T-919 Notes 8-31-08

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Date: August 31st 2008

Thank You - Thanks to all of the Scouts and families for an outstanding family picnic and Court of Honor last Tuesday. As good Scouts we were prepared to move inside when a much welcomed rain arrived on Tuesday. A special thanks to Tim Lasley, Bill Swart and their cook crew for preparing the dogs and burgers and to Brandon's family for once again providing the hamburgers, hot dogs and buns and to our Scout families for helping to organize the picnic and bring lots of great homemade food.

Troop Elections - Elections for our Troop and Patrol leadership positions will be held during Tuesday's meeting. If you plan to run for Senior Patrol Leader, remember you need to schedule a Scoutmaster's Conference prior to Tuesday.

New Patrol alignments will be announced at the start of Tuesday's Troop meeting.

OA Ordeal - If you were "tapped" to join the Order of the Arrow's Brotherhood of Cheerful Service at summer camp this year, remember your ordeal is this weekend. If you need more Info on the weekend's activities, see Paul L., our Troop's OA Rep at Tuesday's meeting or check out the Wahissa Lodge website. Registration is at 6:30 p.m. in the dining hall and parents can pick up their Scouts around 10 a.m. on Sunday at the Lodge building.

Popcorn Meeting - A reminder that we will be holding our popcorn kickoff meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 23 at 7:30 p.m. in the fellowship hall at Brookstown United Methodist Church. All Scouts are urged to attend this meeting to learn

about this year's popcorn sale. We would also like at least one parent from each Scout family to attend this important meeting.

All Scouts who fill one order form on the opening Blitz weekend will win a Princeton Tec headlamp and all Scouts who fill at least one order form will be invited to the Wake Forest Sport Spectacular in March.

We'll be hearing more about this year's popcorn sale from Marshall Foster, Troop 919's very own popcorn kernel at the meeting on Sept. 23.

The annual Boy Scout popcorn sale is our Troop's only fundraiser and the money our Troop generates from your popcorn sales enables our Troop to fund our outdoor camping program, pay for our equipment and to pay for the upkeep on our Scout Hut.

Salesmanship Merit Badge - Mr. Gryder will be counseling the salesmanship merit badge for any Scouts interested in adding to their natural selling skills.....and just in time for our annual popcorn sale!

We will have a signup sheet for this merit badge at Tuesday's Troop meeting.

Backpacking Trip - Our Troop is planning a backpacking trip the weekend of Sept. 27-28. For many Scouts in our Troop, this will be your first backpacking trip with the Troop. The Scouts will be presenting programs over the next few weeks on backpacking (packing, what to take, clothes, meals, cooking, etc.) so it's important to attend these meetings.

If it's your first backpacking trip and you don't have a backpack or other gear needed for the trip, don't rush out and make a quick purchase. We have lots of resources in our troop and there's equipment you may borrow for this trip. Please let a leader know that you would like to borrow a backpack and you'll be fixed up.

There will be a backpack shakedown at 6:30 p.m. at the Scout Hut on Tuesday, Sept. 23 prior to the popcorn meeting. If this is your first backpacking trip with the Troop, please arrive at the Scout Hut with your backpack completely packed as if you are heading out on the trip to have it checked over. This will give you the opportunity to remove any unnecessary gear or to add the item you may have forgotten. You should plan to leave your backpack at the Scout Hut.

After the backpack shakedown, we'll head down to Brookstown for our popcorn meeting.

2008 Big Sweep - The annual Big Sweep waterway cleanup, coordinated locally by Keep Winston-Salem Beautiful, will be held Saturday, October 4 from 9AM to 12:30PM. Last year nearly 4,000 volunteers, including many Scout groups, removed nearly 35,000 lbs. of trash and debris from rivers, creeks, ponds and lakes in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County. This is an excellent opportunity to earn some service hours for your rank advancement, cleanup the environment, and have some fun!

All supplies will be provided as well as breakfast and/or lunch!

This is an individual activity and will not be coordinated by the Troop. To volunteer please call George M. Stilphen or Kittie Mattox at Keep Winston-Salem Beautiful at 727-8013 or e-mail georges@cityofws.org.

If you would like for this to be a Troop activity, bring your idea to the September Patrol Leaders Council or talk to your Senior Patrol Leader.

Council Camporee - Our Troop will be participating in the Old Hickory Council Camporee the weekend of October 24-26 at the Wilkes County airport.

Among the activities planned to be offered at the Camporee is the Aviation Merit Badge and potentially the opportunity to take a test ride in a small airplane.

If you would like to take the merit badge and the check ride, there are some special forms that need to be completed in advance of the Camporee. The forms can be found in the Camporee Leader's Guide which can be downloaded from the Old Hickory Council Website.

In addition each Scout planning to take the merit badge and fly will also need to complete a Young Eagles Application, which is only available from the Scout Office. We will need a total count of Scouts taking this merit badge by Sept.. 15 and all completed applications must be approved by your Scoutmaster and returned to the Scout Office by September 30. Once we have a count from our Troop we will make a one-time request for the Young Eagles applications.

Philmont, Sea Base and National Jamboree - Troop 919 has a confirmed crew for the Philmont Scout Ranch in 2010 and we will be announcing eligibility for this trek soon. To participate in a Philmont backcountry trek, a Scout must be in good physical condition, a First Class Scout and age 14 by January 1, 2010. In addition, Troop 919 requires a commitment from the Scout for the pre-Philmont preparation activities.

Philmont is an expensive endeavor, so if you think you are interested, begin saving your $$$ now and discuss your intentions with your Scoutmaster and other adult leaders. There are many resources available on the internet if you want to do some Philmont research in advance.

Here is a link to the official Philmont site.

For several years our Troop has mentioned the possibility of a Sea Base trip in addition to our Philmont expeditions and lately several Scouts and leaders have indicated interest in putting together a Sea Base trip. In the coming weeks we will be gauging interest from Scouts and adults leaders for a Sea Base trip. Let your leaders know if you are interested in this high adventure opportunity.

You can visit the Florida Sea Base site here.

Several Troop 919 Scouts have already signed up to be a part of the Old Hickory Council contingent to National Boy Scout Jamboree in 2010 (July 26-August 4, 2010). This National Jamboree will be celebrating 100 years of Scouting in the United States and is the last National Jamboree to be held at Ft. AP Hill in Virginia.

If you have been considering signing up for the National Jamboree you should consider acting quickly as spaces will be limited. Old Hickory Council has two Troops for the 2010 National Jamboree and is limited to a total of 72 Scouts.

To sign up, go the Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree homepage and select registration.

Your application will need to be signed by your Scoutmaster and turned into the Scout Office with your $100 application fee. There is also an initial fee when you sign up on the Jamboree website and you will need your BSA registration number which was on your membership card.

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