The Troop 1954 Wednesday Newsletter

Wednesday, April 6, 2005

Hi Folks,

Thanks to everyone who helped out at last night's meeting.  It was great to see everyone again.  Things were pretty crazy (as they often are) but we did get a lot done.

First, elections.  Troop elections definitely defied my predictions but I'm pleased with the results.  Ben Painton was elected SPL and Sean Fink appointed ASPL.  This marks an important transition for our troop.  The leadership is moving to younger scouts.  That's really good but they're going to need good support from all of us.  Let's work together to make sure their terms of leadership are successful.

In other elections, Johnny Lozano was elected scribe.  For the Vicious Badgers, Daniel Frediani will be PL and John Myers will be APL/Quartermaster.  For the Ferocious Ferrets, Justin Williams  will continue as PL, assisted by Jaimie Collier APL/Quartermaster.  For the Biohazards, Nathan Hicks will be PL, assisted by Mason R-K APL/Quartermaster.  For the Fromage, Josh Rose will be PL, assisted by Ben Warms, APL/Quartermaster.  For the Piffs Dane Rasmussen will be PL.  No APL/Quartermaster has yet been appointed.  Finally, Lee Clendennon will continue as Sergeant at Arms.  All officers will officially assume their positions at next week's Court of Honor.

Secondly, Court of Honor will be held at our next meeting.  Our location is still pending but is probably either the Thermon Training Room or the Police Station.  We will continue to have a dessert buffet so please, each family bring one nice dessert.  In the Essay section of this newsletter, you'll find a list of awards that we know will be given.  If you know of any additional achievements, please let me know as soon as possible.  We'll be purchasing awards in Austin on Friday, so you need to get word to me by then.  Please email me at r.warms@txstate.edu.

Thirdly,  Silver Pines will be held from June 5-11 this year at Green Dixon.  Silver Pines is the National Youth Leadership Training program.  This is an outstanding, week long camping experience for youth who who want to play leadership roles in their troops.  It's a boy led experience.  Parents are invited not to attend!  Scouts are eligible if they are at least 13 (by the date of the camp), are at least First Class, have been to at least one BSA summer or winter camp, have not previously done Silver Pines, and are approved by the Scoutmaster.

Registering and Paying for Silver Pines: The program cost for Silver Pines is $185.  The deadline for application is May 1 and $50 deposit must accompany the application.  There are only 64 spaces so it's to our advantage to make decisions about this fast and get registered.  The troop committee has determined that some funds are available to assist families in paying for Silver Pines.  However, we need to know soon how many scouts are interested so we know how to distribute these funds.  So, please email me at r.warms@txstate.edu as soon as possible to let me know if you are interested.  Further, I don't see this on the current application, but you should know that in the past, scouts have also been required to have complete uniforms (that means shorts, socks, belts, the whole works).  That may be an additional expense if you don't already own this stuff.

Patrol Award: Once again, the Fromage and Biohazards tie.  This week it's based on attendance and uniform alone.  There was too much complexity to account for behavior.  This means that, in a dramatic turn around from the last 6 months, the Fromage has won the award for this period.

As always, the Troop 1954 events calendar, this and all back newsletters,  and all sorts of other useful information is available on our website at www.sanmarcos1954.org