Our February Pack meeting is our Annual Blue & Gold Banquet. This event is at the Fairview Firehall (Sunset Room) on Sunday, February 28th from 3:00 – 6:00pm. The Pack meeting will start with our Opening Ceremony with the Award Ceremony for all Dens. Buffet dinner to follow. After dinner we will have our Arrow of Light Ceremony for our AOL Scouts and our Crossover Ceremony for our AOL scouts crossing over to a Troop. Please print this :Blue & Gold RSVP sheet. Fill out the bottom of the sheet and mail it in to the address on the sheet ON or BEFORE February 18th.

This year we have 8 scouts crossing over to 3 different Troops. This is a great event where the younger scouts learn about the Arrow of Light Award and have exposure to local area Troops. I encourage all scouts and families to join us for this event. Since there is a buffet dinner, there is a cost for this event which can be paid by cash, check (made out to Pack 843) or your scout account. If you have any questions, please reach out to your den leader.

Due to Covid-19, we will be distancing as much as possible and ask all scouts and families to remain seated as much as possible. Masks must be worn unless actively eating or drinking. Also, this year we will NOT be having our normal cake decorating contest.

REMEMBER – You will need to fill out and return the RSVP by Wednesday, February 18th.

We will be having our Den Meetings at Fairview Park on Wednesday, 9/15. Meetings will start at 6:30pm (unless you received other instructions from your Den Leader).

Scouts and family members attending need to bring:

• Chair
• Mask
• Water bottle
• Jacket (evenings can be cool)

Your Den Leader may also request items a scout may need if they are working on requirements (example: backpack with items a scout should have if they are going for a hike).

Your Den Leader may also have meetings at other locations if it is needed for the requirement. Example: A visit to a fire station. Your Leader will communicate to scout parents in their den if that would occur.

If you have any questions, please reach out to your Den Leader.

Wedenday, 9/10, will be our first in-person den meeting since March. Our meetings for this fall will be held outside at the large pavilion at Fairview Park and will start at 6:30 (unless otherwise communicated by Den leader). We will be using the areas around the pavilion as well as the pavilion. We will not have access to the kitchen area. Please remind the scouts & parents to:

• bring chair(s) – Pavilion will be used for New Scout sign-ups
• water bottles – we will not have access to water at the park
• wear masks – MASK ARE REQUIRED for scout activities – even outside activies

Also, this weekend, 9/11 – 9/13, we be having another Family Pack Camping Weekend at Raccoon State Park. Please sign-up on our website sign-up sheet AND contact Deb Whitewood (email: whitewoodd@msn.com) to make sure she has all the information needed for this weekends activities.

We are getting excited about our upcoming Pack Family Campout at Raccoon Creek State Park. The campout will be held September 11 – 13. at the Sioux Group B Camping site. (You can join us for one night or both.) This is a primitive camping site with vault toilets and water nearby. There is plenty of room for families to set up tents and for the Scouts to play. There are no showers on site, but there are shower facilities at the beach where we will spend time on Saturday and Sunday. There is no cost associated with this campout as the Pack is covering the costs of the campsite. Click on our website link Pack843.org for details in our previous posting and the signup sheet. Our camping trip in August was so much fun that we decided to do it again. Hope to see you all there!

Let me start by saying a HUGE THANK YOU to Mike Guerra for being the Cubmaster for Pack 843 during these last 5 months. We wish him and his family all the best as they move back to Texas. We will miss you!

However, that means that we need YOU to step up and help our Pack move forward. We cannot have a Pack without someone on the roster as Cubmaster and at least one (if not 2) Assistant Cubmasters. This is a MUST for this Pack to continue.

It is also Popcorn time. We still need 1 – 2 parents to run the popcorn fundraiser this year. Popcorn sales will be very different this year and without someone to volunteer as popcorn kernel, we will only be having scout online sales. Popcorn Kernel training is available now. Popcorn order for show-n-sell has to be in by the first week of August.

Recap: The Pack needs the following positions filled by August 15th:

• Cubmaster
• Assistant Cubmaster 1
• Assistant Cubmaster 2
• Popcorn Kernel
• Popcorn Kernel Assistant

Pack 843 Volunteer Description Document Link –this document will give you a pretty good idea what each posistion has responsibility for and the estimated time commitment per month.

Please contact Karen Billingham, Committee Chair, at karen10903@gmail.com for more information

• Tonight is the 1st Wednesday of the month so that means Den Meetings. Please meet at the school unless communicated otherwise by your Den Leader.
• Resident Camp (Summer Camping) information available at the Elementary School this evening.
• March Pack meeting will be Ice Skating at Mt. Lebanon on March 21st 11:00 – 1:00. All family members welcome. We will also be collecting items for Foster Love Project – Please read message below:

Dear Pack 843 Parents, Guardians and Scouts,

In order to fulfill requirements for Community Service, Pack 843 will be collecting items and creating placement bags for the Foster Love Project which aids children coming into foster care. Items will be collected at our March pack meeting on 21st at 11am – 1pm at Mt. Lebanon Skating Rink. The Scouts will then fill the placement bags at our first Den meeting in April.

Please review the chart below which indicates which items the members of each Den will bring to the March pack meeting. If you have any questions about this Community Service Project, please contact Deb Whitewood at whitewoodD@msn.com.

