Email addresses

In an attempt to improve communications I would like to put together and email list that can be used by troop members, district, and council representatives to get out information in a timely manner. Also, the council would like to contact scouts and scouters with announcements and surveys to gather input about scouting that will help them to improve program support. If you would send me an email at tsmathews326@gmail.com I will add you to my email list.

Thanks,
Tim

Woodbadge for the 21st Century

The next Wood Badge class is quickly approaching. This program is a leadership course that is open to all registered Scout leaders. This includes committee members. Wood Badge is the premiere adult leadership training program of the BSA and is recognized by Scouting organizations around the world. Daniel Boone Council only offers Wood Badge every other year and this year it will be offered at Camp Daniel Boone.

As Scoutmaster, I would like to encourage all adult leaders including committee members to consider taking this training. It will help you to better understand the BSA program as well as help you develop new skills that will benefit you in your Scouting position. What I like about the program is that you are placed into patrols and function as a patrol throughout the program. I believe it will help everyone understand how troop dynamics should work.

The only prerequisite is that you be trained for YOUR scouting position. If you need to know if you meet these requirements I will be glad to help you find out. The cost of the program is $210. You can receive a $25 discount however if you apply and pay in full by December 31st. The fee includes all your meals, course materials and your recognition items. There are a few scholarships available. If you need to apply for one of these I can put you in contact with Chris Morgan, course director.

To register, you need to fill our a registration form that I can provide for you or you can register on-line by going to the council website at www.danielboonecouncil.org, select Training, and go to the Wood Badge option.

 I hope you will consider this exciting training opportunity!

POPCORN ORDERS HAVE ARRIVED

If you sold popcorn, please be at scouts Monday night, November 19th to pick up your order for distribution.  Ms. Shirley will give you specific dates on when the money is due to be turned in, but please be sure to pick up your order no later than tomorrow evening at scouts.  Thank you!

Upcoming November Campout

This month's campout will be at Camp Daniel Boone from Nov. 9th to Nov. 11th.  We will be meeting at Pinnacle Church at 5pm on Friday to go out to camp.  Saturday morning in Ledbetter Lodge we will be participating in an Eagle Ceremony for Joe Grasty. Full Class A uniform is REQUIRED for all Scouts and Scouters attending.





Click on this link to find out about the Boy Scout 10 Essentials:
http://scoutingmagazine.org/2004/03/the-10-essentials/

Wilderness Survival Merit Badge

The focus for the month of November is Wilderness Survival. For anyone who needs to build a shelter to satisfy requirement 8, we will be building shelters on Saturday and staying in them Saturday night. If you already have this requirement and want to go anyways then please feel free to build another shelter and come along with the rest us just for the fun of it.



Requirements:

1. Show that you know first aid for, and how to prevent injuries or illnesses that could occur in backcountry settings, including hypothermia, heat reactions, frostbite, dehydration, blisters, insect stings, tick bites, and snakebites.
2. From memory, list the seven priorities for survival in a backcountry or wilderness location. Explain the importance of each one with your councelor.
3. Discuss ways to avoid panic and maintain a high level of morale when lost, and explain why this is important.
4. Describe the steps you would take to survive in the following conditions:

   a. Cold and snowy

   b. Wet (forest)

   c. Hot and dry (desert)

   d. Windy (mountains or plains)

   e. Water (ocean, lake, or river)

5. Put together a personal survival kit and explain how each item in it could be useful
6. Using three different methods (other than matches), build and light three fires.
7. Do the following:

   a. Show five different ways to attract attention when lost.

   b. Demonstrate how to use a signal mirror.

   c. Describe from memory five ground-to-air signals and tell what they mean.

8. Improvise a natural shelter. For the purpose of this demonstration, use techniques that have little negative impact on the environment. Spend a night in your shelter.
9. Explain how to protect yourself from insects, reptiles, and bears.
10. Demonstrate three ways to treat water found in the outdoors to prepare it for drinking.
11. Show that you know the proper clothing to wear in your area on an overnight in extremely hot weather and in extremely cold weather.
12. Explain why it usually not wise to eat edible wild plants or wildlife in a wilderness survival situation.

October Campout & Apple Fest

 

This month we camped at Pinnacle Church down by thr river.  Each of our patrols stayed in their own campsites and made great progress on clearing out the brush and making it their own. On Saturday everybody went up to the Apple Festival in Waynesville and helped out by bagging apples, handing out samples, and answering questions.

