Troop 165 Scoutmaster's blog

Updates

2010-08-10T23:14:00.001-04:00

Hey all

Lots of info - really quick.

Tracking Merit badge - Rolling out next week. One of the do at home reqs is to take a picture of a birds nest. Email it back to me. If you need help-there is a nest at the scout hut.

Adopt a Road Day - August 14th - We decided to cancel it due to the extreme heat conditions. Wearing a rubber vest in 100 degree heat is just not going to be fun.We will just get back on track with the next one. This also allows our OA candidates and OA members a chance to attend the Fall Ordeal.

Prime the Hut Day - August 21st from 8 till 12. We plan to prime the outside of the Scout Hut. Please come by, bring paint brushes, pans, rollers, and ladders. We will get all of the exterior work done that morning.

Paint the Hut Day - Saturday Sept 4th. We will paint the hut from 8-12 am. Bring your brushes, rollers, pans, ladders. I will be talking to the green bars - maybe we can include Scout Day at the races?? Lets get the hut painted. Please come help.

Den Chiefs - Austin Miller and Stephen Holly have volunteered to be Den Chiefs for separate Webelo Dens. Austin will be working with Pack 168, and Stephen with Pack 165. Thank these young men for their dedication to Scouting.

Can Food Drive - We have started an in house can food drive between the patrols. Please bring any can foods you can donate to the meetings. Before Thanksgiving we will take, donate, and sort all of the donations at the food pantry.

Fundraisers - We have three really great ones rolling out in the next few weeks. Please use them to help differ the cost of Scouting. Cheryl S., and Susan H. are heading them up. Stay tuned for details.

August Campout - We were trying to put together a joint campout between Troop 62 and ourselves to share the expense of doing the Cope courses at Thunder. It fell apart due a long story involving some old "friends" of our Troop. Anyway everything looks like it worked out good for Troop 62, but they did not have time to change their plans. So we will still go to Thunder, but will do the Geo caching Merit Badge instead. If you have a handheld GPS, we will need it that weekend.

More details soon.

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

Sunday Ramblings

2010-06-06T18:24:00.001-04:00

Hey all

Just a short email to keep everyone informed.

Sorry about the lag in keeping everyone informed, we have had a lot going on.

Summer camp is rapidly approaching. We will be departing the hut at 6 am Sunday June 20^th. Please try to arrive by 5:30AM to unload gear and say goodbyes. I will email the Scouts schedules, now that they are final, as soon as I can. Scouts will need Merit Badge books and worksheets for each class. Scouts in the Cripple Creek and Rampage programs are exempt. They will receive separate notifications. We ask (beg) that at the end of summer camp that you donate your used merit badge books to our library. (More on that in a minute) Anyway we will be back Saturday the 26^th around 5pm. I will be sending a separate summer camp email this weekend, so look for it with schedules and all the details. Main thing we need now is the final balances paid and Med forms turned in asap. Remember every scout and adult attending will need BSA physical form filled out by a doctor. You can get them done at Walgreens for 35$ or if you have had a physical recently your doctor will probably fill it out for you. We need those no later than 6-15-2010. Here is a link to the forms http://scouting.org/filestore/pdf/34605_Letter.pdf

We have done our pre camp swim checks thanks to our very own lifeguard Mr. Chris Swindell , so once we send our med forms and swim checks to camp we have express check in. This is a big plus for the Scouts. Nothing is more painful than spending 6 hours getting to camp only to stand in line for three hours to swim check and med check. Please have those forms turned in by June 15^th to help the Scouts.

Please keep Bo (Austin's dad) in your thoughts and prayers. He went through some tough times and a rough surgery earlier this week. We hope he will be fine. He is such a great guy, the day before his surgery he was hauling metal for the Troop. When I last talked to him he said" I feel like I've been kicked in the stomach by three mules" Hang in there Bo'

Speaking of Bo - Bo's General Scout Store (BO-MART) is now open. Now you can get most of your basic scouting needs at the hut. We have scout books, field books, book covers, shoulder epaulets, neckerchiefs and slides. We even have Eagle camp mugs and compasses. Soon we will add pocket knives. We know times are tough and spare time is even tougher to get. The Troop store will save you time and money. We are buying in bulk and passing the savings on to you. You no longer have to travel to Fairburn or Griffin to get the basics. No other Troop has an onsite store for its member's convenience.

Austin, Nathaniel and Robby completed NYLT at Camp Jamison at Bert Adams Scout Reservation last week. For 6 days and nights they attended some very intensive training. They started early Sunday morning and graduated Friday night at 9:30. NYLT is intense training – they start at 6 am and don't end until 11 each night for 6 days. NYLT stands for National Youth Leadership Training. J.W. Marriott once wrote that he had had no formal training; he learned everything he ever needed to know at NYLT. It's that good!! Hopefully we can continue to send three Scouts a year; the difference in them is incredible. It has been a wet week for them, but it will still be one of the best weeks of their life. I was at their graduation, and was impressed. Thanks guys.

We have rental gear! For 5 American dollars you can rent a backpack or a tent for a weekend. The packs and tents must be returned clean and dry at the following Tuesday night Troop meeting. We hope this will help ease the burden of purchasing gear for new Scouts. As our rental program grows look for more packs, tents and eventually stoves. See me or Bo. No other Troop offers this convenience.

Our Metal Militia continues to rock. Tony has tons of metal donated. We need a Metal Militia coordinator to put everything together to pick it up. We hauled two cars yesterday. Please thank Bill with Bills Towing whenever you see him. He has hauled tons of stuff for us. We really need someone to step up and haul some metal. Let us know if you can help.

Congratulations to Eagle Scout Jacob H. for graduating high school, and for turning 18, and most importantly for becoming an Assistant Scoutmaster at Troop 165. He filled out his forms Tuesday night. PS – He needs a summer job – if anyone can help, let me know.

