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Hey all

Just  a short email to keep everyone informed.
 
Our yard sale went great!!!!!!  I want to thank everyone that helped. Whenever I thought we would be short on help, two or three more folks would show up. It was wonderful!  We sold a ton of high quality, slightly used stuff. Thanks to the cooking committee (Bo and Tony) we served up a ton of food. Mr Chris Sw. got everything donated so we made out really good on that. Thanks to Ms. Kathie, the cupcake committee (Rylee and Amber) served up 48 cupcakes before lunch. It was a great team effort. It makes me feel good to see everyone turn out to help the Troop. Our next Troop fundraiser will be the Fried Turkeys for Thanksgiving. More details on that towards September. Thank you also to Crane Hardware in Jonesboro for the use of their grill.

 

I want to thank EVERYONE that helped today. It was AMAZING!!!!

 

Hut Update – Our donation of gravel has fallen through. Jay B. has been working on it, but the gravel supplier is just simply unable to help anyone right now. A year ago when they helped us, things were alot better. But never fear, Bo is here. Since the County is grinding Noah's Ark Road before they repave it, we are now going to be the proud recipients of several dumptruck loads of the grindings. Once spread, our parking lot should be done. We should be able to park around 50 cars. As far as painting the hut goes, we are waiting for a few weeks of good weather so Bo's painter can catch up, then the outside of the hut will be painted. Mr. Klakis has our paint donated Aircraft paint should last a very long time... Most excellent!

 

The Troop 165 Archery Range -  The large dirt mound on the back left of the parking lot will serve as the backstop for the new Troop 165 archery range.  Larry S. is a NRA certified range safety officer, and an NRA range training officer, so he can run the range for us. I am going to try to take the training this fall (money permitting), and once I'm done, we will have two range safety officers and our own range. How many Troops have that?? Mr. Lesley from the Georgia Bow Hunters Association is going to try to help us with the range setup and even come down and organize some shoots for us. He thinks he can even get some targets and other stuff donated!!

 

Jeremiahs Eagle Ceremony- Tomorrow at 2pm.  The following Scouts need to be there before 1:00 as they have a role in the ceremony:
Robby
Austin
Nick
Landon
Jacob
Nathaniel
Practice starts at 1 – ceremony at 2.

Hopefully the rest of you will be there also. This is an important milestone in Jeremiahs life. Please turn out and show your support. Scouts should be in full Class A. Anyone that can show up earlier to help move chairs, organize, etc., would be greatly appreciated!

Merit Badge Day – Everyone that has signed up to date should have their first choice. It looks like most classes have tons of availability. If you are not registered yet, please do so Tuesday night. 
 
Training - Since adult leaders must be trained and registered before the end of the year, we will be rolling out a training/registration program in the next few weeks. This program will fulfill our obligations to Council, help me to get all of the adults on the same plane, help fill our Merit Badge Counselor list, and get our Merit Badge Counselors registered. I know March is busy, but look for the first date soon. (PS - I'm going fishing next weekend.)

 
We are going back to Philmont in 2011, the dates are July 6th through the 18th. Right now the following people have committed to go:
Adults - Doug, Bo, Chris Smith, Chris Swindell
Scouts - Jeremiah, Nick, Landon, Austin, Nathaniel, Robby

 

I need some adults to be thinking about that summer (2011). I only get two weeks paid vacation and will use that at Philmont in 2011. I need a couple of adults to commit to Summer Camp that year so I can go to Philmont. I really want to go to Philmont, but I need to make sure the Troop has the required leadership to go to Summer Camp also. Let me know. Like Spock says " The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" so if need be - I will be at Raven Knob. Hope not....
 
Summer Camp 2010- The Raven Knob guide is out. Most Scouts are registered. Remember the next $100.00 will be due in early March. Please make sure you turn in your registration Tuesday night. As a Scoutmaster, I naturally want 100% attendance for summer camp. It is the best environment for a scout to learn a Merit Badge. Please make sure to attend. I will talk about med forms next week.

