Weekly Post, January 11, 2015

Post date: Jan 11, 2015 5:38:50 PM

Hello Troop 737,

Happy New Year and I hope everyone had a great holiday season.

We had a blast at bowling night! Scouts brought friends, siblings and the Dicksons came as a whole family. Devin Thompson bowled 100 for the highest scout score but that was not enough to beat the scoutmaster. Cole Wagenhals bowled a ball that was clocked at over 20 MPH which was the fastest even over all the adults. But maybe the most amazing accomplishment was pulled off by one of our scout Dads. For the second game all the adults bowled the whole game with their non-dominant hand. Bill Plaehn bowled a 115 which was by far the highest score but also much higher than his score with his right hand??? Fun had by all.

Here is the link to the video that was used to make the woggle neckerchief slides at our last meeting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-GTAGkSR_A

Monday night we will be doing some cool team building exercises along with campout prep for the Alexander Cabin trip. This is the last meeting you can sign up for the Alexander Cabin camping trip on January 16 -18. This promises to be a great trip with sledding, broom hockey, snow shoeing and hanging out with your friends. We currently have 15 scouts and 3 adults singed up. The cabin sleeps 24. There are 6 spots left.

Kurt Ballantyne has asked to have a special meeting for all Boundary Waters participants before this Monday night’s scout meeting at 5:45. We need to pick our entry points and routes. So if you need to bring your dinner that’s fine but come to this important meeting.

We were running really late last meeting and I forgot to do the drawing for the raffle, sorry. So next meeting we will be finishing our raffle for the prize below. To earn raffle tickets; be on time, in full uniform and stay for circle time. Bring the tickets that you have earned in the past.

Sign-up sheets for summer camp will be available at Monday night’s meeting. See information below.

We still have open spots for Boundary Waters. Where are all the 14 to 16 year old scouts?. Don’t miss this chance of a lifetime! See info below

Now is the time to sign up for Big Horn Training See info below

REMINDER To be included in the Troop 737 group text messages, text @troop737 to (303) 625-7829. This is mainly for Scouts but parents are welcome to join. You can opt-out of messages at any time by replying, ‘unsubscribe @troop737’.

Upcoming signup deadlines

This Monday night, January 12 for Camp Alexander cabin trip on January 16 - 18

NOW Boundary Waters sign up now see below. First payment due December 1^st.

Scoutmaster Minute Review

During this holiday season there are a lot of mixed messages out there. All the ads on the TV, internet and the newspaper say: buy, buy, buy … now, now, now … new, new, new … hurry, hurry, hurry. It is easy to get caught up in the materialism of the season. This is also known as the season of giving. You can give to charities in the form of money, food, clothing, etc. You can give your time by volunteering. Remember to do a Good Turn Daily and give away your good scout attitude. Then the mail comes and there are 15 different catalogs. Wow that looks cool, I want one of those and one of those and one of these. But remember to be grateful for what you have. You have food on the table, clothes, a roof over your head and a warm bed to sleep in. During this crazy holiday season concentrate on giving; especially your time and good scout attitude and please remember to be grateful. If you do these things you will have a very happy holiday season.

Here is a list of upcoming events:

You can always check out the full schedule on the Troop website at: https://sites.google.com/a/themountaintroop.org/troop-737-home/troop-calendar

January 12 Troop Meeting 6:30 – 8pm ELC Service patrol is the Barracudas. Please show up 15 minutes early to help set up. Patrol/Team building. Campout prep. Mines and Submarines.

January 16 -18 Camp Alexander Cabin Trip Leave 6pm Friday return late on Sunday (no school on Monday). We have rented a cabin that sleeps 24. Activities include broom hockey, sledding and plenty of hiking/snow shoeing. There is Ice Climbing available for scouts 13 and older for an extra $32 but we need to sign up fairly soon.

January 18 PLC Meeting 6:30 – 8pm All members of the Patrol Leaders Council come and plan the upcoming meetings and events. All patrols should be represented.

