Troop News

As a reminder..there won't be a Troop meeting Monday, December 30th, due to the Holidays....


Except for the Christmas tree stands, all of the sales gear has been stored at the Hut....we will announce a date and time for the storing stands....

....thanks again to all who participated for wrapping up the season as well as we did.

This coming weekend ( January 4-5) is our Troop annual planning conference wherein the Scouts and attending leaders will set the pace and determine our activities in 2014...

As this is a Troop planning conference..all Scouts are expected to attend for their input and their vote for activities...attending leaders can add depth with innovative and challenging ideas for the boys to consider. The uniform is the Scout tan shirt, Scout trousers, socks, and belt. He should dress for the weather if we leave the building.

We will traditionally start 8:30 AM in the class room adjacent to the kitchen and auditorium in the BPUMC...but we need several Scouts and leaders to arrive at 8:00 AM to unload our gear from the Frank Tank by the south entrance of the parking lot across from the playground.

Planning Troop goals and activities will usually take most of the morning with breaks in between. The Troop will provide coffee for the leaders and breakfast snacks for all.

At about mid-morning, we will need a couple of leaders to pick up the rest of what we will need for lunch from the grocery store....hot dogs/PBJ sandwiches/soup.

Following lunch, we will start afternoon activities:

....Skill sets and activities planned by Mr. Horn with assisting leaders:

These will include:


Compass
Knot tying
Tent setup
Opening ceremony
First aid
Flag folding & etiquette
Cooking

Maybe pancake toss & tomahawk throwing


....the annual Youth Protection course for the Scouts will be given by COL Kidd just after lunch before the activities begin for the Scouts.

....During the Scout activities, a Youth Protection course for those leaders who need the update (this is two year requirement) will be available with COL Kidd, in the BPUMC fireside family room across from the auditorium and following that,

.....the Merit Badge Counselor training for those Leaders/parents who are assisting with merit badges in the Troop (this is an annual requirement) will be available with COL Kidd.

Members of the Troop Committee can gain certification requirements (once only) by going to myscouting.org and taking the course (Troop Committee Challenge) on the internet, giving a copy of the same to Mrs Kidd for the Troop records.

We will have a Troop Committee meeting beginning as close as possible to 4:30 PM to approve the planned 2014 agenda and to discuss other Troop business, including an evaluation and plans for next Christmas tree sales in 2015.

After the above activities, we will depart for dinner in the bus and personal autos at the Golden Corral in Hoover...Scouts 12 and under should bring $6.00 for the meal (includes drink and tax, but not the gratuity). Leaders and Scouts 13 and older should bring 15.00 for the meal (includes drink and tax, but not the gratuity).

When we return from dinner, all Scouts should be present for a short discussion on Troop leadership. This is required if they are elected leaders for the up and coming six months.

Finally, thanks to Mr. Branin for arranging a Troop Philmont trip coming up during the summer of 2015, Mr. Simon and veteran Scouts of the 2013 Philmont trip will give an initial audio and media presentation on Philmont resembling the last briefing given by SM Beckwith about Northern Tier so Scouts/parents can begin preparation for the trip regarding physical fitness and equipment. The presentation will last about an hour or so.

Scouts will have free time for the remainder of the evening. They will need their sleeping gear for the ovenight stay.. I will need one leader to be present w/me until we depart Sunday morning.

All Scouts will have to depart no later than 8:00 AM Sunday, January 5.

Thanks for your continued support and for encouraging regular attendance in assuring 2014 will be our best year yet in meeting the purpose and goals of the Scouting program...

YiS Dan s

"Delivering the Promise"

Troop News

Thanks to all the hard work and persistence on the part of all, this has been one of our best year for the two lots...and the best in recent memory for tree sales.


The Ross lot was officially closed today, thanks to all those who assisted and all that gear is packed in our Church Lot trailers...The generator is lighting the Church lot at this time and all the church lot scaffolding has been taken down and stored for return in the Troop trailer.


We still have ten or so trees on the lot and we will have to light them with the generator....


If you were assigned to Ross lot, please pull the rest of your tree sales assignment at the Church lot with the Church Lot parrents/leaders/Scout assigned...we need to sell the last ten tree (that represents a minimum of $ 600 for our budget).


Parents should release the Scouts from the Lot tomorrow so they can attend the Christmas party.


We will make a final decision tomorrow night as to the next few days on the the lot and the time and date for it's final clean up. Ross lot personnel will make sure the generator is cranked and turned off from their experience with it.


All patrols are responsible for bringing snacks and drinks to the Christmas party tomorrow night..if your son is the patrol leader, he is responsible for assuring all who need to conrtibute are advised of that. This was discussed by them at the last Patrol Leader's Conference (PLC). Previous emails break down gifting and drinks/snacks.


YiS Dan S