Rangers 2002: Highlight of National Royal Rangers Council Leaders from all over the country converged on Springfield, MO, for the annual National Royal Rangers Council held in March 2001. Next years council will feature a training seminar on the new Ranger program. The Mississippi District Staff attended the National Royal Rangers Council in Springfield, MO on March 15-17, 2001. Delegates from all over the country convened to conduct Royal Rangers business with National implications. The conference began on Thursday, March 15th with workshops on a variety of subjects designed to update district officials on the latest developments in Royal Rangers. During the workshops, the National Royal Rangers Staff, headed by National Commander, Richard Mariott, amazed everyone with the amount of progress they have made on the forthcoming new program and curriculum. The new program, set to take effect in September 2002, was covered in detail. The complete advancement of all the age groups was covered from top to bottom as well as the new training programs for both leaders and boys. A CD-ROM was distributed to District Commanders with several PowerPoint presentations and a variety of forms and information. Thursday evening featured the Silver Eagle banquet to honor District Commanders. Friday's business meeting began with a devotion by National RR Council President, Jim Barger. Jim reported on his recent mission trip to Tibet and the many perils he faced, some life threatening. Most of the remaining business was dedicated to reports and presentations standing committees and special guests. Camporama, slated for July of 2002, was also addressed. A pole was taken to determine approximate attendance that could be expected. National office estimates around 7000 boys and men from around the world will head to Camp Eagle Rock for next year's camp. Camporama occurs every 4 years. National Buckaroo/Straight Arrow Coordinator, Brian Hendrickson, displays a board with all of the advancement trail of the new Ranger program set to kickoff in 2002. In the Saturday sessions the new Ranger program was dissected even further. Brochures, designed to make the transition from the old to the new program easy, were given to each district. FCF will also change dramatically under the new program. The "Trail of the Grizzly" will be the advancement trail for FCF. It, like the regular trail, will be merit driven. Merits for the FCF advancement trial will have a bear paw on them. There will also be more awards for leaders including a pastor's award. Of course all of the training will change too. The Leadership Training Course, as we know it will be divided into modules. The first module will get you up-and-running after an 8-hour course. The LMA is earned after completing the next module. Other modules will include a Chaplain's and Senior Commander courses. There will be several options for taking these courses other than the traditional class with instructor. The National staff is working to make a video series and an interactive course to be conducted over the Internet. The new program will be presented at the 2002 National Royal Rangers Council. It will officially go into effect in September 2002. This will give the districts time to train and disseminate the information in their states. Thursday and Friday of council will be dedicated to training. "This is a very exciting program," said District Commander, Wesley Harmon. "I can't wait to get into it. The National Staff continues to impress me with their forethought and wisdom in putting this program together. I know everyone is going to love it, especially the boys." If you have any questions about the new program, visit the new National Royal Rangers web site. http://ag.org/Royal-Rangers/rangers2002.cfm [Back to Top of Page]

RELATED Photo Gallery Click here to see photos of the 2001 District Pinewood Derby. New Merit 2001 MS District Pinewood Derby page. Read More About the New Ranger Program on the National Royal Rangers Web Site Click Here