ARTICLE - JOSEPH FARMER : PERSISTENCE IS JOB SEEKERS TOP ASSET

Joseph Farmer: Persistence is job seeker's top asset

 

Follow-ups pay off

Nov. 1, 2011

 

  Joseph Farmer, an Army veteran and assistant Scoutmaster of his stepson’s ever-growing troop in Lebanon, is the kind of man who, in the words of a friend, “doesn’t half-do anything.”

Translated into the job search, that puts Farmer on the laptop for four or five hours just after his stepson catches the school bus at 6:30 a.m.
“I stop when my battery dies,” he said, “or when the words start to blur together and I can’t read anymore.”
He has kept up that pace for more than two years. With an even keel, he recalls the applications he has filed and printed — sometimes half a dozen a day, including repeat inquiries to highly coveted employers.
On Thursday, Oct. 20, without the slightest tinge of excitement in his voice — the mood he has trained himself to maintain — Farmer announced that a staffing agency had called about an interview. The temporary forklift driving position — with a chance to become permanent — was in Mt. Juliet, 45 minutes from home, and offered a late shift running until 11 p.m.
Mindful of gas prices and his wife’s preference that he work days, Farmer kept calm. He cut short that day’s search.

Jack of many trades

Farmer, a lifelong resident of Wilson County, has tried everything from car sales to construction. He worked for Toshiba almost nine years, was laid off four months in 2006, then worked a different full-time job until July 2008. He has worked temporary jobs since.
“My unemployment (payments) are exhausted, so I’m just looking for a job,” he said.
Unemployment is familiar to the family: Farmer’s wife, Mary Anne, went two years without a job before landing a position in medical insurance billing. Unlike her husband’s computer process, she described her job search three years earlier as “old-fashioned,” with in-person resume deliveries.
Farmer handled his morning interview on Oct. 21 as he did others.
“I had good body language and eye contact. She seemed interested,” he said. “I didn’t really get my hopes up.”

Celebrate successes

Going into the weekend, he said it was time to recharge. The Farmers observe a “no computers” rule on weekends. Because they’ve cut expenses, they rarely go to movies or restaurants.
“We do some kind of game night to keep everybody’s mind off what was going on,” Mary Anne said. “We try not to talk about job searches.”
Scouting also is at the family’s core. Joseph Farmer trained to be a leader and organizes troop programs as his eighth-grader, Nathaniel, approaches the rank of Eagle Scout.
Being successful at things other than looking for work is important to maintaining confidence, said life coach Corinna Bowers of Chapel Hill, Tenn.
“Folks that are hitting the streets, looking for jobs, often their feelings of success are few and far between,” she said. “Be successful at something else and acknowledge that.”

Cautious optimism

When Farmer returned to his search Oct. 24, he was interrupted by a call from his mother, who needed help with a locked car. It was after 3 p.m. when his phone rang with a job offer.
The forklift job. Day shift. A chance for it to become permanent.
Farmer waited for his wife to come home, then put on a sly act, answering “sorta, kinda” to his wife’s question about the call. But it wasn’t a joke, and the distribution company meant business, too, asking Farmer to arrive for orientation at 6 a.m.
He zipped through training and is already working full days.
Farmer still speaks of the job with caution, as it could be months before he learns whether it will become permanent.

NEWS - OKLAHOMA BOY SCOUTS LEARN ART OF HAM RADIO (VIDEO INCLUDED)

Oklahoma Boy Scouts learn art of ham radio

Amateur radio enthusiasts taught Boy Scouts from Guthrie the art of ham radio during a three-day marathon.

