Every Scout Deserves Trained Leaders – Every Leader Deserves to be Trained
Updates
Safeguarding Youth Training
Youth Protection Training has been replaced by Safeguarding Youth Training, which is valid for one year. The subsequent annual review will be a 15-20 minute refresher with a review test. Adult scout leaders are encouraged to take the new training soon, although Youth Protection Training is valid until it expires.
Updated Crew Officer Orientation Training
The National Venturing Committee and Scouting U are excited to announce the release of the updated Crew Officer Orientation training. This refreshed training resource is designed to help crew leadership better understand the roles and responsibilities of crew officers and learn how to effectively plan and lead meetings and events. It is strongly recommended that all crews complete this training annually, ensuring that every member has a clear understanding of officer responsibilities. Please note that completion of this training is required for advancement to the Discovery Rank. This updated training replaces the previous online version hosted on the Volunteer Learn Center. It is now brief, engaging, and interactive, and is intended to be delivered in-person by crew officers during crew meetings. You can access the Facilitator’s Guide at:
An updated Crew Office Seminar is coming soon. Both the Orientation and Seminar training courses are developed with all crew members in mind.
Revised Troop Self-Assessment Program
This program functions as a replacement to Journey to Excellence (JTE), and can be found at https://troopleader.scouting.org/troop-planning/troop-self-assessment. The revised self-assessment questionnaires include 9-12 targeted questions that can be completed in approximately 10 minutes for the following aspects of the program:
- Membership
- Troop Meetings
- Activities/Outings
- Advancement
- Patrols and Patrol Method
- Youth Leaders
- Scoutmaster Team
- Troop Committee
- Troop Administration and Finance
Roundtable
Roundtable is a regular gathering of scouting leaders to enhance:
- Networking among leaders
- Training
- Sharing of success stories
- Discussions of how to deal with challenges
There haven’t been any formal roundtables in the Blue Mountain Council for some time, but we are hoping to change that! Your council training chair is willing to support bi-monthly roundtables for:
- Scouts BSA adult leaders on odd months
- Senior Patrol Leaders and Patrol Leaders on even months
The meetings would start out as 40-minute Zoom meetings. As soon as there is adequate interest, the roundtables will become simultaneously both virtual and in-person, and would likely increase in duration to the 60-to-75-minute range.
The big question is when to have these brief meetings. The idea is to hold the roundtables on the same date and time each month. For example, if the roundtable is on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 5:15 pm, the Scouts BSA adult leader roundtable would be on May 13 and the Patrol Leaders roundtable would be on June 10.
Those interested in participating in these roundtables need to provide information as to which days of the week and times would work best for you. Please send this information to bluemttrain@gmail.com
Training of the Month
It’s summertime . . . . . .
Council Training Calendar
Wood Badge Adult Leadership Training Out-of-Council
Aug 15-17 and Aug 23-24, 2005 at Camp Morrison, McCall, Idaho (about 320 miles away, north of Boise, Idaho. Hosted by the Mountain West Council. $255 – More information is available at: https://www.mountainwestcouncil.org/WoodBadge
August 20-24, 2025 (7 am Wednesday through 5 pm Sunday) at Camp Thunderbird [11740 Summit Lake Rd NW, Olympia WA – about 260 miles away, west of Olympia]. Hosted by the Pacific Harbors Council over five consecutive days. The course director is Chris Panush – cpanush@gmail.com – 360.561.9302. The course fee is $315 if paid in full by July 25th. The theme is “Making Connections, Making a Difference”. Additional information is available at https://scoutingevent.com/612-WoodBadge2025 or at https://www.pacificharbors.org/resources/leader_tools/training/wood-badge
September 26-28 and October 11-12 at Camp Pigott in Monroe, WA (about 240 miles away, north of Seattle, Washington). $300 – More information is available at https://seattlebsa.org/training/wood-badge/
October 3-5 and 11-12, 2025 at Butte Creek Scout Rance in Scotts Mills, Oregon (about 260 miles away, east of Salem, Oregon. $325 – More information is available at https://cpcbsa.org/upcoming-events/wood-badge/
A list of all Wood Band and NYLT courses in our Territory 1 and nearby is available at:
National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT) Out-of-Council
A list of all Wood Band and NYLT courses in our Territory 1 and nearby is available at:
Help Wanted (It’s fun and rewarding to get involved with training!)
New trainers can be trained through the Fundamentals of Training and the Trainer’s EDGE courses.
Lies, Darn Lies, and Statistics (How are we doin’?)
The council report for the Blue Mountain Council shows that 35.5% of the leaders are trained, a slight gain over the 34.5% value from last month. While 100% trained would be the ideal, the near-term goal is 50%. We can achieve that if we work together. Numerous individuals can regain their trained status by taking the 30-minute online Hazardous Weather training.
Youth Protection Training, which is required for all leaders, is at 97.8%, for the council; a marked increase above the 92.9% value for last month.
Program Livecasts
Links can be found in Facebook (Scouting magazine | Facebook) and on YouTube (Scouting Magazine – YouTube). Recent topics include:
#CubChatLive! – Fridays at noon Pacific Time – Recent topics:
- Apr 11 – “Succession Planning for Cub Scout Leaders”
- Apr 4 – “Keep the fun going with the Summertime elective Adventure!”
- Mar 28 – “Ready to reel in some fishing fun? Join us for #CubChatLive!”
- Mar 21 – “Swimming Elective Adventures for every Cub Scout rank”
- Mar 14 – “Pack Annual Planning Conference Tips and Ideas”
#TroopTalkLive – 2nd Wednesdays of the month, noon Pacific Time
- Mar 19 – “Scouts BSA clothing guidelines”
- Feb 19 – “The New Scouts BSA Test Lab”
- Nov 13 – “Surveys and Research in Scouts BSA”
- Oct 9 – “Ideas for Your Troop to Observe Election Day and Veteran’s Day”
- Sept 11 – “Find Out About an Innovative Wood Badge Course at the Summit Bechtel Reserve”
Trek on Tuesdays – Tuesdays at noon Pacific Time
- Apr 15 – “Meet Jamesly Jesse, a remarkable Eagle Scout with a remarkable story to tell”
- Apr 1 – “Exclusive! Chat with Sofia Pollard about the new Scouting America musical!”
- Mar 11 – “Get an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the new Multisport merit badge”
Contact:
Council Training Chair: Brad Ross bluemttrain@gmail.com
Your Feedback:
Please submit your pithy comments to your council training chair (see email address above), either for his eyes only or for the readers of this column to see. If your comments are useful (and entertaining?), you’ll see them in a future Training Trails column. We welcome your ideas to help improve the training in our council. Many thanks!