Reminder about the Ethan Giving tree!

The Asheville Scout Shop is providing an opportunity for the scouting community to help local scouts members who may be in need of uniforms and uniform items.

This help will be done through The Ethan Giving Tree program through December 19, 2016. The Ethan Giving Tree program works on a donation basis. An Ethan Tree, similar to an Angel Tree, is set up in the Scout Shop with Ethan Cards on it. Each card will have the first name of the Scout along with the uniform items that they need. There will also be a space for other items they may want such as books, crafts, camping items, etc. Customers and Scout supporters can purchase the item(s) in their local Scout Shop and give them to the store staff to collect for each child.

If you have any like to help or questions, please contact the Asheville Scout Shop by email at the ashevillescoutshop@scouting.org or phone us at (828) 253-4949.

Here is your chance for a claim to fame scouts!

Any aspiring artists, scouts with an interesting design, or those who like competitions should be excited about this opportunity for a claim to fame.  2017's Cataloochee Merit Badge Midway is quickly approaching, and with it the patch contest is upon us!  If you want a chance for your very own patch design to be memorialized forever, and handed out to hundreds of scouts attending this year's merit badge midway contest details are below.  Even if you don't want to submit an entry to this year's Merit Badge Midway, please be sure to join us for a fun filled day of learning, networking, and an opportunity to get some of those hard to find merit badges.  This year's Midway will be held on January 21st at Haywood Community College.  See you all there!

Merit Badge Midway Contest Details

Every Scout Deserves a Trained Leader!

If you were in trouble you wouldn't want a rescue from a firefighter or a policeman with no training would you?  Of course not!  Believe it or not it's the same with Scouts, every youth in our Packs and Troops not only hold to this same principal, but they DESERVE to have a leader who is trained.  Since every Scout deserves a trained leader, Cataloochee District is holding a training day for Boy Scout leader specific and Cub Scout leader specific @ Long's Chapel United Methodist Church, Waynesville, NC.  We will have Pack and Troop committee training and Youth Protection available as well after the Cub training for NO COST!!

Come join us for an opportunity to not only be trained, but also for fun fellowship and learning on Oct 1.  More details in the link below

https://www.danielboonecouncil.org/Catraining16

Need Something Fun to do This Fall?

Does your Pack or Troop need something fun to do this Fall?  Well look no farther!  With our district's rich environment and love for hunting, fishing, and wildlife conservation this may be the perfect opportunity for your unit!

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is hosting a family-friendly event at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education, near Brevard, on Sept. 24 to celebrate National Hunting and Fishing Day.

The event, which is free, will focus on activities that highlight the state’s rich hunting, fishing and wildlife conservation heritage. Activities and exhibits all provide opportunities for participants to improve their outdoor skills and increase their knowledge of wildlife in North Carolina.

Cataloochee Roundtable this Thursday!

Hello Cataloochee District!

I hope everyone has had a great summer.

This is a reminder that our next Roundtable is this Thursday at 7pm at First Baptist Church in Sylva.

We are planning to have a special guest speaker to join us for the Boy Scout break-out session to talk about his experiences and some great outdoor opportunities for our scouts in the area.

Roundtable is a great way to start off the new school year and prepare for an effective fall program for your units.

I hope to see you all there.

YIS,

Rett Rollins

Boy Scout Roundtable Commissioner

Cataloochee District

Ph: (828) 400-9280

District Day Camp Wrap up!

During the week of June 13th - 17th the Cataloochee District day camp went through with the theme of Cub Scouts Investigate!  If you weren't there you missed out on a very exciting time.  38 Cub Scouts from Packs 263, 370, 905, 914, 980, and 999 came out for an amazing week investigating everything from Cherokee stick ball to an authentic crime scene investigation.  Special thanks goes out to NC State Forest Service, NC Geological Survey, Jackson County Fire Department, Jackson County Sheriff's Department, and all of the many volunteers that helped make this possible for our youth of WNC.  See below some of the incredible pictures from the weekend or go to our District Facebook page for a chance to even catch some videos of the various activities we had throughout the week!  

Cataloochee News 5/18. Importance of unit planning

Units having planned programming is one of the most important pieces of a strong unit along with trained leaders, dynamic leadership, and a leader succession plan.

Now that the council calendar for 2016-2017 is released it is a good time to think about planning your calendar for the upcoming year!  A strong program should not only have a monthly outing with monthly Pack meetings or a quarterly Court of Honor, but should also include District and Council program events to allow for fellowship with other youth from other units in the District or Council.  

Not only is programming a good tool for helping keeping parents involved and informed, but it can also be used to ensure that youth have ample time to meet rank advancement requirements, or ensure that you know which requirements need to be made up on personal time for a parent that joins the Pack or Troop at a date outside of a normal recruitment. 

If you have not received your council calendar for your unit yet you can either call your district executive or unit commissioner, or find them online at danielboonecouncil.org under the resources tab in the forms tab.  Also available at the link below!

Have a great unit program that you would like to share or some good programming advice?  Feel free to comment and share in the comments below!

Daniel Boone Council 2016-2017 Program Planning Calendar

District Banquet Wrap Up!

On March 4th the Cataloochee District Banquet was held at Western Carolina University with over 60 individuals attending including our new council president, Richard Hurley and guest speaker Dr. Darrell Parker, Dean of the College of Business at Western Carolina University!

We opened up our Cataloochee Construction zone going with the theme of building an adventure for scouting in 2016 and the foundation that we set in 2015.  Throughout the night we had several awards given out to various unit leaders for their outstanding service throughout the year of 2015.  Among those included the following:

District Awards of Merit:
Carlos Vargas: Troop 202

On the Right Track Award:
Robert Young: Pack 263
Scott Nelson: Pack 263
Everett Rollins IV: Round-table Commissioner
Christine Deaver: Pack 370

Spark Plug Award:
Michael Wells: Pack 306
Leah Yates: Pack 263
Shelley Puckett Fanucci: Pack 999

Cubmaster of the Year:
Scott Nelson: Pack 263

Scoutmaster of the Year:
Ron Perusi: Troop 370

Scouter of the Year:
John Mills: District Committee/Unit Commissioner

Ray Romano Spirit of Scouting Award:
JoAnn Bell: District Committee

Many other awards were given through out the night to individuals who gave outstanding service to their units or various district events throughout the year; and we wrapped up the night with a talented performance from Richard Hurley and guitar!

Thank you to all of those who participated in our district banquet, as well as all of those who we were able to recognize or not.  It truly is the spirit of scouting in the Cataloochee district that makes us what we are and we could not have it without you!

Take a look at some of the pictures below for some of the highlights of the evening.