America Honors Scouting With Centennial Coin, Stamp

If it seems as if the whole country is getting involved in Scouting’s 100th Anniversary, OK, maybe it is. Two great “birthday presents” for Scouting appear this year—a Scout stamp and an official Scout coin.

As a result of a bill sponsored by U. S. Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas, the U. S. Mint will initially produce 350,000 silver-dollar coins to commemorate the centennial. The mint turns out only two commemorative coins each year. A $10 surcharge on each coin will raise $3.5 million for the BSA Foundation, which will support extending Scouting in hard-to-serve areas.

The obverse (heads side) design of the coin depicts a Cub Scout in the foreground with a Boy Scout and female Venturer in the background saluting. The Venturer represents how BSA has evolved over the past century to serve all the youth of America, including girls. The reverse (tails) design features the BSA emblem and these inscriptions: United States of America, Boy Scouts of America, Be Prepared, E Pluribus Unum, and One Dollar. The coin is due out March 23. Get it from the U.S. Mint at catalog.usmint.gov.

The new 44-cent postage stamp, the “Celebrate Scouting” stamp, will be issued at the centennial jamboree in July at Fort AP Hill, Va. The stamp, designed by California artist Craig Frazier, depicts a modern Scout standing on a rocky summit, silhouetted against the shadow of a classic Scout peering through binoculars.

As any serious philatelist knows, the centennial stamp won’t mark the first time Scouting has been honored this way. Other stamps have appeared in the past, most notably for the 40th, 50th, and 75th anniversaries of the BSA.

March Cub Reminders

March Pack Meeting

Our pack meeting is set for March 30th at the American Legion at 6 PM. This is going to be a crossover ceremony for our 2nd Year Webelos who have earned their Arrow of Light (they will crossover next month if they have not). We will also be presenting all of the awards that were earned since the Blue and Gold or presenting awards to the boys who could not attend the Blue and Gold. Leaders please have a list of awards and names of boys who have earned them by March 23.

Every den is asked to do a song and a skit for the cross over.

Recharter

March is our annual recharter. I would like to complete all of the paperwork next Wednesday so include the registration fees (none of this stays with Pack 603) with your son when he comes toPack meeting.


Re-Charter length - 9 months - Expires 12/31/2010
Re-Charter Cost per Cub - $12.25 (Pack 603 pays for the fee for our adult leaders)
Boy's Life Renewal per subscription - $9.00 So if you want your son to get the monthly magazine, he needs to bring in $21.25. Checks can be made out to Pack 603. We will write one check to council.


PTC UNIVERSITY OF SCOUTING

March 27, 2010, Central Maine Community College, Auburn, ME

Course catalog is now available for download off the KV District Website under the Newsletter section! OR go to the Pine Tree Council Website: http://www.pinetreebsa.org

Early bird deadline is 3/19. Save yourself $5 and register before the deadline. Roughly 60
different courses offered for all levels of scouting.

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TRAINING

Cub Scout Leader Training

Remember, BSA is mandating that all Cubmasters, Asst. Cubmasters, Den Leaders, and Asst. Den Leaders attend Leader Training.

Pack 445 is hosting Cub Leader Training on April 6 and 13 from 6:30 till 8:00 at Winslow Elementary School. Fee $7. (Pack 603 reimburses for this training) You must attend both nights to be trained. Before this training, everyone needs to take online training for Fast Start and Youth Protection at; http://olc.scouting.org/ To register or for more information contact Scott Verrill at 797-5252 ext 27 or strictly@megalink.net


BALOO, WLOT (Webelos Leader Outdoor Training) and ITOLS (Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills) will be offered at the Abnaki District Spring Camporee at Camp Gustin in Sabatus on May 21-23, 2010.


K-Valley also plans to offer Cub Scout Leader Specific. June 19 at the Madison Congregational Church. More details to follow.




BOSTON MUSEUM OF SCIENCE CUB SCOUT TRIP

Overnight event, April 24-25. PTC has 500 slots available. For more info and to sign-up, please see the Council Website: http://www.pinetreebsa.org



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Fun Pack Weekend Camping Report – Juanita Spaulding
Juanita Spaulding is looking for volunteers to staff the K-Valley Funpack Weekend. She needs:
Cook(s) – lunch Sat, dinner Sat, breakfast Sun (preferably 2-3)
Nature Area Director
Scout Skills Director
Craft Director
Extra Scouts/Volunteers to help at BB, Archery
and Swim front (Scouts should be at least 15 to be on these sites)

The theme will be Sea Adventures.
Here are is the list of Funpack Weekends and their Host Districts:
July 10-11 - All district's key staff
July 18 - 18 York
July 24- 25 Casco Bay
July 31- Aug. 1 K-Valley
Aug 7- 8 Downeast
Aug. 14- 15 Abnaki

This in no way means Districts can only attend the weekend their district is hosting the program. Anyone can go any date.

Please contact Juanita either by email: cubjuanita@midmaine.com
or phone 257-3431 if you can help out as staff.

City Council Becomes Honorary Cub Scouts

For Immediate Release

Contact: Chuck Mahaleris, 400-9850

(Photo by Stacy Haskell)

Augusta City Council Becomes Honorary Cub Scouts

AUGUSTA- Mayor Roger Katz and the Augusta City Council recently joined a group they never expected to become members of- the Cub Scouts. Boys from Cub Scout Pack 603 in Augusta led the opening flag ceremony, Pledge of Allegiance, and the Cub Scout Promise during the March 4 City Council meeting. “The Cub Scouts did a very professional job. We were glad they could take part in our meeting,” said Mayor Katz. “I’m honored to be an Honorary Cub Scout. Maybe I’ll go to Cub Camp this summer.”

