100th Anniversary Council Dinner

Have you registered yet?

This year the Golden Empire Council is celebrating 100 years of service to Northern California.   Join us for a once in a lifetime event.  We will be honoring our newest class of Silver Beavers, and recognizing our longest serving Troops, Packs and Crews.  Register now to guarantee your seat.  Our keynote speaker will be Terry Fossum (see video). Tickets will NOT be available at the door so register now to guarantee your seat.

Saturday, February 8th

Sacramento Memorial Auditorium

Featuring Terry L. Fossum

The first 100 to register will receive a commemorative hat.

Join us for a great guest speaker, to honor our 100th anniversary and most important to recognize the folks who have helped to make GEC-BSA's scouting programs work!

Register Now

More on Terry:
Bio:                        https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8842594/bio
BLog video:         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C0xaeVzXUc 

We Need your Photos

The Golden Empire Council is celebrating 100 years of service to Northern California.  As part of our Anniversary Gala, we will be presenting a slide show of 100 years of Scouting.  To make this possible we need your help.  We need your pictures of Scouts in Action over the past 100 years.  We want to include your pictures in this slide show.  Send in your pictures of Scouts from all generations and we will use them to make a slide show of Scouting history.

Some ideas of what to include:

- Golden Empire Council Summer Camps       

- Day Camps and Twilight Camps

- Camporees and Klondike Derbies                   

- Scout Expo

- Eagle projects                                                 

- Unit Camp outs

- Jamborees

Send your photo submissions to michelle.pisias@scouting.org.

How old is your Pack, Troop, or Crew?

During the 100th Anniversary Gala, we want to recognize the oldest units in the Council.  We have already identified 13 troops that have logged over 80 years of continuous service.  They are:

The above listed units were identified by the length of time they have been continuously chartered.  They have not had a lapse in their charters.  If your troop or ship is not listed and is over 80 years old please contact Michelle Pisias with your troop information.

In addition, we are planning to recognize Cub Scout Packs that are over 75 years old, Explorer Posts that are over 50 years old and Venturing Crews that are over 20 years old.  These programs were formed in 1930, 1959, and 1998 respectively.

Day Camps and Twilight Camps

Day camps and twilight camps provide summer program activities for Cub Scouts from Tiger rank through Webelos.  Camps are held in each district and run from three to five days.  This year the theme is "Down on the Farm".  Our camp directors are planning lots of fun activities for your Cub Scouts.  Follow the link to find the dates in your community.  Registration will also be posted to the link.

Day camp webpage

Council Committees

Golden Empire Council has a variety of committees, with representatives from each district, responsible for planning and carrying out aspects of the Council program. We need your expertise and interest!  Read more to find out about our program committees.

National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT) 

Registration for all three of our NYLT courses is coming in January! National Youth Leadership Training is a comprehensive hands on training and leadership experience! Participants develop a working knowledge of advanced leadership skills and how to implement them in their their home, school and troop responsibilities. Scouts also have a wide range of opportunities to share ideas and experiences with those from other troops. Leadership requires vision, goals, planning, and team work. These are taught along with at least 18 other skills throughout the week in various settings including presentations, games and hands-on experiences!  For more information check out https://www.gec-bsa.org/training/nylt/62948

National Youth Leadership Training Course Dates:

NYLT 2020-0 (Spring) April 24-26 and May 1-3     

NYLT 2020-1 (Summer) July 27-August 1                  

NYLT 2020-2 (Fall) September 11-13 and September 25-27 

Are you a past NYLT staffer and would like to staff again or  have attended NYLT and would like to interview for a 1st year staff position?  Please email NYLTinfo@gec-bsa.org 

2020 Wood Badge and NYLT Dates

The Golden Empire Council Training team is happy to announce the 2020 Wood badge and NYLT Dates. Don’t let the leaders and youth of your unit miss out on these amazing training opportunities.  These advancement training courses are designed to take your units leadership from good to great. Online registration will be available soon, Please encourage your unit to start planning today.

Solar Regatta

Team TLAR wants YOU!

Lots of people talk about STEM^*, but in the Boy Scout tradition, Team TLAR DOES STEM!

We are building the GEC BSA team to compete against other teams from high schools across Northern California in the May 2020 SMUD 9^th Annual California Solar Regatta.  The competition involves designing, constructing and racing a solar-powered boat in three different races using only solar or battery power.  In the process we learn about solar panels, electricity, boat design, mechanical design, computer sensing and control, and whatever the team decides is needed to create a winning boat - a couple years ago it was composite materials and construction.

You may have seen our successful 2019 boat and Scouts on the KCRA Channel 3 News.  Last year we finished 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th (out of 20 teams) in the 3 on-the-water events and took “Best Drive Train” honors. We are aiming even higher this year.

