May 8th, 2017

Campout this weekend

This weekend in the campout, first one as a Boy Scout for many. Kind of exciting. Just a reminder, all scouts should come with their Class A Tan scout shirt for travel to the campout, meet at St. Rita by 5:15 PM. We generally do not stop for food on the way up, but it is not un-common to stop on the way home, it is really up to the driver (and passengers) if they want to stop, so it might be a good idea to have a few bucks if they do. We will be sleeping outside in tents so dress for the occasion, and be sure to bring a sleeping bag for the weather. We will be doing some hiking, our Philmont Scouts will be doing full gear hiking most of the day, while the others will be working on a few things to get some advancement signed off and some hiking, but a shorter distance, so hiking boot might not be a bad idea if you have them. Don’t forget the packing list on the Troop web page OR your Scout handbook. No cell phones or electronics. Patrols should have arranged to have someone in their patrol to buy food for the weekend, that is NOT included in the fee, so don’t forget to pay your shopper back for the food he bought on your behalf. Scouts will be dropped off at their homes sometime after noon on Sunday. The exact time is hard to determine because we leave when tents are dry and everything is packed up and ready to go.

Mondays Meeting

ROAD TRIP MONDAY, this Monday is another in a series of meetings where we hit the road for a roadtrip Monday and go somewhere besides St. Rita. This week, we are meeting at the Racine Police Station at 730 Center Street. Park in the public lot across the street on Center Street if you are staying. We will meet in the lobby area at 6:50 so we can start right at 7:00 PM. Our goal is to be done by 8:30, back out at the front lobby, but I know we have exciting program that Police department has planned for us, so if we run a little late, parents, please be patient. Don’t forget to bring your investigative mind, we might be solving a crime while we are there, you won’t want to miss it. For those who don’t behave, the Police department has overnight accommodations, but I don’t think you will like them, so be sure to be on your best behavior as always.

Med Forms

Thanks to all those who turned in forms or let us know about being late with forms, for those who have not, please get them in or let us know. Mrs. Smithers is tracking them and looking for them. For those who missed things, she might also be looking for you as well, to make sure all signatures and things are in place. Forms are available at the Troop web site, be sure to print and get your doctor to fill them out.

Honor Flight

On June 9th, they will be running another honor flight. An Honor Flight is an event where they take veterans to Washington to view the many memorials in honor of our veterans. When they come home, they have a welcoming committee of military and civilians. We did one of these last November and it was a hit. We got the honor to go behind the TSA lines and be part of the welcoming committee alongside all the military branches. We are going to do the same thing this year but we have a special event this time. Mr. Ron Brinkman a long time scouter and member of Troop 161 Committee will be one of the honorees. Mr. Brinkman will be hosted by a guardian, his guardian will be his daughter, our very own Mrs. Kathy Andersen. The challenge we have here is in order to get behind the TSA lines, we have to have security clearance and that takes nearly a month to do, so we need PHOTO ID’s by this Monday. For those who do NOT get us that info in time, we will also have a group of people who will be in the Airport concourse to welcome these veterans back home after a long emotional day in Washington. The concourse is open to the public. If you have never been to one these events with or without scouts it is a great experience and I can attest to having been to 3 or 4 of them. So this MONDAY bring a copy of your PHOTO ID or send me a copy in advance. If you cant bring a copy, still bring it I will make a copy. The fact sheet with the details is available HERE. Let’s go honor our vets!

Campout here we come!

Thanks

Mr. F.