Fellow Scouter,
As you have probably heard by now, the Shawnee Trails Council will stop administering the Scouting program in Kentucky, Illinois, and Tennessee on March 31. Effective April 1, the communities it served will become part of the Lincoln Heritage Council, which is headquartered in Louisville.
I know that you have many questions about what this change will mean for you and your unit, including how you'll get supplies and where you'll go to camp. Many of those questions are answered on the Lincoln Heritage Council website. Others will be answered over the coming weeks. We want to give you the right answers, not just right-now answers, and I appreciate your patience as volunteers and Scouting professionals as we work together to ensure a smooth transition.
Here are some key things you should know now:
-
Once the territory transfer is complete, the expanded council will cover 64 counties in four states (Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, and Tennessee). We will have 26,000 youth members in more than 800 units served by more than 10,000 volunteers. That will make us the 14th largest council in America.
-
The former Shawnee Trails Council territory will become the council's Western Service Area, joining our three existing geographical service areas (Southern Indiana, Central Kentucky, and Metro Louisville).
-
The Western Service Area will have six full-time staff members: a field director (responsible for membership), a program director, a development director, and three district executives (based in Bowling Green, Owensboro, and Paducah)
-
Most council and district activities, day camps, roundtables, and other district functions will continue as planned, and all district committees and commissioner staffs will remain in place.
-
Camp Roy C. Manchester will operate as planned this summer. Units from across the expanded council will now have access to three outstanding camping facilities: Camp Roy C. Manchester, the Harry S. Frazier, Jr. Scout Reservation (home of Camp Crooked Creek) near Clermont, KY, and Tunnel Mill Scout Reservation near Charlestown, IN.
-
The national Scout Shop in Owensboro will close on March 31. However, we plan to open satellite stores in the Western Service Area in the very near future.
-
As of April 1, all unit advancement reports, training rosters, membership applications, and charters should be submitted to the Louisville office for processing.
We have set up a special page on the Lincoln Heritage Council website where you will be able to find information about the transition process, submit questions and find contact names for specific functions. Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties this page is not yet visible. The national office is currently working to resolve the issue.
Until the website is available please click here for a list of frequently asked questions. A contact list can be downloaded by clicking here. You can also reach our office at 1-877-334-2674 and the Louisville Scout Shop at 502-267-8092. To ensure everyone receives this vital information, please distribute this letter to your Scout leaders and parents.
That's a lot of facts and figures, so let me shift gears and leave you with a personal thought. I am truly excited about the opportunity we will have together to strengthen the Scouting program in the 64 counties we will serve. I had the chance to meet many of you at the Centennial Jamboree that our two councils hosted along with the Blue Grass Council, and I still remember your spirit, your energy, and your dedication to the Scouting movement. I look forward to learning from you and also sharing some of what we've learned in the century since we started out as the old Louisville Area Council. Together, we'll grow into the 14th largest council in America - and what I hope will soon be the best council our country has ever seen.
|
Boy Scouts of America