 

12 year old Eagle Scouts - Seems like some troops have been cranking out some 12 and 13 year old Eagle Scouts lately. That used to be reserved for Peachtree City. Seems like it is creeping into our District. Remember this: Scouting is a journey- its destination is not just a patch that that is labeled "Eagle Scout". Its purpose is to take young men and help them develop their own character, help them to become a better citizen, help them to become better physically fit and teach them to " Do their best." It will teach them how to follow instructions, how to give those instructions, how to cook, camp, and exist in the outdoors. It teaches them to be a LEADER. It takes a long time to do that. It simply cannot happen in 12-14 months. Some people equate becoming an Eagle Scout with being successful, but that would mean 97 percent of all Scouts are failures. We need to think of the Eagle patch more in terms of ranks in the military. Would you consider a veteran a failure because he left the service as a colonel or a captain or a master sergeant??? Of course not. I encourage every Scout to reach the rank of Eagle - but if you don't reach that rank - Do Your Best!!!  Troop 165 will NEVER give that rank away to any Scout.
 
Fundraisers - We just completed the Interstate Battery fundraiser, and will be rolling out a coupon book fundraiser very shortly.
I have attached another fundraiser that we will be rolling out shortly: ( I cant get the picture here, dunno, but I attached it)

  
The Camp Card can be used for all Troop activities. Scouts sell the cards for $5.00 and keep $2.50 per card in their Scout account. That money can be used for Summer Camp, Philmont, or to assist with a campout. I have to commend Chic Fil-a for putting this together. Really cool. I have ordered every Scout 20 cards. No commitment. It includes a free Chic fil-A sandwich, a 5 dollar discount to Publix, and discounts at the following businesses on the back of the card:
 
Anthony's Pizza & Pasta 10% off any purchase excludes alcohol
 Arby's Buy 1 get 1 free Roast Beef Sandwich
 Checkers Buy 1 get 1 free burger & hot dog
 Curves Free 1 week only
 Firehouse Subs Free Drink w/ purchase of Sub
 Gezzo's Surf & Grille 10% off entire purchase
 Hardees Free small fries w/ any large Thickburger
 Long John Silvers Free drink with any purchase
 Sonic Buy 1 extra long coney get 1 free
 Wilson Car Care $10 off Full Synthetic Oil Change, $5 off regular oil change, Free Tire Rotation

I am continuing to look for opportunities to help defray the cost of Scouting. As you know, I want every Scout to be able to participate. In these tough times, I know it is not easy, heck I work at a GM car dealership ( I know how bad it is), so I will continue to look for fundraisers, and other opportunities.

Toner cartridges and cell phones - please continue to bring in those old toner cartridges, and used cell phones. We earn steady money from them, not much, but it is steady. Every little bit helps.

Troop store - In the next week or two look for our new Troop store. We will try to stock everything you may need for a Scout (except the uniform), look for neckerchiefs, slides, books, Eagle Camp Mugs, and a host of other items to be on display in the lobby of the hut. These items will be sold for as close to our cost as possible. We are doing this to help make it a little easier for the parents. It is a pain to drive to Griffin, or Fairburn to get stuff. Hopefully we can help with that.

 
Adopt A Road - Was scheduled for March 6th - Cancelled - that is race weekend, I don't want the Scouts on the side of the road on a race weekend.  I will be fishing in Suwanee.

March 27th - 4PM: Court of Honor - new location. We will be holding this one at the Brown's farm in Zebulon. It will be a cookout, Court of Honor, Webelos Crossover Ceremony, and an OA Tapout ceremony. The guys just informed me that they want to do a Flag Retirement also......  Look for a flyer to go home soon with more details. Please plan to attend.Kids can fish and play on the beach. Should be a great time. I know the Scouts are very excited about their OA ceremony they have planned.

Recruiting Drive - Since recruiting is now a requirement for Rank, we are going to encourage the boys to recruit. For every boy that joins the Troop, the Scout that recruits him will get a ticket for a drawing. The winner will get an IPod Shuffle or a Kershaw Assisted opening knife. Both valued at $50.00. Encourage your son to invite his friends to visit the Troop or attend our March camping trip. The contest ends May 1st with the drawing at the May 4th meeting.

 

I am letting the cat out of the bag here, but can't not let you know:  Tomorrow, Feb 28, 2010, is officially  "Jeremiah Smith Day" in the State of Connecticut!!! Please see the attached. My wife works hard on getting this stuff, and it's neat to see some of the responses. They will all be on display tomorrow.

Thanks.

 

--
Doug Clemens
Scoutmaster Troop 165
http://www.troop165bsa.org
scoutmaster165@gmail.com
404-520-1160

The school system may have done away with winners and losers; life has not.
Bill Gates