This scoutmaster summary is going to be shorter than the previous week's just because there is not much to talk about. Only a few new things have come our way and here tonight is the news you need to know.
The next physical meeting:
As of right now we will not be having physical meetings until April. The next Monday meeting that we will more than likely be having is Monday the 6th based on what is going on in the outside world.
This is of course subject to change based on what happens over the coming weeks.
Camp-out cancellation:
A little bit of sad news on the camping front. Because of the virus, the Abraham Lincoln pilgrimage has been canceled this year. Depending on what happens and depending on if parks or places are open again by the end of April we will be coming up with our own day trip or camp-out to be used instead of the pilgrimage. Again this is all based on what happens over the coming weeks.
New scouts patrol induction:
For anybody out there who doesn't know, our March camp-out is our new scout camp-out. Some of our first years were able to experience a troop camp-out In a controlled and much more relaxed environment. Or as I like to call it a much gentler introduction to camping than I experienced when i was in your shoes. Late on Saturday night we were able to award Joshua his night owl patrol patch and Noah his Phoenix patrol patch. If the virus had not screwed up our plans Cooper, Morgan and Anthony would have learned their new patrols last Monday. Since that wasn't able to happen I will now be announcing what patrols they will be joining because now is as good a time as ever to do it.
Cooper and Morgan will be joining the flaming arrow patrol and Anthony will be joining the Phoenix patrol. As soon as meetings are back in session you will be receiving your patrol induction letters and patrol patch.
Lemonade out of lemons:
I understand this is not exactly how we all thought the Spring would unfold for us. It's what we where given and what we will have to deal with. Eventually things will get back to normal. When they do I want us to all be able to hit the ground running and make the most of the time we have.
With some of you being out for spring break there is not a lot going on this week. I do however have a LOT of up-dates to share.
Such as our Mulch fundraiser, the April and May camp-out's, Memorial day pancake breakfast and parade, our trip this June to Kentucky, our July summer camp trip and a few other bits and bob's (remember, one only needs one bob a day).
No Monday meeting
Spring break
There will be NO meeting this week because of spring break.Our next meeting will be on Sunday April 3rd at Good Templar Park for a spring cleaning of the trailers. With school being the next day I think most of you will be home by then to help out. It will be from 10a to 2p - ish
Registration for the June Kentucky trip is now open.
Last year the troop went out to Ohio to see the National Air Force Museum and learn about the Wright brothers.
For this year's June trip we will be going to the bluegrass state for some fun above and below ground. See the place where Abraham Lincoln was born. Learn how craftsmen turn a simple piece of ash or maple into the world famous Louisville Slugger. Take a walk underground in Mammoth Cave, North America's largest cave system. You may even learn how Kentucky bourbon is made at the Jim Beam distillery (a tour not a tasting). During this time down south we will be working on scout skills and merit badges during the trip. The Geology and the Exploration badges can be attained during the time we are together.
All this and more awate in the bluegrass state. more Info on the website.
This would also be a good time to invite any friends from inside or outside of scouting.
2022 Summer camp Registration is now open
This year we will be going to Ed Bryant Scout Reservation for summer camp.
Because Camp Freeland Leslie closed down we will be trying out this new camp. It is just 30 minutes north from where C.F.L used to be. There are a few big differences between our old camp and this new one.
#1. The class structure is a more open concept. The scouts don't pre-register for badges, they sign up for them Sunday evening when we get there.
#2. The camp will be cooking some meals for us. Lunch will be served for us in the dining hall or at our campsite.
#3. The showers and the toilets are separate. There are also leaders and youth facilities so the kids have there's and we have ours.
Attached is the leader's guide and some of the things you can expect when we go there this July. There are also a few things that I am trying to get the camp to add for us so stay tuned for more info as we go along.
