On My Honor: 2011

14 November 2011

Popcorn Update

Popcorn is here and will be distributed tonight to those who took orders. We have two weeks to get the popcorn distributed and collect the money. Please turn in all popcorn money by November 28th. If you have any questions, please call Wanda Burgess at 828-246-2699.

20 October 2011

October Camping at Pinnacle and Apple Festival

Every year about this time, we role out the troop's calendar for the upcoming twelve months. To make that happen we have a weekend long planning session that involves multiple Patrol Leader's Councils and Patrol Meetings so that the boys can hammer out fun activities and campouts that they will get the most out of. We also managed to squeeze a fundraiser and a couple of service prjects as well. Great work guys!

11 October 2011

September Camping

We will be camping this weekend on Pinnacle Church property. If you are uncertain about what you will need to bring, contact your patrol leader. We spent time on Monday planning meals and getting prepared for the event. This will also be an opportunity for us to do a fund raiser by helping out at the Apple Festival. Be sure to bring you class "A" uniform. We will be wearing them during our work at the festival and again on Sunday morning when we attend church at Pinnacle. Be sure to invite your parents to join us for Church.

Court of Honor

Our September Court of Honor was great. We had numerous merit badges, awards, and rank advancements to give out. The event was well attended and we had a great time. Thanks to everyone who was able to attend. Just a reminder that our Court of Honor events are an opportunity to show your parents and other family and friends what you have been up to, so be sure to invite them. Our next COH will be in December and we will celebrate Christmas as well. I am posting some pictures for your pleasure.

26 September 2011

Court of Honor

Don't forget that Court of Honor is tonight. Everyone wear your class "A" uniforms. We have a lot of advancements and merit badges to award plus some other awards. Hope to see everyone there. Also, don't forget to bring you parents.

See you tonight!

04 September 2011

Committee Meeting

Because of the Holiday on Monday, the Troop Committee Meeting has been postponed till Monday the 12th. Please be sure to attend this meeting as we need to discuss popcorn sales, recharter, and other issues. Our next Court of Honor is coming up and we have a tremendous amount of work to do to get ready. We will be presenting all the merit badges and advancements that the boys have completed since summer camp. There are also some special awards that we need to present. Hope to see you on the 12th.

30 August 2011

Summer Camp

I sure did hate that I had to miss the majority of Summer Camp with the troop. Life just sometimes has a way of changing the best made plans. I would like to thank everyone who stepped up to make this years camp a huge success. I don't have a final count but the troop earned many merit badges and several scouts made significant progress toward advancement. Our next court of honor will be huge. We also had a couple of scouters become BSA lifeguards. Congratulations, guys! This should make our water related outings much safer. I am posting just a few pictures of what the boys did at camp. Enjoy!

16 August 2011

Long, busy Summer

Well, it's been a busy summer and we have not made a lot of posts to the blog but now that things are starting to settle back into a routine, we'll try to do better. Over the next couple of days - maybe weeks - I'll try to post some pictures of what we have been up to this summer and get everyone caught up on whats in store over the next few months. Hope everyone had a great summer and are ready to return to school.

Don't forget to tell you friends what we've been up to and invite them to join us! If you've had fun, don't you think your friends would too!!

05 July 2011

Supersized flag

Monday night we folded the flag that we have been given to retire. The flag measures 30x60' and was given to us by a flag company out of Hendersonville for retirement. The flag was sent to us in a cardboard box, rolled up. I thought it would be more honorable to store the flag properly folded until we get a chance to do the retirement. Just look at the size of this thing!!

04 July 2011

Committee Meeting

The committee meeting scheduled for today, July 4th, will be postponed till next week at the same time.

Hope to see you there!

28 June 2011

Cold Mountain

Our trip to Cold Mountain was great! This was the first backpacking trip for several of the scouts and we did have some initial issues but we got them worked out and everyone survived. It was the first time that many in the group had been to Shinning Rock or Cold Mountain and I was glad to be there to share the experience with them. Although the hiking was difficult at times, the experience was worth the effort. I already can't wait till the next time I get to stand at the top of Cold Mountain with a group of new scouts!

