Hessel Campout this weekend! Leaving promply at 5:30 from Bagley hall.

See attached Packing list for Hessel campout this weekend.  The theme is Fantasy land and the scouts are planning to decorate the campsite as Dungeons and Dragons.  Bring appropriate costume, but no weapons.

Hessel

Looking forward to the International Scout Rally this weekend!  Meet at Bagley hall at 5:30 with bags packed!  Bring your sleeping gear and anything else that you can pack in the troop trailer early on Wednesday to the scout meeting.  The Troop Trailer will be going up Friday morning to get our campsite.

Are there any parents interested in coming to camp with us and help to chaperone or drive?

Wreath Sales Chairperson needed!

We need a parent to volunteer to be the new Wreath Sales Chairperson.  Currently Mr. Proux is the chairman, he has done much of the legwork for this season's sale.  He'd like someone to learn  about this very successful fundraiser and help our scouts make money for scout accounts.  If you do not have a defined position in our troop, please consider being the Wreath Chairperson.  Please comment here or let Mr. Proux or the scoutmaster know of your interest. We thank you for your consideration.

3 Merit badge opportunities!!

Start off the scouting season with some merit badges just in time for Court of Honor in October.

Collections Merit Badge:
Present collection at our meeting. Pick up a worksheet and blue card at our meeting, and begin working on the collections merit badge  Counselors will be at October 15 meeting to hear presentations.
Collections Merit Badge


Geology Merit Badge: Instructions and worksheets will be given at the September 24 meeting. Scouts will have an opportunity to earn the merit badge if he attends this meeting and the Shupac Lake campout. Attendance and participation will be key to earning the merit badge.
Geology Merit badge

Nature Merit Badge:  Instructions and worksheets will be given at the October 1 meeting. President Ford Council, Boy Scouts of America will have an opportunity to earn the merit badge if he attends this meeting and the Shupac Lake campout. Attendance and participation will be key to earning the merit badge.
Nature merit badge

Upcoming Calendar events! More details to follow.

If you couldn't attend last night's meeting, please review below planned events.  If you are a parent and would like to volunteer to attend a campout or drive, please let us know. We need YOU!

September Calendar
3rd Meeting: Welcome back, Summer Camp, discuss Sportsplex Lockin patch

10th Meeting: Preparation for Hessel Campout,Theme: Fairyland remind scouts to bring sleeping gear to next meeting to pack in trailer early. Popcorn sales brochures will be passed out.

11th (Thurs) Volunteer Opportunity: Otsego County Strong Community Event, parade 4:15, memorial service 4:45, Eric & Ken Meet behind Alpine Tavern at 3:45. Wear Class A. Free dinner follows.

17th Meeting: Preparation for Hessel Campout, Pack trailer early! Mr. Adams will be going to Hessel early Friday to get our spot.

19,20,21 Hessel Campout, Theme: Fairyland, leave 5:30pm, Drivers: J. Adams(4), Ken (5), Julia (5-6), & Zach Might need more drivers depending on number of boys attending.

24th Meeting: *Mention future Collections merit badge and upcoming elections 30 min Geology Merit Badge with Janice Adams

October Calendar

1st Meeting: Prepare for Karst Campout (Shupac Lake) 2 merit badges, Geology and Nature, Webelos 5 invited at 3pm Saturday for dinner and to pitch a tent for the night. Wreath Sales discussion, Parents asked to attend meeting.

4,5,6 Shoepak lake.  Leave 5:30 Friday, (Mr & Mrs Adams, Bushong)

Troop News!

Committee Meeting on this Sunday, Sept 5.  6:00 pm Scouts, 7:00 pm leaders and committee members. We are planning events and fundraisers for the new year.  Come and be a part of the fun!

Leaders Eric Clink and Ken Arndt plan to attend this event on September 11.  If you are available, please plan to attend.  Record your service time in your Scout book. Information for this event will be discussed at next weeks meeting.

Kathy Arndt requested some volunteers for the Regional Ski patrol on September 27 from 8:00 am- 3:00 pm at Gaylord High School.  They are looking for "patients" for splinting and first aid practice.  Please let me know of your interest.  Record this service time in your Scout book if you attend.  Information for this event will be discussed at next weeks meeting.

In the future, all volunteer requests must be submitted to committee for pre-approval.  It's hard at this time of year when we haven't had meetings to approve worthy events. 

Summer Camp Results:

With no scouts standing behind me to time my Scoutmaster Minute *wink, wink*, I am free to take as much time to say what a fabulous week that I had at Boy Scout camp.  This was only made possible by the support of my family while I was away and by the excellent and AMAZING leaders that I brought to camp.  Tom Adams (Eagle Scout), Michelle Engel, Zach Zelkowski (Eagle Scout), and Patrick Arndt (Eagle Scout) were the heart and soul of camp this summer.  It felt as if we read each other’s minds at times, everything went very smoothly and we had fun! I hope they enjoyed it as much as I did. Their contributions were immeasurable. Each leader took a turn supervising camp, attending merit badges with your scout, or participating in camp wide events. 

Our Senior Patrol Leader Austin S. should be commended not only being a friend, a big brother and a leader to all of the scouts in camp, but for his accomplishment of earning Honor Troop. He and his Assistant Senior Patrol Leaders, Andrew L. and Ben B. worked together on preparations before camp on the Beast Feast menu, as well as camp rosters and organization skills that made camp run smoothly for all scouts. Austin was a great example of scouting in action.

