Weekly Post; Week of October 16th, 2011

Post date: Oct 17, 2011 1:53:49 AM

Greetings Troop 737! Well we had quite an eventful two weeks while we had no meeting. First, I just want to say that I had a great time on the survival campout. I learned a lot from the scouts that were present, and I hope that everyone learned a lot from each other. This was our first unofficial winter campout, with snow, wind and temperatures in the twenties for the entire weekend. Burgers on homemade grills, hot dogs on willow branches, makeshift shelters and baggie omelets; I don’t know how you can do more scout stuff in a weekend if you tried. We “broke down” right where French Creek crossed the Michigan Creek Road and hiked to the end of a meadow, into the shelter of some trees. From this campsite, we had protection from the wind and the snow, plenty of water, firewood and shelter materials. All scouts present earned their survival merit badge under the guidance of Addison and Parker Trower.

The second large event was that our PLC met last week to plan the meetings for October and early November. We used a new planning form that is now attached to each meeting so that anyone can review the meeting plan prior to each meeting. This will also let the PLC print out their own copies and make notes prior to the meeting.

While the PLC was meeting, the commander of the Civil Air Patrol came in and invited our troop to see a guest speaker at our October 24^th meeting. The speaker is Joe Tanner, NASA astronaut and veteran of four shuttle flights and a trip the International Space Station. We will have more details tomorrow, but families will be invited too.

We had one bit of bad news this week; Mr. Wulff was able to make contact with Indigo Mountain and they notified us that we would not be able to come this year. There was no explanation offered, so we don’t have any idea why. Mr. Wulff is working on a plan B that is pretty exciting. I do not want to spoil the surprise; we will be able to talk about it at the meeting on Monday.

I have made the following change to the calendar for this October as follows:

• The SM/ASM & Committee Meeting has been moved from October 13^th to October 20^th due to a conflict with a band competition.

Service Patrol:

The service patrol for October is the Serpents, Please show up in force early and help set up the room for our meeting.

Sign up & Payment Deadlines:

• University of Scouting is on October 22, and again, you can sign up at the Denver Area Council Web Site. This is a great way to get adult leader training for Committee Members and for Assistant Scout Masters. Please see me for details; I have been to several of these. Unfortunately, I will not be able to go to this one because of the State Band Championships.
• Signup Deadline is approaching for our winter camp training on November 4^th and 5^th. If you have not been to this training, you need to be eligible to participate in any winter camping with our troop.
• Signup deadline as also approaching for our first winter campout on November 11 – 13. We will discuss detail tomorrow evening.

Troop News:

Every scout and scouter in the troop will have to fill out the BSA National Health form ASAP. The council and district will no longer accept the older Colorado From. I will attach the current form to this posting for your use. I will let Tom Smith give you all the details, but just know this, you do not have to go out and get a physical right away if you are not due. For activities less than 72 hours, you can fill out and sign Part A and B.

Upcoming Activities:

Fall 2011 - Scoutmaster Invitational: Will be rescheduled in some form, later in the autumn. I thought I would take you all to the scout day at the US Air Force Academy Football game, but that is the same weekend as the Indigo Mountain campout. I am still working on an idea.

October 17, 6:30 PM at ELC – Regular meeting; Advancement. If you are a first year scout, or have not attained the rank of First Class, Mr. Catterson is planning on meeting with you to see how we can advance everyone to First Class prior to next summer camp. Please bring your scout books so plans can be made based on what you need.

In addition, plan on taking part in one of the six merit badgers being offered this meeting. Didn’t sign up? No problem, you can do so right after the opening ceremony.

October 24, 6:30 PM at ELC - Regular meeting: Patrol Meetings and Special Guest Speaker; Joe Tanner, NASA Astronaut. We will have a short meeting that will consist of patrol planning for the Halloween party at the end of the month. AT 7:30 PM we will be in our seats in the main sanctuary to hear Mr. Tanner speak. We may be there until as late as 9:30, so plan accordingly.

November 4^th and 5^th at ELC: Winter Camp training. Winter Camp Training is required for all scouts and adults that will camp in the winter months; November - March. This one time training starts on Saturday morning for trainees, and includes a lunch prepared by our master scout and adult chefs. Expert training is conducted by Boy Scout experts that are very experienced in winter camping. Trainers will show up on Friday evening to prepare for the next day's training activity, and will sleep over with snacks and movies. Exact time and details will be worked out in October.

November 11 – 13; first winter campout. Mr. Wulff is the HALO and is putting together a very exciting campout in place of Indigo Mountain. I do not want to say what it is yet, so come to the meeting tomorrow and hear all about it.

District and Council News and Upcoming Activities:

2012 Big Horn Information: Summer 2012 dates are posted. If you are interested, more information will posted as it comes out. This training is required for all Scouts desiring to hold the Senior Patrol leader position.

University of Scouting, October 22, 7:30 AM to 4 PM: This is a great adult leader training opportunity. I will be going and would gladly share a ride with scouters from our trop. ASMs can get their training as well as a large variety of other topics. I think I am going to take CPR to get ready for Philmont. If you are interested, please see me if you are interested.

There is much more, but too much for now. I will post these in the coming weeks so we have a full list of District and Council events.

Please make sure that you keep an eye on the calendar and your emails, and I will see you soon.

Mr. Hoffman

Scoutmaster