Cubs Leland Bailey, Morgan Young, Ryan Lathe, Caleb Bechard and Hunter Ripley served as color guards for the occasion and followed up by having the city’s top elected officials repeat the Cub Scout Promise making them Honorary Cub Scouts. Cubs Lathe, Young, Ripley and Bechard then reminded the officials that they now had an obligation to “Do Their Best” which is the motto of the Cub Scouts.

“We were very pleased that the city council would take time to honor Scouting on its 100^th Anniversary,” said Cub Master Chuck Mahaleris. “Plus it was a great way to teach the boys about good citizenship. Scouting isn’t just about camping and building race cars and making macaroni art. The three goals of Scouting are to instill in young people a desire to be participating citizens, help build solid character, and encourage them to a life of spiritual and physical fitness. Leading the flag ceremony for Augusta’s City Council will be one of those events they look back on later in life with pride.”

Boys in grades 1-4 can join Cub Scouts now and be ready for summer camp. Contact Cubmaster Mahaleris at 400-9850 for more details or visit the pack’s website at http://pack603augusta.blogspot.com/

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March Cub Notes

Dear Parents and Leaders:

Into the News

I wanted to let you all know that I have submitted an article about the Pinewood Derby with picture to the various newspapers. Thanks Pam for the pictures. I plan to submit another article about all of the other activities that happened in February. Leaders, if you can get me a list of the awards (rank primarily) the boys earned last month (include the names of the boys), I would appreciate it.

March Pack Meeting

Our pack meeting is set for March 30^th at the American Legion at 6 PM. This is going to be a crossover ceremony for our 2^nd Year Webelos who have earned their Arrow of Light (they will crossover next month if they have not). We will also be presenting all of the awards that were earned since the Blue and Gold or presenting awards to the boys who could not attend the Blue and Gold. Leaders please have a list of awards and names of boys who have earned them by March 23.

Every den is asked to do a song and a skit for the cross over.

Recharter

March is our annual recharter. I would like to complete all of the paperwork by the 26^th so include the registration fees (none of this stays with Pack 603) with your son when he comes to the Den meetings on the 16^th or the 23^rd.

Re-Charter length - 9 months - Expires 12/31/2010
Re-Charter Cost per Cub - $11.25 (Pack 603 pays for the fee for our adult leaders)
Boy's Life Renewal per subscription - $9.00

So if you want your son to get the monthly magazine, he needs to bring in $20.25. Checks can be made out to Pack 603. We will write one check to council.

Outdoors

Leaders, when the weather is nice- try to have as many outdoor activities as you can. We pretty much wrap up at the end of April. Time is fleeting. Our April pack meeting will be the final one and all of the boys will cross over to the next rank.

Mayor Katz and Augusta Cubs Race into Scouting's 2nd 100 Years‏

AUGUSTA- Racing fans are not only those who head Windsor Fairgrounds or watch NASCAR. Some of Augusta’s most spirited racing enthusiasts are under the age of 11 and built their own race cars.

Cub Scout Pack 603 held their annual Pine Wood Derby races at Augusta City Hall last month during February school vacation week as part of the year-long celebration of the 100^th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America. Mayor Roger Katz served as the honorary race starter and welcomed the boys –all in grades 1 through 5- to City Center. "The Derby was a great example of Scouting at its best--working towards a goal, good clean fun, and a real emphasis on sportsmanship," Katz said. He admitted that he had been a Cub Scout in Augusta as a boy but never built a race car out of a block of wood like today’s Cub Scouts.

Cub Scouts, with the help of parents, build their own cars from wood they received from an official kit containing a block of pine, plastic wheels and metal axles. The finished car must use all nine pieces, must not exceed five ounces in weight, must not exceed a certain length, and must fit on the Pack 603 track. They can be any design. “I love the creativity of the boys,” said Pack 603 Cubmaster Chuck Mahaleris. “You could tell that a lot of time and effort went into working on these cars.”

Pack 280 Cubmaster Don Murphy organized the first pinewood derby, held on May 15, 1953 in Manhattan Beach, California. It’s popularity spread throughout the nation and is an annual event for nearly every Cub Scout Pack in America.

"I was so impressed with how hard these boys worked on their cars and the quality of the results. I'll bet a few of them will be designing real cars in a few years," Katz said.

The youngest boys in the pack, the Tiger Cubs in 1^st grade, each received a trophy for participating. “Every Cub will get at least on Pinewood Derby Trophy in their time in Cub Scouts,” said Mahaleris. All of the boys also received participation awards specially made for the event.

Bear Cub Chris Colson received the “Good Sportsman” trophy. “One of the objectives of Scouting is to develop good character in the boys. Chris’ car was not very fast but he did not lose his positive spirit and was there to cheer on all of his fellow Cubs.”

Cub Scout Luc Sirois received a trophy for having the best looking car. Chris Black and Jacob Arbor received 2^nd and 3^rd place trophies respectively for their designs. Chris Black had the fastest car in the pack and received another trophy. Jonathan Urquhart and Killian Gagnon received trophies for their 2^nd and 3^rd place finishes.

“Every car raced at least six heats,” Mahaleris said. “We made sure they raced a variety of other cars and raced on both lanes. We made sure we had a fair and fun run for all of the boys.” The top seven cars from the earlier heats raced over and over against each other until a winner was determined. “It was a busy afternoon,” Mahaleris said. “It wouldn’t have been possible without all of the parent volunteers who helped in the pit crew, registration area, and on the race track. Volunteers make Scouting happen.”