After an awesome series of Pacific storms in January, we are now enjoying mid-winter months of lengthening days, cool morning fog, warm afternoon sunshine, and hearts all around! Read through this monthly newsletter to find out how you can be involved in fun programs and great opportunities in the coming months for Scout youth and adult leaders alike.

As a reminder, the BSA was founded on February 8, a day to celebrate the history and traditions of our great youth movement which has benefitted millions of families across the country! Please forward this monthly newsletter to other people in your unit who may not be receiving it. Or suggest they go to our website and sign-up for a subscription here!

Unit leaders, don't forget to assign someone from your Pack, Troop or Crew to attend our regular monthly Roundtable meeting for leaders and parents! This gathering via ZOOM will start at 7:30pm sharp with opening ceremony and brief announcements for all program volunteers together. The Scouts BSA group will then go into their own break-out session.

with Commissioners Roger Dickerson & Mike Blum!

Our annual Marin Council Code RED First-Aid competition returned to its traditional date (last Saturday in January) and indoor format at the San Rafael LDS Church where Scouting functions were held for many years. 15 Patrols from participating Troops throughout Marin worked together to evaluate and resolve the various apocalyptic scenarios! This exciting Scout Skills event was a big success thanks to hosts Troop & Crew 73 from Novato with support assistance by the youth of OA Talako Lodge and the Hamilton Field Coast Guard team! Join us in congratulating the following unit Scouts for their success:

This fun activity helps Cub Scouts and their parents who need assistance designing, cutting and building a Pinewood Derby car. Due to the popularity of this annual event, we have returned to our traditional location at the Camp Tamarancho woodshop. Bring your own car kit purchased from our Marin Council Trading Post, and have a design in mind. Council adult volunteers and OA Talako Lodge Arrowmen will be onhand to assist with directing traffic and parking, managing check-in, and working with power tools and other equipment to help you rough out the shape of your imagination on wheels!

We will present a small snack shack for refreshments, so don't forget the small change! And thanks to the dedication of our Council Shooting Sports Committee, we anticipate also being able to offer the BB-gun and Slingshot ranges open for a little marksmanship fun when you are done on Pit Row! For more details, or to register your Cub Scout, please click on the Pinewood Derby Workshop image above right. Thanks for your support!

One of the favorite local events of the year is the annual Marin Council Recognition Dinner, held annually (scheduled for Monday, March 13, 2023). The reason it's so popular is that we recognize dozens of outstanding Scouts and leaders at that time. Scouts, Explorers, and adult leaders from all over the county attend this wonderful event. Click here to register NOW!

Please note the following important date and don't miss this opportunity for recognition! Wednesday, February 1 --- Adult volunteer nominations are due at the Council office. OTY Leaders will all be recognized. For the other Adults awards, the honorees are selected from all the nominations by the Council Recognition committee.

All 2021 & 2022 Scout youth & adult nominees will be recognized at the Council Recognition Dinner this March. What a great opportunity to see all that is happening in Scouting throughout Marin County! Click here for a flyer to pass along to all families in your unit!

Looking for a fun weekend in the snow with your Scouts BSA patrol at beautiful Marin-Sierra? Talako Lodge Arrowmen are taking advantage of our deep winter snowpack by preparing for our annual Klondike Derby Winter Camporee. The theme is "Raiders of the Lost Patrol Box", and a registration link, updated Sourdough guide to winter camping techniques, and other information are available NOW; look for further details here!

The Shooting Sports Program at Camp Tamarancho is a designed to teach safety in the use of firearms while having fun at the range. We offer shooting opportunities in Archery, BB Gun, Rifle, Slingshot & Tomahawk. In order to maintain these opportunities for our youth to improve marksmanship skills and learn firearm safety, we need adult volunteers to operate the ranges.

For the first time in many years, our Council Shooting Sports Committee volunteers are now offering to teach these more advanced official National Rifle Association (NRA) trainings:

For more information about these training programs click here for a flyer, or just click on the images above to link directly to registration. For any further questions, please contact by email Chief Trainer Steve Dutra.

Our annual Cub Scout Camping adventures are a great way for your family, den and pack to have fun outdoors at our beautiful camp properties which are among the best of their type in all of California! Tent camping, good food, fun activities and lots of program opportunities await you this Spring, Summer and Fall. Early registration details will be released on February 1!

