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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).

The first few are:

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

DKD Electric - for Electricity Merit Badge

Davis Kelin Law Group - for Law 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 Information Coming Soon...

NEW NEW NEW!!! Merit Badge Adventure Camp is a weekend program at Gorham Scout Ranch. Scouts arrive on Friday evening, take a merit badge class or adventure activity on all day Saturday, and go home on Sunday morning (or Saturday night). Meals are provided in the Lodge prepared by the camp’s kitchen crew. Troops sleep in canvas tents at our campsites. These amenities are time savers for Troops looking to maximize on merit badge coursework or activity time. Weekends start in August. Click HERE for more information and to register.

Wood Badge 2019

September 22-27, 2019

Philmont Scout Ranch

Click HERE for more information and to reserve your spot in this special course today!

Cub Scout Join Night is Thursday, August 29

at Elementary Schools throughout our communities

Click HERE for more information and locations

In an effort to maximize the marketing and promotion resources available, Cub Scout Join Nights will be held throughout our Council on Thursday, August 29. The Join Night event will serve the sole purpose of welcoming families new to your Pack, registering them into BSA, and providing them with the information needed to participate in Cub Scouting in your Pack. This event should last up to one hour and be held at school(s) your Pack recruits from. There will be volunteer help and support from district and Council volunteers.

To prepare for August 29, please read the "Scout Me In" article in the June Trailmarker.

Contact your District Executive for more details and to discuss your Pack's Join Night.

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 as of early July 2019. The report has been updated from the April version to include Friends of Scouting contributions, beef jerky sales, and year-to-date totals for any Gondola Club donations connected to a specific unit. The next update will be in August with final camping data. 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.

Check HERE for the 2018 FINAL results.

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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