The Troop 1954 Wednesday Newsletter     Wednesday, November 2, 2005 Hi Folks, Thanks to all who helped with last night's meeting.  Well, as most of you now know, the big news last night is that Thermon has informed us that they now need to use the paint room and game room for storage.  So, sometime in the next couple of weeks the cyclone fence gate will be locked and we will lose access to the game room.  We expect that this change will most likely be permanent.  This is really unfortunate since we've come to depend heavily on this space for pre-meeting warm-up activities and physical activities during meetings.  it's also unfortunate that it comes at a difficult time.  Winter is when we are most in need of warm, dry, well lit places. We're not going to be able to replace the game room, but with a group this large, it is really essential that we have space for physical activities and warm-up activities.  Without these we are likely to lose members and increase chaos.  So, we have to come up with a plan to find some alternative.  Here is my suggestion:  We need to expand into the back of the Scout Hut.  This will involve cutting a new doorway in the building (it would be most convenient cut through the wall of our main meeting room but perhaps more practical to cut through behind where the trailer is usually parked).  Then we need some strong outdoor lighting.  Finally, we need to build the gaga court and, perhaps other activities as well. Of course, executing this plan will require a lot of help from scout families.  We will need both scouts and parents to work on these projects.  We also need to fund the projects.  This will involve either dipping pretty deeply into the troop treasury, or asking scout families to make contributions or both. I won't deny that I was very disappointed by Thermon's decision, especially because we did invest quite a lot of time and effort into the game room.  However, adversity always brings opportunity.  This is an chance for us to work together to build something nice for ourselves, future generations of scouts (and the Cubs too). IN OTHER NEWS I did not get much of any response for the dodge ball tournament so the troop will not be participating. We have made a change in our November camping plans.  We had intended to camp at Gardner State Park.  Recent changes in State Park policies make it prohibitively expensive for us to camp in the State Parks (unless we have a group site reserved).  So, we'll be camping a mile away at Yeargan's River Bend.  We'll probably be visiting the park as day tourists.  Yeargan's has a nice website at www.riverben.com.  They will let us camp for free in exchange for a brief service project.  We will, once again, invite the Webelos to join us on this trip. 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  The Wednesday Newsletter is the official record of Troop 1954 and serves as minutes for all troop and committee meetings. Attendance SPL  Tony Frediani presiding assisted by ASPL Justin Williams     Vicious Badgers  Patrol Leader, James Wheatly   Aaron Daniel John James     Ferocious Ferrets  Patrol Leader, Perry Henson   Tony Lorenzo Perry Edwin Justin   Mullets   Patrol Leader, Mason R-K Nathan He. Philip Mason       Biohazards   Patrol Leader, Ace Govea Alexey       Crimson Fromage     Patrol Leader, Ben Warms Patrol motto: A Light Sprinkling of Genius with a Chance of Doom Sean Ben P. Ben W.   Highly Flammable Piffs     Patrol Leader, Patrol motto: Don't Misunderestimate Us! Kirk B. Lee Zach   Non-Patrol Scouts         Point System Scoring   Patrol Attend. Uniform Behavior Game Spirit Meeting 6 Mo V. Badgers 3 5   0 - 8 20 F. Ferrets 3 5   2 -1 7 21 Mullets 4 4   2.5   10.5 23.5 Biohazards 2 5   2.5 - 9.5 21.5 Fromage 4 5   2.5 - 11.5 24.5 Piffs 3 2   4   9 9 notes: 1) you get half a point for wearing a "class B" on a "class A" night 2) We're adding a category for the evening's contest (whatever it may be).  We'll see how it works. 3) We'll try another new rule...especially because we have reduced summer attendance.  In case of tie, the patrol with the largest number of people attending gets the award. Note: Scouts with more than three consecutive misses will not be counted against patrol attendance scores.  Such scouts are not removed from their patrols.  They are simply not counted for attendance points until they return.  Also note that when all patrols score the same on a category, it doesn't matter what they score. Behavior, subtract for each incident. Fails to come to order when scout sign given -1 Fighting with each other -1 per incident Bad language -1 per incident Failure to treat others with respect -1 Asked repeatedly to do any task -1 Fails to clean up -1 Shows poor sportsmanship -1 Spirit: Add for each, highest score is a five. All members cooperate with game +1 Members make progress on meeting’s task +1 Members show enthusiasm for tasks +1 Members show good organization (listen to PL and Coach) +1 Members exemplify Scout Law +1       Announcements   1) I forgot to mention this last night but Saturday is the AISD Pow Wow. For those of you who don't know, the Austin CISD Pow Wow is the largest single day Pow Wow in the nation.  