Baden-Powell: "Be faithful to your Scout promise, even when you are no longer young, and may God help you to do so!

Shame on those that think religion has no place in Scouting.
-Mr. C

This is worth a read;

The American Spectator

"When man seeks to be faithful to his promises, the Lord himself strengthens his steps."

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WOW...

This is an outing... and you guys thought Hedge Hog was tough!

Check it out.
-Mr C.

Ready To Scale New Heights -- Courant.com

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Back to BP's Basics

These books may be worth a read...

Man writes original Sherlock Holmes stories for Boy Scouts - NewsFlash - mlive.com

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Interesting observation

Last Thursday we all met at Echo Lake to swim and go over camp info. When I walked in from the parking lot I noted a fair amount of trash. After our meeting Mr. Steesy and I were the last ones out of the park. We followed all of our 'Scouts' out.

I was, unpleasantly, surprised to see that not one of my 'Scouts' picked up any trash on their way out.

I expect more of you guys... you are much better than that. Just because you didn't drop the trash doesn't mean that you shouldn't pick it up and leave the place better than you found it.
You are a Scout whether or not you are in uniform... As a Scout you shouldn't have to be told to due a 'good turn'... it is EXPECTED. Service to others is an important thing. Sometimes it is as inglorious as picking up someone else's trash.

There is no meeting this week...
I expect you'll use your time to make sure you are packed and ready for camp. Do not leave this for your parents to do at the last minute (you are capable of getting this done... impress your folks with your maturity). Check off the items on the camp check list to make sure you have everything that you need. Be equally vigilant in paying attention to the list of things that need to stay home. Remember if a 'banned item' makes its way to camp you will loose it... there will be no guarantee of it's safe return. I, the other adult leaders and camp staff will not be responsible for baby-sitting items that do not belong at Scout Camp. We have way too much to be thinking about just to keep everyone safe... we will not be wasting time and energy on keeping someones 'Pirate Cards', sheath knife, MP3 player, etc. safe and secure. Anything you bring that is not on the list needs to be 'Scout Appropriate'... before you send me an e-mail or call asking if an item is 'Scout Appropriate' review the Scout Oath and Laws... this should help answer your questions. If you still have a question... leave it home. There will be plenty to do. Far better to leave your card games/ collection or grandfathers knife at home than to have to loose it at camp.

Reminder; you should have acquired your MB books and have read them by now. If, for some reason, you have not done this you will need to purchase them at camp. It is your responsibility to do this.

I'm looking forward to a week of summer camp. I'll be forwarding directions to everyone... start thinking about car pooling.

See you all Sunday,
Mr. C

Future Boy Scouts???
Let's hope so!

Happy 4th from Troop 150!

Ham with all of that cheese?

Merit Badges

I've had a few questions about Merit Badges (MB) and how they work. I'm including this link... it explains them pretty well.

http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php?title=An_Introduction_to_Merit_Badges

Some MB's we start as a Troop. The Scout is then responsible for doing the homework and completing the MB on their own. Recently the Troop has completed Family Life and Physical Fitness. Scouts can work on MB's at anytime (following the guidelines on the link above).
New Scouts should be concentrating on completing the requirements for achieving the 1st Class rank. Achieving 1st Class in the first year since joining the Troop is a goal that should be set. It is very attainable if the Scout is attending Troop meetings and outings.

YIS,
Mr. C

What a clean-up crew!

Members of Troop 150 clean-up Rotary Park

Meeting at Echo Lake

Our meeting tonight will be held at Echo Lake. 7pm
-Suits
-Towels
-Camp info
-Scout Spirit.

Tragic Loss of a Scouting Friend

I wanted to share with all of you a remembrance of James Walker, the man that was the manager of the Army Barracks here in Conway. He was murdered by a young man attempting to rob his store.

My son, Ethan, and I have been in his store hundreds of times. Jim regularly distributed fliers and put up posters for us as we were building the Pack in Conway. I was always kidding him about his small Scout corner, but, he always seemed to have something that I couldn't do without. It had become quite a regular occurrence for Ethan and I to run in on the weekend while out running errands. We were always greeted as old friends.

