Letters From The Trail

We’re halfway through the month of October.  The golden Harvest Moon was rising yesterday evening and reminded us of the golden heritage Jesus has called us all to enjoy.

We’ve already announced this in two other forums, but we’ll make it official here: the Area Camporee will be at Nameless Valley Ranch, not at Inks Lake this year.  The Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife gives priority for use of state parks to military and military support organizations.  One such organization is holding an extended weekend of training just ahead of the Veteran’s Day weekend, which just happens to be when we were planning to be at Inks Lake.  They got the space; we got the boot.

However, our God is just as willing to meet us all at NVR as at Inks Lake.  And on the bright side, the cost for attendance has gone DOWN to $15 per person.  Day passes are still $5 per person.

We’ll see you there!

In other news, any clubs that have not yet gotten Area Coordinator signatures on their paperwork can show up at the North Side Honor Fair (at Austin South SDA Church) to get that signature.  Failing that, you’ll need to contact a coordinator and arrange to meet up.

See you on the trail!

Well, well, September definitely went off with a bang.  And a fire or four.  Big thanks to all Pathfinders that moved in to help the Austin area during the Bastrop fires.  And another huge thanks to all the Pathfinders that sweated out their service time at Lake Travis during the Underwater and Shoreline Cleanup.

October has two major events coming:

1) The registration deadline for the Central Texas Area Camporee is October 13.  In case you missed the big shout last time, THIS IS A HARD DEADLINE!  Clubs that do not register by October 13 risk not having a campsite AT ALL and may end up missing the camporee.  You can “hold your spot” by sending an email to coordinators@ctxpathfinders.org, and you can officially register by filling out the packet (download it from here) and mailing it to Scenic Hills SDA Church.  The address is on the form.

2) October 16 is the North Area Honor Fair.  As always, any club in the Central Texas Area is welcome to attend; we just host one of the fairs further north to help out our northside clubs by giving them a shorter trip.  You’ll see an email going out about this soon; we need head counts, and volunteer instructors.  This year, we’re focusing on the new ACS honors, and on Science and Health honors (purple background).

More coming soon!  See you on the trail!

Welcome back to another year of Central Texas Pathfinders, where we just keep getting better every year!

This year, we’ve already had our first round of staff training, and it was very well attended. We had over 50 staff members present each of the two days, with nearly 40 receiving certification. We also saw a record number of new staff members, many of them former Pathfinders eager to return to the clubs and share the skills they spent six years acquiring. This is wonderful! Our youth remain the greatest resource in the world, and when we see so many of our youth engaged in preserving Pathfinders, we know we must be doing Pathfinders right.

September blazes in with a bang as we kick off the year with two major events. First up is the annual Lake Travis Underwater Cleanup, on September 11. This year, due to the drought and the low water levels, there’s a LOT more shoreline to clean than ever before, and the KAB Society really wants to see as much help as they can get! Registration can be done online at the KAB website. Remember to wear club T-shirts or Pathfinder blue, and take lots of water!

Following that, and late in the month, is Friday Night Live! This, for the newcomers, is a celebration of CTX Pathfindering, a chance to get together and meet Pathfinders from other clubs, a chance to win a few prizes and a chance to meet the Area Coordinators. Details on location and time will be going out very soon.

The Area Camporee events have already been sent out, and the rest of the details for the Camporee are forthcoming. We are also, this year, launching the interactive forums to help you get information, share triumphs, ask for help and generally connect with each other.

More coming soon!

See you on the trail!