November 2023

Volume 16, Issue 9

Autumn weather has finally arrived and our season of giving is filled with community service activities and training opportunities! Let's keep the "Outing" in our Scouting by supporting all the great events this Fall in beautiful Marin! You'll find more event information below or on our Council website homepage!

Look through our monthly newsletter and find out how you can be involved in fun programs and new opportunities for Scouts and leaders in the coming months. Please forward this monthly newsletter to other people in your unit who may not be receiving it, or suggest they visit our website, or sign-up for a subscription here!

Council Roundtable Meeting - 7:30pm Thursday, November 2

Unit leaders, don't forget to assign someone from your Pack, Troop or Crew to attend the third monthly Roundtable meeting of the new school year! This gathering via ZOOM will start at 7:30pm sharp with opening ceremony and brief announcements for all program volunteers together. The Scouts BSA group will then go into their own break-out session.

Annual "Scouting for Food" Community Service Campaign

Together We Can Help Eliminate Hunger in Marin!

A staggering one-in-five of your Marin County neighbors was in need of food assistance during this past year! Join Marin Council unit volunteers for our annual door-to-door community service campaign throughout assigned neighborhoods to pick-up food donations and transport them to the SF-Marin Food Bank in San Rafael. It takes a Community!

We have the doorhangers in stock at the Council office, and our instructional guidelines for the next two weekends' neighborhood activities have been emailed to all unit leaders. Click on the following links below for further details about this important community service campaign door-to-door:



Door Hanger Distribution Wknd --- Saturday/Sunday, November 4-5

Food Donations Collection Day --- 10:30am-3:30pm, Saturday, November 11

During the Fall recruitment months, the Marin Council would like to recognize those Scout youth who recruit new members into our unit programs. We will offer monthly drawings for those Scouts who have completed a recruitment entry form for a friend who joined Scouting. There will be two categories (Cub Scouts and Scout BSA/ Venturer) and three drawings in each category for the next three months. To be eligible for the drawing, your Recruiter Form must be submitted to the Council for processing by the deadline each month.

October Drawing:  Recruiter Forms submitted to the Council Office by November 1, 2023 will be entered into that month's drawing.

November Drawing: Recruiter Forms submitted to the Council Office by November 17, 2023 will be entered into that month's drawing.

All Scouts who have turned in a Recruiter Form during the September 1 through November 17 contest period will be entered into the final Grand Prize Drawing. There will be three winners in the Grand Prize Drawing in late November.

Scout Day at Hillar Aviation Museum in San Carlos

Sunday, November 19 and beyond!

The Hiller Aviation Museum provides complimentary admission for all Scouts in uniform on each of these Scout Days! Upcoming Scout Day events will be held on the following Sundays:

November 19, 2023

January 7 and May 19, 2024

No reservations are necessary --- simply arrive in uniform for an exciting day of aviation discovery. Adult leaders in uniform or with Scout ID are also admitted at no charge. Standard admission fees apply for parents and siblings.

Don’t miss the chance to join this

high-flying adventure!

Every Scout Deserves a Trained Leader this November!

We have several important courses scheduled this fall! If you’re not sure what training courses are needed for your unit (Packs, Troops, Crews) leaders' positions, the following link shows what sessions are required for each program level of Scouting: Leadership Training. Here are several valuable Adult Leader Trainings to prepare you for Scouting the trail ahead!

Hazardous Weather Training is offered online and is required to be considered a fully-trained Leader. This must be updated every two years just like YPT; please access the training modules on your my.scouting.org/ profile.

Position-Specific Training for all adult unit leaders, especially your new ones, will be held Saturday morning, November 18!

Cub Scout Leader Training --- Register NOW

Scoutmaster/ASM Training --- Register NEXT

Merit Badge Counselor Training in-person Saturday, December 9 --- Register HERE

The Autumn months are the traditional period for new membership recruitment and

registration, followed by the annual unit recharter process in November. in 2022, BSA streamlined several processes online with Internet Recharter 2.0. To help new families find their way to local Scouting, don't forget to first review and update your unit-specific profile at www.BeaScout.org!

All recharter materials were sent out by email to unit leaders and committee chairs about two weeks ago, and the BSA online recharter portal opened in mid-October. Hopefully, your assigned recharter specialist has started the process of verifying your current unit roster and membership information. If you need additional support with completing the BSA online recharter paperwork, click here for further details! In addition, your Marin Council professional staff contact information is always available on our website!