When Ethan crossed-over to the Troop he wanted to get a Boy Scout neckerchief. Jim had none in the store. After pausing a moment he remembered the mannequin that he had displaying his own personal Scout uniform... he removed the neckerchief and gave it to Ethan. This is the neckerchief that Ethan wears to all of his Scouting functions. Just a plain red neckerchief... a thoughtless kind gesture. It shows the true nature of the man. A man that his children will not have to guide them as they grow up.

It has come to my attention that James was a member of Troop 150... I am ashamed to say that I never realized that.

Rob Troon, Scout Master for our brother Troop in Tamworth, tells me Jimmy started his journey in Scouting as a youth member of Troop 151 during the mid-late 80's and '90. For his last year as a Scout, he moved up to Troop 150. He turned 18 as a Life Scout and proudly displayed his uniform in the store the whole time he worked there. His scouting days were mentioned at his funeral, and the center picture was from Hidden Valley.

Scout Master Troon has the wonderful idea of hosting an annual campout between our two Troops in remembrance of this fine person. It would be very nice, as fund-raising time is upon us, if we could make an extra effort and raise funds to go into the Walker children's scholarship fund... now that is something worth raising money for.

As Mr. Troon and I work out the details please keep the Walker family and children in your thoughts. They will have some dark days ahead of them without their Dad. I trust that Scouting will be able kindle a small flicker of hope for them in the future.

Your in Scouting,

Andy C

Friday Night

Looking forward to seeing everyone for the swimming and cook out on Friday.

Meeting at the Conway Lake Public Beach @ 5:30 pm to do the BSA Swim Test.

Cookout at the Getchell's following the swimming.

• Bring swim suit and towel.
• Duty Roster and Menus for Mondays campout.
• If I do not have your Permission Slip and Medical form there will be no camping for you.
• Also please make sure you give Mr. Getchell the money you owe for the campout.

Enjoy your last day of school.

Mr C

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I'm back...sorry for the hiatus... great article

Why the Boy Scouts Work by Heather Mac Donald, City Journal Winter 2000

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Missed meeting... sorry!

Good morning, sorry to have missed everyone at last Thursdays Troop meeting... Ethan's concert went well. They will be getting together and playing next at a benefit concert at the Brass Heart Inn on June 6th, it promises to be a good time.

Sounds like the meeting was a success and that you got a lot accomplished. We will continue the cooking theme for the next meeting.

Reminders:
Make sure you are arriving on time and staying through the whole meeting.
If for some reason you can't make the meeting or are leaving before the closing it is your responsibility to contact your Patrol Leader to find out what you missed.

As we had discussed at the Patrol Leaders Council we are going to have our game time just before the opening of the meeting. The meeting will start promptly at 7pm and will close at 8:15. Game time will be at approximately 10 minutes of 7.

COURT OF HONOR will be at 7pm Thursday May 31st

See you all at Thursdays Troop Meeting,
Mr C.

May is cooking!

Good morning to all, I trust everyone is finally catching up on some sleep after our Camporee.

On our agenda for this month is cooking.
We had planned a pre-Mothers Day, Scout cook out for this weeks meeting, but, it just isn't going to be feasible to pull this off time wise.
Mr. Selmi has generously offered his professional services to talk about menu planning and food preparation with the Scouts over the next few meetings. Mrs. Owen has offered to come in and do a few hands on cooking demonstrations during the meetings.

Hopefully this will all culminate into a Scout planned cookout in the near future.

See you all Thursday,
Mr C

Camporee a 'Sucesss'

Thanks to everyone for joining us for the Camporee. I hope that everyone had as much fun attending as we did hosting the event.

Please fire me off an e-mail so that as we conduct the postmortem of the event I can use your feedback to make future events even better.

I had heard the criticism that there were no directional signs to the event. I understand that it may have been difficult to locate the site that is why I tried to provide the 'turn, by, turn' directions as well as the Google Earth link to this site to all of the Unit Leaders well in advance of the event. I apologize if you had a hard time finding us. In the future I would pursue the additional expense of obtaining a sign permit.

