TROOP 494 COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
Tuesday, April 29, 2014

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

2.               Dillon S. Eagle Project Review
Dillon presented his Eagle project concept to the Committee.  His project involves building mobile flower beds for the Cerenity Care Center in White Bear Lake.  The Committee instructed him to begin the paperwork to get his project approved.

3.               Scoutmaster Report – Jeff Abel
Roger Scherping gave the report in absence of Jeff.  He noted that Jeff followed up with Christian S., and he was able to confirm that he will no longer be attending future activities with us.  Roger also reported that Alvin Z. has left the troop.

Roger also noted that Steve Hanke will be heading the transition of the current Webelos in Pack 437 into the troop in September, in conjunction with the Many Waters District’s Webelos transition pilot program.  The idea is that the current Webelos would transition while they finish working on their Arrow of Light achievement.  Road to First Class would then begin in January, which allows time for any Webelos from other Packs that want to join us, too.

Roger reported that this past weekend’s Basic Skills campout was well-received.  Dan Feidt elaborated on the idea of each patrol being able to earn cards (points) based for setting an example as a patrol – arriving to flags on time, picking up trash, and so forth.

The Committee also reviewed and approved additions to the 2014-2015 troop calendar.  Roger will enter them into the online Troop calendar.

4.               Camping Committee – Mary Sue Abel
Deb Clarke reported that Mary Sue will be speaking to those who are arranging transportation for Sea Base soon.

Deb noted that the May and June campouts for this year have been planned and are on the calendar.  There is a cooking- and skills-based campout scheduled for May at Willow River State Park, with the Duluth to Hugo bike trip scheduled for June.  Dan noted that signup sheets should be out for the bike trip, and also for the Scouts to bring in their bikes for inspection.

The parents’ meeting for Tomahawk is scheduled for May 20, and the swim test night is scheduled for June 24 at the Maplewood Community Center.  Roger will put announcements that Camperships for Tomahawk are due in May.

Marc Johannsen is working with Travis Johnson to coordinate dates for Wilderness First Aid training – each crew for Sea Base needs at least one adult who is certified in Wilderness First Aid.

Sam Hunter reported that he is going through the trailers to take an inventory of what’s in them. His idea is to get a worksheet to see if the Scouts would like anything additional items to be included for future campouts.  Sam is also considering purchasing new locks for the trailer as the ones that are currently in place are not weather-resistant.  He is also looking for a way to install the spare tire for the new trailer externally; Dan will follow up with Rick Rausch on this.

5.               Advancement Committee
Joe Mikkelson reported that most of the first-year Scouts are nearly complete with the Scout badge requirements – three Scouts have already completed Scoutmaster Conferences for the Scout badge.

Christy Bartlett noted that there haven’t been many changes since the last Committee meeting. Chris B. has completed his Scoutmaster Conference for Eagle.

Christy is also working with several Committee members who have dropped off the district merit badge counselor list for the merit badges they respectively counsel.

6.               Report from PLC – Erik B.
Erik reviewed the Basic Skills campout.  He noted that the patrols liked the idea of having cards and would like to see something like this continued on future campouts.  Erik also reported that the amount of time reserved for each station (1/2 hour) was generally too short.

He stated that the May campout will have a primary focus on Dutch oven cooking.  He said that the younger Scouts in the troop are not as familiar with the ovens as the older Scouts are.  The Committee suggested several cooking-related activities to do while meals are being cooked at the campout.

7.               Fundraising Committee – Mike Cogan
Michele Willard reported that flower pickup is scheduled for May 10 (a week from Saturday). Pickup starts at 8:00 am.

Bridget Newman reported that the Manitou 15K race is June 7.  We have both Matoska and West Parks reserved for the morning.  The current construction at the Boat Works facility should not affect the race this year.  There are currently 20 participants signed up for the race.  Bridget also noted that she is still working on collecting donations from sponsors.

8.               Community Service Committee – John Mercier
John Mercier noted that Scouting for Food is coming up this weekend.  We will be meeting at Polar Lakes Park in White Bear Township at 9:00 am.  Christy is working to scan each route into her computer so that we have a digital copy of each page.

The Committee also reviewed what supplies would be needed for the Heritage Park cleanup on Tuesday.  Roger will include them in an email announcement.

 

Roger reported that he talked with Pastor Jim about helping the Church.  We have Scouting for Food at the same time as their annual parish clean up, but he would like us to trim the lilacs again.  We need to schedule it for a date after May 20 because they haven’t bloomed yet.

9.               Treasurer’s Report – Ken Rowe
Ken did not report any new changes – he is in the process of switching to a new computer.  He will work on updating Scout Bucks statements once everything is restored.

10.            Other Items
No reports on the website or Fun Nights.

Dan gave a report to the Committee on upcoming parent roundtable meetings. He has developed a calendar of topics he would like to discuss, and he would also like to recruit adult leaders to speak about some of the various items being planned.

Marc noted that we are about $600 short of our FOS goal, but he said there are several people who have not turned in a pledge card yet.

11.            Old Business

Roger reported that tomorrow is the District Dinner, and we have 5 boys and adults being recognized. 

 

Roger noted that he will be delivering two new Scout shirts to the Abrahams at Scouting for Food on Saturday.  Thanks go to Shelley Jokinen for buying everything and Jeannene Rausch for sewing everything on.

Roger also reported that the 20^th anniversary celebration will be on Sunday (May 4) at Podvin Park.  We are planning a barbeque, with everyone bringing other items by last name accordingly. There will be two videos which will play during the event.  Bill Johnson is gathering a collection of Class B uniforms to display for the event.

The Committee approved letting Tom DeGayner’s son have the remaining Scout Firewood.

Roger reported to the Committee his proposals to the troop guidelines, some of which include:

a.                Updates to the electronics policy.

b.               Updates to Class B uniforms. The new fleece sweaters the troop received within the last year are now included as an official part of the Class B uniform.

c.                Campership has never applied to High Adventure.

d.               Document our policy on gifts given to Webelos at their crossover.

e.                Insert the Adult Camping and Adult High Adventure Expectations that Jeff wrote.

Bill also recommended (and the Committee agreed to) an addition to the guidelines regarding unnecessary stops in transporting Scouts to and from campouts.

All of the proposed changes were approved.

Roger reported that the stickers for the new trailer will cost $364.

Marc reported that he has started to purchase new flags, poles, and stands for the American and troop flags.

Roger discussed a recent meeting that he had with some Committee members to discuss the fact that in two years we will undergo a large turnover in some of our most involved adult leaders.  Roger reported that this is similar to what happened in 2006, but back then no action was taken until the adult leaders had left.  The Committee discussed the incoming first year parents and how we are working to get them involved as soon as possible – and this includes next year’s Webelos who join us in September.  Roger asked for the help of the entire Committee in helping get people involved as soon as possible shadowing our current leaders so that we can handle this transition smoothly.  Already we’ve had 2 or 3 adults step up to new roles.