Brief write up of the Lift Off meeting, and start of the year

A great time was had by all at the Pack 404 Lift Off. We began with an opening flag ceremony and prayer, followed by a short summary of the popcorn sales program. Then the scouts attached fins to and launched 2 liter water bottle rockets, many of which went so high that they first landed in tree tops before coming to rest on the ground. Judging by the sounds of the laughter and excitement, it was a super fun time. If you managed to get a photo, please send it to Patrick Herman at [email protected] so we can add it to the site.

Volunteerism

The parents who attended the Lift Off meeting met with Mark Beaudoin and Patrick Herman to talk about the calendar, dues, popcorn sales, and our new  volunteerism concept, the volunteer bonanza. If you were unable to attend, you will have the opportunity to sign up for the required 1 pack and 2 den volunteer roles in coming meetings.

New Joiners and New Leaders!

Several new scouts joined, and we recruited 3 outstanding new leaders:

• Mr. Damon Landis, Tiger Den Leader
• Mr. Barry Sy, Wolf Den Leader
• Mr. Preston Hunt, Bear Den Leader

The year begins, some helpful reminders:

As the year begins, all of our dens have had at least one meeting as of 9/15. This is a fantastic start. Some things to keep in mind proceduraly:

• If you are a new scout family of any rank or a transfer in, or a rejoining scout with a gap in scouting participation, we must have an application for you so that we can charter with your son, and so that we can get Boy's life magazine routing your way.
• All scouts should now have their popcorn sales packets and be striving to meet their $600 sales goal.
• New scout families should be headed to the local area scout shop for manuals and uniform (they will take excellent care of you and get you all the right patches to start the year).
• Feel free to buy a neckerchief and slide, but the pack will also be providing one per scout. In practical experience, the loss rate of these is > than 1 per scout per year so having an extra is goodness
• The Pack's Fall Campout is at Camp Trevor Rees-Jones 9/18 - 9/20
• Cuboreee is a day envent on 10/10 at Camp Wisdon
• Raingutter Regatta is on 10/17 - we will pass out boat kits at the Fall Campout and follow up with those unable to attend to pass them out after that
• We will be ordering Class B t-shirts for scouts that need them; there is a nominal cost of about $10 for parents and siblings/extra shirts
• Parents should make sure email spam filters accept email from scout track as well as from this domain.
• Parents should also make sure they can access Scout Track - all new parents will have received an invitation with instructions re ID
• A separate process and communication exists to set up access to this site and your den's group (for security reasons, since we will post photos on this site)

On Pack Dues:

• All scout families with unpaid dues (current or past year) will have the opportunity to pay pack dues (which include annual BSA registration, boys life, and a portion of pack operating costs) either at the campout on 9/18- 9/20, at the Cuboree on 10/10, or at the Raingutter Regata on 10/17.
• We ask that all families make arrangements with the pack or settle pack dues on or by 10/17 before attending pack or den events past that date.
• Arrangements can include partial payments and almost any flexible arrangement you need. This also applies to unpaid dues from last year. We do ask that you contact us rather than let the issue lag as it creates extra administration and follow up for your pack leadership team

Please recommend capabilities for this website to Patrick Herman and Brandon Downum. [email protected] and [email protected]

In closing, thank you again for the priveledge of working with your sons. Thank you for getting your son to the meetings despite very full calendars, and everything you do in support of scouting. This is a great program and YOU MATTER more than anything in making it a success.

In Your Service,

 

Pat Herman

Cubmaster, Pack 404

What is not started today is never finished tomorrow. -Goethe

The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.  - Walt Disney