IFSR 2019 World Annual General Meeting was at the RI Convention in Hamburg

The IFSR 2019 International Annual meeting was held at the Rotary Internaitonal Convention in Hamburg, Germany, on Monday June 3 in Osaka rooms 2 & 3 from 12:30 - 2:00PM. The House of Friendship booth at the Conventon was booth #3718. The minutes are posted here. 2019 Minutes of the IFSR Annual General Meeting 2018 Minutes of the IFSR Annual General Meeting 2017 Minutes of the IFSR Annual General Meeting 2016 Minutes of the IFSR Annual General Meeting 2014 Minutes of the IFSR Annual General Meeting 2013 Minutes of the IFSR Annual General Meeting 2012 Minutes of the IFSR Annual General Meeting 2011 Minutes of the IFSR Annual General Meeting Back to top of Page

IFSR 2018 Asia Pacific Region Meeting

The Asia Pacific Region International Fellowship of Scouting Rotarians held their inaugural meeting at the Plenary Hall of the Philippine International Convention Center 18 October. They discussed strategies on how to increase Rotary support throughout the region. Rotarian Scouts present were Cedrick Train from the Phillippines, Dr. Lee Bok Yie from Korea, Masato Mizuno, Toby Suzuki, and Yukinori Ideta from Japan, Dev Raj Ghimire from Nepal, Prakorb Mukura from Thailand, Brian Thiessen, Larry Ursua, and Robert Lynn Horne from USA. Toby Suzuki was elected as Chair of the Pacific Region of Scouting Rotari- ans last June 2018 at Rotary International in Toronto Canada.

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IFSR 2016 InterAmerican Region Meeting

The InterAmerican Region Annual Meeting took place during the Boy Scouts of America National Annual Meeting on Thursday, May 26 2016 at 4:30 pm at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in downtown San Diego, California. While attendance at the BSA National Meeting is not necessary to attend the InterAmerican Region meeting of the Fellowship, it is an option. Registration opens online in mid‐February. Contact your local Scout Executive for details. The minutes of 2013 meeting are available to download.

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IFSR at BSA 2017 Jamboree at Summit, WV

The BSA National Jamboree hosted over 30,000 in 2017, including more than 1000 international Scouts, leaders, and staff. It included an IFSR booth in the Faith and Beliefs Area at Summit Center at the BSA Summit located near Beckley, West Virginia.

Our booth was chaired by Angus and Susan McFarlane of Ada, Oklahoma, and we certainly applaud then for “stepping up” to again chair this important Rotary outreach to Scouts and Scouters.  Special patches and pins were produced under the able supervision of our past IAR Chair Dan O’Brien, and we’re sure that the patch will become a real collector’s item! Those who contributed to the cost of booth at the $50 level received a special patch.  

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InterAmerican Region Nominations Open

Individuals who are interested in being more involved with our Fellowship should send an email to Dan O’Brien, InterAmerican Chair, at . Be sure to put Rotary or Fellowship in the subject line so it doesn’t “get lost in the mail.” If you have a specific role in mind, share it. Elections take place at the annual InterAmerican Region Meeting. Offices begin on July 1, with the rest of the Rotary world.

Spreading the word about the fellowship, helping to strengthen the relationship between Rotary, Boy Scout Organizations, as well as Girl Scouts and Girl Guides and helping all three organizations grow is what we are all about. Promoting the fellowship at PETS, Zone meetings and Scouting functions always needs help and interested volunteers.

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IFSR at BSA 2013 Jamboree

• IFSR Exhibit Booth Greets Thousands

• BSA CSE Brock Addresses IFSR at Jamboree

• Steve Henning awarded IFSR's Silver Wheel

• More about the Jamboree

IFSR Exhibit Booth Greets Thousands

Suzane and Angus McFarlane show the way with IFSR Exhibit Booth at National Jamboree  

Angus & Suzanne McFarlane, life members of IFSR from Ada, OK, Sunrise Club, were so well prepared in managing our booth at the Bechtel Summit Reserve for the BSA 2013 National Jamboree that they made it look easy to handle! Along with a team of volunteers, they saw thousands of Scouts, Scouters and visitors during the BSA 2013 National Jamboree.

Dan O'Brien thanking Angus and Suzanne McFarlane of Ada Sunrise, OK, for co-chairing the Jamboree IFSR Exhibit.

Suzanne created a special slide presentation put together by her from prior Scouting Rotarians and other sources - a wonderful addition to our information program. Anyone wanting a copy can get it by thumb drive from Suzanne. Those in the booth invited Scouts to 'tie a knot and get a piece of candy' as the Scouts learned about Youth Exchange, Interact, etc.; adults learned of Scouting and Rotary joint opportunities and activities.

