Todays North Star

The Old Phone

2008-03-31T06:09:00.000-07:00

When I was quite young, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighbourhood. I remember the polished, old case fastened to the wall. The shiny receiver hung on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the telephone but used to listen with fascination when my mother talked to it.   Then I discovered that somewhere inside that wonderful device lived an amazing person. Her name was "Information Please" and there was nothing she didn't know. "Information Please" could supply anyone's number and the correct time.

My personal experience with the genie-in-a-bottle came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbour. Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement, I whacked my finger with a hammer. The pain was terrible but there seemed no point in crying because there was no one home to give sympathy. I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving at the stairway. The telephone! Quickly, I ran for the footstool in the parlour and dragged it to the landing. Climbing up, I unhooked the receiver in the parlour and held it to my ear. "Information Please" I said into the mouthpiece just above my head. A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear.

"Information."   "I hurt my finger..." I wailed into the phone. The tears came readily enough now that I had an audience. "Isn't your mother home?" came the question.  "Nobody's home but me," I blubbered.   "Are you bleeding?" the voice asked. "No," I replied. "I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts."   "Can you open the icebox?" she asked. I said I could. "Then chip off a little bit of ice and hold it to your finger," said the voice.

After that, I called "Information Please" for everything. I asked her for help with my geography, and she told me where Philadelphia was. She helped me with my math. She told me my pet chipmunk that I caught in the park just the day before, would eat fruit and nuts. Then, there was the time Petey, our pet canary died. I called "Information Please," and told her the sad story. She listened and then said things grown-ups say to soothe a child. But I was not consoled. I asked her, "Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage?"

She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, "Wayne - always remember that there are other worlds to sing in."   Somehow I felt better.  Another day I was on the telephone and asked for "Information Please." "Information," said the now familiar voice. How do I spell fix?" I asked.

All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. When I was nine years old, we moved across the country to Boston. I missed my friend very much. "Information Please" belonged in that old wooden box back home and I somehow never thought of trying the shinny new phone that sat on the table in the hall. As I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really left me. Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity, I would recall the serene sense of security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.

A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle. I had about a half-hour or so between planes. I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my sister who lived there now. Then, without thinking what I was doing, I dialed my hometown Operator and said, "Information Please." Miraculously, I hear the small, clear voice I knew so well.   "Information."   I hadn't planned this, but I heard myself saying, "Could you please tell me how to spell fix?"   There was a long pause. Then came the soft spoken answer, "I guess your finger must have healed by now?"   I laughed, "So it's really you," I said. "I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time?"   "I wonder," she said, "if you know how much your calls meant to me. I never had any children and I used to look forward to your calls." I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and I asked if I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister. "Please do," she said. "Just ask for Sally."

Three months later, I was back in Seattle. A different voice answered "Information." I asked for Sally.  "Are you a friend?" she said. "Yes, a very old friend," I answered. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this," she said. "Sally had been working part-time the last few years because she was sick. She died five weeks ago."   Before I could hang up, she said, "Wait a minute, did you say your name was Wayne?"   "Yes," I answered.   "Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote it down in case you called. Let me read it to you."

The note said, "Tell him there are other worlds to sing in. He'll know what I mean."

I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant.
Never underestimate the impression you may make on others.  Whose life have YOU touched today?  Lifting you on eagle's wings. May you find the joy and peace you long for.

You have the future of Venturing in your hands and it is yours to build.

2007-10-09T09:13:00.000-07:00

I never thought I would admit it but I'm stumped! I don't know what else to try, where else to go, what else to do to attract kids to the Venturing program. If you cornered me (and some of you have) and asked me what to do to find and recruit kids for your Venture Crew I would give you a list of things to do, everyone of which I've tried.

My wife the Crew Adviser and myself followed to the letter the BSA format for holding an open house, but not one person showed up. We advertised in the local newspaper, our home owners association newsletter, announced it at Roundtable, and went to several different Troop meetings plus I sent out dozens of e-Mails including to NorthStar-L all to no avail. We told boys they could bring electronics to camp outs, we told them they could bring their girl friends. We told girls they could be the leaders of the crew, they could do the things Girl Scouts didn't let them do, they could climb mountains, scuba dive, shoot guns, whatever they wanted to do they could do. Not one girl showed up.