Here we all are after another week of the lockdown. If you like me are a news junkie you will have seen that the CDC extended the virus precautions for another month until at least the end of April. The State of Illinois will more than likely follow CDC recommendations fairly soon extending the shut down for a few more weeks. As of right now I have not heard from any of our members regarding anyone being sick and I hope that this news remains positive.
The sad news I have is that the troop will more than likely not be meeting physically until the Illinois lockdown status has been lifted. Anthony D sent me a lead to the voice service Discord and I have been looking into YouTube's / Facebook's live stream ability. I will be testing out a mixture of the two or three and see what i can come up with. Holding video meetings is a solution that may aid us in this problem.
Doing a good turn
Because Spring time has finally arrived and the weather (although still rainy) has started to clear up this gives all of us the perfect chance to clean up and clear out a lot of the junk we have accumulated over the past Winter. Spring cleaning can be a fun past time when you have lots of time on your hands and no place to go.
Upcoming video updates updated
I have been cleaning out portions of my workshop and basement converting them into filming locations for online meetings and small video. Please remember that I'm using a 10 year old Sony camcorder and my cell phone to put together a few short vignettes and messages. If any of the members of the troop have filming / editing equipment or know how to edit videos and mix audio please let me know.
Badges in limbo
Here are the partial merit badges that we have on record. With everything I've been sending out over the past couple weeks I thought it best to allow the guys some time to digest the requirements and badges that we already sent out. If you are a go getter and want any more things to do here is a list of the partial merit badges.
Below is the name of the scout, the merit badge and the requirements you have completed on the badge so far
Charles, Cooking, 1,2 and 3
Anthony, Animation, 4 and 5
Anthony, Cooking, 1,2 and 3
Joey, Cooking, 1,2 and 3
Noah K, Emergency preparedness, 1,2 and 3
Orienteering, 1,2,3,4,5 and 6
Riley Bird study, 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9,10 and 11
Communications, 1,2 and 9
Cameron, Environmental science, 1,2,3,5 and 6
Architecture, 1,2,3 and 5 Public speaking, 1,3 and 5 Animation, 1,2,4 and 5
Thank you to everyone that came to the camp-out this past weekend. The weather was great on Saturday and we took advantage of it. Everyone that attended got their requirements updated and I'll be sending that update out this week. There is a lot coming up in the next few weeks. If you missed Tomo-Chi-Chi (you missed a great time) you still have another chance to participate.
Monday meeting 3 - 7 - 22
St. Marks Church gym 7p
This Monday we will be working on the Pet's merit-badge. Pets is a fun and easy badge that anyone can do. If you already have the badge you can help teach the class. We will also be going over some of the upcoming events and what you will need to know.
Such as......
Upcoming events on the radar
St patrick's day parade
Saturday March 12th, 2pm
American Legion Post 342 has invited the troop to join them in the St. Patrick's parade on the 12th. At the moment I don't have a rally spot or time so I hope to get it by Monday evening
Pack 260 Blue and Gold
Sunday March 13th, C.B.T
The crossover will be held on Sunday the 13th of March
1:00p to 4:00p. at Camp Big Timber.
P.L.C and Cyber chip meeting, Mar 14th 6p - 830p In this special 2ish hour meeting we will be holding a Patrol Leader Council and Cyber Chip class.
March committee meeting, 3 - 16
Because of certain circumstances we will be holding our March committee meeting on the 16th. Meeting location is TBD, the time will still be 7p.
Citizenship in the Nation Merit badge.
3 - 19 - 22, 10a - 5p
Campton Township Community Center (A.K.A the Station) 5N082 Old Lafox Rd, St. Charles, IL 60175
Join me as I guide you into the amazing world of Citizenship in the Nation. This is one of the biggest and most extensive merit badges that our troop presents. You will learn about our great country from 1600 - 1790. There is so much information packed into this class that you will need to take notes. Just about 90% of the badge will be covered.
Bring a lunch. Suggested age for the badge is 3rd year scouts and up.