February 8 Scout Sunday Please attend your church of choice in your uniform and see if you can help with the service. Scouts can also attend the Evergreen Lutheran Church and help with the service.

February 14 - 16 Quinzee campout Meet at ELC at 7:30am Saturday morning leave by 8. Build Quinzees on Saturday. Explore area on Sunday. Return Monday, Presidents day noon. Location not finalized but probably up on Guanella pass.

Summer camps.

Sign up early and make your payments. The troop will not be fronting costs. If you do not make your payments on time you will not get the early discounts and you may not be able to go. There is plenty of time for scouts to make money for summer camp. If money is an issue please contact me, we can make it happen

For the out of state we will be going to Medicine Mountain Scout camp in the Black Hills of South Dakota. This is for scouts who are currently in the seventh grade and above. The dates are July 12 – 18. We have reserve a total of 25 spots. The first 20 scouts who sign up and pay the deposit will be set to go. The other 5 spots are for adults. We are looking for a HALO (Head Adult Leader Organizer) to head up this group. Here is a YouTube video about the camp. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EEWMdCk6uY

Medicine Mountain Scout Ranch in SD – July 12 – 18 Maximum 25 total slots

Deposit due at initial sign-up $10.00

Early Bird Scout Price Due March 15, 2015 total $245 after initial deposit $235

Early Bird Adult Price Due March 15, 2015 total $100 after initial deposit $90

Standard Scout Price Due May 1, 2015 total $295 after initial deposit $285

Standard Adult Price Due May 1, 2015 total $125 after initial deposit $115

Late Scout Price After May 2, 2015 total $320 after initial deposit $310

Late Adult Price After May 2, 2015 total $150 after initial deposit $140

Include all merit badge costs

NOTE: This does not include transportation and food costs to and from camp.

The instate camp which is for all Scouts is Camp Alexander, which is about 45 miles west of Colorado Springs. The dates for this camp are July 26 – August 1. We have signed up for a campsite that accommodates 21 to 27 people. So again, first come first serve. Here is a video about Camp Alexander https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lfDd-s9_AkQ See costs and payment dates below.

Camp Alexander in Colorado – July 26 – August 1 Maximum 27 slots

Total Costs Scout $320 Adult $235

Payment Schedule:

Initial deposit due upon sign-up $35

Due January 5, 2015 $75 per camper

Due March 2, 2015 $100 per camper

All remaining fees due April 27, 2015 $110 per scout, $25 per adult

Some merit badge costs are extra.

Boundary Waters: It is time to make your deposit of $100 so that the planning can start on crew make-up, transportation and entry points. As it now stands we have 19…only 8 scouts and 11 adults.. (Isn’t this supposed to be a trip for the older Scouts?). Parents need to understand and encourage the older scouts to attend.. where are all the 14-16 year old Scouts… It is the best way to keep those older scouts in Scouting and moving towards achieving Eagle. We need at least 5 more scouts to sign up so we can have 3 full crews of 8. The deadline has been extended to January 1^st. Please sign up or let me let me know if you are interested. The dates are 6/9/15-6/18/15, which includes one travel day each way to/from Minnesota. The final cost will be determined after we buy group-plane tickets, which won't be until spring, 2015, but the total cost will be about $900 per person. A deposit will be needed by 12/1/14 (expect about $100 down). This is a trip NOT to be missed by any Scouts at 14 ages or above (13 years old is allowed with a parent).

Big Horn Training. This is the preeminent Boy Scout leadership training. All the scouts that have attended this training have had a great time and found the training to be invaluable. All scouts who are 13 years old or older and have achieved at First Class can attend. I know I wish I had the opportunity to take this training when I was in school. Here is a link for more info: http://www.denverboyscouts.org/openrosters/view_homepage.aspx?orgkey=1897

As Scoutmaster of a very active troop, I am constantly being approached about our troop helping out in the community. The troop policy has been to give our Eagle projects the priority over any other service opportunities. Instead of bombarding you all with these other opportunities I will keep a list and if a scout wants to participate in a service project or he needs service hours for rank advancement, he can email me for the list.