Every four years, Michigan packs, troops and crews have the opportunity to take part in an event that is unlike any other Scouting event in North America, a Michigan International Camporee. Over 1/3 of the Scouts and Venturers at a Michigan International Camporee come from outside of North America. No other Scouting event in North America comes even close to that percentage. This is a unique opportunity for our Scouts and Venturers to meet and get to know Scouts from all over the world. We hope that your troop or crew will want to participate in the next Michigan International Camporee which will take place at Northwoods Scout Reservation, northeast of West Branch, Michigan, from July 27 to August 3, 2008.
Michigan troops and crews are invited to apply to take part in the full Michigan International Camporee experience by hosting international Scouts in your homes the week of July 20 to 27 and then joining with your international guests in a campsite troop at Northwoods at the July 27 to August 3 Michigan International Camporee. Current 5th grade Webelos who cross over to Boy Scout troops this winter and spring will be able to participate with their troop.
Participating troops and crews from Michigan councils will form MIC hosting teams. Each of these hosting teams will be assigned to a Northwoods campsite and will be responsible for recruiting 16 Scouts/Venturers and 2 to 4 adult troop leaders for the MIC troop for that campsite. If one troop or crew has 16 youth and 2-4 adult leaders who plan to participate in the MIC, they will be the hosting team for their campsite. If a troop or crew has less than 16 youth who plan to participate, they are encouraged to find one or more neighboring troops or crews to join them in forming a hosting team that fills the 16 youth spaces. Hosting team troop leaders can accept Scouts/Venturers from other troops/crews that are not participating in the MIC as part of their 16 youth participants, but they are not required to do so. A Scout or Venturer who wants to participate in the Michigan International Camporee and is a member of a troop or crew that is not planning to be part of a hosting team should work with his/her troop/crew leaders to find a hosting team that has space. If a troop or crew expects to be able to recruit 8 youth participants and 2 adult leaders and cannot find another troop/crew to join them to form a hosting team, the Michigan International Camporee committee can assist you, but it will work out better if you find a troop or crew that you know will be compatible with your group. Each campsite troop will have a maximum of 4 adult leaders from the hosting team. Other adults are welcome to apply for positions on the camporee staff.
Each hosting team will be assigned an international group of 16 Scouts and 4 adult leaders, either one large contingent or several small contingents. Many of the international contingents will be coed. The hosting team will be responsible for hosting those international Scouts and leaders in the homes of Scouts/Venturers and leaders of their unit(s) during the hosting week of July 20 to July 27 and bringing their international guests to scheduled group activities during that week. At the MIC, the 16 youth participants and 2-4 adult leaders from the hosting team will camp in the same campsite with the international group(s) that they host during home hospitality week. Each MIC campsite will also contain a group of 8 Scouts/Venturers and two leaders from some other state or some province of Canada, so there will be a total of 40 youth and 8-10 adults in each campsite. The hosting team will be expected to supply the campsite with patrol boxes, cooking equipment, wash basins for dish washing, propane stoves and tanks, tents for the Scouts/Venturers and unit leaders from their troop or crew, and other group equipment. One of the hosting team adults will serve as campsite Scoutmaster.
If your troop or crew would like to form or be part of a hosting team, your first step is to complete the Hosting Unit Application Form in the .doc format and submit it as an email attachment to registration@micamporee.org. Applications to form or be part of a hosting team from troops and crews in the Chief Okemos Council (the host council) and from troops and crews from other councils that participated in the 2004 Michigan International Camporee will have priority for a hosting unit space at the 2008 Michigan International Camporee if received before April 1, 2007. Applications to become hosting units from troops and crews that are not from the Chief Okemos Council and did not participate in the 2004 Michigan International Camporee will be received beginning April 1, 2007.
After receiving your application form, we will reply confirming that there is a space available for your unit and that we will hold that space for one month while you complete the next step of the registration process. Your next step is to print a copy of your Hosting Unit Application Form, have it signed by your unit leader and unit committee chair, have it endorsed where indicated by your District Executive/District Director or other member of your council professional staff with their statement that your unit has the resources and ability to be an effective hosting team and that your Scouts/Venturers and leaders will be good representatives of your council and American Scouting, and mail that form together with a deposit of $25 per youth participant for a total of $200 for an 8 Scout/Venturer contingent and $400 for a 16 Scout/Venturer contingent (check made out to CHIEF OKEMOS COUNCIL BSA) to Michigan International Camporee 2008, PO Box 244, St Johns MI 48879. At this point, you do not need to supply participant names. In fact, some of your participants might be Webelos who cross over into your troop this spring or new members who join your crew this summer or fall. For us to continue to hold your unit’s space, we must receive your form and deposit within one month after you receive our confirmation message. Our MIC 2008 staff advisor will then contact your District Executive/District Director to confirm their endorsement of your unit’s participation in MIC 2008 and your reservation will be complete. Deposits are not refundable and are transferable only to a unit that replaces your unit as a hosting team.
The Host Troop Promotion flyer is being included in Chief Okemos Council program kickoff packets in June, 2007. Other Michigan councils are welcome to adjust the wording to fit your council and distribute it to your troops and crews.