I ordered a new gong on the internet last night.  It will be very similar to the one we have now, and it comes with a beater.  I would leave the old gong with the pack, but being a drummer, I've found a million and one uses for it, so I want to hang onto it.

The price of gongs has gone up quite a bit since I bought the old one 5 years ago, and from what I read last night, the price is going to jump subsantially in the near future.  Due to raw material prices and import costs, seveal of the online dealers are getting out of the business.  The type of gongs that we use (chau gongs) are almost all made in Wuhan China, not that they are cheap "Made in China" stuff.  Gong making is fine craftsmanship in Wuhan and they've been making them there for hundreds of years.  That's just to educate y'all on that beautiful sound that enchants our ears at our meetings and let you know, it's a good thing we're getting one before the price goes up anymore.

I confirmed the date and time with the church and everything is good.  I hope to see everybody at the movie.  Laurie Varma has promised to bring a good movie.  She might want to post the name of the movie, or she might just want to keep it a surprise.

Meet at the church to watch a good movie and help us kick off our anual fund raiser - Popcorn Sales!!

Like all of our pack camping trips, this is for the entire family.  

Here's a link to the park.  You'll find a map there:
http://state.tn.us/environment/parks/FrozenHead/

Here's what you need:

•Tent
•Sleeping bag for each camper
•Cot, air mattress, foamy, or whatever you like to pad the ground with
•Toiletries
•Flashlight
•Daypack and canteen for hiking
•Supper for Friday
•Breakfast and lunch for Saturday

Activities include:

•Hiking with some possible Geo Caching
•Ultimate
•A nice creek to play in
•Cooking
•Campfire

You can show up whenever you want on Friday.  We will be staying in Group Camp Site 18.  Get a map of the park or ask a ranger where it is located and you will find us there.  Several of us will be there Friday night and will stay through Sunday.  You can come Friday, Saturday, or both.  We'll do a big group meal Saturday evening and a big group breakfast Sunday morning.  Don't hesitate to give me a call if you have any questions 384-9093.

We'll meet at the Village Green Clubhouse Pool for our annual planning meeting, so feel free to bring the kids and let them swim.  I might even cook something delicious in the dutch oven for supper.  All den leaders and committee members are strongly urged to attend.  If a den leader cannot attend, please send a representative from your den to keep you informed.

The boys will be receiving their belt loops from summer camp at the Pack meeting this Thursday. Some will receive the World Conservation Patch from last year and the swimming belt loop from earlier in the year. Skylar and Matthew will get their Bobcat badges.

Hello All!
 
I hope everyone has had a chance to continue working on some of the home activities with your Tiger Cubs.  This Thursday, we will continue our tradition of meetings, but this one is going to be a "go see it" meeting.  Bring the Tiger Cub Handbook, as we will refer to it during our time together.
 
We are going to do some exploring in the woods and by the creek!  We will talk about nature, wildlife, and our interaction with nature and responsibilities to it as well.  We will meet in the same place as our last meeting, to make it easy.  Please meet at the gazebo/pavillion near the library in Farragut at 6 PM (Oct. 2nd).  We will use the trails there to hike through the woods and then spend some time at the creek (not in it hopefully).
 
I hope that all of you can attend, this will be a great little outing and we should learn some new things and some fun things. 
 
The weather will be turning cooler, so keep an eye on it and dress appropriately.
 
Thanks and hope to see you there!
 
John Whitehead
Pack 444

Webelos & families,
The Webelos will be meeting at 6:30 this Friday, Sept. 19 at the Landon's (directions below).

We are rescheduling our third Thursday meeting due to the FIS Open House.  We will return to regular schedule -- 1st and 3rd Thursday's at 6:30 -- beginning in October.

Pack Camp-out Oct. 3-5 (or any part you can attend!).  See www.pack444.com for details.

Some activities the boys need to work on outside of our meetings:
  - Bobcat badges for our new scouts
  - "Family Member" Activity Pin (p. 228 in Webelo Handbook)
  - Citizenship beltloop.  See attachment for requirements. (Same attachment sent previously.)
  - Webelo badge requirement #8 - religious beliefs (p. 50 in Handbook)

If the Scout has completed any activities (like, Belt Loops) over the summer, just let me know.  Boys playing soccer or baseball should check the appropriate Belt Loop requirements -- might be an easy one or two!

Finally, some of our activities can benefit from an "expert speaker."  If you are a ... medical professional, engineer, surveyor, artist, etc. OR if you have any other special talents which you'd like to share (John, know any astonomers??), please let me know.

Questions, comments, suggestions, mild criticisms, etc. are always welcome.
Thanks

Please make sure to keep up with the "homework" time line for the den and let me know what is completed via email or during the chart fill-in time at each meeting so I can make sure each boy gets credit for their work.

I will be handing out these time lines at the 9/11 meeting & am happy to email a copy to anyone who still needs one. These items generally have a 1 or 2 week time frame to complete and will help us make sure we get through all the achievement requirements without any undue stress .  Feel free to ask me any questions!

Thanks!  Dacia

This meeting had to be re-scheduled because of a school function.  We'll meet at the Farragut library on Campbel Station Rd. at 4:30 PM.  Hopefully we'll be able to get the pavillion closest to the library.  If not, there's another one on the other end of the park.

Don't forget to bring you books.  I'll go over the books with the parents and explain how the Tiger program works.  Hope to see you there.