Boy Scouts of America | Hawkeye Area Council

The Linn County Board of Supervisors Witwer Trust has awarded the Trailblazers Scouting outreach initiative a $2,600 grant to support expansion of Scouting programs to youth ages 7 - 10 in Linn County.  These funds will allow Trailblazers volunteers and staff to leverage the existing relationships of Troop and Crew 2 and form a new Cub Scout Pack.

Cub Scout Pack 2 will provide the traditional Cub Scouting program to youth who have physical or cognitive disorders and need a unique learning environment.  Cub Scout Pack 2 will be run by volunteers and parents of the youth involved and is projected to begin programming in late Spring 2012.

The funding received from Linn County Board of Supervisors Witwer Trust is one of several recent pledges of support to expand disability programming within Hawkeye Area Council.  The Cho-Gun-Mun-A-Nock Lodge and the National Order of the Arrow Committee recently pledged $10,000 towards disability accessibility improvements at the Howard H Cherry Scout Reservation, including installing a motorized pool lift for mobility impared individuals.  

Additionally, Leadership for Five Seasons through the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, has pledged support to help modify restroom facilities to become fully wheelchair accessible.  Finally, local individuals have also pledged support to ensure the Blankenship Shooting Pavillion and rifle shooting program will be fully accessible this summer.

For more information on Cub Scout Pack 2 or any disability awareness program in the Hawkeye Area Council please contact John Myers at 319.862.0541.

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The Hawkeye Area Council celebrated another year serving youth and families in eastern Iowa at their Annual Meeting on January 23rd.   As of the end of 2011, the Hawkeye Area Council experienced a total membership increase in traditional membership and career based Exploring program membership.  Fall recruitment was another area of success with 1,037 youth recruited into Scouting in eastern Iowa from August to December 2011.  This figure compares to 859 youth recruited in the fall of 2010.   

“Scouting is an essential part of the great quality of life in the corridor!” said Travis Christopher, Executive Director.  “Scouting experienced a 11% increase in total first graders signing up for Scouting over 2010, families are using Scouting to build character and instill good citizenship.”  2011 marks a sixth consecutive year of membership growth in the Corridor.

This membership growth, along with increases in total fundraising, program outcomes such as youth advancement  and community service, propelled the Hawkeye Area Council to “gold” status in the Boy Scouts of America.  Gold is the highest level a council can earn for yearly recognition.  The Hawkeye Area Council also elected four new members to its Executive Board: Marilee Fowler with the Cedar Rapids Convention and Visitors Bureau, Keith Jones with Hills Bank and Trust in Coralville, Bruce Vander Sanden with the Sixth Judicial District and Tom Cilek with West Bank in Iowa City.  The council also elected a new President, Mike Stallman from Walford, IA.  The group recognized Kelly Hayworth, City Administrator from Coralville, for his great leadership as President the previous two years.

The Hawkeye Area Council serves over 7,000 youth in its seven county service area consisting of Linn, Johnson, Cedar, Iowa, Benton, Washington and Jones counties.  For more information, check out www.hawkeyebsa.org or Facebook at “Hawkeye Area Council.”  The council’s telephone number is (319) 862-0541