Troop 734 - Hilliard, OH

I saw this winner on Engadget today.  I guess there's a new "video games" belt loop & pin.  Watch for these badges next:

• Candy-eating (name your major candy food groups; discuss proper technique for extracting carmel from braces)
• Couch potato (attend and report on an entire 24-hour Gilligan's Island marathon broadcast)
• Ski-chugging ('nuff said)
• DVR programming (teach your parents how to make their electronic devices stop flashing "12:00")
• Texting (record your words-per-minute score at one-week intervals over a period of 90 days; discuss these results with your counselor .... via text, of course)

In other news, the US Geological Survey has just reported a slight tremor, centered roughly in the vicinity of Lord Baden-Powell's grave.

• Tonight’s program Patrol: 12-Gauger’s; Scout skills: Flag etiquette, map symbols and bandages.
• Next week’s program Patrol: Vikings; Scout skills: poisonous plants, weapons of mass destructions, and five signs of a heart attack.
• Upcoming events:
  • Simon Kenton Council Camporall – April 30 – May 2.
  • Pack 148 Family Campout - Camp Lazarus – May 1 – May 2.  Please see Mr. Hansford if you can help with this – he needs a few more volunteers.
  • Cinco De Mayo 4 Miler – May 8.
  • Horseback Riding Campout – May 14-16.  If you haven’t signed up for this campout, there are still some slots available.  Please see Mr. Bryan if you’re interested.
  • Aviation Merit Badge Event – May 15.
  • Spring Court of Honor – May 24.  Note:  This is a new date, as we move to a three-per-year Courts of Honor.
  • Shooting Campout – June 4-6.
  • Northern Tier 2010 – Jun 12-23.
• Announcements:
  • T-Shirts – we need to get our order in this week or next.  Order forms are in your patrol binders.  See Mrs. Kirke if you have any questions.
  • We have a lost & found pile from this weekend’s campout.  If you’re the owner of any of this fine stuff, please collect it asap!

Just a couple of quick notes:

• Next week's Scout skills have been updated in Monday's notes - they're Flag etiquette, map symbols and bandages.  If your son needs any of these skills for advancement, be sure to remind him to work  hard and come back in a week to have them signed off.
• After wrestling with the video for a while, I finally managed to get Mr. Pearsall's "Equipment 101" demonstration uploaded - you can find it on our Gear page.  This is great information for new Scouts and new parents who might be wondering about the equipment they'll need (and some that can wait) as they start camping.  Thanks, Ray!

• Tonight’s program Patrol: Taco Bellers; Scout skill: Tenderfoot exercises.
• Next week’s program Patrol: 12-Gauger’s; Scout skills: Flag Etiquette, Map Symbols and Bandages.
• Upcoming events:
  • High Ropes Campout – Apr 23-25.  Payment for the campout is due tonight ($50 for kids, and $35 for adults doing the course, or $5 grub fee for adults who aren’t doing the course).  Tent assignments and menu planning revisions tonight.
  • Simon Kenton Council Camporall – Apr 30 – May 2.
  • Cinco De Mayo 4 Miler – May 8.
• Announcements:
  • Payment for Summer Camp is due soon.  If you want to save $10, your discounted payment of $210 is due by April 26; otherwise, your full payment of $220 is due by May 24.  Contact Lynnette Bryan to let her know how you’d like to pay.
  • Summer camp merit badge information is posted on the bulletin board at Church.  There is a complete list of all registered merit badge classes.  Please check this list to make sure that you’re registered for the classes you want, and if any of your classes are highlighted, please see Mr. Bryan to clear up scheduling conflicts.  There is also a list of merit badge classes with that have pre-requisites and/or material costs.  Please check this asap so you can be prepared!
  • Zach Bringman is starting his Eagle project (building bookshelves for his Church), and it’s fundraising time!  Zach has scheduled two fundraisers at Chick-Fil-A on April 28 and May 19 – just tell them you’re supporting Zach.  Zach hopes to start building the shelves when school’s out – watch for some opportunities to help with this.
  • Pack 148’s annual family campout is coming up on Saturday, May 1 at camp Lazarus.  They’d love to get some help from our Scouts with an adventure education center, tie dying, a chili cookoff, and transporting gear to campsite Mingo.  There will be a check-in meeting at 10:00, and this time can count toward service hours.  See Mr. Hansford if you can help.
  • New Scouts: if you haven’t chosen a permanent Patrol, it’s time to find a home!

• Tonight’s program Patrol: Froggies; Scout skills: knots
• Next week’s program Patrol: Taco Bellers; Scout skills: TBD; PLC!
• Note: As indicated in an email last week, we will not have a Court of Honor next week!
• Upcoming Events:
  • Summer Camp swimming pre-test – April 14.
  • Wilderness First Aid Training - day one – April 17.
  • Hoover Hustle – April 18.
  • Wilderness First Aid Training - day two – April 18.
  • High Ropes Campout – April 23 – 25.  Attendees were confirmed tonight, and menu planning occurred.
  • Simon Kenton Council Camporall – April 30 – May 2.
  • Cinco De Mayo 4 Miler – May 8.
• Announcements:
  • Troop T-Shirt order forms are available – look in you Patrol binders for a form if you want to order shirts this summer.
  • If you’d like to take advantage of the early-bird summer camp discount (save $10) , your full payment  is due on Monday, April 26.  If you’d prefer to wait, your full payment ($200) is due on May 24.
  • Next Monday night (4/19), Mr. Pearsall will be doing his “intro to gear” presentation.  If you missed it the first time, please plan on attending – we guarantee you’ll learn a few things about picking the right gear without breaking the bank.
  • You should have seen an email last week about some changes to our elected positions. 
    • We will now hold elections for SPL and Patrol Leaders three times a year (up from two for SPL, and down from four for PL). 
    • We’ll also hold Courts of Honor three times per year to correspond with these elections.  The COH originally scheduled for next week, therefore, is pushed back to May 24.
    • The summer Court of Honor will be on Sept 20.

