Troop 24’s annual summer camp will be held at Camp Mach-Kin-O-Siew (Camp Mach) in northern Wisconsin. We will leave Riverside at 7:00 a.m. on Sunday morning, July 31, and return about mid-day on Saturday, August 6.

If you register before February 24, you are eligible for a discount of $25, for a reduced price of $265. The cost is $290 if paid after February 24. For scouts who have popcorn credit, the amount of the credit should be deducted from your cost.

Webelos 2 scouts have until March 24 to register and receive the discount.

We will have a bus to transport the scouts to Camp. We expect the cost to be approximately $100 per scout, but the final cost will depend on how many scouts sign up. (Popcorn credit can also be used for the bus.)

With the number of scouts expected to attend summer camp (over 30 for each of the past three years), we need a minimum of four adult leaders. Thank you to Tom Hartwig and Kent Johnson, who have already volunteered to be leaders! Any other parents who might be interested in attending Camp Mach, please talk to our Scoutmaster for more information. Our Camp Mach coordinator this year is Mrs. Gomorczak. Please contact her at jlgomo@sbcglobal.net if you have questions.

Traditionally, all or almost all of our newer scouts have attended summer camp their first year in the Troop. Please visit our photo gallery to view pictures from past trips to Camp Mach.

To sign up: Camp Mach Form

We would like to have e-mail addresses for scouts. Feedblitz notices are great, but notices sent to parents don’t always reach our scouts. If your son has an e-mail address, please let us know if we can add his address to our e-mail notification list. Send the address to nmhopkins1@comcast.net.

If you are planning to attend the Troop’s Ski trip on February 26-27, please don’t wait until the last minute to sign up. For more information and to register, go to: http://troop24riverside.com/2011/01/ski-trip-form-2/

February 6 is Scout Sunday (the Sunday prior to February 8, which is the date of founding of the Boy Scouts of America). If you can, please join us for the 10:00 a.m. service at our charter organization, Riverside Presbyterian Church. If you can bring a baked good to share at the coffee fellowship after the service, that would be wonderful too, as the scouts are hosting the coffee hour. Please wear your uniforms. If you can’t join us at RPC, wear your uniform proudly to whatever church you attend to show the community what we mean when we say “a scout is reverent.”

The Des Plaines Valley Council’s annual Merit Badge Academy will be held on Saturday, March 12, at Elmwood Park High School. For more information, visit the Council’s website at http://www.bsa-dpvc.org/boy_scouting/boys_adv_mba.php#adult The registration form (available online) has to be signed by one of our scoutmasters, and scouts have to bring a signed blue card to the class. If you have questions after reviewing the Council’s information, please contact Asst. Scoutmaster Stephanie Lanken at stlanken@yahoo.com.

The Troop Committee meeting scheduled for Tuesday, February 1, has been postponed to Tuesday, February 22. On the 22nd, we will have a combined Troop Committee/Pancake Breakfast meeting at 7:00 p.m. in the Westminster Room at RPC. Because it will be a combined agenda, we’ll start promptly at 7:00.

This week’s troop meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, February 4, at the Scout Cabin. Scouts should dress for outside games in the snow. The Webelos 2 scouts will be joining us, and there will also be activities in preparation for the Klondike Derby. Parents and leaders should be aware that the driveway to the scout cabin will probably not be plowed. Please plan to park on the street. We will have a new procedure at this meeting to help us keep track of scouts coming and going. Either the scout, or the scout’s parent, should sign in and sign out on a form that will be available at the cabin. Please help our leaders by reminding your scout to cooperate with this requirement. Scouts can be picked up at 9:30, but if possible send your scout to the meeting with a cell phone, in case he is ready to leave earlier.

The Voyageur Trace Klondike Derby will be held on Saturday, February 12, 2011 at Bemis Woods. Scouts have until Saturday, February 5 at 5:00 p.m. to register for this event.

On February 12, scouts will meet at RPC at 7:15 a.m. and return the same day at approximately 4:00 p.m. The Derby this year will feature scout skills as well as games and contests. Each patrol should be ready for fun and challenges.

The cost will be $8 and a can of non-cream soup (to be dumped into a communal pot for “garbage can soup”).

We will be looking for drivers. Since this outing is close, drivers do not need to stay. If you can drive, please indicate the appropriate information with your son’s registration. Adults are welcome to stay and participate. If you would like to participate, please register and pay for yourself separately from your son.

Please remember you must register on the Troop online form AND pay (preferably using the online WePay system). If your son is not registered, he will not show up on the roster. Register here: http://troop24riverside.com/2011/01/klondike-derby-form/

Contact Dawn Gmitro at dmgmitro@aol.com with questions.