Ayers flies high as Eagles' first completed ticket

Jeff Ayers (right) learns the basics of flag folding on Day 1
with fellow participant James Fogal.

Wood Badge Course S9-91-14 has officially recorded its second completed ticket — and the first from among the members of the Eagle Patrol. Jeff Ayers of Troop 115, chartered by Pine Mountain Valley Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in West Point. Jeff's ticket items, which center around his vision to leave his troop better than when he joined it, included the following goals that have led to more organized advancement in his troop, stronger connections between his troop and Pack 115, and additional opportunities for Scouts and leaders in his district:

• Goal 1: build chuckboxes for each of the troop's two patrols as a means of improving the patrols' campout cooking performance and to better organize their cooking supplies
• Goal 2: repair and clean up the troop's Webelos crossover bridge
• Goal 3: expand upon his duties as assistant scoutmaster to include serving as the troop's advancement chair, thereby filling a leadership void left by a volunteer who was transitioning out of this position, and to update and computerize troop advancement records
• Goal 4: begin service as a member of George H. Lanier District's Eagle Board for a period of at least six months to learn more about the Eagle review process and as a means of helping Scouts in his troop advance
• Goal 5: broaden his personal understanding of international Scouting and share that information through a presentation at a district roundtable and to the Scouts in his troop

Jeff credits his wife, as well as his friend Jacob Johnson, as his greatest morale boosters. "Both were there for me when I needed help or time to complete ticket items," Jeff said. "I'll happy give credit to Joshua Crawford and Andrew Baird for helping guide me to pick ticket items that were clear, direct, attainable, and SMART. They helped me take my raw ideas and refine them down to the items that were approved."

The ticket process also seems to have helped Jeff prepare for the ever-evolving Scouting roles many of us experience as Scouting volunteers.

"When I started Wood Badge, I was an assistant scoutmaster. Since our scoutmaster moved, I am now our troop's scoutmaster, and I have taken to the job well. The boys are excited and the parents are happy too. 'It was my move,' and I took it!"

Jeff is scheduled to receive his beads at the council's Wood Badge Reunion at Camp Lumpkin on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2015.

Buffalo Patrol's Booton first to finish ticket

Like he did with the "Spider's Web,"
Terry proves through completing his
ticket quickly that there's no obstacle
that will slow down his success!

Roughly six months after the conclusion of Wood Badge Course S9-91-14, the Buffalo Patrol's Terry Booton becomes the first course participation to complete his Wood Badge ticket. Terry, a den leader in Pack 21, chartered by First United Methodist Church in LaGrange, set out through his ticket to help his pack be "a well-oiled machine" where the Scouting program would continue to grow. To that end, his ticket items included the following goals:

• Goal 1: increase fall recruitment and obtain leaders' buy-in for those recruitment efforts by holding a diversity workshop through which leaders developed a strategy for attracting more diversity groups through the pack's recruiting efforts
• Goal 2: improve scheduled pack events by creating a step-by-step play book for those running events that include loop-a-ramas, rain gutter regattas, and pinewood derbies
• Goal 3: teach a cooking demonstration session at an outdoor leaders' skills course
• Goal 4: staff the Spartan Program at the 2014 Resident Camp and assist with teaching Webelos Scouts outdoor skills
• Goal 5: develop a training guide for pack leaders, and track and monitor leaders' training progress

Terry considers his ticket item pertaining to staffing the 2014 Resident Camp his most rewarding project. "I have been there twice before as a den leader and parent. This time I had the opportunity to work behind the scenes and help make certain things ran well and on time," he said. "I really enjoyed supporting Todd Stephens and making the program a big success. I was able to help correct some of the problems that I had seen in prior years."

Setting deadlines proved vital in staying on task and on schedule. He credited his success to "giving myself a deadline for each project and making it a priority on my calendar. I had all my tickets planned with a target date and was able to achieve those dates by being organized, working the plan and keeping those who were helping me focused with a target date for completion."

