Eventsat the Volunteer Service Center that may be useful to Pack Parents and Leaders put on by the District Cub Leader Trainer include: Cub Leader Training - this Saturday April 21 or next April 28 (afternoon sessions as introduction to Cub Scouting for all parents and Cub Scout Leader Position-Specific Training for all roles -- register for April 21 or April 28), and Cub Scout Recruiting Training - this Saturday April 21 or April 28 (morning sessions to share ideas and covers topics beyond Atlanta Area Council Fall Signup Night Recruiting -- but everything in the program is supportive of those nights and will lead to greater success and sustainable successful recruiting -- register for April 21 or April 28).

From Paul Bailey, SM of Troop 4234: "Hi all, it is time again for our Annual Church Youth Car Show and Scout Fish Fry this Saturday, 11:00 am to 2:00 pm at Morrow First Baptist (1647 Lake Harbin Road, Morrow, GA 30260) sponsored by Troop 4234 and Youth at FBC Morrow.   Weather looks good and the line up of cars is shaping up really well. So while looking at the cars you can enjoy a good fish meal.  If you want have a car, truck or motorcycle you would like to display bring it on and spend the midday with us." 

In the “Cub Scout Girl Den Early Adopters” Facebook Page, the National Director of Cub Scouting has confirmed that new Cub Scout Leader Book and all Den Leader Guides are coming: "Sneak peek at National Annual Meeting in May with delivery to Scout Shops in June.” And that “Handbooks and Leader guides are not rolling changes”, unlike neckerchiefs and hats with color changes.  Information from the Program Kickoff Advancement session is attached, including images of the new covers.  Handbooks and Leader guides will reflect both girls and the real requirements for Adventures and Ranks announced back on November 30, 2016. 

News on Girls in Cub Scouting announced April 16:  registration options for girls available to all councils starting June 11, 2018.  More at this Bryan on Scouting Blog.  It is hoped that Atlanta will be among those open to this.  What should your Pack be doing? 

• Talk among your leaders and families ... do you want to include girls in Cub Scouting? 
• Note: you don't have to.  
• If you want to be an "All Boy" Pack, that's perfectly fine.
• You can also create a "sister Pack" ... an "all girl" Pack chartered by the same Chartering Organization.
• Whether you want to open up to more youth will depend on a lot of factors ... among them will be whether your Pack families and Chartered Organization can provide enough leaders for what could be twice as many kids.
• If you need ideas about Recruiting ... see our Recruiting Tools pages.
• Everything in there applies just as much to girl Cub Scout families as boy Cub Scout families.
• When your leaders and families get a sense of what they can do and want to do, be sure your Chartered Organization is on board.  Seek their guidance, and feel free to pull in your District Professionals if you need assistance.  
• Remember:  we're trying to "serve the whole family" ... 
• ... girls that like Girls Scouts should stay in Girl Scouts ...
• ... but there are girls who want to do what Cub Scouts do, and we don't want them to miss out on the fun of Cub Scouting.
• Because Cub Scouting and Girls Scouts are different ... each is great ... we want every girl to be involved in one or both.
• For recruiting when the current program year ends at the end of the School Year, your District Professionals will want to get a sense by March 15 or so about whether your Pack intends to open up to girls, or create a "sister" Pack for girls.  
• That will help in planning for spring and school year recruiting.

When can you fully sign up girls?  Short answer is: when you're ready.  For some Packs, they are doing the full "Early Adopter" this spring.  Other Packs that have solid Summertime Program, including Twilight Camp, Resident Camp and other activities, will want to get in on the ground floor and welcome girls at the same time you can welcome new boys:  at the end of the School Year (turn in the Apps on June 11).  Be sure to notify your District Professionals about your plans.  

Enjoy the Ride

Highlights of the most recent District News were these (click links for information):  Recruiting Step Five: Sign Up Events: Not just School Sign Up Night ... do Fun Events Too! ... New Online Youth Protection Training -- All Leaders Must Complete by October 1  ...  Cub Scout Summer Resident Camp - Overnight Camp ...  Opt In, Opt Out ...  and from the week before:    Congratulations to April Taylor, Silver Beaver Award recipient ... Upcoming Events at the Volunteer Service Center ... More Fun Places to Go and Things to Do ... Recruiting Step Four: School and Community Presence -- Show your School and Community the Fun of Scouting! ... Family Scouting Updates including Troop Level Information ...  

Remember: for Cub Scout Packs the goal of successful Sign Up Nights is not to just sign up new youth.  The goal is to sign up New Families!  So have Fun Events where you sign up new families.  This works best once you've done Recruiting Step One (Make a Calendar of Fun Activities that Families Like) and Recruiting Step Two (Let People Know! Let Families and Organizations know your Pack Fun Activities Plan!), you're working on Step Three (Recruit more Leaders and Helpers), and Four (School and Community Events and Presence).  If you have a Fun Event ... you can Sign Up new families.  Schedule fun events now ... if you've got a Calendar of Fun Activities that Families Like to share, and do something fun ... like a "Pack Party", or Pack Picnic, a fishing derby, a bike rodeo, a pool party ... do something fun.  Go ahead with a Fun Event now and invite away! 

Spring fun events are excellent, because you can recruit families who want to do fun stuff like Day or Twilight Camp, and Cub Scout Summer Camps, and other Fun Activities you do.  Use these to attract this spring's Kindergarten kids because they can be next year's Tigers right when the school year ends ... existing Scouts can recruit their friends, and maybe you can have a Pack Graduation where you recognize each den stepping up into the next rank and Handbook.  And this year, pre-K kids can become next year's Lions too!

And when end of summer / start of school / fall recruiting comes around, the same ideas apply:  after you have a big presence of Pack families at any Open House / Meet and Greet events, plan for two kinds of Sign-Up Events as school starts:  (1) first, one or more School Sign Up Nights (your District Professionals will work with you to schedule these -- but you've got to decide what kind of Fun for Families you'll have at the event), and (2) right around then, one or more Pack Fun Events where you can also share Pack Information with Adults (doesn't have to be a "Pack Meeting" ... a "Pack Party", or Picnic, or swim party, or fishing derby, or climbing gym, or Six Flags, bowling party, explorer day at a park, or bike rodeo ... what do you like to do?).  Waiting on the District Professional to schedule a School Sign Up Night?  Go ahead with a Fun Event now and invite away!  Please do both kinds of events -- if you only have a school night, and not pack fun events, it will be harder to bring in new families.  See more in the Leader’s Guide to Recruiting.  To help you when you pitch your Pack, we have a streamlined Sign Up Event Script geared to the start of the program year and a PowerPoint to Pitch Your Pack to Parents that you’ll need to tailor to your fun events, found at our Sign Up Events page.   Be sure to collect and turn in Youth and Adult Applications as soon as they say “yes” -- paper Youth and Adult Applications can be printed from or linked from our "About Scouting & How to Join" page.   And collect dues (or installments to pay for Applications and any Pack provided items like handbooks) – don't forget to access ScoutReach Resources for those who need help.