To those scouts who have “graduated” from Boy Scouts on their 18th birthday, the Troop Committee would like to invite you to register as adult leaders. Please contact Nancy Hopkins to get a form if you are interested.

Thank you to the twelve families (of 55 scout families) who responded to our Lincoln Pilgrimage survey. Unfortunately, only two of those families were definitely interested in participating in the Lincoln Pilgrimage, with a few more who indicated their scouts might go. Because we did not have enough scouts interested, we will not be offering this outing (which will take place in Springfield April 29-May 1). Our next overnight outing (after the Camporee on April 15-17) will be a bicycling event on May 14-15 on the Illinois & Michigan Canal Trail. This will probably be our last camping outing before summer camp. More details will be available soon, but mark your calendars for this event.

The Des Plaines Valley Council offers funds (up to $60) to scouts whose family finances are a barrier to attending summer camp. Applications for camperships are made directly to the Council. The form is available here:
http://www.bsa-dpvc.org/forms/110000_CampershipApp.pdf

To be considered “fully trained,” a Scoutmaster, Asst. Scoutmaster, Webelos Den Leader, or Venturing Leader must complete the Outdoor Leader Skills class. This training is offered by the DesPlaines Valley Council about twice per year. The next training session will be held on April 29 through May 1 at the Adventure Camp in Rochelle, Illinois. The registration form is available at the Council Service Center and on the Council website at: http://www.bsa-dpvc.org/Training/Training_Fliers/110429_IOLS.pdf

All scouts are invited to the Riverside Landscape Work Day (sponsored by the Village of Riverside and the Frederick Law Olmsted Society) this Saturday, April 9, from 9:00 a.m. until noon. Service hours can be used for rank advancements for Star (6 hours earned while a 1st Class Scout) and Life (6 hours earned while a Star Scout), or for the Citizenship in the Community Merit Badge (all 8 hours of community service have to be done for the same organization–Landscape Work Days are scheduled every month, spring through fall).

Scouts can come for the entire morning, or for a portion of the time. Please download the Troop 24 Service Hour Form. It does not need to be signed in advance, as this event is “pre-approved.” Bring the form, filled out with scout’s name & information, and give it to Mrs. Skiest. She will keep it until the scout is ready to leave and then return it with the hours marked and a signature. It is the scout’s responsibility to turn in the completed and signed form to Mrs. Renee Olszewski so that the hours are entered in our tracking software. The form can be turned in at any scout meeting.

Parents: In the past, the Village of Riverside has required a volunteer waiver form when you drop off your scout. This form must be completed on an annual basis, and our Village Forester will have those forms available, or you can download it here.

If you have any questions, we have two scout moms who are active in the Olmsted Society and can answer questions: Dorie Skiest at djskiest@sbcglobal.net and Holly Machina at hmachina@ameritech.net. Look for one of them when you arrive. Please bring work gloves and a water bottle, and perhaps a hat and sunscreen. Tools will be provided.

Confused about merit badges? At the spring Court of Honor, Mrs. Olszewski distributed a hand-out about merit badges. If you did not pick up a copy that night, it is available on our website. It describes all the logistics of completing a merit badge. It’s very important that scouts retain the “blue cards” for merit badges. Everything you need to know can be found here: Boy Scout Merit Badges

Asst. Scoutmaster Bruce Robertson will be working with any interested scouts on the Snow Sports merit badge. The first meeting will be on Thursday, April 14, at 6:15 p.m., in the Westminster Room at RPC. Scouts should obtain a blue card in advance, and get a copy of the merit badge book from the Scout Store in LaGrange. Contact Mr. Robertson with questions.

Reminder: The Troop Meeting this week will be on FRIDAY at the Scout Cabin, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The topic is First Aid, and we will cover a number of requirements for various ranks. Scouts – please bring your books!

Scouts who have not already done so will have until late May to register for Camp Mach. At this point we have 35 scouts registered. That includes eight of our sixteen new scouts. New scouts should participate in at least one overnight outing without a parent before going to Camp Mach. There are two more camping trips planned before the school year is over: Camporee on April 15-17, and Biking on the I & M Trail on May 14-15.

51 of our scouts in sixth grade or older have signed up for Camp Mach, Kayaking, and/or Philmont. Only TWO of our scouts 6th grade and older have not signed up for any of our summer camp activities.

The Troop Committee will meet on Tuesday, April 5, at 7:00 p.m. in the Westminster Room at RPC. All parents are welcome to attend.