We are starting in October by working on three applicable STEM merit badges from a solar- powered boat design perspective:

• Engineering
• Electricity
• Electronics

We are looking for interested Scouts, Venturers and adult mentors to join our team in this adventure.  For more information or to arrange a presentation to your troop, please contact one of our team leaders/mentors:

• Dave Burns (916) 768-7705 dsb7200@gmail.com
• Steve Jahr (916) 296-4828 stevejahr@suddenlink.net
• Mike Rebollo (916) 203-4471 mike.rebollo@blueprintautomation.com

* STEM: Science Technology Engineering and Math

Contribute your Scouting message, notes, pictures and videos by sending to SocialMedia@GEC-BSA.Org

And, join us online and see what the ‘Buzz’ is about!

National Jamboree 2021

Save the date!  National Jamboree is July 21 – 30 in 2021 but we are planning now!  If you have interest in serving as one of the adult leaders, being on the committee to help our youth get to the Jamboree or think that your Scout might be interested, please click here to go to our National Jamboree webpage.  We expect our travel quotes to be in soon and are ready to get started. 

What is Jamboree?  The National Scout jamboree is a gathering, or jamboree, of thousands of members of the Boy Scouts of America, usually held every four years and organized by the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America.  Scouts from all over the United States will come together for 10 days of fun and fellowship at the Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia.  The Summit is bursting with so many Scout activities, that it is almost impossible to do them all.  Scuba, zip lines, BMX Bikes, Climbing and Rappelling, Shooting Sports, Arena Shows, and more await your Scouts, so be on the lookout for more information as the registration process goes live in the next few months.  The Golden Empire Council contingent will consist of 220 Scouters, Venture Scouts, and both Boy and Girl Troops from Scouts, BSA.  

FAMILY ADVENTURES AT CUB RESIDENT CAMP

Did you attend our 2019 Cub Resident Camp – Adventures in Time?  We sure hope you had a chance to experience all the fun, family time, advancement opportunities, and beauty that Camp Lassen offers for the families of Northern California.  Don’t miss your chance to join us in 2020 for Americans of the Early Frontier as we celebrate Louis & Clark, Paul Revere, the gold rush and more.  Register now to save your Pack’s spot for 2020.  We will fill up for this great experience.  We cannot believe how amazing the reviews were in 2019 – trust us, you don’t want your chance to slip away.  Click here to register now!  Two sessions are full.

For more information or to make a reservation email camping@gec-bsa.org. 

The Golden Empire is Now Accepting

 2020 Summer Camp Reservations

The Golden Empire Camps are ready for the 2020 season!  Don’t miss out on your chance for the experience of a lifetime at Camp Lassen or Camp Winton for summer 2020 by signing your Unit up NOW!   WE WILL SELL OUT – so get your reservations in early! Contact the Camping Department with any questions at Camping@GEC-BSA.org. 

	TWO Amazing Camps to chose from, ONE Great Council!
	Camp Lassen is a well rounded camp offering everything from a 1st-Year Scout Program to off-the-charts High Adventure (ATV, High rope COPE, Welding & Metalworking and so much more!). Located 45 minutes from Chico, this 4200ft high camp has all the comforts of home! With warm showers and an array of campsites to chose from, you'll want to get your choice locked in now. Learn more about Camp Lassen by visiting our webpage. Programs available for Troops, Crews and Packs. Camp is filling fast.
	Camp Winton has sold out for the last four years! Troops come back year after year for the beautiful mountain scenery, refreshing Bear Valley Reservoir, extensive waterfront programs which include Sailing, Water Skiing, Kayaks, Canoes, Rowing, Paddle boards and so much more! Winton is known for its spectacular evening campfires and wonderful camp entertainment. Visit Camp Winton's webpage to learn more. Programs are for Boy Scouts and Venturing.

Reserve your spot now and select your favorite campsite before it's gone!

2020 Summer Camp

Are You a Trained Leader?

Every Scout deserves trained leaders.  Trained leaders help make the Scouting programs the best they can be.  Scouts who have the best programs are more engaged and more likely to stay in Scouting.

Position-specific training courses for Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts (Scouts BSA) are available online.  Log on to my.scouting.org to view and take the new training.

Access training

Training information

Do you prefer the interaction of live training session?  We still do live training in addition to the online classes.  Click here to see our training schedule.

Watch our building progress at the Nor Cal Adventure Area.

Visit the Blog or website for more information.

Webpage

Support Scouting while you Shop

Are you using Smile when you shop at Amazon?  Amazon Smile is a simple and automatic way for you to support your favorite charitable organization every time you shop, at no cost to you.  When you shop at smile.amazon.com, Amazon will donate a portion of your purchase price to your favorite charitable organization.  The Golden Empire Council is listed as "Golden Empire Council - Boy Scouts of America Trust Fund".  

So far Golden Empire Council participation in Amazon Smile has resulted in over $2,300 in donations.  Imagine what that might become if more Scouters Council-wide choose to do the same.

At a recent Council Connections meeting which is a quarterly meeting that all district leadership and council committee leadership attend to keep our Council on track for GOLD, our volunteers developed the 2019 Golden Empire Council Calendar. We hope you plan to attend many of these exciting activities and use it to plan your unit activities.

2020 Council Calendar

Save the Dates  - highlights

Click here to download the current
Golden Empire Council Calendar