Radio Scouting Committee

We’ve had a number of requests about creating a council level Radio Scouting Committee. There are a few council committees in operation. It takes coordination with your council’s International Representative and those seeking more programs for Scouts within the council. Then there is a constant communication requirement to reach out to roundtables and district program committees to inform leaders about JOTA-JOTI, Radio Merit Badge, the Amateur Radio Operator Rating Strip, and the Morse Code Interpreter Strip.

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This is the World JOTA-JOTI Team meeting at the World Scout Bureau Office in Malaysia. Your Council Radio Scouting Committee won’t have to travel so far for their meetings.

The key responsibility for JOTA-JOTI at a national level is the International Department at the National Council. They in turn work with the International Representative at each council. You can find their job description here. There is also a locator link on that page. Enter your council and it will show the person who holds that position. This is a good starting point.

At a national level, when first asked to serve as National JOTA Organizer, we researched the World Scouting webpages. They recommended a National Radio Scouting Committee. From there we started pulling together the committee and developing a communication program. A couple of years later, we developed a formal charter — National Radio Scouting Committee Charter. You can use this as a starting point for your council charter. You are welcome to copy that document to get things going.

One built-in starting point is to recruit all the Radio Merit Badge counselors in your council. They are already registered in Scouting and active in working to introduce amateur radio to Scouts.

Apart from the framework of a committee, you need to document what you’ll be doing for Scouting in your council and how you can help with STEM efforts, JOTA, etc. Then it’s a matter of working with the leadership within your council to make things happen.

Good luck. Feel free to post your results, suggestions, and questions in the comments area below.