The National BSA program has been pretty set on stopping up the hole where we lose Cub Scouts namely between the ranks of Bear and Webelos and they have done a pretty good job of doing it. But during this time they have completely ignored the other programs, the "older boy" programs of Boy Scouts and Venturing. Now that Cub Scouts seems to be doing OK maybe we can divert some of that energy to these programs and stop up this hole. To do that we need some ideas, we need thought leaders to step up and give us their best ideas, their thoughts on how to stop the loss and maybe more importantly how to recruit these older kids.

Wikipedia defines a thought leader as a buzzword or article of jargon used to describe a futurist or person who is recognized among their peer mentors for innovative ideas and demonstrates the confidence to promote or share those ideas as actionable distilled insights (thinklets). If we have ever needed your "thinklets" we need them now.

Soon some of us will be meeting to talk about the problems of recruiting and retaining older boys and girls in the BSA programs. I would like to collect your "thinklets" so they can be presented to the professionals who will define the programs we need to help these programs. If you have any kind of wild idea, any kind of thoughts on the subject then I encourage you to become a 'thought leader' and share it with us. Send them to me, or to Jon Geiger or Matt Armstrong so we can consider and take action on them.

To paraphrase a quote I heard not too long ago, you have the future of Venturing in your hands and it is yours to build. Send your ideas and thoughts to;

Keith Kaiser
Jon Geiger
Matt Armstrong

It takes a troop to raise an Eagle

2007-09-16T21:19:00.000-07:00

by:
Steve Roberts August 20, 2007

You’ve heard the expression that “it takes a village to raise a child.” An appropriate phrase for Boy Scouts is that “it takes a troop to raise an Eagle.” The keys to having a successful troop are:

Being a Boy Run Troop
Following the tenets laid out by the Boy Scouts of America in the Troop Committee Handbook
Following the words and instruction given by Lord Baden Powell
The role that adult leaders provide by supporting the Scouts and other adults in the troop.

The first three points have been discussed in other things I’ve written as well as articles and books by other authors. Let’s focus on the role of the adult leader and learn what it takes to be a great leader in our troop.

Our role as adults
The role of adults in a Boy Run Troop are different than other roles that you will play at work, other volunteer organizations, sporting teams, or even in your own family. What is the role of an adult in a Boy Run Troop?

First: Be a resource for our Scouts.
Second: Be an example for our Scouts.
Third: Have fun and make sure our Scouts have fun!

Our role as adults in this troop is to provide the support that it takes for all of the Scouts to advance in rank – we need to be a resource for the Scouts. Our goal is to be a resource for the success of the troop, not just the success of our own son. When we find ourselves thinking about how the troop needs to change for the benefit of our own Scout, or worse, for our own personal benefit, then we have failed our sons, failed the troop, and failed the entire Boy Scouts of America. When we understand that our role as adults is to support and benefit every boy in the troop and help him succeed then we have truly begun the path to becoming a successful adult leader.

Emergence of an adult leader
How does an adult leader emerge? We all see things that go well and other things than can be improved. Many times we find ourselves complaining among ourselves, to our spouses, or even to our own sons about “what’s wrong with the troop.” Let’s point out that complaining to our sons is absolutely wrong and is not setting a good example – it’s fine if they complain to us but we shouldn’t complain to them. Complaining to our sons about the troop lessens their experience and dampens their enthusiasm for Scouting and for the troop. Yes, we do find ourselves complaining to one another or our spouses and that’s OK- to a point. If the complaining continues with no resolution on our part – then we are part of the problem.
We want to be part of the solution. That’s how leaders emerge. Leaders emerge by seeing a problem and then working with the system to find a solution to make the program better.