15 June 2011

Backpacking trip

Our backpacking trip is just a couple of days away and I’m sure everyone is getting excited. I know that I am! Backpacking is one of my favorite things to do. There is something about getting away from everyone else and being on the trail.

As I said on Monday, you will need to pack as light as possible. The more you carry the more difficult the trip will be. We are only going to be camping overnight and will only have to take enough food for four meals. Your meals should consist of high energy food that only needs to have hot water added. We will have some camp stoves on the trail and will be able to heat water for cooking and cleanup. Don’t forget to carry enough water for drinking and for cooking. There are not a lot of water sources on the trail that we are going to be on. Also carry some high energy snacks like “gorp” or energy bars. I am including a list of suggestions:

Breakfast Backpacking Foods

· MaltOMeal® (add raisins for more bulk)

· rice (add raisins and dried milk)

· granola (with dried milk)

· fruit cocktail (small cans)

· pancakes (need small pan,spatula, low-heat option on stove, lots of fuel, syrup in small container)

Lunch Backpacking Foods (many of these items are great for quick no-cook breakfasts)

· bagels (cream cheese)

· Pita bread

· Logan Bread

· granola bars

· candy bars

· dried fruit

· GORP (nuts, M&M’s raisins, yogurt peanuts, crackers, dried fruit, etc)

· Pringles

· crackers (the dense kinds at health food stores)

· Wheat Thins

· Cheeses (string cheese, blocks of mozarella, etc)

· Tuna (sold in pouches now)

· lunch meat

Dinner Backpacking Foods

· Cup O Soup

· Cup Noodles/Ramen

· Lipton Rice or Noodles

· vegetable soup

· potatoes and gravy (3-5 minute gravy mix)

· potatoes and peas

· couscous with dried veggies

· ramen with dried veggies

· spaghetti with dried veggies(use 6oz

· can of tomato paste to make sauce)

· burritos(toritillas, refried beans, cheese, peppers, salsa, onions)

· canned soups, etc (if you don’t mind the weight)

You may want to contact others who are going to coordinate your meals or you may just want to bring along enough for yourself. Just be sure to bring along your mess kit!

If you have additional questions, feel free to give me a call.

Let your parents know that we will be hiking the Ivestor gap trail to the Art Loeb trail near Shinning Rock. From there we will continue to Deep Gap and stay there for the night. Saturday morning we will hike to the summit of Cold Mountain and then down the Art Loeb trail to Camp Daniel Boone for our pick up.

See you at the Church parking lot around 9am on Friday morning.

10 June 2011

TLT Rescheduled

Just wanted to remind everyone that the Troop Leadership Training scheduled for this weekend will be rescheduled. You will be informed of the new date as soon as we are able to get a good day for everyone. This weekend just has too many conflicts and I want all or our troop leaders to be able to attend.

08 June 2011

Boy Scout Saves Life

I was on the internet this evening and ran across this video. It's worth watching. This could be you some day!

http://video.foxnews.com/v/983873720001/boy-scout-saves-family/?playlist_id=86856

07 June 2011

Summer Camp Merit Badges

June 2011 Court of Honor

Our annual troop election was held at the end of May and our new Patrol Leaders Council was sworn in during our Court of Honor. Levi Hendricks was elected to be the new Senior Patrol Leader. We also went from two patrols to four patrols with the leaders of those patrols being Bryce Burgess, Jax Daughty, Riley Haney, and Chris Skinner. The patrols have a lot of work to do as they pick out their patrol names, patrol yells, and design their patrol flags. The Senior Patrol Leader and the Patrol Leaders will have to appoint assistants to help them along with various other troop and patrol positions. There is plenty of responsibility to be shared by all the members of our boy led troop. Congratulations to our new Patrol Leaders Council as they step into their roles and prepare for their upcoming Troop Leadership Training.

