SEMPER PARATUS

           Ever Prepared, Always Ready

Welcome to ScoutRangers.Org

        Welcome to the Internet's home for Rangers and all those associated with caring for camps and wilderness reservations. While this site was originally created to benefit those who serve Scouts and Scouters at facilities belonging to the Boy Scouts of America, Rangers and Stewards from other groups such as Girl Scouts, Royal Rangers, or camps that serve youth are more than welcome to be a part of our fellowship. Simply register by sending us an e-mail with your name, position, camp, location, and who you serve (what council, group, etc.). Send that to tim@cordassociates.com . We'll include you in on our regular dialog and hope that when a really neat idea, great event, really funny joke, or a  spectacular recipe comes your way that you would share it with us. Also, pass the word to your friends and fellow rangers who may be interested in being a part of all this. With your help and participation we can all benefit from our collective experiences and meet any challenge this diverse and wonderful job can throw at us.

NEW! Article on Group Communications

Group Communications that REALLY work.

A bit of rethinking this basic set of skills may yield some hefty dividends and better group participation

Before becoming a Ranger, I spent some time running a public relations and marketing firm that eventually focused on the motorsports arena and finding sponsorships for a wide variety of NASCAR, ARCA, NHRA, and ProCup teams. Luckily, as I got into that line of work I had a terrific mentor that helped guide me along the way, offering sage advice and observations that helped shape a very sound approach in an often complicated and potentially compromising business. One of Neil’s homier proverbs had to do with communications and it was a simple and iron-clad rule. “Whoever it is you’re trying to reach,” he said, “ya gotta get ‘em where they is, not where they ain’t.” Not exactly rocket science, but it’s really amazing how we either forget this lesson or fail to incorporate it fully into what we are doing in order to get the maximum effect. Click here for more...

NEW! How-To Article on Creating Floor Plans & Site Maps

AS BUILT Drawings Made Easy

Here's an easy solution to creating great looking floor plans and site maps

“As Built” diagrams and floor plans are handy tools to have, but the problem we often face as Rangers is a serious lack of time needed to create these from scratch if we aren’t lucky enough to already have architectural drawings. The computer programs that do this kind of thing, called “Cad” or Computer Assisted Diagramming or Drawing, are expensive and usually take some time to master. Besides that, most are too powerful for our purposes anyway – a lot like buying a pneumatic framing nailer to hang a few pieces of molding – it’s simply overkill.

A while back I was frustrated by the drawings we had – most looked like they were scrawled on napkins – and the CAD approach was clearly more than I really needed. Hunting around for a solution, I found a simple way to create professional looking floor plans and campsite maps using – of all things – PowerPoint. Seriously, it works. The diagram below is a floor plan for one of my cabins made using nothing more than PowerPoint and Paint to create the floor plan and characters. Click here for more...

This Month's Fellowship Survey

360 #1 Survey - Plows and Winter Tools

As part of the revamped website, we're now going to ask our fellow Rangers to participate in a 360 Survey (a true, fearless, ask-them-tough-questions survey) about the kind or Winter challenges you face and the equipment you have to deal with it. Whether your gear belongs in the Smithsonian or is the newest top-of-the-line stuff, we want to know from the guys who have to use it think about this important subject.  Click on the 360s button on the left end of the menu bar at the top of this page to take a look at the responses published so far and to see how to get your copy of the survey.

2008 Northeast Region Ranger Gathering

Hawk Mountain Council played host to last year's Northeast Region Ranger Gathering on Wednesday, March 26th, 2008 at Hawk Mountain Scout Reservation located in Schuylkill Haven, Pennsylvania. Ranger Kevin Huneke and his staff hosted a great gathering.