BY CARRIE COPPERNOLL

Published: October 24, 2011

A group of Oklahoma Boy Scouts used sticks, barbed wire and a hand-held radio to say hello to an astronaut in space.
“The boys were so excited that we got to talk to an astronaut, even if only for a few seconds,” said Doug Cook, an optometrist and an assistant scoutmaster from Guthrie.
The contact was part of the 52nd annual Jamboree-on-the-Air, an international Scouting event dedicated to the art of radio. Members of the Last Frontier Council gathered at Camp Nichols in southwest Oklahoma City.
Scouts learned to operate ham radios and tracked radio transmitters in the woods. They also performed radio surgery — on a pickle. They removed the pickle's bumps the same way Cook would remove bumps on the eyelids of his patients.
One of the projects was to contact Mike Fossum, an astronaut aboard the International Space Station. Fossum, who was an Eagle Scout, was participating in the jamboree and trying to contact as many Scouts as possible. Cook pointed the makeshift antenna toward the station and heard Fossum's voice through the static. He tried twice before Fossum returned his call.
Cook said he put a microphone to the radio for the Scouts to hear. The boys responded by shouting in unison, “Hi, Mike!”
In addition to that thrill, the boys especially loved using radios to contact other Scouts around the world, Cook said.
“Our Scouts can chat with a Scout from Australia or Great Britain or Indonesia,” Cook said. “It bridges the gap between them so that they can learn about other people, other cultures. It kind of makes the world a smaller place.”
Scout Carey McCachern, 17, was part of the jamboree. The Deer Creek High School student earned his ham radio technician license about a year ago, and he upgraded to a general license in April. He said he enjoyed introducing other Scouts to amateur radio.
“I believe that amateur radio and Scouts fit hand-in-hand because they encourage emergency preparedness, innovation, and goodwill toward others,” McCachern said.
Jeff Woolsey, executive for the Boy Scouts Last Frontier Council, said he hopes the jamboree sparked an interest in the boys.
“Technology today is so readily available that boys take it for granted,” Woolsey said. “Most kids do. It's important for them to learn the roots of where all this came from.”

ARTICLE - GILBERT BOY FILLS 83 BACKPACKS FOR HOMELESS STUDENTS IN HIGLEY

Gilbert Boy Scouts fill 83 backpacks for homeless students in Higley

Jul. 29, 2011

News by You

Submitted by Melanie Shaha, project specialist for Higley Unified School District.
Boy Scouts from Troop 689 delivered 83 backpacks full of school supplies for homeless students to Higley Unified School District on Tuesday.
The Scouts transformed their efforts on a simple merit badge for community service into a significant contribution for students in need.
"Once the Scouts realized they were helping children, they became driven!" said Lora Ruiz, mother of scout Nick Ruiz.
The Scouts were welcomed by Higley Superintendent Denise Birdwell, along with cabinet members and executive directors. Birdwell presented each of the Scouts with a certificate of appreciation.
"These young men demonstrated the true meaning of generosity," Birdwell said as she reflected on the Scouts serving a school district different from their own.
"Our district's purpose is to 'Connect, Engage, Inspire,' " she said. "We are grateful for the example and gifts from these Boy Scouts."
Boy Scouts Jackson Tobler, Garrett Oliekan, Chad Sult and Nick Ruiz organized the backpack/school-supply drive with the help of Scoutmaster Mike Dunn. Scouts and volunteers distributed 700 fliers to various neighborhoods and returned to collect donations.
"These Boy Scouts demonstrated what can be accomplished when you care about others and are willing to work," said Sylvia Zapata, HUSD homeless liaison. "These loaded backpacks will give needy students a great start to the new school year."
Last year, the Higley schools had 129 students who were classified as homeless. Some of those students live in the House of Refuge community on the Arizona State University Polytechnic campus, where homeless individuals and families are provided transitional housing and support services.
The Scouts will be attending South Valley Junior High in the Gilbert Public Schools district this year.

ARTICLE- SCRAP METAL FOR WORLD WAR II

Scrap Metal for World War II

  July 25, 2011

During World War II, Boy Scouts in Cape Girardeau frequently took the lead during scrap metal collections, canvassing the whole city for pots and pans. Here several youths stand next to a mound of donated goods in the front yard of the Federal Building at the southeast corner of Broadway and Fountain street. (G.D. Fronabarger photo) July 12, 1941 Southeast Missourian 