This weekend was our new scout cabin camp out. I would like to thank everyone that helped make it possible, scouts and parents alike. A big thank you to Rick, Ryan, Jayne, David, Todd and Scott for helping and spending time out with us this weekend. A very special thank you to Mike who acquired all the food for the kids and Ryan the food for the adult leaders. If you weren't there and didn't get a chance to sample any of the tasty meals that came out of the kitchen that day it was your loss.
This week we have the vet's dinner, a town walk and the mulch fundraiser. Along with that we have a few guests, a few regulars and a few irregulars. To see what this all means come see us this week and find out.
This Monday Night:
Dinner with the Legion
Veterans Hall, 311 n 2nd street
Mar 11th 6p - 7p
Join the troop this month as we dine in with the American Legion at the veterans hall.
Help serve dinner and join in the fellowship. Set-up will begin at 5:45ish with dinner to follow at 6p
Spring 2024 Mulch fundraiser
Pre-Sales are open, Sales open on the 15th
Back this year by popular demand is our mulch spring fundraiser. Attached is this year's flyer and the sale numbers are all the same. Try to reach out to as many people as you can and the adults should try to do the same. This is a fantastic way to make some money for this year's camping and activities schedule. You can also negotiate with the customer to hire you to spread the mulch for them. All profit goes to the scout and goes to their scout account.
March Camp-out
This March we will be camping at Johnson's mound forest preserve on Mar 22nd - 24th. We have the cabin this year so weather is not a factor.
The preserve's address is 41 W 600 Hughes rd Elburn IL, 60119
We need to see how many people are going to be around for the camp-out. This is right at the beginning of spring break and we may have a good number of people out of town for the week. If that is the case then we can do a day trip or overnight.
Please let us know if you will be around that weekend.
The troop Zelle
Need to pay the troop for something or get paid for something? We have a Zelle for that. @TRP1TREASURER
In order for the scouts to be able to use their phones or tech on meetings or outings they need to have this certification. The class material can be found at
This is for the high school level but is applicable for all the scouts.
Upcoming events / Meeting updates.
Mar 11th, Dinner with the vet's
6p, Vet's center
Mar 18th, Camp-out prep 7p, St.Mark's
Mar 22nd - 24th, Johnson's mound campout
Mar 25th, No meeting spring break.
Apr 26th - 28th, Grant's pilgrimage
May 17th - 19th, Starved Rock campout
Jun 15th - 23rd, South Carolina
Summer Adventure trip 2024:
South Carolina
Jun 15th - 23nd
Join us as we visit the palmetto state this year for our 2024 summer adventure trip. Take a boat ride to Fort Sumter to see where the civil war started. Hike along the beach and swim in the Atlantic Ocean. Venture to Savannah, one of the oldest cities in the country. See where the United States Marines train. All this and more in this year's summer southern excursion! As of right now we are working out some scout deals and seeing how low we can go on price. As of now the projected price will be $350.00 per person. That will include the travel cost, the food and the activities.
Recruiting New Members
If you have a family member, a friend, an acquaintance, a Cub Scout, or someone wishing to join you as a transfer from another troop please let us know. We all know that the only way for the troop to survive is for more people to join over the long run. If you know of anyone that could potentially be interested in joining, please have them come to a meeting, outing, camp-out or just for a visit.
Casey’s Safe Haven is a 501(c)3 non-profit holistic equine rescue dedicated to healing horses, ponies, donkeys, and mules in need. We will accept equines from animal control facilities, pony ride facilities, horses being retired from lesson programs, police force, and the race track. We also accept healthy animals donated by loving owners that for reasons beyond their control can no longer provide care. Our mission is to be a part of the solution by educating the public on the responsibilities and proper care of each equine so they receive the respect and dignity they deserve as living beings.
For more than fifty years, Anderson Humane has been the leading animal welfare organization in our community. We have been dedicated to creating positive connections between people and animals from day one because animals make us better! Today, we place more than 4,000 pets into loving homes each year. Our innovative programs make the healing presence of animals available to seniors, veterans, and those in crisis.
