By Sue Moore
Can the Cub Scouts of Troop 251 have their cake and eat it too?
They surely hope so, said Renee Hawkins and Valerie Tassell, the moms involved with making the event happen on Friday, March 25 at the Vicksburg Community Center. The littlest scouts get to learn how to bake a cake with help from their dads, said Hawkins. Then they are sold to the highest bidder at an auction to help raise money for the pack. “We get some very fancy cakes that are pieces of art. Then of course the boys haven’t really done all that work; their dads have to pitch in too,” she said.
There are 60-plus Cub Scouts, ages 6 through 10, and if they all plan to bake a cake, they need that many buyers to take them home. “In the past, we have just been buying each other’s cakes to raise money,” Tassell explained. “We need to spread the cakes around to the public so we are planning a huge Cake Bake auction. That’s because our budget of $24,589 to run the cub pack is daunting. Scout registrations only covered $4,321 of that cost. Scout fundraisers assure that every boy who wants to participate in scouting has that opportunity, regardless of their financial situation.”
“We are planning lots of special events at the Cake Bake for the first time in hopes that there will be greater support, in hopes that there will be lots of community participation and support for the local scouts,” Tassell said. “There will be appetizers, beverages, and cake served during the evening. The cakes will be judged by a panel of community members, including Mandy Kokales, proprietor of Mandy’s Candies in Vicksburg.”
A demonstration on cake decorating by Bridget Mueller, the owner of Cake N Candy on Sprinkle Road, will start things off at 6 p.m. with a cake decorating demonstration. A raffle is on the docket to help raise money during the evening. Then the main course: the cake auction at 7 p.m., with Kevin Belcher of Belcher Auction Company in Marshall doing the honors.
If that isn’t enough to lure the public into the Community Center, scouts will be handing out cake samples to the community at various locations Thursday evening, March 24 to tempt the community’s sweet tooth for the auction the following evening.”
These Cub Scout moms are working hard to make sure the troop has its cake and of course can eat it too!