Weekly Post, November 30, 2014

Post date: Dec 1, 2014 12:39:01 AM

Hello Troop 737,

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

At our last meeting we had an excellent career night. Thanks to our speakers, Mark Bly, Matt Dixon and Ike Barns, our scouts learned about some very interesting careers and were given some really good career and life advice. Well done adults!

Monday’s meeting is a PLC (Patrol Leaders Council) meeting. All members of the Patrol Leaders Council need to attend and plan the upcoming meetings and events. If you are a member of the leadership team and you want to get credit for a leadership position for advancement you are expected to attend. All patrols should be represented.

This Saturday is our Winter Camp Training. Any Scouts or adults who want to go winter camping must attend this training. Sign in starts at 8:30, meeting begins at 9. Lunch is provided and we should be done about 3pm. The adult leadership team has been asked numerous times to make an exception to this rule and we have turned it down every time. We want everyone’s winter camp experience, especially the first one, to be a good one. This is a very informative and worthwhile training.

We also need trainers to help with the training. Trainers are asked to come Friday night at about 7 pm. We will prep for the next day’s training. Then the Scouts watch a movie, play video games, eat junk food and hang out with your friends. Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

Trainers and attendees please sign up at the sign up table.

I also need another adult to spend Friday night at the church. We will also need some help with lunch on Saturday.

Mr. Ballantine has extended the sign-up deadline for Boundary Waters to January 1^st. It would best of we could get some more people to join us to make the trip more economical. 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). Sign-up forms will be at Troop 737 meetings on Mondays...we need to start collecting names so 1) we know there is interest, and 2) to show commitment to that interest. Don't wait long - the trip as a number limit!

We have finalized the dates for summer camp. 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 See costs and payment dates below.

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.

Any older scouts, 13 and above, interested in going Ice Climbing. See info below for our trip in January.

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 above. First payment due December 1^st.

Now Ice Climbing for January Camp Alexander cabin trip.

December 1:Winter camp training. We need trainers as well as participants

December 8: Wulff Lock-in. Webelos welcome

Scoutmaster Minute Review

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

This is the Gettysburg address that was first spoken by Abraham Lincoln at about this time of year, November 19, 1863. He was dedicating a new cemetery near Gettysburg PA, which was named the Evergreen cemetery.

Let’s talk about some of the main themes:

· All men are created equal – no slavery.

· The rebirth of freedom

· A government of the people, for the people, by the people – representative government.

· Honor the men who gave their life for our country and our freedom.

That day President Lincoln talked about a lot of the same the same values that we as scouts hold … I will do my duty to god and my country. Those soldiers and many more since did their duty to their country. As scouts I encourage you to find a way in your everyday life to do your duty to god and your country.

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

December 1 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.

December 6 Winter Camp Training ( 8:30am – 3pm ELC Any Scouts or adults who want to go winter camping must attend this training. The leadership team has been asked numerous times to make an exception to this rule and we have turned it down every time. We want everyone’s winter camp experience, especially the first one, to be a good one. This is a very informative and worthwhile training.

December 12 Wulff Lock-in ( 9pm – Saturday 7am Wulff Rec Center This is always one of the most well liked events of the year. We are looking for a HALO (Head Adult Leader Organizer) for this event.

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.

Here is the payment information for our two summer camp options:

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.

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.

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.

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.