I would first like to thank everyone that came out for Bradly's eagle project on Saturday. We had a FANTASTIC turn out and we removed over 20,000 pounds of junk from the trailers that he was working on. Any regular project is a big undertaking. Bradly's project was an even bigger one. The second work day will be on April 6th at 10am so please put it on your calendar now to save the date.
What happened today? We got 3 new scouts today and another 2 turning in the paper work on Monday.
With five in total I would say that that's a good week.
What's coming up this week?
This Monday Night:
Troop Meeting
St. Marks church, 101 s 6th ave
MAr 18th, 7:00 - 8:15p
This week we will be discussing the upcoming camp-out and or the day outing. I foolishly placed the camp-out right at the beginning of spring break week not realizing this until the last moment. I know a few of the boys will be out of town. We will figure out who's coming and what we are able to do after we get the report back from the boys.
Spring 2024 Mulch fundraiser
Sales are open!
Back this year by popular demand is our mulch spring fundraiser. Attached is this year's flyer and the sale numbers are all the same. Try to reach out to as many people as you can and the adults should try to do the same. This is a fantastic way to make some money for this year's camping and activities schedule. You can also negotiate with the customer to hire you to spread the mulch for them. All profit goes to the scout and goes to their scout account. Whenever you place an order or get a sale please let us know as we want to get the mulch you the customer in a timely manner. Make sure you use the troop email when doing so. We have some web only products for sale so check the links on our site.
March Camp-out
This March we will be camping at Johnson's mound forest preserve on Mar 22nd - 24th. We have the cabin this year so weather is not a factor.
The preserve's address is 41 W 600 Hughes rd Elburn IL, 60119
We need to see how many people are going to be around for the camp-out. This is right at the beginning of spring break and we may have a good number of people out of town for the week. If that is the case then we can do a day trip or overnight.
Please let us know if you will be around that weekend.
The troop Zelle
Need to pay the troop for something or get paid for something? We have a Zelle for that. @TRP1TREASURER
In order for the scouts to be able to use their phones or tech on meetings or outings they need to have this certification. The class material can be found at
This is for the high school level but is applicable for all the scouts.
Upcoming events / Meeting updates.
Mar 18th, Camp-out prep 7p, St.Mark's
Mar 22nd - 24th, Johnson's mound campout
Mar 25th, No meeting spring break.
Apr 26th - 28th, Grant's pilgrimage
May 17th - 19th, Starved Rock campout
Jun 15th - 23rd, South Carolina
Summer Adventure trip 2024:
South Carolina
Jun 15th - 23nd
Join us as we visit the palmetto state this year for our 2024 summer adventure trip. Take a boat ride to Fort Sumter to see where the civil war started. Hike along the beach and swim in the Atlantic Ocean. Venture to Savannah, one of the oldest cities in the country. See where the United States Marines train. All this and more in this year's summer southern excursion! As of right now we are working out some scout deals and seeing how low we can go on price. As of now the projected price will be $350.00 per person. That will include the travel cost, the food and the activities.
Recruiting New Members
If you have a family member, a friend, an acquaintance, a Cub Scout, or someone wishing to join you as a transfer from another troop please let us know. We all know that the only way for the troop to survive is for more people to join over the long run. If you know of anyone that could potentially be interested in joining, please have them come to a meeting, outing, camp-out or just for a visit.
Casey’s Safe Haven is a 501(c)3 non-profit holistic equine rescue dedicated to healing horses, ponies, donkeys, and mules in need. We will accept equines from animal control facilities, pony ride facilities, horses being retired from lesson programs, police force, and the race track. We also accept healthy animals donated by loving owners that for reasons beyond their control can no longer provide care. Our mission is to be a part of the solution by educating the public on the responsibilities and proper care of each equine so they receive the respect and dignity they deserve as living beings.