They recruited 18 new Annual Members and 11 new Life Members.  Welcome aboard to our new members!

Brian Thiessen, Jon Richmond, Del Raby, Fred Brenner, and Brad Lindberg in IFSR Booth

Full time IFSR assistants included PDG Del Raby of Santa Rosa, California (who celebrate his 75th year in Scouting and 87th birthday on 21 July), Brad Lundberg of Stevensville, Maryland and Jonathan Richmond.

Others who volunteered in the booth, as their schedules allowed, included IFSR President Fred Brenner, IAR Chair Dan O'Brien, IFSR International Commissioner Brian Thiessen, William Davies, Robert Jackson, Patrick Lesley, Mark Milby, Bill Walker, Bob Westfall, Jack Young and Channing Zucker.

Wanted! Names of these visitors to the IFSR booth!
If you know who is with Del, please email the name and a brief bio.	If you know who is with Brian, please email the name and a brief bio.

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BSA CSE Brock Addresses IFSR at Jamboree

The InterAmerican Region/International Fellowship Of Scouting Rotarians (IFSR) conducted a Rotary luncheon meeting at the 2013 BSA National Jamboree on Monday, July 22nd.  A capacity crowd of 95 Rotarian Scouters attended the meeting which was highlighted by a talk by the BSA's Chief Scout Executive, Wayne Brock.

Chief Scout Executive Wayne Brock addressed the capacity crowd. 

Chief Wayne Brock related some of his own experiences with Rotary, as well as the values that he received growing up in a Scout troop in a small town… where joining Scouts wasn’t much of an option.  Wayne also told of a volunteer who stopped in to see him at the time the volunteer was stepping down as Scoutmaster and shared that he had never been thanked by the boys in his troop, their parents or even the council.  That hit home and Wayne realized how important it is to thank volunteers who give so much, including thanking the Rotarians and others present for what they do for young people.

Wayne shared that when he became Chief Scout Executive, he went a step further and tracked down his own Scoutmaster from 50 years ago, found that he was still alive, and brought them to a national meeting as his guests to publicly thank them for what they did for him.

Chief Scout Executive Wayne Brock presented Cliff Dochterman award by International Commissioner Brian Thiessen and IFSR World President Fred Brenner.

World President Fred Brenner & International Commissioner Brian Thiessen then presented the Chief with the Cliff Dochterman Award, recognizing his years of service as a Rotarian, his generosity to the Fellowship by allowing our displays at national meetings and the jamboree, and his decades of service to Scouting.

IAR Chair Dan O’Brien (Rotary Club of Springfield IL South) chaired the luncheon.  A fabulous lunch buffet was prepared by the jamboree and included a wide variety of options… brisket, chicken, tofu, pork tender, sandwiches, soft drinks and tasty desserts.

Scouting Rotarians from across the country took part in the luncheon:

• Angus McFarlane (RC of Ada OK Sunrise) led Pledge of Allegiance
• Robert O. Jackson (RC of Anniston AL Morning) led Oath & Law
• J. Houston Costolo, III (RC of Picayune, MS) gave the Invocation
• DG John Powell (RC of Charleston, WV) gave greetings from WV
• Charles Dahlquist (RC of Salt Lake City, UT) introduced the CSE
• Suzanne McFarlane (RC of Ada Sunrise, OK) led the 4-Way Test

IAR Chair Dan O’Brien thanked everyone for coming.  He urged anyone who was not already a member of the fellowship to join, to have an enjoyable finish to the jamboree and a safe trip home.

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Steve Henning awarded IFSR Silver Wheel

Our IFSR Web Master Steve Henning, of Fleetwood, Pennsylvania, was surprised at the Rotary Meeting held at the 2013 BSA National Jamboree at Bechtel Summit Reserve by being presented the SILVER WHEEL certificate on behalf of IFSR Leadership. Steve was nominated for his history of regular active support of IFSR and the nomination was approved by the IFSR Awards and Recognitions Committee, chaired by Past IFSR President Bud Allison.

Brian Thiessen presented Steve Henning the Silver Wheel for years of service in his own Hawk Mountain Council as well as in IFSR Exhibit booths and as IFSR Webmaster for half a decade.

The SILVER WHEEL is for outstanding service to the International Fellowship of Scouting Rotarians over years of effort.

