Good Evening Everyone
This week I have a few updates and have included the midweek update if you missed it. Everything below will be talked about at tomorrow's meeting so if you have not been to a meeting in some time, now is the time to attend.
Monday P.L.C and C.M
This Monday is our Patrol Leaders Council meeting at 6:00p and Committee meeting at 7:00p at the park. Since this will be the final meeting before we try to go through with our version of summer camp I will need as many people and as much input as possible. As of now I have only received merit badge requests from a few people. Tomorrow evening is the deadline so, if for whatever reason you've been sitting on the fence about submitting your merit badge requests NOW is the time to do it! If we cannot get any additional people to participate and sign up on the website I don't believe we will be able to hold this event beginning July 20th. It's coming up fast, the week after next.
Cost of camp update
The cost of camp estimate was originally $50 per person for the week. After doing a lot of price checking and estimates as of right now the cost of camp will range between $50.00 - $75.00 per person which is considerably less expensive than CFL. I'm still waiting to hear back from Good Templar Park on whether we can use the indoor bathrooms or not. If we cannot (like I am starting to believe) we will have to rent a few portable toilets. I spoke to the people over at Lakeshore Waste Management and their price on a pair of toilets was 350.00. If anyone has any leads on cheaper toilets for the week please let me know
The other cost that we are running into is the cost of cleaning supplies. As everyone knows cleaning supplies are a hot commodity and everybody wants a warehouse full of hand sanitizer and toilet paper at all times. The downside is of course the initial cost. However the upside of the troop having a lot of cleaning supplies on hand is that they will at some time in the future be used. Whether we will have our own small stockpile, it takes a while for soap to go bad. We can always use them on other camp outs and events.
Backup plans for camp. Options have changed slightly.
When it comes to scouts we always have to have other plans in place in order to make something happen. Because we seem to be living in uncertain times, maybe for the foreseeable future, there are a few options for us to still have a summer camp. This will be based on what happens in the state and the toilet availability.
Considering the necessity for alternatives these are the plans.
Plan A, (the one that we are on right now) Monday through Thursday we meet at the park in the morning to work on badges leaving around 7:00 p.m. Lunches & dinners included. On Friday we meet at the park at 6pm and hold a weekend camp out.
Plan B, We meet Monday through Friday at the park working on badges until around 7pm. We WOULD NOT hold a camp out that weekend but meet on Friday same time to work on Scout skills. This is just in case the park says we can't camp overnight that weekend for whatever reason.
Plan C, Have merit badge work that week from 8:30a - 3:00p Monday through Friday. We will have lunch but no dinner, which will also help reduce the cost.
Plan D, We would cancel altogether (this of course being the worst case scenario).
We have all of these options just in case of any changes.
If you didn't catch the recent midweek update here is what happened.
If you haven't made a decision, this is another reason you should be here.
Due to the virus, Brock D was unable to complete his position of responsibility for the troop. This is one of the last requirements he needs for his Eagle scout position of responsibility. Our summer camp allows him to be a camp counselor which fulfills a special scoutmaster selected service project for the troop. Not only would you be helping yourself by earning some badges and some rank requirements, you will be helping Brock get one step closer to earning his Eagle.
Troop ones' policy has always been that you must tent with one of your fellow scouts until you reach the rank of 1st class. Because of the virus we are lifting this requirement and you can do 1 of 3 things. Option one, you can tent alone and if you have your own tent (four person or smaller) you can bring it with you and use it exclusively. Option two you can still tent with a partner but you will have to sleep head to toe versus head to head this follows some of the guidelines that national and council has recommended for tenting partners for the foreseeable future. Option three if you have a larger tent (six person or greater) there should be plenty of space for you and your partner(s).
