BSA National Pike District

The BSA is tapping into the outdoor fun and excitement of geocaching and inviting you along for the adventure!

Through Get in the Game! geocaching events, Scouts and non-Scouts alike will search for prizes in this fast-paced orienteering quest. It's a great way to share interesting and useful Scouting skills — and outdoor adventure — with today's tech savvy kids.

Pillars of Scouting — "Travel Bugs®" that go from cache to cache around the nation to highlight core Scouting values.

Get in the Game! with Geocaching

As part of the BSA 100th Anniversary activity, National Pike plans to establish a Cache to Eagle Series.

What could be a more natural partnership – Scouting and geocaching! Both programs love and support the outdoors, and both get us all away from the TV and video games!

This series of caches highlight another component of Scouting: Service. All Scouts perform many hours of community service, from collecting food each year to a myriad of conservation projects. This series highlights just a few of these.

The focus of the project would be the protection of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.  During March thru June 2010, units can perform service and log their hours on www.goodturnforamerica.org.  Each Scout assisting will earn a patch. (Sign up will occur in January 2010.)

We plan to create a mosaic representing scouting in the 21st Century in a prominent location within the City of Baltimore.  This program would include a competition among artists for the design of the mural.  Our resources for this project include the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore and the Baltimore City Art Commission, but it will be built by youth.  The dedication is planned for July/August 2010.

We will have a contest among Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Varsity Scouts and Venture Scouts to design a Birthday Card for the 100th Anniversary of Scouting.  There will be prizes (a $50 gift card for the Scout Shop) for the best design in each scouting group and one overall winner will be announced on 8 February 2010.

Key volunteers will identify 100 Great Moments in the history of the Baltimore Area Council and Boy Scouts.  We will use these moments leading up to the 100th Anniversary in February, 2010 as a way to bring focus on the importance of Scouting in central Maryland.  They will be published in the Area Scouter, blast emails, advertising and other methods.

Paul Madden, the Council's 100th Anniversary Committee Chairman, has appointed Ambassadors from each District. The role of the Ambassadors will be to keep the 100th Anniversary celebration before the volunteers in each District and help to market this significant milestone in our history. They will play an integral part in the promotion of the Top 10 initiatives as we move forward in 2009.

Burt Marsh is the National Pike District Ambassador to the Council's 100th Anniversary Committee.

John Erickson chaired our first gathering of Eagles event in October 2008. Over 140 past and present Eagles participated in this new tradition at the Marriott Waterfront.  The event included several new recognitions presented to Eagle Scouts residing in the Council, as well as a guest speaker - Alvin Townsley, author of Legacy and Honor.

We will have an "adults only" Anniversary gala on a date to be determined in 2010.  The event is planned for the Naval Academy.  The themes of the Gala, in addition to the 100th Anniversary celebration will be the Alumni Connection and the Baltimore Area Council Hall of Fame.  Chris Poindexter, former Chairman of the Board, has agreed to chair this event.

Special Scout's Sunday / Scout's Sabbath programs are planned for February 6, 7, 13 and 14, 2010.  Included will be a special thank you to our religious institutional sponsors for their many years of partnership with the Boy Scouts.

This effort is led by Charlie Hiebler and the Council Interfaith Committee. Starting in September, the Interfaith Committee will be visiting Roundtables to discuss how to conduct Scout services.  Certificates will be available to present to unit sponsoring religious institutions.