I also heard a little 'grousing' from a few Unit Leaders about having their Scouts participate in the Scouts Own Service. This is something that will take a lot of convincing to try to get me to change this... I think that 'Reverence' has even a larger role to play in the lives of our Scouts. The fact that the role of Chaplain's Aide was not filled by many (any) of the Units attending the Camporee is something that we should all take a look at as Scouters. It may be difficult to say that we, as Unit Leaders, are fulfilling the 'Promise of Scouting' without providing an outlet for our Scouts Duty to God.

The other thing that I might suggest for future events is that we hold our Outdoor Leader trainings at these venues. The Leadership is in attendance, most of the Training Staff for the District is there... something to think about?

I look forward to hearing from everyone.

Enjoy the warm weather. I look forward to seeing everyone Tuesday night.

Yours in Scouting,
Andy

CONGRATS

It is my understanding that the Indian Patrol has successfully had their vacation Patrol meeting. They have completed their flag and planned their menu for the Camporee... GREAT JOB!

REMINDER... we are having a Troop Meeting on Thursday... we'll be outside (YEA!)

Agenda;
Continued Scout Skills
Menu approvals
Camp duty roster

Sign-up for Camporee (DON'T FORGET THOSE HEALTH FORMS!!!) No consent, No health form = no participation.

Camp $$$ needs to come in to Mrs. Owen and Mr. Tinkham... also get those MB sheets back to these folks... 1st come 1st served.
You should all be working on getting Hike-a-thon pledges... remember 75% of the funds raised by you helps you pay your way to camp.

Quick message re; this years Wood Badge Course.

21 participants signed up at the Program Kick Off on Saturday. This leaves only a few slots left. PLEASE let me know that everyone that wants to go from GND has already signed up and sent in their application.
I can't think of any one thing that you can do for yourself that will impact not only you in your personal and professional life, but, the in youth that you serve in Scouting. You owe it to yourself to take this Wood Badge course.

When I think of this in this context it completely blows my mind:
As a single individual you have the opportunity to change the future though the lives of the youth you serve. This is what B-P refers to as 'leading a legacy' and 'leading change'. By providing a positive impact on only one boy think of the ripples you begin in this boy's life. Now think of all of the boys in your Unit... Lot's of ripples. Now consider the impact that your new Wood Badge energy can impart to all of the adults in your Unit. We're no longer talking ripples here... we've started some WAVES!

BE the source of the wave for changing the future.

Yours in Scouting
Andy C

SPRING CAMPOREE

Great Northern District Spring Camporee
May 4th-6th, 2007
Hosted by Troop 150, North Conway, NH

Location
Whittaker Woods and John H. Fuller School in North Conway Village.
Traveling South on Route 16/ 302; pass the Memorial Hospital on your left, cross a set of rail road tracks, Whittaker Woods will be on your left, White Mountain Oil and The Big Apple will be on your right. Take a left at the first set of lights you come to John H Fuller School will be on your left.

Program Highlights
· Hike-a-thon
· Service Project
· Camp Fire Program
· Scouts Own Service
· Nighttime navigation and hike
· MUCH more

Competitions
· Iron Chef
· Fire Building
· Best Troop/ Patrol
· Campsite Inspection
· Scout Decathlon
· Scout Skills
· Survival/ Search and Rescue
· Orienteering
· Knots
· Pioneering
Fees / Registration $8 per person

Contact
• Scoutmaster Andy Chalmers at 447-1393 or achalmers@verizon.net
• All troops are responsible for carrying current medical forms for all Scouts.
• No Troop will be allowed on site without a completed Unit Roster.
• Registration is open to any Troop/Crew within any District.

All units will receive an information packet at Round Table… see you there. -Andy C

Interesting... what does this say about Scouts?

Scouting has benefited the lives of countless individuals.
Scouting accounts for 64 percent of Air Force Academy graduates, 68 percent of West Point graduates, 72 percent of Rhodes Scholars, 85 percent of F.B.I. agents, 26 of the first 29 astronauts.
The pilots of both the Challenger and the Columbia space shuttles were Eagle Scouts.