Weekly Post, February 15, 2015

Post date: Feb 14, 2015 2:51:39 AM

Hello Troop 737,

I am sending this out early because we will still be out on our Quinzee campout on Sunday.

I am very sorry that we will be out on Valentine’s Day. Hopefully, all the parents who are going on the trip can go out on Friday night or find another time for a romantic evening with their spouses.

Monday night is the Patrol Leaders Council (PLC) ELC If you are a Patrol Leader or in a troop leadership position please come and help plan the upcoming Troop activities. If you are a Patrol Leader and you cannot make it to this meeting you need to talk to your assistant Patrol Leader or someone in your Patrol so that all Patrols are represented at the PLC.

Medicine Mountain Summer Camp in South Dakota. It turns out that I had the wrong information. If participants get their full payment in by March 15^th you will still be able to go to this great camp. In addition to the typical scout camp activities this camp has a special program for high adventure that includes backpacking, mountain biking, rock climbing, caving and COPE. Check out the website for more information. A couple of other interesting aspects of this camp are that there are no camp activities scheduled for Wednesday. Participants are encouraged to go check out the sites of the Black Hills. Also there is a family camp just outside the scout camp where families can set up camp including RVs. This out of state camp is for scouts who are currently in the seventh grade and above. The dates are July 12 – 18. We currently have 8 scouts and 3 adults signed up to go. There is room for up to 25. So talk to you buddies and sign up! http://mountain.blackhillsbsa.org/

Camp Alexander in Colorado. This camp is located west of Colorado Springs near Lake George. We went to this camp in January and it looks great. There is a nice swimming pool, large lake, great shooting ranges and a Kiva for ceremonies. All new scouts and anyone who cannot make it to the SD camp are encouraged to go to this camp. We have reserved a campsite for the week of July 26 – August 1 that will accommodate up to 27 people total. See payment schedule 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

NOW Boundary Waters sign up now see 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

Scoutmaster Minute Review

I was not real excited about the two teams in the Super Bowl this year so I watched as much for the commercials as the game. There was one Coke commercial; maybe you remember it, which started out with people talking really nasty on the internet; calling people ugly, stupid, etc. People were angry and arguing with each other. Then the scene switched to a room where all the computer servers are stored. Someone is having a meal and he accidently spilled his Coke onto the servers. Something goes out over the Internet and things immediately start to change. People who were arguing with each other are now laughing together, messages on the internet become friendlier and positive. I remember one kid, who was about middle school age, and he got a text that said “No one likes you”. He is upset and looked around to see who sent it. Then the message changed to “There is no one like you” and he smiled. The end of the commercial showed a message of “The world is what we make it”. Do we need really Coke to make this happen? A Scout is helpful, friendly, courteous, kind and cheerful. This part of what I call the Scout attitude. Some people can be very cruel, especially at your age, and also when they can be anonymous on the internet. I actually feel sorry for these people; they have to pick on someone else to feel good about themselves. The commercial said “The world is what we make it”. I want to change it a little to “The world is what I make it”. “The world is what You make it.” So have a good scout attitude and treat people accordingly. If you do this, the world will be a better place and you will be happier even without that Coke stuff.

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

February 16 Patrol Leaders Council (PLC) meeting 6:30 – 8pm ELC If you are a Patrol Leader or in a troop leadership position please come and help plan the upcoming Troop activities. If you are a Patrol Leader and you cannot make it to this meeting you need to talk to your assistant Patrol Leader or someone in your Patrol so that all Patrols are represented at the PLC.

February 28 New scout and parent orientation 9am to 3pm. All new scouts and at least one parent from each family are expected to come to this very important and informative meeting. Come learn how Boys Scouts is different from Cub Scouts and how Troop 737 functions.

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 scouts $10.00

Deposit due at initial sign-up adults $5.00

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.