If you haven't heard of or read Mike Rowe's blog regarding his his letter, on becoming an Eagle Scout, to a scouter, it is worth your time. The entry starts out ...

"Kelby,

Your Dad asked me to drop you a line and say something inspirational that might persuade you to dig down deep and find the determination to make the rank of Eagle Scout. It's a reasonable request, from a father who obviously wants to see his son succeed. But here’s the thing - The Eagle Award is not really meant for people who need to be dragged across the finish line. It’s meant for a select few, and I have no idea if you have the guts to see it through."

You can read the whole thing at: Mike Rowe's Blog Entry

There's something great for every one of scouts at camp this summer…but the deadline for sign-up is tomorrow night(because our troop deposit is due no later than Feb. 1st). Please come to the meeting with your sign-up form and initial deposit. If you can't make the meeting, please email me to hold a spot for you. If in doubt, please sign up anyway, as deposits for most programs are refundable prior to April 1.

As most of you know, Troop 840 organized 'High Adventure' trips in 2006 to
the Grand Canyon and in 2008 to Yellowstone/Grand Tetons. As the Jamboree

For those of us who shuttle Scouts in our vehicles, we need to update the online tour permit data for the Troop. If, and only if, you are registered adult leader whose BSA ID is tied to Troop 840 (1840 technically), you can sign in to your www.myscouting.org account and input your vehicle and insurance data. I recommend that you enter "On File" in the drivers license field for now. While the site appears to be secure, I am not advocating that we post such data at this time. That said, it would be a great help to get the basic data captured so that we can simplify and expedite the process of filing tour permits.

If the site appears to be down when you try to connect, it may be overwhelmed by the number of users attempting to do the same. If so, try several times and you should be able to connect.

If you have questions, let me know.

YIS, Matt

All of our adult leaders, registered or not, need to sign-in to www.myscouting.org and complete the on-line BSA Youth Protection training course. This is expected of any adult who wishes to participate with the youth on any Scouting activity.

In addition, I encourage everyone to take the Safe Swim Defense, Safety Afloat, and Hazardous Weather courses.

All of these course are available to anyone, regardless of whether you are registered with the BSA or not. Upon completion, you can print a certificate of completion. Certification for most of these course are good for two years. On average, each takes about 20 minutes to complete.

YIS, Matt

We are planning an overnight trip to Virginia Beach.

We’ll stay at the Camp Pendleton barracks and visit the Nauticus and the Battleship Wisconsin. We will depart Saturday morning and return by Noon on Sunday.

The cost will be $40 per Scout and adult which will include the cost of the barracks, admission to the museums, supper (Sat), and breakfast (Sun), and gas for transportation.

Scouts and adults are asked to bring a bag lunch for Saturday.

We will a need firm head count at tonight's meeting.