The meeting was called to order at 7:10 pm.

1. Welcome
The minutes from the last meeting were approved.

2. Report from PLC
None.


3. Scoutmaster Report
Tom DeGayner reported that Jon K. recently had his Eagle Scout Court of Honor and received an axe and flag at the ceremony.  There are 5 more Scouts who are working to complete the final Eagle requirements.

Jim Letourneau will be taking over the role of Scoutmaster at the September Court of Honor.

We have qualified for the Quality Unit patch again this year and are still on pace to receive the Centennial Quality Unit patch in 2010.  Roger Scherping will preorder the 2008 patches for us.


4. Camping Subcommittee
Mary Sue Abel discussed options for renting canoes for the Namekagon outing for September, including using the Fred C. Anderson canoes.  Mary Sue and Deb Clarke will check on this.

Camp Ripley is reserved for October.  We will also try to get the Webelos to sign up with us to increase attendance for the campout.  Christy Bartlett will announce it at the pack committee meeting on Thursday.

Eagle Cave has also been reserved, and we have spots for 35 Scouts and adults.  This outing is scheduled for January 22-24, 2010.  Due to the distance, transportation will need to be carefully coordinated.  Mileage reimbursement for drivers was also discussed.

Tomahawk was a big success again this year. Cooking our own food was exceptional, and we came in under budget for the week.  It was noted that there were several things that could be improved, like additional equipment that would make the food handling easier, but overall everything was executed well.  Medications were once again not an issue, and overall the week went very well.

The District Fall Camporee is the weekend of September 18, and due to the number of events already scheduled in the month of September, it was decided that the troop would not be able to participate in the event.     The OA Fall Conclave is the weekend of September 25.

Mark Beckers reported that two crews recently returned from Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico.  Both crews completed their itineraries and had a good time.  Many other activities were done there, too, including touring Waite Phillips’ homestead (the Villa Philmonte), and there were also many good sights seen. The two crews also came together Monday evening for a welcome-back celebration.

We currently have 3 crews signed up for Sea Base for 2010.

Rick Rausch reported that he is currently collecting the remaining gear from Philmont to get it cleaned up and put back into the troop trailers.

Christy Bartlett noted that the Polar Cubs is the weekend of January 30, 2010.


5. Advancement Subcommittee
Christy Bartlett noted that advancement has been going well, especially from Tomahawk, with 13 recent rank advancements completed. 

Jim Letourneau will talk with the Scouts who are currently working on Eagle projects.

Planning for the September Court of Honor is underway. Tim Bartlett is working on a PowerPoint presentation.

Shelly Jokinen reported on the 15^th Anniversary celebration. Costs for the celebration were discussed. It was mentioned that if we are to do a celebration like this every five years, then we should budget for it.

Joe Mikkelson is wrapping up the PowerPoint presentation for the anniversary celebration. He is looking for pictures for a section commemorating past Eagle Scouts, and he will compile a list of people to potentially obtain pictures from.


6. Fundraising Subcommittee
Michele Willard reported that grocery bagging has been going well, but the turnout has been declining lately.

Mike Cerney noted that he will be rebuilding his shop and once that is completed, we can get the firewood bagging going again.

Popcorn and wreaths will both kick off at the September Court of Honor.


7. Community Service Subcommittee
Jim Hering noted that the Relay for Life event went well.  The Scouts hauled gear, took part in the color guard, and took out trash at the event.  It was well received by the relay participants.

Feed My Starving Children is October 20, and the location is now in Coon Rapids instead of Brooklyn Center. We have 35 available spots for the event.

St. Stephen’s has two ideas for helping out the church, including building a fence around a gas meter and adding a railing to the deck around the Youth Center building.

Jim is also looking into scheduling another community service event during November, December, or January.


8. Website Subcommittee
Roger will check with Steve Anastasi for an update on the progress with the new website.


9. Treasurer’s Report
Ken Rowe is completing final Philmont expense tallies.  Tomahawk expenses have been mostly recorded. Scout Bucks balances should be updated within the next week or so.

The troop received a donation of $250 from one of the families of the troop for general use. Roger will send out a letter thanking the recipient for the donation.

10. Old Business
Tom and Roger will be doing our annual presentation to the White Bear Rotary on Wednesday morning.


11. New Business
Roger proposed developing a written policy in our troop guidelines regarding Scouts who have special needs.  The idea is to explain the troop’s position regarding expectations, roles, and responsibilities as regards boys with special needs.  Roger will discuss this with Janet Charbonneau and Deb Clarke.

Roger also noted that this is Tom DeGayner’s last official Committee meeting as Scoutmaster of Troop 494. The Committee thanked Tom for all of his hard work over the years.


12. Comments/Closing
The meeting adjourned at 8:45 pm.