In little over two short months from now Philbreak 2006 will be kicking off.

This year there will only be a single session so get your application in early!  Weather permitting, PhilBreakers will be building a new Urraca trail during the day and sleeping soundly in CHQ duplexes at night.

More here.

Recently several Members took a trip to Mississippi to help clean up a Scout Camp following Hurricane Katrina. Below is an excerpt from a story by Diana Kampa you will see in an upcoming issue of the High Country (I think) and some pictures:

I was lucky to be one of nine current staff members who drove from the Ranch to meet the other eleven in the work crew, who hail from Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, and the Washington, D.C. area. An astonishing 15 of those 20 people were a part of the 2005 Summer Staff. The two-day drive from New Mexico was long and slightly cramped, due in part to the 6 chainsaws and other assorted pieces of equipment we piled into our rented 15-passenger van. In spite of space constraints and bumpy southern highways, we arrived at Camp Tiak in high spirits, eager to begin the difficult work of clearing away hundreds of trees around the roads and waterfront.

Read the rest of this entry »

The PSA will be helping the National Capital Area Council with a clean up project at the Pine Burr Area Council’s Camp Tiak in southern Mississippi.

Service will be from Thursday November 3rd to Sunday November 6th. We are looking for 20-30 PSAers or those former Philmont Staff eligble for PSA membership to self-supply work clothes, sleeping bags, tents, chainsaws, and/or other appropriate tools and camping equipment.

Camp Tiak is just north of Wiggins, MS (about half way between Hattiesburg and Gulf Port) off US 49. Approximately 4.5 miles north of Wiggins, turn right onto Fruitland Park Road. Immediately after crossing the railroad tracks, turn left onto Old Highway 49. Travel aprroximately 0.5 miles north on Old Highway 49. Look to the right and you will see the sign for Camp Tiak.

Map

Contact Ken Davis for more information.

The PSA will be helping the National Capital Area Council with a clean up project at the Pine Burr Area Council’s Camp Tiak in southern Mississippi.

Service will be from Thursday November 3rd to Sunday November 6th. We are looking for 20-30 PSAers or those former Philmont Staff eligble for PSA membership to self-supply work clothes, sleeping bags, tents, chainsaws, and/or other appropriate tools and camping equipment.

Camp Tiak is just north of Wiggins, MS (about half way between Hattiesburg and Gulf Port) off US 49. Approximately 4.5 miles north of Wiggins, turn right onto Fruitland Park Road. Immediately after crossing the railroad tracks, turn left onto Old Highway 49. Travel aprroximately 0.5 miles north on Old Highway 49. Look to the right and you will see the sign for Camp Tiak.

Map

Contact Ken Davis for more information.

As you might expect, the PSA has received a number of inquiries about ways in which our members might assist other PSA members or local councils hit hard by Hurricane Katrina. A number of our members have volunteered to help on site, to take in needy persons displaced by this terrible disaster, or assist in some other way. In an effort to help respond to these inquiries and offers, PSA President Ed Pease has been in touch with Roy Williams, the Chief Scout Executive, and has learned the following:

As of this date, the national council has accounted for 124 of the 126 BSA employees in councils directly hit by Hurricane Katrina. They immediately set up a fund with an initial National Council contribution of $200,000 to assist these employees. An appeal has been sent to all local councils to support the fund and contributions began arriving almost immediately. Currently, they are aware of nine employees who have lost everything and others in varying degrees of distress. Damage to a number of council camps ranges from minimal to severe. The same is true for council office buildings.

In order to better respond to the outpouring of offers for assistance, the national council has requested that all inquiries or offers to help be referred to the BSA website, where instructions are provided.



We know of about two dozen former Philstaffers living in the affected Gulf area, some of whom have been in touch with us. If you would like to try direct contact with former Philmont staff, please go to the PSA Members Only Area. You can access addresses there.

Thank you to the many Philstaffers who have offered to help.

Ed Pease, President

Philmont Staff Association