Message From The Scout Executive

Imagine 2024 Update!

(click the picture to watch the video)

 
 

 

Product Sales News

2015 Fall Product Sale University

 

Help your Unit build a strong annual program with Popcorn & Batteries!

There is NO upfront cost to your Unit to participate and Scouts can earn their own way to camp. This year, you can choose the prize program or cash bonus commission and there will be no limit on returns. The popcorn and battery sale also benefits the Council as a whole by helping us provide youth with a quality program!

There still is time for your Unit to commit to sell! Click here for more information or contact Tim Buchen at Tim.Buchen@Scouting.org. 

 

Kickoff Training
August 15th, 2015

9:00 AM Bridgewood Resort, Neenah or 10:00 AM Northern Michigan Univeristy, Marquette

Program News

Wood Badge

August 27 - 29, 2015
&
September 24 - 26, 2015

Time has run out for the normal sign up for this year’s Wood Badge course. However, we can accept a few more adults. At this late date, please contact Larry Peterson at 920-540-2658 or larrypeterson1121@gmail.com. (Participants must attend both weekends.) For more details on this event, click here.

 

Whitewater Weekends

September 11 - 13, 2015
&
September 25 - 27, 2015

Come join the fun of Whitewater Kayaking at Gardner Dam Scout Camp this Fall! Whitewater kayaking on the Wolf River is offered to all Venturing Crew members and Boy Scouts that are 13 years of age and have completed 8th grade. Leaders and parents are always welcome to participate as well. Participants are taught the techniques and safety of kayaking on a whitewater river plus the opportunity to use the camp’s COPE and climbing tower facilities. In addition, the weekend includes time for movies, campfires and getting to meet new friends. To register click here.

 

2017 National Jamboree

July 19 - 28, 2017

Calling all Scouts & Venturers...Register now for the 2017 National Jamboree! Click here to register and for more information. The Jamboree is all the history of the Scouting Movement rolled into 10 days of life-changing adventure, and you can be there for all of it.

 

Discovery Weekend for Scouts with Special Needs

August 21 - 23, 2015

Discovery Weekend is for all Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Venture Scouts with any type of disability. This will be a fun filled adventure weekend learning about animals from around Wisconsin. The weekend will include bb guns, archery, sensory stations, crafts, games, and a campfire. Hurry and register before the sign up closes on August 14th. For more informaiton on the event and to register, click here. Please contact Deb Bowers with any additional questions at deb.bowers@gapac.com.

 

Fall Mom & Son

September 19 - 20

Pack your tents and join us for fun activities and camping fun for scouts and their moms. This year's theme is a Hollywood theme. Spots are already filling up fast for this annual event, so be sure to register soon! Click here for more details and to register for this event.

 

Dad & Lad

August 21 - 23, 2015

Dad & Lad is a weekend camping program adventure for Dad and his Scouting son(s). Participants provide their own tents and personal gear and let the program coordinators fill in the rest! Weekend will include participation in over 30 program stations, use of camp facilities, four meals and a number of special campfire programs and activities. Click here to register and to obtain more information.

 

Scouting For Food

Bag Drop Off - October 10, 2015
Bag Pick-up - October 17, 2015

We challenge you to participate in the greatest food drive in Northeast Wisconsin and the UP!  Bags, posters, fliers, and territory sign up will be available at your District’s September Roundtable. Visit the calendar on the Council Website for dates and locations. To sign up and for lots of great support materials, please visit www.baylakesbsa.org/sff.  

Order of the Arrow

Order of the Arrow

 

Fall Conference

Fall Conference's are just around the corner. If you haven't signed up, there is still time. This will be the last chance to complete your Ordeals for the 2015 year. Register now by selecting the date and location below!

August 14-16, Bear Paw Scout Camp

August 14-16, Camp Hiawatha

August 21-23, Gardner Dam

August 21-23, Camp Rokilio

August 21-23, Camp Twin Lakes

 

NOAC

#OA100   #NOAC2015   #DareToDo   #KWRoadTrip   #RoadtoNOAC

You may have seen some or all of the hashtags above floating around the Lodge’s Facebook page (last week/a couple weeks ago) . On August 2nd, 87 Arrowmen from Kon Wapos Lodge, Bay-Lakes Council boarded busses, and the SS Badger and made their way the National Order of the Arrow Conference (NOAC) at Michigan State University. For an update on what has been happening at NOAC, click here.

Finance News

2015 Friends of Scouting Campaign

We continue to gain yardage as we move the ball down the field. We want to thank everyone who has assisted with the campaign and/or made a pledge to help us get into the END ZONE! Speaking of END ZONE….congratulations goes out to the Exploring Division who joins Lakeshore District for being the second to bust out of the Red Zone into the END ZONE for a TOUCHDOWN. Well done Team Exploring! We have a few others who have made it to the Red Zone, including the overall campaign, and need just a few more plays to score a TOUCHDOWN while a few other teams need some big plays!

How can you help? First, you can make a gift to your respective Team Campaign if you have not yet done so. If you have already made a gift please consider increasing your gift if you’re able, or ask your company about a matching gift or visit our website at http://www1.matchinggifts.com/scouting to check. Finally, consider asking someone to support our organization with a financial gift. They can do so by contacting Kristin.Ely-Blumke@scouting.org on our development staff or visiting http://www.baylakesbsa.org/invest-in-scouting/friends-of-scouting and clicking on the Donate Online Here button.

All gifts will be used to provide a quality Scouting program to 16,000+ youth members and families.