New parents/old parents training – I want to thank everyone that showed up. Thanks to dedicated parents like you our Troop will continue to grow. Look for the next training to happen in the early fall. Remember BSA and Troop 165 rules are going to require everyone to be Trained for their position. It is just common sense. Look for a spreadsheet in the next week or two with training records. Please send me any updates you may have.

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 - Every Adult that plans to help or camp with the Troop must have Youth Protection. Period.

We have a new Unit Commissioner – Ms. Patty Nash.

Yeah !!!! – Jeremiah is going to Summer Camp to earn his Lifeguard Certification. I know he will make it. That will give us two BSA lifeguards in the Troop!!!!

Day of Service – I was really proud of the Scouts for their hard work that day. We picked up Pates Creek Road in those hot rubber vests. Then we had lunch. After lunch we went to Ms. Woodall's house and cleaned up what we could. She had a lot of storm damage. We really made a difference. We cleaned for 6 hours. We covered her shed and moved her sailboat. She was crying when we left. We hauled off two trailer loads and three truck loads of debris. It meant the world to her. What a sweet old lady. She still takes care of her 93 year old mother in Macon every day. She's a hoot. She's 78. Anyway when we got back to the hut around 7 we did about an hour of work around the hut then the Scouts got to get their game on. They played video games until 1:30am and watched Avatar till 4 am. Special thanks to our "mystery donor" that bought all of those pizzas for the guys. Also thanks to Scouts Austin M. and Joseph B. for putting the lock in together. As an adult trapped there, I must say it was actually fun. That's why I love Scouting – It brings young men together for a great cause. That was one of our best days of service ever. When most Troops are focused on their own advancement and nothing else, it was neat to see young men help and bond with an adult. We will help Ms. Woodall again. She is cool and our Scouts are way cooler…

Adopt a Road Luncheon – Thank you to our Scout Nathaniel S. for attending the Adopt a Road luncheon held at ELCA. Nathaniel goes to school there and was able to attend the luncheon for us. We have the plaque he received hanging in the hut.

We are going back to Philmont in 2011; the dates are July 6th through the 18th. Currently the Trek is accepting three more scouts. The Adult side is full. If you are interested in going let me know.

New Electronic Stuff you must know about. We are rolling out two new programs: First is an online payment program. When an event comes up this program will send an email asking for payment. You can click to pay online or still pay at the hut. I need one parent per scout to send me an email with the preferred email address they want to use to pay for stuff. This email address submitted will be the one that receives all of the payment notifications. We need one parent per Scout to join. Upon joining you will receive notifications and be able to click and pay with a debit card or a credit card. You will get email notifications that "nag" you to pay. You can click and pay or you can still pay us directly at the meetings. This will give us the option of setting up payments for summer camp and our ski trip. Also for the guys going to Philmont, look for emails real soon to start that payment plan. We are trying to make it easier for you. Second is a new program that a lot of larger Troops on the West Coast are using. It is really cool. Scouts now will set up their Scoutmaster Conferences online, check out Merit Badge Books online, request Board of Reviews online, plan their meetings and menus online and tons of other things. Adults when you sign up it, gives us a feature to send a text to let you know what time we will be back from a trip. I send a text to one number and it forwards it to everyone else. So I need every Scout and Parent to send me the email address they want to use for these programs.

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 recently rolled $350.00 over to the bus account from the toner account. We are fixing to roll over $200 more next week. That helps a lot. If you need labels let me know, or if you want to help let me know.

Web stuff – we are on facebook at – boyscouttroop onesixfive. We are on youtube http://www.youtube.com/user/ScoutTroop165

Remember – Our Yahoo group is our #1 source of info. Go to Yahoo groups and search for– Troop165 – then click join. You may have to create a yahoo login if you don't have one.

And as always at http://www.troop165bsa.org/

Knotmaster Program– This is a really cool program – Jacob and Jeremiah are running this- it is incredible. It is a program that will teach scouts to tie knots to new levels. It can take years to complete. It is sorta based on Karate – as you advance you get to wear different colored Knots. 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. At the rollout meeting the Scouts decided to give up game time to tie knots. The scouts still continue to give up game time to tie knots and try to advance in the program. Really cool. Keep up the great work Jeremiah and Jacob.

Please send me an email with the preferred emails for our two new programs ASAP.

In closing, let me say thanks to each and every person that reads this email. Every one of you has helped us. Thank you!!
--
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

Day of Service May22nd 2010

2010-05-21T15:50:00.001-04:00

Hey all

Just an update:

We will be meeting at the hut for our Adopt a Road day starting at 9:00 am Saturday morning. If you are staying the night you can bring your sleeping bag and pad then. Also go ahead and bring whatever video game and tv's then also. We will have someone at the hut all day to keep them safe. For the adopt a road scouts might want to bring a set of gloves.

Make sure to bring a sack lunch and a drink for lunch. We will eat lunch at the hut and around 1 o'clock we will head over to clean up Ms.M's yard. Scouts(and Adults) could use gloves, rakes, shovels. Adults we could use a couple of chain saws as she has alot of downed limbs in her yard. We will work on that till 6 or 7 then head back to the hut. The troop is providing pizza and soft drinks for all. Then it is time for the lockin. Games and whatever till whenever. Any adults that want to stay are welcome. In the morning we will have biscuits for all. Pickup will be Sunday morning at 9:00am.

Any scout and parent that can help, please do. Even if you can't make it the whole day, every little bit helps. Hopefully everyone can attend the lock in.

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

May 22nd Lock in

2010-05-12T21:23:00.001-04:00

Hey all

Saturday May 22nd Troop 165 will be giving a "Day of Service". Starting at 9am that Saturday am we will be meeting at the Scout Hut for our Adopt A Road Clean up day. That should last from 9-12. From 12 to 1 we will eat a sack lunch. From 1 till 6 we will be working around the corner. We had an 88 year old widow deliver a sweet letter to us asking for help. She has alot of storm damage in her yard and to her house and needs some help. She explained that she is a widow with no family nearby, and living on a fixed income and asked for our help. Landon read the letter to the Scouts and they decided to help her on that day also.

