Please share this newsletter with the Scout families in your unit. | | | | |
New Event Opportunities!
District Hikes
Calling all Scouts! The Eno River District will start hosting monthly hikes in September for individuals or units. These hikes will be on the 2nd Sunday of each month, with occasional exceptions, such as the ones in September and December, when we partner with North Star District.
| | Locations will range across the district and accommodate different lengths for Scouts of all ages and skill levels. Plan to wear closed-toe walking shoes, bring a water bottle, and bring a friend! Look for these events to be added to our calendar soon! | | |
Mark your calendar:
Our first district hike will be September 7
at Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area, Hillsborough
at 2:00 pm.
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Safeguarding Youth Training
(formerly YPT) is Live
Many of you may be seeing emails from the National office about the latest iteration of adult training called Safeguarding Youth Training (SYT), which has replaced Youth Protection Training.
All volunteers must complete SYT by May 31, 2026, but we encourage leaders to get the updated youth safety information ASAP. If you completed YPT before May 22, 2025, it will be honored until May 31, 2026, after which SYT will need to be taken.
There are two other training courses coming: a Youth-on-Youth training course and a separate course for Scout parents (6-10 minutes).
From National: Safeguarding youth is a value at the core of the Scouting movement. It is vital to maintain a culture of active supervision, awareness, and safety at all levels of Scouting. Safeguarding Youth training will help you prevent harm to youth, is required for all Scouting America registered volunteers and is a joining requirement.
Learn more >>>
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Resources for recruiting the Hispanic community to Scouting
Occoneechee Council's Hispanic Emphasis District Executive, Laura Romo-Marin, is recruiting youth to Scouting from different cultural backgrounds. Currently, she is focusing on Hispanic communities in our Council's service area.
They've launched a new webpage with recruiting materials in Spanish, and are continuing to grow this resource. Please contact Laura for help with recruiting Spanish-speaking families.
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Fall is prime time for recruiting new Scouts! Our annual Fall Round-Up campaign will start in August, and it's the perfect opportunity for units looking to grow. If your pack, troop, crew or ship wants to welcome more youth and families, make sure to tune in for tips, resources, and support to make this your biggest recruitment season yet.
While we will share more information around resources for recruiting, mark your calendar for these recruiting training dates:
Occoneechee Council’s Fall Membership Recruitment Training
Fuquay-Varina United Methodist Church | Aug. 2 from 10 am to noon
Register here
2025 NATIONAL FALL MEMBERSHIP RECRUITMENT KICK-OFF WEBINARS
Fall Cub Scouts Membership Recruitment Kick-Off
On Zoom | July 31 at 8 pm ET
Learn more
Fall Scouts BSA Membership Recruitment Kick-Off
On Zoom | Aug. 7 at 8 pm ET
Learn more
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University of Scouting Seeks Class Suggestions
The Occoneechee Council University of Scouting team is hard at work creating the course catalog for this year's University of Scouting, happening Nov. 1 at Pine Springs Preparatory Academy in Holly Springs.
Interested in teaching or want to see a certain topic on the class schedule? Send class suggestions to event organizers at universityofscouting@ocscouts.org.
Registration is expected to open by Sept. 1. Stay tuned for more details!
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Applications now open for the Scouts BSA National Youth Council | The Scouts BSA Youth Council is the platform for passionate youth leaders to help shape decisions across the organization, and applications for the next term are now open. Encourage your youth leaders to submit an application online by August 15, 2025. | | | | |
MESSAGE FROM THE DISTRICT CHAIR
In 1998, I was invited to attend Wood Badge. I didn’t know much about it, other than it was an advanced leadership course for Scouting adults. Along with a couple people from my district, I signed up.
Back then, Wood Badge was run by the region, rather than the council and, since I was living in Omaha, I attended the Central Region course, in Illinois, with attendees from Nebraska to Ohio and Minnesota to Virginia. It was also a full week course, rather than 2 weekends. This was a Cub Scout Trainer Wood Badge course, so a little different from the course offered today.
I was put into the Owl den, with Elaine, Sandy, Cyndi, & Tami and assigned a guide named Mark. We quickly bonded and learned that one of the ladies was fighting cancer, another had recently lost her father, another had little kids at home who she missed a great deal, and I was still limping and moving slowly from a knee injury less than 2 years before. It brought us close, very quickly, as we supported each other in our struggles as well as our activities.
