Hey all
Just a short email to keep everyone informed.
You ever felt sorry for a Scout? – Bo and I did Saturday at Merit Badge day. At Troop 165 we let the boys run the show, sometimes it is a great thing, sometimes it resembles a small scale train wreck; but regardless; we try to let the boys run the show. A lot of Troops don't, they are adult run. Example – Saturday at merit badge day we witnessed a young scout spew out a cuss word. We watched his patrol leader; probably around 13 or 14 react to the incident. The Patrol leader was starting to address the young cussing Scout when he was cut off by an Adult. (This particular troop is 100% adult run and proudly admits it) After a discussion the young Patrol Leader stated – "I am his Patrol Leader, I should handle this" The reply from the Adult Assistant Scoutmaster assigned to that patrol was and I quote" I am the Adult in charge of this Patrol-I will handle it!!!" How do you think that young Patrol Leader felt? I had to bite my tongue and walk away, I felt so sorry for that Patrol Leader. That young man was trying to become a leader – only to be shot down by an adult. Unfortunately scouting in our District is becoming more and more about getting "that Eagle", and being part of "The Clique" rather than teaching young men to become leaders. I promise you that Troop 165 won't ever cave to that pressure. We may not be the most popular Troop within our District because of that, and I promise you I won't be Scoutmaster of the Year. I don't care about that. We joke about being the Black Sheep Troop. It's funny. What matters to us, is that we take young men with no focus or goals or skills and teach them to be focused leaders. Look at our Eagles and you can see a difference – Jacob, Ryan, and Jeremiah are all a cut above the norm.
The caving trip was a blast. Sorry about all of those dirty clothes. The Scouts had a blast. They did the six hour "back of the cave" tour. Not many people do this trip. It is one of the tougher trips they offer. The only trip that is harder requires you to be over 18 and sign a lot of waivers. Every time we do this campout, the guys come out of the cave tired, muddy, exhausted, and ready to come back next year. Hopefully we can do this again soon
Hut Update –Bo was able to get 4 tandem truck loads of crush and run donated. Hopefully that will finish our parking lot. Mr. Klakis has our paint donated; it is Aircraft paint and should last a very long time... Most excellent! Look out for a Troop workday soon.
Camp Cards – By now you should be out of cards..:-) If not, bring what you think you cannot sell Tueday night and we can re distribute them. More details later.
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!!
Training - Since (maybe) all 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.
We are going back to Philmont in 2011, the dates are July 6th through the 18th. Currently the Trek is full. If you are interested in going let me know and we will put you in a standby position
Did I mention that the "Undercover Boss" show is really a neat show.
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. So far Mrs. Burton has replied that she could go. Let me know.
Summer Camp 2010- The Raven Knob guide is out. Most Scouts are registered. Remember the next $100.00 is due now. As a Scoutmaster, I naturally want 100% attendance for summer camp. It is the best environment for a scout to learn Merit Badges and grow as a Scout. The Wednesday night OA ceremony alone is life changing. Please make sure to attend.
Medical forms – start thinking about them.
My daughter just came down and said "doesn't my hair feel good?". I felt it and said "that's kind hair – the kind you find on a donkeys butt" hahaha.) She didn't think it was funny either….
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. If you have an idea for a fundraiser, please let me know. I know that I have personally paid for my son's summer camp so far from fundraisers alone. If I can do it – you can too. Please send your son to camp – or let me know if we can help. I really want every scout to go. We will help somehow/someway. I will sell extra cards if need be, whatever it takes.
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. We currently are rolling 400.00 over to the bus account from the toner account. That helps a lot.
Scout Bus – We are actually closer than ever. I rolled 400 out of the toner fund today and we have actually found a good bus. Stay tuned…
Web stuff – we are on facebook at – boyscouttroop onesixfive. We are on youtube http://www.youtube.com/user/ScoutTroop165
And as always at http://www.troop165bsa.org/
Knotmaster – This is a really cool program – Jacob and Jeremiah will be running this- it is incredible. It is a program that will teach scouts to tie knots to a new level. It can take years to complete. My thoughts are that each of our Eagles should be "Black Knots". Our scouts can camp better, cook better, and perform better than most. Now they will do knots better.. Watch for details very soon.
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.
Rental Gear Program – Troop 165 has started a rental gear program aimed at hoping to help make Scouting more affordable to newcomers. Scouts (and parents) will now be able to rent tents and backpacks from us. Look for info on that inside the hut. Scouts and parents will be able to rent a tent or a backpack when needed. That will hopefully help defray the high initial cost of joining scouts. We don't have a lot of stuff now, but bear with us and we will grow this program.
Adopt A Road - Stay tuned.
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. Stay tuned on this one as it is weather dependent. Check your email often for updates. Chris S or I will try to keep you updated.
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 can assure you we will receive no help from our District with recruiting new scouts, Period! They will not help us. That is a proven fact. That is a totally separate issue that we are going to be dealing with later when the time is right. So, for now, recruiting will need to be a group effort. Recruit for our Troop every chance you get. We are blessed to have a very large Pack right now, and I am trying to work with David Holly (the Cubmaster) to make sure we can recruit those new scouts.
Thanks.
Doug