Scrap Aluminum Drive in District Planned at Meeting
A concerted drive for scrap aluminum in the Cape Girardeau Boy Scout District was planned Friday night at a meeting of scout leaders of the three-county area at the Public Library, presided over by Vincent A. Kogge, who was elected chairman of the campaign.
The drive, part of a state-wide effort to aid in the National Defense program, will be conducted not only in the communities of the district, but in rural sections as well. It has been emphasized that only discarded aluminum utensils are needed in the program.
Representatives attending the meeting were told that in each of their communities a general chairman, publicity chairman and arrangements chairman should be named immediately. These men will take charge of the construction of bins in which to place the scrap metal, its collection, and the campaign to bring it before the public. Each town was assigned a rural area in which the campaign will also be carried out.
Editor's Note:
Ray Owen provided the following information in a Southeast Missourian story Feb. 28, 2002:
Early on in World War II, Cape Girardeau Boy Scouts collected enough aluminum to add three bombers to the Army Air Force. About 10,000 pounds of Cape Girardeau Scout aluminum were used in each bomber.
Throughout the war, Boy Scouts were instrumental in collecting items needed to aid the cause. Nationally, Boy Scouts collected everything from 100 train car loads of peach pits and nut hulls, used to make charcoal for gas mask filters, to 750 tons of milkweed floss, used in life jackets. Scouts also conducted a national census of black walnut trees, used in making gunstocks and airplane propellers, locating enough to fill 5,200 rail cars.
Four cannons from the Common Pleas Courthouse grounds at Cape Girardeau were donated to the government. A farmer from Bollinger County contributed an old 10,000-pound Case tractor.

ARTICLE- LOCAL ECONOMY ALREADY REALIZING PROJECTS IMPACT, BOY SCOUTS SAY

Wednesday July 20, 2011

Local economy already realizing project's impact, Boy Scouts say

by The Associated Press

The Associated Press

MCT REGIONAL NEWS
By C.V. Moore
The Register-Herald, Beckley, W.Va.
(MCT)

July 20--GLEN JEAN -- Two years out from the grand opening of the Summit Bechtel Reserve in 2013, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) say the Fayette County project has already impacted the local economy in measurable ways.
Of the 285 full-time employees working on the project, more than 80 percent are from West Virginia, according to figures provided by the Summit Bechtel Reserve. Workers from the surrounding counties of Fayette, Greenbrier, Nicholas, Raleigh and Summers total 102.
Moreover, the BSA says it has already injected a total of $25 million into the state's economy. It cites $16 million billed by West Virginia-based contractors and $9 million spent on local consultants and service providers. Additionally, the BSA has also spent approximately $2.5 million on construction materials, food, lodging, and property leasing sourced from local providers.
"The BSA is trying to make this project as West Virginia-centric as we can," says Gary Hartley, director of Community and Governmental Relations for the Summit.
- -- -
The current phase of the BSA's Summit project involves preparing a 10,000-acre tract of land -- now largely empty --for the 40,000 scouts, 8,000 volunteers, and approximately 20,000 day visitors heading to Fayette County for 2013's National Jamboree.
Campsites, roads, trails, an arena and activity areas must all be built in the next two years. That means that the jobs cited are largely in the fields of building and road construction, timbering, surveying, utilities hook-up and heavy equipment operation.
While most local residents haven't visited the site, they have taken note of the mounting evidence rolling past their homes that the Boy Scouts mean business.
"When the heavy equipment first started coming in, our phone started ringing off the hook with people who had seen it and knew that there would be good heavy equipment operator jobs opening up," says Hartley.
When the BSA begins constructing the 350 restroom facilites needed for the Jamboree and laying the foundation for the site's 700-foot Consol Energy Bridge later this summer, other trades will come into the picture.
This construction phase is scheduled to last between five and 10 years, says Hartley. After the Jamboree, construction will shift generally from horizontal to vertical construction.
The Jamboree will also mark a shift from construction-oriented jobs to those related to programming. Zip lines and canopy tours will require operators. Fledgling Boy Scout climbers will require guides. The vast grounds will need constant upkeep and maintenance.
At least for the first Jamboree, the BSA's plan is to outsource the Scouts' rafting trips to vendors in the immediate area.