Joe Gilligan is back in action and planning to lay bricks for his Eagle Project on Saturday June 15th starting at 10am. All scouts and scouters welcome. Meet at the Worthington Fire station on High Street. You don’t have to give a lot of your time, every little bit helps. Thank you!

Update: Joe’s Eagle Project has been postponed for this weekend. Thanks to everyone that has helped out on the project so far and look for future updates on the website.

Joe Gilligan is planning to lay bricks for his Eagle Project on Saturday June 8th from 10am-3pm and Sunday June 9th from 1pm-5pm. All scouts and scouters welcome. Meet at the Worthington Fire station on High Street. You don’t have to give a lot of your time, every little bit helps. Thank you!

Joe Gilligan is planning to lay bricks for his Eagle Project on Saturday June 1st from 10am – 2pm. All scouts and scouters welcome. Meet at the Worthington Fire station on High Street. You don’t have to give a lot of your time, every little bit helps. Thank you!

Hey, Gettysburgers — (sounds tasty, doesn’t it?) — here is an opportunity to see a small scale Civil War re-enactment group at the Ohio Village (fairgrounds) — a bit of what Gettysburg will be like.  Check out the info at the Ohio Historical Society website (Ohio History Central), and I have been told if you wear your Scout uniform, you get in at a discount.  (I think $7 regular price; $4 with Scout uniform). Our own Bruce Grashel will be there, in his blue wool.  This gives you a chance to get close to the re-enactors and ask them a lot of questions in preparation for Gettysburg.  Please pass this on to others you know of.

I will see you there!
Jerry Roderick

The American Legion post has asked that we meet them at their building (700 Morning Street, right off Dublin Granville Road) this Sunday May 26th from 1:00-2:30pm to go to Walnut Grove Cemetery to place poppies at the grave stones of veterans.  This should take about an hour to hour and a half and is another way we can do our part to honor our military service-members.  Please attend if you can.

May 23, 2013

From The Desk Of
Jeff Moe, Scout Executive

Update on Membership Standards Vote

Dear Scouting Families, Friends & Leaders,

As many of you know, after completing the most extensive listening exercise in its 103-year history earlier this year, the Boy Scouts of America’s National Executive Board drafted a resolution in April that, if approved, would remove reference to sexual orientation in its membership standards for youth members. Today, more than 1,200 voting members of the National Council approved the resolution.

Throughout the listening process, leadership of the Simon Kenton Council heard an outpouring of feedback from our Scouting family, reinforcing the importance of Scouting to society and the passion that people have for it.

In our email last week we informed you that our board directed its local delegates to cast all votes in favor of the resolution, understanding that while a strong majority of the council’s stakeholders agreed that denying a youth member the opportunity to benefit from the many virtues of Scouting was unacceptable, no decision was going to please everyone.

Moving forward, our focus remains on our mission of instilling in young people the values of the Scout Oath and Law, and serving young people to help them grow into strong citizens.  We hope you will stand alongside us in this effort.

In Scouting,

Jeff Moe
Scout Executive

May 17, 2013

From The Desk Of
Jeff Moe, Scout Executive

Update on Membership Standards Process

Dear Scouting Families, Friends & Leaders,

As many of you are aware, in February the Boy Scouts of America embarked on the most comprehensive listening exercise in its history to consider the impact of potential changes to its membership standards policy on the organization and gather perspectives from inside and outside of the Scouting family.

Since that time, Simon Kenton Council has been hearing from our local Scouting family, our supporters and the community as it relates to the BSA’s membership standards. We held Town Hall meetings, surveyed individuals and met personally with many key stakeholders. Passionate opinions on both sides of the debate were shared as it related to the current membership policy denying membership to both youth and adult open and avowed homosexuals.

On April 22, 2013 the Executive Committee of the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America drafted a resolution that states that youth may not be denied membership in the BSA on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone and maintains its current membership policy for all adult leaders.

The resolution proposes the following:

Membership in any program of the Boy Scouts of America requires the youth member to (a) subscribe to and abide by the values expressed in the Scout Oath and Scout Law, (b) subscribe to and abide by the precepts of the Declaration of Religious Principle (duty to God), and (c) demonstrate behavior that exemplifies the highest level of good conduct and respect for others and is consistent at all times with the values expressed in the Scout Oath and Scout Law. No youth may be denied membership in the Boy Scouts of America on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone.

Yesterday evening, Simon Kenton Council’s executive board determined how our delegates will cast their ballots on May 23, 2013 at the Boy Scouts of America’s National Annual Meeting. After considering all the relevant feedback, our executive board directed all our delegates to cast votes in favor of the above resolution.

The council’s board feels that this decision was made in the best interest of the youth members in their charge, the Scouting family and the broader community. While the board recognizes that some may disagree with this decision, the Simon Kenton Council will continue to focus on reaching and serving young people to help them grow into strong citizens within our 18 county territory of southern and central Ohio and northern Kentucky.

In Scouting,