The Lost Boy Patrol of  Rory B, Nathan G, Zach J, Robert M, Chance R, Thomas S, and Liam C demonstrated effective leadership, strong scout skills, great outdoorsmanship, true grit and determination in the 2018 Voyageur Trace Klondike Derby and came home with the First Place Trophy!!!  Through many grueling hours of throwing hatchets, water rescues, identifying animal tracks, navigation, first aid and knots and lashings, these scouts preserved through the frozen tundra of Bemis Woods and carried their sled to best the other Troops of the Voyageur Trace District.  Congratulations to our Scouts and a special Thank You to Mark J and Joan J for leading this most rewarding outing.

The Troop 24 Pancake Breakfast will take place Saturday, March 3rd. Please mark your calendars now, as all scouts are required to participate in this event (or set up on the Thursday before). If you have a conflict or time requests, please email pancakes@troop24riverside.com. Each scout must also sell 15 tickets, which were distributed at last night’s troop meeting. If you were unable to attend, your tickets will be mailed to you. Please read the enclosed instruction sheet, and note that ticket money is due on Thursday, February 15th.

Please keep the letter, which has your BSA number on it. You will receive an email later with information on how to log in to the Pancake Breakfast website, which will have your work assignment and instructions.

Thank you for your help with our troop’s largest fundraiser!

We had a great meeting last week to start off the new year.  We continue with the January Sports Theme with Volleyball this week.  We are reviewing all previous scout skills for anyone that needs requirements signed off.  First Aid will be covered in March.  Citizenship in the Nation will conclude this week with Mr. Perry so bring in your completed worksheets and be prepared to discuss.  The Klondike Derby Scouts of the Lost Boy patrol will meet to prepare the sled and review scout skills ahead of this weekend’s Derby.

PLC  Meeting is January 30 at 6:00 pm at RPC.

WE ARE STILL MISSING ONE TENT!!  PLEASE RETURN IT ASAP!!!!

Here is some information about upcoming local merit badge class opportunities. We will not be participating as a troop, so scouts who register will need to arrange their own transportation.

Three Fires Merit Badge Academy – Saturday, February 17, 2018
Takes place at York High School in Elmhurst. Over 90 Merit Badges offered plus training classes for adults. Please note that the troop has a skiing overnight planned for this date. Register here

Microsoft Merit Badge Classes – on various dates at their Oak Brook and Schaumburg stores. Register here

Kane County Law Merit Badge – Saturday, March 3, 2018 in St. Charles
register here

Chess Merit Badge Class – Monday, February 19, 2018 (President’s Day)
American Legion Hall in Downers Grove. Register here

DuPage Forest Preserve Merit Badge Classes – first Saturday of each month
Click here for a flier and directions to register.

Former Asst. Scoutmaster, Scott Vitek, 55, passed away on January 9. The Viteks were an active scout family. Scott and Kim have two children, Collin and Cody. Cody is a Troop 24 Eagle Scout from 2011.

There will be a memorial gathering on Monday, January 15, 2018, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Ivins/Moravecek Funeral Home, 80 E. Burlington St. Riverside.

Troop 24 has lots planned for 2018. Here is a summary of upcoming events:

January
January 20 – Klondike Derby
January 24 – Voyageur Trace Awards Dinner (for leaders and adult members)
January 25 – Boards of Review
January 27 – Pack 24 Pinewood Derby (scout volunteers needed)

February
February 3-4 Luge Overnight
February 4 – Scout Sunday
February 17 – Three Fires Merit Badge University (register here)
February 17-19 – Granite Peak Skiing and Winter Camp at Tesomas
February 22 – Troop 24 and Order of the Arrow Elections and Boards of Review
February 25 – Pack 24 Blue and Gold

March
March 3 – Pancake Breakfast
March 3 – Pack 120 Blue and Gold
March 16-18 – Cantigny Campout
March 22 – Boards of Review

April
April 20-22 – Climbing and Shooting Campout at Ingersoll Scout Reservation
April 21 – Hofmann Dam River Rats Service Project
April 26 – Boards of Review
April 29 – Service Project at the Boulevard

May
May 4-6 – Order of the Arrow Spring Fellowship Campout (members and elected scouts only)
May 17 – Spring Court of Honor
May 18-20 – White Pines State Park Campout
May 28 – Riverside Memorial Day Ceremony
May 31 – Boards of Review

June
Kankakee State Park Campout date TBD

July
July 4 – Pizza Booth Fundraiser
July 8-14 – Whitewater Rafting Trip at Camp Daniel Boone (older scouts only)
July 15-21 – Summer Camp at Camp Tesomas

Riverside Presbyterian Church, the charter organization for Troop 24 and Pack 24, invites all scouts, leaders and scout families to attend Worship in celebration of the long standing relationship between RPC and the Boy Scouts on February 4^th at 10:00 am.  The service will be followed by coffee fellowship hosted by Troop 24.

The Troop 24 Committee encourages scouts and their families to attend the Scout Sunday service.  It is a chance for many of our scouts to experience worship in a place of different denomination or faith.  Scout Sunday is also an occasion for us to show our appreciation to the members of RPC for their support and use of the church for 79 years.

Scouts who attend will also have the opportunity to earn service hours by participating in either the worship service or in fellowship. Please note that this is the weekend of the Luge outing, and those scouts will not be back in time to participate. Volunteers are needed for the following roles:

• Ushers: greet people, hand out bulletins, and pass the offering plate. (need 4-6 scouts)
• Liturgist: Read the scripture lesson and offer a prayer (1-2 scouts)
• Speakers willing to speak about their scouting experiences and what it has meant to them.  This is ideal for a scout working on their Communication Merit Badge that still needs to complete requirement #3 or a scout who is comfortable speaking in front of people. (need 2-3 scouts)
• Fellowship Set up (9:00 – 10:00):  Make coffee and lemonade, prepare plates of treats, set out plates, cups and saucers, etc. (need 4 scouts)
• Fellowship Clean up (12:00 – 12:30): run dishwasher, wash serving plates and coffee pots and wipe tables. (need 4 scouts)

Scouts willing to help – sign up here

We hope all scouts who attend bring something to share during fellowship (e.g. coffee cake, cookies, fruit, cheese & crackers, etc.).

Scouts and Leaders should wear their Class A uniform and merit badge sash.  If you have a Girl Scout or Cub Scout in the family, they are welcome to wear their uniform.  We hope to see you there.

If you have any questions please contact Carrie Staubus.

Pack 24’s annual pinewood derby will be held on Saturday, January 27, and they are seeking help from our scouts. Any Troop 24 scout that wishes to work a one hour shift will earn a service hour, and will also have lunch or a treat, courtesy of the pack.

Our scouts will be managing the race by setting up the pinewood cars, and retrieving them to bring back to the starting gates. Boy scouts may also help supervise the movie room.

Shifts are available in one-hour blocks starting at 1:00pm. The racing is expected to wrap up at 3:00pm so the last shift will help with clean up.

Thanks in advance for your help. Click here to sign up today.