From your Acting Committee Chair (and active and committed Pack Trainer) Bert Bender: as the Pack gears up for another year of great activities, friendships and memories like the ones in these pictures, I'll be contacting families over the next week to ask questions like:

• Do you plan to participate in Cub Scouting in Pack 631 during the 2024-25 school year?

• How do you plan to help put on the Pack 631 program this year?

For ways to help, see this page of possible Den and Pack Roles.  The more people help, the more your Scouts will get out of the program.

See the Lonely Photo in the Gallery for the Washington DC Trip.

An historic trip.  Let's document the history.  If you GOT PIX of the June 2024 Washington DC Trip -- please add at https://Pack631.smugmug.com/upload/bRpjTV/DC 

Pack 631 has a Photo Page at pack631.smugmug.com/Pack631CubScoutEvents (and events that include both Cub Scout Pack 631 and Scouts BSA Troop 631), and "future you" will like having those pictures.  "Current you" can add to the galleries by uploading the pictures you take to share with others.

In the links below, you can access the upload pages for various galleries we've created -- with your photos on phone or PC, just click the link and follow the upload instructions: 

• June 2024 Washington DC Trip: https://Pack631.smugmug.com/upload/bRpjTV/DC
• 2024 Blue + Gold Awards Banquet - https://Pack631.smugmug.com/upload/p2RNXV/2024BlueGold
• April Bert Adams Campout - https://Pack631.smugmug.com/upload/cWGtj2/April2024Campout
• March Woodruff Campout - https://Pack631.smugmug.com/upload/wNb3Jb/2024MarchCampout
• 2024 Pinewood Derby - https://Pack631.smugmug.com/upload/PKr6Jm/2024Derby
• February Mobile Trip - https://Pack631.smugmug.com/upload/d7gVbk/Mobile
• December Wreathes Across America -- https://pack631.smugmug.com/upload/7B6Kvg/WAA
• November Veterans Day Parade -- https://Pack631.smugmug.com/upload/pTgvmX/2023Veterans 
• October Spooky Ree Campout -- https://Pack631.smugmug.com/upload/Dqr8wV/OctoberCamping
• The September Huntsville Space + Cave Trip -- https://Pack631.smugmug.com/upload/Nzj87t/Huntsville
• September Stone Mountain Hike -- https://Pack631.smugmug.com/upload/fpDp3D/StoneMountain
• "General" Den Activities (like at Den Meetings) that aren't part of other Big Pack activities listed below: 
• Kindergarten Lion Den 2022-23 - https://Pack631.smugmug.com/upload/k7jcKN/Lion
  
• First Grade Tiger Den 2022-23 -  https://Pack631.smugmug.com/upload/wjQzKN/Tiger
• Second Grade Wolf Den 2022-23 -  https://Pack631.smugmug.com/upload/ZdCp44/Wolf
• Third Grade Bear Den 2022-23 -  https://Pack631.smugmug.com/upload/rM6W4S/Bear
• Fourth Grade WEBELOS Den 2022-23 -  https://Pack631.smugmug.com/upload/J7JsXG/Webelos
• Fifth Grade AOL Den 2022-23 - https://Pack631.smugmug.com/upload/SNxhXr/ArrowOfLight
• August 2023 Pool Party -- https://Pack631.smugmug.com/upload/nxZJvd/Pool2023 

More Upload Links at "Photo Uploads Here". Questions? Want more Galleries? Contact webmaster@atlanta631.mypack.us. 

From a Press Release as announced at the National Annual Meeting of our program: 

IRVING, Tex. (May 7, 2024) – The Boy Scouts of America today announced that it will rebrand to Scouting America, reflecting the organization’s ongoing commitment to welcome every youth and family in America to experience the benefits of Scouting. The change will go into effect on February 8, 2025, the organization’s 115th anniversary. 

This announcement also comes as the organization celebrates the fifth anniversary of welcoming girls into Cub Scouting and Scouts BSA programs. Scouting America currently serves more than 176,000 girls and young women across all programs, including over 6,000 who have earned the rank of Eagle Scout. 

“Though our name will be new, our mission remains unchanged: we are committed to teaching young people to be Prepared. For Life,” said Roger A. Krone, president and chief executive officer of Scouting America. “This will be a simple but very important evolution as we seek to ensure that everyone feels welcome in Scouting.” 

