I am the new “Cubmaster” of Cub Scout Pack 232, which is based in Glenmont. I have been involved with Pack 232 and Scouting for over five years, starting with my son, Andrew, who is now in Middle School and has gone on to Boy Scouts with Troop 75 in Delmar. Over these 5 years, I have been very active with Pack 232, and my boys have enjoyed it very much. For several of those years, I was Treasurer of the Pack and, now, this year, I have taken on the role of Cubmaster. The Cubmaster is the person that leads and oversees the entire Pack and all of its Activities.

I write to encourage you and your son to consider joining Pack 232, and to otherwise take an interesting Scouting. If you do not know a lot about Scouting, I would encourage you to visit several websites. One site is The Boy Scouts of America website ( “http://www.scouting.org/ CTRL + Click to follow link” ). Another very helpful site is “http://www.boyscouttrail.com/ CTRL + Click to follow link” www.boyscouttrail.com . These two sites are excellent sources of information regarding the purpose and program of Scouting.

First and foremost, our philosophy in Pack 232 is to ensure the boys have FUN and form friendships! If we don’t do that, the boys will lose interest and all the other good of Scouting will be lost. We also strongly emphasize the Cub Scout’s motto to “Do Your Best”, and encourage the boys to live and uphold the Core Values of Cub Scouting, which are: Citizenship: Contributing service and showing responsibility to local, state, and national communities. Compassion: Being kind and considerate, and showing concern for the well-being of others. Cooperation: Being helpful and working together with others toward a common goal. Courage: Being brave and doing what is right regardless of our fears, the difficulties, or the consequences. Faith: Having inner strength and confidence based on our trust in God. Health and Fitness: Being personally committed to keeping our minds and bodies clean and fit. Honesty: Telling the truth and being worthy of trust. Perseverance: Sticking with something and not giving up, even if it is difficult. Positive Attitude: Being cheerful and setting our minds to look for and find the best in all situations. Resourcefulness: Using human and other resources to their fullest. Respect: Showing regard for the worth of something or someone. Responsibility: Fulfilling our duty to God, country, other people, and ourselves. All of our activities in some way relate back to these Core Values. Our Pack activities generally run from late September through early May. The structure of the Pack is broken down into Pack meetings/activities and “Den” meetings/activities. The boys are organized into Dens according to their grade level. The Dens run as follows: “Tigers” - First Grade; “Wolfs” - Second Grade; “Bears” - Third Grade; “Webelos I” - Fourth Grade; “Webelos II” - Fifth Grade (If your son were to join this coming School Year, he would join the “Tiger” Den). The boys generally meet once or twice a month with their Dens to work on and go over the skills and achievements necessary to obtain their ranks. Additionally, generally once a month we will have a Pack meeting at the Glenmont Elementary cafeteria. The purpose of the Pack meetings is to have the boys report to the Pack their activities for the last month, recognize the boys for their achievements, have an informational or educational guest speaker, and perhaps play fun games that relate back to our core values. Some of our past guest speakers/visitors have included: the local fire department, EMTs, staff from the Five Rivers Center, a policeman and his police dog, the , a Tae Kwon Do instructor with demonstration, visitors from local businesses such as video game maker, local government officials and a snowplow from the Town Highway Department. We also introduce the boys to careers, give demonstrations about camping and conduct other fun activities.

Further, the Pack engages in several throughout the year. Of course, it wouldn t be Scouting if there was not a camping event. Every winter, we go camping (in cabins) at local campsites, usually within an hour of the Albany area. The boys have a great time on this camping trip. Activities include hiking, sledding, skating, games and movies in the cabins. Other special events we have done in the past have included sleepovers on the USS Slater, at the Valley Cats and at the CMOST Museum, tours of the Times Union newspaper building, local TV stations and the State Capitol, visits to Saratoga Battlefield and Howe Caverns, as well as hiking and other events.

We also kick off our year with a Fall Back to Scouting event at a local park which includes a rock-climbing wall, games, treats and other fun activities. Further, every year, we incorporate community service into our program, conducting a “Scouting for Food” food drive, in which we collect non-perishable goods for the local food pantry just before Thanksgiving. And of course, every year, we conduct the world famous Pinewood Derby, in which the boys make there own cars and compete in speed and style categories! The boys love that event! Finally, we end our year with a “Blue and Gold” picnic, in which the whole family is invited. We, of course, hope you and your son attend as many events as you can, but no one is forced or required to attend. We understand that everyone leads busy lives and the boys often are involved in other activities. We only ask that you “Do Your Best”!

Pack 232 does have a website, “http://www.pack232.com/ CTRL + Click to follow link” . It is a members only site, so you have to join to gain access. However, you can see our homepage by going to the site. It is our website that provides our Pack with its primary form of communication. We list our Pack roster on the site, have all upcoming events listed by Pack and by Den, and we have links to photos of our events. Once a week, the website sends out to all parents in our Pack an “E-Blast” that reminds you of upcoming events and provides other helpful information.

What I have most enjoyed about Scouting is the sense of purpose it provides the boys and, more importantly, the time it provides for bonding between the parents and their sons during Scouting activities. I know that my sons have not only made numerous friends through Scouting. At the same time, they have learned many important life skills. The parents also make friends through the Pack, as I have. It is amazing to see the boys go from young Tigers to Webelos and “graduate” on to Boy Scouts. I would also note that many of the great leaders in our country were Boy Scouts and Eagle Scouts.

Therefore, I ask that you and your son to strongly consider Scouting, consider coming to one of Pack 232’s events in the Fall. We have tentatively scheduled a General Interest meeting on September 18, 2012 at 6:30pm or 7pm. At the end of September, we will have our fun “Fall Back” event, in which the whole family is invited. Following that, in October, we will start our regular Pack meetings and other special events.

If you and/or your son are interested in Scouting, please reply to this e-mail and provide me with your name, address, telephone number and, most importantly, your e-mail address. I will provide you with updates about our upcoming events.

I again strongly urge you to consider Scouting and I appreciate your time. If you ever have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me by emailing me at the address above or at “mailto:peter.lauricella@wilsonelser.com CTRL + Click to follow link” peter.lauricella@wilsonelser.com