Demonstrating teamwork and maturity
If the problem is openly discussed and solutions are explored then we are acting as mature adults. When we volunteer to help implement the solution then we are acting like the kind of leaders we want our Scouts to be! Sometimes your fellow leaders will not agree with you. Sometimes the group decision will be to maintain the status quo or adopt a solution with which you don’t agree. Accepting the decision in the spirit of compromise will reinforce your role as an active and important member of the troop.
The best thing we can do as a leader is to support the decisions of the group as if they are our own decisions - even when we don’t agree. By doing so, we teach our own Scouts to be team players and recognize that they can’t always have it their way. We also show them our own maturity and how they can mature themselves as leaders.

Assuming responsibility & authority in the absence of …
What do we do when we see a need and other adult leaders have not taken responsibility or we don’t know who has the authority? In small everyday decisions we assume authority and responsibility. There are many times you are asked a question or are asked for help by a parent, another leader, or a senior boy leader. If you know that no one has assumed responsibility and aren’t sure who has the authority – assume it! You don’t want to make a decision or take an action that flies in the face of the troop’s normal operations because that violates the principle of ethical decision making. Rather than say “I don’t know” or passing the buck onto someone else, take it on yourself. If immediate action is required and you are unsure if it is the right decision or action, inform one of the seasoned adult leaders in your troop, the Scoutmaster, or the Committee Chair. At best, you have made their life easier by taking the burden off of their shoulders. At worst, they will provide you a coaching moment to explain how they would have handled it or how it’s been handled in the past.

On larger matters that don’t need an immediate answer, take it to the Scoutmaster for things that should be done by the Scouts or take it to the Committee Chair for discussion at the committee level. You’ll be recognized for being a team player and also for your emerging leadership. The troop will run better and we’ll have a better experience for the Scouts.

Recognize that not all problems can be solved immediately. Another earmark of a successful adult leader is patience. Allow the decision to be made in the normal committee process. If the issue is not addressed in a timely manner, bring it back to the Scoutmaster or Committee Chair and ask for a status.

Qualities of an adult leader
The most important quality is passion: passion to support the troop, passion to help boys earn their rank advancements all the way to Eagle, passion to grow in leadership, and passion to display ethical decision making. You may not have all of the Scouting skills that others have nor may you have the extensive leadership you see in some of the adults in the troop. In the absence of skills you will find that passion goes a long way to being successful in anything you do.

Use your passion to become a great example. As adult leaders, we set examples every time we are engaged in Scouting by wearing our uniforms, attending meetings and campouts, providing a boy run program that teaches the values of the Scout Oath and Scout Law, and by displaying ethical decision making.

Along with passion is a commitment to give the time and energy to be successful. Get as much training as you can. If you don’t know what training you need, ask the Committee Chair. You will find that much of the training offered by the district and council will help you as a Boy Scout leader but it will also help you in your professional career and in your family life.

Speaking from personal experience, Woodbadge had as much of an impact on my management style at work as it did in my philosophy regarding a Boy Run Troop. Yes, it takes time to attend the training, but you will benefit in so many ways that there isn’t time for me to list all of the advantages. You will also find that the network of friends you develop from other troops will help you grow as an adult leader. You will also learn just how special our own Boy Run Troop is and why we are viewed as the standard in the Northstar District for how a Boy Scout Troop should run.

To fuel your passion and strengthen your commitment you need to attend Scout meetings and campouts. Attend committee meetings. Volunteer for adult leadership positions. Support your troop and you will find that the troop supports you.

Have Fun
Having fun may seem simple to some and pointless to others. What you need to know is that young boys make this their highest priority and will avoid activities that aren’t fun! Lord Baden Powell said:
Scouting is a jolly game in the out of doors, where boy-men and boys can go adventuring together as older and younger brothers, picking up health and happiness, handicraft and helpfulness.
Lord Baden Powell of Gilwell, “Aids To Scoutmastership, A Guide For Scoutmasters on the Theory of Scout Training”, http://www.pinetreeweb.com/aidstosm-4.htm.
Part of the “game of Scouting” is to make sure that the Scouts are learning but in a way that is both fun and educational. Sometimes we forget that teaching our Scouts doesn’t have to be hard, demanding work. If we treat it as a game, the Scouts will enjoy what they are doing and learn more. Part of the “game of Scouting” is to let the boys run the troop and part of the Scoutmaster’s game-plan should be to have a Boy Run Troop.