Steve is not only active in IFSR within his home Hawk Mountain Council, but has served in IFSR Exhibit booths at national and international Jamborees and Rotary Conferences, is the author of the widely read and appreciated On My Honor .. The Hawk Mountain Council Story 1908-2010 hardbound book, is one of our nation's leading experts in rhododendrons and azaleas (so much so that his email tells it all ( ) ... and has also served as IFSR's Web Master (http://www.ifsr-net.org) for more than half a decade.

IFSR salutes you, Steve, and thanks you for your tireless efforts on our behalf! You are indeed one of the Silver Wheels that makes IFSR roll smoothly!

Ironically, Steve was also the winner of the door prize, a beautiful Jamboree Pocket watch, donated by our International Commissioner, Brian Thiessen.

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More about the Jamboree

The Jamboree, held at the Boy Scouts of America’s newest high adventure base in Beckley, West Virginia, showcased Boy Scouting and Venturing to 40,000 Scouts, leaders and volunteer staff. The 11,000 acre camp, known as The Summit: Bechtel Family Scout Reserve definitely raises the bar for modern extreme activities, including zip lines, canopy tours, whitewater rafting, mountain boarding, a skate park and much more.

Largely a walking camp, staff and Scouts alike generally walked five miles or more each day, traversing up and down the mountains of West Virginia. Visitors were shuttled in via a 20 minute bus ride and were required to participate in a Youth Protection orientation. Unfortunately, that made a quick, drop in for lunch by local Rotarians a challenge. Much was learned as we were introduced to a new paradigm and we begin thinking about the next BSA jamboree in 2017, followed by The Summit hosting the 2019 World Scout Jamboree.

More photos of the CSE Wayne Brock, the 2013 BSA Jamboree, the Rotary Meeting and the IFSR Booth are available at:

http://scouters.us/ifsr/2013BSAJambo/

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Thanks IFSR Members from RI VP Audenart

Thanks from Past RI Vice President Monty Audenart

"From one Rotarian to another, I would like to simply thank IFSR  for is efforts . ... IFSR's members'  hearts  are in the right place. I cannot count the number of times I have seen IFSR members at a booth at some International Rotary event continuing to encourage the relationships between Scouting/Guiding and Rotary.    It was a pleasure to have IFSR present and participating at the Zone Institutes I convened. I would guess that at any Rotary event, if a poll was taken, there would always be Scouters/Guiders in the audience.  And rightly so, since we share similar core values.

"For all that IFSR does, and for all the times we miss thanking IFSR members
regarding your team's efforts in the field, please accept my personal thanks."

Monty Audenart Past RI Vice President
RC Red Deer East, Alberta, Canada

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2015 World Jamboree in Japan The 23rd World Scout Jamboree was hosted by Japan from July 28 to August 9, 2015, at Kirarahama, the 23WSJ site. 34,000 young people and volunteers came together from 152 countries and regions from all over the world in a giant tent city for 14 days. Friendship Badge, Cultural Days, International Markets - these are examples of the wide-ranging program. A central undertaking was to visit the Peace Park in Hiroshima. The pictures following show IFSR's presence:

During the Jamboree, the IFSR booth located in front of the WOSM booth in the World Scout Centre was an ideal spot to demonstrate activities of Rotary Club and meet friends.

Mr. Yoritake Matsudaira, President of Japan Scouting Rotarians, addressed a group of 35 Scouting Rotarians from eight countries at a luncheon meeting held by the Ube Nishi Rotary Club, District 2710. Hideaki Miyato of the Scout Association of Japan is assisting.

On Aug 4, 2015, the Ube Nishi Rotary Club hosted a Rotary Meeting for all Scouting Rotarians at the Jamboree. There were Rotarians from Bangladesh, Chile, Germany, Greece, Japan, Malaysia, Switzerland, Thailand, and the USA.

More pictures taken during the Rotary Meeting.

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Bring IFSR to the Regional World Scout Conferences

Bring IFSR to The Regional World Scout Conferences

IFSR members are URGED to attend WOSM Regional Scout Conferences and set up our Exhibit and help world Scouters learn about the superb opportunities for Rotary and Scouting/Guiding to work together.  No detailed training necessary - we can provide an instruction sheet explaining what needs to be done and how it works.  Great opportunity for travel and service to Rotary and Scouting/Guiding.

Brian D. Thiessen
IFSR International Commissioner

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Exhibit at BSA 2010 Jamboree

IFSR had a special Exhibit at the Centennial BSA Jamboree at Ft. A. P. Hill, Virginia – 26 July to 5 August.

Delbert A. Raby mans the IFSR booth. He & other volunteers signed up new IFSR members and ran drawings for prizes for Scouts and Units.

Delbert Raby presents Scout Jason Chen of Los Altos, CA, the commemorative coin he won in an IFSR drawing.