In place of our usual Thursday troop meeting, there will be a Court of Honor on October 1st, starting at 5:00 p.m. at the Riverside Scout Cabin. Scouts who wish to participate as color guard, candle lighters, etc. should arrive at 4:45 p.m.

In the Boy Scouts of America a Court of Honor is a troop activity where scouts and their families come together to get their awards and have a good time together. It is important for the scout’s family members to be there for their scouts receiving his rank advancement, merit badges, and other awards.

Sheltering-in-place guidelines prevented us from conducting an in-person Spring Courts of Honor, so we hope that you enjoy this opportunity to get outside for socially-distanced, masked recognitions.

Scouts should dress in full uniform, including their scarf and merit badge sash (if they have one). Please no jeans or athletic apparel.

We also ask that each scout have at least one parent or grandparent present. Parents as well as scouts come forward when rank advancements are announced.

To assist us in set-up, if you could bring your own folding chairs for the event, we’d appreciate it.

Please register here if you plan to attend, so we can have a sense of how big the turn-out may be.

START TIME: 5:30 @ RPC
PICK-UP TIME: 7:00 @ THE MCCORMICK WOODS

Thursday’s meeting will include a hike from the Church to the McCormick Woods near 31st St and First Avenue [click here for a map].

We’ll hone our navigational skills and compass work during the hike. And the weather should be just right to spend an early evening outdoors.

Remember your mask and Class A uniform, and we’ll see you there!

Keep reading below for an important message about popcorn sales!

I have the privilege of being the new Popcorn Kernel, and I welcome you to an interesting and challenging Boy Scout fundraising campaign. Troop 24 has offered this opportunity for our scouts to earn money for this year’s scouting events. All sales (order form or online) will give the scouts 1/3 of the money back for use in Troop 24 or PTAC events.

This year there is a new popcorn company, Pecatonica River Popcorn, www.prpopcorn.com, and they will be sending all the parents an email and web link for setting up online sales for each individual scout. There are numerous items online and shipping is free! Please set-up and share the link via email or social media to friends and family anywhere in the country. If you do not get the email from pops@prpopcorn.com, check your spam/junk folder first, then email me at axponn@gmail.com to correct. If you have multiple scouts in the troop, there should be individual emails, popcorn sales ID’s, and web links for their individual sales.

I strongly encourage online sales this year, but there are other ways to sell as well. We will be distributing the standard order forms over the next week. They have also provided fold-up tent-like order sheets that can be left in a lunchroom or common area at work (etc.) for people to place orders while social distancing. And finally, if you are interested in going door-to-door they have provided these hang tags that can be left on door knobs and picked up later (limited quantity available, so reserved for those who express interest in actual door-to-door).

Finally, all order forms and online sales should be completed and turned in to me by Friday October 23, 2020 to count toward this year’s totals. I encourage everyone to avoid cash and have checks made out to yourself and then consolidate the total to one personal check made out to Troop 24. Good luck and be safe.

Regards,
Anand Ponnappan
Kernel, Troop 24 Riverside

PS: I have popcorn samples and a small prize that will be randomly distributed to the scouts that make any sale by the meeting on October 1st or 8th.

BTW: BSA and Pecatonica have other incentives if scouts sell more than $750+, such as game/event tickets or other major prizes that our scouts can still earn. Also, this fundraiser can fulfill all the requirements for the Salesmanship Merit Badge for the motivated scout.

With today’s world events, this is an ideal time to focus on this merit badge. For example, imagine the possibilities you can find to fulfill the requirement below …

“3a. Do the following: Pick a current world event. In relation to this current event, discuss with your counselor how a country’s national interest and its relationship with other countries might affect areas such as its security, its economy, its values, and the health of its citizens.”

… so, if you’d like to participate in a Troop-led Zoom-based merit badge workshop, click here to sign up!

The ever-popular Kankakee trip is back, a little different this year, but will be just as fun! Here are the details:

• Day trip on Saturday, September 26th.
• We will leave at 8:00am and returning around 4-5pm that day
• Trip is a 12 mile, 5-6 hour paddle
• We plan to stop along the river for lunch (price included), but bring some snacks for after the trip. We will have snacks before heading home.
• The trip will be held rain or shine, only excessive river volume should cause a cancellation.
• Life-jackets provided or you may bring your own coast-guard approved jacket.
• Swimming merit badge required, no rank requirement this year.
• Recommendation for younger Scouts to canoe, unless they have previous kayaking experience.
• Scouts, sign up here
• Leaders, sign up here
• View instructional video here – https://www.reedscanoetrips.com/

Please email troop24events@gmail.com with questions, thanks!!

The ever-popular Kankakee trip is back, a little different this year, but will be just as fun! Here are the details:

• Day trip on Saturday, September 26th.
• We will leave at 8:00am and returning around 4-5pm that day
• Trip is a 12 mile, 5-6 hour paddle
• We plan to stop along the river for lunch (price included), but bring some snacks for after the trip. We will have snacks before heading home.
• The trip will be held rain or shine, only excessive river volume should cause a cancellation.
• Life-jackets provided or you may bring your own coast-guard approved jacket.
• Swimming merit badge required, no rank requirement this year.
• Recommendation for younger Scouts to canoe, unless they have previous kayaking experience.
• Scouts, sign up here
• Leaders, sign up here
• View instructional video here – https://www.reedscanoetrips.com/

Please email troop24events@gmail.com with questions, thanks!!