Troop 494 Committee Minutes

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

 

The meeting was called to order at 7:05 pm.

 

1. Welcome

The minutes from the last meeting were approved.

 

2. Report from PLC

Jay R. reported that Brian B. has been elected our new senior patrol leader, effective March 8.  They are finishing planning for the Lock In at Shoreview Community Center, scheduled for this weekend.  The calling tree will be used to remind Scouts what they are to bring to the event.

 

3. Scoutmaster Report

Jim Letourneau noted that Brian’s first job as SPL will be to nominate assistant SPLs for the March 8 meeting.

Jim also noted that the boys nominated 9 new Scouts for the Order of the Arrow.  We also have nominated Mary Sue Abel as our newest adult.

Jim noted that we are looking to send two Scouts to Grey Wolf training this year.  There are four training sessions available. There were five Scouts interested in the training, and Colin F. and Adam C. were selected.  Jim will write letters of recommendation and submit them to the Council.

Roger Scherping reported on the number of new Scouts who will be joining us at the March 8 meeting.  We may have as many as 24 new Scouts.  The Committee will develop a program for March 8, when we will distribute gifts to the new Scouts.  Jim will review the program from last year to use as a template for planning this year’s program. Roger will assemble packets for distribution at the March 8 meeting.

Jim also mentioned that we will be attending Pack 437’s Blue and Gold ceremony on March 6 at the White Bear Lake Armory.  We have 12 Scouts who will be in attendance. Jim will attend the Pack’s leader meeting this Thursday.

 

 

4. Camping Subcommittee

Mary Sue Abel reported that the Lock-In at Shoreview Community Center is this weekend.  We are expecting a very good turnout despite its being rescheduled from December.  The March planning weekend is March 25-27 at Phillippo, and Basic Skills is April 29-May 1 at Fred C.  May 20-22 will be the date for the May campout, and June 24-26 for the June campout.

We will need to set up another crew meeting for the Northern Tier group to discuss odds and ends.  Final payment is due on May 1.

Philmont commitment letters were due at the last meeting; 22 letters were turned in.

We have Tomahawk 2011 completely reserved, and have set up reservations for 2012. Mary Sue has also received information about the T2 program for this year, and it is similar to last year.  Registrations must be turned in by March 11.

Rick Rausch is working on a trailer inventory for Ken Rowe.

Jeff Abel had no report on the surplus store.

 

5. Advancement Subcommittee

Christy Bartlett gave the Committee an update on advancement.  We have a large group of Scouts who are at the Life rank, as well as a number of Scouts at the Tenderfoot and Second Class ranks.  Jeff noted that Joe Mikkelson will be working with those who are at Second Class to obtain First Class status by Tomahawk.

Before the meeting there was a discussion about some proposed changes to the Road to First Class program.  There will be a plan in place for Road to First Class by the March 8 meeting.

Christy also noted that there is a new list of merit badge counselors available.  Due to data privacy concerns, this list cannot be distributed to Scouts.  Scouts will be referred to Christy or Tim Willard for this information as necessary.

 

 

6. Fundraising Subcommittee

Roger noted that we have a grocery bagging date at Cub on April 3.

Flower sale pickup is May 7.  All forms for flower sales are uploaded onto the troop website.  Flower sales end April 22.

Roger will discuss with Michele Willard discussing Dining and Discounts at the March 1 meeting.

Bridget Newman discussed the Manitou 15K race.  So far there are 11 people registered for the race. The race is scheduled for June 4 (the first Saturday in June).  We will start looking for sponsors next month.  Bridget will work on placing a note in the White Bear Press about the race.  Bridget is also considering raising the registration fee from $20 to $25 next year.  Bill Johnson suggested requesting t-shirt designs soon.

 

 

7. Community Service Subcommittee

Jim Hering reported on the White Bear Lake cleanup effort.  We will be participating in the event, and we will be meeting at Bellaire Beach on Saturday, March 5 at 10:00 am. There will be pizza provided by Troop 89 at the White Bear VFW afterward.

Information on Scouting For Food has been posted on the Northern Star Council website.  The event is scheduled for April 30, but this will conflict with the Basic Skills weekend.  Jim suggested doing SFF on our own later on in the fall or earlier in April.  Christy will check with Pack 437 about scheduling.

Jim will check with those planning Relay for Life and will ask if they will need our help again this year.

 

 

8. Treasurer’s Report

Roger discussed with the Committee our current issue with Scout Bucks account overdrafts.  The troop is owed significant money on ScoutBucks accounts.  The Committee felt strongly that Scout Bucks account reports need to be distributed more frequently than they are now, preferably monthly, to prevent our getting into this situation again.

 

Roger handed out to the Committee a proposed Troop Guideline revision to deal with negative ScoutBucks accounts.  Roger would like to incorporate these proposed guideline changes by the March 8 meeting; an email will be sent out for approval by the Committee.

Roger reported there is a deadline of February 25 (this Friday) for those going to Philmont to have their accounts current.  The deadline is April 15 for Northern Tier.

 

Roger reviewed the 2011 budget and reported that our deficit will be about $259 less than our planned deficit of $990. 

Roger then presented our 2012 budget.  It reflects higher dues due to more Scouts.  It includes a $300 expense for medical officer training for Tomahawk.  It also includes a fee of $3 per weekend and $7 per weeklong campout to cover the cost of troop supplies; this cost was not previously being recouped.  The Committee decided not to begin charging for Planning Weekend because Jim wants it to go back to more of a PLC-oriented event.  The 2012 budget will be revised for the above and should reflect a positive balance of about $400.

9. Old Business

The review of the Adopt-a-Family program was again postponed due to time.

 

The medical officer for Tomahawk issue was discussed.  We are pursuing an option with an incoming parent; otherwise we will have to pay to get someone trained for this summer.

 

Roger reported that we are at about 62% of our FOS goal.

 

10. New Business

Roger reported that with all the new boys we have joining us, there are several adult leader positions that we will need to look to our incoming parents to fill: Road to First Class, fundraising coordinator and popcorn and bagging coordinators, training coordinator, logo wear buyer, and possibly a new troop communications position.  He also reported that he is considering remaining on as Committee Chair.

 

 

11. Comments/Closing

The meeting was adjourned at 9:15.