The Dispatch
Monthly News
for Marin Council Leaders
and Friends

The image below is certainly true because of the multitude of fun activities we have throughout the summer with family, friends, and fellow Scouts. There were so many things to keep Scouts adventuring: Cub Scout day camp, Boy Scout camp, 50-mile hikes, hiking, biking, camping, baseball games, parades, and the list goes on and on.

Some of the best times of our lives are those spent doing activities with our Scouts. As someone said it very well, "These are the good old days!"  

But they don't have to end. With the fall season brings new opportunities. Packs are restarting for the school year. Troops and crews are regrouping after the busy summers. Here are the variety of opportunities to look forward to in the next few months and are highlighted in some of the articles below:

Training

Camping

Recruiting

Popcorn Sales

Roundtable

Journey to Excellence

Advancement

Property Improvements

Scouting for Food

Rechartering

and More!

Please read through this newsletter to keep up to date on everything. Also, forward this to others in your unit who may not receive it. Not everyone is on our email list. So check with the other parents and leaders in your unit to find out if they received and read the newsletter. If not, they can subscribe using the icon on our web site or using the button on the right.

Happy Scouting! 

Some Popcorn Facts for All Marin Council Members

• Annual Popcorn sales are done by all BSA Councils throughout the United States as part of council and unit fundraising
• Popcorn sales make up part of the Marin Council annual budget and we get approximately 33% of the popcorn sales revenue
• Packs, troops, and crews in Marin already participate in the yearly popcorn sales and earn money for their units
• Many of our Marin Council units do online popcorn sales and these units receive 35% of the online sales
• These same units also do door-to-door and storefront sales, and this year they can earn 34% of their sales if all benchmarks are met
• If you haven't done online popcorn sales before, consider this: the sales are year-round, you have no inventory to deal with. Your customer orders directly from the popcorn company, who ships them the product, and the local unit receives 35% of the sales
• We expect all units to participate in popcorn sales. WHY? As with Friends of Scouting (another annual fundraiser), the council's portion of the popcorn money earned goes into our annual operating budget to support our camp properties, trading post, and program-related expenses. All Marin Council units use the camp properties, trading posts, and programs that we offer, and without fundraising help, we cannot continue to offer programs at the costs we currently charge
• Sell Popcorn, support your own unit, support your own BSA council

All the popcorn sales information is posted on our web site. You can also email Chris with any unanswered questions. 

What season is it? No, not soccer: It's Scout leader training season! Please get your unit's adult leaders signed up now for the appropriate courses all being offered in one weekend at Camp Tamarancho on October 25-27. Check out the registration pages for all the details.

• Cub Scout Leader Specific Training, Saturday, 10/26, 1:30 to 4:30
• Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation (BALOO), Saturday, 10/26, 8:00 to 1:00
• Scoutmaster/Asst. Scoutmaster Specific Training, Friday, 10/25, 6:00-9:00 p.m. AND Sunday, 10/27, 1:00-5:00 p.m.
• Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills, Saturday, 10/26, and Sunday, 10/27.

You can come Friday night for BSLST and stay over that night if you want to attend IOLST on Saturday/Sunday, and finish BSLST Sunday afternoon. Continental breakfast will be provided Saturday morning for those that stay over.

Additionally, Merit Badge Counselor Training will be offered before the October roundtable on 10/2, starting at 6:30 p.m., at the San Rafael LDS Church, 220 N. San Pedro Road. Please drop us a note if you plan to attend.

If you are interested in additional training, either more date choices or additional courses, just let us know by clicking this link.

We just finished our last Cub Scout day camp and are gearing up for the upcoming Webelos Woods (full and closed), Cub Adventure Weekend, and Tiger Cub Expedition.

Cub Adventure Weekend is for Wolves through Webelos and is a perfect get-a-way at Camp Tamarancho in Fairfax. It will be featuring lots of fun robotics and other outer-space activities.

Tiger Cub Expedition, which is also held at Camp Tamarancho, is a great way to introduce your brand-new Scouts to the Scouting program with lots of fun outdoor activities plus they get to camp at Tamarancho! What could be more fun than that?

Both Cub Adventure and Tiger Cub Expedition will be held the weekend of October 10-12, 2013. Tiger Cub Expedition forms are online now. Keep checking our Cub Camping section for the registration forms for Cub Adventure Camp. 

NEW for 2014: Cub Scout Day Camp dates are July 7-11, July 21-25, and August 4-8. We will not hold a June Day Camp as three Marin school districts will not be finished until mid-June which would be a conflict for the June day camp. These dates are already posted on the Cub Scout camping page along with the newsletter we send out to our day camp parents. Registration forms for those usually appear online around February.

Do you wonder what electives and achievements your Cub Scout earned at day camp? Stay tuned-we will be sending a list to the Cubmasters of what was earned at each day camp. The BB Gun and Archery belt loops were earned by all participating Cub Scouts and the Archery sports pin was earned by all participating Cub Scouts. Good job Cub Scouts! You really did you best!