If you or your son feels that going to meetings and campouts are a chore then ask, “What can we do to have more fun?” Putting the element of fun into the game of Scouting means that some things will get done faster while others take longer and seem less efficient. That’s OK – if that’s what the boys want and they are having fun then let them do it!

Scouts are learning timeless values and skills by playing the game of Scouting and having fun! What better way to be learning and doing anything? Your job as a leader is to make sure that you don’t treat your role in the troop as a “job” and that you don’t make the boys think that Scouting is “work.” When you both view Scouting as fun, the system works the way that Lord Baden Powell designed it to work.

JOTA -- Jamboree On The Air 2007

2007-08-14T06:22:00.000-07:00

JOTA
An on-the-air operating event sponsored by the World Scout Bureau, Jamboree on the Air was founded in 1958 by Les Mitchell, G3BHK. It has grown to become the largest international Scout event. JOTA now boasts the participation of nearly a half million Scouts and Guides in over 100 countries, involving as many as 10,000 Amateur Radio stations.
The even relies on the Amateur Radio community and local hams for its success. Getting Boy and Girl Scouts (including Cubs and Brownies) and Venurers on the air to talk with other Scouts around the world provides a great opportunity to expose youth to Amateur Radio. Some troops and clubs team up to make a big splash with lots of activities, radios, antennas and offering a variety of modes to experience. For others, the event provides an opportunity to coach a smaller group of Scouts and to just have fun talking on the radio. Scouts usually enjoy communication by speaking into a microphone, but some radio amateurs are able to provide other modes of operation for Scouts to experience, such as slow-scan TV or amateur TV, satellites, packet radio (APRS) or radioteletype, or even earth-moon-earth contacts.
This year like every year since 1988 (maybe before) Scouts of the North Star District will be able to participate in this annual event at the Fall Camporee. I will be there again this year demonstrating HF (shortwave) radio and giving boys an opportunity to talk with other Scouts around the world. In addition we will have the KC Northland ARES mobile EOC to tour, these guys will be there if another tornado rips through Gladstone as in 2003. We will also have demonstrations of various VHF and UHF station operation maybe even an opportunity to talk through a satellite. Then on Sunday morning Venture Crew 239 and Near Space Ventures will launch VentureStar 3 their third annual Camporee high altitude balloon in celebration of the 50h anniversary of JOTA.

For more information about this very specail JOTA visit the World Scouting Bureau Web site at www.scout.org/jota/, read the JOTA story and brush up on the rules for the Scouting 100 Radio Award, for which JOTA contacts apply.

(thanks to K1DMJ at QST Magazine for her contributions above)

Let him take the lead....

2007-08-03T05:06:00.000-07:00

Suppose you are at the Camporee, suppose its Saturday, late afternoon and time to turn in the troop score sheet. You get up from your chair and start walking in the direction of the radio tower, or some other perceived spot of operations control. You arrive with troop in tow and ask where to turn the sheet in, I will turn to your SPL and ask him were you at the meeting last night. He replies affirmative so I say to him where were you told to turn it in? He says back there at the flag pole.

So what just happened?

As adult leaders its easy for us to "take over" the troop even if we have the best of intentions to let it be a "boy run troop" because we are looked on as the leaders. Next time stay in your chair, call your SPL over to you and whisper to him a reminder what comes next, let him take the lead.

See; The Scoutmaster Whisper at; <http://bsaroundtable.com/smwhisper.html>

Whose Limits Are They?

2007-08-01T07:04:00.000-07:00

There is an Asian story about the training of elephants that goes something like this. When an elephant is born and still relatively weak, a very large stake is driven into the ground and a large heavy chain is attached to it and one of the baby elephants legs. In this way the baby learns that no matter how hard it tries it can't get away from that stake and chain, a lesson it carries into its adult life, hence the fable about an elephant never forgets. It learned as a young elephant it could not escape its shackle, and even though as an adult it would have no problem dislodging the stake it never tries to escape its learned limits.

