A Little Housekeeping
This week I'm skipping my usual story or commentary to do a little housekeeping, share a few updates, and give some well-deserved shout-outs to the folks who help keep Wacky Scouter going.
A Big Thank You to Our Sponsors!
First, a huge thanks to the folks who help support Wacky Scouter and the work that goes into keeping these resources available to Scout leaders.
ClassB offers official Scouting America licensed products, including custom troop and pack T-shirts, patches, neckerchiefs, and other goodies. If your unit needs some new shirts or patches for an upcoming event, they're worth checking out.
Troop Campfire provides software to help Scout units manage events, advancement, communications, and more. It supports packs, troops, crews, and ships, with a free option available to help units get started.
Fathom Publishing has a collection of books for kids and teens, including adventures, nature stories, dinosaurs, and other fun reads. They also have a bunch of free printable activities, including coloring pages, puzzles, games, and word searches that may come in handy for your next meeting or rainy campout.
Campfire Arts gets an honorable mention. Their sponsorship is currently paused, but they've been a solid supporter over the years. They create handcrafted wooden swords, including personalized Scouting gifts and awards. Some pretty neat stuff for recognizing or honoring leaders or for a new Eagle Scout!
Wacky Eagle Technologies provides as-needed, ongoing website support for WordPress, Shopify, static, and custom websites. Just ping Scott with what needs to be done, he adds it to the queue, and it gets handled when it reaches the top. Simple, with no required retainers or packages, just good communication and a practical approach to keeping your website running.
Wacky Scouter Merch & Support
Did you know Wacky Scouter has a little merch shop over on Ko-fi? You'll find ebooks, Wacky Scouter stickers, Robo Eagle stickers, and even an "I'm a Wacky Scouter" patch. A few fun ways to show off your Scouting spirit while helping support the site.
You can also make a secure donation through Ko-fi if you'd simply like to help keep things running. Every bit helps cover the costs of maintaining the websites, newsletter, and thousands of free Scouting resources.
A Day in My Life?
Lately I've been doing some "day in my life" style posts on Facebook, sharing little glimpses into my daily adventures, challenges, running a small business, and whatever else happens to wander into the picture.
So far I've only been sharing these on my personal profile and Wacky Eagle Technologies page. I'm curious, would you enjoy seeing some of these in the Wacky Scouter Facebook group, or perhaps as a section in this newsletter?
Behind the Scenes at Wacky Scouter
For the last 6–8 weeks, I've been working off and on improving the code that helps me put together this newsletter each week. There are still a few gremlins hiding in the gears, but I'm steadily working through some of the weirder things.
I'm also considering bringing back the Scout jobs section, now that I've found another way to capture job listings. Another idea I'm kicking around is a little "Trading Post" section featuring maybe 3–6 Scouting-related products from places like Amazon or eBay. Just some interesting gear, gadgets, and other useful finds. Fair disclosure they would be affiliate items, which with Amazon is a whole 3% of the sale lol, but it all helps keep our lights on.
Looking a little farther ahead, I'm exploring a couple of additional curated newsletters. One focused on camping, hiking, backpacking, camp cooking, places to explore, outdoor jobs, and gear. The other centered around neurodiversity, including ADHD, autism, helpful resources, products, and related topics. Both are still in the tinkering stage, but I figured I'd mention them and see if there's any interest.
As always, I'd love your feedback, thoughts, and ideas on any of this. Simply drop me a note at scott@wackyscouter.org.
Yours in Scouting,
Scott