April

Spring Camporee:

As we start to go back to camping, you might need a packing list of supplies for a weekend campout.  Here is a good list of supplies you might want to think about bringing for a weekend of camping:  https://scoutlife.org/outdoors/outdoorarticles/6976/scout-outdoor-essentials-checklist/    If you have not looked at the weather for Saturday, you may want to check it to be sure that you have the right gear. Think about what you need to eat your meals with as well.  Utensils and plates are very important.  Water bottle as well!  :)

See you at the church at 5:30 pm.  I will be there at 5:00 pm, so if you want to arrive early to put your gear in the trailer, please do so.   We will take a picture at 5:50 pm and pull out at 6:00 pm.  Plan to be at Chief Logan at 10:00 am on Sunday to pick up your Scout!  You might want to bring some plastic bags for the muddy shoes and clothes.  :)

Shane's Eagle Scout Project:

Shane has been working hard and is about to start his project.  It has been moving at "Warp Speed" and now he needs help from volunteers to make his vision of the project become reality.

Shane is asking for help on April 24th, May 1st and May 15th.  He is aware that two of these weekends are at the same time as previously planned activities the Troop has already planned. If you are not planning to participate in the Spring Camporee on April 24th or the backpacking trip on May 15th, he hopes that you are able to help him with his project.
 
Here is the signup genius to see what he needs help with and the times to volunteer on those days:  
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4da9a72da4f4c61-grove

I would recommend that any younger Scouts help so that you can see what it takes to one day lead your own project.  As parents, you need to watch and learn during the project when you go with your Scout.  Plan to spend some time thinking about what your son will be doing in a very short amount of time for his own Eagle Scout project.  Shane is the project manager of his Eagle Scout project.  He will not be doing the work.  He will be making the decisions and overseeing the project.  I highly recommend signing up for at least one shift to learn more about what type of planning goes into an event like this.  I am not sure how many hours Shane has so far, but I am sure he can tell you by looking at his log of hours he is tracking which includes all of the hours of others who have helped him during the many meetings he has participated in over the past two months.   I would guess it is more than 100 volunteer hours so far involved in the project and the work has not even started yet.  The most difficult part of the Eagle Scout project is the approval paperwork and planning before and after the project. The approval process and all of the changes can be a headache and is very similar to leading real projects in life.  The paperwork before and after the project is completed takes the most amount of time as compared to the actual physical involvement on the days of the project with help from volunteers.  Leadership cannot be given, you must learn how to lead others by doing.  This is a big part of the Eagle Scout project and what sets our Scouts apart from almost every other organization for youth.  Very few of them have something that fully relies on the individual Scout leading others to accomplish a vision they have worked on and planned for a period of time before the work begins.  And the paperwork that follows by explaining what changes were made and how the final project may be different or the same as what you have worked on for so long in the preparation phase.  It takes work to make it happen.

Shane, I wish you the best of luck with your project and hope you are able to make your vision become reality.  

One final reminder:  "How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time!"

Summer Camp:

Camp Ransburg extended the $350 through tomorrow night.  If you are still interested in going to camp this week, let me know before the meeting on Tuesday night by emailing me the permission form.

Camp Ransburg June 25-July 3:

Summer camp forms are due April 6th $350 or

Summer camp forms after April 6th $375  

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LdkC3ZM-fytJvnUW6cVPEYLxveO7eCAmLlL5YFsxGp0/edit?usp=sharing

Chief Logan July 11-17:

Summer camp forms are due Tuesday, April 6th for $300 or

Summer camp forms before Tuesday, April 27th for $320

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jDKWIAGH4VxkLN_5vdEMxjzNi6DknRV8qO74EasFYLI/edit?usp=sharing

Any new Scout Crossing over from the Pack will be the $350 for Camp Ransburg and $300 for Chief Logan

Chief Logan shirts are $12

I need to know your shirt size if you are interested in ordering a shirt for Chief Logan. 