For more than fifty years, Anderson Humane has been the leading animal welfare organization in our community. We have been dedicated to creating positive connections between people and animals from day one because animals make us better! Today, we place more than 4,000 pets into loving homes each year. Our innovative programs make the healing presence of animals available to seniors, veterans, and those in crisis.
Thank you to everyone that came out to the trailer clean up. It is a definite difference from what it looked like before, to what it is now. Big thanks to Mr. V and Mrs. R for pulling the trailers over to the work site. We are good to go for our next camp-out and it's only two weeks away! (hint - hint - wink - wink - nudge - nudge) We have a lot to talk about this week at the P.L.C and Committee meetings
Monday P.L.C 4 - 11 - 22, 6 - 7p
Baker Church, Cedar Street entrance
We will be holding a Patrol Leader Council this Monday at Baker Church. Every scout is invited.
Topics of the P.L.C will include but not limited to
* Upcoming events and badges
* Leadership and elections
* patrol updates
* Wants / needs
April committee meeting, 4 - 11, 7p
The next committee meeting will be at Baker Church immediately following the p.l.c. We will be holding a new parent / member meeting during the evening.
Cyber-Chip
Everyone needs this
In order for the scouts to be able to use their phones or tech on meetings or outings they need to have this certification. The class material can be found at
We have a fantastic opportunity for the boys to make some money for the troop and themselves this season. We will be selling bulk mulch supplied by Midwest Compost. This fundraiser will be taking place from March to June. You can also find the sale files and more on our website. Just log on and go to the files folder, fundraising, mulch fundraiser and all files are there. This is an excellent way for the boys to chip away at the cost of spring / summer events and contribute to paying their own way
I hope you all had a happy Easter and got to spend some time with family and friends. This week is also Passover week and Orthodox Easter is next Sunday. Take some time this April and spend some time with the people you care about the most and forget about the outside world for just a short amount of time.
But don't forget about scouts!
We've a lot coming at us in the next few weeks and it all starts this Monday night at St. Marks.
Monday meeting 4 - 18 - 22, 7p
St.Marks Church Gym.
We were going to hold our Order of the Arrow elections and camp-out planning this Monday meeting. I just received a letter letting me know that the lodge does not have enough election officials to do the troops' elections. We will be postponing our OA elections until May. As soon as I get a date back from the lodge I will let everyone know. We have 4 scouts eligible to join the OA but they can only do so if you vote them in. We must have 75% of the troop at this upcoming meeting for the election to count. The four scouts are Joseph Chieco, Anthony Herrera, Porter Snopko and Bradly Votaw. As soon as we can get the election in our calendar please put it on yours.
Because the election will be moved we will be working on the details for the Galena trip next weekend. We will also be finishing up on requirements for our upcoming court of honor on Monday the 25th.
Next weekend is shaping up to be a lot of fun. We have not been to Galena since 2019. This will be a productive weekend for all that come.
Noah K eagle board of review
Apr 26, 7p
We need some help with a board of review on April 26th. If you have never seen an eagle board of review and want to know how it works this is your chance.
Cyber-Chip
Everyone needs this
In order for the scouts to be able to use their phones or tech on meetings or outings they need to have this certification. The class material can be found at
We have a fantastic opportunity for the boys to make some money for the troop and themselves this season. We will be selling bulk mulch supplied by Midwest Compost. This fundraiser will be taking place from now to June 1st. You can find the sale files and more on our website. Just log on and go to the files folder, fundraising, mulch fundraiser and all files are there. This is an excellent way for the boys to chip away at the cost of spring / summer events and contribute to paying their own way.
For this weekend letter there are a few things I wanted to send out and an idea I wanted to float. Firstly I want to think Patrick and Mitchell for turning me on to Webex meeting site. I had completely forgotten about them and after putting myself to a crash course on how to put a meeting together it turns out that Webex is nifty. Going forward using Webex to do major badges and Classwork will be an asset.