Terry is scheduled to receive his beads at the council's Wood Badge Reunion at Camp Lumpkin on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2015.

Wood Badgers provide pivotal leadership for recent NYLT course

NYLT Course Director Kelly Anderson,
sporting his fourth Wood Badge bead in
recognition of his service as an
NYLT course director.

When the Chattahoochee Council's 2014 National Youth Leadership Training course convened at Camp Frank G. Lumpkin on Sunday, July 13, some could have called it a Wood Badge Course S9-91-14 reunion. Under the leadership of NYLT Course Director Kelly Anderson, who served Wood Badge Course S9-91-14 as troop guide for the Buffalo Patrol, this year's NYLT course featured seven staffers and three participants from the most recent Wood Badge course.

Like Wood Badge, NYLT is a nationally devised BSA curriculum administered locally by councils. NYLT is an exciting, action-packed program provides youth members with leadership skills and experience they can use in their home troops and in other situations demanding leadership of self and others. And like its precursor, Junior Leader Training, or JLT, NYLT is an important part of the BSA's leadership training continuum for youth Scouts in the same way Wood Badge is for adult leaders. The NYLT course centers around the concepts of what a leader must be, what he must know, and what he must do. The key elements are then taught with a clear focus on how to. The skills come alive during the week as the patrol goes on a "Quest for the Meaning of Leadership."

The six-day course is delivered in a troop and patrol outdoor setting with an emphasis on immediate application of learning in a fun environment. Interconnecting concepts and work processes are introduced early, built upon, and aided by the use of memory aids, which allows participants to understand and employ the leadership skills much faster. Built on the legacy of past JLT successes, NYLT integrates the best of modern leadership theory with the traditional strengths of the Scouting experience. Through activities, presentations, challenges, discussions, and audio-visual support, NYLT participants will be engaged in a unified approach to leadership that will give them the skill and confidence to lead well. Through a wide range of activities, games, and adventures, participants will work and play together as they put into action the best Scouting has to offer.

2014 NYLT course participants

One of several instructional sessions held in Ft. Bradshaw.

The council's NYLT course, which lasted through July 18, brought together 40 youth participants and 29 staff members. The course format mirrors much of the Wood Badge course format, with leadership and patrols similarly structured, instructional sessions occurring in Ft. Bradshaw, meals eaten in the Dining Hall, and participants camping in Campsite 1 and Campsite 3. Instead of two full-weekend sessions, NYLT is delivered through a week-long experience, which is also an optional approach to delivering Wood Badge course content as well. Participants, working through six patrols, enjoyed team-building events and employing the leadership skills they learned during the week through a variety of activities, including the "Quest for the Meaning of Leadership" skits performed at the end of the course. 

Wood Badge Course S9-91-14 staffers and participants who staffed this year's NYLT course include:

