If you understand that the main thing in Scouting is providing character education to young people... and you know trained volunteers help make that happen... and you know strong units with vibrant program take the time to plan out their calendar and budget... then you understand Popcorn is a tool that equals PROGRAM!

And lots of exciting things are happening in the Popcorn campaign in August:

• All youth will receive in the mail their 2013 Popcorn Family Guide, also known as the "take order" form
• Unit Popcorn Kernels place their first orders online by August 2nd
• All units should be hosting a fun and exciting Popcorn Kickoff! Watch this video there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP_dfnyXCmI
• Units pick up their first order at their district site on Saturday, August 17th
• August 17th and 18th is the first Blitz Weekend 2013! All youth who participate earn a special patch! Utilize door to door and show and sells!

 If you have any questions, please contact our Council Popcorn Kernel, Jodi Peterman, at petermanconsultingservices@gmail.com or our Popcorn Staff Advisor, Patrick Linfors, at patrick.linfors@cflscouting.org.

An adventure race like none other... Where second place is the main course!  The race will be held at Camp La-No-Che  located on the North shore of Lake Norris in Paisley, Florida. La-No-Che is 1,480 acres (6.0 km2) and located near the southern border of the Ocala National Forest.

The race is open to Individuals and Teams 13 years of age and older. Participants will run a 5K race and go through 25 obstacles. Team Categories include Law Enforcement, Fire Rescue. Explorer, Venturer, High School JROTC, Youth, Troop and Adult competing for a traveling trophy in each category.

Individuals and Teams will select a wave (time) to run starting at 8:00 am and ending at 3:00 pm There will be a live band, food trucks, and a midway with all sorts of vendors.

When: Saturday, September 14, 2013

Costs:  Individual before August 1st $40.00 

Individual after August 1st $50.00

Individual Walk In September 14th $55.00

Team: Teams of Five $200.00

For more information or to register go to www.x5kblackbearchallenge.com  or contact Jerry Brady at jbrady@lflmail.org or 407-703-0233

Next summer, The Philmont Scout Ranch will be celebrating their 76th anniversary. 

The Central Florida Council still has room for 13 youth and 3 adults for the 2014 trek. The fee is $2,400. The cost per participant includes all Philmont Scout Ranch fees, round trip flight from Orlando to Albuquerque NM, 3 days of touring and exciting activities including white water rafting, & cycling, 3 nights in terrific hotels, meals and attractions, 5 extremely amazing customized Contingent shirts, customized name badge and most importantly - training from two leaders with 9 Philmont treks between them.

Each crew of 10-12 chooses their own itinerary based on their interests, the distance they want to travel, and the degree of difficulty they want. Philmont offers interpretive programs in gold mining, western lore, logging, mountain livin', homesteading, burro packing, and black powder shotguns as well as contemporary programs like rock climbing, archaeology, challenge courses, astronomy and mountain biking.

This event will sell out, however a $100 deposit will hold available spots, after which a waiting list will be formed. The first Contingent meeting is 8/16 - 8/18/2013. Do not miss this opportunity.

Contact Steve.Eisinger@UniversalOrlando.com.

Northern Tier provides epic wilderness canoeing trips in remote Manitoba Canada. Trips feature a float plane ride, unsurpassed freshwater fishing and hundreds of thousands of acres of virgin wilderness to explore. This is one trip that will change your life.

Every summer, hundreds of Scouts head to the most remote Boy Scout High Adventure base for a once in a lifetime wilderness canoeing expedition. Trips begin by meeting your "Interpreter" who is a trained Northern Tier staff member that will accompany you on your trip. Northern Tier provides full outfitting for your trek. A float plane ride to the canoe cache begins your trip. After that, you can decide which of the less traveled trails you want to follow. Crews typically paddle a mixture of lakes and rivers. It is common for crews in Bissett not to see anyone other than their crew for their entire trip. There are also lots of fish to catch. After your trip, you will return by float plane to the base to enjoy a cleansing sauna.

"Scouts experience a phenomenal wilderness area. I have seen loons, beavers, otters, deer, moose, bald eagles, and more. Brilliant starry nights, Northern Lights, thunderstorms, and picture perfect weather have their place on each voyage. The maturity and growth Scouts gain from pushing past their previously imagined limits is incredible. I can't speak highly enough of this program; it has changed my life."

