On the weekend of September 30-October 2, the Scouting Division's Krtser Miavor went to camp, at Homenetmen's Camp Tecuya. As many already know, the Scouting Division is split into three miavors (units): Ari (boy scouts), Arenoush (girl scouts), and Krtser (cubs and brownies). Currently, Krtser Miavor is headed by Kouyr Talin Khechoomian. This camp was unique in that the parents of the scouts got to attend for one night. In total, about 65 scouts and 35 parents attended the camp.

The camp's goal and theme was to teach the scouts about good citizenship and community service. The scouts learned about the qualities that make a good citizen, volunteering opportunities, poverty in world, "going green," and so on. A few of the activities that helped reinforce the camp goals were various lectures, making paper out of recycled newspapers, and a nature art gallery where the scouts created images with objects in the campground. Another camp highlight was the amount of waste they produced. The scouts took their own reusable utensils to camp and as a result produced so little waste that the camp ranger didn't even have to empty the trashcans! Also, they donated the leftover food from camp to a food bank.

The parents arrived at camp on Saturday night and immediately fit in. The Krtser Miavor leaders wanted the parents to go through camp like their children do and the parents had a blast with it. The cubs and brownies taught their parents how to stand pahak (night guard) and barad (tent inspection) because the parents had to use those skills later on at camp. It turned out that the kids did an excellent job because, during pahak the leaders tried to steal the parents' flag and the parents protected it successfully, and during barad the parents decorated their tents and came up with fun (and funny) tent cheers.

Another major highlight of camp was the Game of Jeopardy that parent and scout teams played, together. The game had categories that included scouting, Armenian history, first aid, and trivia. The parents and kids had a lot of fun working together to answer the questions and Guylik 2 ended up being the winner!

Krster Miavor camp was a great success. The kids learned a lot of new and useful lessons while having fun and their parents got to share the experience with them. The parents also had a great time at camp. They were very helpful and really affected the mood of the camp, positively. It is very rewarding for the scouts and the leaders to feel and see the parents' support. On the other hand, the parents love seeing their children and the leaders in action as well, so in the end, everybody took something great away from this experience!

24^th Annual Ararat Rally took place on October 15, starting at Ararat Center and ending in Palm Desert after 9½ hours, spanning over 275 miles of roads, all over southern California, It was a genuine pleasure to see many newcomers, and even though the numbers were not as high as last year's, there were no shortage of excitement, enthusiasm and competitiveness in everyone who participated, from Rally newcomers to seasoned veterans. Judging by the comments from participants and Time Controllers, it was a great experience for all.

Our congratulations to all who competed, especially to Emil Makarian and Timothy Guilanians in Car #22, who ranked first place in this year's Rally. You can visit www.araratrally.com to see this year's and past photos.