Wednesday, September 15, 2010

It's a New Scout Year

Wow!  Is it really September?  We had a terrific turn out at the Fall Registration yesterday.  We have 22 new Cub Scouts in our ranks and there may be several more joining us at our first meeting.  If you know anyone who is interested in Cub Scouts but wasn't able to attend the Registration Night, bring them with you to our pack meeting. 

And, speaking of our first meeting, it really is just right around the corner (Monday, September 20th).  The meeting will start at 6:30 PM at the KC Hall.  We will have a lot of information to cover.  We will be looking for some additional volunteers to help out as Den Leaders and Assistants, especially given how successful our recruitment was this year.  Please consider helping out.  It has been my experience that the boys get out of scouting, what we as parents are willing to put into it.  We have been blessed with some wonderful leaders and we hope to continue that tradition.  We will also be distributing information on the Trail's End Popcorn Fundraiser.  We only have one month to raise all the money that our pack needs to operate for the entire year, so it is absolutely critical that each boy try to meet his sales goal.

One last note, the Lincoln Trails Council will be holding a "Bobcat Boot Camp" for all NEW Cub Scouts and their recruiters.  This event will be held on Saturday, October 2 at Rhodes France Scout Reservation.  It will be a fun-filled day of activities, including BB guns and archery.  Best of all the day is FREEEE! and it includes lunch for all that attend.  While at camp, Cub Scouts will complete requirements 1-8 for the Bobcat badge.  Registration will begin that morning at 8:30 AM and the event will continue most of the afternoon.  Pre-registration is due no later than Monday, September 27th.  Please let me know as soon as possible if you plan on attending.  If you have additional questions, you can call or email me.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

It's Popcorn Time

Fall is approaching quickly, and so too is our Annual Trail's End Popcorn Fundraiser.  We will officially kick-off the fundraiser with a "Popcorn Blitz" on Saturday, September 18th.  We will meet at the Effingham KC Hall at 12:45 P.M. and divide up into age groups (Tigers, Wolves, Bears, Webelos) to go around and sell popcorn door-to-door in selected Effingham neighborhoods.  For obvious safety reasons, we will require that a parent or guardian attend with each Scout.  We will then meet back at the KC Hall at 3 P.M. to see how well each group did.

We will be offering some fantastic prizes for the top sellers this year.  (You will need to attend our first Pack meeting on September 20th to find out what they are.)  We have also decided to add a "Fast Start" award.  A $15 Wal-Mart Gift Card will be presented to the Scout who shows proof of the highest sales by the end of the first week (Sunday, September 26th 7 P.M.).  In order to keep it fair, orders from parents will NOT count for this award.  All other relatives will count.

New this year, we will be offering online sales through two different websites.  The first site is the one you are currently reading this blog on.  Click on the Trail's End Popcorn Fundraiser link and it will take you to a page where popcorn can be purchased via Paypal or credit card.  This popcorn will be delivered along with the other "Take Orders" popcorn after November 6th.  (If the buyer is not local, they can chose to have the product shipped to them for a nominal shipping charge.)  The other website that can be used for selling online is http://www.trails-end.com/.  Each scout that choses to use the Trail's End site for sales, will need to go to the Trails End website and register.  The website will then assist you in sending emails to friends and family to purchase from.  This popcorn is shipped directly from Trail's End and buyers will have to pay shipping and handling.  (Also, many of the prices are higher and not all product is available.  However, there are some additional products available only on the Trail's End website.)

Happy selling!  See you at the Popcorn Blitz on the 18th.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Welcome to Cub Scout Pack 335!

Welcome to our new blog.  Actually, we will probably be using this more as a website than a true blog.  Hopefully, it will allow everyone who doesn't currently follow us on Facebook to have another way of staying connected to the Pack.  We will update both sites with upcoming events, so check back often for new information.

As this is a new medium of communication for me, I would like to get your thoughts on what you see.  What information would be most useful to you and how easy do you think it is to find the information you need?