Troop 734 - Hilliard, OH

• Tonight’s program Patrol: tbd; Scout skills: tbd.
• Next week’s program Patrol: tbd; Scout skills: tbd
• Upcoming events:
  • No Communications Merit Badge class on Feb 9.  Classes will resume on Feb 16, and the class has been extended a week to Feb 23.
  • Skiing / Tubing – Feb 12.  Note:  We’re now planning on leaving here at 9:00am and skiing during the day!  Be sure to click the link for updated prices.
  • [R]Communications Merit Badge class – Feb 16.
  • Merit Badge College 2010 - Session 2 – Feb 20.
  • Pack 148 Blue-Gold Banquet – Feb 20.
  • Communications Merit Badge class – Feb 23.  This class was added to make up for the cancelled class on Feb 9.
  • [R]Maple Syrup Festival – Feb 27.  Please see Mr. Lane if you can help with this event, either this week or next week (Mar 6)!
  • [R]Maple Syrup Festival – Mar 6.
  • Skills Campout – Mar 12-14.
  • Merit Badge College 2010 - Session 3 – Mar 27.
• Announcements:
  • Summer camp voting was tonight.  Results (in order): Crooked Creek (9 votes), Blue Ridge (8 votes), Chief Logan (7 votes), and Woodland Trails (6 votes).  Mr. Hansford will work on making reservations for the 2nd week in July, starting with Crooked Creek, and working down the list if they’re full that week.

• Tonight’s program Patrol: Flaming Jalapenos; Scout skills: knots, knots, and more knots.
• Next week’s program Patrol: (tbd); Scout skills: (tbd)
• Upcoming events:
  • [R]Communications Merit Badge class – Feb 2
  • [R]Communications Merit Badge class – Feb 9
  • Skiing / Tubing – Feb 12.  Click the link for more info (new tonight), including updated costs!
  • [R]Communications Merit Badge class – Feb 16.
  • Merit Badge College 2010 - Session 2 – Feb 20.
  • Pack 148 Blue-Gold Banquet – Feb 20. Volunteers needed - please click the link for more info, and see Mr. Hansford if you can help.
  • Skills Campout – Mar 12-14.
  • Merit Badge College 2010 - Session 3 – Mar 27.
• Announcements:
  • In May (14-16), we’ll be doing a horseback riding campout at Marmon Valley Farm, near Mad River Mountain.  As indicated in the notes from January 18, we asked for a commitment from Scouts tonight, and Mr. Bryan is turning names in to the camp tomorrow.
  • Mrs. Kirke conducted some Junior Leadership Training tonight for our SPL and Patrol Leaders.
  • Brendan Pearsall is participating in the 30-hour famine, and he’d like your help.  The 30-hour famine is a youth movement that’s raising money to support starving children throughout the world.  It is said that 23,000 children die each day from starvation and hunger related illnesses.  Brenden’s youth group is supporting these children through the Word Vision foundation which will spread your donations throughout the devastated countries worldwide.  For a $30 donation, you can support one child for a whole month.  If you’d like to help these children, see Brenden at the next Troop meeting.
  • This Sunday (Feb 7) is Scout Sunday.  We have been asked to hand out bulletins for the 9:30 service at St. James (our sponsor).  We're looking for volunteers to help with this.  Scouts should be in full, class-A uniform.  If you can help, please let Mr. Martin know.
  • The Council asked Scott Lane if he could round up some volunteers to help on the shooting range for the upcoming Maple Syrup Festival.  If you can help, please let Scott know.
  • If anyone’s interested in the DVD photo slide show we had running during last week’s Court of Honor, please let me know.  If there’s enough interest, we’ll look at burning a few copies.  Most likely, we’ll ask for a small donation to the Troop to defray expenses.

Once again, it’s time for us to choose the summer camp we’ll attend this year.  Voting will occur at next week’s meeting (Feb 8), and we’ll be picking from the following options.  If you don’t know anything about these camps, please check out the web sites below, and come prepared to vote next week!

• Chief Logan Reservation.  This was our summer camp destination last year.  Chief Logan (or CLR) is an open program, which means that Scouts are free to roam wherever they want to earn badges.
• Woodland Trails Scout Reservation.  We went to Woodland Trails in 2007 and 2008.  Woodland Trails is a closed program, and our experience is that we (as a Troop) tend to complete more badges at closed programs.
• Crooked Creek.  This camp is just outside of Louisville, KY.  Although we’ve never tried the summer camp program, we’ve stayed at this camp a couple of times and the facilities are very nice.
• Blue Ridge Mountains Scout Reservation.  Known as the “Philmont of the East”, this 16,000-acre camp has some fabulous high-adventure opportunities for older Scouts, along with normal Merit Badge programs for younger Scouts.  This camp is in Virginia, and we’d expect about a 7-hour drive to get there.

• Tonight’s Program patrol: Taco Bellers; Scout skills: knots, safe hike, and First Class carries.
• Also tonight: Patrol Leader elections, Order of the Arrow elections, and PLC.  The PLC will also be narrowing down a list of potential summer camps from six to three or so.
  