• Kelly Anderson, course director, who served as troop guide for S9-91-14's Buffalo Patrol. He also serves as assistant scoutmaster for Yellow Jacket District's Troop 10 and currently is a doctoral candidate of commissioner science.
• Kevin Hicks, back-up course director, who served as troop guide for S9-91-14's Antelope Patrol. He also serves as assistant scoutmaster for Saugahatchee District's Troop 15.
• Don Scott, assistant scoutmaster for facilities, who served as one of S9-91-14's assistant quartermasters. He also serves as assistant scoutmaster for Muskogee District's Troop 205, as well as a member of Muskogee District's Religious Committee and Eagle Board, and the council's Camping Committee.
• Eddie Moone, assistant scoutmaster for facilities, who attended S9-91-14 as a member of the Owl Patrol. He also serves as assistant scoutmaster for Yellow Jacket District's Troop 326.
• Krystal Tumlin, assistant scoutmaster for program, who served as troop guide for S9-91-14's Bear Patrol. She also serves as troop committee chair for Saugahatchee District's Troop 356.
• Lisa Sandt, assistant scoutmaster for administration, who served as S9-91-14's volunteer adviser. She also serves as troop committee chair for Saugahatchee District's Troop 15, associate crew adviser for Saugahatchee District's Crew 15, and as council training chair.
• Graham Hurley, assistant scoutmaster for troop guides, who attended S9-91-14 as a member of the Eagle Patrol. He also serves as an assistant scoutmaster for Saugahatchee District's Troop 15.
• Bill Whealton, part-time quartermaster, who served as S9-91-14 assistant scoutmaster for facilities. He also serves as assistant scoutmaster for Muskogee District's Troop 100, crew adviser for Muskogee District's Crew 100, food service adviser for the Chattahoochee Order of the Arrow Lodge, and Muskogee District's Boy Scout Roundtable commissioner.
• Ted Whealton, part-time quartermaster, who served S9-91-14 as an assistant quartermaster. He also serves as a district commissioner for the Muskogee District.
• James Fogal, instructor, who attended S9-91-14 as a member of the Bobwhite Patrol. He also serves as troop chaplain for Saugahatchee District's Troop 15.

S9-91-14 Wood Badgers honored at council banquet

At its Saturday, June 21, annual council banquet, Chattahoochee Council honored three of our S9-91-14 course Wood Badgers with well-deserved recognition of their volunteer efforts and council-wide leadership.

SILVER BEAVER AWARDS

S9-91-14 Silver Beaver Award recipients Debbi Lytle (center) and
Joel Moore (right) with fellow Wood Badger Cliff Christian (left)

Recipients of this year’s Silver Beaver Award included Muskogee District's Debbi Lytle, who served as assistant scoutmaster for programs; and Saugahatchee District's Joel Moore, a course participant and member of the Beaver Patrol.

Debbi Lytle with husband and fellow banquet honoree Tom

Debbi Lytle

Debbi's Scouting volunteer experience spans 30 years and three councils. Wherever her husband, Tom’s, military duties took him, Debbi found opportunities to serve, which included in a variety of pack, troop, district capacities. Since beginning her service to Chattahoochee Council in 1991, Debbi has been a stalwart force in district- and council-level training programs. An Eagle Patrol member of Greater Alabama Council’s (Birmingham) Wood Badge Course SR-CS4, the pinnacle of her council training service has been staffing four Wood Badge courses. Her Scouting accolades include the Commissioner’s Arrowhead, District Award of Merit, Ft. Benning District’s Follow Me Award, Ft. Benning District’s Scouter’s Award, Chattahoochee Council’s Gilwell Award, and both the bachelor’s and master’s of Cub Scouting through the University of Scouting. [read more in Debbi's course staff bio]

Joel Moore

An Eagle Scout with Scouting roots dating back 45 years, Joel Moore grew up as a Cub Scout, Boy Scout, Explorer, and Order of the Arrow Arrowman in the Birmingham Area Council (now Greater Alabama Council). In 1993, he began his service to Chattahoochee Council by helping to establish Pack 371 and Troop 371 — both chartered by Auburn’s Lakeview Baptist Church, where he and his family worship and serve. Beyond his unit-level service, which today includes his continued service as the troop’s committee chair and ad-hoc assistant scoutmaster, Joel was elected in 2013 as the council’s vice president for programs after two consecutive terms of service as the district chair for Saugahatchee District. In 2013, he helped lead the Chattahoochee Council’s Troop A223 Jamboree contingent as an assistant scoutmaster. His Scouting service has resulted in honors such as the Good Shepherd Baptist Adult Religious Emblem, awarded by the Association of Baptists for Scouting (2010); the District Award of Merit, awarded by the Saugahatchee District (2014); and several other awards for unit-level service and training. He carries on the tradition of Scouting service as a second-generation Silver Beaver Award recipient; his father, Bob Moore, received the Silver Beaver in 1982 from the Birmingham Area Council.