Remember to complete and submit your unit recharter paperwork

online by Friday, December 1, 2023!

2023 Marin Distinguished Citizen Dinner --- December 13

Marin County Fire Department Chief Jason Weber is the Marin Council's 2023 Distinguished Citizen honoree. Jason Weber has served as the Marin County Fire Department for nearly three decades --- first as a Seasonal Fire Fighter, Fire Fighter Paramedic, Engineer, Captain, Battalion Chief, Deputy Fire Chief, and now Fire Chief. He exemplifies the best type of citizenship --- a role model for the youth we serve and our local community.

The Marin Council, BSA will hold its 33rd Annual Distinguished Citizen Dinner on Wednesday, December 13, 2023 at the Spinnaker Restaurant, 1001 Spinnaker Drive, Sausalito. To request an invitation to join this celebration, please email Office Manager Cynthia Mueller.

Please Help Support your Marin Council Today!

We know all our Families and Friends care about Scouting and appreciate the collective work done by the Marin Council to support local Scouting. We also know that some people would like to be more directed in their charitable contributions, so we present three options below for your support:

Option 1 – Friends of Scouting General Operating Support

A gift that touches every part of our annual operation. Your gift will help fund all our administrative support, including the Council Office, year-round costs related to our Camps, printing and publication costs, insurance, community outreach, recruiting campaigns, volunteer and youth recognition, and more.

Option 2 – Direct Support of Marin Council Camp Properties

A gift that supports our fabulous Camps: Tamarancho and Marin-Sierra. Your donation will help fund annual costs such as maintenance and repair, health and safety supplies, water systems, year-round stewardship, and many camp improvement projects such as flush toilet conversions, campsite upgrades, and fire safety.

Option 3 – Iron Springs Road Slide Repairs

Supports our landslide repair project to our main access road. We are currently dealing with a major slide impacting vehicle access to Camp Tamarancho. Due to the scope of the project and the engineering involved, we will need to build a formidable retaining wall and reconstruct the portion of the road that was lost. Currently, we are projecting a cost of over $450,000. We are working to secure major funding or short-term financing but have already expended thousands of dollars. We would welcome support from our Families and Friends to help us keep our momentum until financing is secured. This is truly a project where every gift can make a difference!

Reserve your Scouts BSA Summer Resident Camp Week!

After another successful Summer reviving the excellent Scout programs and Camp traditions at Marin-Sierra, we are excited by the opportunities awaiting us in 2024! All of our camp forms are updated and the Marin-Sierra webpage has all the exciting details to plan your best week ever at Scouts BSA resident camp! This annual Summer experience is critical to the delivering the promise of adventure and the mission of the BSA to our youth! Choose your unit session from:

Week #1: June 30 - July 6

Week #2: July 7-13 is filling fast!

Week #3: July 14-20

Week #4: July 21-27

Click here to place your unit reservation at the best Summer camp in the Sierra!

#MayTheForestBeWithYou #AdventureOn #ScoutMeIn

Click here to submit an application for more Summer fun on our Camp Staff team!

A Monthly News Bulletin for OA Lodge Members

October Wrap-up!

The Talako Lodge youth and adult volunteers supported the many fantastic activities at our Council Fall Camporee at Tamarancho mid-month. A week later our Lodge Induction weekend was a big success with 9 new Arrowmen completing their ordeal and completed great service to Iron Springs Road by clearing out drainage ditches in preparation for heavy winter rains.

November will be Busy!

Our first activity this month will be supporting the Marin Council Scouting-for-Food donations delivery at the SF-Marin Food Bank on Saturday 11/11. A Fellowship gathering is scheduled for Sunday 11/12 to keep the new Arrowmen engaged in our programs by going karting. More information will be coming out soon from our Vice Chief of Program. The monthly Lodge meeting will be held at 7pm Tuesday 11/14 at the San Rafael Elks Lodge. Finally, as is our tradition every year, we will be decorating the Elks Lodge for the holidays on Sunday 11/26 in thanks for letting us meet there all year!

Don't forget: Annual OA Talako Lodge Banquet Registration & 2024 Dues

Currently, we have available the black Lodge flap shown here: These can be ordered online when you are completing your annual registration and dues payment. Also, there another link for the Lodge Trading Post where you can order other OA and Talako memorabilia!

OA Talako Lodge Trading Post

If you have any questions about the National Order of the Arrow organization, NOAC or the local Talako Lodge in Marin, please contact Lodge Chief Finn Diringer.