  

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• Next week: Winter Court of Honor – check link for assignments.
• Upcoming events:
  • [R]Communications Merit Badge class – Jan 19 (week one).  Please review your syllabus and be ready to go!
  • University of Scouting – Jan 23.
  • Winter Court of Honor – Jan 25.  Be sure to check the link to see the food assignment for each patrol.
  • [R]Communications Merit Badge class – Jan 26 (week two).
  • Klondike Derby – Jan 29-30.  Click the link for details about what’s going on there.
• Announcements:
  • We discussed the May horseback riding campout tonight.  Follow this link to see more information about the campout, including fees.  Please give some thought to whether you’re going to attend this campout; we’re going to ask for a commitment on this campout next week.  We need to get everyone’s commitment early on this campout because we need to put down a deposit.

• Tonight’s program Patrol: Froggies; Scout skills: Heimlich maneuver, safe swim defense, safety afloat.
• Next week’s program Patrol: TBD (pending PLC); Scout skills: TBD (pending PLC).
• Upcoming events:
  • Vertical Adventures – Jan 15.  If you haven’t already turned in your permission slip and waiver, please take care of this asap!
  • [R]Communications Merit Badge class – Jan 19 (week one).  Note: the syllabus that was passed out last week indicated that we’re doing requirement 2b, but we’re actually doing requirement 2a.
  • University of Scouting – Jan 23.
  • Winter Court of Honor – Jan 25. 
  • [R]Communications Merit Badge class – Jan 26 (week two).
  • Klondike Derby – Jan 29-30.  We’re going to camp at Church Friday night, then head up to Camp Lazarus on Saturday.
  • Merit Badge College 2010 - Session 1 – Jan 31.
  • [R]Communications Merit Badge class – Feb 2 (week three).
  • [R]Communications Merit Badge class – Feb 9 (week four).
  • Skiing / Tubing – Feb 12.
  • [R]Communications Merit Badge class – Feb 16 (week five – if needed).
  • Merit Badge College 2010 - Session 2 – Feb 20.
  • Skills Campout – Mar 12-14.
• Announcements:
  • Tonight was the last night to complete a Board of Review in order for an advancement to be awarded at the upcoming Winter Court of Honor, but please keep working on your advancements – we don’t want Mr. Martin to get lonely, do we?

Congratulations to everyone who participated in the 2009 Popcorn sale.  Between individual sales and our group show-and-sells, we sold $11,970 of popcorn!  As you know, this is a big fundraiser for boy's’ individual accounts as well as for the Troop in general, and $4,439 of that total is going straight into Scouts’ accounts.

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Special congratulations go to our top seller for 2009, Marshall Johnson, and to Grant Rogers, who recorded our Troop’s first Internet sale!

Thanks to all the adults who helped with the sale this year: Scott Lane, Lynnette Bryan, Zach & Rick Bolyard, Lori Perkins, Lisa Steiner, John Estep, Debbie Johnson, Mrs. Glassburn, Mr. Cooper, and especially Mike Steiner!

• This week’s program Patrol: Taco Bellers; Scout skills: knots, knots, & lashings
• Next week’s program Patrol: tbd; Scout skills: tbd (pending PLC meeting)
• Upcoming events:
  • Vertical Adventures – Jan 15.  Permission slips and waivers were passed out tonight.  We’re going to meet at the Church at 9pm, leaving at 9:30, and we’ll wrap up and head home around 8:30am on Saturday.  Please click the link for more details.
  • [R]Communications Merit Badge class – Jan 19 (week one).  Click the link for more information about the class.
  • University of Scouting – Jan 23.
  • Winter Court of Honor – Jan 25. 
  • [R]Communications Merit Badge class – Jan 26 (week two).
  • Klondike Derby – Jan 30.
  • Merit Badge College 2010 - Session 1 – Jan 31.
  • [R]Communications Merit Badge class – Feb 2 (week three).
  • [R]Communications Merit Badge class – Feb 9 (week four).
  • Skiing / Tubing – Feb 12.
  • [R]Communications Merit Badge class – Feb 16 (week five – if needed).
  • Merit Badge College 2010 - Session 2 – Feb 20.
• Announcements:
  • Note: Next week (Jan 11) is the last date you can have a Board of Review if you wish to have your rank awarded at the Winter Court of Honor (Jan 25).  Please turn in any merit badge blue cards by next week, as well, so they can be included in the COH.
  • Mr. Wobser gave us an update on our race volunteer fund raising activities.  In 2009, we worked 21 races and raised $7080 - almost $3000 more than 2008.  Thanks to Scouts, adults, leaders, and especially Mr. Wobser and Mr. Cooper.  Our goal for 2010 is to have every Scout in the Troop work at least one race - it's a great way to earn money for the Troop, and especially you!
  • Chris Wobser (our Troop Librarian) reminded us that if you have merit badge books you're not using any more, we’d like to have you consider turning them in to the Troop library. 
    
    

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  • There’s a new Scout handbook out, and it’s got new rank advancement requirements.  We’re officially in transition now.  If you're working on a rank right now, you're allowed to finish that rank under the old requirements, but everyone must transition to the new book for new rank advancement.

The Simon Kenton Council just released their "Scouter" newsletter for January / February, 2010.  There's all sorts of information in the newsletter, and you can download it (PDF) here.