Weekly Post, Week of September 30, 2012

Post date: Sep 30, 2012 4:54:44 PM

Greetings Troop 737! Wow, what a week for me. Last weekend was one biiiiig campout. I think there were in excess of 5000 scouts and scouters at the Camporee, including about 30 from Troop 737. I can only speak for myself, but I had a wonderful but tiring time over the weekend. This was followed by a full week of business travel, so if you think I fell off the face of the earth, no… I was just in California for the week.

I want to thank Bill Westfall and all the other adults that helped out last week conducting our Trail to First Class meeting. I will find out how things when on Monday, but I am sure it was fine.

We have some very busy weeks coming up in October so please stay tuned, read all the emails and keep checking the calendar. We start October this month with the troop elections. This is a very important meeting for the troop. We need ¾ of the troop present to conduct these elections so please urge all your friends to come and participate.

I have asked for Mr. Force’s help getting the new HALO volunteer signup spreadsheet posted on the troop web site. As soon as it’s up, please take a look at the following:https://sites.google.com/a/themountaintroop.org/membersonly/home/smic-assignments, and let me know what you would like to sign up for to help us out. I will make some phone calls and contact you in other ways if you are not on this list and we need your help.

Upcoming Signup Deadlines (see below for details):

· Monday, October 1 is the signup deadline for Denver After Dark - October 19 - 20

· Monday October 8 is the Signup Deadline for the Wilderness Survival Backpacking Campout on October 12 – 14

· Monday October 29 is the Signup Deadline for Winter Camp Training on October 2 – 3

Service Patrol:

The service patrol for October is the Falcons Patrol!! All members of the Falcons Patrol should be inside our meeting room no later than 6:15 to help set up for the meeting.

Please read below for details on upcoming events, and always stay current with our Troop Calendar on the web site. This is the best way to have the most current information.

Upcoming Activities and Sign up & Payment Deadlines:

Troop Meeting: Troop & Patrol Elections and COH Planning – Monday, October 1 @ 6:30PM at ELC:

· HALO: Mr. Stalter

· We need ¾ of the troop to participate in the elections, please plan on coming to this meeting.

· The troop elects its next Senior Patrol Leader. The newly elected SPL will pick his ASPLs with help from the Scoutmaster.

· While SPL ballots are being counted, the patrols will meet and elect their patrol leaders. Patrols will also plan for the COH, deciding on what food they will bring.

· All other leadership jobs are signups. Please put your name on the signup sheet for the job(s) that you want to do until March next year. The Scoutmaster will pick the scouts for each job from the list of those signed up.

Timberline District Roundtable – Thursday, October 4 @ 7 PM at Map: 9227 W. Dartmouth Place, Lakewood, CO 80227, US

Graham Peterson's Eagle Scout Court of Honor – Sunday, October 7 @ 4 PM at ELC:

Troop Meeting: Advancement Night and Campout Prep – Monday, October 8 @ 6:30PM at ELC:

· HALO: Mrs. Osborn

· Work on Merit Badges and other advancement opportunities.

· The PLC selected the following Merit Badges:

o Citizenship in the Nation

o Citizenship in the Community

o Communications

o Family Life

o Automotive

o Computers

o Music

o Home Repair

· Mrs. Osborn will pick the final list depending on counselor availability and other factors. Stay tuned for more announcements in the coming weeks.

SM & ASM & HALOs for Upcoming Events Meeting/Committee Meeting – October 11, @ 6:30 PM at ELC:

· The ASM meeting starts at 6:30 PM and the committee meeting starts at 7:00 PM.

· This is going to be a very important meeting to discuss several items:

o Wilderness Survival Campout

o Denver After Dark

o Calendar review

o November Campout

o Winter Camp Training

o HALO’s – need to pick some HALOs for upcoming events so that we have coverage.

Wilderness Survival and Backpack Campout – October 12 - 14:

· HALO: Mr. Hoffman

· The exact details and days/times are still being worked out; stay tuned for more announcements and emails on this very fun campout.

· This is an all ages backpacking trip of short duration. We will teach and earn the wilderness survival merit badge. We will have a theme that results in us getting "lost" and then found. In the meantime, we will survive with only the gear and food we have on us.

Court of Honor – Monday, October 15 @ 6:30 PM at ELC in the Main Sanctuary:

· HALO: Mrs. Kline

· Scouts and Families are strongly encouraged to attend and help celebrate the successes our scouts had over the summer months while attending summer camps and working on their own.

Denver After Dark – October 19 - 20:

· HALO: Mr. Johnson

· This is not an event for everyone, it’s and all night adventure in the world of Denver after the normal 9 to 5 work day ends.

· Please see the following link for details; http://www.denverboyscouts.org/event/1211578

Introduction to Leadership Skills for Troops, and a Patrol Leaders Council Meeting – Monday, October 21 @ 6:30 to 8:30 PM at ELC:

· This meeting is for all incoming and outgoing troop leaders. The outgoing leaders and th scoutmaster will take the incoming leaders through a training session designed to help get new leaders the skills they need to be successful.

· Then the new leaders will conduct a PLC with help from the outgoing leaders and plan the next month of scout meetings and activities.

Winter Camp Training – November 2 - 3:

· HALO: Mr. Moss and Mr. Robertson

· 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. This is a fun activity for the trainers that start with Friday evening preparation, followed by snacks and movies. All experienced winter camp scouts are welcome!

As always, please read the troop web site, especially the calendar, for the most current information on all upcoming and scheduled events.

Mr. Hoffman

Scoutmaster

Troop 737