We as adults must be aware of this lesson and think about the consequences of the limits we may inadvertently put on our children. When we say to them pick Scouts or sports because one has to go so you can do well with your studies, what are we really saying? Are we establishing a limit that they will carry with them the rest of their lives? Are we saying you can do this or that but not all these things? Have we just created a box around our children, shackled them to a large stake in the ground and told them they can go no further?

Can a child be overwhelmed by too many things to do, sure he can, but more often than not its us, the parent that is overwhelmed not the child. So next time you say to your son or daughter "you can't do both" think about the message you are sending, and offer up a way for them to make the decision.

Scouter of The Month

2007-07-31T13:17:00.000-07:00

In September of 2000, the staff of Boy Scout Roundtable came up with an idea. Each month we would recognize an individual Scouter for his or her contributions to the overall Scouting program in the form of a new award, 'Scouter of The Month'. August 2nd, 2007 we will honor our 76th recipient so I thought it might be a good time to look back on some of these men and woman and see what they have done since. We never intended the award to be a foretelling of future work, nor did we want it to be a kick in the butt to do more, it was a simple recognition for what had already been done. But its amazing to see how much more some of these people gave.

In pure statistics;
9 woman and 66 men have been honored
32 have also received the District Award of Merit
9 the Silver Beaver
6 the H. Virgil Bower Award (a 10 year old award)
2 have passed away

There is no requirement for type of service so we don't know how many served as Scoutmasters vs. Assistant Scoutmasters or Committee Members etc. I do know that;
53 were wearing red epaulets when they received the award
at least 36 did or now wear gray epaulets
1 became your District Commissioner after being awarded Scouter of The Month
1 became your District Director after being awarded Scouter of The Month

We did not keep track of unit numbers either, so we can't count which unit has the most representatives, however I can say; 100% are still registered Scouters seven years after the first award was given to Bruce Miller.

Sometimes we miss an obvious candidate it becomes easy to forget the on-going contributions some people make, you begin to expect it and because its always there you pay no attention to where it came from. When we stumble on one of these very deserving people it's important that we recognize them immediately, this is no different in your units. Look around you, who helps make your unit work but never gets in the way, who is there every time you need them, we want to hear about these people so contact one of the Roundtable staff and let us know.

To see all the recipients go to; http://bsaroundtable.com/index.php?page=som and be sure to attend Roundtable on Thursday to see who our 76th honoree will be.

What I Did Last Summer

2007-07-30T05:24:00.000-07:00

As adults its been a number of years since you had to write that perennial September tome of visits to Grandma, play-off baseball games (lost by one point), summer camp, or maybe just video games at home. But sure as rain, the summer heat, and text messaging sometime in the first few days of school every year our children are still asked this question by teachers all over the country. Maybe its time that we, as parents step up to the task of giving our children an opportunity to write the story every teacher has been waiting for, a story of high adventure, of learning opportunity, of fun ...

When I was a kid I wanted to climb mountains, dive coral reefs, send rocket ships to space and to win the baseball play-offs by one point. What I didn't know then that I do know now is that I could have. I had the time for all this and more, oh sometimes my dad couldn't be there, or mom was out of town on business but I had the time, if I only knew how to do those things.

Today one answer is Venturing BSA a youth development program for young men and women who are 14 (and have completed the eighth grade) through 20 years of age. Venturing is organized into Crews, run by the youth themselves, guided by trained, motivated adults. Venturing's purpose is to provide positive experiences to help young people mature and to prepare them to become responsible and caring adults.

Venturing is based on a unique and dynamic relationship between youth, adult leaders, and organizations in their communities. Local community organizations establish a Venturing crew by matching their people and program resources to the interests of young people in the community. The result is a program of exciting and meaningful activities that helps youth pursue their special interests, grow, develop leadership skills, and become good citizens.