I am going to go by there after the campout this Sunday and look at her place and see what we need. We can use all the help we can get that day.

After all of the hard work is done we will be having a lock in that night at the hut. The guys will have soft drinks, and pizza to eat all night. They can bring their video games and TVs to play. Pick up will be by 9:30 Sunday morning.

Scouts will need to bring a pair of work gloves, rakes, clippers, shovels, and any other yard working items they think they may need. LABEL THEM with your last name so we get them back. Scouts will need a sack lunch for Saturday. Scouts will need a sleeping bag and pad for Saturday night.

Thanks to a special donation the cost for this whole day of service and fun will be 0 - that's right zero.

Scouts Austin M and Joseph B are in charge of the lock in so see them with your questions.

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

4-11

2010-04-12T11:05:00.001-04:00

Hey all

Just a short email to keep everyone informed.

Bo's General Scout Store is now open. Now you can get most of your basic scouting needs at the hut. We have scout books, field books, book covers, shoulder epaulets, neckerchiefs and slides. We even have Eagle camp mugs. In the next few weeks we will be adding compasses and pocket knives. We know times are tough and spare time is even tougher to get. The Troop store will save you time and money. We are buying in bulk and passing the savings on to you. You no longer have to travel to Fairburn or Griffin to get the basics. No other Troop has an onsite store for its member's convenience.

We also have rental gear! For 5 American dollars you can rent a backpack or a tent for a weekend. The packs and tents must be returned clean and dry at the following Tuesday night Troop meeting. We hope this will help ease the burden of purchasing gear for new Scouts. As our rental program grows look for more packs, tents and eventually stoves. No other Troop offers this convenience.

Parents meeting – Rescheduled for this Monday night. I think at 7 pm. Look for info on the yahoo group from Chris Smith.

Campout permission slips are due Tuesday Night. I will attach a copy to this email. Should be a fun campout.

New parents/old parents training – This will be a one time mandatory meeting for parents to get "trained" in how we do things. Also while there we will be signing you up to teach any Merit Badges you might be interested in. We will be gathering driver information, as well as covering Training requirements. Should be early May. Stay tuned for details

Camp Cards – Sorry guys – I really underestimated our sales on these. I should have gotten 1000 or more. Next year we will be prepared. Everyone is sold out or nearly sold out. Super great fundraiser. Kudos to Publix and Chic Fil A for this one.

Training - This continues to be a sore subject. After researching the details myself- I have to be 100% trained before the end of the year(maybe). I already am. ASM and Committee member will have to be trained before the end of 2011. We will cover that at the parents training meeting.

Encourage Jeremiah to go to Summer Camp and get his Lifeguard Certification!!

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

Someone mentioned to me the other day that our travel plans to Philmont were a pipe dream. I looked back at that person and said "a year ago this (the scout hut) was a pipe dream". I dream big for our Scouts. They are the best bunch of young men that I know. They deserve the best. The decisions I have made have cost me ALOT of grief, but I did not make them for me, I made them for the Scouts. The hut is almost done, the bus is near, after that we only need our Canoe trailers and canoes and then I can relax. I am a firm believer in surrounding yourself with GREAT people and even GREATER things will happen. Our little Hut is one of the nicer in the state and everyone contributed in their own little ways. Each of you deserve more thank you's than I can ever give. We ROCK!

Summer Camp 2010- 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. The final 100 is due May 1^st.

Medical forms for summer camp should be turned in by May 1^st.

My daughter is still mad at me from the last message.

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 350.00 over to the bus account from the toner account. That helps a lot.

Scout Bus – We are actually closer than ever. I rolled 350 out of the toner fund and we have actually found a good bus. We hope to have it by summer camp. Metal is at $12 dollars a hundred, and we have plenty of metal. Let Bo know if you are free one day to help load a trailer, haul a trailer, or gather more metal.

Web stuff – we are on facebook at – boyscouttroop onesixfive. We are on youtube http://www.youtube.com/user/ScoutTroop165

Remember – Our Yahoo group is our #1 source of info. Go to Yahoo groups and search for– Troop165 – then click join. You may have to create a yahoo login if you don't have one.

And as always at http://www.troop165bsa.org/

Knotmaster – This is a really cool program – Jacob and Jeremiah are running this- it is incredible. It is a program that will teach scouts to tie knots to new levels. It can take years to complete. It is sorta based on Karate – as you advance you get to wear better Knots. 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. At the rollout meeting the Scouts decided to give up game time to tie knots. Whould a thunk it…. I am amazed.

Adopt A Road - Stay tuned.

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 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

3-21-2010

2010-03-21T21:48:00.001-04:00

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.

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.

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.

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

Worth watching

2010-03-17T22:45:00.001-04:00

Wanna know why I am in Scouting.

http://www.scoutingnews.org/2009/04/13/middle-tennessee-council-boy-scouts-luncheon-2009/

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

Message

2010-02-27T23:26:00.001-05:00

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!

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

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.

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.

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

Monday Musings

2010-02-08T23:27:00.001-05:00

Just a quick note to keep everyone up to date.

Tomorrow is the 100th anniversary of Scouting. Encourage your son to wear his uniform or a Class B t shirt.

The past weekend campout went great, Junior Leader Training should help with the way the Troops youth leaders run their Troop. I could see a difference that afternoon and especially on Sunday morning for the load out. Thanks Nathaniel for a great Scouts Own Sunday Service.

After consulting with Chris Smith and some of the Assistant Scoutmasters, we are going to implement a new Troop 165 Adult Training program. All new parents will be required to attend a short afternoon session on the Troop, how we camp, what their son needs, etc... It will also be at those sessions that we will gather all of our required info. Look for the date for the first on soon.

Parents - the Council has implemented a new policy. Any parent that wishes to be a Merit Badge counselor must be registered and fill out a worksheet. We also require Youth Protection Training. (available online) Look for details soon on a Merit Badge Training and registration session.