This was our second year at Cole Canoe base and we enjoyed it so much that I have reserved the same week for camp next year.  The camp sites are first come first serve, so we had to act quickly. The scouts look forward to swimming in the Rifle River right next to camp each day. It seemed that hammocks were the popular investment this summer.  Make sure to bring one next year! Board games and Magic cards were a great way for scouts to spend time together.  We did make a few trips to the medical officer for blisters, a couple fevers and other miscellaneous things.  She took excellent care of our scouts.  It was cool that many of our scouts and leaders participated in the camp wide competitions. It is great to be a part of something larger than just our troop. The staff at Cole Canoe Base worked hard to be accommodating and provide a fun week for all.  Many counselors went out of their way to make sure that scouts had adequate time and practice to complete merit badges. I feel that our scouts had every opportunity to succeed. We did have an exciting thunder and lightning storm one evening.

Our First Year Campers worked very hard on completing their rank requirements and they sure got along great together!  I was impressed with all of the scouts who attended their merit badge classes without being reminded and who happily helped out each day in camp with the cooking and the cleanup.

I don't want to forget to give a big thank you to parents, who helped to make sure that their scouts packed appropriately and were prepared with paperwork and merit badge prerequisites. Preparation is the key to a successful camp week. A few parents joined us on Friday for the parents evening and it was nice to have them with us at the bonfire.

Camp Results:
This year the troop earned the Honor Unit award by successfully completing 14 requirements, including but not limited to building a Gateway for the campsite, a Service Project, a Camp Inspection, and participation in the Leave no Trace program. Senior Patrol Leader (SPL) Austin S. is to be credited for the Honor Unit Award for his diligence and excellent leadership.

In addition our scouts participated in camp wide contest and earned these awards:
Trevor C., Jordon M., SPL Austin S. and ASPL Andrew L. took 1st Place in the Lumberjack Relay with an impressive time of 2:06. Andrew (Fiji) threw a tomahawk at target to start the relay then he ran to Jordon who did the log roll with a cant hook who then tagged Austin who pushed a log through the water with a pole who then sprinted half way across the lake to Trevor and Andrew who used a 2 man saw to cut a slice off a log to win the contest.  It was commented that they were the most interesting 4 man team that had ever placed because of their strategy.

Jordon M.: 2nd Place Scout in Archery
Tom Adams: 2nd Place Leader Root beer Chug Contest
Trevor C.: 2nd Place Older Scout Flapjack Eating contest
Jacob Q.: 3rd Place Younger Scout in Flapjack Eating contest
Patrick Arndt: 3rd Place Leader in Shotgun Shoot
Christian E.and Nathan S. earned arrows from success in Archery

All together the scouts earned 51 merit badges, and 9 partial merit badges and 6 new scouts participated in the First Year Camper program designed to help them get a head start on rank requirements.

Great Job, everyone! All in all, I think it was a successful week. I hope to see you all back again next year.  I will submit these results and an article and photos to the newspaper.  Hopefully they will choose to print it.

Yours in Scouting,

Julia Bushong, Scoutmaster

Committee meeting Tuesday, August 12 at Bagley Township Hall

There will be a  Committee meeting Tuesday, August 12 at Bagley Township Hall at 6:00 pm for SPL and ASPL and patrol leaders, and 7:00 pm for the committee. We will discuss whatever is currently on the agenda, plus summer camp, upcoming events for our scouts, the calendar, Popcorn Chair and other chairs that we need to get in place, including transitioning the advancement chair.  All parents are welcome.  Please come and contribute to the future and success of our Boy Scout troop!

Let's walk in the parade!

The 50th Annual Alpenfest Parade line up begins at 9:30 am on Saturday.  The parade starts at 12:00 noon.  The parade route is shown at this link.

Parade Route

Eric Clink will be in charge of the parade. Arrive 10:30-ish. Please meet at the cross section of Illinois street and 2nd street as shown in the picture. Please wear your Class A shirts, be prepared to represent our troop well in the parade. It's a great conclusion to an amazing festival. 

Alpenfest Dime Toss Sign-up.

Scouts, before boy scout camp, there is Alpenfest!  Every year we assist our sponsor Kiwanis Club of Gaylord, Michigan at the Dime Toss Booth.  Please check out the sign up sheet and sign up to volunteer.  Younger scouts need a parent to supervise.  2 scouts per time slot.

Dime Toss Sign up sheet

Summer Camp

Summer Camp is just around the corner!  Mr. Adams has done a fantastic job of organizing and preparing the troop trailer.  Your fellow scouts Ben, Quade, Patrick and Scoutmaster spent time washing pots and pans, utensils, a Patrol Box and repairing and organizing dry box. Are you getting your things packed and organized for camp?  It's not too soon, get started!

* You should have your physical completed before camp
* If you are attending camp, please attend the scout meeting Monday at 7 p.m. at Bagley Hall.
* Pack well, and bring a mess kit (plate, utensils, cup).  No excuses.  If you don't bring a mess kit, you will purchase one at camp or it will be charged to your account. BRING ONE.
* Work on your prerequisites for your merit badges.

At our meeting we will finish cleaning out 2 more patrol boxes, discuss equipment, organize drivers, and finalize plans etc.

Looking forward to a great camp this summer!

Monday July 14, Committee meeting and Boy Scout meeting

Next Scout meeting is MONDAY July 14th at 7:00 pm.  We will be discussing volunteering at the Dime Toss for Alpenfest which begins on the 15th.  We will also be discussing packing and departure plans for summer camp.  All boy scouts are expected to come to the meeting.  It is important to volunteer our time in the Dime Toss booth to support our sponsor Kiwanis Club of Gaylord, Michigan.

Next Committee meeting is MONDAY July 14th at 6:00 pm.  It will be a short meeting and we will be finished before the scouts have their meeting at 7:00 pm.  Parents and leaders, we hope to see you there!  It will be held at Bagley Hall.