January 31, 2012

TROOP 494 COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA
TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2012 AT 7:00 PM

1.  Welcome-  Roger Scherping
     - Meeting began at 7:10. Minutes from last meeting approved.  Welcome to Dan Feight and his son who just came to us from Troop 112.  He has offered service of bus transportation for a discounted rate.   Has a bus that can carry 44 passengers.

2. Report from PLC - Brian B.
      Brian reported the next meeting will be a skit night – a time to work on planning skits and then choose the best to take to Polar Cubs.  For the Blue and Gold banquet for 402 it would be nice to have some Scouts that were in that troop to be there.  Some Scouts have shown interest in being the new SPL.  Ideas for the Basic Skills Weekend were discussed within the PLC.  They propose to have the trailer station and skit station together; nix the backpacking stoves station as this could wait until this summer to demonstrate this skill to learn the Second Class rank.  They also thought it was important to show the patrols how to properly take down and disassemble the flags which will be put directly back into the orange box so we don’t lose them again. They also thought that a Jeopardy board with Scout facts would be helpful to take up extra time at end of meeting to keep the Scouts occupied.

3.  Scoutmaster Report - Jim Letourneau
      - Cub Scout fall recruitment update: Pack 437 will visit on 2/7.  There will be 9 Scouts from 437 and 9 Scouts from 402 joining our troop, and maybe one other boy.  Blue and Gold banquets will be on 3/11 for Pack 437 at OLE and 2/19 for Pack 402 at First Presbyterian (they only want 6 members to attend).   New Scouts and Parents Night will be Tuesday, March 13th.  Be aware that there may be some Scouts and parents present at troop meetings before this date as they have already had their Blue and Gold banquet.   OA elections will be 2/14 and troop leadership 2/21.  The troop should have all Scouts in new positions by March 6th.  There should be eligibility for one new adult member for OA come this election.  Pack 437 Pinewood Derby is 2/11.  We need about 6 Scouts for that.  Signup sheet should be available.  Polar Cubs is 2/18, and the Scouts decided to do skits and maybe a band performance.  This year for Grey Wolf we should try to get nominations sooner.  Jim will check this week on the limitation of one per troop.  Three names come to mind for nominations: Adam C, Brendon A, Erik B.  Let him know if there are others that should be nominations.  Interest was shown for a basic skills program for parents at Basic Skills Weekend to get new parents more engaged and better trained. 


4.  Camping Subcommittee - MarySue Abel
         - 2012 Philmont preparations are coming right along.  She announced that on 2/11 at 8:00 AM there is an opportunity to go to REI for supplies to get help with fitting, etc.... the following week there will be something similar with Midwest Mountaineering.  Airfare, hotel, etc. for Philmont are all set up.  Final payment due is on 2/20. 
         - It was agreed upon to take a break from participating in BSA 2013 High Adventure and resume again in 2014.  In 2013 we’ll do our own High Adventure campout.

         - February 26 will be snow tubing at Eko Baken with Pack 437 Webelos 1 and 2 invited.
         - March 30 will be the Planning Weekend at Kiwanis
         - April 27 will be Basic Skills camp at Fred C. Anderson.
         - May 18 will be backpacking at Afton, which will help prepare for the Philmont trip.
         - June 23 – Several ideas were proposed from Committee members as well as the PLC with tentative plan decided on for Wild Mountain since it was close by and could offer hiking and water activities for all to participate in and prep for Philmont.

-July is Tomahawk.  There was dialog regarding if site across road would be available and needed due the anticipated large number of Scouts and parents.  No outcome decided.

-August Campout – Started to get ideas for where to go for those not going to Philmont.  A strong preference for Fred C. was given since it worked out nicely last year and is a good beginner camp.  Reminder that someone will need to take care of equipment since Philmont is going on at this same time.


- Quartermaster Report - Rick Rausch

-There was discussion if it would be advisable for a few food tubs to be kept at church for efficiency, but this was deemed unnecessary. 

 

 - Camping store - Jeff Abel

Jeff will look through the troop stock and figure out what to give to up to 19 new Scouts.  If there are problems with getting inventory, gifts could be handed out at a later date as long as they have it prior to Basic Skills.
                        
