Congratulations to our newest Eagle Scout, William Gmitro!

Join the troop 24 contingent heading out to Adventure Day this Saturday, April 16.  The weather forecast looks to be idea for the activities that have been planned: clear & sunny in the lower 60’s.

The cost is only $6 for scouts and you can register for either morning or afternoon sessions, if your schedule limits you from joining us all day.

There will be something for all levels of scouts: rank requirements for newer scouts and service hours for the older guys.  Of course, there will also be good opportunities for outdoor dun, learning and exercise.

• Click here to see the post with all of the event details, or just click here to register today.

If you have any questions, email jiminov AT hotmail DOT com.

At the Troop meeting on Thursday we will have a “Lost and Found” display from the camp-out at Bullfrog Lake. Despite Scoutmaster Flaherty’s instructions to the scouts, none of these items were labeled. They were spread out on a picnic table at the end of the camp-out and none of the scouts seemed to recognize their own gear.

We have two suggestions:
LABEL EVERYTHING that your scout takes to a camp-out
Have your scout pack his own bag

Both of these requirements will be very important at summer camp.

This list of items left behind at the camp-out is beyond anything we have experienced in the past. Please talk to your scout, but if you don’t think he will be able to identify his gear, a parent may want to come to the meeting Thursday to claim the following items:

– white plastic camping cutlery, knife/fork/ spoon on a ring
– expandable camp cup
– green plastic two ended unit with fork/ spoon
– metal camp fork
– blue mesh bag
– back / green trim champion brand youth gloves
– cooking dish with handle
– mini pan / pot with lid
– youth Levi jeans 26w/ 26.5 L “527 style”
– neckerchief (Cindy Reynolds has it)

In case you didn’t see the earlier e-mail from Susan about this, Bullfrog Lake campground said a scout left behind a pair of boots; they are going to clean the mud off them and hold onto them in hopes that they will be claimed. The boots are tan with black soles – the size indicates one of our younger scouts left them behind. If your son did not come home with his boots, please call Bullfrog Lake:
Phone: 312-636-9785
Address: 9600 Wolf Rd, Willow Springs, IL 60480

One of our scouts is missing a blue, non-mesh (Coleman) bag for his sleeping bag.

If your scout came home with anything that was not his, please bring it to the meeting on Thursday.

PAV YMCA has agreed to offer another merit badge class on April 18, from 6:00 to 8:30 for our scouts who were not able to attend the last one. The cost is $20, paid to PAV YMCA on the first day of class. You must sign up so that we can let the Y know how many scouts to expect.

The Swimming Merit Badge is an Eagle-required badge. Scouts must earn this badge to participate in any water-related activities or water merit badges (canoeing, rowing, sailing, kayaking, scuba, etc.). Any scout who has not earned this badge is encouraged to take this class, but if you have a conflict, the badge can also be completed at summer camp.

The deadline for registration is next Monday, April 11.

Asst. Scoutmaster Lisa Gaynor will be coordinating the event. Please contact Lisa with questions.

Sign up here: http://troop24riverside.com/2016/04/swimming-merit-badge-class-form/

We are offering our older scouts an opportunity to begin work on the Personal Fitness merit badge at our meeting this week (Thursday, April 7).  Troop leaders have limited the participation in this merit badge to scouts that have been with the troop for at least one year; this will permit younger scouts to focus on rank advancement.

Further, we are planning on completing this badge within the Troop, rather than at Tesomas summer camp as we previously announced.  Scouts will be working with troop leader Dr. Lanken at subsequent meetings to complete all requirements.  Keep in mind that this merit badge requires the completion of a 12-week exercise program.  Scout that begin working on the badge now will be able to complete it in July.

We will still be meeting with personal trainer Jerry Owen on Thursday so he can help the scouts prepare their 12-week exercise program.  Scouts who are planning to participate should come to the meeting with good running shoes, as they will need to complete a timed one-mile run as part of the initial fitness test.  The weather is forecast to be cold, so scouts should probably wear sweatpants or other athletic gear as well for this meeting.  After the mile run, scouts complete flexibility, strength and a body-mass index test.

Please register your scout here in advance of the meeting.

Leaders and other Troop 24 adults – please sign up if you will be able to attend Camp Tesomas this summer, July 17-23. You can go for the full week, or a half-week. There is no cost to adults to attend as leaders. The Troop pays the adult fee. Due to the ongoing success of our fundraisers we hope to continue to fund the leader cost in the future, but that depends on our budget. Please contact Carrie Staubus at carrie@staubus.net with any questions. Sign up here: http://troop24riverside.com/2016/04/camp-tesomas-2016-leader-form/

Max H’s Eagle Project involves reorganizing the RBHS band library. He needs assistance from both scouts and adults. You can sign up for multiple days, starting on April 11 and continuing throughout the month.

New parents & scouts: all scouts need to earn service hours for advancement, and working on Eagle projects counts toward those hours.

Sign up here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0545aaa62caafc1-eagle

Questions? Contact Max at maxh78@gmail.com

All new Scouts will be completing Tenderfoot Fitness requirement #6a and will work on developing the Plan required in #6b at Thursday’s Meeting. Please come dress appropriately to work on these requirements:

6a Record your best in the following tests:
Pushups ________(Record the number done correctly in 60 seconds)
Situps or curl-ups ________(Record the number done correctly in 60 seconds)
Back-saver sit-and-reach________(Record the distance stretched)
1-mile walk/run________ (Record the time)

6b Develop and describe a plan for improvement in each of the activities listed in Tenderfoot requirement 6a. Keep track of your activity for at least 30 days.