Flag Retirement

In honor of Memorial Day and all the brave men and women who have given their lives for this great country of ours, we had a flag retirement ceremony at the Scout Hut.

23 May 2011

Safe Return From Castaway Island

We had a really good turn out for the Castaway Odyssey, 16 Boy Scouts, 6 adult leaders, and we even had 3 Cub Scouts camp with us. The tie-dyed T-shirts that we made came in first place for the Castaway Shirt Contest.

16 May 2011

Castaway Odyssey

This weekend we will be participating in Castaway Odyssey. This is a fun event and I look forward to having two patrols competing. We will be meeting at the church at 4:30pm on Friday to prepare to leave. I know that some of you don’t even get off the bus till around 4:30pm, so be sure to have your gear packed up and ready to go on Thursday night. We will be pulling out of the parking lot no later than 5:30pm. If you can NOT be there by then, let me know. You will need to have a parent bring you to camp separately if you can’t get to the church in time to ride with the troop. Many of you have asked what you need to bring. Don’t forget to look in your scout book for a list of personal gear for a short term camping trip. This can be found on pages 292-293. You will need to bring your eating utensils (fork, spoon, plate, bowl and cup) and any snacks and extra drinks that you may want – and remember, MEALS ARE BEING PLANNED AND COOKED BY PATROL! IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT YOU WILL BE EATING OR WHAT YOU NEED TO BRING TO EAT..... TALK TO YOUR PATROL LEADEER!!!!!! Everyone needs to make sure that they bring parts A & B of the medical form with them for this event or they can not go.

26 April 2011

Citizenship & Servie Project

"Scouts are to help other people at all times."
Our Scout troop will be collecting canned food for the month of May to give to the local food pantry for those in need. The need for food has become greater due to the economic situation in our country and the natural disasters here at home and overseas. So please bring two cans of food per Scout each Monday Scout Meeting for the entire month of May (2nd-30th).
This service project is considered a "Special Good Turn" that will put your Scout Spirit into ACTION! In the latest news it is reported that nearly one in five people in America do not have enough food.
Thank you Troop 326 for making our community a better place to live. This project will enrich your life as well because you will discover that what you do CAN and DOES make a difference.

22 April 2011

Fun Times!

The patrols have ben working really hard and having alot of fun getting ready for the upcoming Castaway Odyssey at Camp Daniel Boone in May. Here are a couple of pictures of the Coyote Patrol and the Cobra Patrol building their boats for one o

f the competitions at Castaway.

This month the troop is also working on the First Aid Merit Badge. Special thanks to Dee Massey for voluntering his time to be our counselor for this Eagle Required merit badge.

Take a look at these pictures and see if you can figure out what is going on at our troop meeting!

What a way to spend Spring Break!

OA Dixie Fellowship at Camp Daniel Boone

April 15th-17th at Camp Daniel Boone was the time and place for this year's Dixie Fellowship. This is a big event for the Order of the Arrow, Scouting's honor society. Our troop sent its first two delegates to the Dixie, Chris Skinner and Nick Abbott. They both had alot of fun and enjoyed the many things that Dixie had to offer. Especially the patch trading. Both Chris and Nick said that they desire for more members of their troop get elected into the OA, because they know that their fellow Scouts would love what the Order of the Arrow stands for and enjoy OA events as much as they have.

Service Project / Campout / Virginia Creeper Trail Bike Ride

For our April Campout we camped at the Pinnacle Church. I am sure it will be a memorable event for all that were there, as in the middle of the night we made an executive decision and moved inside the church. A Scout is always prepared with a Plan B. On Friday night we got in a service project of laying the straw over the grass seed that Tim had spread earlier in the day. Thanks to all who pitched in with a cheerful heart!

We had a good number of adults and Scouts, both Boy and Cub, turn out Saturday morning for the trip to Virginia. On the trail our gang went through a couple of showers but nothing that dampened their spirits. It seems like everyone who went on the bike ride can't wait to go again!

