The 2021 Atlanta Area Council Camp Card sale will run from February 1st - April 1st, 2021. To register your unit, complete the form at: https://forms.atlantabsa.org/view.php?id=6479581.

The Council has a Camp Card information page where you can get sales tips and a copy of the 2021 Leader's Guide: https://www.atlantabsa.org/campcards.

If your unit participated in the 2021 Camp Card sale, it's time to settle your account. There are several ways to do this. First, if you have left over camp cards for which you would like to get credit (they must be in their original, unbroken condition), you will need to give those to a District Executive or turn them in at the Program Center at the Volunteer Service Center. To pay for the camp cards your unit sold, you can make arrangements with one of our District Executives, pay at the Program Center, or pay online at https://www.atlantabsa.org/campcardsettle. Got Camp Card questions? Email our District Executive, Claude Gatlin at claude.gatlin@scouting.org.

Council level news first - I'm sure many of you fondly remember Brandon Dobbins, former Silver Comet and Mountain Lake DE. He has been promoted to Field Director at the Council, so be sure to congratulate him the next time you have a chance! Along with a new Field Director, the Council has rearranged Service Areas. Silver Comet has been moved to Service Area 4, together with Foothills and Appalachian Trail districts, under the direction of George Snipes. Please welcome George to the Silver Comet family!

Now for some district news. We have a new Membership Chair - Leah Briick. Leah is taking over for Chris Voigt, who has moved out of state. Thank you, Chris, for your work on the Membership Committee and as the Membership Chair! Leah has served on the Membership Committee for several years and has already hit the ground running - thank you, Leah, for taking on this role.

We also have a new Advancement Chair - John Keiler has come out of retirement to reprise a role he held many years ago. He is filling some very big shoes. Our long-time Advancement Chair, Ray Swarts, is ready to sail off into the sunset. While many aspects of Scouting slowed down or stopped due to the pandemic, the Advancement Committee could not and did not. Thank you, Ray, for your many years of dedication and service to our Advancement Committee, especially over the past year!

We are still looking for a few good Scouters to take on Training Chair and Camping Chair. While we continue our search, Sharla Stewart and Clint Pope have graciously agreed to fill those roles in the interim. If you're interested in learning more about those district positions, or would like to help out in a smaller way on any of our district committees, email the District Chair at districtchair@silvercometdistrict1.mytroop.us.

The District Committee is excited to announce some changes in leadership at the district level:

Jennifer Kane, who has been a Day Camp Program Director in Silver Comet for many years, has stepped up to become the district Program Chair. In this new role, Jennifer will represent the district on the Council Program Committee and will ensure the delivery of exciting district-level events for Scouts and Scouters in Cub Scouting, Scouts BSA, and Venturing.

Lindsay McVicar has returned to Silver Comet in a volunteer role, and has accepted the position of district Camping Chair. In this position, Lindsay will represent the district on the Council Camping Committee, and will coordinate our Spring and Fall Camporees, and other district-level camping activities designed for our Scouts and Scouters.

We also added several new Members at Large to our Committee at the August District Committee meeting: Jordan Gonzalez and Eddie Lacher who work with the City of Acworth Parks and Recreation Department, and Sharla Stewart, a Silver Comet Scouter who has volunteered to assist with Cub Scout Advancement and Scoutbook.

Please join the District Committee Members in welcoming our newest district-level volunteers!

We currently have 34 volunteers in the Silver Comet District whose YPT certification has expired. Those leaders should not be meeting with youth either physically or virtually until they retake their YPT! Unit leaders, please use my.scouting.org to check if anyone in your unit needs to complete re-certification.

Applications are now being accepted for the 2020 Chris Schornak Eagle Scout Memorial Scholarship.

Applications are due April 18, 2020, and the award will again be presented at the Annual Memorial Day Flag Placement Ceremony at the Marietta National Cemetery on May 23, 2020. Click on "read more" for details and to download the application.

Chris Voigt has enthusiastically accepted the position of District Membership Committee Chair, taking over from our retiring Chair, Bob Griffin, who is taking on the role of Scoutmaster in Troop 7020. Thank you Bob for guiding our District Membership Committee for the past two years, during which we successfully added girls to Cub Scout Packs and Girl Troops to the district. The entire district wishes you success in your new role as Scoutmaster!

Chris is an experienced member of the District Membership Committee, and is well positioned to ensure the smooth transition of all of our District Membership Committee functions and events. Leah Briick continues to provide valuable experience and assistance to the committee, particularly with Webelos to Scout Transition events.

If you have questions or suggestions, or if you'd like to join the District Membership Committee, email Chris at membershipchair@silvercometdistrictbsa.org.

National Night Out 2019, hosted by the Cobb County Police Department, will take place on August 6th at Jim Miller Park (2245 Callaway Rd., Marietta) from 5:00pm till 8:30 p.m.

National Night Out is an initiative by local law enforcement agencies to sponsor a night for the community to come out and mingle with the public safety members that serve their community. The police will showcase all of their toys including the Mobile Command Vehicle, K-9 Unit, SWAT truck, the motorcycles from the Motors Unit, and even the dirt bikes from the Ranger Unit! In addition, CCPD has offered scout units the opportunity to set up a recruiting table at the event.

To sign up your unit, go to: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0544aea82ea6f85-national. For more information about this recruiting opportunity, contact our District Executive, Hubert Snow.

All Silver Comet units are eligible to nominate a deserving leader for the Conductor Award, so make sure your unit's nomination is submitted by this Thursday, February 28th. The Conductor Award is for any adult in your unit that deserves recognition for outstanding service to scouting. Each unit may nominate one worthy adult for every 25 youth the unit serves (1-25 registered youth = 1 nomination, 26-50 = 2 nominations, 51-75 = 3 nominations, etc.).

The nomination form is available here:
https://www.silvercometdistrictbsa.org/system/files/SCD2019Conductornomform.docx

The nominations must be submitted by the Unit Leader, Committee Chair, COR, or Unit Commissioner. Completed forms should be emailed to Clint Pope at conductor@silvercometdistrictbsa.org.

Conductor Awards are given out at the District Banquet, which will be at the Volunteer Service Center on Thursday, March 14th. Check out the banquet page for more details and for registration links.

It goes without saying that the pandemic put a damper on fall 2020 recruiting - Silver Comet recruited less than 100 new scouts! For Packs that are interested in trying to recruit new youth this spring, Council will deliver targeted fliers to that Pack's local feeder school, advertising a virtual or in-person event of your choosing. This initiative is not intended to take the place of fall 2021 recruiting, nor is there a requirement for your Pack to participate. If your Pack would like to participate, or if you'd like to know more about the opportunity, please complete a brief survey here: https://forms.gle/dRmGAMy8fZpvX6vMA, and plan to attend the Spring Recruitment Training at Roundtable on Thursday, March 11th (https://www.silvercometdistrictbsa.org/node/2011). You can also contact the DEs, Daniel (daniel.degraffenreid@scouting.org) and Claude (claude.gatlin@scouting.org) to get your questions answered.

Council has a spring initiative for troops as well. The Council would like each district to facilitate a virtual Webelos Open House for 4th and 5th grade Cub Scouts to assist Webelos in finding a troop, particularly the 5th graders since they are aging out of Cub Scouts. If your troop is interested in participating, please contact Leah Briick (webelos@silvercometdistrictbsa.org).