We are going back to Philmont in 2011, the dates are July 6th through the 18th. The deposit of 100 dollars is due Tuesday the 9th. Scouts must be 14 by that date, and be physically able to endure 12 days of backpacking at altitude. Right now it looks like the following people have committed to go:
Adults - Doug, Bo, Chris Smith
Scouts - Jeremiah, Nick, Landon, Austin, Nathaniel, Robby

Summer Camp - The Raven Knob guide is still not out yet (as of 10:57pm Monday night) as soon as it comes out we will begin registering. If you have not made your deposit, please do so asap. I encourage every Scout to attend Summer camp.

Fundraisers - We just completed the Interstate battery fundraiser, and will be rolling out a coupon book fundraiser very shortly. These will sell great and will help fill up those scout accounts.

Troop yard sale - Mark your calendars now. Saturday Feb 27th will be our first annual troop yard sale. Please bring anything you want to donate to the Troop for sale. We will store it somewhere until then. This is one of the fundraisers to help the troop. We will be asking every parent to please volunteer a few hours either Friday night with setup, or Saturday morning with the actual sale. The proceeds from this sale will be used to acquire some Troop backpacks, sleeping bags, and cookstoves to be loaned out to Scouts that don't have them yet. Hopefully that will help some more scouts be able to participate on some of our backpacking trips.

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 every thing 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.

Scout Hut - Mr Klakis has the paint donated, we just need it to stop raining for a few days. We hope to be done totally by the yard sale. Mr Burton has more gravel donated to finish the parking lot also.

Jeremiahs Eagle Court of Honor is on Feb 28th - Please mark your calendar to attend.

Adopt A Road - Was scheduled for March 6th - Cancelled - that is race weekend, I don't want to be on the side of the road then. We may look at going to the race instead.

March 27th - Court of Honor - new location. We will be holding this one at the Browns farm in Zebulon. It will be a cookout, Court of Honor, Webelos Crossover Ceremony, and a OA Tapout ceremony. Look for a flier 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 help the boys 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 you son to invite his freinds to visit the Troop or attens our March camping trip. The contest ends May 1st with the drawing at the May 4th meeting.

Making several changes to the calendar - I will email that tomorrow.

--
Doug

Scoutmaster Troop 165
http://www.troop165bsa.org
scoutmaster165@gmail.com

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

Fwd: [Troop165] Sunday Ramblings

2009-03-22T19:03:00.001-04:00

Hey all

I just want to say thanks to everyone that helped this weekend with the hut. I have tried to post pictures to keep everyone up to date. The progress was incredible. Between the tearing down and the putting up, several tons of block were moved this weekend. A great weekend. If you ride by the hut, the front right corner is topped out. That will give you an idea of how big this project is. These Scouts and all of our future Scouts will have one of the best Scout huts in the nation.
There are a ton on people to thank, I wont even try to thank everyone, but Bo Miller deserves special thanks. Bo has spent hundreds of hours putting all of this together. Just his freindship with the block masons alone saved us a thousand dollars or more. Those two masons normally earn 32 dollars an hour each. They have already donated two days, and are coming back next week and next weekend. Mr. Wayne and Mr. Mister are some great people. We are blessed.
On to Scouting - Our next trip is a backpacking trip, Monday night Jeremiah plans to go over pack packing tips, and learning how to estimate height and distance.
Monday night we will also be talking about Merit Badge Day, and passing out Blue Cards for merit Badge Day. The Pre Reqs will be noted on the cards. For Merit Badge day every Scout will need a Blue Card, a Merit Badge book, and a worksheet. We have a limited amount of books in our library, we will work on passing those out. Scouts need to complete their pre reqs before Merit Badge Day to earn the Badge that day. They must have their worksheet complete also. We also have a guest speaker attending.
I encourage every Scout to go ahead and knock out those pre reqs for Merit Badge Day, because next week I should have the list of pre reqs for Summer Camp. The Scouts will be very busy over the next 8 weeks or so. If they complete their pre reqs, and complete the classes, and turn in a completed worksheet, they can earn as many as 8 Merit Badges before July. Remember - Troop 165 has this silly rule - we want our guys to "learn" a badge before they "earn" a badge. We have never, nor will we ever, hand out Merit Badges simply based on attendance. Our Scouts EARN their Badges.
Last weekends campout was a blast. Amongst other things, we put on First Aid Scenarios, complete with makeup, and special effects. It was amazing to see the Scouts appproach a scenario, and totally make mistakes. The scenarios were on par with what an EMT might face, only geared towards the outdoors. On some things they did well, on others they lost it. After each scenario, they had an in depth evaluation, that is where they learned the most. We tried to explain to them, you can sit in a room and earn a First Aid Merit Badge, but until you experience it, you don't know it. As a Troop we are going to keep sneaking scenarios into different events. Practice makes perfect. Ask any soldier, or EMT.
Stay tuned for more updates

Thanks everyone

Doug

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2009-02-18T22:30:00.001-05:00

You know, I find it quite interesting the amount of people that want
to know what Troop 165 has been/is doing now that we sort
of "privatized" everything we do by putting it on this group. We have
actually had people that want to come by and take pictures to copy
our trailer. We have also actually had people want to see our patrol
cook boxes --again, so they could copy them. I have even had a
request for an up-to-date calendar from someone else. Interestingly,
each of these people are from groups that left the Troop. So it just
begs to ask... If this Troop was THAT bad, why would they want to
copy us so much???

