Thank you to all of the scouts, scouters, parents and community members who made this year's Scouting for Food a HUGE success. We collected more food donations, more monetary donations and covered more of San Francisco than in any recent previous year. The SF-Marin Food Bank sends their gratitude. Great job, Golden Gate District!
Reminder: Please be sure to record your service hours in Scoutbook+!
24,175. 2,699. 18. 10,760. 26,249.
Find out what these numbers mean in the link below!
Congratulations to Troops 29, 88, 88G and 415 for fielding teams in this year's Scout-O Orienteering Competition! Held on October 26 at Briones Regional Park, the scouts reported having lots of "Type 2" fun once the rain deluge began. Be sure to plan for this event on your Troop's planning calendar for 2026!
On Thursday night, 250 Bay Area commercial real estate professionals and scouters witnessed Pat Flanagan receive the Golden Gate Area Council's "Good Scout Award" at the 40th Annual Gala and Auction, held at the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco. Pat spoke glowingly about last year's scout participation by Troop 3, the second oldest troop in the U.S. currently celebrating their 111th year serving Chinatown youths. Along with Emcee Jim Carbone, the pair took turns recalling from last year's gala how T3 started, and the young men involved in contacting BSA in New York to charter a Chinatown Troop. Golden Gate District's T3 legacy has made an impression on these two Gala participants, as well as on a whole new group of Gala attendees.
As the evening's featured scout speaker, T333's Dashiell Dulany shared his scout journey with the audience, bringing a standing ovation and a hug from Pat Flanagan.
Thank you to the scouts and scouters of our District who supported this annual fundraiser event.
This email goes to all registered adult leaders in the Golden Gate District (San Francisco/Daly City). Want an easy way to share this with others who may be interested?
Unit Renewals are available NOW. Unit Key 3 Leaders be sure to check out the Unit Renewal checklist for the steps needed to complete Unit Renewal. Contact your Unit Commissioner (or Paul Lanzi if you don't have a Unit Commissioner) for assistance. Units that have not completed Unit Renewal by 12/31 will be automatically disbanded and will have to start over. Don't let it happen to you!
November brought two rousing discussions -- for Scouts BSA/Venturing/Exploring/Sea Scouts, we talked about mobile phones and scouts. For the Cub Scouts, the leaders discussed how to inject STEM/STEAM concepts into Pack events.
We look forward to another great discussion at the December (zoom) roundtable!
Once a year, GGAC puts on one of the largest adult scouter training sessions in the country. Choose from among dozens of courses that cover topics from holding Pack Meetings with Pizzaz to amazing Service Project Ideas to topics like MESH for Scouts. Some of the scouters from our District will be teaching courses this year -- come say hi!
NEW: 2026 Basic Scout Leadership Training & iOLS in Chinese
February 7, 2026, 8 am - 2:30 pm @ Council Service Center
February 28-March 1, 2026 @ Camp Chesebrough
Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council cordially invites you to attend the 2026 Basic Scout Leadership Training (BSLT) in Chinese. The training consists of an SM/ASM specific (SMS) and an Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills (IOLS) courses. By completing both courses, you will be certified as a “Trained” adult leader, thereby earning a “Trained” patch.
NEW: Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills (iOLS) (S11)
March 13 -15, 2026 @ Camp Chesebrough
Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills (iOLS) is a hands-on training open to all registered adults. It teaches adult leaders how to successfully run a Scouts BSA camp-out and teaches the practical skills needed in Scouts BSA. This is a required training for all Scoutmasters and ASMs but everyone is welcomed.
Reminder - Now Hiring: District Executive for Golden Gate District (SF/Daly City)
The Golden Gate Area Council is hiring a new District Executive for our District -- covering San Francisco and Daly City. The job is a great fit for a recent college graduate, especially one with scouting experience, looking to leverage their experience in sales, the non-profit sector and/or fundraising to benefit the 1,000+ scouting youth of our District.
Forestry Service Weekend 2026: Plant 2,000 Redwoods!
January 10, 2026 @ Chesebrough Scout Reservation
Join us for a day of service and conservation at Chesebrough Scout Reservation on Saturday, January 10th, (9 AM–4 PM). Participants will learn about forestry, help with wildfire prevention measures (including burn piles, if permitted), and participate in a massive conservation effort to plant 2,000 redwood trees! This event is open to Scouts BSA youth (older Cubs welcome with an adult). You can choose to attend for the day ($15, trail lunch included) or Scouts BSA can camp out for the weekend ($25).
