This is my Sunday night rambling attempt to keep everyone informed 12-07-08
I just learned tonight that District (them) is calling a meeting to ask me to resign on Tuesday night December 9th at 7:00 pm at the church. The person that represents "them" will also be at that meeting pursuant to the request of "Council" and the "Pastor." Who knew? Once everyone meets her, this whole thing will become clear. I plan to attend my daughter's first-ever Chorus recital and will be at the church after her event ends. I have missed enough of her events for Scouting. I figure I can be late for this meeting. Please don't vote me out before I get there.
I ask every parent that is able to attend this meeting to stand and speak on behalf of what this troop stands for, so we, as a group, can tell "them" to leave us alone. We are running a good program here, and continue to work hard every day for the Scouts themselves. The politics "behind the scenes" have become absolutely preposterous. When the very District and Council that are supposed to support a Troop try to tear it apart, it is a sad, sad day for the Scouting Program.
Please show up to voice your support for the boys, the program and those that are running it for them.
On to better and more important things;
The work weekend went great. For those of you that did not stop by, we now have the hut roofless, parking for 40 to 50 vehicles, a brush pile that will burn for a week, and a ton of other stuff. It is amazing what a Bo on a bulldozer can do. Special thanks to the moms and grand moms that brought lunch by for everyone. It was an excellent weekend. The Scouts that attended even have a souvenir to call their own. It will hang on a wall of the hut forever.
Church update – As everyone knows, the Church is getting ready for Return to Bethlehem. Our job Monday night is to help them police the area.
Court of Honor/Christmas dinner – Dec 15th 6:30 @ Golden Corral. In the back corner of the Golden Corral there is a separate meeting room. Since we won't be able to use the church, we will meet there. The Troop rented the room for what it would have cost us to purchase the chicken at the old style Court of Honor. Get your plate and bring it into the Meeting room.
GREAT IDEA!! When doing your Christmas cards this year, take one card and send it to the address below. If we pass this on and everyone sends one card, think of how many cards these wonderful, special people who have sacrificed so much would get.
When you are making out your Christmas card list this year, please include one to the following:
A Recovering American Soldier
C/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20307-5001
Bus update – Currently we are looking for a good used school bus. There are a lot of them up north, but they are rust buckets. More details soon.
Congratulations, again!! Jacob Holly's Eagle Ceremony – Reserve Saturday night January 10th at 7:00 p.m. for Jacob's Eagle Court of Honor. It will be held at the First Baptist Church of McDonough in the fellowship hall. Ted Nugent is on the invite list. Please plan to attend.
Toner Cartridges/Cell Phones – Please bring any old toner cartridge, or old cell phone in. Chunk them into the back of my truck and we will send them in for recycling. We have earned about $500.00 from them. It's not much, but it adds up. Currently we are earmarking that money for the Oprah Winfrey's Angel Network.
Bus fund – We are getting closer and closer to the Bus. We now have a total of $2,546.86. That figure should go up next week also. Any extra money we raise beyond our goal will go to the Ted Nugent Gonzo Goodies fund. I figure we need at least $3,000 to get the bus, license it, insure it, and service it. This puts us at 84.89% of the way there. That figure will be updated this week, stay tuned. We now have XM Satellite Radio donated. The Scouts want a DVD player and 4 TVs, and one of the Scouts even volunteered to put together a separate fundraiser to earn the money for the TV's and DVD player. We've already had several adults volunteer to go get their CDL to drive. Jerry Reeds widow, Mrs Reed, said" Jerry woulda drove for them boys" she also said, " heck he mighta wrote a song about it" We spent some time at the recent Merit Badge Day talking to other Troop leaders that have buses and we also spoke to the drivers. We gathered a lot of knowledge that we did not have before. That will prevent us from learning it the hard way.
Scoutmaster Conferences – To eliminate the confusion about Scoutmaster Conferences, I have started a new process. If a Scout needs a Scoutmaster Conference, there will be a sign up sheet on the pool table so the Scouts can choose their time for the next week's conferences. Also, I will be scheduling conferences to meet with Scouts as I or any Assistant Scoutmaster may deem necessary. This week's schedule breaks down as: Hopefully, I can actually hold conferences this week.
6:40-6:55 – Ben Yonek
6:55-7:10 - Nolan Warner
7:10-7:25 – Braxton Hardy
Committee Meeting – Tuesday night January 13th. As most of you know, Chris Smith is our new Committee Chair. The Committee had several open positions. Please contact Chris Smith if you would like a Committee Position at this point.
Troop Dues - Everyone hates them. They were due December 1st. If you have not paid, you are now past due. Please let Chris Smith know your intentions regarding recharter and staying with the Troop. I know times are tough, don't let money be a problem, let me know ASAP and we can work it out. Old Scoutmasters have special powers to make scouting available to young Scouts.
This Troop is the busiest in the District, probably the Nation. We have so much going on: Hut, Bus, Fundraisers. A year from now we are all going to look back and be amazed at what such a small group accomplished. We will have a Bus to transport the Troop, and we will have the best Scout Hut ever built!! These Scouts will be proud of the being part of the best Troop around.
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Doug Clemens
Scoutmaster Troop 165
http://www.troop165bsa.org
scoutmaster165@gmail.com
404-520-1160
The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.
Thomas Jefferson