That being said, I want to ask everyone to remember that all info on
this group belongs to THIS Troop. Please do not share it with anyone
that is not a Troop member. If you receive a weird request for info,
forward it to me. Let ME be the bad guy. I don't mind :-) This also
includes anyone from "District." If any of "them" contact you, refer
them to me. This Troop is about to go to a level that District cannot
even comprehend. Everyone will want to copy and imitate us (they
already want to, and isn't imitation the sincerest form of flattery?)
However, THEY need to work as hard as US to get there. This should
not be about "sharing the wealth," as it were. There are Troops out
there that break BSA policy to prematurely advance their Scouts.
There are Troops out there that will only platform camp (what good is
that for the boys?). THIS Troop is not into that kind of practice and
will stick to the basic rules of Scouting, while trying to provide a
great program for the Scouts, which we have, thus far, succeeded at
doing. It's evident that others think so as well --and flattering at
the same time! Look at the last two months alone: We went from 6,000
feet above sea level to 600 feet below sea level. Once the Scout Hut
is done, and things stabilize, Look Out! This Troop will be THE ONE
that every other Troop wants to emulate. We're making (already have
made) a name for ourselves, but we all need to remember that jealousy
breeds resentment. I am EXTREMEMLY proud of this troop and the
progress we've made, and I couldn't have done it without all of your
support.

Let's "Keep on Truckin'!"

Happy Wednesday!

Doug

--
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

News

2009-01-31T22:51:00.001-05:00

Troop 165 is very excited to be associated with Harvest Point. The last year has seen our Troop go through alot of changes. We are now completing a Scout Hut and should be meeting there by the end of this month. We are close to purchasing a bus to help ease the transportation burdens of a very active Troop. We have seen over 125 Merit Badges awarded this year. We have had every Scout advance in Rank. We also celebrated our first Eagle Scout, Jacob Holly. We also co hosted another Eagle Scout - Ryan Hammer. Both men will continue to be excellent leaders in their community. We look forward to helping the Church however possible in the future.

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

Sunday Ramblings

2009-01-11T20:51:00.001-05:00

Wow

What an incredible week. We had an excellent meeting Monday night, followed by Jacobs Eagle Court of Honor Saturday night. For those that could not make it Jacobs Court of Honor was incredible. He had over 100 people in attendance, tons of gifts, letters of congratulations, and some really great friends in attendance. It was a great experience. I was extremely proud to be Scoutmaster of Troop 165, and especially proud of Jacob. It was a wonderful night. I will try to post some pictures on the group later tonight.

Ski Trip info will go out in a separate email later tonight.

If you have not replied with your shoe size, weight, ski, or snow board preference, please try to do that tonight. We have to fax in a form so that we don't have to wait in line long for our gear.

With all of this cold weather, we should have some great skiing this weekend. Here is a link to the live webcam - http://www.cataloochee.com/webcam.html

Monday nights meeting info will go out in a separate email later tonight.

We are almost caught up. The February and March campout info will be posted this week. Look for emails regarding that.

Committee Meeting – Tuesday night at the Morris' house. Their address is 60 Bryans Path Stockbridge Ga. 30281. Remember, you don't have to be an official committee member to attend, all parents are welcome.

That's it for now.

--
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

Fwd: Sunday ramblings

2008-12-28T21:33:00.001-05:00

Hey Everyone

This is a short abbreviated Sunday message.

I hope everyone is having a great and happy holiday season.

I really appreciated the support I received the other night. Words cannot express what I felt. I am truly blessed to be associated with such great people. I want to thank each and every one of you. What was going on was a travesty and a horrible representation of BSA. Unfortunately, that stuff happens. We have passed that.

The yahoo group will now be the main source for info. The Website will still be up and updated with Troop activities and other stuff. The majority of Troop information will now come from the yahoo group. Reason being, there seem to be some people that would take any info we post and turn it around and use it against us. We don't need that. With the yahoo group being membership controlled we can post whatever we want and not have to worry about who is accessing the info. No one from district will be allowed on the site.

Once in the group you will have access to Merit Badge workbooks for every badge, rank advancement videos, advancement reports, financial statements, and photos from trips, permission slips, tour permits, and a ton of other stuff.

Please join the Group today at

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Troop165/

Thanks
--
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

Resend - please read

2008-12-07T23:42:00.001-05:00

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 9^th 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.

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 10^th 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.

Please read

2008-12-07T22:55:00.001-05:00

updates and ramblings

2008-11-30T20:48:00.001-05:00

This is my Sunday night rambling attempt to keep everyone informed 11-30-08.

Church update – As everyone knows the Church is in full-tilt move mode. They will be working upstairs Monday night. The Church may need our help. We will be meeting downstairs near the doors. We will have to get all of our remaining stuff from upstairs on Monday night. We will meet again at the Church on Dec 8^th. After that, we have our Court of Honor/ Christmas dinner at Golden Corral. Then two weeks off for the holidays. Starting on January 5^th, we will be meeting at Nash Farms Battlefield. The county is giving us the use of the big white building on Monday nights, I guess, because they feel bad about the survey not being done yet. We will probably have to meet there for about four weeks, then we should have the Hut completed enough to meet in. One neat thing, the County is going to have the County Historian come out for a couple of Monday nights and go over the history of the site and the battle.

Campout this weekend – The Campout was to be a backpacking trip on the Benton McCaye. That is being changed to a campout/work weekend at the Scout Hut. The permission slip is attached. We will be cleaning out the building, removing the windows, doors, and possibly the roof. All Scouts should bring work gloves, and old clothes. We will be dropping off and picking up at the hut. Drop off will start at 6:30 Friday night, pick up will be Sunday morning by 10:30am. We may work Sunday afternoon also, but the campout will "end" @ 10:30am. Check your email for updates. I hate making this change, we've only changed our schedule twice in 3 ½ years, but we have to get the Hut done ASAP.

Court of Honor/Christmas dinner – Dec 15^th 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. When you show up, go ahead and go through the line, pay for your food, eat and meet in the room. We will have the blessing after everyone eats. The buffet is approx $10.00 per person, but no one has to cook so it should work out about the same.

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 still looking for a good used school bus. There are a lot of them up north, but they are rust buckets. We are trying to find a local bus. There is one in Dallas, GA that we are looking at now. Once we find a potential bus, we have a mobile truck mechanic that is going to give it an inspection. Stay tuned for more details.

Signs - For those of you that particpated - please pick up and return your "kindness works" signs and give them to Larry on Monday night.

