Dear Scout Parents,

Our next event is the annual awards banquet called the Blue and Gold Banquet on Friday, February 10th. Please arrive by 6 pm and take your seats at 6:15pm. The timing of the event is different from the Pack Meetings. The events will begin sharply at 6:15 and end at 8:30 pm. The full program consists of dinner, awards, a graduation ceremony where Webelos 2 scouts will end their Cub Scout career and join Boy Scouts, and finally our entertainment is Jeff Wawrzaszek, the Ann Arbor Magician. As a reminder: Webelos 2 have setup, flag ceremony and clean-up. The Wolf Den also has clean-up.

Uniform Note for Blue and Gold Banquet
Any scouts who have earned their religious emblem (Light of Christ or Parvuli Dei) and have received their medal, should wear it on formal scouting occasions like the annual Blue & Gold Banquet. Medals should be pinned just above the purple knot to drape over it. Normally the medal should not be worn at Pack meetings and activities -- which is why scouts have the purple patch.

Your Blue & Gold Banquet Responsibility
As a reminder, bring a side dish, (enough to serve 10 people):

Volunteers Still Needed for Blue and Gold
Many hands make light work, so please assist. Although we are distributing the work, we are still in need of volunteers. Here's where we need help:

• Food preparation (4-6 pm)
• Decoration of the gym (4-6 pm)
• Help with supervision during meal
• Clean-up after the banquet

Please respond to Sarah Schloss' email (sjschloss @ gmail.com) or call her at 413.548.4444 if you are able to help.

Friends of Scouting Appeal
The annual Friends of Scouting appeal to support our area Council's scouting program will be conducted during our Blue & Gold Banquet this year. A short presentation will be given by a Council Representative about what FOS is and how your financial donations will help our council. Please support our Council in this worthwhile appeal.

Popcorn for Sale
The Pack has excess popcorn for sale at 30% off and will be sold at the Blue and Gold Banquet. What a great opportunity to get some tasty treats at a great price.

Summer Camp
Final payment of Summer Camp is due March 16th (Pinewood Derby Night). You can bring payment to the Blue and Gold Banquet as well, or send a check made out to “SSA Pack One” to Tony Guajardo (tguajardo72 @ yahoo.com). The full cost of the camp is $125 per camper, less what you’ve already paid in deposits or paid via Scout Bucks. It is a great opportunity for One-on-One time with your son with no distractions. Don’t let his unique opportunity get away from you. We now have 24 campers in two campsites and have plenty of room if you still want to register for this fun camp from Thursday, July 26th at 12 pm to Saturday July 28th at 3 pm at Camp Munhacke. See the attached Summer Camp Parents Guide for your reference on all the fun activities.

Pinewood Derby
Every scout has now received their Pinewood Derby car kit for the March 16th Pack Derby. It's not too early to start working on it now. If the kit was opened, be careful not to lose any pieces. As for the rules, you can follow the ones enclosed in the kit with three additions: you can't modify the axle width, you can’t buy a car pre-made, and you must have built the car in the last 6 months (can’t use previous years cars. Exception: you can race previous years cars in the OPEN HEAT at the end of competition racing).

Also to clarify an interpretation on the rules included in the kit, you have to use the wheels and axles provided with the kit. Yes, this is a competition, but let's have the kids focus on just having fun. They can set their aim on best design (1st, 2nd, 3rd for the pack) or fastest car within their rank (Tigers, Wolves, Bears, Webelos I and Webelos II).

If you are new to this, a tip I can offer is to first take a scrap piece of 2x4 wood and shape it in the same size as the kit to test out all your cuts before shaping the final car out of the wood in the kit. Alternately you can buy an additional kit at the Scout Store or Nankin Hardware (Westland) for a few dollars. You can also get weights, paint, and decals there.

We will abide by the district rules posted on our website.
The only difference between the district rules and those included in the kit is that the kit doesn’t clarify that you can’t modify the position of the axle.

Pinewood Derby Needs and Opportunities
Hi, my name is Aerik La Fave and I will be chairing the Pinewood Derby this year. My son, Brendan, is a Tiger Cub so this is our first year with the Pack. We are very happy to be with SSA Pack One!

I have had many volunteers already but could use some more. Please let me know via call (734.780.1076 ) or email (aerikl@umich.edu) if you can assist in making this a great event for the boys and all families.

The areas of responsibility/number(s) of people needed are listed below:

1. One more person for set-up (this will start at 4:00 p.m. on the day of the Derby).
2. Two more people to help with car weigh-ins (car weigh-ins start at 5:15).
3. Three more people to run the derby track (place cars on the track, etc.). This will begin at 6:45 p.m.
4. One person to be Emcee. This starts at 6:45 p.m. This person will announce racers as their cars are put on the track and then announce the race results.
5. One more person to help run Derby Car voting. This starts at 6:30 p.m.
6. One more person to handle the prizes. This includes manning the prize table, and running the raffle.

How to Build a Derby Car:
On the dates listed below, from 1:00 until 4:00, Aerik will be opening up his garage/home to allow people to work on their derby cars. He will be providing sanding blocks of various grits as well as tools and advice….bear in mind, the last time he worked on a derby car was when he did it as a Cub Scout. Please bring some foamies” (those little foam ear plugs; you can pick them up pretty much anywhere) if you intend to use the band saw/compound miter saw/table saw. He has a couple of pairs of workshop protective glasses so that shouldn’t be a problem. He, unfortunately, will not be supporting painting. Since you will be in the garage in February/March the painting will be better accomplished in your own home with warmer temperatures (paint doesn’t work so well when it is really cold).

The dates of the Build-A-Derby-Car Clinic are:
February 4th, February 18th and March 10th and, once again, the time is 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. These are all Saturdays.

Aerik’s address is 2386 Foxway Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48105 (Fox Fire sub-division). Give him a call at 734.780.1076 (cell) if you have trouble finding his home (feel free to park in the driveway).

Cheese Pizza Orders for Pinewood Derby Night
We will be taking pizza orders for Pinewood Derby Night once again. The pizzas will arrive at 6 pm and the Pack will provide either water or lemonade to drink during dinner time. Keep in mind the Derby night is on a Friday in Lent so we will only offer cheese pizzas. We will be ordering from Little Caesars and they will be $5 a piece. Pat Michel will be taking your pizza order. You can e-mail/call him with your order and pay for your pizzas at the Blue and Gold Banquet. Additionally, he will have a sign-up sheet at the Blue and Gold. You can contact Pat at: patrick.michel@att.net or by phone at 248-770-4089.

Committee Meeting
Out next Committee meeting is on Thursday, February 23rd at 8 PM. Place TBD.

Jim Putlock
Asst. Cubmaster