 District Kickoff Night August 13 & 15, 2019
An exciting year of Scouting kickoffs on August 13 & 15 as Districts gather for a new format for the kickoff to the Scouting year. Join us for specific sessions on Popcorn; Scouts BSA Programming; Cub Scout Membership. This will be a very important meeting for your unit!
Reminder – in order to be eligible to receive the 2% bonus commission on popcorn your unit must have two persons in attendance on 8/13 or 8/15.
Join us for a great Scouting kickoff, ice cream, and – wait --- the release of the 2019 – 2020 Scouting Program Calendar! See you on 8/13 or 8/15.
Seven Rivers District – Tuesday, August 13, 7pm – St Johns United Church of Christ, La Crosse – RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/860064747696302/
Winding Trails - Thursday August 15, 7pm – Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Tomah – RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/670889386712116/
Soaring Eagle - Thursday August 15, 7pm – Centerville Curling Club, Centerville – RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/466778347447354/
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Popcorn Commission Structure
We are excited to announce a new Popcorn Commission structure for 2019. Our main focus is to help reward for units for having a great plan for their year. In order to receive the additional 2% commission on the Popcorn Sale, Packs and Troops are asked to do these things.
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New Service Center Hours
Effective Monday, August 26, 2019 the Gateway Area Council will have new hours for the Scouting Service Center. Standard weekly hours will be 9am – 5pm Monday – Friday. The Service Center will be open until 6pm on Thursday evenings.
The Service Center / Scout Shop is also open by appointment other days of the week. Please submit your order via phone or email at least 12 hours ahead of time and we can have the items ready for you to pick up. We are excited to see and assist you on an upcoming Monday!
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Order of the Arrow Rendezvous August 16-18, 2019
Ni-Sanak-Tani lodge is having their Rendezvous and Ordeal Weekend on August 16-18 at Camp Decorah. We will have Ordeal and Brotherhood ceremonies, fun fellowship activities for members, service projects, and lodge officer elections. On Sunday, the fellowship portion of the weekend, we will have an outdoor survival competition and a few open program areas. The competition will have timed activities including fire building, a schoolyard compass course, an archery competition, a first aid stretcher relay, and team skis. Open areas such as the pool, zip line, and waterfront will be open in the afternoon. We hope to see you there!
For more information and to register online, go to: gatewayscouting.org/OARendezvous
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Wood Badge (Please Register Soon) September 20-22 & October 11-13, 2019
The upcoming Wood Badge course has room for several more attendees. See here for a great testimonial from a current Wood Badge instructor on the great value of this course.
The purpose of Wood Badge is to develop skilled leaders who can strengthen Scouting units in achieving the mission of the Boy Scouts of America. Topics include Managing Conflict, Communicating, Listening to Learn, Valuing People and Leveraging Diversity, Stages of Team Development, Coaching and Mentoring, Project Planning and much, much more. Find all the details and pre-register here: https://www.gatewayscouting.org/woodbadge
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SAVE THE DATE - Spook-O-Ree - Circus de Creep 2019
On October 26, 2019 a circus of no other you have seen, will take over Camp Decorah!
Cub Scout families while arrive at Camp Decorah between 1pm—2pm on Saturday, October 26 and depart after the activities are complete.
Your event fee will include Carnival Games during the day, a ghoulish dinner, haunting activities during the night.
Scouting families can register with their unit or as a scouting family. Siblings and non-scout friends are welcome to attend.
Overnight lodging is available with additional fee, for those wanting to stay over Saturday night.
Find more details here: https://www.gatewayscouting.org/SpookoRee
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SAVE THE DATE - Scouting Now, Scouting How Symposium Save the date for November 2, 2019 to learn from leaders about how to improve scouting within your unit.
Find more details to come soon.
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 Celebrating 35 years as Scoutmaster
Mike Mara of Troop 320 in Prairie du Chien has been the Scoutmaster for 35 years and we thank him for his guidance of our youth. Recently Mike was awarded the 7 Rivers District Award of Merit where current and past Scouts of Troop 320 gathered for a picnic celebrating Mikes 35 years as Scoutmaster. Scouting has always been a part of Mike’s life since he was a Cub Scout and as Scoutmaster he has helped guide many youth through the program. As Mike says “It’s just neat to see the kids do stuff together. It is more important now because they aren’t spending time on electronics. Scouting gives them hands-on, Interactive opportunities.” Thank you to Mike for your service to Scouting in Prairie du Chien.
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The BSA and the Gateway Area Council are committed to the safety of all youth and adult members.
Youth Protection training is required for all members. This training requires that two-deep leadership be in place for all events, meetings, and activities.
Any suspicion of an incident in Scouting should be reported to the Scout Executive immediately - either though the Gateway Area Service Center, 608-784-4040, or directly to Joe Carlson, Scout Executive, joe.carlson@scouting.org; 608-615-0298.
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Eagle Scout Recommendation Letter
To all prospective Eagle Scouts and Boy Scout leaders. A new change is being added to expedite the Eagle Scout Board of Review. When the Scout turns in his or her completed Project book, they should then either email or mail out recommendation letters found on the council website to all references listed on their Eagle Scout application. A note explaining how important it is to return the recommendation to the council office as soon as possible, should be attached. When all recommendation letters are returned to the Scout office, the Scouts Board of review will then be scheduled for the following month. Any questions can be referred to the Scout office or call Paul Stuhr (608-386-3232).
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Fall 2019 School Night for Scouting Sponsors
The Gateway Area Council is proud to partner with several great businesses to support the Fall 2019 School Night for Scouting program. Sponsorships from these businesses help us go to extra efforts to promote Cub Scout sign ups so that every family can be invited to join Cub Scouting. Thank you for your support!
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Online Registration and E-Checks
The online event registration from the website now allows for e-checks to be accepted as payment for events. You will see this option in the payment area. Credit Card payment or mailing a check in to the office are also options. Please note that for e-checks to work, your unit or personal checking account should be ACH compliant.
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