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The 2019 Gift of Scouting Online Auction!

BID NOW

There are many NEW and exciting items this year including cruises, Tours of Albuquerque, exotic car driving, and jewelry! Surprise your loved ones with a unique item from our auction! Visit www.biddingowl.com/gswcbsa

Position Opening - Gorham Scout Ranch Ranger

The Great Southwest Council is seeking qualified candidates for the Gorham Scout Ranger Ranger position opening. Click HERE for the position description, including requirements and benefits. If you are interested in the position, please send a cover letter and resume to Randy Saunders at randy.saunders@scouting.org.

Please Welcome our Merit Badge Sponsors!

New to the Great Southwest Council are Merit Badge Sponsorships. These businesses and groups are Scouting supporters that will also provide opportunities for Scouts to earn merit badges related to their occupational field or interest(s).

Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Railroad - for Railroading Merit Badge

DKD Electric - for Electricity Merit Badge

Davis Kelin Law Group - for Law Merit Badge

Facebook - for Digital Technology Merit Badge

McCormack Consultants - for Entrepreneurship Merit Badge

Dr. Steven Komadina - for Horsemanship Merit Badge

Albuquerque ER & Hospital - for First Aid Merit Badge

If you or your company would like to become a Merit Badge Sponsor, contact your district executive or Randy Saunders, randy.saunders@scouting.org for more information.

Thank you to these Scouting supporters!!!

Scouting for the Whole Family... Scouts BSA Girl Troops Launched!!!

The BSA’s mission is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Scout Law.

Our priority is to bring the benefits of Scouting to more youth while remaining true to our mission.

As of February 1, there are now Scouts BSA Troops open for girls ages 11-17 to join. Contact us to find a nearby Troop or to get assistance starting one for girls in your neighborhood (505) 345-8603.

Click HERE to learn about exciting summer programs available for Scouts BSA girls at Gorham Scout Ranch.

Friends of Scouting - Give ONLINE Today... NEW BUTTON!!!

Please take a moment to support the Great Southwest Council through our annual giving campaign. All donations stay locally to support Scouting in the Great Southwest Council!

New for 2019... the Gondola Patrol! The Gondola Patrol is the Great Southwest Council's recurring gift club. Become a member by contributing $15 per month via your credit or debit card. Click HERE to complete the pledge card. Send to or drop off to the Scout Office to join today.

We need your help!

Council President, Dr. Stephen Christiansen requests our members to let us know if you are aware of potential Scout supporters in the community. Please click here for more information.

Safe Scouting: BSA Incident Reporting

Timely, clear, concise, and complete incident reports allow for an appropriate response and an opportunity for analysis while promoting continuous improvement of our programs. You can now report incidents, near misses, and youth protection / membership infraction incidents to your local council or enter them yourself.

For information on reporting an incident, including report forms, click HERE

Read the current Trailmarker HERE

Other Announcements:

Summer 2020 @ Gorham Scout Ranch!!!

Leaders Guide for Scouts BSA Summer Camp and NEW Frank Rand High Adventure is now available. Click HERE for Leaders Guide.

Reservations are also open for 2020 Summer Camp Season. Click HERE for more information.

SILVER BEAVER AWARDS CELEBRATION and COUNCIL ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING on SATURDAY, JANUARY 25, 2020

The Silver Beaver Award is a Council-level award presented to volunteers with distinguished service to Scouting and youth in their communities. Recipients of this award will be honored and recognized at a ceremony held on Saturday, January 25, 2020, 11:30am at the Central United Methodist Church in Albuquerque, Click HERE registration for this event.

The Great Southwest Council will also conduct its Annual Business Meeting at this event on January 25. Make plans now to attend this wonderful event to celebrate great volunteers and an excellent year of Scouting.

Eagle Scout Banquet & Scholarship Opportunity

Join us on February 28, 2020 @ 11:30am at the Albuquerque Sheraton Uptown as we honor our newest class of Eagle Scouts.

The event is free for all 2019 Eagle Scouts. Parents, Grandparents, Mentors, and Friends are encouraged to attend, cost is $35.00 per ticket.

The Distinguished Citizen Award will be presented. Several Outstanding Eagle Scouts will be recognized at this event, as well.

Parents - be sure to encourage your Eagle Scout to apply for our Anderson Eagle Scout Scholarship. Click HERE (insert attached PDF) for the application. The deadline to submit is February 7, 2020. For more information, please contact Caryl Sharpe caryl.sharpe@scouting.org.

Online registration will open November 1, 2019.

How to Report Service Hours

As your unit completes the recharter process, please take the time to complete the Journey to Excellence scorecard. You can submit this form with your recharter to the Scout Office.

One of the Journey to Excellence measures is to complete service projects and report the service hours. This can be done so online. Click HERE for instructions.

Partnership for Scouting

Click HERE for the 2019 Partnership Report, current as of November 20th, 2019. The report has been updated from the July version to include camping data, and financial information (primarily popcorn sales, along with any updates to Friends of Scouting contributions, and year-to-date totals for any Gondola Club donations connected to a specific unit). The last update will be in late December with final financial data, and will include JTE status.

Be sure to plan to become a Partnership unit in 2019 in order to take advantage of the benefits you earn for 2020, including the insurance fee rebate and pinewood derby cars for Packs. If there are any questions about the data listed, please contact Randy Saunders, randy.saunders@scouting.org; or Dale Balmer, dbalmer8@comcast.net.

Click HERE to see a list of benefit units have actually received this year from their participation in the Partnership program!

Click HERE to open an Excel spreadsheet that allows you to calculate the value of different Partner benefits to your unit.

Thank you to our Packs, Troops, Crews, and Wards that qualified in 2018 as Partnership Units.

Please Support Businesses in our Community that Support Scouting!

BSA Gift Plan

Please visit www.bsagiftplan.org

Just Serve

Just Serve connects volunteers with opportunities to care for others and improve our community.

JustServe.org is provided as a service by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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