Weekly Post; Week of October 24th, 2011

Post date: Oct 24, 2011 2:23:31 PM

Greetings Troop 737! Greetings Troop 737! As we approach the end of October, we have many upcoming events that will need everyone’s attention. Please pay attention to the activities and signup deadline sections below.

Reminder, this evening is a special meeting. We will wrap up our meeting early and try to be in our seats in the main sanctuary by 7:20 or so to see Joe Tanner, NASA astronaut and veteran of four shuttle flights and a trip the International Space Station. This meeting will likely last until 9 to 9:30 PM, so do your homework before you come!

We still don’t have everyone’s health form on file with the troop. Please see Mr. Smith’s many emails and check if you, or your scout, have a form on file or not. Unfortunately, we will need to start asking scouts to not stay and participate in meetings and activities if we do not have the forms on file.

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.

Calendar Changes:

This evening, I need to talk to the PLC to discuss next week’s meeting, October 31, Halloween. It has been suggested to me by the PLC, and now the Committee/ASMs that perhaps we should not have a meeting on Halloween night. Stay tuned and we will make a decision this evening. If we do cancel this meeting, tonight’s meeting will become the signup deadline for two events, see the next section.

Sign up & Payment Deadlines

• There are several scouts that participated in the Shooting Sports Camporee that have not yet paid for that campout. I am sure that this is an oversight, but since the troop must cover this expense, we ask that those scouts that have not paid do so as soon as possible.
• October 24, 2011 is the signup deadline 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.
• October 24, 2011 is the signup deadline for the USAF football game campout, our first winter campout, on November 11 – 13. We need to have our tickets purchased by November 1. The cost of this campout will be $30 which includes food, transportation and a $10 ticket to the game. The ticket price includes a $5 voucher for snacks in the stadium.
• Sign up deadline for Okpik Campout in January is approaching. We have to make advanced reservations so we will be making payment for a limited number of scouts and take signups on a first come first served basis. Please see Mr. Trower’s email with details.
• It is time to start thinking about signing up for Peaceful Valley Summer Camp next summer. The date is now fixed for the week of July 8^th and is on the calendar. More details will be coming in the weeks and months ahead, so stay tuned.

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 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.

We need to have our Quartermasters, troop guide, and all troop instructors sign up as trainers. I would also like to encourage all scouts that have been to winter camp training and winter campouts with our troop to sign up as trainers. As you should know, this is a fun activity for the trainers that starts with Friday evening preparation, followed by snacks and movies. All experienced winter camp scouts are welcome!

November 11 – 13; first winter campout. Mr. Wulff is the HALO and is putting the final details on the USAF football game campout.

Month of November, Good Turn Month: Our troop will participate in some way in the good turn month. The committee has met and we think we are going to hold our own food drive this year to benefit one or more local food banks that have had some troubled times lately. Mr. Johnson is going to work with our Service Project coordinator, Mrs. Thompson to work on the details. Please stay tuned and help us help those in need as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday.

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.

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