“It is not our differences that divide us.  It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences that divide us.”

Audre Lorde

As I think of the September Cub Scout Value, Cooperation, I can’t help but think of our founding fathers and the crafting of the Declaration of Independence.  It was a very trying time for our country and there were many contentious debates.  The delegates of the Continental Congress did not have the authority to declare independence without the support of the colonies they represented.  Several colonies, i.e. New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware wanted to work on a reconciliation agreement with Great Britain.  Others such as North Carolina, which passed the Halifax Resolves on April 12 and was the first state to allow its delegates to vote in favor of independence and Rhode Island, which became the first state to declare independence from Great Britain wanted a free nation.  Ultimately, the preamble passed on May 15^th, 1776.  On June 11, 1776, Congress appointed a “Committee of Five,” consisting of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman to draft the declaration.  The final version was presented to Congress on June 28, 1776 and approved on July 4, 1776.

Think for a moment about the challenges the delegate and each colony they represented faced.  Many feared fierce retaliation from the British Army.  Many colonies did not want to give up their way of life. Many wondered whether we would even win the war.  They overcame their own interests and trepidation in order to lay the groundwork for a system of government that led to the creation of the United States of America and served as model for future governments.  In order to accomplish this major feat, all the delegates had to compromise.

Parents/Leaders, I encourage you to talk to our scouts about cooperation.  Perhaps you do this by playing games.  Perhaps you talk to them about their favorite sport team, or their own team, and how it takes everyone to accomplish the goal by working together.

I close with a quote from another American that had a huge impact on our lives, Henry Ford.

“Coming together is the beginning

Keeping together is progress

Working together is success”

9/11 7pm Leader Meeting. Start in Cub Scout Room. 7:30pm Pack Committee Meeting in Boy Scout Room.

9/18 7pm Den Meetings

9/25 7pm Pack Meeting. In Fellowship Hall. Deadline to sign up & pay for Parent-Son Camporee. Popcorn kickoff.

Parents,

We will be having our Fall kick-off meeting on September 4th. Dan Anthony is working feverishly on preparing a special evening for the boys. We will have door prizes for the boys. The boys will get one (1) ticket for showing up, three (3) for being in proper uniform and five (5) for being in proper uniform and bringing a guest. Please let your child’s den leader know if you child recruited a new member. You son will be eligible for the recuriter strip.

http://usscouts.org/advance/recruiter.asp

Don’t forget!

This year’s theme is Cub-O-Lympics. See the event page here for more information.

Our website has a handy feature up in the menu bar… Subscribe.  When you subscribe to our website you will get an email whenever an update is made, whether it be for a new post or updates to existing posts.  I try to keep the link working from our website to our Facebook page, but it doesn’t always work.  So email subscriptions are the easiest way to keep up to date on what’s going on with our Pack!

Click here to go to the Subscription page.

This is just a test to make sure that the link to Facebook is working again.

First Den meeting for existing dens: 8/28 @ 7pm.

Kickoff event: 9/4, 7pm in the Family Life Center. Invite your friends for a fun evening. Mike Nebinger and Terry Snider will have an information session during this event for parents to get info on our Pack and will be collecting membership applications at that time. If you are planning to join our Pack please fill out an application. There’s an online application you can fill out on your computer and print out. If you do print out your application please print 3 copies.

Updating for link to Facebook.

We will have our next Leader meeting 8/14 at 7:00pm in the Cub Scout room.

Topics for discussion are:
Kickoff meeting (Dan)
Yorktown trip
Finalizing the calendar
School Open House/Promotions
Popcorn plans
Fall Parent-Son meal plans

And whatever is thrown out for discussion!

Regretfully we need to cancel movie night. There isn’t available to run things Friday night.

Don’t forget, our Summer Movie Night is this Friday at 8pm. We will be serving popcorn and drinks. Bring your chairs.

This event is open to all current cubs, future cubs, siblings, and friends! Everyone that brings a friend gets an extra bowl of popcorn!