In other words your son, my daughter get to climb that mountain, they get to go deep sea fishing, scuba diving off the coast of Florida, or learn to fly with the CAP. Or if they want they can design, build, launch, track and recover near space satellites that travel to the edge of space. Virtually riding 20 miles up with a high altitude balloon carrying cameras, GPS receivers, radios, and experiments they built.. Where the pictures returned show the curvature of the earth, whole states at one time, and the blackness of space all in the same photo, and where they can say "I did this" just image the stories they could tell. They can travel to and camp in wilderness ares in New Mexico, Northern Minnesota, Colorado, or their own back yard, wherever they have the ambition to go. Exploring the deepest caves, learning to ride horseback, and sharing in experiences with other youth their age are now all possible.

Venturers learn to make ethical choices over their lifetimes, experience a program that is fun and full of challenge and adventure. They acquire skills in the areas of high adventure, sports, science, arts and hobbies, religious life. They experience positive leadership from adult and youth leaders and are given opportunities to take on leadership roles and have a chance to learn and grow in a supportive, caring, and fun environment.

Cost? $10 a year. Who runs this program? The Boy Scouts of America. Surprised? I hope so. If you are interested in helping your son or daughter to write the next best seller about what they did last summer, then first give them the opportunity to live it by contacting me for more information.

Scouting The Edge of Space

2007-07-29T07:51:00.000-07:00

Very few people have images from the edge of space in their personal photo albums--snapshots in which a hazy blue atmosphere hugs the curve of our planet against a backdrop of the black abyss beyond. But of those who do, many are amateurs, average people, taking regular trips deep into the stratosphere and peering out from the edge of Earth. Their hobby, high altitude ballooning has been called the "poor man's space program," because they are probing an environment more similar to that found on Mars than to any down here on Earth.

On-board cameras take photographs from various altitudes allowing us to see whole cities or states and the curvature of Earth in a single image. Near space exploration is the perfect meld of Amateur Radio, technology, science, and wonder (especially the wonder). After all, who hasn't watched a balloon float gently up into the sky and wondered what it would be like to venture into the stars?

Members of Near Space Ventures, Inc. are among some of the lucky people who have photos of this kind in their collections and they are looking for more adult and youth to take part in their next and future launches.

The process of launching a near space craft involves prepping the capsule, filling a balloon and the release. But getting to this process is another journey of its own filled with the excitement of designing, building and launching your own high altitude balloon.... ascent rates are typically 800 - 1000 feet per minute, with flights taking 2 - 3 hours to reach apogee. The flight is terminated when the balloon bursts or is cut away. A parachute is pre-deployed at launch but at these altitudes the parachute cannot effectively slow down the capsule, descent rates in excess of 200 mph are often experienced. At approximately 15,000 feet the air becomes dense enough to significantly slow the capsule in preparation for a soft landing and recovery. But even before that weather conditions have to be studied, electronic timers for cameras have to be built, radios must be tuned, and the experiments themselves must be designed, created, tested, built and stowed in the capsule for launch.

Near Space Ventures is looking for new members in two categories;
1) Adults; Any adult whether or not you are a licensed Amateur Radio operator.

2) Youth Outreach: Venturing BSA, and Civil Air Patrol (CAP)

If you think this kind of activity is for you please send a note to keith.kaiser@gmail.com or call him at 587-9636.

P.S.
Here is a link to photos of our last Near Space launch at the 2007 Great Plains Super Launch (GPSL) held in Grand Island, NE, the weekend of July 7, 2007 share them with anyone interested.

http://kaiserklan.com/balloon/gpsl2007/gpsl2007.html

Near Space Ventures, Inc is a not-for-profit Missouri Corporation dedicated to the advancement of Aerospace Education with an emphasis on low cost access to Near Space, using high altitude balloons and amateur radio to launch Simulated Satellite payloads (SimSats or nearsats) into Near Space, at or above 100,000 feet. They are the recipients of the Central Region 2006 Frank G. Brewer Award. This recognition is given to individuals and organizations that have made outstanding contributions, out of selfless devotion, to the advancement of youth in aerospace activities.

See http://nearspaceventures.com for more details.