Journal
Kickoff Campout 2025
September 19-21, 2025
Friday night, we opened the 2025 Kickoff Campout with praise and worship led by a band from Thorn Creek. God reminded us of his power with some intense lightning and cracks of thunder you could feel resonate in your chest.
Saturday was packed with activities! In addition to some games, the 2nd & 3rd graders completed the My Country badge and did a copper punch project, the 4th, 5th, & 6th graders worked on the Knots & Lashing and Camp Cooking badges, and the 7th & 8th graders worked towards the Archery and Marksmanship badges and helped clean up the Kankakee River on the canoe trip.
At the evening assembly, Nick from Storm Science told some storm chasing stories and explained how hail, lightning, tornadoes, and clouds form. He then proceeded to fill the entire tent with a cloud!
Sunday morning, as always, capped the campout with a worship service.
Super Saturday 2025
April 19, 2025
Another Super Saturday, another Cadet season comes to completion. We celebrate the boys’ achievements for the year and enjoy a little friendly car derby competition. Thank you to everyone who helped make it possible!
Congratulations to #5640 Oak Glen URC, the Illiana Council Club of the Year! They averaged 9.5 badges per Cadet this season!
Congratulations to #5621 Community URC for scoring the most points in the Model Car Derby.
2025 Rocket Launch
March 8, 2025
The boys were eager to get their rockets in the air! There were at least 20 Cadets lined up to launch 45 minutes before the event was supposed to start! The rockets were flying all morning and the Cadets were getting good and muddy. Lots of smiles all around!
2025 Clay Shoot
March 1, 2025
10 boys earned their Clay Target Shooting merit badges at the inaugural Illiana Council Clay Shoot. It was cold and windy, but smiles all around. The boys started with .410 shotguns. Every boy got to try a break-, bolt-, and pump-action .410. They started by firing at stationary clays taped to sticks, graduating to flying clays from a stationary launcher, and finally to clays tossed from wobbling launcher. The boys got to try their hands at using 20- and 12-gauge shotguns as well. Thanks to Luke, Alec, & Jason for hosting the event!
1st Place - Sr. Division - #5665 Thorn Creek Raptors
2nd Place - Sr. Division - #2766 Crete Church Snow Wolf
1st Place - Jr. Division - #2738 Faith URC Red Dragon
2nd Place - Jr. Division - #2766 Crete Church Snow Tigers
Everything Soup!
Snow Derby 2025
February 1, 2025
The 2025 Illiana Council Snow Derby was fantastic! 16 teams from 10 clubs competed in Compass Course, Distance Run, Ravine Rescue, and Winter Camp. After the events concluded, everyone shared a delicious meal of Everything Soup. All attendees bring a can of soup. All the cans get dumped in a big pot. Voilà! Everything Soup! I had six kinds of noodles, celery, potatoes, carrots, chicken, beef, and a SpaghettiO in my bowl.
Congratulations to our winners!
#5665 Thorn Creek Raptors - 1st Place Sr. Division
#2766 Crete Church Snow Wolf - 2nd Place Sr. Division
#2738 Faith URC Red Dragon - 1st Place Jr. Division
#2766 Crete Church Snow Tigers - 2nd Place Jr. Division
Model Car Kit Assembly Day
November 18, 2023
Thank you to all the Cadets, Counselors, and families that came out to assemble model car kits!
We had 53 people come out and assembled 5,325 kits.
Kickoff Campout 2024
September 20-22, 2024
This year marks 30 years of having the Illiana Council Kickoff Campout at Davis Creek! 239 boys, representing 19 of the 20 Illiana Cadet clubs, and 152 dads and counselors attended.
The 2nd & 3rd graders completed the Flyers & Floaters badge, the 4th, 5th, & 6th graders completed the Axemanship and Fire Building badges, and the 7th & 8th graders worked towards the Archery and Marksmanship badges and helped clean up the Kankakee River on the canoe trip.