Whole Troop Meetings:

Meetings in the future starting April 27th will be in person!  Whole Troop!  Yeah!  We will be spreading mulch on Tuesday night for the church so don't come in your field uniform (Class A).  Please wear clothes that might get dirty.  We have 270 bags of mulch to spread.

We will start wearing our field uniforms (Class A) on Tuesday, May 4th.   SPL elections will be held during this meeting and nominations for Patrol Leaders will happen.  Elections for Patrol Leader will happen the following week on May 11th.

As always, please feel free to contact me if you have questions or concerns.  I am hoping that we can start to work on the rank advancements once we start to meet in person.  We will have hand sanitizer. I will be working with the SPL to discuss ways that we can have some fun while we are still outside for these meetings.  I am hopeful and am looking forward to the creativity of the PLC as they work to create fun Scout meetings for the Troop again!

Future Meeting Dates:

4/23-4/25 Spring Camporee - permission form 

4/24 Shane's Eagle Scout Project volunteers sign up

4/27 Whole Troop Meeting for Troop at 7 pm!! Nominations for SPL

5/1 Shane's Eagle Scout Project   volunteer sign up

5/2 PLC Meeting @ 4:30 pm

5/2 Committee Meeting @ 7:00 pm

5/4 Whole Troop Meeting at 7 pm Elections for SPL and Nominations for Patrol Leaders

5/7 Gantz Farm Plant sale overnight - service hour opportunity and overnight stay at Gantz farm to watch the plants this night, bring a sleeping bag and earn some time towards service hours
5/11 Whole Troop Meeting at 7 pm Patrol Leader Elections
5/14-16 Backpacking Trip - rescheduled from last November

5/15 Shane's Eagle Scout Project volunteers sign up  
5/18 Whole Troop Meeting at 7 pm
5/25 Whole Troop Meeting at 7 pm
5/28-31 Secret Trip 

Future Deadlines:

4/27 Chief Logan $320 deposit due or it will be $350

5/4 Secret Trip money due $75 permission forms will be shared after the parent meeting on 4/18 (I am still working on the pricing of this event, but the total cost is about $75.  You will be able to choose what you want for everything based on feedback from the meeting.  I anticipate that I will share this with you on Sunday April 25th.)

March

 Hi Troop 136!

Campout:

Excellent campout this past weekend!  We had 10 Scouts and 6 adults from the Troop and 1 coordinator for the rope station, Jeff Salyers.  They qualified for two nights of camping below 32 degrees. We had a great time!  I shared the photos on the Band app.

Mulch:

This weekend we will be the mulch flyer distribution.  We will meet at Creekside @ 10:00 am - 12:00 pm.   Here is the address:  4927 Snowy Creek Dr, Grove City, OH 43123. 

Sign up here:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050d49aca62fa1fe3-troop

The spreading of the mulch will happen on Friday April 16th and Saturday 17th.  We will need as many people as possible that weekend.  It is hard work, but most Scouts pay for their summer camp with the money they earn during the mulch sale.

Meetings:  We have been working on a location for us to meet in person.  We will probably start out with some Patrol Meetings and virtual Troop Meetings when we start meetings in person again.  Once we have more details to share with you about the location.  As of right now, we are not able to meet inside the church, but once warmer weather starts, I am hopeful that we will be able to meet again in small groups and then eventually move to full Troop in person meetings soon.  All of this depends on the Covid restrictions.

Order of the Arrow Elections:

We will have the Order of the Arrow elections tonight.  Here are the requirements to be considered by the fellow Scouts in the Troop:

• Be a registered member of the Boy Scouts of America. 

• The youth must have experienced 15 nights of Scout BSA camping while registered with a troop or team within the two years immediately prior to the election. The 15 nights must include one, but no more than one, long-term camp consisting of at least dive consecutive nights of overnight camping, approved and under the auspices and standards of the BSA. Only dive nights of the long-term camp may be credited toward the 15-night camping requirement. The remaining 10 nights must be overnight, weekend, or other short-term camps of, at most, three nights each.