Silver Beaver Award medal

About the Silver Beaver Award

The Silver Beaver Award is the council-level distinguished service award presented by the National Court of Honor on behalf of councils. Recipients of this award, first bestowed in 1931, are registered adult leaders who have made an impact on the lives of youth through service given to the council through their efforts to deliver the Scouting program and perform community service through hard work, self-sacrifice, dedication, and many years of service. It is given to those who do not actively seek it. Honorees are presented with a medal consisting of a silver beaver pendant suspended from a blue and white ribbon worn around the neck. Recipients may wear the corresponding square knot, with a white strand over a blue strand, on the BSA uniform. Using the United States Military as the model, silver awards are the highest awards bestowed by the Boy Scouts.

NESA OUTSTANDING EAGLE SCOUT AWARD

Receiving the council’s National Eagle Scout Association’s (NESA) Outstanding Eagle Scout Award was S9-91-14 course director and Muskogee District Scouter Tom Lytle.

Tom receives the NOESA from Council President
Luke Mansour (left) and Scout Executive
Anthony Berger (right)

Tom Lytle

From his days as a Cub Scout to now, Tom Lytle has spent more than a half century benefiting from and serving the Boy Scouts of America. Starting his Scouting journey in 1959 as a Cub Scout in Missouri’s Heart of America Council, Tom earned the rank of Eagle in 1965. He began his adult volunteer service there before a military career found him traveling the globe — and finding ways to serve Scouting in every place his assignments took him, which included four different councils, including the Transatlantic Council based in Heilbronn, Germany. After retiring from the U.S. Army as a master sergeant, Tom continued his Scouting service in the Chattahoochee Council. The council has benefited from his diligent Scouting service as a district commissioner for 10 years, as a long-time member of district and council training teams, and as the council’s advancement chair. A proud Bobwhite Patrol member of Wood Badge Course SE-273-11 (Occoneechee Council, 1988), he staffed four Chattahoochee Council Wood Badge courses before being selected to lead the council’s most recent S9-91-14 course in 2014 as course director. Tom’s Scouting accolades include bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees through the College of Commissioner Science, the District Award of Merit, Commissioner’s Arrowhead, the Silver Beaver, BSA Heroism Award, Scouter’s International Award, and the council’s Gilwell Award. [read more in Tom's course staff bio]

NESA Outstanding Eagle
Scout Award medal

About the Outstanding Eagle Scout Award

The National Eagle Scout Association’s (NESA) Outstanding Eagle Scout Award is a prestigious recognition granted by a local council’s NESA committee to Eagle Scouts who have demonstrated outstanding achievement at the local, state, or regional level. Each recipient’s actions and accomplishments should elevate the stature of Eagle Scouts in the public eye, and each recipient is held to the standards set forth in the Scout Oath, Scout Law, and national BSA standards for membership. Often, these men have devoted a lifetime to their profession, avocation, community, and beliefs, at great sacrifice to themselves and their families. Each recipient should receive recognition worthy of a lifetime’s accomplishments. Recipients receive a medal consisting of the NOESA emblem suspended from a blue ribbon worn around the neck, and can wear both a pin-on uniform version of the medal on their Eagle Scout square knot or a civilian-wear lapel pin.

Wounded Bobwhite returns in time for Saturday overnighter

On our departure for Saturday's second course weekend overnighter, our patrol was a Bobwhite down. While patrol member Jolene Davis recouped in the health lodge, the rest of us carried on, set up camp, and had our "chicken ice cream." Thankfully, Jolene returned to us later that evening, refueled and patched up. We are grateful -- and of course, "happy" -- to the health lodge for the first aid and bringing us back together.

The Bobwhites, reunited, left to right (front row): Toni Sue Bobyarchick,
Jolene Davis, Robert Benca; (back row) Dave Brackett,
Justin Bonner, and Troop Guide Todd Stephens