See Below for a copy of a NOTICE OF DISTRICT ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING sent by the Atlanta Area Council -- with corrected email address.  (Email webmaster@southfultonscouting.com if you need a reminder about the login to see more.  Also, see this "Ways to Volunteer in the District" page for more information about District Level roles and functions.)

Date:     September 11th, 2025

To:         Scouters of the Southern Crescent

RE:          Annual District Business Meeting – November 11th, 2025

Elections for Officers and Members at Large for 2025-2026

Elections will be held at the Southern Crescent District Annual Business Meeting on November 11th, 2025, at 7:00pm. This event will be held at Hapeville First Baptist Church, 612 College St, Hapeville, GA 30354. Your participation in this election is important to the continuing health of the Southern Crescent District.

Eligible Voters – Currently Registered Scouters holding the following positions:

• Chartered Organization Representatives of Scouting America Units within the District
• 2024-2025 District Members at Large
• 2024-2025 Atlanta Area Council Members at Large and Council Committee residing within the bounds of the District.

Slates to be presented:

• District Members at Large
• District Chair
• District Vice Chairs
• District Commissioner (recommendation)

2025 District Nominating Committee members:

Laurie Blanchard

Recommendation of Candidates:

• All currently registered Scouters of the Southern Crescent are eligible to recommend candidates for District Office and Members at Large for 2025-2026 to the Nominating Committee.
• [Edit: this deadline is apparently extended to a date prior to the Meeting; confirm with Our District Chair, Broderick Talley, our interim District Commissioner, Ron Gates, or our District Executive Equon Smith, or all of them at this email.] Recommendations must be submitted to the committee in writing no later than October 13th, 2025.
• Please submit your recommendations to Laurie Blanchard, by electronic mail at Laurie.Blanchard@firsthorizon.com.

Notes:

• The District Chair, Vice Chairs, and Members at Large assume their respective roles immediately following the annual business meeting.
• The nominee for District Commissioner is recommended to the Board of Directors of the Atlanta Area Council and does not assume that post until the Atlanta Area Council Board’s approval.

Yours in Scouting,

Laurie Blanchard, Chair, Southern Crescent Nominating Committee

Highlights of the most recent District News were these (click links for information):  Recruiting Step Four: School and Community Presence and Profile ... "Safeguarding Youth" Training ... Opt In, Opt Out ... and from the week before:  The Great Big List of Places to Go and Things to Do Around Atlanta ... What's On This Website? ... Get a Chance to Win Pinewood Derby Car Kits for Your Pack ... Email webmaster@southfultonscouting.com if you need a reminder about the login.

As you develop a Program Plan (your fun events) and Promote It to your parents and through your parents (and recruit leaders and helpers) … be sure that you’ve got positive presence and profile with your school population and your community.  Let them know the value of Scouting – let them see that your Unit delivers that value – help them help you share what your Unit does. 

Say Thank You!  Any time is a great time to thank your School personnel.  

• By all means, send a thank you note, email or text to the Principal and staff – baked goods or a basket of fruit would be super too!
• Just to let them know we’re grateful for all they do, and we’re here to help the community in any way we can.

Things You Can Do Now.  There are things that Packs – not just leaders, but parents too – can do now, before any Sign Up Event.

• When you have your Pack Program, and have a flyer that is your “Pack Packet” of key information and contacts and any information website (including photo pages) to share online, you can ask if you can get it linked on School or Community Websites.  Be sure you can show the school that your program lines up with their aims – Cub Scouting’s aims of Character Growth, Citizenship Training, and Personal Fitness should line up nicely with any school and community aims!
• If parents in the Pack are in touch with other parents at the School, encourage them to share the Scouting story.  Parent to parent promotion is more effective anyway.  Let them share  your “Pack Packet” of key information and contacts and any social media you post.
• When you’ve done activities – Day Camp, Service Projects, Advancement Awards, Summer Activities – share the good news with the school and community. 
• As you find out about school access (and whether there will be in person “registration days” or “meet the teacher” days), if you ask nice and make it easy, you might be able to leave materials for pickup by parents, and maybe also be there yourself, maybe outdoors with a tent or other display.

More ideas at www.atlantabsa.org/recruitingpresence. 

In your my.scouting.org account, you won't see "Youth Protection Training".  You'll see a link to "Safeguarding Youth" training.

This +/-90 minute training replaces Youth Protection Training.  Your existing YPT is valid through the earlier of (a) your YPT expiration date or (b) May of 2026 (one year after the launch of this new training course), but when you approach that date you'll need to take complete the new "Safeguarding Youth" training and pass the quiz.

Another new element: "Safeguarding Youth" training must be taken every year.   Or: an announcement from Scouting America Commissioners on FB says that after taking "Safeguarding Youth" training a 15 minute refresher course and quiz must be successfully completed annually thereafter.

Three likely FAQ:

Q:  I'm registering to be an adult leader for the first time and they told me to "take YPT" ... but I can't find it.  What do I do?

A:  Take "Safeguarding Youth" training instead, through your my.scouting.org account.

Q:  I'm currently an adult leader and my YPT is good through December of 2025 - do I need to take "Safeguarding Youth" training now?

A:  No.  You'll need to take it by your expiration date in December of 2025. But you can take it early.

Q:  I just registered as an adult leader in April so my YPT showed it was good through April of 2027 - when do I need to take "Safeguarding Youth" training?

A:  By May of 2026, or one year after the launch of this new training course.

If you're no longer interested in Scouting and you want to "opt out" of these messages, email the Webmaster and we'll drop you from the list.  But If you want to be "all in" on Scouting, see our Leader Training page (good resources for parents too through the National On Line Training site at ScoutingU with the same login as at My.Scouting.Org), and if you want the login codes, just email the Webmaster ... If you want to add parents or leaders to the distribution list who are not in your unit's roster here, just email the Webmaster.