Scout Hut – Still waiting on the County to complete their survey. The County has actually turned it over to a private firm. Bo is on top of this. We have to work with, and wait on, them to complete their survey. Once they complete the survey, it will be a matter of weeks before we are meeting there. We can't do much with the surrounding property until the survey is done. Contact Bo about what is donated, versus what we still need. I was going to post a list, but we have so much stuff donated, I can't list it all. We are hoping to get some tables and chairs from the church before they move. Once the survey is done, we may look at having a separate meeting to plan out the restoration of the hut.

Special Thanks!! – Mr. Klakis for the Aviation Merit Badge last month. He put the event together and I must admit, I think the Scouts enjoyed the flight simulators more than the "secret event" the month before. I think it is one of the coolest things I have seen the guys do. Those guys came out of those simulators as pumped up as I have ever seen them. They are already talking about going back for day trips, and camping again. The soldiers on base were great and the staff at the Museum was top-notch. The Scouts had a blast. Thanks Mr. Klakis!!! That's what Scouting is all about.

Butterfly Seeds – Weird promo, but the people we send the toner cartridges to had a promo last quarter. They gave away packages of butterfly garden seeds based on the number of cartridges sent in. I will bring them Monday night; if you want some let me know. We earned a lot. If no one wants them we might look into planting them somewhere where someone less fortunate can enjoy them, perhaps at a hospital, or a senior center?

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. 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. 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.

6:40-6:55 – Ben Yonek

6:55-7:10 - Nolan Warner

7:10-7:25 – Braxton Hardy

Committee Meeting – Monday night December 1st. As most of you know, Chris Smith is our new Committee Chair. The Committee has several open positions. I have attached a separate letter detailing the Committee and the open positions. Normally the Committee would meet upstairs in the room past the Scouts. Look for Chris and he will find a place to meet.

Troop Dues - Everyone hates them. They are due December 1st. $100.00 for the year. (December to December) The dues are used to cover Troop expenses such as Merit badges, camping supplies, gear; etc. Chris Swindell will be set-up somewhere with a receipt book. I know times are tough, let me or Chris Smith know and we will work with you as much as possible if you require some help with dues. Scoutmasters and Committee Chairs have special ways to handle stuff like this. Don't let something as simple as money keep your son from enjoying Scouting.

I hate that it is so chaotic right now. We thought we would have the Scout Hut done before the church moved --Didn't work out. Once the hut is done we will be back on a regular schedule and the guys will have their place to meet. They can have lock-ins whenever they want to. It will be nice to "get back to normal." The future for this Troop is going to be great.

If the two attachments don't work. Let me know and I will try to fix them.

In closing, I would like to say that I know we've gone through a lot of growing pains lately. That is what they are – growing pains. We are growing towards being one of the best troops in the State, not the district, not the council, but the State. Very few Troops have their own Scout Bus. Less than that has their own Scout Hut. Any Troop that has both, (hut and bus) has been in existence for a long time. We will have both in less than three years. In closing, I would like to say that I would rather have growing pains as opposed to stagnation. We will never stagnate.

Live long and prosper...

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

2008-11-09T22:41:00.001-05:00

This is my Sunday night rambling attempt to keep everyone informed 11-09-08.

I have attached the permission slip for this weekend's campout. I know- it is late. Please fill it out and send it tomorrow night. Trip details: we are leaving Friday night at 6:30 to camp at Warner Robins Air Force Base. We are camping on the base. Scouts will need to bring their own tents. We will be going to the Museum at 8:30 Saturday morning. The Scouts that want to earn the Aviation Merit Badge will begin work on that. Around lunch those Scouts will get 30-minutes in an F-4 flight simulator. Really cool!! Mr. Klakis has put this together for us and is even covering the cost of the Badge for those Scouts. Thank you MR. K!! The rest of the guys can tour the museum and if possible, we will get them some flight time in the simulator. All of the Scouts will need some spending money (approx $35). For Scouts not taking the badge, there is an additional charge to use the simulator. Also, we will be visiting the museum store, possibly bowling, possibly visiting the Base movie theatre, and definitely eating breakfast Sunday morning on base(approx $5.00 not included in trip fees) in the mess hall with the Airmen. I have the following adults attending: Chad Hardy, Bo Miller, Scott Morris, Chris Smith, Chris Swindell, and Me. Please email me with any questions you have. Should be a great trip!

Also attached is the deposit form for the January snow skiing trip. It is due Monday night also. Please make your deposit. We can reserve X amount of spots. Later we can reduce that number; however, we can't add to it. If you aren't sure, go ahead and reserve your spot. You can back out later, if need be. Details soon on this trip.

Fundraisers: I can barely keep up. Looks like we made $200 on one fundraiser, $555 on the spaghetti dinner, $150 from the Metal Militia, and $190 from the Toner Toters. (I made that name up – I wanted to try and compete with the Metal Militia's legacy.) Anyway, that doesn't even include this weekend at Nash Farms. I want to thank everyone – without your help we wouldn't have those results. Stay tuned next week for all of the totals.

As Scoutmaster I spend a lot of time looking at other Troops and what they're doing. I was looking at Troop 629 from Atlanta Area Council's Ski Trip. The initial cost is $200.00. They are leaving on a Saturday morning and returning Sunday. That includes one day of skiing along with lodging. That does not include the airfare to get to Vermont. That is an additional $340.00. Wow! And to think I was really worried about our four-day weekend with two full days of skiing going over $100.00, with $20 to ride the bus. Go figure.

Bus update – Currently, we are looking at a 91 Blue Bird with a 5.9 Cummins engine. It's a flat nose bus in good shape. We should know for sure mid-week about that. (Sort of in the "haggling" phase.) I did not know this, but a lot of the old school buses are being crated and shipped to South America right now. They use them on the banana plantations for hauling fruit.

Scout Hut – Still waiting on the County to complete their survey. Bo is on top of this. We have to work with, and wait on them to complete their survey. Next week I will post a list of what we have donated, and what we still need. Stay tuned

Putting this to a vote – I have someone willing to donate a nice foosball table for free; I just have to go get it. Vote-Scouts: Do you want that in the hut? Reply by Wednesday.