• Youth must be under the age of 21, hold the BSA First Class rank or higher, and following approval by the Scoutmaster, be elected by the youth members of their troop. Members are elected to the OA by their fellow Scouts. The OA is unique in that nonmembers are often the ones that elect Scouts in their troop for membership.

• Adults (age 21 or older) who are registered in the BSA and meet the camping requirements may be selected following nomination to the lodge adult selection committee. Adult selection is based on their ability to perform the necessary functions to help the Order fulfill its purpose, and is not for recognition of service, including current or prior positions. Selected adults must be an asset to the Order because of demonstrated abilities; and must provide a positive example for the growth and development of the youth members of the lodge.

 • The induction ceremony, called the Ordeal, is the first step toward full membership in the Order. During the experience, candidates maintain silence, receive small amounts of food, work on camp improvement projects, and sleep apart from other campers. The entire experience is designed to teach significant values. All candidates for membership must complete the Ordeal.     

Future Events:

3/9 Virtual Meeting

3/13 Spreading Mulch Flyers @ Creekside 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

3/16 Virtual Meeting

3/20 Velocity Archery - Day activity?  More details soon...

3/23 Virtual Meeting (Maybe Pie Mr. Freeman??)

3/30 No Meeting - Spring Break

4/6 Virtual Meeting

4/11 PLC Meeting @ 4:30 pm

4/11 Committee Meeting @ 7:00 pm

4/13 Virtual Meeting

4/16-4/17 Mulch spreading

4/20 Virtual Meeting

4/27 Virtual Meeting

February

 NYLT Completion: 

Congratulations goes to Alex, Shane and Zach on the completion of their NYLT and for receiving their Bolos on Sunday.  These Scouts attended the NYLT training during the pandemic last fall and completed three goals to help the Troop become a better Troop.  They completed their ceremony on Sunday, but only family members could attend.  I am sure they have pictures they will want to share on the Band app with everyone to encourage other Scouts to set this as a goal for themselves.

Are you interested in attending NYLT?

If you are First Class and are looking for a way to improve your leadership skills, think about attending NYLT this year, or make plans for 2022 if you might earn First Class this year.  If you are interested in attending NYLT, there are still a few spots left for the training in June:

NYLT Simon Kenton Course: April 16-18 and April 30- May 2  (0 spaces available)  

NYLT Nagatamen course: June 6-12, 2021 (0 spaces available)  

NYLT Trailblazer Course: June 14-19, 2021  (21 Remaining spaces available on February 8)

NYLT True North Course: June 20-26, 2021 (15 Remaining spaces available on February 8)

Please let me know if you have any questions.  If you are interested, a $100 deposit is required for the Troop to pay for your spot.  The Troop will pay the $200 for your son to attend.  You will receive your $100 deposit back after your son completes the course and earns the Bolo like these three Scouts did on Sunday.  The Troop will invest in your son to attend the training because we feel this training benefits the Troop.  We ask that you make the deposit money to encourage him to attend and complete his Bolo requirements. The completion of the Bolo is not just the course completion, but also the additional work needed to complete the Bolo recognition.  The skills they learn in NYLT benefit the Troop. Their three goals they create during the NYLT training help the Troop and achieve success in various ways.   Thanks again for your effort Alex, Shane and Zach.   

Summer Camp Presentation:

Noah Boksansky from Beaumont Scout Reservation will be at our meeting tomorrow night.  He is excited to share with you some information about their camp.  Below is what he sent to me to share with you before his presentation tomorrow night:

 

The main link that your Scouts can check out is https://lecbsa.org/scouts-bsa-resident-camp, which includes our Leader’s Guide, Merit Badge offerings, weekly schedule, and some photos/videos. There are also some great photos available at https://www.flickr.com/photos/153319528@N02/albums/72157709384619291. (note that these are from 2019)

 

For your fellow unit leaders, I am also including a link to our 2020 Field Guide for Operations, which is our health department-approved plan for operations in 2020 and beyond under COVID guidelines. We were one of 60 Scout camps in the country to hold resident camp this past year, and we did so with zero active COVID cases or contacts traced back to our program. It is definitely not an ‘exciting’ read, but many leaders have found it valuable to read through our action plan.

