TAX EXEMPT FORMS

The new Kansas Tax Exempt form, and the Missouri Tax Exempt form, are both out on our Stake and Ward Website -- Stake Home Page, then click on "News and Information".

They are towards the bottom of the long list of documents shown there, and yes, any Ward can use them.

Everything you could ever want is out there on that website.

The Missouri form can be given to merchants to prove Tax Exempt status, BUT the merchant is NOT obligated to honor it. It is the merchants choice whether he wants to mess with it or not.

NOTE: The NEW Kansas Tax Exempt is now MUCH Simpler to use - no need to restrict it's use to $500 or more.

Using these forms, I recently set up a TAX FREE account at Office Max. I have a number that I use when I purchase supplies for the Primary at Office Max. At Costco, using a BUSINESS membership ($100), I have a TAX exempt # printed directly on my membership card. When I purchase supplies for the church, I simply refer to the number on my card and my purchase is tax exempt.

Both of these accounts took about 20 minutes to set-up, depending on the line! WELL worth the time spent.

CubMaster Training

When calling and sustaining new CubMaster/ScoutMaster in your units, please keep in mind that new guidelines have been issued by the BSA.

The following applies as of 2010:

In order to submit an official BSA application for new CubMaster/ScoutMasters, a leader needs to provide PROOF of training. As a Stake Primary, we have offered LDS specific CubMaster Training on a yearly basis--usually in the late Fall. The BSA usually offers monthly training.

In addition, their are official BSA training links on this site at the RIGHT.

11-year-old Scout Information

Information for 11-yr-old leaders, those who might need a review of the program, and primary counselors over 11-year-old, the information on this LDS Scouting Web Site is helpful.

http://www.ldsscouting.org/11yearolds/11yearolds.html

This link will provide some answers to the confusion regarding changes the General Primary Presidency has made for Class Names and Fifth Sunday Sharing Time for 2010

I apologize for not getting this to you sooner as many of you have already addressed and solved the issues.

http://www.lds.org/pa/display/0,17884,7701-1,00.html

Webelos Summer Camp--2010

Primary Presidents/Cub Leaders

Please consider the following Webelos Camp ideas and respond by January 5, 2010:

Camp Naish Webelos Camp--PROS

1. Positive outdoor experience with all staff leaders/resources/equipment/food provided for 3 days

2. PINS earned all at camp

3. Unity created with other Cub Scout Packs

Camp Naish Webelos Camp--CONS

1. Camp Fee--$115

2. 3 BSA trained Webelos leaders need to attend and pay full fee

3. Travel to and from Camp Naish gets tedious and LATE because the LDS scouts do not camp overnight

4. Time spent walking between activities could be used learning

5. Webelos Draw (Jan. 23) does not allow for date of camp to be guaranteed

Webelos SUPER Saturday Activity--alternative to Webelos Camp--PROS

1. FEE--greatly reduced from the $120--approximately--$20

2. Same amount of PINS earned in one 6-hour session

3. No time wasted in travel to and from camp

4. Date/Time/Place is chosen by attendees

Webelos SUPER Saturday Activity--alternative to Webelos Camp--CONS

1. Webelos do not get the "camping" experience with access to boy scout tents

2. Event MUST be organized by Lenexa Cub Leaders of the wards--including ALL resources--teachers--equipment--place--etc

3. Communication and Coordination--WE WILL need a Stake Webelos Camp SPECIALIST to coordinate this one-day camp--

4. Lenexa Stake Primary Presidency WILL not be responsible for this as we are running other camps.

A SUPER SATURDAY ACTIVITY outline used by the Lenexa Ward is attached and is a WONDERFUL resource for the Webelos Lenexa Stake Specialist to use for the Super Saturday, if decided.

Primary Program Notes

1. Senior primary children help Junior primary children with their parts in place of presidency. Faith in God requirement passed off

2. Hand out a "comments" card to the congregation and have them write down their thoughts during program. Read these cards during Sharing Time after program

3. Use song descants during some of the song--Activity DAy Girls can sing

4. Have a "youth" guest" pianist

5. Children present "personal" spiritual experiences during their primary program part

6. Use pictures from activities/events through-out the year and put together a short slide show to show after the program.

