Jayhawk Area Council

Serving Scouting in the Topeka, Kansas area

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March Safety Moment

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SUMMARY

As Scouting moves to virtual and online platforms, we offer the following reminders to help keep kids safe. The below guidance applies to all online Scouting activities and meetings.

Note: Some states may have legal requirements that differ from, and even go beyond, what is provided here. It is your responsibility to check and abide by your state laws and consult your local council when reviewing and applying the following guidance, which is not comprehensive.

GENERAL INFORMATION

  • Follow all youth protection policies.
    • All youth protection policies still apply in an online environment. Ensure you always have two-deep leadership for online activities and meetings. Our ban on one-on-one contact between an adult leader and youth applies to all interactions ?– whether in person, online, through a web conference, over the phone, via text, or in any other form.
    • All aspects of the Scouting program are open to observation by parents, and Scouting America suggests parents take part in online activities and meetings.
  • Use business-oriented conference platforms that include good safety and privacy features instead of platforms with other primary purposes (such as gaming).
    • Review the terms of service, safety and privacy features, and data collection policies of any platform you use, and review Scouting America’s Digital Privacy and Social Media Guidelines linked below.
  • Regularly review and implement the latest security features of your chosen platform to avoid unauthorized visitors or other security issues in your meetings.
    • Just as you put in place plans for the physical security of your meeting place, here are some tips to consider as you get started developing your own strategy to manage online security:
      • Use unique meeting identification numbers for each session.
      • Utilize password features for all meetings.
      • Do not publish meeting invitations via public forums and remind attendees not to pass along invitations.
      • Use “waiting room” features to manage letting individuals into your meetings.
      • Disable features that you will not need, such as screen-sharing by non-hosts, private chats, and whiteboards.
  • Do not record online activities/meetings that include youth participants.
  • Recording of online activities that only involve adults is subject to local council legal review and approval. Check with your local council for guidance.
    • Call recording is subject to various legal requirements under U.S. law and the laws of individual states, some of which require all parties to a call consent to recording.
  • Safeguard personal information.
    • If you collect a person’s personal information online—for example, through web forms used to register people for online meetings—then you should post a notice or disclosure at the point of collection describing how you will use the information. The notice should be conspicuous and written in plain English.
    • Meeting organizers must keep such information private and not share a youth’s personal information with anyone except that youth’s parent or guardian or the unit leader responsible for tracking advancements. For example, a merit badge counselor should not publicly post or otherwise show a roster with personal information of Scouts the counselor has worked with.
  • Collecting personal information from youth under 13 is not recommended.
    • Do not collect personal information directly from youth under 13 years of age due to the parental notice and consent requirements under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”).  You should collect any data needed from the parent or legal guardian only.

2025 Silver Beaver Award Honorees

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The Jayhawk Council Awards Committee is pleased to announce the honorees for the Silver Beaver Awards. Please join us at the Council Recognition Banquet for the presentation of the awards on February 7, 2026, at the Bishop Professional Center.

First, the Jayhawk Area Council would like to thank the  Selection Committee for their time and dedication to selecting the two best Nominations to receive the Silver Beaver Award.  The Council is allowed to select two individuals each year, based on our size of Council, for this prestigious Award.  The Silver Beaver Award recognizes the time, dedication, and commitment a Scouter has made as an adult to provide leadership and support at the Unit, District, and Council levels.  These recipients represent the “best of the best” in providing the best Scouting experience for our Youth.

 Silver Beaver Award goes to….

Chaz Havens –

Dr. Charles “Chaz” Havens has lived the values of Scouting for nearly four decades. He joined the program as a Tiger Scout in Pack 15 in 1986 and fondly remembers early adventures like touring the local fire station and watching a firetruck leave on an emergency call. Chaz earned his Arrow of Light and continued into Scouts BSA with Troop 59 and later Troop 69, where he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in 1998—one week before his 18th birthday, thanks, as he says, to “a swift kick of encouragement from his mother.”