05 April 2011

Creeper Campout!!!

Friday night we will be camping in Scout World at Pinnacle Church. Saturday morning we will be heading out from Pinnacle Church at 6:30am for Damascus, VA. From there we will take a shuttle up to Whitetop, VA where we start our adventure back down to damascus. Bring a WATER BOTTLE, a bag lunch, and any snacks that you may wish to have. You can rent bikes in Damascus or you may bring your own. (If bringing your own bike, I strongly recommend that it has gears so that you may coast downhill without having to keep peddling.) The cost of the bike rental and shuttle to Whitetop is $24. If you bring your own bike, the shuttle is $13. Please eat before arriving on Friday and bring food money and/or breakfast and bag lunch for saturday.

For more information about the Virginia Creeper Trail, please use the following link: http://www.vacreepertrail.com/index.html

All scouts should have a map of our intended route. Use the following link to access our trail map: http://www.vacreepertrail.com/trailMaps/DamWhitetop.pdf

We have rented bikes from Blue Blaze in the past. Here is a link to their website. http://www.blueblazebikeandshuttle.com/bike_shuttle_rates.html

14 March 2011

Merit Badge Midway & Troop Campout

We will be camping at the Scout Hut this Friday night and then going over to the Merit Badge Midway at Western Carolina University. All Scouts attending the Midway will need to review the available merit badge classes being offered at this event, select the merit badges that interest them, and print up the merit badge worksheets. We will pick up breakfast from a restaurant on our way to Cullowhee and have lunch there as well. Bring your own food for dinner Friday night and money for Saturday. Twenty dollars should cover the admission to the Midway and leave six dollars a piece for the two meals on Saturday.

The available Merit Badge Classes are:

Architecture 9:00-12:00
(http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/2/28/Architecture.pdf)
Astronomy 9:00-12:00
(http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/f/f9/Astronomy.pdf)
Bird Study 11:00-12:30 & 2:00-3:30
(http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/2/29/Bird_Study.pdf)
Citizenship in the Nation 12:30-2:30
(http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/2/20/Citizenship_in_the_Nation.pdf)
Citizenship in the World 10:00-12:00 & 1:00-3:00
(http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/0/09/Citizenship_in_the_World.pdf)
Climbing 9:00-12:00
(http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/e/e3/Climbing.pdf)
Coin Collecting 9:00-10:30 & 10:30-12:00 & 1:00-2:30
(http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/0/04/Coin_Collecting.pdf)
Computers 1:00-2:30
(http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/3/34/Computers.pdf)
Crime Prevention TBA
(http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/0/07/Crime_Prevention.pdf)
Electricity 10:30-12:30 & 1:30-3:30
(http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/0/07/Crime_Prevention.pdf)
Emergency Preparedness 10:30-1200 & 1:30-3:00 (http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/2/26/Emergency_Preparedness.pdf)
Environmental Science 9:00-3:30
(http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/3/3a/Environmental_Science.pdf)
Fingerprinting 9:00-10:30 & 10:30-12:00 & 1:00-2:30
(http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/6/61/Fingerprinting.pdf)
First Aid 9:00-4:00 (Bring homemade 1st aid kit.)
(http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/9/98/First_Aid.pdf)
Fishing 1:00-2:30
(http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/2/2e/Fishing.pdf)
Geology 9:00-12:00
(http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/e/ea/Geology.pdf)
Horsemanship 12:00-2:00 & 2:00-4:00
(http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/d/d5/Horsemanship.pdf)
Indian Lore 9:30-12:00 & 1:00-3:30
(http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/c/c1/Indian_Lore.pdf)
Photography 10:30-12:30
( http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/b/bf/Photography.pdf)
Pioneering 9:30-4:00
( http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/3/3c/Pioneering.pdf)
Reading and Scholarship 11:00-11:30 & 11:30-12:00
( http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/5/56/Reading.pdf) & (http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/b/bf/Scholarship.pdf)
Scout Heritage 1:00-3:00
(http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/2/20/Scouting_Heritage.pdf)
Soil & Water Conservation 9:00-11:00 & 12:30-2:30
( http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/4/49/Soil_and_Water_Conservation.pdf)
Stamp Collecting 10:00-12:00 & 1:00-3:00
( http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/8/80/Stamp_Collecting.pdf)
Surveying 1:00-4:00
( http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/3/39/Surveying.pdf)
Swim Test 8:30-9:30 *required for Swimming merit badge
( http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/BSA_Swim_Test)
Swimming 9:30-12:00
(http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/d/db/Swimming.pdf)
Traffic Safety TBA
(http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/d/da/Traffic_Safety.pdf)
Wilderness Survival 10:00-12:00 & 12:30-2:30
(http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/0/0a/Wilderness_Survival.pdf)