7. When singing a song, use actions and words to perform song

8. Have the congregation join in singing some of the songs other than the one presented from Hymnal

9. Program should be presented in 4th Quarter--Sept-Oct-Nov--Dec

10. Instead of having younger children come to microphone, have the children speak into a microphone passed by their teacher.

11. Don't be scared to use other "CLASSIC" songs--Wise Man, Foolish Man--songs audience KNOWS and REMEMBERS

12. Use a 11-year-old guest chorister to direct a song in a "ROUND"

13. Use special musical numbers during songs

LDS Regional Cub Scout Training

Thanks to Lorri Kearns, (NT Trainer), Dave Schultz (NT District Commissioner), Judy Yeager (NT ) John Naylor (NT Commissioner) and Gigi Coleman for assisting over 50 Cub Scout Leaders in the Kansas City region to become fully trained in their respective positions. This supports the BSA Training Initiative set for the next century. Valuable information was presented from LDS trainers who serve in LDS/BSA positions in scouts.

For more information, I will be posting documents given at the training in the next couple of weeks.

Here is a link to the BSA/LDS web site for more info.

Training for Teachers--Oct. 25 Leadership

Providing on-going Teaching for Teachers

In counseling with teachers, leaders should allow the teachers’ needs and concerns to guide the direction of the discussion. To help teachers think about how they are doing and what they can do to improve, leaders may want to ask questions that prompt careful thought, such as those in the following list. Such questions can also help leaders discover specific ways to help.

-- How are you feeling about your calling as a teacher?

--Are there some experiences you have had with your class that you would like to talk about?

-- Will you share some examples of how class members are responding to the lessons you teach?

--What are some specific needs of individual class members?

--What are some of your goals as a teacher?

--What can I do to help you accomplish your goals?

--What are some topics that you feel should be addressed in teacher improvement meetings?

--Create Clear and concise expectations concerning SUBS—emergent and non-emergent

--Treat Them Like Royalty by Asking about Their Lives

Leaders should listen carefully to teachers’ responses and help them find answers to their questions and concerns. Leaders can encourage teachers by helping them see their strengths and the good things they are accomplishing. When they offer suggestions, they should do so with humility and love. They should keep in mind the following statement by President Spencer W. Kimball:

“I find myself hungering and thirsting for just a word of appreciation or of honest evaluation from my superiors and my peers. I want no praise; I want no flattery; I am seeking only to know if what I gave was acceptable” (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball [1982], 489)

LINK---Orienting Teachers---LDS site

Improved Gospel Teaching—A Leader’s Guide

Teaching Guidebook—For Teachers

Scheduling Building

"Thus, none shall be exempted from the justice and the laws of God, that all things may be done in order ..." Doctrine and Covenants 107:84 (emphasis added).

The Church, our Stake, and our Wards are great due to many reasons, one of which is that there is order in God's house. As Bro. Anderson has informed me that the 2010 Stake calendar is 99.9% complete and that I can now begin to accept 2010 Resource calendar requests from the Wards for the Stake center, I beg a moment of your time to cover several items:

1. Activities on the Stake calendar do not generate a building reservation on the Resource calendar. If an activity requires a building (or portion of a building), a Resource request must be sent in by the organization that wants to use the facility. While the Stake takes first priority for Resource reservations, Stake organizations are not exempt from submitting a Resource request for their activities. This should be done by each organization as soon as possible, as the Wards are already planning their own activity calendars and need an accurate Resource calendar to select potential dates.

2. Bro. Anderson has been generous enough to enter a number of the main Stake events on the Resource calendar. As your organization goes through the process of submitting Resource requests, please review the Resource calendar to see, first, if there is already a Resource reservation for your event and second, if the details in the reservation are as you need (time, rooms, contact information, etc.). Please send an updated request if needed. The more accurate the information, the smoother the system runs.