Bus fund – We are getting closer and closer to the Bus. We now have a total of $2,157.86. That figure will change next week also. I figure we need at least $2,800 to get the bus, license it, insure it, and service it. This puts us at 77.06% of the way there. That figure will be updated this week, stay tuned. We now have XM Satellite Radio donated. We are also working on an endorsement deal with Gold Bond Medicated Powder. Stay tuned for details on that. They actually liked the idea… The Scouts want a DVD player and 4 TVs. We've already had several adults volunteer to go get their CDL to drive. Hopefully, if we have enough money in the bus fund the Troops bus fund will pay for that also.

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. The Scout can choose his time for the next week's conferences. This will eliminate a lot of confusion. Also, I will be scheduling conferences to meet with Scouts as I deem necessary. This week's schedule breaks down as:

7:00-7:12 – Ben Yonek

7:12- 7:24- Matt Shaw

7:24-7:36 –TJ Marchant

7:36-7:48 – Braxton Hardy

Next Week's(11-17-08) Schedule (so far) is

6:40-6:52 open

6:52-7:04 - Nolan Warner

7:04-7:16 – open

7:16-7-28 – open

Mega Fundraiser – Look for details in the next two or three days. There is a large company that is closing their warehouse on the Southside. They need a warehouse full of bins and shelving moved from Riverdale to Ellenwood. The lowest bid they have received so far is $9,600.00. I made them the offer of making us a donation of $6,000.00 and we would do the job for them. I sold it as a win/win. Their net cost (after their donation) is zero for the move. They get their bins moved, and make a nice contribution to Scouting. I give this a 50/50 chance of happening, but want to keep everyone in the loop. If it does happen, we will need a lot of help. Stay tuned.

Committee Meeting – Monday night. As most of you know Chris Smith is our new Committee Chair. Please attend the Committee meeting Monday night to meet Chris and hear what he has to offer.

Special Thanks – I have been left out of the loop on the last two fundraisers. I noticed someone that was definitely in the loop -- Sandy Tant has been there from bell –to-bell on both fundraisers. Special thanks to Sandy!!! I greatly appreciate all that you do for this troop! It does not go unnoticed.

Troop Dues - Everyone hates them. They are due by December 1st. $100.00 for the year. (December to December) The dues are used to cover Troop expenses such as Merit badges, camping supplies, gear, etc. December 1^st is less than 3 weeks away.

Toner/cell phone fundraiser – Please bring those cartridges and cell phones again. I have noticed the reduction in deposits. You are not hurting me, only the Scouts. We were averaging around $50 a month from this. It's not a lot, but it helps. Please start chunking them in the back of my truck again. This money is dedicated for the bus.

Also, the Court of Honor for December has been relocated to the Golden Corral off of Jonesboro Road. (Near the Church)

In closing, I would like to say that I know we have gone through a lot of growing pains lately. That is what they are – growing pains. We are growing towards being one of the best troops in the State, not the district, not the council, but the State. Fewer than 5% of Troops have their own Scout Bus. Less than 7% have their own Scout Hut. Most Troops that have both, (hut and bus), have been in existence for over twenty years. We will have both in less than three years. In closing, I would like to say that I would rather have growing pains as opposed to stagnation. We will never stagnate.

Live long and prosper...

Doug Clemens

Scoutmaster Troop 165

http://www.troop165bsa.org

scoutmaster165@gmail.com

404-520-1160

Imagination is more important than knowledge...

It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education... Albert Einstein

Sunday Ramblings

2008-11-09T22:36:00.001-05:00

Please turn in the campout slip Monday night.

As always let me know if there is a problem.

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

Imagination is more important than knowledge...
It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education... Albert Einstein

Sunday ramblings

2008-11-02T21:55:00.001-05:00

Hey all 11/02/08

This is my Sunday night rambling attempt to keep everyone up to date.

This Troop does more in a week than most Troops do in a month. For the Scouts that helped out on this 5 day weekend, THANKS!! We did a lot. We helped a lot. We made a difference. Great job to all involved.

Grab a tissue

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th6Njr-qkq0

Be inspired

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I0DRk8dFjI

Thanks everyone

That is all I have for this week.

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

Imagination is more important than knowledge...
It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education... Albert Einstein

Sunday

2008-10-26T21:01:00.001-04:00

This is my Sunday night rambling attempt to keep everyone informed. 10/26/08

Raffle – The first raffle was a great success. The second one ends tomorrow night. Please sell, sell, sell. After this one we will not have any more until next year. Remember the Scout that sells the winning ticket gets $50 into their Scout account. Please turn your money and tickets into Tony as soon as possible on Monday night the 27^th. We will do the drawing as soon as he totals everything out.

Workdays for the Scout Hut – Stay tuned. The surveyors were supposed to be there this week. After that we will be able to post a better schedule.

Bus fund – We are getting closer and closer to the Bus. We now have a total of $2157.86. I want to thank everyone that sold raffle tickets. It was a great success. We are working on the second raffle now. I figure we need $2800 to get the bus, license it, insure it, and service it. This puts us at 77.06% of the way there. Thanks everyone!!!! Hopefully we can find a decent used school bus for around $1800.00 to $2200.00 and use the rest of the money to fix it up. We now have XM Satellite Radio donated. The Scouts want a DVD player and 4 TVs in the bus. We've already had several adults volunteer to go get their CDL to drive. Hopefully, if we have enough money in the bus fund the Troop will pay for that also.

Tables and Chairs – We will need tables and chairs to go in the new Scout Hut. Donated ones will work better.

Trunks and Treats – We will set up Thursday night the 30^th at the church. Friday the 31^st we will host the haunted scout tent. We will need lots of donated candy. The Church is also asking about us helping with the inflatables. Let Laura know if you can help.

Toner/cell phone fundraiser – Please keep on bringing in those cartridges and cell phones. We are averaging around 50 dollars a month from this. Keep on chunking them in the back of my truck. This money is reserved for the bus.

