1.      Minutes approved from prior committee meeting.

 

2. Johnny DeMay presented his Eagle project.  The project will be the construction of a walking bridge in the nature area behind Century College’s West Campus in White Bear Lake.  The site is 100 feet from paved path.  Century has a vehicle to haul the materials to the site. The project will commence in Spring 2008. 100% of the funding will be provided by Century College.

The project was approved by the Committee with two revisions:

- add sawhorses to the Equipment needed

- identify or remove the 2’ dimension on page B-1.

 

3. Tom and Joe Markham provided an update on Tomahawk meds.  A waiver cannot be used to circumvent Wisconsin state law.  Becky motioned to form a sub-committee to address this issue.  Joe Markham will chair the sub-committee.

 

4. The St. Mary’s music room is an interim location until we find a permanent one. Tom is going to talk with Christ the King about meeting at the location.  Becky indicated Eaglebrook does charge for their meeting rooms.  Podvin Park was suggested as a location.

Tom provided a copy of the letter he will send to St. John the Wilderness with final payment.  Troop 494 will continue to clean up the cemetery.

 

5. Camping Report from Tom. 
1. Thank you to all the adults who helped out with the lock-in. 
2. Philmont is August 2009.  A presentation will be available in early January. Sixteen Scouts and eight adults can go.  Scouts and adults will need to train for the trip. A $50 deposit per participant is due in January 2008.  Scout must have completed the eighth grade and be 13 years old to attend. Estimated cost per person is $1100-$1300.  Please talk with Tom if you have any questions.
3. Discussed potential High Adventure ideas for 2008.  Sea Base or Isle Royal.  If Sea Base then alternative fund-raising will be needed to help offset the cost.  The first and second years cannot attend high adventure camps in 2008. The Triple Crown can be earned by attending SeaBase, Philmont and Northern Tier.
4. January is the Eagle Cave campout.
5. February camping will be dog sledding or winter survival camping.  More information to come.
6. March is unit planning. 
7. Basic skills will be held at Fred C in April.
8. Tomahawk is July 19-26.
9. Sara Solberg mentioned the possibility of DuNord camping in the spring.  She will check on the details and provide information to Tom.

 

6. Advancement Update.
1. Christy provided details of current Scout ranks: 

                                                               i.      Three Scout

                                                             ii.      Eight Tenderfoot

                                                            iii.      Five Second Class

                                                           iv.      Eight First Class

                                                             v.      Eight Star

                                                           vi.      Nine Life

                                                          vii.      Three Eagle

2. Next Court of Honor is January 22.  It will be pot luck so please sign up at the next Troop meeting for something to bring.
3. Becky and Christy are working on offering Eagle merit badges. Currently offering Communications, Personal Management will begin in January and then Personal Fitness will be offered in April.  Looking for ideas on additional merit badge the Scouts would like to earn.
4. Becky will be contacting the District to find a trainer for merit badge counselors.
5. A parent requested dates for rank advancement training for the Scouts.  Information will be provided at a Troop Meeting.

 

7. Rick provided a Quartermaster update.  He recommends getting graduation dates on the calendar soon if you need Troop equipment.

 

8.  Ken will provide an update to Scout bucks and a 2008 budget in the next few weeks.  If we charge $25 dues then will be $2000 short for the year but with reserves should be ok. 

Bill Johnson recommended checking with employers for matching contributions and funding.

 

9. Fundraisers:
1. Scout firewood is terminated for lack of facility to assemble product.  Before continuing with this fundraiser it was recommended we find possible sale locations/opportunities.  Wood is still available if a location is found.
2. Chuck will supply wreath sale totals soon. 
3. Popcorn sales totaled $3,011 this year and boys earned 40%.  Sales were better than last year. 
4. Fundraising ideas?

                                                               i.      Bagging groceries – need to schedule in advance.

                                                             ii.      Herberger’s community day sale books.  $5 per book.

                                                            iii.      Culver’s – wait tables for a night.  Scouts take home 10% of profit for the night.

                                                           iv.      Set up and take down Scout canopies for a donation.

                                                             v.      Outback Steak House $10 coupon book sale – Mr. Sanville

                                                           vi.      Car wash at the fire station – Mrs. Rausch

 

10. Community Service:
1. Discussed going to Feed My Starving Children on a Tuesday evening in place of a Troop meeting. 
2. Serve at St. John’s out to lunch program, once per month.
3. Mrs. Rausch suggested contacting the Rotary for ideas in the community.  She recommends a large percentage of our service should be in the community and a smaller portion outside our area.

 

11. Joe Markham spoke about Friends of Scouting and will be presenting more information at the January Court of Honor.  Troop will continue to receive free rank advancement if achieve our goals.  Please check employers for matching contributions.

 

12. Insurance on Troop trailers would covers theft or damage of the trailer and its contents.  If the trailer is hooked up to a vehicle, then individual car insurance would cover the damage.  All in favor of trailer insurance for $100 per year.         Bill Johnson mentioned potential issues when they tried to insure the trailers six years ago.  Tom will talk with the Rotary and get more details.

 

13. The revision to the troop guidelines on personal gear loaned to the Troop needs to be a little more generic.  It was suggested the word ‘camping’ be removed from the first sentence of the revised paragraph.

 

14. Troop Committee Chair job description revision was approved.

 

15. Troop Treasurer job description revision was questioned.  Suggested wording:

‘Audits and approves the purchase of goods sold for a fundraiser before contacting the vendor’.

Do petty cash items need to be approved?  If so, what value?

 

The dinner was a success…let’s do it again next year!!!!!