5.  Advancement Subcommittee - Christy Bartlett

 - Road to First Class update - Jeff Abel/Joe Mikkelson/Marc Johannsen:

- Joe Mikkelson will be taking a leave of absence for 6 months.  He will be at campouts including Tomahawk.  He has enjoyed working with the Scouts.  He reported that there are only a few First Years who have not achieved Tenderfoot rank.  There was concern with such another large group of Scout coming if there will be more adults needed.  Jeff reported that they will need a few more good Troop Guides, and they foresee some parents will step up as well. 

  - Advancement status:

-On paper we have 9 Scout, 10 Tenderfoot, 4 Second Class, 7 First Class, 4 Star, 10 Life, 1 Eagle
           - Eagle Scout Expo is scheduled for Sunday April 22.

-Deb announced she would like to pass on the Board of Review Coordinator position.  Roger will find an adult to take that on.

6.  Fundraising Subcommittee -Ryan Solberg

      - Calendars - Roger reported the calendar fundraiser was not a success as only about 100 of the 250 calendars sold, so we lost about $400.  Whether to keep the e-commerce site was discussed with a decision to leave it open for the flower sale and have the Scouts that used the site absorb the transaction fees.  An idea was presented to advertise in White Bear Press since we can sell flowers to anyone local and then deliver to their homes.
      - Bagging - Pam Blank:  After some confusion with the rotation at Cub Foods we will  hopefully get back on the schedule for bagging in April or May. 
      - Flowers - Michele Willard: Sale starts Feb 21 and will end March 20th with pick up May 12th.
      - Manitou 15k - Bridget Newman: Registration is now open.  The race is June 2nd.   Tom McAlpine has volunteered to help with publicity.  Deb proposed having a list of the small jobs to help with the process and information could be given at the parent info night.  Bridget increased the registration fee from $20 to $25.

7.  Community Service Subcommittee -Lori Hamlin:

       -Sister Kathy sent nice thank you card for assisting with the Adopt A Family program.
      - WB Lake cleanup March 10 from 10-12 signup sheet out, but now may be cancelled.
      - Scouting for Food - Deb Clarke: It is at the end of April.  Deb announced she will give up this responsibility.  It would be easy to transition as it is all set up.  Roger will find an adult to take it on.

 

8.   Treasurer's Report -Ken

     - Insurance issue on troop trailers:  It was decided that this needs to be done in the next couple of weeks.
     - Budget and ScoutBucks statements were discussed.  Ken reported that for the year the Scout bucks statements are back in the positive after the wreath sales were included, most of our Prepaid Expenses are for the Philmont trip, and we are ahead of budget.
    
 
9.  Other 
         - Website update -Tim Willard – none
         - Adult Leader Training update: Youth Protection Training – those who have not completed their Child Protection training will be notified or their registration will be dropped.
         - Fun Night update-  Mike Pendergast – none
         - Rechartering Report -Scott Wisgerhof:  Troop will have a total of 64 Scouts after Blue and Gold banquets. We lost 6 Scouts due to Eagle advancement, lost 7 for other reasons. With rechartering we have 45 youth, 43 adult leaders.
         - Friends of Scouting - Marc Johannsen:  So far the return of FOS pledges has been less than anticipated, but we’re ahead of last year’s pace.  Idea given to keep asking the Eagle Scouts parents to contribute. 

10.  Old Business - none

11.  New Business
         - Manitou Days Parade -Ann Cerney:  The troop was asked to do it again.  The parade is on June 15th.  The PLC will discuss it. 
         - Roger will have the Troop Guidelines Review ready for February.
         - Adult Leader Update:  Roger again reminds us that if anyone wants the opportunity to be the Committee Chair it is open. 

-Small Troop trailer is in rough shape.  John Clarke volunteered to assist in developing a plan to replace this.  It is estimated that it would cost $2,500 to $3,500 to replace it.  Ideas were proposed how to pay for, including asking the local groups.

-Several Scouts want to work on Personal Management badge, so Ken will start a session.

-Decided to order Troop sack bags to go along with t-shirts for new Scouts.