Thank you

#Scouts	Rank	Den	Item
7	Lion	3	Small stuffed animal AND Liquid Baby Soap in a Ziplock bag.
22	Tiger	7, 8, 9	Footed Pajamas for 18-24 months
3	Wolf	12	6 pack white onesies-short sleeve (18-24 mo) AND 6+ pack of white socks (18-24 mo)
20	Wolf	13, 14	Small Blanket and Baby Board Book
16	Bear	10, 11	Zippered Diaper Bag. Recommend Walmart’s SoHo Diaper Bag for $20-22
20	Weeblo	1, 4, 6	Small stuffed animal AND Liquid Baby Soap in a Ziplock bag

Resident CAMP for Pack 843 is scheduled:

Webelos & AOL : July 30-Aug 3

Cub scouts: July 31-Aug 3

Forms for Resident Camp will be available at the Elementary School during Den meetings and at our Pack meetings. Questions regarding camp can be directed to our Pack 843 Camp Leaders.

Pack 843 Camp Leaders this year: Deekota Yadav – Webelos & AOL and Jon Sperry – Cub Scouts

Resident Pack Camp provides a program for all age groups in the pack at the same time. Age groups will be divided up to receive age-specific programs and activities while at camp. All sessions include an option for Webelos and Arrow of Light Scouts to come a day early for extra Webelos specific programs such as a hike to one of Heritage Reservation’s two Scouts BSA resident camps – Camp Liberty or Camp Freedom.

Scouts or Adults with food allergies or special dietary needs will need to fill out a form for special dietary needs 30 days in advance of camp date in order for food service team to order necessary items for meals.

2020 PACK CAMP FEES

# of Nights	Pay in Full by 04-01-20	Pay in Full by 06-01-20	Pay in Full 06-02-20 or after
	Scout/Adult	Scout/Adult	Scout/Adult
3-Night Camp	$191/$98	$201/$108	$211/$118
4-Night Camp (Webelos/AOL Only)	$259/$133	$269/$143	$279/$153

DISCOUNTS AND INCENTIVES

• Sibling Discount – 15% off second and subsequent youth Scout camp fees. (Applies across different LHC resident camps – Boy Scout, Cub Scout, and Webelos sessions. Discount applied to second/later session)
• Low Rate Lock-In – Scouts joining after March 1 and campership recipients are locked into the lowest rate for camp.
• Camperships – Financial assistance is available for Laurel Highlands Council Scouts with financial need to attend an LHC summer resident camp program. Applications due March 1.
• Camp Keepsake – All campers will receive a camp specific keepsake.

HIGHLIGHTS FOR 2020

• No one does theme quite like Camp Independence. Join us for our Space Race!
• New program areas including Scoutcraft, Packtivities, and Outdoor Adventure offer exciting and engaging ways to get your Cub Scouts involved and excited about being at camp.
• Every Scout and adult who attend camp will receive a commemorative Camp Independence gift.
• Camp Independence Courage Conquest “Pebble Patch” program

RECOGNITION NECKLACES

Every Cub Scout coming through our gate receives a Camp Independence recognition lanyard. As they prepare for their Space Race, they’ll receive color-coded beads for their achievements. From passing a swimmer’s test to catching a fish, Cubs can earn beads for LOTS of things – providing immediate recognition for doing their best.

If you placed 1st or 2nd in Pack 843 Pinewood Derby Race then you qualify for the District Pinewood Derby Race. However, you will NEED TO REGISTER. Race day in on Saturday, March 7th. Racetimes are by rank and there is a $7 fee for this race. Please open click: Frontier District Invitation and Guide to see rules and details on the race. To register please for the race click: Register for Derby race to connect to Laural Highlands Council BSA website Derby Registration page. Once on the page, click on the register button.

IF YOUR SCOUT is placed 1st or 2nd is the Pack Derby and are NOT able to make the district race, please contact 3rd place winner or send text message to Karen Billingham 412-780-9757if you do not have a way to contact the scout. We want to send 2 scouts from each rack to the District Derby race.

THANK YOU TO ALL OUR SCOUTS THAT PARTICIPATED ON DERBY DAY. WE HOPE YOU HAD A LOT OF FUN !

Pack 843 Results:

• AOL:
• 1^st Place                Patiance Nugent
• 2^nd Place               Brenna Gibson
• 3^rd Place               Eli Miller
• Webelos:
• 1^st Place                Joey Kreuer
• 2^nd Place               Vedha Gandhi
• 3^rd Place               Luke Skrip
• Best in Show      Alexander Christoff
• Bears:
• 1^st Place                Arjun Yadav
• 2^nd Place               Nick Crull
• 3^rd Place               Alexis Sperry
• Wolf:
• 1^st Place                Danny Kreuer
• 2^nd Place               Rory Melville
• 3^rd Place               Saanvi Yerasi
• Tigers:
• 1^st Place                Andrew Pittman
• 2^nd Place               Gian Sainato
• 3^rd Place               Robbie Koblentz
• Best in Show      Kali Lewandownski
• Lions:
• 1^st Place                Michael Billing
• 2^nd Place               Rayan Puranik
• 3^rd Place               Ben Petruska

• If you ordered Hoagies you will need to pick them up at the Elementary School on Wednesday, 2/5 during the den meetings (between 6:45pm – 7:45pm). All hoagies must be picked up at the school before 7:45pm.
• Den meetings are tomorrow night at the School unless otherwise communicated by your den leader.
• Sign-up for Blue & Gold Banquet (February Pack Meeting) on Wednesday night during your Den meetings. The Banquet is on Sunday, 2/23, from 3-6pm. Forms will be available at the desk at the Elementary School or you can sign up at the Intermediate School Cafeteria on Wednesday evening during Den meeting times. You can also download the form by clicking here and mail it in BEFORE Monday, 2/10. Information on where to mail the RSVP is on the Blue & Gold form. More information on this event is on a previous post on our website (Pack843.org).
• We also need cakes for the cake contest for the Blue & Gold Banquet. These cake are also our dessert at the banquet. Be creative, have fun with your scout and enter a cake in the contest. There is a sign-up sheet on our website so we have an idea how many cakes to expect. Cakes must be 100% edible, have a scout theme and be homemade in order to qualify for the contest.