It was exciting to have a few visitors tonight. Tell your friends and let them know about all the fun things that Troop 5 is doing this school year. We will distribute printed calendars at our beach picnic and court of honor next week.
Speaking of which, next Tuesday is just that – our beach picnic and court of honor celebration at Community Beach Park immediately across Ocean View Ave from the church. We will arrive as early as 5:00pm for some beach games and fun followed by picnic around 6:00-6:30 with court of honor to start at 7:00pm. Please everyone sign up to help bring sides and such here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409084CACAE2DA5FA7-58058752-beach (Burgers and hot dogs will be provided by the troop.) Please also bring your own chair if possible since seating is rather limited. Scouts should dress in whatever they like for the beach fun and picnic, but please be sure to bring and wear your Class A uniform for the court of honor.
Scouts who did not complete their Personal Fitness and Music merit badges at summer camp have been assigned to local merit badge counselors to finish those. Look for more details coming soon on when those counselors will visit our troop in September.
Finally, congratulations to Connor for earning his First Class rank and Owen for earning his Life rank tonight. Well done scouts; we look forward to your leadership in the months to come!
Welcome to the 2025 Boy Scout Popcorn Season! Shayna Hart (Bubba’s mom) is coordinating our fundraising effort again this year.
Popcorn Season kicks off in August and lasts until November! Last year we sold $21,282 in popcorn, which provided over $8,840 for our Troop. This year our goal is $12,000! To accomplish this goal, we need all scouts to help. Scouts can sell door to door, online, and at our show and sales.
POPCORN
There are 16 delicious flavors to choose from and we may have some samples at our next meeting. Shayna has popcorn now, so start selling and taking orders!
BROCHURES
Shayna has brochures available now. Contact Shayna if you would like to stop by their house to pick up some brochures. We will also have them at our meetings.
ONLINE ORDERS
Online orders allow friends and family out of town to support your scouting experience. Sellers’ codes remain the same year to year. If you don’t know your code, please contact Shayna and she can provide it to you. Items online may differ from the brochure items. Also, online sales have free shipping, which is a great way to drum up out of town sales.
SHOW & SALES
If you would like to sign up for a show and sale, there will be sign up sheets at our upcoming meetings. (See dates and times below.) We divided all show and sales into 1 hour time slots, but scouts may sign up for more than 1 time slot. Scouts must be in Class A uniform when selling, especially at show and sales. Parents, please plan to stay with your scout while they are selling at any Show & Sales, unless you have made other specific arrangements with an adult leader from the troop. Shayna will provide all needed materials for the Show & Sales, but can only work a few of the booths herself.
DONATIONS
Donations go to support the U.S.O. and scouts receive credit for the donations. Scouts who receive at least $25 in donations in the specific time periods below are awarded a special patch with pins.
Aug 1 – Aug 20: $25+ in donations will receive the patch and a submarine pin
Aug 21 – Sept 17: $25+ donations will receive the patch (if not already awarded) and a Coast Guard cutter pin
Sept 18 – Oct 29: $25+ in donations will receive the patch (if not already awarded) and a helicopter pin
Oct 30 – Nov 30: $25 in donations will receive the patch (if not already awarded) and a tank pin
INCENTIVES
This year we are doing incentives a bit different than in years past. Scouts will earn 20% of their in-person sales and 15% of their online sales in their “scout account” which can be used at the scout’s and parent’s discretion for scout-related expenses. On top of this, scouts will also earn prizes from the council:
$125 – Popcorn sales patch
$525 – Cinema Cafe ticket
$1,125 – $35 Amazon gift card
$2,125 – $50 Amazon gift card
$3,125 and up (Winner’s Circle) – pick a prize from the Winner’s Circle for every $3,125 you sell
The top 3 sellers in the council earn a special prize:
1st place – $500 Amazon gift card
2nd place – $300 Amazon gift card
3rd place – $200 Amazon gift card
IMPORTANT DATES
8/1
Online orders start
8/22
SHOW & SALE @ Lowe’s, Military Hwy 4pm – 8pm
8/24
SHOW & SALE @ Lowe’s, Military Hwy 8am – 2pm
9/5
SHOW & SALE @ Lowe’s, Military Hwy 4pm – 8pm
9/16
Brochure orders (with money) due for submission
10/10
SHOW & SALE @ Lowe’s, Military Hwy 4pm – 8pm
10/11
SHOW & SALE @ Food Lion, Southern Shopping Center, 10am – 6pm
Caving and camping is this weekend! All participants must complete a Medical Form/Participant Agreement and bring with them on Friday evening. Please pack a bag dinner or eat before you arrive. We will meet at the church around 5:00pm and depart by 5:30pm.
VERY IMPORTANT!! Tonight we reviewed what to expect and what to bring for the caving excursion: https://www.wildguyde.com/what-to-bring/. Pay particular attention to the suggestions about how to dress in an inner layer and outer layer, since this is a rather muddy cave. Note also that everyone brings their own headlamp. Bring a trash bag to transport your muddy clothes back home. For more information on what to expect, see this past newsletter from our guide and scroll down to "Half-Day Caving".
Looking a little further ahead, keep an eye out tonight or tomorrow for an Adventure Park RSVP from Teasa for our outing on Thursday, August 14th. Also look for popcorn fundraising information to come very soon.
We are caving and camping this coming weekend August 8-10th! Scouts who are attending should bring $20 cash to the meeting this Tuesday to contribute towards groceries. Jordan will also be sending invoices to all adult and scout attendees for the $30 fee per person for our caving guide. All participants must complete a Medical Form/Participant Agreement: https://www.wildguyde.com/medical-form/
Please refer to this guide on what to bring for the caving excursion: https://www.wildguyde.com/what-to-bring/. Pay particular attention to the suggestions about how to dress, since this is a rather muddy cave. Note also that everyone brings their own headlamp. We will review all of this and more information at Tuesday’s meeting (when we will also do meal planning).
Next Tuesday July 29th our troop plans to attend the Norfolk Tides ballgame at Harbor Park. Tickets are $15 each. RSVP and send money to Teasa by this Wednesday, July 23rd so that she can purchase discounted tickets as a group. Sorry for the short notice – this is a very popular game (see below) and we need to purchase tickets soon to be able sit together.
This game is one of the Tides "turn back the clock nights" with hot dogs, boxes of popcorn, and soft drinks at the special roll-back price of just $0.50 each. (Expect long lines!)
Tonight (July 22nd) we will meet for a tour at Fire Station 9 at 115 Thole Street. Park in the gravel lot behind the station (across side street from Norfolk Christian’s football field). Plans may change if the firefighters are on an active call while we are planned to visit. Please wear Class A uniform or Class B troop 5 (or other Scouting America) t-shirt if you can.
This Tuesday we will hold a beach volleyball outing at Community Beach Park (the beachfront park just across Oceanview Ave from the church) during our normal meeting time. Everyone, including guests, are welcome to attend. It’s supposed to be hot so light clothing, hats, and sunscreen are recommended. Water bottles are a must.
There is a chance of thunderstorms tomorrow evening. If anything changes with this plan because of the weather, we’ll blast out a message to let everyone know.
Due to the predicted rainy weather, scouts will meet inside the church tonight. As part of our Fishing program feature this month, we will watch Jaws. Popcorn will be provided.
Please remember to turn in any outstanding medical forms for summer camp.
The troop committee will also meet during this same time to discuss the proposed calendar and budget for 2025-2026. All adults are invited to attend.
