October 30, 2017
Troop Meeting on Monday
Just a reminder there is a Troop meeting this Monday, it is the 5th Monday of the month and we will be having a Troop meeting. As of this time, we are NOT doing any Halloween program, so Class A uniform is expected.
Wreath Sales
We are in the final week of the wreath sales. Make sure you get out there and finish up your final sales so you can pay for those upcoming events. Remember the Fallen Hero part of wreath sales has ended and should have been turned in already if you didn’t get those turned in, check with the Latyshev’s to see if you can get that fixed. Please don’t sell any more Fallen Heros at this time. Feel free to sell the rest of the items.
Store sales
We are selling at Kortendicks and Kmart November 24 and 25th, we will have sign up at the meeting this Monday, sign up for a time slot or two if you would like to earn some extra credit in your account. We need adults to help here, so be sure to check with your parents to see if they should be signed up too.
Adventure Rock/Sprechers
Our Adventure Rock and Sprechers tour is NEXT weekend, November 4th. Read up on the fact sheet for all the details but we will be meeting at St. Rita at 11:15 AM. Check out the Troop Events to make sure you signed up to go if you planned on attending. Just a reminder to all, you need a release form, fill one out and bring it with you or you will not be able to climb.
Orienteering Requirement
There are several people who need requirement for First Class 4a and 4b which requires doing orienteering (map, compass, GPS) course. Mr. Sisak is looking to run that course on Sunday, Nov 5. If you are interested, be sure to talk to Mr. Sisak at the meeting on Monday and get signed up. This is a great chance to get this requirement signed off. If you have it already and want to help, he could use a few people to help out. Maybe you just want to test your skills and see if you still got it? I am sure Mr. Sisak will let you join in.
Leadership Training
For those who got Leadership Training invites, just a reminder to turn those in on Monday.
Road Trip Monday
We are working on the details for the return of Road Trip Monday for November, keep your eyes open for those details. We are going to be doing a trip to the Water Treatment Plant to see what happens to all that water you send down our drains and how it is cleaned up and sent out to Lake Michigan.
In the news…
Boy Scouts of America has been in the news over the last couple of weeks about expanding the program to make it available to families. The news media seems to get some of it right, while other things they have taken either out of context or is completely wrong. While I am not going to throw up the “fake news” flag, I did want everyone to read the exact information as published by the Boy Scouts of America, here is the link to that press release.
As the press release states, it will be up to each unit if they would like to expand their offerings. The Troop committee will be having those discussions, but ultimately, these programs will not be an option for two years. As big as the media would like to make this news, the Boy Scouts of America has been co-ed for a long time when in 1969 females were allowed into Explorers and then in 1998 the BSA introduced the Venturing program which currently has almost 200,000 members which are also co-ed.
The Boy Scouts also does many “in school” programs and is very affiliated with many church religious and outreach programs where they currently only serve half of those populations. News of girls being invited to Boy Scouts will be the first time some of these programs will be available for the entire population of these groups and will be allowed to be part of the traditional elements of Boy Scouting including earning the rank of Eagle Scout.
If any of you have questions or opinions on the subject, be sure to respectfully let me know, I would be happy to discuss it with you. There has been a lot of discussion on this topic and I might be able to shed some light on the questions you have. Also note, one of the common misunderstandings that are out there is that the Boy and Girl Scouts are merging, and that is NOT true. The Girl Scouts and the Boy Scouts both have great programs and offer similar but unique programs and we need to respect the values of each of the program.
That is all for this week, see you Monday night
Thanks
Mr. F.