Scoutmaster's Minute

October 13, 2003

Troop 41 Families:

Well, we are just back from our first camping trip and I can only say WOW!

That WOW is a multi-level WOW because we had an absolutely phenomenal trip on so many different levels. Not only did the weather cooperate, but we had great program, great food, and a great group of scouts who worked together, enjoyed each other's company, and got to know each other better.

I am proud to say that even though we have scouts from different troops, they were easily able to combine the ways that they had camped in their previous units and move forward as a one cohesive unit. It made our job as leaders much easier and more enjoyable.

On Saturday, we spent some time on the boulder field, had a first-aid trivia contest between the patrols and a scavenger hunt later in the afternoon.

Mr. Folsom made beef stew and homemade (OK camp-made) fresh bread in a Dutch oven that was better than mom makes (just don't tell mom). For our evening meal, the patrols had a competition which produced some great results. Between the gourmet spaghetti dinner with salad, Italian bread, and pudding dessert from the Viking patrol, and the Chicken and Dumplings followed by a peach cobbler from the Popeye patrol, I think that we all gained a few pounds over the weekend.

Darin and Ed have been starting to keep track of the various scouting skills competitions that the boys have been participating in so that after each 4 or 6 month period we can declare one Patrol the Honor Patrol. Al and I have been talking about how we should best reward this feat. There will be more to come on this later, but as of right now the two patrols are fairly close.

One of the true highlights of the weekend had to be Al and me exchanging puns. The scouts couldn't decide who was worse, but I guess if the truth be told; we were both pretty bad (in a punny way, of course).

Pictures from this weekend may be viewed from the Photo Album link of the troop web site (www.troop-41.org )

We are currently in the process of planning our next campout which will be in November and will likely be in the Gettysburg, PA area - possibly the weekend before Thanksgiving. We should have a definite date and location soon. Hopefully all scouts will be able to participate in that one - I'd like to see the whole troop there! Also, we will soon be having a small Court of Honor at a regular troop meeting in order to award the scouts the badges that they earned over the summer. The only thing that we are waiting for is working with some of the advancement chairmen from each scout's prior units to be able to get those badges. We'll keep you posted on this one.

I am glad to report that our T-shirts are in and we should be able to hand them out at the meeting on Tuesday (tomorrow). They look GREAT! Neckerchiefs are just about done and I should receive them later this week.

On another topic, I should be sending out permission slips for the Indoor Rally soon. This is a Troop competition for all units in the Lenape District that will be held on Monday, November 3 at the CB East Gym (parents and siblings are welcome to come and sit in the stands to watch). We have been using our recent troop meetings to hone some of the skills that will be tested and I think that we will make a very respectable showing. Remember that this is a team effort and each scout is part of our team, so they all should really try to be there. Now that we have our T-shirts, we will expect all scouts to be in a Class B Uniform with sneakers.

As always, let me know if you have any comments, questions, or concerns...

Yours in Scouting,

Scott Masi

Scoutmaster's Minute

Archives