- Past Participant - Northern Tier

Bissett has been called the most extreme adventure the BSA offers. Come to Bissett and experience "Wilderness Adventures that Last a Lifetime!"

Northern Tier National High Adventure Programs

PO Box 509

Ely, MN 55731

www.ntier.org                   218.365.4811

You and your Pack play a key role in getting new families, adults and youth to join Cub Scouts!!!

A successful recruitment plan requires a team effort!  The District and the Cub Scout Pack need to work hand in hand to promote Scouting within the School, community and church. It is important that the parents and boys who plan to join Scouting this Fall attend the sign-up at their school. Parents who are present at sign-up with the new den are more likely to become leaders than those who join alone.

Council & District Role

• The District Executive will arrange the School Night date with the elementary school.
• The Council support staff will produce a flyer to be distributed to each boy during classroom presentations conducted by the District Executive one day prior to School Night For Scouting.
• A District School Night presenter will be assigned to each school.
• Billboards will be placed throughout Central Florida promoting Scout Sign-Up.
• Radio spots promoting "Join Cub Scouts".
• Join Scouting PSAs ran on Brighthouse stations
• The Council website will have a list of all school night dates, times and locations.
• Peer-to-Peer Incentives at all program events
• Weekly progress reports emailed to all Cub Masters - updates on each school night, 2012 v. 2013 

In July your Pack will receive materials that will help you maximize your Pack's Sign-Up Night Promotions.  Here is what you need to rally your Pack to do...

• Set your Pack's recruitment goal.  How many new Cub scouts will your Pack recruit?
• "Get the word out." - Communicate your Pack's School Night Sign-Up to friends and parents whom with you come in contact.
• Social Networking - Get your parents to use their social networking sites; Face Book, Twitter..., to inform their friends about your Sign-Up Night.  (Have them give a personal testimony of how Scouting has benefitted their family.)
• Make sure you have posters of Scouts in action; in your school, church and other places that will give parents info on when they can sign up.
• Develop an incentive for Peer-to-Peer recruiting.
• Have an impressive presence at Meet the Teacher & Open House.  (Tents, Flag ceremony, Cub Scout greeters, interactive booth...)
• The day before and the day of your School Night, see if the school will allow Cub Scouts in uniform to welcome parents and students in the drop off line.
• Make sure all your Cub Scouts proudly wear their uniforms the day of your School Night.
• Make sure Leaders & Cub Scouts are at your School Night ready to welcome new families.
• Have an organized School Night.  First impressions are crucial.
• Make sure you have a Pack calendar to give to the new families.
• Make reminder calls to all new Cub Scouts to insure they attend their first meeting.
• Update your BeAScout.org pin.

Cub Halloween Adventure Weekends

Oct 4-6, Oct 11-13, Oct 18-20, Oct 25-27

Join Cub Scouts and their families from throughout Central Florida during Cub Halloween Adventure Weekends this October at our Camp. Participants will be spooked by our Haunted Trails, startled by our famous Haunted House and dazzled with our other great Halloween activities. As always BB guns, archery and craft making will be available too.

Please click here to download the information / registration flyer 

Tiger Growl 

November 18-20, 2013

Join Tiger Cubs from Central Florida as they prowl our camp to complete activities such as BB guns, archery, craft making, enjoy an amazing show plus much more! Tigers will enjoy our camp with their families during Tiger Growl 2013.

Please click here to download the information / registration flyer 

When Jeff Cox, was a 15-year old Boy Scout in Windermere, Fla., people kept telling him to dream big.

In 2009, he was looking for an Eagle project when the idea of a 9-11 memorial was mentioned at a summer Scout camp. He was only 7 years old and lived 1,500 miles away from the tragedy, but he was enthusiastic about the idea.

He drew a proposed design of the monument on a paper napkin at an ice cream shop with a newly found friend Sterling Folk, who thought it was a great idea too.

Steel from the World Trade Center

Jeff's dream received a jump start when he learned that he could obtain a steel beam from the ruins of the World Trade Center. Mayor Gary Bruhn and Jeff wrote a letter to the NY/NJ Port Authority to assure them that the twisted 650 pound steel beam would go towards a memorial. They had to wait months as the steel was still considered part of a crime scene.