Cold Weather Camping Discussion and Decision:

I am planning to discuss the backpacking trip after the summer camp presentation tomorrow night.  It looks like it will be very cold next weekend with highs in the 20s and 30s and lows in the 10s and 20s.  Maybe it might be too cold for a backpacking trip with some of the newer Scouts.  We will need to talk as a Troop about what the Scouts want to do.  Scouts, be prepared to ask questions about the trip and to help the PLC make a decision.  The PLC members will be looking for some feedback from the Scouts in the Troop to help make a decision about the camping trip. 

Camping in the cold weather:

Here are some items that I wanted to share regarding cold weather camping.  This link is about cold-weather hiking trips sent to me by Roland.  It has great advice and it a lengthy email with a lot of information related to the cold weather.  Here is another link for how to dress in layers for the cold weather.  This is great information whether we plan to go backpacking next weekend or not.  Information like this is something you might want to keep for future reference.

Secret Trip in May Meeting:

This meeting will occur after the Troop meeting tomorrow night.  We will be discussing the logistics and event planning for the trip.  We ask that you not be in a location where the Scouts will hear about the trip.  I will refer to the Secret location during the trip, but will let you know before I share the location with you so that you may go to another location of the house or room where they may not hear.  Many of you already know of the location because we talked about it last year about this same time and had to delay the trip until this year.  I am sure you will have many questions.  Please do not share or allow your Scout the location of the trip.  We plan to share this with them as we meet in the parking lot right before we leave to go on the trip.  It will be an amazing experience that everyone will enjoy!  See you tomorrow night!

January

Next Campout: A few items that we need to share from the Committee Meeting last week. Our first organized campout/event is planned for March 5-7. This is the first weekend of the Maple Syrup Festival. We are planning to sleep in tents at Camp Lazarus. The cost of the trip will only be the cost of the food. We will need to have a cracker barrel for Friday night, Saturday breakfast, dinner and breakfast on Sunday. Lunch on Saturday will be provided by the staff.

Advancement: A few of us were talking that we also needed to have an advancement meeting as well. More to come on this later.

December Email #3

 Advancement:

Here is a website that you need to be aware of regarding any changes that may need to be made as a result of Covid-19.  If you scroll down, you will see some of the changes regarding the advancement for ScoutsBSA in the list and specifically regarding the ranks advancement and merit badges.  Here is the website:  https://www.scouting.org/coronavirus/covid-19-faq/#advancement  This was last updated on 8/30/2020, but wanted to be sure you had the website so that you and your son could look it over during the time with family these next few weeks.  

I have not seen any other updates related to any other changes regarding advancement or merit badges.   Please let me know if you have any specific questions or concerns.

Fleece:

I will send a separate email tonight to make sure that we have the correct fleece and name tag orders.  We will be placing an order later this week, so it is not too late if you have not responded yet and want to place an order or change your order. 

New Eagle Scout:

Caleb Caldwell completed his Eagle Scout Board of Review on Thursday, December 10.  He was very excited and his family was very excited for him as well.  Caleb and his family will be able to celebrate with an Eagle Scout Court of Honor in the spring when Covid-19 infections are lower.  Congratulations goes to Caleb on his hard work and his determination to continue with his advancement during the pandemic.  

Pie in the Face - Scoutmaster Phil:

In case you may not be aware,  every Scout was able to earn a chance to pie Mr. Freeman.  Every Scout who earned a rank this year and for every $300 level of popcorn sold, the Scout would have earned one pie and the chance to throw the pie at Mr. Freeman.  Since we are not meeting in person, the Troop Committee decided it was best to wait until we can do it in person. We wanted to be sure that the Scouts who were very enthusiastic about this opportunity were able to do so in person as opposed to a virtual setting.  Great job to all of the Scouts taking the challenge this year and for doing your best during this pandemic.  I am looking forward to when we can make this opportunity available to the Scouts as an in-person Troop Meeting at some point in the spring.  Maybe the SPL might come up with some good ideas for next year's challenge.  I have not heard anything yet.  Share with your PLC what you would like to see and maybe they can discuss this at their January PLC Meeting.

