The American Legion Post 437 will be holding a spring cleanup of their grounds and an informal Flag retirement event.

This is a great way to give back to our sponsoring organization and help keep the property looking nice.

The cleanup activities will be leaf blowing, weeding, mulching planting beds, litter cleanup, and other related tasks.

As you might remember, the Legion had to cancel their Flag Day ceremony last year, and they have a large number of flags that need to be retired.  Once the cleanup is done, they will be conducting an information retirement of the flags they have that are no longer serviceable.

The Legion will be providing lunch.

Our next trip will be tent camping at the Resolute Scout Reservation.   

This campout will be a great opportunity for our new cross-over scouts to join in all the fun of camping with Troop 437. 

Outing: Camp Resolute in Bolton, MA
Arrive at Resolute: 10 AM on Saturday, April 12th
Pickup at Resolute: 10 AM on Sunday, April 13th 
Cost: $25 for overnight camping, lunch, dinner, cracker barrel & Breakfast

This trip will feature a Merit Badge Bonanza where several merit badges that can be completed in one day will be offered.  We hope all scouts can complete one or two badges at this campout.  An exact list of badges that will be offered will be announced as the trip approaches.

The patrols will also be competing in an Iron Chef cooking competition!  Does your patrol have what it takes to wow and delight the judges with your culinary skills and teamwork?  All patrols will be required to utilize a challenge ingredient in their dinner meal.

 There will also be our usual evening campfire and likely opportunity for board or card games. Bring your favorite game to share with your fellow scouts!

Our annual Bike & Sporting Goods Sale is one month away!  The sale will take place on the Westford Common on Saturday, May 3rd, from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.  Please mark your calendars and spread the news far and wide to friends and family. Be sure to share our Facebook event too! (https://www.facebook.com/events/579333048332661/) 

We will be accepting donations from now until the sale, and consignments and donations can also be brought to the Legion on Friday May 2 from 5:30-7:30 pm and to the Common on Saturday May 3 from 7-9 am. Anyone wishing to donate can email bikesale@westfordtroop437.us to arrange drop-off or pickup.

Do you have some room available in a garage, shed or barn?  Please consider loaning us the space for a month, so we can store all of the donations.  Please email bikesale@westfordtroop437.us if you have storage space to offer.  Thank you!

The Bike Sale is our only annual fundraiser, and we ask all scouts and parents to help out however they can.  Please look for the signup form in mid-April. Your help during the drop-off evening or the sale is much appreciated, and we will also need to borrow some items like canopies and tables.

We will be conducting Scouting America's Introduction to Leadership Skills Training (ILST) for the Patrol Leaders Council on March 30th.

The purpose of the ILST course is to teach Scouts with leadership positions about their roles and how to succeed in that role. It is intended to help Scouts in leadership positions within their troop understand their responsibilities and to equip them with organizational and leadership skills to fulfill those responsibilities. ILST is the first course in a series of leadership training available to Scouts. 

For more about ISLT check out this article: This training course is an absolute must for BSA youth

We are requesting that all PLC members make it a priority to attend this important training.

• When: 1:00 PM to 7:30 PM Sunday, March 30th
• Where: Westford Central Fire Station (Boston Road) meeting room
• Who: All PLC members - SPL, ASPL, Patrol Leaders, Assistant Patrol Leaders and all scouts with a position of responsibility

Troop 437 will attend Summer Camp from July 27th to August 2nd. We will once again attend Camp Wanocksett.

Please see our Summer Camp web page for all the details.

Here are the important dates:

• April 17^th Signup deadline for early bird pricing
• April 15^th Deadline for CIT applications
• April 1^st Deadline for Campership applications
• June 5^th Medical Forms due