Scouting became a family journey when his son joined Cub Scouts at Pack 59. Chaz returned to serve the next generation as a Den Leader and Cubmaster, and later followed his son to Troop 249, where he served for several years as Scoutmaster. At the district and council levels, he has been deeply involved as a merit badge counselor, Wood Badge staff member, Trainer’s Edge trainer, District Training Chair, and committee member on the Camp Jayhawk Revitalization Committee. Chaz also organized the highly successful Washburn Tech Merit Badge Day for four years, helping hundreds of Scouts explore careers, build skills, and connect with community mentors.

Whether in his role as an educator, Marine, community volunteer, or Scout leader, Chaz Havens believes in the power of mentorship, hard work, humor, and helping young people grow into confident and capable adults. He is grateful for the impact Scouting has had on his life and is committed to ensuring that same opportunity for future generations.

Matt Woodward –

Matt Woodward has made numerous contributions to the Jayhawk Area Council advancing the mission of Scouting and developing tomorrow’s future leaders. On the local level, he has served as a Merit Badge Counselor, Assistant Scoutmaster, and Scoutmaster. In each of these roles, he has served with distinction.

On the district level, Matt has served as the Sunflower District Chair since 2023 and currently serves as the Outdoor Programs Committee Chair for the Jayhawk Area Council. In these roles, he has worked tirelessly to deliver the promise of Scouting to youth across the 11 counties throughout Northeast Kansas.

Throughout his scouting journey, Matt has believed that every youth deserves a Trained Leader. He became an Order of the Arrow member in 2018, Completed Wood Badge in 2019, earned the Order of the Arrow Vigil Honor in 2023 and received the District Award of Merit in 2025.

Matt Woodward is our second recipient of the 2025 Silver Beaver Award. Join us on February 7th, 2026, to celebrate these Honoree’s and the 2025 Eagle Scout Class!

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Enjoy the Magic of Winter Camping!

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There is magic in Winter Camping and your Unit is  invited to Tread New Ground at the 2026 Jayhawk Area Council. This year’s Klondike promises fun for every Scout and is scheduled for January 23-25 at the pristine Pomona State Park in Vassar, KS.

Registration is currently open and we encourage you and your Unit to put your Unit Projections into our Registration portal. This will help us to continue to make plans and give us an idea as to how many are coming for planning purposes.

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Scouts BSA Summer Camp

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Dear Scoutmasters and Senior Patrol Leaders,

Summer camp is the highlight of the Scouting year. Young men and women join Scouting to get outdoors and Camp Jayhawk at Falley Scout Reservation provides a unique setting for Scouts to interact with the Scouting program, explore nature, and learn about the world and themselves.

The Falley Scout Reservation Summer Camp Staff is committed to providing the best possible program during your Unit’s week of camp. Our goal is to be friendly and responsive to the needs of your unit, as well as set an example of what Scouting is to all those attending camp.

The Jayhawk Area Council invites all Units to place their campsite deposit now through January 6th to qualify for our Early Bird rate and select a campsite.  This initial $400 payment will be applied to the fee for the first two Unit leaders attending Summer Camp. To maintain the early bird pricing, Units will need to make the first payment of $150.00 per Scout participant by March 3rd with all final payments being made by May 5th. Units that register after January 6th will not be eligible for the Early Bird pricing and must pay the regular rate.

In addition, we are thrilled to once again offer Scouts and Leaders the opportunity to attend Camp Jayhawk, even if the rest of their Unit is not. This provisional Unit, known as the All-Star Troop, is overseen by two experienced adult leaders and the Scouts will elect their own Senior Patrol Leader and other positions as necessary. These Scouts participate in all competitions and other activities as a Unit and have proven to be quite successful these past few summers. All Scouts registered with the All-Star Troop receive the Early Bird rate.

Campership applications are due February 3rd, and on February 17th Campership decisions will be sent to those Units who have Scouts apply.

As the 2026 Camp Director, I would like to personally invite your Unit to place its deposit today and reserve your campsite for 2026 Summer Camp. Summer adventure awaits!

Yours in Scouting,

Brenden Feldt

2026 FSR Camp Director

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