Recharter:

It looks like we will recharter 29 Scouts and 18 Adults for our Troop.  We are very blessed and continue to move forward to help prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law.  I realize that virtual Scout meetings are not what we want to do and sometimes are not the best way to meet.  However, by focusing on what we can do now to make sure future opportunities are provided and afforded is what we are doing now.  Many are learning life long skills related to leadership even in the virtual setting.  We will never take for granted opportunities for Scouting activities in the future for our troop as we continue to provide an excellent Scouting opportunity for everyone involved in the Troop, Scouts and Scouters alike.  I will follow up with the adults for some paperwork that needs to be signed as we complete the paperwork this week.

Future Events:

12/22 No Meeting

12/29 No Meeting

1/5 Virtual Meeting

1/12 Virtual Meeting

1/19 No Meeting

1/26 Virtual Meeting

No Campout planned in January

2/9 Virtual Meeting

2/16 Virtual Meeting

2/23 Virtual Meeting

No Campout planned in February  

3/2 Virtual Meeting

3/5-7 Maple Syrup Festival Campout weekend

3/9 Virtual Meeting

3/16 Virtual Meeting

3/20 Velocity Archery - Day activity

3/23 Virtual Meeting

3/30 Virtual Meeting

Meeting, Backpacking, Fleece Sweatshirts, name tags, and future events

Hi Troop 136!

Tuesday 11/17 - Knights of Mandalore Patrol Meeting at the firepit

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TImzwWFeXx24wQ3e5dMR6-dZyESSXbHgDbhaEmV6C2E/edit

Be sure to join before 7:00 pm to avoid waiting for us to finish the flag ceremony to allow you to join the group. I will open the Google Meet at about 6:50.  Be sure to join the meeting wearing a Class A uniform. After we complete the meeting, the Alpha Dogs Patrol will meet briefly to vote for their Patrol Leader. Only those in the Patrol will be able to vote. Noah Wright and Shane Fuller are running for Patrol Leader and will have an opportunity to speak if they want before the Patrol votes to determine their next Patrol Leader on Tuesday night.  If they decide to speak, they will have up to two minutes to speak about why they want to be the next Patrol Leader.   

Backpacking trip in November:

Only one more week to get help in preparing for the backpacking trip in November.  Roland Guay will be at the church on Tuesday night at 6:30 to check your gear.  Plan to bring what you are thinking about wearing and hiking with this weekend. Roland wants to see what gear you might need in preparation for the trip.  He can give you feedback about what you should or should not have for the trip.    Lots of good information shared and great questions!  The weather for this weekend is amazing!!!!

Zaleski Backpacking trip 11/20-22:

We will meet at the church on November 20th at 5:30 and leave at 6:00 PM.  We will travel to the campground and families can drop off their Scouts.  I have included a link for both the approximate drop off location and pickup location on Sunday at about 11:00 AM.  I will be using the 270 to 33 to 56 to 278 route to and from the location.

 Zaleski Backpacking Trip November 20-22, 2020

Fleece Sweatshirts and name tags:

I will be sending out a separate email with a sign up for your fleece sweatshirts and name tags.  The fleece sweatshirts will be partially paid for by the troop and the name tags will be paid for by the troop.  Two name tags will be provided to each Scout. One will be for their shirt and the other will be for their fleece jacket.  The decision was made by the committee to have the name tag on the fleece sweatshirts just like the uniform.

