Monticello Minute: January 27, 2026
by: Ed Murphy, District Chair
Advancement Notes – The End of an Era
After about 15 years of service, Jay Fox has stepped down as the Eagle Project reviewer for the Monticello District. In that time, he reviewed essentially every Eagle Scout project in the Monticello District. We estimate Jay has probably read, commented on, and approved nearly 1000 Eagle Projects. The Monticello District wants to thank Jay for his outstanding service to the Scouts of our District.
Pete Fenlon has agreed to take on the role of Eagle Project reviewer. In the near future, we will be creating a Monticello District email address that will automatically be forwarded to the District Eagle Project reviewer. We thank Pete for taking on this essential role.
Friends of Scouting
All units should schedule a Friends of Scouting presentation at a Pack Meeting, Troop Court of Honor, or other event where parents will be present. Please contact David Storm to schedule a day and time for your unit’s presentation.
Awards
The annual Monticello District Awards and Recognition Dinner will take place on Thursday, March 5, 2026, from 6:30-8:30 pm at the American Legion, 3025 Louisa Road, Keswick, VA. After a quick opening, a potluck dinner will be served and the award ceremony will follow dinner. Look for the potluck signup in your mailbox in the next few weeks.
Awards to be presented include the District Award of Merit, the Spirit of Scouting Award, Outstanding Scout of the Year (Cub Scout, Scouts BSA, Venturing), outstanding Eagle Project of the Year, and the Unit Scouter/Volunteer of the Year Awards. Nominations for awards are still open. You can see the list of awards, nomination deadlines, and past winners here.
Every unit should nominate a Scouter or volunteer for the Unit Scouter of the Year Award for their noteworthy service to the unit over the last chartered year. This award can be presented to a person, a couple, a business, or whomever the unit feels has provided noteworthy service to the Pack, Troop, or Crew. This award can be given to someone who is not a registered leader.
Christmas Tree Sales for Camp Shenandoah
The Monticello District has wrapped up Christmas Tree sales for the 2025 season. We ordered 1056 trees that were sold at 7 lots spread across Central Virginia. Total gross sales amounted to just over $110,000. After paying for the trees and other costs, we expect to return about $22,000 to the units and $15,000 to Camp Shenandoah. We greatly appreciate the hard work of our volunteers and Scouts who staffed the lots, often on long, very cold, shifts!
Charter Renewal
It is charter renewal season in the Monticello District! If your unit has not done so, please start your charter renewal immediately and submit it as soon as possible. We have been hearing about issues with the system and with individual registrations. Starting now will give you time to work through the issues before the deadline (February 28, 2026). If you have any questions, contact your Unit Commissioner. If you don’t know who your Unit Commissioner is, please contact our District Commissioner, Mike Bonham.
Monticello District Roundtable
Our next District Roundtable will be on Thursday, February 5, 2026, from 7:00-8:30 pm at the American Legion in Keswick. All adult leaders are strongly encouraged to attend.
Yours in Scouting,
Ed Murphy
Monticello District Chair
Mountain Valley Minute: January 27, 2026
by: Jeff Teagarden, District Chair
Greetings Mountain Valley!
Happy New Year!! Yes, yes, it’s the end of the month; but it’s still the beginning of what is to be a great year in scouting!!! Who has been observant enough to realize I’ve added an additional exclamation mark each sentence thus far?!!!!?
We have some wonderful events happening this year. To start, Winter Camp was an arctic blast. I’m sure there were some behind the scenes ‘obstacles’ that occurred (as with any inaugural event), but seeing it from an outsider’s perspective, all I saw in the few hours I was there Sunday afternoon were Scouts having an avalanche of fun. Merit badges were earned, test lab merit badges were experimented, and Yukon Cornelius greeted many in the trading post. Smiles were a plenty, despite the chill in the air.
Coming up in February we have a winter favorite – Klondike Derby. Polish up those sled runners and be ready to take on the course Feb. 6-8th.
Click here to register for the Klondike Derby.
Later in the month we have Cub Scout Adult Leader Training as well as Den Chief training on Saturday, Feb. 28 at Asbury UMC in Harrisonburg. Every Scout deserves a trained leader, so let’s have all our sessions full of eager learners!
Cub Scout Adult Leader Training
Finally, our Council Recognition event is February 21st. Come join us in congratulating our Scouts, Scouters, and Eagle Scouts on their accomplishments in 2025. Register to attend here; we’d love to see you there.
Yours In Scouting,
Jeff Teagarden
Mountain Valley District Chair
Mountain Valley Minute: October 28, 2025
by: Jeff Teagarden, District Chair
Greetings Mountain Valley!
I wanted to remind everyone that we are reviving the old Google Group and transitioning to using that for mass message distribution. Please subscribe to stay updated on MVD happenings. https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/mtn-valley-vahc-bsa. Note, you must be logged into your Google account before the join button will appear. You do not need a Gmail account to create a Google account; you can use any email address. If you had previously subscribed to this group, now would be a good time to review your notification settings.
Also, this is a friendly reminder that District Award of Merit nominations are due to me by the end of November.
Our November Roundtable (November 5) will be in Harrisonburg at the Asbury UMC, Room 300. I hope to see you all there!
The Mountain Valley District is proud to recognize the Scouts who achieved the rank of Eagle Scout this past month. Each of these young leaders demonstrated commitment, service, and leadership at the highest level of Scouting.
- Isaiah H. — Troop 8, Churchville
Project: Built a podium for a Harrisonburg church’s outdoor chapel service. - Ethen C. — Troop 46, Elkton
Project: Rebuilt a shed for the Elkton Progressive Improvement Committee, including a new roof, doors, and repaired siding. - Thomas D. — Troop 11, Fishersville
Project: Landscaping work to support a church in Charlottesville. - Molly “MK” O. — Troop 314, Stuarts Draft
Project: Partnered with Silver Line Theatre Exchange in Staunton, transforming the unused space above their bathrooms into an efficient costume storage area - Sawyer T. — Troop 8, Churchville
Project: Built a bench behind Staunton High School
These achievements remind us of the strength and promise of Scouting in our communities. We congratulate these Scouts and their families for their hard work and dedication.
Finally, Tracy Norman is stepping down from the District Program Chair position at the end of the year. If you would like to fill that spot or have someone in mind who you think would do great at Program planning, please let me know!
Monticello Minute: October 28, 2025
by: Ed Murphy, District Chair
Scouting for Food is upon us!
This event is one of the most crucial service projects we provide for the counties and cities of our Council, providing great variety and additional food for the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank as it moves into the holiday season.
We will distribute flyers on the weekend of November 1st and/or 2nd (whichever day is most convenient for your unit) and pick up food on Saturday, November 8th.
Flyers are available for pickup at the Ed Murphy’s front porch; please email Ed for the address.
There is no need to call ahead. Just come get the flyers off the box on the porch. The box has markings on the side that you can use to measure out 200 flyers or 500 flyers. Please take only what you need so that there will be enough flyers for all our units.
The flyers are just that (they are not door hangers). David Storm said his units have had great luck stapling the flyers to plastic grocery bags. They have been able to get local grocery stores to donate the bags and have seen significantly larger donations.
Thanks for all you do for Scouting!