Top on the list of issues covered was Quality Standard 54, a new National Standard became mandatory in 2008.  This standard was created to specify who is qualified and authorized to use chainsaws on camp properties and who can train others in their use. Ranger Ray Hayden of Chester County Council brought along his equipment and training DVDs to insure that all those attending could head home certified and able to teach others all the ins and outs of chainsaw safety. Ray also made some links and additional information available for use by the rest of the corps.  Since many of our northeastern states, such as New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland are pushing  "Firewise" or similar wildfire prevention programs, these were reviewed and some basic information and encouragement to dig deeper into this issue was covered.  Also covered were some new developments in chainsaws and other outdoor power tools, food safety issues, and much, much more.

Relaunch of  Scout Rangers.Org

Hey, don't panic! True, this may be a new look, but it's the same old fellowship as before with some new improvements and a few lessons learned from a year or two of operations. When we launched this site, we had great ambitions for what this thing would do and expected megabytes of articles, photos, and really interesting stuff to simply pour in. In reality we neither saw megabytes, nor did sparkling articles even trickle in. Heck, we didn't even get anything scrawled in crayon on a napkin! We did get a lot of nice compliments and a fair number of visitors, but our content didn't budge much at all.  After taking a hiatus, we've decided to take another crack at this and try again to make this a resource the Ranger Corps can really utilize. We've  simplified things a bit and change our approach to help improve the site and make it more useful and worth a regular visit as well as inspire some input from those of you out their in the field. Many of you have asked for a voice. Others have asked to be linked up with other Rangers for the fellowship. Well, here's your chance - it's up to all of us to make this website reach it's full potential.

For the next few months we're going to try to be more interesting by creating more dialog. To do this, you will hear from us every so often and encourage you to answer some questions, give us some feedback, and bug you about sending us some news from your neck of the woods. We'll then post the really good stuff and then let everyone know there is a glut of new material posted (we hope!). But don't just wait for us! The webmaster is a Ranger just like you and up to his Maple Leaves in the usual camp mayhem we all have to deal with, so sending in unsolicited material is always welcome. Let's keep working at this boys - this can be a super resource for us all, but only if we all work to make it that way.

Cruise the site and let me hear from you!

Ranger Tim Bongard, Webmaster

Summary of Site Features and Changes

Here's a quick run-down of the features now on the site including some of the changes. Take a look:

• Our Best Practices section has been condensed a little to make navigating and finding specific stories easier. Our goal is still to highlight some really good operational practices or ideas that have proven themselves by actual use or ideas relating to how to handle particular situations, especially those having to do with promoting your camp, getting donations of materials, and handling personnel - volunteer or otherwise.  This section now includes what had been in the Approaches section in our previous website design.
• The Links page contains links to other Internet sites that have proved their worth to fellow Rangers and contains forms, documents, and copies of articles or other written works that may make your life a lot easier. Some of this stuff had been in the Document Library in our previous incarnation, but we think this bit of streamlining makes more sense. 
• The Submit Ideas button, the Have/Need section and Q and A section are now part of the Dialog drop down menu and their missions remain the same as before. Many of you asked for these features, but their use was rather light - it's still the best way to get your brainstorms on-line for the rest of us to see.
• New to the site is the 360s Section. Using the survey technique used in Wood Badge, we intend to poll those in our fellowship about all sorts of things we Rangers have to deal with. The responses will be posted in such a way that we can continually add to them and also invite additional comment. This is part of the new effort to create more dialog. For more information and to see the latest survey, click on the 360s link on the nav bar at the top of this page.
• And the Humor section; hey, in this job, you have to know how to laugh. Hopefully this section will contain all sorts of material to help us all get a good chuckle. It remains the same as before with some new material added in.

Food for thought...

        In the Bible, according to Hebrew and Christian tradition, God created Adam in the Garden of Eden. He created him to be a friend and companion. He also set him to work, naming the animals, naming the flowers, fauna, and trees, and looking after the precious and beautiful creation God made. All things were put in Adam's hands.

Friend and Steward of the Creator.

        Perhaps I'm biased, but it sounds an awful lot like Adam was a Ranger...

Puts a whole new spin on our job fellas, doesn't it?

SEMPER PARATUS

Ever Prepared, Always Ready