on one of the four major pillars of Patriotism: Heritage, Freedom, Citizenship, and Service.

The website is: www.youthpatriotism.org

I have completed the design for the medals and have checked far and wide for manufacturers of medals. I think I have found a reputable one and have placed my first order and eagerly await the medals.

I am in the final stages of completing the requirements for the Heritage award and hope to have it completely rolled out by Sept 11, 2008 (Patriot's Day). Soon after that, I will roll out the requirements for the other three medals.

I am working to have two sets of requirements per medal (one for younger boys - Cubs and Webelos and another set for Boy Scout/Venture ages).

Please keep an eye out on the site and be sure to give me feedback (hopefully constructive and at least non-flame).

I am very excited to be moving forward with this and hope that it will be a great program for scores of units and boys.

I was so disappointed when the program has gone away that I am doing something about it.

I have started a new award program called the "Youth Patriot Awards".

I am in the final stages of getting the requiremments together and should be posting them soon. I have also been in contact with several makers of medals and have decided on one and placed my first order.

The award will cover four aspects of Patriotism: Heritage, Freedom, Citizenship, and Service. Each one will have it's own medal.

www.youthpatriotism.org

Stay tuned for more info. I am very excited to be able to do this. Send comments and/or suggestions.

Glad to hasve a fellow NoVA scouter on board.

Brian

Pack 71 - Leesburg, VA

NCAC 2007 Annual Report came out with the following numbers:

86,116 youth members registered

23,355 adult volunteers

1,710 packs, troops, teams, and crews

1,188 Scouts achieving rank of Eagle in 2007

500,000 pounds of food gathered for Scouting for Food

According to the council website we are a Class 200.

Well.. my Council is the National Capital Area Council...

the figures from the 2006 Annual Report (2007 report comes out in a couple weeks) give our total as of Dec 31, 2006 as:

48,981 Cubs, Scouts, Venturers, and Varsity Scouts

1,691 Packs, Troops, Crews and Teams

23,2123 registered volunteers

geographically comprised of ten counties in Northern Virginia, six counties in Maryland, and the District of Columbia.

I do know that we had a record increase last year and what I was hearing at certain meetings was that this council moved up to 2 or 3rd in total membership in 2007.

I so love scouting and am trying my best to get that number to fly!!

Don't forget that the 145th Anniversary Gettysburg re-enactment will be happening on the July 4th weekend (4-6 July). It promises a very large (20k+ number of re-enactors).

http://www.gettysburgreenactment.com/

As a re-enactor from the past, I HIGHLY recommend taking as many boys as you can to one of these events. The re-enactors are great teachers and the boys always find fun things to see and experience.

I was going to say something similar. If the arrow points disappear to far into the pants and under the belt the boy is better off working on belt loops or other very worthwhile awards.

I was already thinking that the award would be a lot like the trail awards. Not run as an official scouting award... but more like a historic trail or how the US Heritage Medal used to be run.

Ok.. my background. My son (7 years old) has Apert's syndrome. Premature fusion of bones in the skull and was born without fingers and toes. He has since had "man-made" fingers created (4 per hand) and a couple of "supertoes" to allow him to walk. This also required him to have surgery on his skull at age 6 months. Complete reconstruction.

Apert's children look VERY different and deal with things VERY differently. Most people assume he has Downs without giving him a chance.

Okay.. enough background...

BSA is a national organization that has worked with millions of boys. I was a Scout as a boy and to tell you the truth I have NO recollection of any boy with any disability (physical, mental, or behavioral) ever coming across my path back then. Scouts chugged along for almost a hundred years dealing with "normal" boys.

In the past, before, what, 10 years ago, most children have had little to no chance to be involved with other boys unlike them and try to stretch into new worlds and experience what Scouting has to offer. Disabilities were in the closet and it was a huge deal. But Scouting was like the rest of society and just tried to take the boys that were involved into greater levels of character building.

Times have changed. But that change can not recreate an organization of the BSA size overnight. Add to the fact that the "ground troops" that work in the organization are volunteers and now you are dealing with cultural and social speed (glaciers move faster).

I am a Scout leader. I am constantly amazed at the amount of inclusion that my boys extend to my son and a couple others that are in my Pack. They are friends, encouragers, helpers, cheerleaders, supporters, and teammates. I can't tell you how many times I have seen my son frustrated to no end with what he just can't do... and start to close in on himself and disengage.. and then a couple (not always the same ones either) of the boys from the Den/Pack will go over and get him back on track, help, give him words of praise, and cheer his effort/success.

We have at least 2 Autistic boys in our Pack. Is Scouting especially "geared" to them? No.. it is not. Are there pre-setup alternate programs that are in the manuals and in the mainstream? Little without parent involvement and leader investigation/work. Is Scouting there to give the framework for incredibly touching moments, friendship, growth, and boys being greater than themselves?... YES IT IS!

I am incredibly sorry for the frustration of parents with children that are what the world views as different. I am one of those parents... but I am actually a little angry that so often we will blame the BSA. Do we think that BSA is not looking at this and trying to come up with a way to enable Scoting to include ALL boys? We just can't assume that it will be fast and all encompassing. BSA is just like any government agency or large business... things like this take time and will be studied, tested, and documented. There will be great attention to not derailing the scouting movement with a bad policy change that the press and public can decry.

These battles are rooted in how we, on the front lines, deal with them. Leaders without experience with any special needs children will struggle to include.. not because they don't want to.. but because they may just not know what to do. Does the BSA need to require training in handling disabilities? Maybe they do but already has a hard time getting 100% trained persons in positions. They already provide numerous training opportunities for those that look for them. Most times the leaders are leading 6, 10, 30, 100 boys... pretty maxed out and do not have the extra time/energy to add yet another program or 100% attention to one boy that may be required, especially if it is foreign to them. Is this a failing of BSA? No. This is the need for more volunteers to step up.

Scouting does not have the silver bullet for all boys. It does, however, have a time honored tradition of challenging boys and trying to provide them a chance to excell in whatever way they want to go.

Saying BSA is excluding non-mainstream boys is easy to say... but isn't it better to step in and teach others more of what we know? Isn't that the Scout way?