December 2025

Volume 18, Issue 11

Greetings!

With the holiday season now upon us, it's time to consider all that we are thankful for, to help other people at all times, and to appreciate the season of giving. 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 of the new year. You'll find more event information below or on our new Marin Council Advance Planning Calendar!

Reminder: 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!

Featured in this Issue:

Monthly Council Roundtable --- 7:30pm Thursday, December 4

Unit leaders, please remember to assign an adult from your Pack, Troop or Crew to attend this important monthly Roundtable meeting! This is a great opportunity to receive Council news wrapping up this year and preparing for 2026 with Scouting in Marin!

This gathering via ZOOM will start at 7:30pm sharp with opening ceremony and brief announcements for all program volunteers together. Please forward this ZOOM link invitation to other Scouters and parents in your local packs, troops and crews to make sure every unit is represented for information sharing and Scouting fellowship!

Join Marin Council Roundtable Commissioners

Roger Dickerson (Cubs) & Mike Blum (Scouts)!

ZOOM Meeting ID# 415 454 1081

Annual "Scouting for Food" Community Service Campaign

Thank you to all the Cub Scout Packs and Scouts BSA Troops for participating in this year's annual Scouting for Food Community Service campaign on the two Saturdays in November. Your Scouts and adult volunteers distributed about 44,000 doorhangers around neighborhoods in eastern Marin on November 8, then returned on November 11 to collect over 45,000 lbs of food donations (a nearly 40% increase over LY). This highly visible public project is an enormous benefit to the SF-Marin Food Bank helping to alleviate food insecurity in their community beneficiaries during the holiday season. Please see attached summary and feel free to share with your unit families!

Pull French Broom @ Tamarancho --- Saturday, December 13

French broom is an invasive weed that thrives all around the Bay Area, especially at Camp Tamarancho. It is a rapid-growing nuisance and a wildfire fuel concern for our property. Please volunteer to join Marin County Fire in our efforts to manage this environmental problem around the Twin Cities Group Campground at Tamarancho on Saturday morning, December 13. See information flyer attached and register your Scouts BSA youth to participate via the QR code. This event will take place rain or shine, and lunch will be served for all registered volunteers!

Gift-Giving Ideas from Your Marin Council Trading Post!

The holiday season of gift-giving is upon us, and your Marin Council Trading Post is a great resource to find that special something for your Scout youth or adult Scouter! There are stocking-stuffers like water bottles and headlamps in stock, and don't forget: 'tis the season to hand out Pinewood Derby cars to your Cub Scouts. We have the latest edition car kits for $6.99 each; email Trading Post Assistant Patrick if you would like to order for your December Pack meeting or school break project!

Pinewood Derby Kit Gift Box

Holiday Gift Ideas

In addition, we have new fleece blankets with Cub Scout or Scouts BSA merit badge designs which would make a great Holiday gift. Open weekdays Monday through Friday, 9:30am to 4:30pm . . . come on down and check it out! Also, don't forget that the Trading Post will be closed for annual physical inventory over the holiday week starting Saturday, December 20, 2025 through Sunday, January 4, 2026.

Support the Marin Council with Your Year-End Giving Plans

Please consider the Marin Council in your year-end giving. No other program brings together adventure, leadership, and service like Scouting. Your gift will help maintain a strong Council with quality Camps and programs serving more families through Scouting in the new year.

You can donate by clicking here:

Give - Scouting America

2025 "Of The Year" (OTY) Award Nominations

for Scouting Youth & Adult Volunteers

One of our favorite Marin Council events each year is the Volunteer Recognition Dinner,

held annually in the Spring (next scheduled for Monday, March 30, 2026). The reason this family event is so popular is that we recognize dozens of outstanding Scout youth and adult leaders at that time. Scouts, Explorers, and adult volunteers from all over the county attend this wonderful event at the beautiful Jonas Center, Indian Valley Campus, College of Marin.

Now is the time to begin to consider individuals for those 2025 OTY nominations from your unit. Please see attached summary flyer and note the following important dates in this process, and don't miss this excellent opportunity for recognition!

Friday, January 30 --- All Scouting youth and adult volunteer nomination forms are due at the Council Service Center.

Wednesday, February 25 --- all Scouting youth nominees will be interviewed in-person by a panel of Marin Council adult volunteer leaders at the Council Service Center.

The OTY volunteers from each unit will all be recognized with certificates. For all the other Adults awards, the honorees are selected from all the nominations by the Council Recognition committee. All Scout youth & adult nominees will be recognized at the Marin Council Recognition Dinner on Monday, March 30, 2026. This is a great opportunity to see the successes of the Scouting program throughout Marin County! Updated "Of the Year" nomination forms will be emailed to all unit leaders in early December, and are available to download from the Council website here: Documents & Forms.

Save These Dates for more Scouting Fun in the New Year!

Saturday, January 30 - Scouts BSA "Code RED" First-Aid & E-Prep Patrol Competition

Saturday, February 14 - Cub Scout "Champ Camp" Pinewood Derby Workshop Day

Reserve your Scouts BSA Summer Resident Camp Week NOW!

After another successful Summer reviving the excellent Scout programs and Camp traditions at Marin-Sierra, we are excited by the opportunities awaiting us as we celebrate the camp's 75th anniversary in 2025! All of our camp forms will be updated soon 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!

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

#AdventureOn #MayTheForestBeWithYou #ScoutMeIn

Choose your unit session from:

Week #1: June 28 - July 4

Week #2: July 5 - 11

Week #3: July 12 - 18

Week #4: July 19 - 25

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

A Monthly News Bulletin for OA Lodge Members

Talako Lodge had an awesome month of activities! We started with our monthly lodge meeting on Tuesday, November 11 where we enjoyed some ice cream and fellowship. The following Saturday, November 15 we served the Council and food bank with collecting adn sorting all the Scouting For Food donations gathered by the units during their collection weekend. We followed up with an overnight lock-in event later in the month where we spent the night at Scout Hall, Mill Valley for movies, games, and fun!

December will be an exciting holiday month for our Arrowmen! First, the lodge held our annual decorating party to give back to the Elks Lodge and get into the holiday spirit. We will also have our festive Lodge Banquet to celebrate the end of the year. We will fundraise, reflect on the year, and elect our new Lodge Executive Committee leaders for 2026.

We currently have a large selection of Lodge Flaps available, which can be ordered online;

check out our Talako Lodge Trading Post to purchase our awesome memorabilia! If you have

any questions about the National Order of the Arrow organization, or the local Talako Lodge

in Marin, please don’t hesitate to contact by email Talako Lodge Chief Mason Chiu.

Scouting, we are . . .

Prepared. For Life.

At the Marin Council, we will continue to do our best to keep you informed of updates to our program calendar. We will also strive to highlight new ways for your family continue to enjoy and benefit from Scouting both at home and outdoors during these promising times.

Please check our Council website homepage regularly for the most current information and event calendar, and the frequent social media activity on our Facebook page linked below, as well as those for Camps Tamarancho & Marin-Sierra.

Marin Council, Scouting America | www.boyscouts-marin.org | 415-454-1081

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