Popcorn

It is time to get our popcorn orders turned in. Some of you turned in your sheets last night but with the bad weather we had several folks out. Since we have to have our orders turned in by this coming Monday, November 5, by lunch, we need everyone's sale sheets by this Friday. I will be out of town on Friday so I need to have them by Thursday afternoon. If you have sold any popcorn please call me and I will make arrangements to pick up your forms. It is very important that we get all orders in so that we can receive the highest percentage of commission possible.

Also, we need to continue selling our show and sell popcorn. Shirley has set it up with Mast Store to allow us to sell at the entrance of their store and we have done well so far. What we need is for more scouts to participate. Since school has been scheduled for this weekend those who signed up for Saturday morning will not be able to be there so I need to have another adult to set up with Shirley to cover the morning. Those who signed up for the afternoon should still be able to participate.

Remember, a scout is THRIFTY. This means a scout pays his own way. What a great way to live up to this part of the scout law by helping sell popcorn to support your troop, your district, and the Daniel Boone Council.

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

Popcorn Sales Sheets Due

     

Our Popcorn Colonel would like to remind all of our Scouts that their popcorn sales sheets are due back by November 1st.  Please keep selling until it is time to turn them in.

Annual Planning at Camp Daniel Boone

Our September trip took us to Camp Daniel Boone where we practiced our shooting skills on the rifle and archery ranges, hiked the Little East Fork Trail up to the bathtubs, and did our annual planning.

Lake Santeetlah 2012

Kayaking, Canoeing, Mile Swim, and so much more... Thanks to all those who made this trip possible.

Summer Camp 2012 at CDB

Class B T-shirt order

On Tuesday, June 26th, we will be placing a new order for class B t-shirts (red, Troop 326 T-shirts). This gives you two Mondays to place your order and make payment. We plan to have the order delivered prior to summer camp. Each scout was given a flyer last Monday showing the three options to order. The three options include: 90/10 cotton/poly blend - $7, 50/50 cotton/poly blend (some wicking) - $8, Under Armor loose fit (full wicking) - $10. Please see Wanda on one of the next two Monday nights to place your order. Pre-payment is needed to order. You can also call Wanda at 828-246-2699 or email her at wburgess@ashevillenc.gov.

June Camping

Our next camping trip will be June 22-24. We will be camping with the cub scout pack at Orchard Lake in Saluda. The cost will be $8 per night per person and Brent Burgess will be preparing a meal on Saturday night for everyone. Cost of the meal will be $6 per person. Please be prepared to register and pay this coming Monday night. We need to have numbers so that we can let the campground know and know how much food to buy.

See you Monday!

Summer Camp Physicals

Summer camp is just 5 weeks away and we need to be sure everyone has a current medical form. This form can be downloaded/printed and taken to your doctor for completion. The pdf form has fillable blanks that you can complete before printing to save you time and make it easier for others to read. To download a copy click here. The form is 14 pages but you only need to worry about the first four pages. When you print it out, however, print the entire document as this is what they have asked us to do. If you have questions, please give me a call. Some of the boys asked if there sports physical was ok and the answer is no. It has to be on the official BSA form, no exceptions. Again, this is not my rule. I only have to live by them. Also, if anyone knows of a doctor who is willing to do the entire troop, much like they do for athletes, please let me know and we will try to get something lined up.

Picture taken from CDB website

BSA Handbook

  The BSA Handbook is one of the most valuable resources you have as a Scout. Unfortunately, it is left lying on the bookshelf most of the time. This past Monday night we played a game that drew on your knowledge of scout facts found primarily in your handbook. While both teams did pretty good during the game, there were a lot of questions that went unanswered. It is apparent to me that we don't read the handbook enough. I hope that every scout has a handbook but if you don't please let me know and we will get you one.

Also, with some of the plans we have over the next couple of months, you need to bring you book to every meeting. (I hate that I even have to say this as we should always bring our handbooks to the meetings). We will be starting Troop Leadership Training this coming week and those who are not participating in the TLT will be working on specific scout skills needed for advancement.

Please try to be at every meeting that you can. I know that summer is a busy time but it is also a great time to complete the outdoor skills training that is so important to every scout!