3. It is possible that all the details that go into your 2010 Resource request (exact time range, all needed rooms, etc.) may not be finalized at this point. If this is the case, when sending a Resource request, use your best guess to set an approximate time range (including set up and take down time)and the rooms needed. A contact person and their phone number should always be included in a Resource request. A secondary Resource request can be submitted later if the time range and/or rooms need to be updated. This will allow the Wards and other groups to have a good idea of what is available on any given date.

4. Please request only what is needed. There is nothing wrong with scheduling the entire building if need be. However, each building is a valuable asset that often can accommodate multiple users to accomplish the mission of the Church.

5. The "Make this a repeating event" feature should not be used if you will be deleting Resource requests throughout the year. For example, the Youth dances will be on the 3rd Saturday of each month (if memory serves me correctly). However, at this point it is not known which Stake will host the event each month. Bro. Ramsey will submit a Resource request for each month and notify me which dances will be held at other Stakes, I, in turn, will be able to delete that month's dance from the Resource calendar, freeing the building for others to use. The Church's system is not sophisticated enough to allow one event in a series to be deleted.

6. As we have not been in the new Stake center as we move across the end of a calendar year, any standing events from 2009 (that would not be addressed in item 1. above) should be submitted as a Resource request, if the activity will occur at the new Stake center.

7. The Stake offices (the HC room, in particular) are not able to be scheduled by me. Any such request would be covered directly with Bro. Shipp, outside of the Resource request process.

I greatly appreciate your patience and understanding. While these items may seem rudimentary, we know that by small and simple things great things come to pass. Through meticulous application of a few procedures, unity in the Stake is fostered by limiting scheduling conflicts, avoiding misunderstandings, and circumventing possible resentment. From the point of view of the Stake center building scheduler, it might also make my job a bit easier :-) It will also assist the other building schedulers if Stake events are to be held at their facilities.

Bro. Pfeil

Church News Article on Importance of Cub Scouts

Church News

Cub Scouting is the foundation

By Jason Swensen
Church News staff writer

Published: Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009

CIMARRON, NEW MEXICO

Bishops and branch presidents — want a deacons quorum filled with young men well prepared to perform their Aaronic Priesthood duties? Start first by building successful Cub Scout dens.

That was the message shared here by Sister Cheryl C. Lant, Primary general president, during the recent Priesthood Leadership Conference at the Philmont Scout Ranch.

"Cub Scouts are part of the whole [priesthood] picture — it's where we lay the foundation," she said.

Sister Lant may have appeared to be preaching to the proverbial choir. The dozens of men in her audience were all priesthood leaders in Scout uniforms who had come to Philmont in hopes of strengthening their respective quorums, troops and, yes, Cub Scout dens. Still, Sister Lant reminded the leaders about the essential role the ward and stake priesthood leadership should play in Cub Scouting. The young boys in the blue and gold uniforms are not merely the charges of the Primary.

The purpose of Scouting and Cub Scouting is the same: to provide activities and leadership opportunities to young men in the Church preparing for future duties as missionaries, fathers, husbands and temple-going Melchizedek Priesthood holders.

Sister Lant taught that the Primary's Faith in God Award need not operate independently of Cub Scouting. Instead, Cub Scouting helps boys get the most out of their Faith in God experience.

"Faith in God helps us to focus on what it is we want to teach these boys," she said.

Several Faith in God Award requirements — such as serving others and developing talents — fit nicely with tasks Cub Scouts perform to earn their various badges. Cub Scouts are also encouraged to earn the Scouting Religious Square Knot.

Sister Lant said local Primary leaders sometimes feel overwhelmed when asked to implement both Faith in God and Cub Scouting in their ward or branch. That won't be the case when Primary presidencies and bishoprics fully understand the compatibility found between the two. Sister Lant suggested that Cub leaders first learn the purposes and requirements of the Faith in God Award. "Then they can use its guiding principles as they approach Cub Scouting."

It was no coincidence that Sister Lant was sporting the regulation yellow Cub Scout Den Leader uniform for her presentation. Wearing the uniform, she said, helps both the leaders and the boys feel they are a part of something important. Encourage the boys to wear their uniforms to all of their Cub Scout activities.

Sister Cheryl C. Lant, Primary general president, points out the value of the Cub Scout uniform during her recent presentation at Philmont's LDS Priesthood Leadership Conference. The uniform helps young Scouts and their leaders feel united.