The full press release is at scoutingnewsroom.org/press-releases/boy-scouts-of-america-to-become-scouting-america/.  More at this On Scouting Blog.

What does this mean for us?  Hopefully people won't be confused by the name "Boy Scouts" and think that we are not open to girls joining.  Otherwise, really, not much: the mission, values, and core program remains the same.  And in other news, over the next year there will be a pilot program of mixed gender troops at the 6th through 12th grade level (which is how Troop 631 operated when our Troop of girls was active and may be how we operate in the future).

Our Den Adventure Plan pages are below, with more Rank by Rank (grade by grade) pages more tailored to the Pack 631 experience of using Streamlined and Family Led Adventure plans.  Each and every Rank (grade) page has simpler Family-Led Plans all of the Adventures plus tips, videos and other resources about how to deliver those Adventure Plans this Winter and Spring with more fun in ways easier for parent leaders -- also super useful if/when you want to either "catch up" or do Adventures at home (spoiler alert: you can with those family led plans).  Tiger, Wolf, Bear and Webelos also have parent-lead "Streamlined" Adventure Plans for Required Adventures likely done as a Den.  See your page and find your fun -- because Every Parent Leads in Pack 631!

• Kindergarten Lion Adventure Plans page for parents to help you lead your Scouts.

• 1st Grade Tiger Adventure Plans page for parents to help you lead your Scouts.

• 2nd Grade Wolf Adventure Plans page for parents to help you lead your Scouts. 

• 3rd Grade Bear Adventure Plans page for parents to help you lead your Scouts. 

• 4th Grade Webelos Adventure Plans page for parents to help you lead your Scouts. 

• 5th Grade Arrow of Light Adventure Plans page for parents to help you lead your Scouts. 

From Cubmaster Steve Rodgers: "We had a productive meeting on Tuesday 2/13 with representatives from Pack 631 and Troop 631.  Much of the meeting was spent discussing lodging options.  The group confirmed the recommendation of the Holiday Inn National Mall for the walking distance lodging option.  Information on how to book your individual room will be shared once the contract is reviewed and the block of rooms are held.  The nightly rate will be approximately $233 + 15.95% tax.  We are still working to secure a second/ lower cost option near a Metro station.  

Travel – could be in small groups or individual families. 

• Travel by train with a small group will cost approximately $55/ person one way. 
• We have the option to reserve blocks of 9 or more seats on Delta for $300-350 per person round trip. 
• As of 2/13, American Airlines had direct roundtrip options as low as $200 on multiple booking sites.

Schedule

• The core portion of the trip will be June 5-8.  Some will likely arrive early and/ or stay longer.  If you are booking travel now, allow for activities on both the 5^th and 8^th.  The Holiday Inn will hold bags prior to check in and after check out. 
• We will finalize our Capitol Tour day and time in early March with Nikema and her team.  A potential White House tour may take longer to confirm. 
• Most of the other tours and sites we will see are more flexible and only limited by time and energy.  A few options that have been discussed with various families:
• Arlington National Cemetery including The Changing of the Guard.
• West end of the Mall area including MLK and Lincoln Memorials
• Some portions of the Smithsonian
• Library of Congress
• A possible tour and meeting with team members from the Department of the Interior.
• National Air and Space Museum – Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA.  This is near Dulles International Airport.  Consider flying into Dulles and visiting on Wednesday morning/ mid-day June 5th. 

Fundraising

• If anyone has fundraising experience and would like to help establish an effort for 631, please contact Scoutmaster Renee Bottie-Wheeler at digitalrenee@gmail.com. 

Do you ever look at the Pack 631 Calendar and think "I only want to see my kid's activities -- not those other grades".  There is a tool you might like … Den Filter.  If you click it to select the groups you want to see, your calendar view will be very different … it will ignore “other dens”.  

When you log into the Website, on the bottom left of the main page, you will see a "Filter Dens" option.  It will have Den Numbers and the name of one of the volunteer parent den co-leaders.  If you click the Den or Dens you want to keep in touch with and then click "Filter Content", it will hide other dens that you don't want to see.  See this example of the “Filter Dens” feature to show just Committee and Den 11 Gibson …