Print Icon
 

Friends of Scouting is the time of year where your unit and families can help support the Council! Scheduled your friends of Scouting presentation today at this link and have the chance to earn discounted camp rentals! Contact Bobbi Gordon with questions.

While supplies last we are running a Buy One Get One Free on our remaining popcorn inventory at our Appleton Service Center! Visit us Monday-Friday from 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM to take advantage of this limited time sale. (Not all items are available and some are selling fast!) Call (920) 734-5705 or email Kallee Kissling

or more information.

DO NOT MISS THIS ONE! The 50th Winter Amidships will take place on February 24, 2024, and is limited to 100 participants. Youth must be 14+ or 13 and have completed the 8th grade. Register early to reserve your unit's spot. You can always edit your registration to add more participants.


This one day event will include activities such as a compass relay, knots, life jacket relay, first aid, international code flags, obstacle course, scooter relay, heaving line, bowling, tug-of-war, happy feet relay, and surprise events. The cost includes all events, dinner, an awards presentation, dance, and event patch. Please read the 2024 Program Packet prior to registering.

Again this year, Bay-Lakes Council is teaming up with Terra Verde Organic Coffee for our Spring fundraiser. We will be offering 5 different 12 ounce ground coffee flavors in the sale. Your unit can earn 30% commission and use these funds to support activities and Scout outings, such as funding your way to summer camp! The sale will begin on March 1, 2024. Additional information will be released soon.

Our Council’s largest coordinated community service effort is right around the corner. Mark your calendars for Saturday April 20th and 27th for the Bay-Lakes Council’s 36th Annual Scouting for Food Drive! Our communities need our support in the ever-growing fight against hunger! Please encourage your Scout families to participate in this very worthwhile effort.


We have some BIG NEWS! After listening to feedback from Scouting volunteers and food pantries across the council and an extremely generous donor, BAGS ARE BACK!


So, how can your Scouts participate? Bag drop off (April 20th) - work with other Scout groups in your community to deliver bags to houses on the first weekend of the drive. Bag pick up (April 27th) - again work with Scout groups in your community to go back check houses where bags were delivered for food donations and transport them to the collection sites in your community. Grocery Store Collection (April 27th) - sign up for a time slot to be at a local grocery store collecting food on the final weekend of the drive. A list of stores participating and a sign up will be available as we get closer to the drive.


New this year, the council will host a required webinar training for all units on Thursday, March 21st at 7:00 PM. An invitation to the webinar will be sent once a unit registers to participate.


We ask every unit participating to register. Registering helps the Council collect data to continually improve the food drive and opens the door for grant opportunities. The registration page will be where you can request patches at no cost for your participating Scouts. All units that register will also be included in a District level honor roll, published after the drive.


If you have questions, please send them to the Scouting for Food Staff Advisor, Chris Weber, at chris.weber@scouting.org.

We are excited to bring back for a second year, the Bay-Lakes Council Golf Classic to The Bull at Pinehurst Farms in Sheboygan Falls, on Thursday, May 16, 2024. Please consider sponsoring with a foursome, non-playing sponsorship, donating an item or gift certificate for our silent auction, or a cash gift to support local Scouting. If you are looking forward to getting out and enjoying spring, this is a great event for your business to support Scouting.

When I turned eight years old, I was given my first tent as a Birthday present. What a delight! My best friend and I spent the rest of that summer “camping out” in my backyard almost every night. We were both Cub Scouts, but at that time, our Pack did not do any camping, so sleeping out in the tent was a wonderful addition to our youth. We both looked forward to crossing over into our local troop and camping every month throughout the year. The fun and joy of camping came back to me when my wife and I took our young son camping for his first time. He spent much of the night running around inside the tent with delight. There is truly something special about hearing the night sounds, feeling the crisp evening air, looking up at a sky filled with stars, cooking over a campfire, and sharing time outdoors with friends.

The Pope Pius XII Emblem Retreat will be held on March 8-10, 2024.Venturing Crew/Scouts BSA members will be required to attend the Emblem Retreat sessions and the candidates are expected to actively share in group discussions and complete all interviews, meetings, and activities. All pre-requisite work, journal entries, reports, and written work should be legible and neat. Candidates must prepared to share experiences at the Board of Review.


Cost is $110.00 per Scout or Venturer and includes food and lodging. Please R.S.V.P. by February 15. At the end of the weekend you will have earned your emblem. Questions should be sent to Bill Korducki at (262) 210-6171. 

Join us in congratulating these recent Bay-Lakes Council Eagle Scouts:

Noah Acord, Troop 12, Appleton, WI, Gathering Waters District
Wyatt Behrndt, Troop 855, Port Washington, WI, Kettle Country District
Evan Buchman, Troop 817, Grafton, WI, Kettle Country District
Eddison Dewitt, Troop 1902, Peshtigo, WI, Northern Lites District
Chase Gromala, Troop 1054, Peshtigo, WI, Northern Lites District
Caleb Janke, Troop 2, Appleton, WI, Gathering Waters District
Thomas Jackson, Troop 1019, Algoma, WI, Voyageur District
Emmett William Liesch, Troop 77, Greenville, WI, Gathering Waters District
Adriana Nicolaus, Troop 6838, Beaver Dam, WI, Kettle Country District
Benjamin Steffes, Troop 734, Rosendale, WI, Ledge to Lakes District
James Thomas-Tilot, Troop 1040, Green Bay, WI, Voyageur District

We feature those Eagles who submit their Eagle Board of Review news.
Please send an email to Warren Kraft or use our Submit A Story Link and help us continue to tell the great stories of Scouting.

The new year is deep into its second week. Did you make any resolutions? And are you still working on them? Long ago, I gave up the practice. Mostly because, as the "experts" say, the self-made promises were too big in scope to achieve, or did not take into consideration the "why" behind the resolution, or even that I was not ready to make that change and commitment. 

 

Earlier this month, a meme was circulating on FACEBOOK that, for obvious reasons, caught my attention. The heading was "A New Year's Resolution You Can Keep." The picture was a hand showing the Scout Sign, and the text began "A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Brave..." It did not list all 12 points of the Scout Law, but for those who know...they new the meaning and intent. Surely, scouts and leaders know these words by heart since most units begin their meetings reciting them (sometimes in rapid fire to see how quickly they can finish.)

 

But, when you pause and think about what we keep saying, these 12 points are resolutions that we should be keeping; and not just on New Year's.

 

Of course, nearly every social media post has some replies to them. One in particular caught my eye. And, perhaps, this respondent zeroed in the three words that make this most important part of this New Year's resolution:

 

"A Scout is..."

 

See you on the Trail!


Warren Kraft

Program Development, Bay-Lakes Council #635

Feedback: Have a thought or question? We'd love to hear from you. Please share your comments with us. It is easy; just reply to this email or send a message to guide@baylakesbsa.org.