Diocesan scouting earns national quality award

Friday, Aug. 21, 2015

SALT LAKE CITY — The Diocese of Salt Lake City has received the Quality Diocesan Committee Award from the National Catholic Committee on Scouting.

This award recognizes dioceses that promote and achieve a quality Catholic Scouting program.

To earn the award, a number of criteria had to be met, said Samantha Almanza, director of the diocesan Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry.

Among these expectations were to increase the number of religious emblem awards presented over the last year; maintain a functional committee that meets at least quarterly and has an annual plan;  create a summary of the committee’s yearly activities, including strengths and weaknesses; and develop and implement a plan to ensure chaplain support at the local council’s Scout Camp, or ensuring Mass coverage for district.

The diocese met these criteria and well exceeded the first expectation.

“From 2013 to 2014 there was an increase of 79 percent of the number of religious emblems awarded at the diocese,” said Nancy Reading, chairperson of the  Diocesan Catholic Committee on Scouting.

In earning the award, the diocese received a certificate as well as two special badges that were worn by two of the committee members when they attended the Philmont Scout Ranch.

“It meant a lot for me to wear this Unit badge. Both the Diocese and Unit awards are very difficult to earn because of the numerous requirements that must be met,” said Joe Bouley, the diocesan committee member who attended the Philmont Scout Ranch with Reading.

“I wore both the 2014 Quality Diocese Award badge and the 2014 Pope Paul VI Quality Unit Award badge (awarded to Saint Olaf Cub Scout Pack 4030 when Bouley was the Cubmaster). Both of these awards drew considerable attention and discussion from the other attendees to the Scouting in the Catholic Church course,” said Bouley.

As part of the one-week course that took place in Cimarron N.M.,  these awards were included in the curriculum, he said. 

“Many were surprised to find out about these available unit awards, since most Catholic units focus on the Religious Emblems programs for individual Scouts,” Bouley said. “I spoke to one other scouter from the Worcester, Massachusetts diocese who also wore his 2014 Quality Diocese badge. We compared notes on our programs and garnered important information from each other to further improve our programs.” 

Scouting is youth ministry, “so it is important to bring the boys or the girls that are learning more about God and they are learning more about the Catholic faith making friends who share some of their beliefs through scouting,” Almanza said.

“I think the quality badge brought some well-deserved attention to the accomplishments of the Salt Lake diocese and the Catholic presence here,” Bouley said. “The ongoing joke at Philmont was ‘There are Catholics in Utah?’ And Nancy and I would respond with a rousing ‘YES!’”

For information about the diocesan scouting program,  email Nancy Reading at nlr@xmission.com.