Weekly Post, February 9, 2014

Post date: Feb 10, 2014 12:06:20 AM

Hello Troop 737,

Thank you to the over 40 scouts and parents who braved the below zero temperature to come to the Alpine Rescue Team Shack last Tuesday night. We all gained an appreciation of what this organization does for our region and we all learned some valuable information.

We are coming into a very busy time for Troop 737. Please read your emails to stay informed of all the upcoming events. Remember you can always look at the Troop calendar on our website. www.themountaintroop.org

Please remember to come to Mitch Hoffman’s Troop Spaghetti dinner tonight. To RSVP email Mitch at mitch.h@email.com

Tomorrow night is the Court of Honor and the Scouts have decided on the theme of “Be Prepared”. With this in mind, we are asking people to bring survival/ trail foods. All parents are encouraged to come and stay for this meeting.

The E Prep raffle prize will be given away at tomorrow night’s Court of Honor, so make sure to bring your raffle tickets.

Next Saturday is our annual ski trip. This year we will be going to Winter Park. The mountains have been getting tons of snow and the conditions are incredible. Come and join the fun. Monday night is the last night you can sign up.

Our next Campout is Klondike, February 21 - 23. This is always a great time!

The meeting before, February 17, we will need your help to prepare the food. We will be doing retort cooking, so we will be vacuum packing all our food. If you are not a member of the PLC, please come and help prepare the food.

All new scouts and at least one parent from each family need to attend the New Scout and Parent Orientation on March first. This will help everyone plug into Troop 737.

On March 15 Troop 400 has set up a Search and Rescue merit badge workshop at the Alpine Rescue Team Shack. More details to follow.

Here is a list of upcoming events:

· February 10 Troop Meeting: Court of Honor 6:30 – 8pm Service patrol is the Serpents. Please show up 15 minutes early to help set up. The theme is “Be Prepared”. We are asking people to bring survival/ trail foods.

· February 13 Assistant Scoutmaster and upcoming HALO’s meeting 6:30 pm ELC All adults are welcome. We will go over the upcoming activities.

· February 13 Troop Committee meeting 7:15pm ELC All Adults are welcome. This is when the business of the Troop is discussed. There are quite a few open positions on the committee. Come see how you can help out.

· February 15 Annual Ski Trip The plan is to go to Winter Park this year. Come earn your snow sports merit badge or just come have a BLAST with you friends. More details to come.

· February 17 Patrol Leaders Council (PLC) Meeting 6:30 – 8pm PLC will plan the activities for the upcoming units. All PLC members are expected to participate. This meeting is especially important for the Troop Guide and Instructors. We will be discussing how to work with all our new scouts. Campout prep for Klondike.

· February 21 - 23 Timberline District Klondike Derby Leave ELC at 6pm, return Sunday at 1pm. Come on this winter adventure to practice and learn some new scout skills and have an awesome time with your friends. Of course there will be the Troop 737 tradition of FROZEN CHICKEN BOWLING!!

· February 28 Trainers report for New Scout Orientation 7pm. Trainers come to the ELC to get organized for tomorrow’s New Scout Orientation. You will also have some time to hang out with your buddies.

· March 1 New Scout and Parent Orientation 8:30 Check-in meeting starts at 9am – 3pm, Lunch will be served. All new scouts and at least one parent need to attend this meeting. Come learn about Boy Scouts and how Troop 737 specifically functions. This will help both scouts and parents to understand the ins and outs of Troop 737 and how to get the most out of your Scouting experience.

· March 7 - 9 Quinzee Campout Leave ELC at 6pm, return Sunday at 1pm. We have rented a lodge (sleeps 18) up at Tahosa Scout Camp for Friday and Saturday night. We will sleep in the Lodge on Friday night. Then on Saturday we will build our Quinzees and sleep in them that night. This is one of my favorite campouts! Building a Quinzee and sleeping in it is a very rewarding experience. The Scouts love destroying the Quinzees, which is not very easy, on Sunday morning. We have also invited our multicultural scout friends from Denver to join us on Saturday and Sunday.

· March 14 - 16 Nebraska Crane Viewing Trip Leave from ELC Friday at 4pm return Sunday at 2 – 3pm. This is your chance to see thousands of sand hill cranes up-close from specially built viewing blinds. There will also be some other fun and educational side trips. Families can possibly join in on this trip.

· March 15 Search and Rescue Merit Badge workshop 9am Alpine Rescue Team Shack Troop 400 has set up an event where scouts can earn their Search & Rescue merit badge.

· March 23 – 29 Spring Break Arches Family Campout We have reserved a group site in Arches National Park. This is a tent only campground that will accommodate 35 campers. Come and experience this incredibly beautiful setting with other Troop 737 families. We will be hiking, biking, exploring, river rafting, cooking incredible food and whatever else you want to do.

Other important dates:

· June 19 – July 3 Philmont If you have signed up for Philmont, the first and second payments are due now. We still do have room so if you are at all interested, please sign up or contact me or Mr. Riley. Philmont is one of the premier scouting events of any scout’s career. All of the scouts and adults who went last time had an awesome time and highly recommend that everyone should take advantage of this opportunity. Troop 737 was VERY lucky to get a chance to go again so quickly. There is a very good chance that if you are 14 or older, you may not get another chance to go Philmont. If cost is an issue, please contact me and we will see what we can work out.

· Summer camps:

o July 6 – 12 Camp Dietler and Peaceful Valley Colorado

o July 19 – 27 Camp Island Park in Idaho