American Labor - Thank you to all the Scouts who participated in Monday's visit with AFLCIO President Liz Shuler. As a follow-up, please feel free to bring a thank-you note to President Shuler to this Monday's meeting, and they will be bundled and delivered to AFLCIO HQ next week. The next meeting for the American Labor Merit Badge will be after the regular meetings on January 19, and February 2. The plan for completing the requirements is as follows:

The fitness test for the Tenderfoot requirement will be held on Saturday, January 17 at 9:30 AM at Silver Creek Middle School in Kensington.

The fitness test is a Tenderfoot requirement which requires a baseline test of push-ups, sit-ups, flexibility and a mile run and a retest after 30 days after planning a month-long fitness improvement plan and executing the plan. There will be an opportunity to do the second test after the scouts complete their 30-day exercise plan.

The Klondike Derby is January 23-25! More information and the signup page are at on the calendar page for the ev

Come join us in removing invasive plants (English ivy, Japanese honeysuckle vine, wintercreeper) along the C&O canal! SSL hours available and all supplies are provided, including pruners, work gloves, and trash bags. Poison ivy may be present, so please take care to wear proper clothing/shoes. Parents must accompany minor children, and both parents and children should register in advance at the link below.

GT8 is considering scheduling elections for Order of the Arrow the first meeting in January. We need to gauge interest among the scouts. If you are missing the meeting on Monday, please let Scoutmaster Tucker know if you are interested in potentially being considered for OA. To be eligible, you must be a First Class (or higher rank) and have camped with scouts for 15 or more nights over the past two years (only one long term camp can be counted for that 15-night total). Here is some information about OA - we will discuss more at the meeting on December 22.

Scouts who have signed up to earn the American Labor Merit Badge will have three opportunities to participate in a follow-up conversation about the Requirement #1 worksheet. In addition to completing that requirement, these conversations will prepare Scouts attending the January 5 meeting with AFLCIO President Liz Shuler to have an informed discussion with her. Please sign up for one of the three sessions and be sure that you have completed the worksheet beforehand. If you have any questions, please email Mr. Kildee at brian.kildee@gmail.com and be sure to copy Mr. Tucker and your parents on that message.