Council News

Welcome the New Kettle Country District Executive

Please welcome Mitchell Ziesemer to the Bay-Lakes Council as the newest District Executive for the Kettle Country District. Mitch started August 1, 2015 and is very eager and stoked to be joining the Bay-Lakes Council team. Mitch has fond memories growing up is Scouting.  As a youth he camped at Gardner Dam, Bear Paw, Rokilio, and Twin Lakes Scout camps with his Pack and Troop out of the community of Hortonville. A 2010 graduate of Hortonville High School and 2015 University of Wisconsin – Madison graduate with three degrees; Atmospheric & Oceanic Science, Physics, and Astronomy. Mitch recently relocated to West Bend and is primed to get back involved with the Scouting organization. Mitch earned the Rank of Eagle after completing an Eagle Scout Project constructing an 8' x 10' plywood scale map of the United States of America that continues to be used intricately in the Special Education Department at Hortonville Elementary School. As a new District Executive, Mitch looks forward to supporting adult volunteers, event development, working to achieve membership success, as well as other spontaneous tasks. When not wearing his District Executive hat, Mitch enjoys marathon running, reading classic novels, motorcycle riding, and landscape photography. Please extend a warm welcome to Mitchell Ziesemer as he begins his service in Professional Scouting. He greatly looks forward to meeting many new Scouts and Scouters alike in the coming weeks and months.

 

Imagine 2024 Update

  

The Council continues to move forward with implementation of its 10-year strategic plan called “Imagine 2024.” Details of how the plan came to be and the Councils vision for the next 10 years can be seen by visiting www.baylakesbsa.org/imagine2024. We would encourage you to take the time to watch the videos including the Plan Introduction and Town Hall Meeting.

Part of the plan calls for the disposition of some of the Councils property. The maintenance costs for the Council camps over the next 10 years is expected to exceed $903,000. After much thought, research, outside consultation, and surveys it was determined that the Council needed to reduce its assets so that we could focus on maintaining our remaining facilities at a very high level while adding new programs that attract and meet the needs of today’s youth. In addition, it was determined that a new state of the art Webelos Camp needed to be built on the Bear Paw facility to enhance the Webelos experience and increase the transition rate into Boy Scouting.

To that end, we have recently sold Camp Maywood Wilderness and 20 acres of Camp Jax. The dollars from the Maywood sale will be used for several things including the transition of our long tenured Caretaker, Howard Veldman, back to Kaukauna, investment into our Camping Trust to provide for future maintenance of the camp facilities, development of the new Webelos Camp, additional branding, maintenance, and construction, as well as the preparation for a capital campaign to raise the balance of dollars needed to bring “Imagine 2024” to life. In the case of Camp Jax, the dollars will be used to build and upgrade the infrastructure to better support and enhance usage.

Please visit the website for details and updates. To ask questions or provide feedback send us an e-mail at imagine2024@scouting.org.

 

Training

With Fall just around the corner, it’s time to start inviting new members and their parents to join our organization so that they might benefit from what Scouting has to offer.

The need for new leaders will surface with the addition of new youth members. Why not get these new leaders off to a great start by insisting that they become trained. Statistics show that parents want to join organizations that provides a safe haven for their child, provides trained leaders, and completes a background check on the adults that will be working with their child.

Visit the Council website at www.baylakesbsa.org/training to learn more about e-learning, youth protection training, and other training opportunities. 

 

Congratulations to the Units that are 100% Youth Protection Trained!

Click here to view a list of the Units that are 100% Youth Protection Trained!

 

Religious Emblems for Catholic Venturers

Did you know there are religious emblem programs available to Catholic Boy and Venture Scouts? Click here for more information on Emblems available.

 

Want to know the latest on New Units, Eagle Scout recipients, Leader Recognition and Religious Emblem recipients?  

Go to your Districts page on the Council Website or click here and choose your District from the list on the left and view the articles under District News.

Development News

Newest Development Director

  

The Bay-Lakes Council Development Department is in charge of securing funds through several means including grants/foundations, Friends of Scouting, Special Events, Product Sale, and Project Sales to name a few. In addition, they provide support to each of the Districts fundraising efforts. We recently added a new member to the team!

Please join us in welcoming Matt Miller to the Council as our newest Development Director. He is a graduate of Northern Illinois University with a degree in Industrial Technology. In addition, he has a Professional Development Certificate in Fundraising and Resource Development from UW Oshkosh. He brings a great deal of development experience to the Council from the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) where he served as the Development Manager. In this role he was responsible for raising over $3.2 million dollars in annual donations and bequests. In addition, he was Founder and President of Oshkosh Festivals, a 501 c3 company that was formed to showcase Oshkosh and its resources through cultural and ethnic events.

Please stop in and say hello when you’re at the Center for Scouting office.

 

25th Annual Golf Outing for Scouting

Green Bay Golf Outing ~ Green Bay Country Club

August 17th, 2015

This event is limited to 34 teams. Dinner, fellowship, a short awards and recognition program, door prizes, and live auction will conclude this event. For more information or to register, click here.

 

13th Annual Sporting Clays Shoot

Triple J Wing & Clays ~ Brillion, WI

September 11th, 2015

  The event ends with lunch, fellowship, a short awards and recognition program, door prizes, and live auction. Your support of the 2015 "Sporting Clays Shoot" will go directly to help keep the Shooting Sports programs going at all five Bay-Lakes Council camps. Register early as this event is limited to 150 shooters. Click here to register or find more information.

Memorial Tribute Fund

The Bay-Lakes Council Tribute Fund has been established for Scouters & Friends of Scouting. It gives you the opportunity to pay tribute to a relative or friend through a donation to the Council. This can be done as a congratulation, get well or sympathy from the donor.

 

In Memory of...

Marvin A. Stark

Marilyn E. Stark

Local News, Events & Information

Select your District below, to find out information on your local area.

Gathering Waters

Hiawathaland

Lakeshore

Ledge to Lakes

Kettle Country

Northern Lites

Twin Lakes

Voyageur

Don't know which District you're in? Click here