Mr. Freeze put on a fantastic cryogenics exhibition Saturday night and Sunday morning brought some rain while we worshiped. All in all, a great campout!
Model Car Kit Assembly Day
April 27, 2024
Thank you to all the Cadets, Counselors, and families that came out to assemble model car kits! Thank you to Knudsen Construction for hosting the event! 33 people assembled a whole lot of car kits!
Faith URC - 2024 Club of the Year!
2nd Grade Merit Awards
3rd Grade Merit Awards
4th Grade Merit Awards
5th Grade Merit Awards
6th Grade Merit Awards
7th Grade Merit Awards
8th Grade Merit Awards
Green Star Awards
Black Star Awards
2nd Grade Show Cars
3rd Grade Show Cars
Coral Reef Car
4th Grade Show Cars
5th Grade Show Cars
6th Grade Show Cars
6th Grade Show Cars
7th Grade Show Cars
7th Grade Show Cars
8th Grade Show Cars
Open Class Show Cars
Open Class Show Cars
Open Class Show Cars
Open Class Show Cars
Open Class Show Cars
Open Class Show Cars
2nd Grade Show Winners
3rd Grade Show Winners
4th Grade Show Winners
5th Grade Show Winners
6th Grade Show Winners
7th Grade Show Winners
8th Grade Show Winners
Open Class Show Winners
Best in Show!!!
2nd Grade Race Cars
3rd Grade Race Cars
3rd Grade Race Cars
4th Grade Race Cars
4th Grade Race Cars
5th Grade Race Cars
5th Grade Race Cars
6th Grade Race Cars
7th Grade Race Cars
8th Grade Race Cars
Open Class Race Cars
Open Class Race Cars
2nd Grade Race Winners
3rd Grade Race Winners
4th Grade Race Winners
5th Grade Race Winners
6th Grade Race Winners
7th Grade Race Winners
8th Grade Race Winners
Open Class Race Winners
Fastest Car!!!
Orland Park CRC - Most Points at Super Saturday
Doesn't Get Much Closer!
Super Saturday 2024
April 20, 2024
Super Saturday marks the end of another Cadet season, where we celebrate the boys’ achievements for the year and enjoy a little friendly car derby competition. Thank you to everyone who helped make it possible!
Congratulations to #2738 Faith URC, our 2024 Club of the Year. Faith’s Cadets averaged 11.4 merit badges per boy this season!
Congratulations to #2709 Orland Park CRC for scoring the most points in race and show at Super Saturday!
Model Rocket Launch 2024
March 9, 2024
Thank you to all who came out to rocket launch!
The weather turned out much better than expected and the mud wasn't too deep. We had 8 clubs and 46 Cadets at the launch, a fantastic turnout, given the weather forecast.
#2766 Crete Snow Wolves - Sr. 1st Place
#5640 Oak Glen Hickories - Sr. 2nd Place
#2717 New Life Frostbites - Jr. 1st Place
#2738 Faith URC Blue Knights - Jr. 2nd Place
Snow Derby 2024
February 3, 2024
We didn’t have snow, but we had a lot of fun at the 2024 Illiana Council Snow Derby!
Congratulations to our winners!
#2766 Crete Snow Wolves - 1st Place Sr. Division
#5640 Oak Glen Hickories - 2nd Place Sr. Division
#2717 New Life Frostbites - 1st Place Jr. Division
#2738 Faith URC Blue Knights - 2nd Place Jr. Division
Model Car Kit Assembly Day
November 18, 2023
Thank you to all the Cadets, Counselors, and families that came out to assemble model car kits!
We had 53 people come out and assembled 5,325 kits.
New Life Cadets Hosts Its 20th Cadet Breakfast!
October 22, 2023
Twice a year the New Life Cadet Club (2717) hosts a breakfast after the church service. It’s a morning of good food, fantastic fellowship, and an opportunity for the Cadets to serve their church family. The club put together a video to commemorate hosting their 20th breakfast.