Roundtable Roundtable Handouts Journey to Excellence
Ideal Year of Scouting District Resources
Commissioner's Role Commissioner Assignments Community Events
Scott A. Smith
District Commissioner
scottasmith526@gmail.com
Kristi Ogle
Roundtable Assistant District Commissioner
kogleinkc@gmail.com
Roundtable is held the first Thursday of each month at:
Grace United Methodist Church
11485 S. Ridgeview Road, Olathe KS
Gathering is at 6:30pm and opening flag is at 7:00pm.
Park in the North Parking Lot and Enter through Door #2
Roundtable is our monthly gathering of unit and district leaders. This is a great way to learn about upcoming events and activities, camping and training opportunities, program updates, new Scouting initiatives, and get ideas to enhance your Scouting program. It is also a great time to catch up with friends you only get to see once a month at Roundtable! We recommend bringing several people from your unit so as to ensure your unit gets all the information and training available.
We begin with a joint opening of all units and a flag ceremony with the Pledge of Allegiance, Scout Oath, and Scout Law. We will also provide time to make announcements that are applicable to all of our unit leaders. Program-specific announcements (Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA, and Venturing) will be made in each breakout session after the opening is complete. We will entertain announcements from the floor to provide the most up-to-date information to our units. We want to ensure if you have any questions, you are also able to ask them and get answers, as others may have the same questions.
Once Roundtable joint session is complete, breakout sessions will be provided for each program, Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA, and Venturing, will be held. These can include helpful training of newly instituted procedures or changes to program, suggestions for how to make your unit meetings more fun and exciting, information on fundraising, suggestions on places to camp or take a unit trip, or many other things. If you have any suggestions for topics, please see your Roundtable Commissioner (RTC). They want to provide topics that interest and help you!
Another purpose of Roundtable is training. We provide training for Den Chiefs, Merit Badge Counselors, Day Camp Volunteers, and registration for off-site training such as Introduction to Outdoor Lead Skills (IOLS) and Wilderness First Aid.
Roundtable is the place your unit will sign up for District Activities such as Cub Family Campout, Camporee, Day Camp, District Pinewood Derby, and other activities.
If you would like to have a flyer displayed during the opening slide show please contact Jeff Wandtke or Alisha Harding no later than 5pm the Wednesday before Roundtable. Each unit will have a mailbox to check each month.
Come visit us for our next meeting and bring a friend. Every Scout deserves a well-trained leader!
"Scouting’s Journey to Excellence” is the BSA’s performance recognition program designed to encourage and reward success and measure the performance of our units, districts, and councils. Visit the National JTE Web site for more details and information.
As part of the Journey to Excellence program, units are asked to enter their service projects and hours online. Service hours are entered through your unit's ScoutBook portal. If you have questions, please contact your unit commissioner or our District Commissioner, Scott Smith.
Current JTE forms can be found here.
There are many resources that exist for you to use within your unit that are available from the council and the BSA to help you promote your unit. Whether you are looking for recruitment resources, marketing materials, or collateral information about the BSA, many new resources exist that are at your fingertips to use in promoting your program.
Need recruitment flyers? Check!
Did you want to add some banners to your Facebook posts?
Do you want to share BSA news stories from around the country?
Check these resources exist for you to use any time of the day or night to help promote Scouting and your unit!
Providing a year-round, quality Scouting program should be the goal of every Scouting unit. The Ideal Year of Scouting helps you develop an annual program plan, a budget to go along with that plan, and a fundraising plan to reach your program goals. The result is a well-managed, well-financed Scouting unit. For more information about the Ideal Year of Scouting, go to HOAC Ideal Year of Scouting.
District Activities like Cub Scout Family Campout, District Pinewood Derby, Camporee and the District Dinner are opportunities for units to include these programs in their yearly plan to enhance and supplement their unit program and demonstrate how many more Scouts are out there that you may realize!
District Advancement helps units understand the advancement program and processes to ensure that the youth in the program are learning the information properly and being recognized in a timely manner for their knowledge growth in the Scouting program.
District Camping efforts include executing Cub Scout Day Camp for all Cub Scouts in the district, promoting the resident camping opportunities throughout the council such as Bear Camp, Webelos Camp and Boy Scout Camp, and encouraging camping opportunities for all at High Adventure camps and on staff.
Commissioners are experienced Scouting volunteers who serve as friends to the unit to learn what they do well and what needs they have. Commissioners share that information so the district can better meet the needs to units to be more successful. Commissioners serve as a key communication and relationship link between the unit leaders and district and council volunteers.
District Finance is tasked with raising the funds needed to be able to fund the program provided at the district and council level, whether through direct donations from families, fundraising events in the community, or product sales like popcorn.
District Membership plans are executed in partnership with units to grow the Scouting program through new member recruitment in all programs, transitioning from one program to another (i.e. Webelos Transition), and starting new units throughout the district.
District Training programs exist to make sure that all adults are properly trained to be able to execute the Scouting program in a safe and fun way so the youth enjoy the program and stay with Scouting throughout their entire time as a youth.
Professional Staff are individuals who work for the Boy Scouts of America to help implement and support the plans of the volunteers on a daily basis at the district and council level to ensure the resources are available for units to execute their program.
All the Commissioners are friends and resources to the units in our district. Commissioners are the first, and best resource a unit can use when looking for information, asking questions, or trying to solve problems. Keep in mind, your Commissioner may not know all the answers, but they will be able to point you in the right direction.
Unit commissioners will focus on the following four primary areas:
- Supporting unit growth through the Journey to Excellence
- Contacting units and capturing their strengths and needs in Commissioner Tools
- Linking unit needs to district operating committee resources
- Supporting timely charter renewal
To contact your Unit Commissioner please contact Scott A. Smith (scottasmith526@gmail.com) District Commissioner.
Throughout the year, community events will be offered to the members of Iron Horse District. We will do our best to keep a list of updated events and activities that are available for you to build into your unit programs. In addition to these things that are available locally, there are businesses and organizations that offer Scout Day events or participation discounts to Scouts; you can find many of those council-wide offers here!