Mountain District

Webelos Leader Outdoor Leader Skills Training - August 28

This training is required for all Webelos leaders; however any registered adult Scouter may attend.

Check in starts at 8 AM on Saturday and training begins promptly at 9 AM. The program will end Sunday at noon. Event is held at Scoutland October 2 - 3, 2010 .  more>>

Geocaching Merit Badge - August 16

Latest Information From Ed Foster - The Geocaching merit badge was recently released at the 2010 National Scout Jamboree. The badge can now be earned.

Click here for the final requirements for the Geocaching merit badge.

The timing of this merit badge's release in the 100th Anniversary year couldn't be better. The BSA's Get in the Game! geocaching program is in full swing.

Scout Surge 9/11 - August 16

As you know, one of the aims of Scouting is citizenship training. National Council is putting this aim into action through its Scout Surge 9/11 program. This program will be carried out by the individual units, districts, and councils. For more information, go to www.scoutsurge911.org .

At exactly 8:46 AM on September 11, 2010, Scouts and Scouters across the nation will recite the pledge of allegiance, to honor the heroes of September 11, 2001. The program includes Cub Scout packs, Boy Scout troops, Varsity teams and Venture crews, as well as participating civic groups and the general public.

Mountain District’s Civic Service Committee strongly encourages all units and leaders to participate in this program. Now is the time unit committees should make their plans for this worthwhile program.  Program plans can include but should not be limited to:

• Contact your local American Legion Posts and VFW Posts to partner with them in the Scout Surge 9/11 program. 
• Visit your local fire department or police station to tell them how much we all appreciate what they do.
• Show your gratitude in a meaningful way.
• Scouts and leaders should be in full uniform.
• Ask the general public to wear patriotic colored clothing and fly their American flag. 
• Alert your local media: newspaper, radio, and even television on your unit plans. 

Let’s show our Mountain District community how our Scouts and units honor those who lost their life on that tragic day.  Those men and women were heroes that day and we want to honor their memory.
After your unit has planned its Scout Surge 9/11 plan, please share it with me. A collective account of our Mountain District’s Scout Surge 9/11 participation will be sent to the council service center.

Stanley Henson
Mountain District Civic Service Committee Chairman
706.340.2574
pack31cubmaster@yahoo.com

Mountain District's Information at Your Fingertips - July 24, 2010

Over the last two years, members of the Mountain District's Yahoo Group have enjoyed email alerts, reminders, folders filled with useful information/registration fliers, photo albums, polls, etc. The only feature of the Yahoo Group that is now discontinued is the calendar. Everyone can continue to enjoy the many other benefits of Yahoo Group membership. Join Mountain District's Yahoo Group:
Click here

For all members of the district, Yahoo Group members and non-members, the calendar of events will now only be updated on this webpage. Individuals can set for themselves alerts and reminders.

This webpage is devoted mostly to Mountain District Scouting. It will be updated as frequently as new information becomes available, so visit often. The council's many webpages, links below on left, will assist Scouting families to stay current with all Scouting in Northeast Georgia Council, BSA.

University of Scouting - December 4, 2010 - July 22, 2010

Time: 7:30 am - 4 pm

Where: Mountain View High School located 2351 Sunny Hill Road, Lawrenceville, Ga
Map to Mountain View High School

University of Scouting Webpage

Cub Scouts and their families alike, who attended the Cub Scout Loop-a-Rama on April 10, will all agree this year’s event far surpassed their expectations. Rotating events from baseball to soccer, from archery and BB gun safety to hiking, this day was truly all about Scouting fun. The weather was perfect, and smiles were on each Scout’s face and those of the attending adults as well.

Cub Scout Loop-a-Rama event chairman and Cubmaster of Cub Scout Pack 32, Stanley Henson remarked repeatingly how much he saw the Scouts implementing sportsmanship, learning stewardship of our natural resources while honing safety skills on the archery and BB gun safety ranges. Nearly 40 Cub Scouts attended the event.

Staff members included adults from Cub Scout Pack 32, chartered to First United Methodist Church in Blue Ridge; Cub Scout Pack 432, chartered to Epworth Community Club; Cub Scout Pack 460, chartered to Morganton Baptist Church; Cub Scout Pack 402, chartered to First Ellijay Baptist Church and Cub Scout Pack 404, chartered to Mountain District Committee include Kim Payne, Julie and Greg Arp, Rodney and Pam Patterson, Leann Towe, Angela Jones, Julie Shipes, Josh Postell, Dale Oliver , Scott Johnson and Janet Turner.

William Queen, Mountain District Activities Committee Chairman extends a heartfelt thank you to Boy Scout Troop 32, chartered Epworth Community Club and Explorer Post 401, chartered to Fannin County Fire and Rescue EMS for staffing the event with their youth leadership.

Photos of the event can be found in the Cub Scout Loop-a-Rama album of the district's Yahoo Group.

Cub Scout Race Day – A Scouting Tradition

It wasn’t as noisy as the Indy 500, but the 2010 Mountain District Pinewood Derby Race on March 27, did offer race cars, cheering spectators and frantic pit crews of moms, dads and den leaders wielding tools. The weather was perfect and everyone had a great time.

Mountain District Activity Committee Chairman, William Queen, said “On behalf of myself and all the Cub Scouts, I would like to thank all the people that made the pinewood derby a success. Among the many are Sue Dobbs, Connie Smith, and Lee Kent from Cub Scout Pack 402, as well as Julie Arp from Cub Scout Pack 432. All event staff members were busy the entire time we were there. Mountain District Boy Scouts of America especially extends a heartfelt thank you to Jeff Walker of June Walker Chevrolet for not only hosting our annual event but also for his encouragement and staying outside with us all day.”

Over 50 Cub Scouts participated in this traditional event. As in most activities in Cub Scouting, this is not meant to be a highly competitive program; instead, the boys are encouraged to “Do Their Best”.

While the Boy Scouts of America celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2010, Scouts and their families are celebrating the adventure and enjoying traditions of the past, the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby race is only one. Over fifty-five years have passed since Don Murphy, then Cubmaster of Pack 280C in Manhattan Beach, Calif., created an alternative to the Soap Box Derby for his young Scouts.

Murphy passed away at the age of 90, but his invention — the Pinewood Derby — lives on.
In 1953, the full-size Soap Box Derby was wildly popular with young people. Unfortunately, Murphy’s Cub Scouts were too young to participate. His idea of carving wooden blocks into smaller racing cars became a hit.