Family Fiesta Weekend --- May 19-21 @ Camp Tamarancho

Cub Scout Day Camp Weeks --- July 10-14 and July 24-28 @ Tamarancho

For a Day Camp Staff application, click here!

Webelos Woods Weekend --- September 1-3 @ Camp Marin-Sierra

Cub Scout Adventure Weekend --- September 22-24 @ Camp Tamarancho

Nearly 25% of our annual budget comes from donations! Those are contributions from Scouting alumni, community partners, and local Scouting families who benefit the most from our programs and our camps. Without this support, we would not be able to offer the services we do, and not be able to maintain our camps to the level we need.

We have heard from a number of our families and donors that have requested greater opportunity for directed giving towards specific projects or programs as opposed to general program support. Beginning this fall we have begun rolling out “micro-campaigns” through our online giving portal. These micro-campaigns will be geared to a specific Council program or camp improvement items --- many times projects that will not be able to move forward without additional funding.

Our first two micro-campaigns consist of the camp toilet conversion project which is a huge improvement to our facilities, and our annual Scouting for Food drive which costs our Council about $5,000 to conduct. We are pleased to announce that we did reach our recent challenge grant for the toilet retrofit project, but even though we were able to match that initial target, there is still a funding need to achieve our total goal of $50,000. Donations are still welcome, so to give to these campaigns, you can visit Give - Boy Scouts of America or simply click the “DONATE” button on our Council homepage. We will update this portal periodically and add new priority micro-campaigns as we move through the year.

We will always have a Friends of Scouting appeal to process those donations online and support all aspects of council operations. (Please note: for ease of set-up we take advantage of a BSA National giving platform, but rest assured that your generous donation always stays local within the Marin Council.)

After another successful Summer reviving the excellent programs and Scout Camp traditions at Marin-Sierra, we are excited by the opportunities awaiting us in July 2023! Our Council webpage has all the exciting details to plan your best week ever at Scouts BSA resident camp! This annual experience is critical to the delivering the promise of adventure and the mission of the BSA to our youth.

Click here to submit an application for the most Summer fun you can have by joining our amazing Camp Staff team at Marin-Sierra, the best Summer camp in the Sierra Nevada . . . May the Forest be with YOU!

The Council Venturing Committee helps guide our older Scouting youth and young adults with the benefits of this co-ed program and fantastic leadership opportunities. More information about our Venture Crews with their special interests and high adventure activities is available through our quarterly Venturing Rally meetings or recent Scouts BSA Roundtables. For further details, please email Venturing Rally Commissioner Peter Bauer. There are several interesting adventures next year to National and world Scouting events; see details below or join Venture Crew 333 to find out more!

Join local Marin Scouts who are planning to visit the amazing International Scout Centre in Kandersteg,

Switzerland, founded by Lord Robert Baden-Powell. From June 25 to July 9, 2023, we'll travel the Swiss Alps, hike trails surrounded by incredibly scenic beauty, and enjoy meeting Scouts from around globe! Depart from SFO and fly to Zurich, then travel by rail though the Swiss Alps to Kandersteg, and return for a fun overnight in Zurich. The Crew size is limited to 14 participants; all equipment and program is provided. For more details, check out the Kandersteg website and email Crew Advisor Willy Coronado.

The new slate of Talako LEC officers elected at our annual Banquet in December kicked off the new year in Murray Lodge with the Lodge Leadership Development training sessions over the wknd of January 7th-8th at Camp Tamarancho! Our first lodge meeting of the year was held on Tuesday, January 10 at the Elks Lodge, and our brotherhood of service supported the annual Code RED First-Aid competition last Saturday.

Talako Lodge is excited for all our upcoming events this Winter! We will be hosting the annual Pinewood Derby Workshop at Camp Tamarancho on Saturday 02/11. We will also have our monthly Lodge meeting at the San Rafael Elks on Tuesday 02/14. In March, Talako will be hosting our annual Klondike Derby Camporee at Camp Marin-Sierra over the wknd of March 10-12. The updated Sourdough Manual with the theme "Raiders of the Lost Patrol Box" gives you all the details your patrol will need to make this upcoming Klondike the best ever! Looking forward to seeing all the Arrowmen at these events!

If you have any questions about the National Order of the Arrow organization, NOAC or the local Talako Lodge in Marin, please contact Lodge Chief Finn Diringer.

Please check our Council website homepage regularly for the most current information and event calendar, and the frequent social media activity on our Facebook and Instagram pages linked below, as well as those for Camps Tamarancho & Marin-Sierra.