Klondike Derby

I want to sincerely apologize for the lateness of this announcement. I have had a crazy week and as a result this slipped my mind until now.

As all of you are, no doubt, aware, we will be going on the Klondike Derby this evening and tomorrow at Camp Drake BSA Camp. We are looking forward to "roughing" it and have just a few things that we wanted to remind you all about before heading out into the cold, cold wilderness.

We will be meeting at 4:30 PM at the Church and getting home around 3:00 PM tomorrow. (We will have the boys call you on the way home to make sure you know exactly when.)

A few words of advice/instruction:

First of all, dress warmly.
Second of all DRESS WARMLY. Please avoid fabrics such as cotton, as they do a poor job at insulation, especially when wet. Please send your son in warm boots/shoes. We really wouldn't want someone to be uncomfortable (or worse) because of inadequate footwear.

Thirdly, I hope that your boys informed you of the fact that they are responsible for dinner tonight. I plan on eating before we leave and bringing a snack with me. Due to logistic factors it is difficult to cook in the cold and we are trying to limit that to our warm breakfast that we will be serving. There will also be lunch provided as a part of the Derby festivities.

We will, however, have plenty of hot cocoa both tonight and tomorrow. We do ask, if possible, that the boys bring a plastic mug with them so as to limit the amount of waste that is produced with plastic cups. Also if your boy wants to bring a small (I repeat small) amount of chocolate to keep with him at night, nibbiling on some is a good technique to keep warm if you wake up at night.

Finally, if possible, see that your boy brings a pad to sleep on. Pads help provided a valuable insulating layer between your boy and the ground. He will sleep much better if this is the case. Please also encourage your son to not sleep in a tent by himself. It is much better if he finds a tent buddy. (He will be MUCH warmer)

Thanks for all of your support and if there are any questions or things that we can help you with please give me a call or email me.
-Vance Johnson
217.689.1207
troop222scoutmaster@gmail.com

Eagle Court of Honor

As we posted before, Nathaniel Anderson has earned the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest rank in the Boy Scouts of America. His Court of Honor will be held Sunday, January 31st 2010, at 7:00pm at the LDS Church at 604 Windsor, Champaign, IL. Everyone is welcome and invited. Congratulations again to Nathaniel!

Parents' Night

We're excited to announce our 2010 Program Kickoff and Parents' Night on Wednesday, January 20th at 7:00pm. We will be meeting in the Relief Society Room at the church. We will be talking about all the great plans the troop has for the coming year. We will be talking about the upcoming Klondike Derby, our exciting plans for Scout Camp this summer, some fundraisers we will be doing in the coming months, and much more. This will be a very important meeting for all parents of scouts in the troop. We'll see you there.