It was a grueling week, as we were up early every day, spent the days learning leadership and training skills, and spent the evenings working on activities and writing up our “tickets”. We all fell into our beds at night exhausted, but enthused about what was to come the next day.
At the end of the week, we celebrated with our adult version of a Blue & Gold Banquet, complete with skits, songs, and even dancing to the song Waltzing with Bears. Wood Badge was truly one of the top highlights of my Scouting experiences.
Even now, 27 years later, I’m still in touch with a number of the participants and staff (remember that the course was before social media) and get together with a couple of my den mates, whenever I’m back in the area.
Occoneechee Council is offering Wood Badge September 5-7 and October 4-5 (both weekends are required) at Camp Durant. Of course, you won’t have the same experience I had, but yours will be equally memorable. I hope you will take advantage of this opportunity.
Randy Bernstein
District Chair, Eno River District
919-698-5760
Randall.G.Bernstein@gmail.com
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Chigger bites: How do you prevent and treat painful chigger bites? | Chiggers are a summertime scourge. Here is how to treat itchy chigger bites, and tips for preventing and avoiding these annoying red bugs. | | | |
Here's the reason behind those major Chemistry merit badge updates | One of Scouting America's oldest merit badges has undergone a major update to make it more accessible to today's Scouts. | | | | |
And speaking of merit badges...
The full merit badge guides (books) are now officially published online and are available at no cost. While most of these are currently electronic copies of the book, the Aviation merit badge is the first one to also have a "digital resource guide". This format includes videos and interactive elements that were not possible with the traditional printed documents.
Online merit badge resources are here.
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There will be NO District Committee Meeting, Roundtable, or District Commissioner Meetings in July (summer break).
The next District Commissioner Meeting will be on Monday, August 18, at 6:15 pm, at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Durham.
The next Roundtable will be on Monday, August 18, at 7:00 pm, at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Durham. The theme of the August Roundtable will be Unit Key 3 Conference & Engagement.
The next District Committee Meeting will be on Thursday, August 21, from 7:00 - 8:30 pm. The meeting will be in-person at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Durham.
Note: The Occoneechee Council Office and the Scout Shop will be closed on Friday, July 4, in honor of Independence Day.
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The Festival for the Eno is in desperate need of volunteer help on July 4 & 5. Shifts are only 1.5-2 hours and, if you sign up for 2 shifts, they will throw in a free coupon for any T-shirt at the Big Top!
If you can only do 1 hour, they’ll take it! Please contact Laura Bell at volunteer@enoriver.org, if anyone from your unit can help. You can also sign up at: Festival for the Eno Volunteers 2025
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September 5 - 7, 2025
and October 4 - 7, 2025
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October 25 - 26, 2025
during the Spookoree at Camp Durant
| | | | | Upcoming Scouting Activities | | | | |
Eno River District Hike
Our first monthly district hike will be on September 7, 2025
at 2:00 pm at Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area, Hillsborough
| | What Are Your Scouts Doing This Summer? | | |
New Orienteering Courses at Camp Durant
We’re thrilled to introduce seven brand‑new orienteering courses now available at Camp Durant, each crafted to offer a unique navigational challenge tailored to varied skill levels.
These courses are designed to sharpen Scouts’ map‑reading and compass‑use skills in a fun, engaging outdoor environment. They’re perfect for units looking to enrich their program with self‑guided, skill‑building adventures that support both teamwork and individual growth.
Learn more >>>
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Jamboree is more than a destination. It’s the adventure of lifetime. And there is simply nothing else like it on the planet. | |
The next National Jamboree will be held at Summit Bechtel Reserve on
July 22 - 31, 2026.
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Here's one big reason to make your 2026 high-adventure base reservation now | The Scouting America National High Adventure Department just announced some exciting incentive pricing for certain 2026 treks. | | | | Watch #TroopTalkLive on the second Wednesday of each month at 2 p.m. Central on Facebook Live or YouTube for useful tips, tricks and ideas to help your Scouts BSA troop. | | | Watch Cub Chat Live every Friday at 3 pm Eastern/2pm Central on Facebook Live for tips, tricks and ideas to help your den or pack. | | | | | |
