North Florida Council facts for kids
Quick facts for kids North Florida Council |
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| Owner | Boy Scouts of America | ||
| Headquarters | Jacksonville, Florida | ||
| Country | United States | ||
| President | David Boree | ||
| Council Commissioner | Marty Heesacker | ||
| Scout Executive | Jack Sears | ||
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| Website http://www.nfcscouting.org |
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The North Florida Council is a group that helps organize Boy Scouts of America activities. It looks after Scouting programs in 17 counties across northeast Florida. Nearly 3,000 adult volunteers help more than 7,000 young people in over 327 Scouting groups. The North Florida Council also owns and runs two fun camps: Camp Echockotee in Orange Park and Camp Shands near Hawthorne.
Contents
How the Council Works
The North Florida Council is split into different areas called districts. Each district helps Scouts in a specific part of Florida.
Council Districts
- Five Rivers District
- Sabol District
- Bartram Trail District
- St. Johns District
The council also has a special group called the Scout Reach Division. This division focuses on helping young people in city housing communities join Scouting.
Scouting Camps
The North Florida Council has two main camps where Scouts can have amazing adventures.
St Johns River Base at Echockotee
St Johns River Base is a great place for Scouting groups to camp. It is located right on the shore of Doctor's Lake. This camp started way back in the early 1920s.
The base has 8 large campsites, along with many shelters and activity areas. These are perfect for any Scouting adventure you can imagine. All Scouting Packs, Troops, Teams, Crews, and Posts are welcome to visit. You can hike the wild trails, fish in Doctor's Lake, and make memories that will last a lifetime.
The camp is open from September to April. It closes from May until the first weekend after Labor Day. This time is used for water-based camp activities and cleaning up the area.
Camp Shands
Camp Shands is located near Hawthorne, Florida. This camp covers about 1,000 acres (or 4 square kilometers) of different types of Florida land. It has 8 special program areas designed for every Scout. The "Green Bar Bill" program is especially for campers who are new to Scouting.
Order of the Arrow
| Echockotee Lodge | |||
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| Founded | 1941 | ||
| Lodge Adviser | Linda Visman | ||
| Staff Adviser | Eli Rivera | ||
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| Website http://www.echockotee.org/ |
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Echockotee Lodge is a special group within the Order of the Arrow. It was started in 1941. The first big event, called an Ordeal, happened at Camp Echockotee on May 9 of that year. The first group had 36 young people and adults. They were chosen because they had already done a lot for Scouting and the summer camp.
The group first chose the alligator as its symbol. But later that summer, they changed it to the left-handed handclasp. They also decided to use the camp's name, "Echockotee," which means "we are brothers" in the Seminole language. For many years, the Lodge was very active with summer camp events. They would have meetings at the end of camp or sometimes in Jacksonville during the year.
Echockotee Lodge hosted the first big meetings for all the lodges in Florida. These were called Area Meetings and happened in 1945, 1946, and 1947. These were some of the first such gatherings in the whole country. It wasn't until the mid-1950s that the Lodge started having regular weekend events away from summer camp, just like they do today.
Lodge Service and Traditions
The Lodge took on a big part of keeping Camp Echockotee in good shape. They did this during special "Fellowships" and "Service Days." They did the same when the North Florida Council opened Camp Shands in 1967. Since then, the Lodge has held all its weekend events at Camp Shands.
Besides all the work to make Shands a great camp, the Lodge also worked hard to win many competitions. These competitions were held at the Area Conferences, creating fun rivalries and traditions that are still strong today. The Lodge also started a Dance Team in the late 1950s. Many members have won awards at state and national levels for their dancing.
In the 1970s, Echockotee Lodge continued its tradition of service. They built new things at Camp Shands, like an obstacle course and a council ring. These were used for conferences hosted by the Lodge in 1978 and 1983. Other parts of Camp Shands that the Lodge helped build include the rifle range, the ecology and handicraft buildings, the dining hall, and the waterfront shelter.
From 2006 to 2008, the Lodge won the National Service Award three years in a row. This award is given to only 8 lodges each year for their amazing contributions. Many Echockotee members have also received the Distinguished Service Award. This is a special award from the National Order of the Arrow Committee for outstanding service. These individuals include Kevin Holloway (1977), Jack Butler (1986), Kelly Roberts (1988), Todd Leonard (1994), Greg Hazelhurst (1996), Todd Turner (1998), David Strebler (2000), Courtney Allen (2004), Seth Mollitt (2006), Ed Tudor (2009), and Bradley Austin Kriznar (2018).
