Scouts who are working on the American Heritage Merit Badge are invited to come to the Westminster Room at RPC (lower level) at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 13.

During the remainder of the month we will be collecting canned foods as a service project in conjunction with RPC. The food will be given to the Riverside Food Pantry (to the extent that they need it, and extra will go to 1st Presbyterian in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Chicago for their food pantry). Scout families are invited to send cans of food with their scouts to the Troop meetings on October 13, 20, 27. Thanks for your generosity!

Troop 24 is planning an overnight campout at White Pines State Forest leaving Friday, October 21, and returning Sunday, October 23. Scouts should come prepared to camp in tents for two nights. Scouts should bring money for dinner on Friday night. We will stop on the way. The Scout cost for this outing is $35. Scouts must wear their Class A uniforms to travel. Please drop your Scout off at RPC at 5:39 p.m. We will return by noon on Sunday.

The deadline for signing up for the outing is Thursday, October 14.

Please fill out a form for each scout. Leaders should also register. Contact Dawn Gmitro with questions.

Scouts who are interested in working on the Reading Merit Badge are invited to meet Mrs. Lanken at the North Riverside library this Thursday, October 6, at 7:30 p.m.

Last reminder: There is NO Troop Committee meeting tonight, and NO Troop Meeting on Thursday or Friday.

A number of scout families have not yet turned in the forms required for the year. If you have no idea what we’re referring to, ask your scout. For parents who did not attend our parent meeting on September 15, we sent the forms home with the scout, or dropped it at your house. Several parents filled out most of the forms at the meeting but still need to turn in the Commitment form, which has to be signed by the scout, or still need to pay dues.

Please contact Nancy Hopkins if you can’t find the forms. To pay dues online, go to: https://www.wepay.com/tickets/view/75330. Please drop off forms to Nancy’s house (address at bottom of form).

Thanks to Troop Committee Member/Parent Chris Hajer, we have a new feature on our website. A scout had suggested that it would be great if the scouts could see who was already signed up for outings. You can now see this information for upcoming events at http://troop24riverside.com/upcoming-events/. The scouts are listed by first name and last initial only. We’re less than 3 weeks away from our next campout, and you can see that only 3 scouts are signed up. Please don’t wait until the last minute to sign up! If your scout has an e-mail address, please sign him up for our Feedblitz notices (bottom of the right column) where it says “Newsletter Signup.”

The Three Fires Council (headquartered in St. Charles, IL) is holding a Training Academy on Saturday, November 12. They have some excellent courses available–many of them different than the ordinary basic training. The cost is $30, which includes lunch, and allows you to take up to five classes. The training will take place at East Aurora High School. Most of the courses are for adult leaders, but Den Chief training is also available for scouts. Registration is available online. For more information, visit:

http://www.threefirescouncil.org/about-us-mainmenu-27/home-mainmenu-1/400-training-academy-sat-nov-12

The Troop will conduct our annual Orienteering outing at Waterfall Glen on Saturday, November 12. On this outing scouts will have an opportunity to complete Requirement 2 for the 1st Class rank: Using a map and compass, complete an orienteering course that covers at least one mile and requires measuring the height and/or width of designated items (tree, tower, canyon, ditch, etc.). Unfortunately, this is usually the only time during the year that scouts can complete this requirement, so any scout who has not already done this should plan to attend. (Even those still working on lower ranks can earn requirements for 1st class.)

Due to various conflicts, the Troop Committee meeting is being rescheduled to Tuesday, October 11, at 7:00 p.m. at RPC.