The North Cascades District serves Skagit, Whatcom, San Juan Counties and Whidbey Island.
Functions of the District
Scroll down the page to learn more about these important functions of the district here in North Cascades District
District Operations Handbook “The District” : How the District Carries Out the Mission
Membership – New Units and Membership Growth
Program – Training, Activites, Camping, Advancement Committees
Finance – Friends of Scouting, Good Scout Breakfast Events, Popcorn
Unit Service – Commissioner Corp and Unit Service Meetings
Key District Leadership
- District Chair: Derrick Bovenkamp, (360) 220-2934, derrick@bovenkamp.us
- District Commissioner: Jim Rhodes, (360) 734-8246, james.c.rhodes@gmail.com
- District Director: Sven Gilkey, (360) 632-6999, sven.gilkey@scouting.org
- District Executive: Blake Jones, (360) 310-8522, blake.jones@scouting.org
Commissioner Staff Meetings and District Executive Committee Meetings are held the third and fourth Thursdays of the month respectively starting at 6PM at the Washington Federal Savings branch in Burlington off of Fairhaven.
District Mail Chimp Communication
District Mail Chimp Communication
In an effort to insure that all unit leaders in North Cascades District get critical communication in addition to the regular news sent using the Mount Baker Council Constant Contact lists the leadership of North Cascades had developed a separate Mail Chimp email list that is smaller and more manageable and used more often with directed communications. Thank you for you interest in Scouting here in North Cascades District we look forward to sharing with you more information about Scouting through out Whatcom, Skagit, San Juan and Island Counties.
Membership
Membership is at the heart of the mission of the Boy Scouts of America and the District Membership Committee is here to help your pack with your efforts to get out in the community and recruit youth to the Scouting program. CLICK HERE for membership resources available from the Mount Backer Council.
Membership Committee Guidebook
2018 North Cascades Membership: 2005 youth
Finance
Raising the dollars to get the tools that we need to train leaders and recruit new scouts is an essential function of the district. In North Cascades the Finance team works to conduct the annual Family Friends of Scouting Campaign, the Popcorn sale each fall and a community Friends of Scouting Good Scout Breakfasts in Whatcom and Skagit Counties as well as in Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island.
Finance Committee Guidebook Guides to Unit Money Earning
2019 Friends of Scouting Goal: $122,750
Unit Service – Commissioner Corps
District Commissioner: Jim Rhodes Email: james.c.rhodes@gmail.com
Unit Service is the primary responsibly of the Commissioner Corps lead by our District Commissioner who works with unit commissioners that regularly visit unit and help guide and coach unit leadership to have the most successful program possible. The Journey to Excellence scorecard for your unit is a great way to gage the strength of your unit and areas that a unit commissioner could help. Commissioner also help with the annual re-charter process and helping your unit identify and fill gaps in unit leadership.
Program
The Program committee is made up the subcommittees of Activites. Camping, Training and Advancement. Working to provide special programs such as camporee and Day Camp as well as day to day support through Merit Badge Counselors and unit leader training the Program Committee works to provide the needed support to unit leaders to have programs that reinforce the methods of Scouting and the growth of the movement.
Activities and Civic Service
It’s important to remember that while much of Scouting happens at the unit level Scouting is about much more then the unit, it is a global movement where youth across our community and around the world grow together in character, leadership and citizenship. The Activities Committee works to provide scouts the opportunity to expedite the adventure of Scouting with other scouts from across the District through fun events such as camporee and service projects like Scouting for Food.
Activities Committee Guidebook
CAMPOREE : An annual event where Scout BSA Troops from across North Cascades are invited for a weekend of camping and skill based activities. How to Plan a Camporee Guide
WEBELOS-REE: Run by the Scout BSA troops of North Cascades Webelos-Ree is about giving Webelos the chance to taste the adventure that waits for them after crossover.
SERVICE HOURS: It is important for units to enter their community service hours. Find out how HERE and CLICK HERE to enter hours.
Camping
Chair: Tony Finfrock Email : anthony.finfrock@gmail.com
The Boy Scouts of America in it’s over 100 years of program knows a few things about why youth join Scouting and whey they STAY in Scouting. A youth is 70% more likely to stay in Scouting if they attend a major Scout Camp program each summer. This may mean Scout Resident Camp for Scout BSA troops or Cub Day Camp for Cub Scouts. These programs offer a mountain top program for most scouts each year that helps keep them excited for Scouting. For that reason the North Cascades Camping Committee works to ensure that every scout is invited to a camp adventure each summer.
DAY CAMP: 4-5 day program offered for Scouts going into the 1st grade through 5th grade (Tiger – Webelos)
Fire Mountain Scout Resident Camp: Scout BSA troops are invited to attend a week of adventure at Fire Mountain Scout Camp a primmer camp of the Boy Scouts of America.
Training
Every scout deserves a trained leader and it is the goal of the training committee to help every leader find the training they need to have the best possible program for their Scouts. Most of the training leaders need to get their “Trained” tab can be found at My.Scouting including Youth Protection Training which must be completed in the Mount Baker Council EVERY 365 days to stay current.
Click HERE to find out what constitutes a trained leader.
There are LOTS of kinds of training events, here is a overview of some places you should look for training:
- Online: Youth Protection and most of the required position specific training can be found online at my.scouting.org
- In-Person: A few major in person courses that leaders should look to take are Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation (BALOO), Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills (IOLS) and Wilderness First Aid. BALOO is required for packs to camp, IOLS is required for Scoutmasters and Asst Scoutmasters, and Wilderness First Aid is need by leaders doing high adventure programs such as Philmont.
- Supplemental: there is some great extra training at my.scouting but in the Mount Baker Council the king is the University of Scouting.
- Wood Badge: Wood Badge is the original basic leader training for Scoutmasters found in 1919 by Baden-Powell himself. This course is often promoted as “advenaced” but really EVERY leader should take Wood Badge to learn how to be better leaders for their Scouts
Advancement
The District Advancement committee is responsible for the implementing and facilitating of advancement and processing the special of awards and recognitions to both youth and adult volunteers in the district. This includes organizing the local Eagle Boards, addressing advancement issues in packs and troops, and recognizing volunteers who have been identified by their peers for appreciation and praise.
District Award of Merit: The District Award of Merit is the highest honor the district may present to a adult volunteer for service to Scouting in the North Cascades District. Nomminations are made annually and a number recipients selected based on the number of units in the district. CLICK HERE for a nomination form.
Eagle Boards: Eagle boards are conducted across the district with boards being convened in Bellingham, Burlington. and Oak Harbor most months of the year. Scouts may work with any of our three Eagle Board Coordinators to facilitate achievement of the rank of Eagle Scout.
Bellingham – Konrad Kocsis: kontactkonrad@gmail.com
Burlington – Lary Smallwood: larrywsmallwood@gmail.com
Oak Harbor – Bob Taylor: TaylorRL40@yahoo.com