Trail News of Note

Boy Scout Leader Specific Training April 3!  Trained leaders provide a quality, fun-filled program for troops. When leaders understand Boy Scouting, they are more effective in their roles. For Scoutmasters and assistant Scoutmasters, this training is divided into four parts. The first three parts, Scoutmaster and Assistant Scoutmaster Leader Specific Training, concentrate on troop operation and is being offered on Saturday, April 3. Committee members and interested parents are welcome! More information may be found in the flyer.

Merit Badge Weekend Update! As many of you are aware, there are four Historical Merit Badges returning for the 100th birthday of Scouting in America. These are Carpentry, Pathfinding, Signaling, and Tracking. We want to offer these at Merit Badge Weekend next October 22-24, so we need adults to register as counselors! Once you've registered, contact Mark Verdeck to sign up. Find more information about the special badges being offered for just this year at http://www.seattlebsa.org/News/2010-Historical-Merit-Badge-Program.

Klondike Challenge 2010 is in the history books!  Around 230 scouts and adults made the trek to Ensign Ranch near Cle Elum for this year's Klondike.  In spite of the fact that we had no snow, that did not appear to dampen the spirits or enthusiasm of those who attended.  Everyone appeared to have a great time tackling the Challenge Events and testing their patrol spirit and teamwork skills.  Thanks to everyone who participated and helped out to make Klondike a great success!  Dale Rae, Klondike Director.

Council Annual Meeting and Silver Beaver Recognition at Benaroya Hall March 31!  CONGRATULATIONS to our own Nick Heaton and Wally Kempe! Both will receive the Silver Beaver award at the Council Annual Meeting and Silver Beaver Recognition at Benaroya Hall on March 31. This is the highest award Council can offer a volunteer.

Dutch Oven Cooking Experience in June.  Ever been curious as to how those guys and gals manage to turn out everything from lasagna, roast beef and cornbread to peach cobbler, apple crisp and chocolate cakes, all in the middle of nowhere?  Join us at the Dutch Oven Cooking Experience this coming June to find out. This will be a full day of lessons, demonstrations, and hands-on cooking experience. You will learn how to prepare and maintain your cast iron, as well as how to cook with it. You will also come away with a cookbook on disk, containing hundreds of tried and true recipes.  Come HUNGRY. Fasting the night before is not a bad idea. See you there!  For questions or to volunteer, contact Jeff Gettmann at jg_scouting@hotmail.com. 

Adventure Base 100 will at the Puyallup Fair September 17-19, 2010!  Do the Puyallup and experience Scouting like never before with Adventure Base 100! Created specifically for the 100th Anniversary Celebration, Adventure Base 100 is traveling the country to give people an exciting, hands-on view of the history and future of the Boy Scouts of America.  This 10,000 square foot campus features immersive Scouting experiences including a ropes course and zip line, interactive digital exhibits, a multi-sensory IMAX-like dome, and more! It will also house a traveling museum that will showcase real artifacts from the National Scouting Museum in Irving, Texas.

WashJam 2009 is over now, but what an event!  Thousands of Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts from across the state swarmed Fort Lewis over the WashJam weekend for a four-day campout, the largest Scout event ever held in Washington.  Read the Tacoma News Tribune article about it here.

Boy Scouts track down missing woman on Blake Island.  Scouts from one of our own units, Troop 570, put some of their scouting skills to the test on Saturday, May 30 and showed that they take the motto of "Be Prepared" to heart!  Their story was covered in the Kirkland Reporter, the Seattle PI web site and on TV by Q-13 Fox News.  Check the links above for the story details and a video of the news cast.  Great publicity for Scouting and highlights what all of our young people are capable of!  Has your unit got a great story to tell?  Let us know!

Troop Committee Challenge: This training is a fun way to build your team, whether you are new or a seasoned Committee Member. We bring this valuable training to you!

Register Now for National Jamboree 2010!  The 100th birthday of Boy Scouts of America will be in 2010. To help celebrate, there will be National Scout Jamboree in Fort AP Hill, Virginia July 25th thru August 10th of the same year. Chief Seattle Council will be taking 5 troops. Scoutmasters have been selected and applications are now open for youth that may be interested in attending. Please select the above link that will bring up an information document on how to sign up or volunteer at the Jamboree.

Important Links

Sammamish Trails District Calendar at a glance (revised 03-02-10).  Download this or print it out for a quick glance at the coming 18 months or so of District events.   For more up-to-date information, please consult the main calendar by clicking on the link at the top of the page.

Roundtable calendar of topics for Boy Scouts 

District Publicity Request Form. This on-line form is used by the District Publicity Chair to coordinate putting articles in the local newspapers about Scouting events and service projects.  Just fill it out, submit it, and it is emailed directly to our Publicity Chair.

Where Units Meet.  We have some information on where units meet, including some web sites. This should help people looking for a unit to join.

Merit Badge Clinics for Boys Scouts are offered on the same Thursday nights as Roundtables and the second Saturday of each month.

Eagle Scout guidance for scouts working towards Eagle.  Documents to download for Leader coaching instructions, project document, project checklist, reference form, and more.

The Heron News Flash is the monthly publication of the Sammamish Trails District.  For the current issue as well as back issues, go to the Newsletter page.

Sammamish Trails Popcorn Web Site! This site contains everything you need to manage your Popcorn orders.