09 March 2011

Our first Arrowmen!

This past weekend our first troop members completed their ordeal and were inducted into the Order of the Arrow. This was a huge honor for those who were elected and it was an honor for me to participate in the workday with them and to attend the induction ceremony. While these were the first three from our troop to be inducted into the OA, I look forward to seeing additional scouts and adults elected to be a part of this organization. If you are not aware of the goals of the OA, it is a brotherhood of cheerful service. In order to be elected a scout must be at least first class and is required to complete 15 nights camping, one of which must be a long term camping trip under the auspices of the BSA.

Congratulations to Nick Abbott, Chris Skinner and Rob Hawk!

27 February 2011

Unexpected guest!

Last year we had Baden Powell visit us during the 100th year birthday of scouting. This year we had another “guest from the past”. Our assistant scoutmaster, Rob Hawk, did a monologue in character as Ernest Thompson Seton. Seton (August 14, 1860 – October 23, 1946) was a Scots-Canadian (and naturalized U.S. citizen) who became a noted author, wildlife artist, founder of the Woodcraft Indians, and one of the founding pioneers of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Seton also heavily influenced Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting. His notable books related to Scouting include The Birch Bark Roll and The Boy Scout Handbook. He is responsible for the strong influence of American Indian culture in the BSA.
We appreciate Rob’s interest in history and I especially enjoy him sharing that love of history with the boys. I wonder who will show up next year?
Just goes to prove that you never know who is going to show up.

25 February 2011

Upcoming Events!!!

We have a busy couple of months ahead of us.
Here is what we have going on in March.
AS A REMINDER.... If you need a board of review to advance to the next rank, please notify your Scoutmaster in advance so that we may schedule accordingly. We have two days set aside on the calendar, but if nobody requests a Board of Review then we will not have the neccessary adults on hand to perform them.

MARCH 4th & 5th - Order of the Arrow Ordeal at Camp Daniel Boone (OA candidates only)

MARCH 6th - Scout Sunday at Pinnacle Church (Cub Scouts & Boy Scouts in full uniform)

MARCH 7th - Board of Review (if needed)

MARCH 11th, 12th, & 13th - Woodbadge 1st Weekend (for registered Adult Leaders)

MARCH 14th - Board of Review

MARCH 19th - Merit Badge Midway at Western Carolina University

MARCH 21st - Court of Honor

In April we will be mountain biking on the Virginia Creeper Trail.
In May we will be at Camp Daniel Boone for The Castaway Odyssey.

DON'T FORGET THAT SUMMER CAMP IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER!!! WE ARE ON TRACK TO HAVE A REALLY GREAT TURNOUT OF SCOUTS! HOWEVER, WE NEED TO BE SURE THAT WE ARE MAKING OUR MONTHLY CAMP PAYMENTS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE KEEP OUR SPOT AT CAMP. If you should need assistance, please contact Steve Skinner about getting a camp scholarship form (or campership as they call it).

22 February 2011

Results from Operation Cold Spot

FIRST PLACE in the Winter Shelter Event!

SECOND PLACE in the First Aid Event!