"They act different when they are in their uniforms," she added.

Buying a new Cub Scout uniform may pose a financial challenge for some families. A few of the Philmont participants spoke of organizing a "uniform bank" in their ward or stake to help offset the costs. Sister Lant also recommended that families donate their "gently worn" Scout uniforms to inner-city groups operating troops and dens.

Sister Lant said new Primary presidencies may not fully realize the importance of a well-run Cub Scout den.

Participants at Philmont's LDS Priesthood Leadership Conference work together to build a crude pinewood car during Sister Cheryl C. Lant's presentation on Cub Scouting. The program can work well with Primary's Faith in God Award.

"Priesthood leaders need to understand that these women need training so they understand [their callings]."

In closing, Sister Lant shared her beliefs in the Scouting program and its role as the activity arm of the Aaronic Priesthood. Cub Scouts is another tool that local priesthood and Primary leaders can utilize to train and prepare boys to receive that "preparatory" priesthood. "Truly the work we are doing is the work of the priesthood."

Philmont participants were also reminded during Sister Lant's presentation that Cub Scout activities can also be a lot of fun. The Primary leader divided the men into small groups, handed them the basic parts of a pinewood car and told them to start building. Minutes later, they nostalgically gathered around a pinewood derby track and staged spirited races.

Participants at Philmont's LDS Priesthood Leadership Conference work together to build a crude pinewood car during Sister Cheryl C. Lant's presentation on Cub Scouting.

There were plenty of high-fives, a few beaming winners and even some good-natured, pinewood derby ribbing amongst the middle-age stake presidents and young men leaders.

"This is Scouting" replace New Leader Essentials

This is Scouting-(formally New Leader Essentials)-this course is offered through our online learning center at

www.olc.scouting.org

Please note: if you have taken New Leader Essentials you do not need to take This is Scouting.

Building Scheduing

To: Building Schedulers:

The resource calendar is such a wonderful tool allowing easy and efficient use of church resources. Thank you for your contribution.

As a refresher, please make sure basic information is typed in or added for every entry either on the front of the calendar or in the back-up information behind the date:

A. Show name of ward (or stake auxiliary, or family name). This is important in understanding appropriate usage and priority, especially when negotiation is needed. Often members or leaders making reservations don’t think to list their ward in the verbiage they submit.

The building scheduler may need to add the Ward name, by figuring out who is doing the reservation if the requester doesn’t identify their ward. Stake reservations that aren’t obvious may need to identify their auxiliary such as employment or AP/YW committee.

B. Show contact name with either an email address or phone # or both. If the person, ward, or group does not provide a contact, then use the name of the person submitting the reservation.

There are still quite a few reservations that don’t have a contact listed.

C. Times for reservation includes set up and take down and is frequently longer than the time of the event. The regular calendar would indicate event time, however it is understood that some resource reservations such as recitals aren’t part of ward or stake calendars.

Listing of times seems to be working well.

D. Parts of building, or equipment needed. Multiple use of buildings is normal, and facilitated by this information. Since there is only one projector per building, reserving a projector on a particular building’s resource calendar is a good idea. Reserving the stake sound system is also a good idea (post to the Stake Center resource). We’d rather not create a separate resource for equipment, but post it on the building resource.

Reserving parts of the building seems to be working well.

Rules of engagement:

Order of priority when selecting dates.

1. Church calendar (Salt Lake)

2. Stake calendar

3. Ward calendar

4. Appropriate family use

Events on the regular calendar would often have a related resource calendar reservation, however when push comes to shove, the regular calendar takes priority even if everything isn’t covered in the resource calendar. An easy example that no one would dispute is that a wedding reception reservation would not be accepted even if General Conference wasn’t shown reserving the building on the resource calendar, or there would be no question that Youth Conference would take the whole building even if the calendar didn’t say so.

A practice that is tempting but is discouraged is blocking out dates, or other protective measures. Reserving every Saturday for 4 weeks to make sure the Saturday that is really wanted is available is not fair and good use of the resource system.

Thanks again,

Br. Gardner, Stake PFR