Aloha! The Silver Comet District is proud to announce the annual 2022 Silver Comet District Banquet, with a Hawaiian twist! The Banquet is an opportunity to recognize Silver Comet Scouters for their contributions to the Scouting community throughout the 2021 Scouting year.

This year’s theme is Hawaiian luau. You’ll be serenaded with tropical tunes by our very own John Caputo, and food will be catered from Waikikie Hawaiian BBQ. There’ll be prizes galore, with a grand prize opportunity to win (1) entry to either Wood Badge or Powderhorn in 2022! We’ll celebrate our accomplishments from the past year, and we’ll laugh and cry together over the tribulations. We’ll hand out awards and recognize superior volunteers. More information is available on our event page: https://www.silvercometdistrictbsa.org/node/2099, including a link to the Tentaroo registration, and the forms to nominate volunteers for the Conductor Awards and the District Award of Merit. Have you got some unit pictures you'd like to submit for the District slideshow? Email them to scdphotosubmission@gmail.com.

Date & Time: Thursday, March 10th, 2022, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Location: McEachern Memorial United Methodist Church, Christian Life Center, 4075 Macland Road, Powder Springs, GA 30127

Cost: $15 per adult (please, no children at this event)

Attire: Class A uniforms or appropriate themed Hawaiian attire

The Silver Comet District is proud to announce the first in a series of Merit Badge Days, presented by the fully trained Merit Badge Counselors of Silver Comet. Our goal is to use the Merit Badge program as the backdrop to engage youth in a deeper understanding of a vocation or hobby that they may be interested in.

Merit Badges provide an opportunity to learn important skills, introduce lifetime hobbies, and inspire career paths. Completing a merit badge takes not only interest and effort, but meaningful engagement with subject matter experts, and ultimately ends with advancement and recognition.

The February Merit Badge Day will be held on Saturday, the 12th, at McEachern Memorial United Methodist Church and the cost will be $5 per class, per Scout. The merit badges offered in February will be the new Healthcare Professionals MB, Public Speaking, Soil and Water Conservation, Weather, Coin Collecting, Family Life, Fingerprinting, and Railroading. Each Merit Badge will be limited to a class size of 12 Scouts. Registration will be through Tentaroo, and will open early this coming week. For all the details and a link to the Tentaroo registration (when available), see our event page at https://www.silvercometdistrictbsa.org/node/2098.

Save the date! Our District Banquet will be held on Thursday, March 10th. One of the highlights of our annual banquet will be the announcement of the 2021 District Award of Merit recipients. The District Award of Merit is a council award presented by districts in the same manner that the Silver Beaver is a national award presented by councils, and is available to Scouters who render service of an outstanding nature at the district level. To nominate a deserving district volunteer, fill out the nomination form (DAOM Form 33720), which you can download from the district website at https://www.silvercometdistrictbsa.org/system/files/DistrictAwardofMerit.pdf.

Return the form to our DAOM Committee Chair, Cathie McCabe, either:

1. in person,
2. by email: districtvicechair@silvercometdistrictbsa.org , or
3. by US mail: Cathie McCabe 2021 DAOM, 5487 Cathers Creek Drive, Powder Spring, GA 30127

Nominations will be accepted by the DAOM Committee, chaired by Cathie McCabe, until Saturday, February 12th, 2022, at 6:00pm. Nominees should not be informed that they are being nominated. Nominations received after the deadline may be held for consideration in a future year. To avoid nominating someone who has previously been honored, please check the list of District Award of Merit recipients on the district website at https://www.silvercometdistrictbsa.org/node/1360 before completing your nomination form.

I hope that you and your families had a wonderful holiday season. It's the beginning of a new year, which comes with a host of new dreams, hopes, and aspirations for the future. As you embarque upon your path to a great 2022, I encourage you to include Scouting in your resolutions.

Be resolved in 2022 to offer the best Scouting program that we can to our youth. That means getting position-specific trained, and keeping your YPT training up to date. Training can be completed online 24/7 at my.scouting.org. Every Scout deserves a trained leader!

Resolve to keep the "outing" in Scouting during these soon to be colder months. Silver Comet units participated in 513 campouts during the month of December for a total of 1578 nights camped, and participated in 255 hikes averaging 4.5 miles per hike! While these numbers are great, I know that we can do better. Outdoor activity reduces stress and anxiety, fights mental fatigue, and helps elevate mood - which we all could use after the last few years, so get outside!

May this new year bring you the warmth of love and a light to guide your path.

Yours in Scouting,

Sharla Stewart
Silver Comet District Chair

There are still four spots available in the District's Nova - Down and Dirty STEM event for Cub Scouts on Saturday, January 29th. For event details and a link to the registration, go to our event page: https://www.silvercometdistrictbsa.org/node/2092. Registration will close on Friday, January 14th, so don't delay!

As we enter the Christmas season, we here in the Silver Comet District have so much to be thankful for. Our units consistently offer top-notch program to our Scouts, and our leaders work tirelessly to ensure they're keeping our youth focused and engaged, despite the trying circumstances of the last few years.

I encourage you in these coming winter months to continue keeping your Scouts active - go on campouts, take those hikes and work on those service projects! And of course, don't forget to log them in Scoutbook. Need help logging your hours? Reach out to our Scoutbook Advisors:

Cub Scouts: Scott Nowak scoutbook@silvercometdistrictbsa.org

Scouts BSA: Jayme Smith progchair@silvercometdistrictbsa.org

In closing, I'll leave you with a quote from John F. Kennedy:

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."

From my family to yours, may your Christmas be filled with light, love and laughter.

--
Sharla Stewart
District Chair