December, 1999 Newsletter
Table of Contents
- Important Dates
- Camp out at Grey’s land mid February
- Klondike Derby and prep meeting
- Brian Fronk is an Eagle!!
- First Order of the Arrow “tap out” ceremony
- Sign up forms
- Monthly themes
- New Leadership needed
- High Adventure Program at Massaweppie
- Scoutmaster Scribbles
Important Dates
First Tuesdays:Adult leader’s meetings will be held at the Scout House on the first Tuesday of each month at 7 PM.
Second Tuesdays:
Committee meetings will be held at the Scout House on the second Tuesday of each month at 7 PM.
Christmas Tree Sales:
Beginning Saturday, December 4th, we will be selling fresh cut Christmas Trees at Harry Allen park each Saturday and Sunday thru the 19th or until we run out of trees. Selling assignment times have been sent in a mailing to your home by Mr. Dekar.
December 20th:
No Troop meeting! This is patrol meeting week!
January 10th:
Special Klondike Meeting !! (read on for details)
January 15th and 16th:
Troop campout sponsored by Cobra Patrol at Ted Grey’s land south of Rochester.
January 17th:
No Meeting, school holiday !!!
Saturday, January 22nd:
Klondike Derby with Webelos II
Tuesday January 25th:
Boards of review at Scout House, 7 PM
Saturday, January 29th:
Potential patrol activity: Scout Night @ Bristol!!
February 7th:
Court of Awards
February 21st:
No meeting, school break week!!
March 3rd to 5th:
Camp Russell campout and Skiing !!
March 27th:
New parent and scout meeting (no troop meeting except leadership).
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Camp out at Grey’s land mid February
The weekend before the Martin Luther King holiday, we will have a troop campout thanks to the Grey’s and the Cobra Patrol. You can expect a cooking competition, snow fun, hiking and other fun activities. Details are forthcoming but we expect to depart early Saturday morning and return around lunch time on Sunday.Back to top
Klondike Derby and prep meeting
This year’s Eagle district Klondike has been confirmed for Saturday, January 22nd, although the location is still a TBD. We always invite the Mendon and Honoeye Falls Webelos II dens to join us for this fun one day event. To help us and the Webelos II prepare, we will hold a special meeting on Monday, February 10th. Only our troop leadership boys and those definitely planning to attend the Klondike will need to be present at that meeting, as we are expecting up to 20 new boys (!!). That evening we will walk through a typical troop meeting, review the Klondike activities and most importantly work on getting our awesome, award winning troop sleds ready for some new millennium racing!!!Back to top
Brian Fronk is an Eagle!!
The Scout House was packed on November 8th with family and friends of Brian Fronk as he was awarded his Eagle rank. It was an especially good ceremony as we got to hear from several of Brian’s friends and admirers tell us a few ‘secrets’ about what makes him special. Congratulations Brian, Matt, Donna and the rest of the extended Fronk family!!Back to top
First Order of the Arrow “tap out” ceremony
Just after the Eagle ceremony, our troop experienced its first ‘tap out’ ceremony for Order of the Arrow nominees. Congratulations to Nick Dekar, Brian Fronk, Chris Monnat, Jeremy Stephens and Steve Tschiderer!! They will participate in an ‘ordeal’ and induction ceremony some time in the spring. We will have another OA nomination process for up to 5 more boys early in the new year, and will send all the boys to the same weekend activity.Back to top
Sign up forms
Attached to this newsletter are also sign-up forms for both the Grey’s/Cobra Campout and the Klondike Derby. Please return them by December 13th so proper planning can be carried out.Back to top
Monthly themes
During the month of December, we will be working on two merit badges: Communications and Emergency Preparedness. Our inter-patrol activities will be focused on these themes also. In January, the focus will be on Winter camping and activities. Please remember that completion of merit badges requires the boys to work independently apart from troop and patrol meetings.Back to top
New Leadership needed
Starting with the meeting on May 1st, our new troop leadership will take over, and the current Webelos II boys will be active participants. We will need to have new SPLs, ASPLs, Troop Quartermaster, Scribe and Historian, and several Troop Guides. The last role will be especially important since we will have two or three patrols of new scouts. They will need guidance and leadership from the older boys for their rank advancement. Position guides for each leadership role will be posted at the Scout House so the boys know the expectations of each. Please see me or an ASM for information.Back to top
High Adventure Program at Massaweppie
Details are being finalized for a high adventure program for boys age 14 and older. Boys will be able to camp some nights with their troop, but daily activities will focus less on merit badges and more on higher thrills like day long mountain bike treks, an overnight hike and campout and others of even more excitement. Details available in January.Back to top
Scoutmaster Scribbles
This month will include holiday celebrations for people of many different faiths. We all know that "duty to God" is one of the cornerstones to scouting.A few weeks ago, I spoke at the end of a meeting about the significance of one’s "moral" compass.
In scouting we often use a tool, a compass, to help us in directions and in locating places and things. That neat tool’s little arrow always reverts back to magnetic north, no matter how many hills you climb, rivers you cross or curves in the trail. And when the compass doesn’t work, when it doesn’t revert back to north, it’s useless and the scout runs the risk of getting lost. Likewise, if you do not have your own ‘moral north’, you too can get lost as your life goes up and down hills, takes jagged turns and covers both rough and easy terrain. Having faith in your God, whether it be Lord, Allah, Jesus, Jehovah, Buddha, Shiva or another name, will help you set your moral compass to its magnetic ‘north’. You’ll see what a great tool that faith can be as you trek through life. My wish for you this holiday season is that the warmth of your family & friends and the promise of your faith fill you with direction, purpose and a solidly grounded personal magnetic north. Happy Holidays!! Happy Trails!!
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