Future Events:

11/17  Virtual Troop Meeting at 7 PM and Knights of Mandalore Patrol Meeting at 7:30 PM

11/20-11/22 Hiking campout Location to be determined by PLC on 10/6 The PLC has chosen to go back to Zaleski

11/24 No Meeting

12/1 Virtual Troop Meeting at 7 PM and Alpha Dogs Patrol Meeting at 7:30 PM

12/8 Virtual Troop Meeting at 7 PM and Dragons Patrol Meeting at 7:30 PM

12/10-12/13 No Campout at Christmas in the Cave Campout (Need to determine another activity since Covid-19 does not allow us to sleep in the cabin)

12/15 Meeting - PIE in the Face to Mr. Freeman for Scout Advancement and Popcorn Sales! Location TBD (Every Scout that had a rank advancement in 2020 and/or those Scouts who sold at least $300 in popcorn sales or increments of $300 will get one pie to throw for each achievement in rank or for each increment in $300 in pie sales!)

12/22 No Meeting

12/29 No Meeting

--

Phillip Freeman

Scoutmaster, Troop 136 in Grove City, OH  

Tonight's meeting, backpacking in Nov, and more

 Hi Troop 136!

Tuesday 11/10 - Alpha Dogs Patrol Meeting at the firepit

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1csgnqJafaSeNs319kUxiy0HU9VyIHrFnHXYEFyr0I4E/edit

Bure to join before 7 pm to avoid waiting for us to finish the flag ceremony to allow you to join the group. I will open the Google Meet at about 6:50.  Be sure to join the meeting wearing a Class A uniform. After we complete the skills instruction, we will have nominations for SPL.  Patrol Leader elections tonight. 

Backpacking trip in November:

Only two more weeks to get help in preparing for the backpacking trip in November.  Roland Guay will be at the church each Tuesday night at 6:30 to check your gear and to give feedback to you about what you should or should not have for the trip.  We have had great attendance at the event.  Lots of good information shared and great questions!

We will meet at the church on November 20th at 5:30 and leave at 6:00 PM.  We will travel to the campground and families can drop off their Scouts.  I have included a link for both the approximate drop off location and pickup location on Sunday at about 11:00 AM.

 Zaleski Backpacking Trip November 20-22, 2020

Meeting location during the winter months:

No news yet.  I will hopefully be able to share news regarding a location for us to meet this month.  Some things to think about is the number of people that we might bring together for the meeting.  We might still need to meet virtually as a Troop and have patrol meetings similar to what we are doing right now once a week.

Cub Scout Pack 136:

Cub Scout Pack 136 has reached out to us for help.  They need a Wolf Den Leader.  If you are looking for something to do and want to help these Scouts be successful, please let me know and I will let the Cubmaster and a den leader in the Pack know you are interested in helping.   

Sunday 11/10 Advancement Blitz:

It was a great day to get some advancement completed.  However, we did have some Scouts show up without their Scout Books and were not ready to begin advancement.  Scouts, please be prepared and ready to demonstrate your advancement.  We will schedule another one soon, but be prepared when you come and read your book ahead of time.  The 30 minutes of time does not give you a lot of time, so be prepared instead of spending the time reading and trying to learn new material.  Thanks to those Scouts who came prepared!

Future Events:

11/10  Virtual Troop Meeting at 7 PM and Dragons Patrol Meeting Patrol Meeting at 7:30 PM (Patrol Leader Elections)

11/17  Virtual Troop Meeting at 7 PM and Knights of Mandalore Patrol Meeting at 7:30 PM

11/20-11/22 Hiking campout Location to be determined by PLC on 10/6 The PLC has chosen to go back to Zaleski

11/24 No Meeting

12/1 Virtual Troop Meeting at 7 PM and Alpha Dogs Patrol Meeting at 7:30 PM

12/8 Virtual Troop Meeting at 7 PM and Dragons Patrol Meeting at 7:30 PM

12/10-12/13 No Campout at Christmas in the Cave Campout (Need to determine another activity since Covid-19 does not allow us to sleep in the cabin)

12/15 Meeting - PIE in the Face to Mr. Freeman for Scout Advancement and Popcorn Sales! Location TBD (Every Scout that had a rank advancement in 2020 and/or those Scouts who sold at least $300 in popcorn sales or increments of $300 will get one pie to throw for each achievement in rank or for each increment in $300 in pie sales!)

12/22 No Meeting

12/29 No Meeting