...and that means a fun night is in store for our Scouts on Friday night, August 25th from 6-8 pm at the church.

Please bring your family and even a friend who might enjoy Cub Scouts and his family to discover Pack 318.  This year we are excited to join the pilot program for Lions, which is for Kindergarten boys.

We will have:

• A Bounce House
• A Dunk Tank
• An EMS Unit courtesy of Wake County
• Still working on a fire truck
• A gourmet dinner of hot dogs, chips and lemonade courtesy of our awesome Grub Team
• Sno-Cones
• Lots of fun

Roundup will be a great close to the summer and a kickoff to another exciting year.  One key result of the survey was that the calendar dates/times didn't match what was in the email.  I will do better about that this year.

Some key dates for the Fall:

• Fri 8/25, 6-8: Roundup
• Mon 9/11, 6:30-8: Parents Meeting and Popcorn Kickoff - We invite parents to come and get details about Pack Activities, get questions answered and kickoff our Popcorn Fundraiser.  This will be for new and current parents.
• Mon 9/18, 6:30-7:30ish: Pack Meeting, Induction, Campfire and S'mores
• Sat 9/23: Popcorn Sale begins.  We have several storefronts to staff
• Sun 9/24: Popcorn storefronts
• Sat 9/30: Popcorn storefronts, sell at NC State tailgate
• Sun 10/1: Popcorn storefronts
• Thu 10/5: sell at NC State tailgate
• Sat 10/7: Popcorn storefronts
• Sun 10/8: Popcorn storefronts
• Fri 10/13-Sun 10/15: Fall Family Camping @ Shinleaf Campground, Falls Lake
• Mon 10/23: Pack Meeting
• Mon 11/20: Pack Meeting
• Mon 12/18: Pack Meeting

You may be saying to yourself, "That's a lot of storefronts."  We want everyone to be able to sell popcorn in two-hour shifts at Harris Teeter, Walmart or Lowe's Foods on these Saturdays.  It's a great way to earn those gift cards, chances for the great baskets, and to help pay for activities this year.  More to come as we get closer.

Hope you've had a great summer and I look forward to seeing you at Roundup!

​Bill

We're on track to have another great year selling popcorn.  I have always believed that everyone should visit Washington DC and see the government buildings, monuments, memorials and the Smithsonian Institution.  This trip is being planned for the weekend of March 24th, 2017.  It will be after our Arrow of Light Scouts have bridged, but they can attend as they supported the Pack with popcorn sales over the last 5 years.

This would be a Scout/Parent trip.  If there is great interest, we will open it up to families, understanding that there will be a higher cost for the additional attendees.

I have created a survey to try and get a feel for what families think about a trip like this, with the pack picking up part of the cost based on our popcorn sales.  Click the link to take the survey.  

Laurent Knafo, one of the Den Leaders, has a relationship with Congressman Holding's office and could help arrange tours of the White House and Capitol Building.  

There is a Scout camp with 34-person cabins available southwest of the city.  This may be an economical way to stay there rather than paying for hotel rooms.   However, it is 90 minutes away from the city, which takes time away from sightseeing.

I am working with a tour company on a couple of options.  We could leave on Friday afternoon and have a day and a half of activities, or on Saturday morning, getting to DC about noon and leaving the following day.  They will price riding buses to/from as well (the Saturday morning option pretty much requires it).

If you would like to help plan a memorable trip, please let me know.

This is probably a bit disjointed, and I'm no expert on creating surveys, so comment if you have any questions and I'll reply to them with the best explanation.  We will work up some cost estimates once Popcorn results are complete and I have the quotes from the travel company.

Proud to be...
Pack 318!

Our family camping weekends are a great time and our time at Shinleaf will be no exception.  Here is some basic information about our family camping events:

Arrival - Come anytime after 4:30 or so.  We'll have the sites assigned by rank, so all of the Tigers are together, Wolves, Bears etc.  If you have multiple Scouts, choose the site that works best for you.  Bring your own dinner that night.

Meals - We eat as a group from Sat. breakfast - Sun. breakfast.  We provide plates/bowls/plasticware if you need it, but in order to encourage sustainability, those who bring their own mess kit go to the front of the chow line.  If you have an allergy issue, we will accommodate you, but please note it on the RSVP.

Activities -

• There is usually a service project we do on this trip.  I haven't confirmed if we are doing that.  We'll break into groups and walk the shoreline and pick up any trash we find as part of Wake County's Big Sweep program.  We provide trash bags and gloves for this.
• Fishing - the pack will provide bait and a few poles, so bringing your own is highly recommended.  We will have a contest for the biggest fish, smallest fish and most fish caught starting Saturday morning.  Kevin will announce the start/end time.  Awards will be presented at the campfire.
• Ranger Presentation at 3:00
• Rank requirements - I'm leaving it up to the Den Leaders if they want to break out after lunch and work on anything that can be done outside in the woods.
• Campfire - We'll have a storyteller and some skits/songs by the dens.  

What to bring - 

• Tent 
• Camp chairs are a MUST at this site.  There is a large open field we'll use, but no picnic tables in that area.  There are picnic tables in the campsites.
• Whittling Chip card - NO knife-using if your Scout does not have his Whittling Chip card on him.  Anyone not following the guidelines will have a corner cut off of their card.
• www.ncpack318.org/uploads/8/6/8/0/8680116/2016_fall_family_camping_flyer.pdf 

​Proud to be...Pack 318!

I don't have any totals yet, but from all accounts, we had an outstanding first weekend.  Thanks to everyone who Blitzed or manned a storefront this weekend.

The Scouts who went to the NC State game did an outstanding job.  Everyone they encountered bought or donated.  Their next game is Saturday, Oct. 1, but the time hasn't been determined yet.  I would encourage you to keep an eye on the schedule and your email if Erik decides to put a crew together to blitz the tailgaters.  We're definitely going to attend next season if the schedule works out right.

Remember, you can check out popcorn from the Morats' garage in order to sell in the neighborhood or to familiy rather than collect the funds and wait for it to arrive.

There are still 9 spots open for next Saturday and 14 for Sunday, all at Harris Teeter stores.  Traditionally we do very well there, so please consider filling those slots.

Proud to be...Pack 318!

I discovered our site has the capability for a blog, so I'm going to give it a try to give you some additional news about Pack 318.

​Welcome to Pack 318 new families!  We are glad to have you.  There are a lot of you, so please take the time to get to know one another as your boys journey through Scouting.  We added 26 boys and are working on adding a few more.  Again, thanks to those who told friends about Pack 318 and invited them to join.

​I forget to mention something during the meeting.  Jeremy Roberts is a Life Scout in Troop 350.  Those of you who have been in the Pack may have noticed the changes to the fire ring.  The project is Jeremy's Eagle project and he and his crew have put in a lot of hours already.  The finished product will include three more sets of benches on the other side of the fire ring, making a circle.

​Part of his project includes spreading mulch around the area.  That's a great job for Cub Scouts, so expect an announcement in the near future asking for volunteers to contribute to the success of the project.

​I hope the boys enjoyed the K-9 unit Monday night.  We'll be having another guest during October's Pack Meeting. 

​Please sign up for the campout on the front page, order a t-shirt if you haven't and have fun selling popcorn!

​Proud to be...Pack 318!