Michigan Crossroads Council

Michigan Crossroads Council
Michigan Crossroads Council
Owner	Boy Scouts of America
Headquarters	Eagle, Michigan
Country	United States
Founded	August 14, 2012
President	Laurie Champion
Council Commissioner	Tim Ekola
Scout Executive	Don Shepherd
Lodge Chief	Jason Babb
	Website; http://www.michiganscouting.org/
	Scouting portal

The Michigan Crossroads Council (MCC) is a local council of the Boy Scouts of America that encompasses the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The council was formed in 2012 by the merger of nine councils.

History

2012 Merger

The Scouting program in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan saw a drastic drop in membership beginning in the early 2000s. The decrease in population was due to the economy in Michigan and the resulting out-migration of population, jobs and industry. The Area 2 Project was created in 2010 and studied the impact on Scouting and presented the Crossroads Recommendation, which proposed that the ten councils in Michigan merge into one large council.^[1]

Erie Shores Council in northwest Ohio voted not to join Area 2 project. Hiawathaland Council in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, voted against merging into MCC and later merged with the Bay-Lakes Council in Wisconsin.

As a result, in 2012, the remaining Lower Peninsula councils were merged into the Michigan Crossroads Council (MCC). The MCC is then split into four sub-councils or "Field Service Councils" which are then divided into districts.

Field Service Councils

2020 Merger

In 2020, Michigan Crossroads Council made a decision to merge their Field Service Councils to create one central Council.^[2]

Organization

The Organization of the Michigan Crossroads Council Boy Scouts of America councils in Area 2 of the Central Region is unique to Michigan. The Michigan Crossroads Council (MCC) was created by the merger of nine councils in the lower peninsula of Michigan. It is a coordinating council that oversees properties, personnel, and program.

Divisions

As of 2021, Michigan Crossroads council has absorbed it's Field Service Councils and is now divided into two administrative divisions. These divisions are formally called the President Ford Division, encompassing most of the western counties of Michigan's lower peninsula; and the Great Lakes Division encompassing the lower peninsula's eastern counties.

Districts

President Ford Division

Northern Lights
Scenic Trails
Shoreline
Timber Trails
Heartland
Ojibway
Lakeshore
Eagle Spirit
Chief Okemos
Wabano
Pathfinder
Nottawa Trails

Great Lakes Division

Blue Water
Rivers North
Blue Star
Three Fires
Pontiac-Manito
Chippewa
Ottawa
North Star
Sunrise
Irish Hills
Huron Trails
Sunset
Renaissance
Mahican
Running Waters

Order of the Arrow - Mishigami Lodge 29

The council is served by the Mishigami Lodge 29. The word Mishigami means "Land of Great Waters" in the Ojibwa language. The lodge uses the Mastodon as its totem. Mishigami Lodge performs service to all Michigan Crossroads Council Camps, hosts fellowship activities, promotes camping among council Scout Troops, Venturing Crews, and Cub Scout Packs, and attends regional and national Order of the Arrow events.

Like all Order of the Arrow programs, the Mishigami Lodge has youth leaders who are advised by appointed adults. The six lodge officers (Chief, Vice-Chief of Program, Vice-Chief of Unit Relations, Vice-Chief of Administration, Treasurer, and Lodge Secretary) are elected annually. The lodge's work is performed by committees which have youth chairmen and adult advisers.

A volunteer Lodge Adviser is appointed by the Scout Executive. The lodge adviser appoints other adults to serve as advisers to specific lodge officers and committees. The Scout Executive also appoints a member of the professional staff to serve a Staff Adviser to the lodge.

Mishigami is one of the six lodges that make up Section E2. Section E2 serves to support six lodges all across Michigan, Western Ohio, and Northern Kentucky. The section works closely with the lodge Key 3(Lodge Adviser, Lodge Chief, and Lodge Staff Adviser) to encourage growth and activation by offering the Section Leadership Seminar(SLS) and Section Conclave. SLS is an annual training tailored to each lodge and current challenges they are facing in order to give their arrowmen the tools they need to overcome those challenges. Later in the year, the Section holds Section Conclave which is a weekend full of trainings, fellowship, amazing shows, and more, all with the main purpose of activating and inspiring arrowmen.

The Order of the Arrow consists of four main levels: National, Regional, Sectional, and Council. Mishigami lodge sits at the council level. Beyond the council level arrowmen have a variety of opportunities to serve larger parts of the organization as a whole. Adults also have opportunities to serve at these levels as well. Individuals from Mishigami that have provided such service may be found below.

Service Beyond The Lodge:

Daniel Miller: 2021-2022 Section C2 Chief

Zachary Dotson: 2021-2022 Section C2 Vice Chief

Michael Ferdig: 2021-2022 Section C2 Secretary; 2022-2024 Section E2 Vice Chief

Broan Chrzanowski: 2022-Present Section E2 Adviser

Timothy Pfeiffer: 2022-2023 Section E2 Secretary; 2023-2024 Section E2 Chief

Camps

All properties in the Michigan Crossroads Council are operated by the council-wide Outdoor Adventures Division.^[3] Each year, the Outdoor Adventures Committee assesses the council property and determines which programs each camp will be operating such as resident summer camps, weekend camping, or shooting sports activities.^[4] The following is a list of camps that MCC operates:

Resident camps

The following are open in the summer for Cub Scout, Boy Scout, and Venturing resident camps. They are also open for weekend reservations year-round.^[5]

Great Lakes Sailing Adventure, Mackinaw City, Michigan
Cole Canoe Base, Alger, Michigan
Camp Rotary, Clare, Michigan
Gerber Scout Reservation, Twin Lake, Michigan
D-Bar-A Scout Ranch, Metamora, Michigan
Camp Teetonkah, Jackson, MI

Closed camps

Since its inception, the Michigan Crossroads Council has closed and sold several camps owned by predecessor councils to balance its finances.^[6] The following camp properties are no longer operated for an indefinite amount of time and are not available for reservations:

Camp Agawam, Lake Orion, Michigan – returned to Orion Township and now open as park, still used by Scouts
Camp Holaka, Lapeer, Michigan – sold to developer
Camp Munhacke, Gregory, Michigan – closed 12/31/19 ^[7]
Camp Tapico, Kalkaska, Michigan – sold and now is a nature preserve
Northwoods Scout Reservation, Lupton, Michigan – sold
Camp Kiwanis, Mason, Michigan – owned by Saginaw Kiwanis club still run as a camp and available for Scout use
Lost Lake Scout Reservation, Lake, Michigan – listed for sale
Paul Bunyan Scout Reservation, Rose City, Michigan – listed for sale
Rota-Kiwan Scout Reservation, Kalamazoo, Michigan – sold to Kalamazoo County to be used as a park
Silver Trails Scout Reservation, Jeddo, Michigan – sold to gravel company ^[8]
Camp Greilick, Traverse City, Michigan - now called GO•REC, used for business retreats^[9]