March 7th update

We met as a district jamboree committee last week.

I need responses for each troop member for the following:
- t-shirt size
- jacket size
- whether they want to volunteer as a Hometown News Correspondent

We would really welcome parent help in coordinating the meals for our April 23-25 campout.  Please let Ted, Denise, or I know if you want to volunteer your parent, or parents can volunteer themselves ;-)   There will be 2 breakfasts, one lunch and one dinner.

We are looking at options for getting our gear shipped to Ft. A. P. Hill.  Prior years they've used fruit-boxes instead of regular palates- they stack and ship well.  We could use about 12 of them.  Does anyone have contacts in the fruit industry?

We are planning on providing 2 t-shirts, a hat, a bolo,a neckerchief, patches, troop numbers, a duffel bag and a jacket for each participant.  (As if that wasn't enough, we are also providing the opportunity for a life-enhancing experience, but that probably goes without saying.)   Extra troop 710 t-shirts will be available for about $7 each, and there will be extra patches available for purchase  (~$2 each).  Patch trading is very popular.  Most boys buy 5-10 additional patches for that purpose.


We should be getting a 2nd national jamboree patch for everyone.  For your 3rd shirt or any other extras will need to be purchased out of the catalog you got in the mail, or from www.scoutstuff.org.  It looks like to access that you'll need your jamboree registration ID that was in the e-mail they sent out March 1st.

You'll want a day-pack (or small carry-on) that will hold a change of clothes and toothbrush that you will need for when we are touring.  We're not planning to check luggage, as they now charge extra for that, and we can ship everything we need for camping.  A preliminary equipment list can be found here:  http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ortscar/prelim_equipment_list.pdf

The Hometown News Correspondents are the only scouts with internet access at the jamboree.  They have the opportunity to share their jamboree experiences with their local media.  Newspaper & radio professionals will guide them in creating professional news stories from the jamboree.  We should have at least 2 slots for this available


I'm relieved to have the medical forms in (or at least I think they are all in now).  I'll let individuals know if national has problems with any of them.

The scout-shop uniform order is going forward.  We held off a bit on sending it in to allow more participation, since the discount is a one-shot deal.  We don't necessarily expect that everyone will have everything sewn-on just right by April, but we do expect that for May.  Rumor is that there are rank badges with 100 year anniversary on them.  The national jamboree shoulder loops are pretty cool.

We're working on getting rounders and shoulder patches made, and ordering gear.  We're going to use 5 gallon buckets for chairs, plastic folding tables, and car awnings.

We're thinking about what to do for a gateway.

Congratulations and thanks to all those who have all their money in.  We are working hard to be at or under budget.  If things work out with shipping, we may be in good shape.