Our roundtables will address some basic topics that will carry each unit through the end of the calendar year (proximately) and into the next year (long term). Those topics are interrelated and are Unit Service Plan, Journey to Excellence, and Membership. The commissioners want to be sure that each unit knows that they can call on their commissioner for help whenever they need it!

Greetings Cub Scout Leaders,

As the new commissioner for your Cub Scout Roundtable, you are  personally invited to a new and exciting year. The first roundtable of the Scouting year will set the foundation as we share FUN activities for you to bring back to your packs and dens. Our core value for the September meeting will be Responsibility and the theme will be Down on the Farm. We will pack a lot of good information in each and every meeting. Our program will include ideas on recruiting new Cub Scouts, planning your Scouting year, and providing resources that will set you up for success.

And did we mention prizes? Yes, we did!!! The pack with the most members in attendance will receive a special CUBBY accolade. Plus, everyone who attends has the chance to win a very special hand-made "reward." What is it? You have to be there to find out. Trust us, you will want to attend this meeting.

This year's Fishing Derby, held on Saturday, June 22, was a huge success! Under clear sunny skies, and with gentle bay breezes, several fish were caught (and released). We had 13 packs and 4 troops represented with approximately 60 youth and 46 Adults. There were smiles everywhere and fun was had by all!

Several prizes were collected by our fishermen. Categories and winners: First and Largest (a tiger shark) Fish: John Stewart, P85; Most Fish: Roaman Dubrowski, P53; Ugliest (a dog shark) Fish: Hayden Bell, P59; Smallest Fish: Corben Walsh, P53; and Last Fish: Aiden Aguilar, P7.

Honorable Mention went to: Nicolas Ashcroft, P59, Roy Smith, P85, Adin Golbos, P76, and Dominic Milton (who came as a friend).

Big thanks to the Marin Rod & Gun Club who host every year! Thank you to Joe Cilia and Raye Estes, who organized the event. Also thank you to all those that helped them.

Also, a SUPER BIG THANKS to the following Merchants who donated all of the prizes: Pini Hardware, Novato; Baskin Robbins Ice Cream, Novato; Ideal Stationaries, Novato and San Rafael. Please show your thanks by supporting these fine businesses, who are supporting Scouting here in Marin County!

If you did not yet get your patch, it should be at the store at the council office. 

We hope to see many more fishermen next year, at the Marin Council Fishing Derby!

Marin Council Shooting Sports Committee presents our First Annual Turkey Shoot on November 2 at Camp Tamarancho.

Cub Scouts (including Tiger Cubs and Webelos) will be using the archery and BB gun ranges from 9 a.m. to noon and Boy Scouts will be using the archery and rifle ranges from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

In order to allow everyone time to use the ranges, time slots need to be selected. Each slot is 30 minutes. Pick a first and second choice so you will be assured a slot. Here is the link to the registration form. Fun prizes will be awarded.

 Properties Committee Report August 2013

The End of Summer

Summer days are waning, and the properties committee is reminiscing about days past and looking forward to the fall activities.

The properties committee and Marin Scouting said good bye to a good friend in Dick Kientz. His tireless efforts and constant good humor will be sorely missed. Dick recorded and transcribed the monthly meeting minutes and had many good suggestions for the committee due to his long tenure taking care of Marin Council camps.

• Basic Pistol
• Home Firearm Safety
• Basic Shotgun

September is here, and the Scout year is beginning. Packs are gearing up for adventure and troops are setting their calendars. Now is a perfect time to review your advancement policies and programs.

Den and Webelos leaders should be reviewing the requirements for badges and setting up meetings to help Cubs earn their ranks. Packs can also plan outings and events to earn belt loops and other awards.

Troops should take the time to update their Troopmaster and ScoutNet files to ensure all records are up to date. This is a great time to gather Scout handbooks and electronically record requirements that have been signed off. These records are invaluable to Scouts whose books are lost or destroyed when they are caught in a rain storm at Tamrancho. Advancement chairs should identify Scouts who are not advancing and work with troop leaders to help encourage Scouts who may have become disengaged. Advancement chairs can also run reports to help units target areas where Scouts need training, setting up opportunities for older Scouts to plan and run training at troop meetings.

Venturers are frequently busy with school, sports, work, and relationships. This is a good time to remind Venturers about the advancement opportunities and to offer assistance to those who may want to pursue awards.

Planning is crucial for all units, and advancement should be an important part of the planning process.

The Trading Post is your place for Uniforming in September and October! Starting in September, we will be open until 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday nights, and also from 11:00 until 2:00 on Saturday.

For your new Cub Scouts, please use our handy What Do You Need? flyer. Provide the new recruits with a checked off sheet, so when they come to the Trading Post, they will know what you expect them to wear. Perhaps if your pack committee chair could provide the Trading Post with a checked off list of what you want new Scouts to have, then we can keep a copy in the store. Then we'll be able to help them when they come in. Look for a check off sheet in your pack mailbox at the next roundtable.

Click here to view some other Trading Post items.