Troop Committee Meeting February 20, 2002 Attendees: Bill Merriman, Larry Herrin, Richard Carter, Bonnie Branch, Ben Salisbury, Dan Lassiter, Craig Christensen, John Benavides, Dave Knust, Sharon Hood, Charlie Hood, George Kerr, Pat Kelly, Bill Scott Scouts: Matt Teplow, Mitchell Hampton Chair: Mark Steger Minutes: Mark Steger 1. Treasurer - Sharon Hood o January report - 6 month YTD income is $22844. Expenses are $18486. Variance from budget is a surplus of $2897. 2. PLC - Matt Teplow o Family Camp planning is incomplete. Responsibilities for Family Camp and the Court of Honor weren't worked out. Schedule of events hasn't been done. o Camporee planning was due to be presented to the Troop Committee at tonight's meeting, but wasn't available. o T-shirt sales have ground to a halt and are still about $300 short of breaking even. Patrol leaders should remind Scouts of our target goal of each Scout selling three T-shirts. o John Benavides donated some promotional giveaway items he has collected, to be used as small prizes for T-shirt sales or other patrol competitions. o Craig Christensen has challenged the patrols to wear the Scout uniform and sit together at troop meetings. Any patrol that accomplishes this for a whole month will have one of their campout meals cooked for them by Craig. 3. Roundtable - Ed Nichols o Scouting for Food was a great success o OA would like more participation from Troops o Oak Leaf training March 23-24 at Camp James Ray 4. Campouts - Richard Carter o Family Camp - Mark Steger - February 23-24 at Ft Parker State Park - We have reservations from 114 people for at least a day visit. - Ben Salisbury arranged for the food. Craig Christensen and Dave Knust will head up the kitchen. Thanks, all. o One-day patrol competition - March 23, 8:45AM-4:30PM at 111 Ranch in Garland - Webelos II patrols will be invited from local Packs o Camp Wisdom outing - Larry Herrin plans to take the Scouts in the NRA certification class to Camp Wisdom either March 16 or 17. See Larry if you and your son are interested in joining them. o Camporee - April 5-7 at Camp Cherokee - Camporee fees are due at the troop meeting before Circle 10's deadline of March 22 ($9/person). - Pack liaisons should call Webelos patrol counselors to determine how many boys and parents will be attending with Troop 81. ... Pack 516 Dave Knust ... Pack 871 Cindy McCarthy ... Pack 576 Josie Olivarez ... Pack 727 Teresa Burlingame o Northern Tier - Rita Bonds - Troop has one trek planned for 2002. o Sea Base - Mark Steger - Troop has one boat planned for 2002. - We need a coordinator for 2003 soon. First step is to organize a phone bank to call Sea Base for reservations. o Philmont - Mark Steger - Troop has two treks planned for 2003. 27 people have paid a down payment. Troop can only take 24. 5. Meetings - Bill Merriman o Ben Salisbury's presentations on campout cooking tips have been popular and are an example of an activity we should do more of. o Parents are reminded not to disrupt troop meetings with conversation. 6. Leadership - Tom Schob o All Scout leadership positions for the second semester are filled. 7. Advancement - Bonnie Branch o Webelos Bridging ceremonies - Pack 516 - March 19 at CARE Dave Knust will represent Troop 81 - Pack 871 - March 26 at Dartmouth Troop 81 needs a volunteer to represent the troop - Pack 576 - March 8 or 22, location unknown Troop 81 needs a volunteer to represent the troop - Pack 727 - date and location unknown Troop 81 needs a volunteer to represent the troop o Eagles - Pat Kelly - The following Scouts did the Eagle projects and are writing their reports: Scott Steger, Scott Kelly, CJ Carter, Jirah Cox - The following Scouts are working on their project plans: Jeff Collins, Travis Carter, Jay Herrin, Ben Nichols, Brenden Kerr. - The troop committee supported a proposal by Pat Kelly to steer Eagle candidates away from projects that depend on a large turnout by the general public (food drives, bike rodeos, etc.) because such projects have a significant element that is beyond the Scout's control. o Merit badges - Bonnie Branch still needs anyone who teaches merit badges to fill out a merit badge counselor information sheet. - Adults are reminded to double check that merit badge history is correctly filled out in Scout's records. Failure to properly record required merit badges for each rank advancement vs optional merit badge puts the whole advancement sequence at risk. - It was suggested that the troop encourage Scouts to earn the Home Repairs merit badge. 8. Committee - Mark Steger o Adult training - Adults should attend "Youth Protection" and "Safe Scouting" certification class on March 7 at 7:00 PM at Town North Presbyterian Church on Plano Road. This training is required by Boy Scouts for all adults working with boys. The class is free. o Election of 2002-2003 Scoutmasters - The Troop Committee unanimously elected these volunteers for adult leadership positions for 2002-2003: ... Senior Scoutmaster: Ed Nichols ... Asst Senior Scoutmaster: Dan Lassiter ... Camping Scoutmaster: Craig Christensen ... Leadership Scoutmaster: Tom Schob ... Advancement Scoutmaster: Bonnie Branch ... Meetings Scoutmaster: Dave Knust ... Treasurer: Sharon Hood ... Committee Chairman: Mark Steger - The troop thanks Bill Merriman and Richard Carter, who will be stepping down from Scoutmaster positions at the end of the year, for their many contributions to Troop 81. --- The next Troop Committee meeting will be March 20 at RBF. Troop web site: http://www.bsa.net/tx/t81 --- Mark Steger