Local Cub Scout troop honored at banquet
By Staff
From staff reports
Russellville Cub Scout Pack 39, a member of the Westmoreland District, recently received the National Quality Unit Award for 2005. The award was presented to the Pack at the District Banquet on Feb. 24 at the Underwood Petersville Community Center. The National Quality Unit Award is presented by the District Executive on behalf of the National Boy Scouts of America office.
To achieve this award, the BSA asks Cub Scout Pack leadership teams to make some specific commitments regarding the quality of their Pack's program for the following year. These commitments are in 10 specific operational areas of Pack Program delivery. Then, during the rechartering exercises of the following year, Cub Packs are asked to report on their performance against the commitments that were made the previous year. The Cub Scout Pack National Quality Unit Award is granted to Cub Scout Packs that achieve a minimum of six of those operational quality commitments out of the total of 10.
Completion of four specific commitments are mandatory, plus at least two additional commitments. Among the mandatory commitments a Pack must have a majority of their leadership attending training presented by BSA, keep a minimum of two-deep leadership at all Pack activities, earn the Outdoor Activity Award, and complete the Charter Renewal process on time. Among the elective committeemen's, Pack 39 was able to have two new Tiger Dens and had at least 70 percent of its membership advance in rank. Pack 39 was also able to complete an additional commitment by having a 100 percent participation in the Boy's Life magazine subscription program. Boy's Life is the official Scouting magazine of the Boy Scouts of America.
Cubmaster Elliott Gordon said, “this is a tremendous honor that has been awarded to our Pack. The boys and the Pack leadership have worked very hard to achieve this award. Several of the Leadership of the Pack has never attended training prior to this year. This is something that we work for all year. We have already started working on achieving the award again in 2006.”
For achieving the 2005 Award, the Pack received a ribbon that can be hung from the Pack flag and each scout and leader in the Pack can wear a 2005 Quality Unit Award patch on their uniform.