Virginia Creeper Trail 2012

Just returned from Damascus Virginia after two nights camping and a day on the Virginia Creeper Trail. We had 25 people attend and we had a great time. We camped at a Hostel owned by the Methodist Church and they were great hosts. We also got to meet several Appalachain Trail through hikers who were stopping by and were able to share some of our food and stories with them. A lot of interesting people! We also met a troop from Mooresville, NC and played a game of steal the flag with them. The game ended in a draw. Good fun and fellowship. Thanks to everyone who made this trip possible. 

Soqua District Camporee

  A few weeks ago, our patrol leaders council attended the Soqua district camporee as a team building exercise. They preformed well but unfortunately we didn't bring back any ribbons. But we still left a lasting impression on those in attendance. Using our newly named "Dixie Torch" we were able to cook our egg and Levi ate it very quickly. Everyone was in awe of our fire building technique. I would expect to see this around more in the future but we can take credit for being the first! Thanks, Eddie Hendricks, for the idea!

Check our our fire compared to the one in the background. We are finished cooking our egg an they are just getting their fire going. Great job guys!

Troop Elections

It is once again time for our Troop elections. If you would like to serve in a leadership role in the troop you need to let your Senior Patrol leader know as soon as possible. The troop will elect a senior patrol leader and each patrol will elect a patrol leader. All other positions are appointed by the SPL with the exception of assistant patrol leaders who will be appointed by the new patrol leaders. Election will be held on May 21st, so be sure to be at the meeting. Remember that leadership is required for ranks Star through Eagle.

Just a reminder that we will be going to REI tonight for their first ever Scout Night. We need to leave the church parking lot by 6. That means pulling out by 6. I think this will be a very good way to end our focus on backpacking. While we are not going on a shopping spree, I think it would be a good opportunity for the boys to make a wish list for their future backpacking/camping needs. Please try to be at the church before 6pm. If you are not going to be able to go please let me know so that we will not be waiting. We will need some parents to drive as well. Hope to see you tonight.

Order of the Arrow update

On April 14th, we had three new inductees complete their ordeal in the Order of the Arrow. These scouts and leaders were; Caleb Pace, Levi Hendricks and Steve Skinner. A big congratulations to these members of our troop. We still have one scout, Bryce Burgess, scheduled to complete his ordeal in August. I look forward to attending with him. On the same weekend we had three other scouts and leaders seal their membership through Brotherhood. These members were Nick Abbott, Chris Skinner and Rob Hawk. Congratulations, as well, to these members of our troop. We also had a few folks attend to work along side and encourage these new members and brothers. Kameron Vaughn, Levi Grasty, Joe Grasty and myself were there as well. Our troop was well represented with 10 people attending the weekend. Great job guys!

Turkey Pen

This past weekend the troop did a beginners backpacking trip to Turkey Pen in Transylvania County. Even though we had a small group, we had a great time. The weather looked like it would be bad but it actually held off till we went to bed and quit before morning. From our campsite, we hiked to the chimney and back, about 5 miles. Later that afternoon we set up a safe swim area and some of the boys went for a dip. They didn't stay long. The water was ice cold. I'm looking forward to seeing some of the boys continue to work on their backpacking merit badge. Backpacking is one of my favorite activities and I love to see the boys excited about getting out in the backcountry. Thanks to Eddie Hendricks for setting up this trip. I believe that we will go back on a regular basis. The picture at the bottom left is the view from my sleeping area. Beautiful!

Summer Camp

Summer camp is just around the corner and will be here before we know it. This is a great time for the boys to bond as a troop and to experience all that camp has to offer. Dates for this year's camp are July 15th thru the 21st.

It is now time for us to get our payments in to council to insure our ability to register for merit badges and other activities. If your boy is planning to attend summer camp this year, you need to come to our meeting next week (April 9th) for a short meeting. We will discuss camp and fees that are due.

Also, if your son has been selling camp cards, we need to have the money or the cards turned in. These are due in the council office by April 20th or we will have to pay for them.

Hope to see you next Monday!

Board of Review Training

Don't forget about our Board of Review training tomorrow night. Doc Summerlin will conduct this training for all interested adults. I believe that it is important for everyone to understand the importance of conducting quality boards of review. This training will help you to understand your role in our scouts progress toward advancement.

Hope to see you tomorrow!

Lost Sea Cavern & Fort Loudoun