Attendees: Ed Nichols, Larry Herrin, Bonnie Branch, Bob Rielly, Charlie Hood, George Kerr, Sharon Hood, Bill Merriman, Dennis McCarthy, Rita Bonds, Ben Salisbury, Bill Scott, Dan Lassiter, Richard Carter, Craig Christensen, Tom Schob Scouts: Matt Teplow Chair: Mark Steger Minutes: Mark Steger 1. Treasurer - Sharon Hood o August 1-month YTD financials were presented. Income: $3,836. Expenses: $80. Variance from budget: $946 o Annual dues are past due. Parents, please help us determine our membership by either paying your annual dues or informing us that your son will not be returning this year. o Adults are required to turn in all receipts for campouts, including driver reimbursement forms, by the first troop meeting after a campout. This allows us to close the books and review our profit/loss situation regarding each campout in a timely fashion. o Popcorn Sale: Cindy McCarthy volunteered to coordinate the popcorn sale. Brochures and order forms will be passed out at the Oct 8 Court of Honor. 2. PLC - Matt Teplow o Sep 7-9 campout to Cypress Springs was successful. Stoves need maintenance. o Only five tents have been returned. Parents, please help us by making sure your son takes home a wet tent, sets it up until dry, then returns it at the next troop meeting. The troop may have to begin charging for lost tents or tents damaged by mold and mildew. Quartermasters should determine who has tents and call Scouts to get them returned. o There's a general feeling that more time is needed to plan campouts, perhaps by having patrol meetings before the regular meeting. Patrol leaders should get a head start in campout planning by using the previous campout and Sunday phone calls to plan the next campout. o Patrols are being polled on whether they prefer to return from campouts early (12-1 PM) or later (3-4 PM). The early return allows time for homework and other activities Sunday afternoon. The later return allows us to schedule a campout activity for Sunday morning. 3. Roundtable - Dan Lassiter o Adult training opportunities - Scoutmaster Fundamentals is scheduled for Thursdays nights (Sep 27, Oct 4, 11, 18) at Town North Presbyterian Church on Plano Rd south of Campbell Rd. The class concludes with a campout on Oct 27-28. Despite the name, this class is encouraged for *all* adults who are active in the troop, not just Scoutmasters. Call Scott Thompson to reserve a spot: 214-343-7536. - Safe Swim Defense/Safety Afloat is scheduled for Sep 29 10-12 or 1:30-3:00 at Camp Wisdom. The troop is required to have adults with this training at all campouts involving water activities. Contact Circle Ten Council Reservations Desk to reserve a spot. - A training "buffet" is scheduled for Camp Cherokee for October 12-14. Included is archery, BB gun, Cope, climbing/rapelling, Safe Swim, Safety Afloat, Youth Protection, and many more outdoor activities. Larry Herrin and Dennis McCarthy will attend the NRA rifle certification class. o Scout training opportunities - Den Chief training is scheduled for Sep 29 8-noon at First Christian Church at 601 East Main, Richardson. 4. Campouts - Richard Carter o Sep 28 Campout: Slippery Falls Scout Ranch If your son cannot go Friday night because of Junior High Band Night at the Berkner football game, but wants to go Saturday morning, let us know. We will try to organize a car pool leaving 7 AM Saturday. The troop does not have enough adults with vehicles big enough to haul our trailers. Accordingly, the troop will haul only one trailer to this campout and that has to be lightly loaded. All personal gear and some troop gear such as tents will have to be loaded in cars. Pack LIGHT. o October Campout (Jesse Benavides) Featured activity: Mountain Biking When/Where: Oct 19-21, Cooper Lake State Park Cost: $22/scout plus grub money Troop will renew our State Park annual pass. Adults with walkie-talkies are asked to bring them. The troop will gather at 6:00 PM and strive to depart *before* 6:30 PM. o November Campout (Larry Herrin) Date has been moved to Nov 30 - Dec 2. Featured activity is marksmanship. BSA policy requires that we have an NRA rifle certified instructor. Larry Herrin and Dennis McCarthy volunteered to attend training. Troop approved the expense of $75/person for this. o Winter Camp: Dec 27-31 George Kerr, Dennis McCarthy, Ed Nichols, and Bill Scott volunteered to lead Winter Camp. More adult participation is needed to ensure a successful camp. Please let us know if you can attend, even if just a day or two. o Summer Camp 2002 (Mark Steger) Camp Constantin bumped Troop 81 from its usual week at Summer Camp. Beginning next year, Troop 81 will attend Summer Camp the week of July 14-20. Please mark your calendars. o Sea Base 2002 (Mark Steger) Troop 81 is still on the wait list. An alternative might be Laguna Station High Adventure Sea Base on South Padre Island, operated by Rio Grande Council. o Philmont 2003 All adults are asked to set aside the morning of Oct 27, when the troop will organize a massive phone-in session in an attempt to reserve a trek for 2003. Reservations are on a first-come, first-served basis by telephone only. The lines are always jammed, so only by having many people making calls do we have a chance of getting through. 5. Meetings - Bill Merriman o Calendar was changed to reflect campout date changes. o Meetings are not running on time. Starting time of 7:00 PM will be enforced. Announcers will be asked to hit only the high points. 6. Leadership - Tom Schob o Reminder: the troop committee agreed that the Scout Spirit requirement for rank advancement will be signed off only after consultation of several adults, from among the the current patrol counselor, asst patrol counselor, former patrol counselor, and mentors for leadership positions. Let's try to give this requirement the seriousness it deserves. 7. Advancement - Bonnie Branch o Eagles: Scott Kelly completed his Eagle project. Moss Haven Park has several projects suitable for Eagle projects. o Adult volunteers are needed to teach merit badges. The Spring class for Citizenship in the World needs adults to lead it. Parents, please consider giving some of your time to make the troop program a success. Merit Badge counseling is an easy way to get involved. o Records for merit badge and rank advancement need to be turned in by Sep 24 troop meeting in order to be included in October's Court of Honor. 8. Committee - Mark Steger o RBF is holding an anniversary celebration Sep 22. Bonnie Branch is coordinating Troop 81's participation. Opportunities exist for Scouts to earn service hours by helping with parking. Have your son contact Craig Christensen if he wants to volunteer. --- The next Troop Committee meeting will be October 17 at RBF. Troop web site: http://www.bsa.net/tx/t81