Calendar:

October 25^th – Merit Badge Day – departing church @ 6:00am returning @ 2:30pm.

October 27^th – Troop Meeting & Board of Reviews & Committee Meeting

October 30^th – Set up for Trunks and Treats 6:30 till 8:00

October 31^st – Trunks and Treats 6:30 till ???

Nov 2^nd – Spaghetti dinner fundraiser.

Nov 3^rd – Troop Meeting

Nov 7-9^th – Fundraiser @ Nash Farms

Nov 10^th – Troop meeting/ Committee Meeting

Nov 14-16^th – Campout.

Nov 17^th – Troop Meeting & Board of Reviews

Ordinarily I would not put all of these dates in the newsletter, we just have a lot going on the next few weeks. I wanted to make sure everyone is informed.

Also the Court of Honor for December has been relocated to the Golden Corral off of Jonesboro Road. (Near the Church)

There is so much more to say, please attend the special Committee Meeting tomorrow night.

Live long and prosper...

Doug Clemens

Scoutmaster Troop 165

http://www.troop165bsa.org

scoutmaster165@gmail.com

404-520-1160

Imagination is more important than knowledge...

It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education... Albert Einstein

Sunday

2008-10-19T20:31:00.001-04:00

This is my Sunday night rambling attempt to keep everyone informed. 10/19/08

Recently the love of my life, Tammy, my wife, has started collecting old books. She gets them at yard sales, estate sales, and flea markets. I have gotten into reading the handwritten notes made in the books. She got one the other day from the library of a preacher dated 100 years ago. Another one caught my eye, it was signed by Z. A. Gegg on 10/28/1954. It is titled: Try Giving Yourself Away. It was written in 1947, near as we can tell. I read it on a whim. What a great book. Find a copy and read it.

I was very proud of Ben for hosting Sunday's service at the campout. It was original, and entertaining. I think Ben has a future in politics.

You know, the one of the best things about being a Scoutmaster of a Troop, is watching the young men experience different things. This weekend we went climbing and rappelling. The guys had a blast. The rewarding part of it for me was watching the Scouts that were terrified about rappelling overcome their fears and climb or rappel. It was amazing; scouts that were going to sit on the ground and watch, eventually completed the hands on part of the Merit Badge. They were so proud of themselves. You can't put a price on that.

The highlight of the weekend came on Saturday night, the details of which cannot be released to the general public. The Scouts that experienced it will remember it forever. I heard comments like, "this was the coolest thing I ever did", and "I conquered two of my fears", and "best thing I've ever done" all the way to, "I think I soiled myself". Anyway, it was a GREAT weekend, probably the best campout ever!!!

Raffle – The first raffle was a great success. The second one is underway now. Please sell, sell, sell. After this one we will not have any more until next year. Remember the Scout that sells the winning ticket gets $50 into their Scout account. Please sell, if you have sold tickets, and want to turn in your money, turn it into Tony Shaw on Monday night. It is easier if people turn it in a little at a time as opposed to all at once.

Workdays for the Scout Hut – Stay tuned. The surveyors are supposed to be there this week. After that we will be able to post a better schedule.

Painting Merit Badge – This looks like the only badge we can offer during the renovation of the scout hut. More details soon

Bus fund – We are getting closer and closer to the Bus. We now have a total of $2157.86. I want to thank everyone that sold raffle tickets. It was a great success. We are working on the second raffle now. Please participate and try to sell more than you did on the first one. If you did not get tickets, see Tony Shaw Monday night to get a stack. I figure we need $2800 to get the bus, license it, insure it, and service it. This puts us at 77.06% of the way there. Thanks everyone!!!! Hopefully we can find a decent used school bus for around $1800.00 to $2200.00 and use the rest of the money to fix it up. We now have XM Satellite Radio donated. The Scouts want a DVD player and 4 TVs in the bus. We've already had several adults volunteer to go get their CDL to drive. Hopefully, if we have enough money in the bus fund the Troop will pay for that also.

Popcorn – Popcorn order forms were passed out last Monday night. There is also a neat option to order magazines this year. Remember 100% of the profit from the sales goes directly into the Scouts account. If you have any questions; Devin Tant's mom (Sandy) is our popcorn Kernel. This is a message from her;

Continue taking orders for popcorn. Please have your order sheet, money and prizes picked and turn them in on Monday, October 20Th. This is the last day that they can be turned in. I have to place the on-line order for the Troop so we meet the deadlines set. If your Scout has sold at least $350 or filled up an order sheet (which must have addresses and phone numbers for each order), they will receive a free ticket to Rock Ranch Great Outdoor Adventure. Please let me know if you have any questions and we will see you on Monday night.

Sandy Tant

Tables and Chairs – We will need tables and chairs to go in the new Scout Hut. Donated ones will work better.

Trunks and Treats – We will set up Thursday night the 30^th at the church. Friday the 31^st we will host the haunted scout tent. Look for more details soon. We will need lots of donated candy. The Church is also asking about us helping with the inflatables. Let Laura know if you can help.

Merit Badge Day – October 25^th. Every Scout that signed up in July got their first choice. The following Scouts are signed up: Nolan W, Ronnie M, Braxton H, Devin T, Landon C, Austin M, CJ E, Matt S, TJ M, Ty B, Nick O, Nathaniel S, Eric M, Robby S, and Jacob S. The email with the pre req's went out several weeks ago. Please make sure you Scout completes their Pre req's. Let me know if there are any questions. Adults - We will need some drivers. Be on standby.

Toner/cell phone fundraiser – Please keep on bringing those cartridges and cell phones. We are averaging around 50 dollars a month from this. Keep on chunking them in the back of my truck. This money is reserved for the bus.

Live long and prosper...

Doug Clemens

Scoutmaster Troop 165

http://www.troop165bsa.org

scoutmaster165@gmail.com

404-520-1160

Imagination is more important than knowledge...

It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education... Albert Einstein