Younger scouts (and any others who still need this) will continue working on the First Aid merit badge at the February 10 meeting. This is the same night as Hauser’s family dinner and book fair. The dinner runs from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., so scouts may want to plan to attend the dinner early.
At the Troop meeting on February 17, Mr. Culloden will begin the Personal Finance Merit Badge with our older scouts. Scouts who want to work on this merit badge should see Mr. Payne to obtain a blue card prior to beginning work on the badge. This is an Eagle-required merit badge. More information can be found here: http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Personal_Management
Troop 24 has 3 different camp opportunities for our scouts this summer:
Philmont Scout Ranch – July 13 to 27 – for scouts 8th grade and above. It’s not too late to sign up for Philmont! For a description of the trek: http://troop24riverside.com/2010/12/philmont-this-summer/ For more information, please contact Asst. Scoutmaster Jim Ringbloom at jrringbloom@sbcglobal.net.
Kayaking in the Apostle Islands – July 10 to 16 OR July 16 to 25 – for scouts 13 or older. We planned this outing before we were selected for Philmont. We will participate only if we have enough scouts and leaders sign up. If you are interested, please contact Michael Payne at pain08@comcast.net ASAP to let him know which week you prefer. We will cancel this outing if we don’t have enough interest.
Camp Mach – July 31 to August 6 – for all scouts. For more information and to register: http://troop24riverside.com/2011/02/camp-mach-july-26-august-6/
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.