April 10-12 @ Beale Air Force Base, Marysville, CA
This isn’t just another gathering; it’s the ultimate celebration of scouting, and it’s happening to mark Americas 250th anniversary. Are you ready to be a part of it? Scouts BSA Troops, Cub Scout Packs (or individual families), Explorer Posts, Venture Crews and Sea Scout Ships are all invited! Entertainment includes a Dragon's Lair (for Cub Scouts), tours of the Beale AFB Flight Line, a Scout Arena Show, Merit Badge Midway, Fun Run and more!
Warriors Scout Nights - Tickets Now Available for Purchase
Sunday, February 22
Below are the links that will allow you to purchase tickets at the Group rate with no fees or taxes. If you are looking to secure 10 or more tickets, or are looking to book a Fan Experience Program, please contact Andrew Sheets directly so he can assist with seating your group together.
Game Details: Scouts Day #2
Date: Sunday, February 22nd
Opponent: Denver Nuggets
Ticket Prices:
Upper Level: $100-$115 Per Ticket
Cache Creek Club (Sections 126-129): $200 Per Ticket
Would your Pack be able to host the District-wide Pinewood Derby race after your regular race concludes? Let us know! Our planned venue for the 2026 District Pinewood Derby race is no longer available, so we're looking for a Pack to help host us. If you can help, please get in touch with Paul Lanzi (ggd.commissioner@gmail.com).
Sea Scouts BSA
SSS Corsair Matching Campaign
From the San Francisco Sea Scouts: We have some exciting news and invite you to be part of an extraordinary opportunity for our association and the community we serve. The St. Francis Yacht Club Sailing Foundation has generously donated $25,000 to support the rebuild of our sailing whaleboat Corsair.
But there’s more! The Foundation has issued a challenge that can double the impact of your gift. If we can raise an additional $25,000 from our supporters by the end of the year, the Foundation will match that amount with another $25,000 donation.
The National Youth Council gives youth leaders a chance to help shape the future of Scouting by working directly with top leaders on decisions that affect the program.
This is the council’s fifth year. More than 40 youth, including Jonathan, from across the country will share their thoughts on what’s working well and what needs to improve. They’ll also give feedback on new ideas being considered by the national Scouts BSA committee. Youth will meet virtually with Scouts nationwide while helping create real policies like merit badge requirements, and rank advancement.
Congratulations, Jonathan, on your appointment to the National Youth Council! We know that you will represent the Golden Gate District and Golden Gate Area Council well!
Reminder - New Merit Badges: Cybersecurity and AI - any interest?
The new Cybersecurity and AI Merit Badges have recently launched. Would your unit be interested in participating in a Merit Badge Day focused on these two Merit Badges?
Thursday, March 5 - District Recognition Dinner 2026
Key 3 Corner
Featured this month: District Commissioner Paul Lanzi
Your Commissioners Are Seeking the Answer to the Question: "How Can I Help?"
As Commissioners, we seek to be the best friend to the units that we serve. This includes: advocating for the needs of the unit, helping with problems that crop up, and keeping the unit leaders informed of important deadlines, changes and opportunities in scouting. We are your unit's representative, a 'doctor', teacher, counselor and connector.
Last week, during Scouting for Food, I met a scouter who had recently moved to San Francisco from another Council. He saw that I was a Commissioner, and he said that the joke (not really a joke) in his old unit was that Commissioners were like unicorns -- you heard rumors about them, but never saw them. This made me pretty sad, as I think that Commissioners can only do their job if they are present and in communication with the units that we serve. I hope that, in Golden Gate District, Commissioners have a better track record than unicorns!
This month, units are going through the Unit Renewal process. As a reminder, the Unit Renewal process is now (almost completely) separate from Member Renewals. When you complete your Unit Renewal, you do not submit a roster of scouts who are part of the unit -- scouts/parents do that themselves when they complete their Member Renewal. Unit Renewal is, thus, much more straightforward and easy to complete on time! If you run into any challenges, be sure to get in touch with your Unit Commissioner, or if you don't have a Unit Commissioner, I am always happy to help.
Thank you scout leaders for everything you do, and thank you to the 17 GGD Commissioners who it is my absolute pleasure to work with.
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