Parents – if you’re a Kroger Community Rewards program participant, you need to re-enroll in the program for 2010 in order to keep earning rewards!  In order to avoid any interruption in your rewards, be sure to visit www.krogercommunityrewards.com before May 1, and be sure to tell any friends or neighbors you might have had signed up, too. 

Click on “Ohio”, then “Re-enroll” – you’ll be taken to a page where you can sign in.  On the next screen, you can search for “Troop 734” and select our group to re-enroll – that’s all you need to do.  Note: Kroger receipts aren’t currently showing your Community Rewards status, but that should be corrected soon.

For more information about Kroger Community Rewards (including instructions for new user sign-ups), visit our Kroger Community Rewards page.

• Tonight’s program Patrol: Wolves; Scout skills:  poisonous plants, directions without a compass.
• Next week’s program Patrol: Froggies; Scout skills: knots.
• Upcoming events:
  • Committee Meeting – Apr 7.  All adults welcome.
  • Dam Fool 4 Miler race – Apr 10.
  • Summer Camp swimming pre-test – Apr 14.
  • Wilderness First Aid Training - day one – Apr 17.
  • Hoover Hustle – Apr 18.
  • Wilderness First Aid Training - day two – Apr 18.
  • Spring Court of Honor – Apr 19.
  • High Ropes Campout – Apr 23-25.
  • Simon Kenton Council Camporall – Apr 30 – May 2.
  • Cinco De Mayo 4 Miler – May 8.
• Announcements:
  • Interviews for Senior Patrol Leader are being held this week and next week, and our elections will be held next week.  Right now, there’s nobody signed up to run, so if you’re eligible, please sign up!
  • If you’re going to Summer Camp, your top 10 Merit Badge choices are due tonight!  Information received thus far is posted on the wall at the Church.
  • Next week is the last week to record advancement (including Merit Badges) to be awarded at the Court of Honor on April 19.  If you don’t have a Board of Review scheduled for next week, your rank advancement will push out to the summer Court of Honor.
  • Order forms for Troop 734 T-Shirts are available in Patrol binders.  If you’re going to Summer Camp, these T-Shirts are great – we get five shirts in five different colors, and at Summer Camp, we have the kids all wear the same color each day.  Not only does this help the Troop look sharp, it’s also really easy to spot one of our kids from quite a ways off!
  • Thanks to everyone who came out for the race this weekend – it went well, and we received lots of compliments.
  • We’re changing our procedure for camping sign-ups.  Instead of calling roll at the beginning of meetings, there’s a sign-up sheet with the dues sheets for each Patrol.  Boys should sign up for upcoming campouts during their Patrol meetings.

• Tonight's program patrol: Jalapeno’s; Scout skills: First Aid.
• Next week’s program patrol: Wolves; Scout skills: poisonous plants, directions without a compass.
• Upcoming events:
  • Tin Man 10K & 5K race – Apr 3.
  • Dam Fool 4 Miler race – Apr 10.
  • Spring Court of Honor – Apr 19.
  • High Ropes Campout – Apr 23-25.
  • Simon Kenton Council Camporall – Apr 30 – May 2.  See Mrs. Kirke if you’re interested in attending this 100th-anniversary event.
  • Cinco De Mayo 4 Miler – May 8.
  • Horseback Riding Campout – May 14-16.  Important:  The final roster for the campout is posted on the bulletin board at the side of the room.  If you’re on the list as a rider, you’ll be charged for the campout, so please check the list asap!
• Announcements:
  • If you’re interested in running for Senior Patrol Leader, be sure to schedule an interview for this week or next week.  You must complete an interview in order to participate in the election on April 12.
  • Scouts attending Summer Camp: Your merit badge selections are due by next week!  You should submit your top 10 choices in order of preference by email or in writing to Mr. Bryan by the close of the Apr 5 meeting.
  • Announcing Crew 734 – the application is now in progress.  We’ll take boys’ applications starting next week.  Boys must be 14 and Star or better to join.
  • The Sunny Daze patrol is going to take some steps to try to function more like a patrol.
    • We’re going to have elections for Patrol Leader.  If you’d like to run, see Mr. Martin.  If elected, you’ll want to be able to attend a fair number of meetings.
    • We’ll have a duty roster and assigned positions.
    • Our objectives: learn the Patrol Method; demonstrate this process to Scouts; show spirit, participation, teaching and learning.
    • The US Mint is publishing 100th-anniversary commemorative coins.  You can read more about them here, and order here.