"I thought we were going to have to drive to New York to pick up the beam using my pickup truck," said Jeff. "But then my mom suggested I go online and call some of the big shipping companies. UPS Freight stepped up to transport the metal at no charge from the NY/NJ Port Authority to Florida."

First memorial in Florida

With a tenacious spirit, 2,000 volunteer hours, and the support of the Town Council, Jeff's plans unfolded into the first official World Trade Center memorial in Florida. The monument includes 90 colorful hand-drawn tiles that encircle the beam. Each tile has an image representing the homelands of the almost 3,000 victims.

"It was just meant to be," said Jeff.

Dedicated in February 2010, the monument now sits next to the Windermere library as a place for meditation and a site for 9-11 anniversary services.

Some 1,300 people attended the unveiling and dedication ceremony. The service included music, prayers, a motorcycle parade by the Patriot Guard Riders, and a flyover at the end of the National Anthem. The Rev. Dr. Bill Barnes, pastor of St. Luke's UMC in Orlando, gave the benediction.

National honors

Jeff was awarded the Glenn and Melinda Adams Award of the National Eagle Scout Service Project. His project was selected from 55,000 submissions.

Jeff is also a founding member of the International Messengers of Peace, and at age 16 he was named Orange County's Citizen of the Year.

Jeff received a Good Samaritan Award, the highest youth award presented by United Methodist Men on June 21st, during the 2013 National Gathering of United Methodist Men in Nashville, TN.

"I've been amazed at the number of people who have helped make my dream come true, "Thanks to UPS, the NY/NJ Port Authority, the town of Windermere, Mayor Gary Bruhn, Sterling Folk, and especially my Scout Troop 6 which meets at St. Luke's United Methodist Church,  who helped made this dream a reality.

As the summer draws to an end, I am pleased to provide an update on some exciting events that occurred over the past few months. At Camp La-No-Che located in the Leonard and Marjorie Williams Family Scout Reservation our Summer Camp was filled with 9 weeks of adventure and great Scouting program. Summer Camp began with our summer camp staff hosting Camp Sib a program where siblings who are separated in foster care with the Department of Children and Families (DCF), the opportunity to be reunited for a brief time to become reacquainted and share a few days of fun activities together.

The very next week, without missing a beat, Boy Scout Troops and Venturing Crews began arriving for 8 weeks of Summer Camp. More than 4,100 scouts from across the nation and three foreign countries enjoyed the fun and adventure that only a week of summer camp can provide. Our incredible camp staff, many of them youth themselves, did an exceptional job providing a camping experience that Scouts will never forget. I would like to thank each member of our Summer Camp Staff for their hard work and dedication. I was impressed by witnessing  their personal growth as they exhibited new leadership skills, teaching Merit Badge classes and executing thrilling and memorable high adventure experiences. 

On the Cub Scouting side, more than 1,750 Cub Scouts attended one or more of our Cub Scout Day Camps held throughout the council. Cub Day Camps included BB gun and archery instruction, crafts, sports and community engagement through presentations from valued community leaders and partner organizations. I heard directly from many Cub Scouts who shared with me that their day camp was an amazing summer experience introducing them to the adventures that lie ahead. 

This past July I had the honor to attend the 2013 National Jamboree at the Summit Bechtel Family Scout Reserve to observe our Council's contingent of 320 Scouts and Scouters experience the Jamboree. The Central Florida Council, with one of the largest contingents in the nation, was well represented by these devoted Scouts and Scouters.

Scouting in America functions as a volunteer lead organization, guided by a small staff of professional Scouters. I would like to personally thank the over 1,000 adult volunteers, many who sacrificed family vacation time, who participated at Summer Camp, Cub Scout Day Camp or the National Jamboree. These Scouters commit themselves throughout the year because they recognize what they do in Scouting is important to the young people we serve.

As August quickly descends upon us, Central Florida families are gearing up for a new school year to begin. That also means that the Council is preparing  for our annual membership recruitment. We are excited to have the opportunity to visit thousands of classrooms throughout Central Florida to invite boys and their families to join us and experience all that Scouting has to offer. Please help us to extend Scouting to more boys in the community by inviting your friends and neighbors to join you and be part of the most successful youth program in the world today. 

As we begin a great new Scouting year, please accept my sincere "Thank You" for the role you play in Scouting!

Yours in Scouting,

Ron Oats   

Scout Executive / CEO

Central Florida Council