San Antonio Section News

February 12, 2008

Devotion – Commander Jameson encouraged us with words from the prophet Zechariah. In Zechariah 4:6 An Angel tells Zachariah “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not my might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, ‘says the Lord Almighty”. He then proceeded to tell us that everything we do in our own nature is worthless. We can say to the rock be moved, and attempt to blow it out of the way with dynamite, but depending on the size of the rock it may or may not move. The one sure way to move a mountain is with faith the size of a mustard seed. That faith is our faith in Jesus Christ. It is when God moves in spite of our best efforts. Often men mess up the best plans that God has in made for them. But, somehow God still works a miracle.

Commander’s Report – Commander Porter talked about the changes coming from the National office concerning the Royal Ranger Curriculum. He mentioned the QLC surveys Commander Marsh had implemented and said that after 26,000 plus surveys the Nation office has decided that there needs to be more inaction or “hands on” activities in the weekly outpost meeting. He stated that the Curriculum needs to be changed so there is 70% “hands on” and 30% academic. Also the National Office wants to make the program a “boy lead, adult facilitated program. Ken said he had a lot of the Expedition Ranger materials on CD and that they are developing some leadership merits for each age group. Expedition ranger material will be the first to be reworked, since that age group has never been finished. There are new merits on the way for Paintball and Paintball Safety. Also there is a new missions merit to replace the requirement for Junior Light-for-the-Lost merit.

Training Report - Commander Lewis was unable to make the meeting so I filled-in in his absence. I added on to what Commander Ken had already said about training and mentioned there were also changes in the method of training leaders. At the Instructor Trainer’s Seminar I took on Friday afternoon, they were pushing contact in all of their training. They want trainers to mentor their classes and make personal contact in the class room. More than just eye contact, this contact would be to interact with each student in the class making them feel important and encourage them to participate in the classroom environment.
They also want us to “think out of the box” when it comes to our outpost classes as well as LMA classes. Commander Jameson mentioned that he had received his recertification to teach last month.

FCF Report – Commander Mac Millan reported that there are new national standards on the National web site for Sectional FCF Representative. He also stated that the present active Section FCF membership consisted of about 7 men and 3 boys. He asked the members present who they had in their outposts who would be interested in becoming FCF candidates. Brad mentioned he might have 3 or 4, Allen mentioned 3, and Ken mentioned he had 3 maybe 4 also. Mike had two dates in mind for FCF activities, but after proposing one and seeing it conflict with his own church calendar decided to wait until he got to check their calendar further. He also mentioned that there is a Silver Pathfinder Trip to Jamaica and wanted to know if anyone was interested. I think all were interested, but no one had the time to go.

Shooting Sports Report – Brad Dubbels coordinated a Basic Archery Instructor Trainer’s (BAIT) Class back on January 17, 18, & 19 with Kris Grimes and Centershot Ministry. Eight men earned and received their certification to become basic archery instructor trainers; thus creating the first Centershot Texas Team. During the Regional Training Seminar, they conducted a Basic Archery Instruction course in which some 21 people attended. Russ mentioned that he had approval to appoint a replacement for Brad as Shooting Sports Coordinator since he is now the Centershot Coordinator for South Texas. Brad mentioned a possible shooting event for the 16^th & 17^th of February.

Section Commander’s Report – Commander Russ talked about the DRRC and how we were able to pass the new Constitution and By-laws for the Long Horn Chapter. He also mentioned that they were ratified by the members of the DRRC on Saturday. He also recognized Commander Ken Porter as the newly elected District Promotions Coordinator and went on to say that Commander Freddie Bailey defeated him and Commander Jameson for the Deputy District Commander. He went on to tell everyone present that the Regional Training Seminar was great! He stated a lot of people thought the training was redundant, but mentioned also that it really wasn’t. He said Commander Trey Mitchell had provided a lot of different subjects, and expanded on the training being offered. Case I point was the Boys in Leadership Module. Although Commander Harris used the Patrol Method Module, he taught the importance of mentorship and prayer when it comes to boy leadership. He also taught leadership techniques and how to identify opportunities for boys when it comes to leadership.

STXDRR DRRC – Jan. 4 & 5 – at Faith A/G Church at Fairbanks North Houston
SCR Training Seminar – Jan. 25 & 26 – at the OMNI Hotel in San Antonio, TX
STXDRR FCF Spring Trace – Feb 22 – 24, at Eberly Ranch, Chapel Hill, TX
STXDRR District FCF Adventure – Mar. 28 & 29 at Mr. Waller’s Ranch near Rosharon, TX
Shooting Sports – John Thompson will take over the Shooting Sports program.
Centershot Ministries – Brad Dubbels will do the Archery program for the Section. 1^st event is scheduled for the 16^th & 17^th of February @ First A/G Church in San Antonio, TX
SAS Pinewood Derby – March 8, 2008 –
- Location: We had to change locations for the Section Pinewood derby due to a scheduling conflict at Valley Hi.
- Displays: Ken Porter is trying to get some static displays (Rail car, Monster Trucks, and Classic Cars).

Concessions: I asked him if George would be able to set-up and run concessions for us and he said probably but we need to confirm the location first. It was also stated that we need to offer more food items. Brad suggested some subway sandwiches or box lunches at $3.99 each. He also stated that we could even make sandwiches to sale in the concessions. Daniel suggested that we provide or sale ice cream. I told him that I could probably get Ice cream and a chest freezer from Blue Bell Ice Cream. I would need to ask Mike Eubank if he could somehow get one provided.
Pre-registration: I asked them if the thought 50 pre-registration forms would be enough for each church, and everyone said probably.
Door Prizes: I also asked them to see if they could get door prizes from business we frequent. Ken suggested the purchase of a Long Bow from Tom Jamison to be offered as a door prize. He also stated that we could offer a Hotdog and Coke from the concession stand as a door prize. Craig said that Church in the Wildwood would provide a Dutch oven for a door prize. It was also mentioned that we setup a silent auction to help raise monies for the section.
Entertainment: It was mentioned that we need more projectors, cameras, and equipment to set up and run the actual event. We are talking about video games, Movies, and showing the race live. We also talked about setting up and running some remote controlled cars. It was suggested that we have the kids do some craft item, like leather, and see if Tandy Leather would come out and assist.
Rules and Specifications: Since the scales were such a problem last year, the section will purchase 5.5 ounces to use as a standard for all scales. Also we would be using the same rules and specifications that the District uses for their Pinewood derby.
Craig mentioned that the pit area last year used a lot of materials and that there were people bringing their cars without the wheels on them. It was suggested that since he has to build the cars that maybe a maintenance fee should be accessed. I suggested that he buy the pit materials and turn the receipt into the section for re-imbursement.
We are also looking for a guest speaker for the Pinewood Derby. Ken said he may have someone lined up to speak.

STXDRR Pow-wow – April 11 – 13, 2008 at Cooper’s Farm (LCRA), La Grange, TX – Theme is: “Commandos for Christ”

New business:
- The next meeting will be held on Monday Feb. 25, 2008 at 7:00 pm at Victory A/G Church. We will be finishing plans for the Pinewood Derby, District Pow-wow and planning the Ranger Kids Field day scheduled for the end of April.

For more information on these events, e-mail the web-master at sarr@satx.rr.com

Russ Martin