Thanks to our Popcorn Kernel this year, Renee Ricchio, for coordinating our popcorn event. Popcorn sales (excluding online sales) were $4,993, with a profit to the sellers of $1,497.90. Some of our scouts had additional income through online sales, most especially Christopher O, who reportedly sold over $2,000 online. We maintain a list of “popcorn credits” on the website, but you have to sign in as a member to view it. Anyone who has forgotten our top-secret password can e-mail Nancy Hopkins and request the username/password.

Save the date for Eagle Cave! We will leave RPC on Friday, January 15, at 5:00 p.m. (tentatively, may need two waves so some parents/kids can make it later). We’ll return by about 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 17. We’re looking for adults to drive and CAMP OUT IN THE CAVE! This is probably the troop’s most popular outing.

Eagle Cave is located about 1/2 hour west of Madison, Wisconsin. You can find more information here: http://www.eaglecave.net/ and directions here: http://www.eaglecave.net/directions.htm#From%20Chicago

The cave is a constant 52 degrees and lots of fun to explore! Permission slips will be posted soon.

Troop 24 is planning a day hiking trip to Waterfall Glen on Saturday, December 12. We will leave from Riverside Presbyterian Church at 9:00 a.m. and return at approximately 4:00 p.m. There is no cost. Each scout should bring a sack lunch and wear weather-appropriate clothing. The permission slip is available here and should be turned in no later than the Troop Meeting on Thursday, December 10. Contact Dawn Gmitro with questions.

Peter’s Eagle Project will take place December 11 and 12. The project involves painting two bedrooms at the Ronald McDonald House near Loyola Hospital. The walls in the rooms are chipped and in need of painting. The rooms are occupied by parents of children receiving treatment at the hospital, or adults receiving treatment themselves. The project will take place over two days on December 11 (5:00pm to 7:30pm) and 12 (9:00am to 11:30am, 11:30am to 2:00pm, 2:00pm to 4:30pm). The volunteers will prep the room, move furniture, spackle, and paint the two rooms, working for approximately two hours on Friday night, and eight hours on Saturday. Thirty-four volunteers are needed to work in teams throughout the two days. Please contact Peter at falk05@comcast.net to sign up for one of the shifts or to work out rides to and from the Ronald McDonald House at the shift changes. Please make sure you return a signed permission slip.

Photos from the November Court of Honor are now available on the Troop Website in our Photo Gallery.

For any parent who would be interested in being a Merit Badge Counselor, the next training session through the Des Plaines Valley Council will be on January 19, 2010. Being a Merit Badge Counselor is a good opportunity to help the boys in the Troop in a specific subject area, without committing yourself to attending every Troop meeting. To sign up, contact the Council at dpvc147@scouting.org or (708) 354-1111.

For scouts who want to earn service hours, the Troop has an authorized Service Project available–a fundraiser/dance at Ames School.  The fundraiser is for a first grader at Ameswho has been diagnosed with a rare disease called Giant Axonal Neuropathy (GAN), a neurodegenerative disorder.

The Service Hours are for cleaning the gymnasium after the event, starting at 8:30 p.m. on Friday, December 11.  It is estimated that the clean-up will only take about an hour,  and we need four or five  boys.  The clean up will consist of:

– light cleaning of the floor, like cups, napkins, etc.
– helping to fold up the four (4) folding tables
– sweeping the gymnasium floor
– no work that involves heavy lifting or is precarious

The boys should be able to enter through the back doors at Ames from the parking lot.  If for some reason they are closed, the boys can enter from the front.

Liz Gomorczak will be our contact for this event.  Please contact Liz with questions, or to sign up.

Troop dues of $25 per Scout were due on November 15. Please submit payment along with the Scout Commitment form you received in the mail to Jim Marciniak at 249 Gage Road in Riverside. Please call Jim at 708-443-5851 if you have questions about dues for this year. It is essential that we collect dues from all Scouts in order to be sure everyone is registered on the Troop’s 2010 annual charter with national Scouting.

Congratulations to our newest Eagle Scout, Dennis Potamianos! Visit our Eagle Scout page for a list of Troop 24’s Eagle Scouts dating back to 1927.

Des Plaines Valley Council records relating to Eagle Scouts are not complete. If you know of a Troop 24 Eagle Scout who is not on our list, please contact us.