It's a major event for anyone who likes things Indian.  It's held at the Toney Burger Center, near the intersection of Brodie Lane and 290.  It's pretty much an all day thing (come any time, leave any time...but the big events are late afternoon/early evening).  And, admission is free.  You can find more information from their web site at www.austinpowwow.org . 2) November 5 is scout day for Texas State Football.  Wear your class "A" and get in free. 3) November 12 is the San Marcos Veterans Day Parade.  We've been invited to participate.  Do we want to send a delegation? 4) We will need a preliminary count on the Frio River campout next Tuesday, consider whether or not you are coming. 5) We will need a Committee Meeting soon to discuss plans for the Scout Hut. 6) Believe it or not, Sights and Sounds is only a few weeks away.  We will begin planning for that almost immediately.     News of the Scouting World Scouting is a way of life for Elgin family, Relatives work together on project Chicago Daily Herald October 30, 2005 Sunday by Patrick Garmoe, Daily Herald Staff Writer The lanky 6-foot-4-inch Bob Horn III stood along the third base line Saturday in his Boy Scout uniform and guided a small army of fellow Scouts in creating a T-ball field. In front of the 17-year-old, a cousin helped rake smooth the new infield. Behind him, his dad, Bob Horn II, moved some dirt with a Bobcat front-end loader. Just outside of left field, a brother-in- law chatted away with his mother, Mary Horn. It was fitting that so much of his family would be out helping him earn his Eagle Scout badge at Elgin's Wing Park Saturday, because this family is well on its way to producing its own army of Boy Scouts. A cousin, his dad and an uncle all are Eagle Scouts, the highest honor a Boy Scout can achieve. While his grandfather was never a Boy Scout, he did manage to earn the Silver Beaver award, which is the highest honor an adult volunteer in the Boy Scouts can achieve. "I think it's the best thing anybody can do growing up," his mother said. Dinner table conversations simmer with stories of one camping or hiking trip after another with Troop 2 of Elgin, whether it's canoeing in Minnesota or going hiking for weeks at a time in New Mexico. Saturday's mission was to add another T-ball field for the Elgin Classic Little League, which the youngest Horn had played in since he was 5, until they ran out of age groups for him last year. His dad, who sits on the Little League board, in addition to doing lots of volunteering for the Scouts, estimates that next year 100 players will use the field. The league boasts more than 500 players annually. Though it's great to get this field done, the goal of the Eagle Scout project, says Greg Zambelli, his dad's brother-in-law, is really about leadership. The youngest Horn admitted having a bit of trouble remembering that Saturday morning. He wanted to get his hands dirty pulling up sod to create the infield instead of just supervising. While the project was supposed to take all day, the 25 Scouts and parents finished by noon. The real work, it turned out, was Horn's getting permission from Little League officials to do the project and lining up all the donations of supplies. While the family says obviously tradition played a roll in prompting family members to become Scouts, it's what they learned that kept them in it. "Giving back to the community," Zambelli said. "That's what Scouting is all about." They seem to be getting the idea. "It feels great," the youngest Horn said. ++++++++++ And from the United Arab Emirates ISLAMABAD, October 27: The UAE Scouts Association has donated 20 tons of relief goods to earthquake affectees in Pakistan. These include tents, blankets, warm clothes, dates and other food supplies. An eight-member team of the UAE scouts, led by General Secretary of the Association, Dr. Ahmad Thani Al-Dousari accompanied the relief goods on board special aircraft, arrived at Chaklala air base last night. "This is part of donations colleted by scouts offices and Pakistani association in UAE," Dr. Ahmad Thani Al-Dousari said. The Director, training and programming of the Pakistan Boy Scouts Association Zahid Mehboob expressed his thanks to Dr. Ahmad Thani Al-Dousari for the humanitarian gesture of UAE scouts. "The donations will strengthen our relief work. We are proud that the people of United Arab Emirates are the pioneer in forwarding donations to their brethren in Pakistan," Zahid Mehboob said. He said Pakistan Boy Scouts is looking forward to receive the UAE Scouts team in November, who will join our boy scouts in relief works in the earthquake-affected areas.   Upcoming Events November 18-20, Garner State Park -Yeargan's River Bend Camp Out December 1-3, Sights and Sounds of Christmas Funnel Cake Fundraiser December 26-30, Winter Camp January 20-22, John Knox Camp Camp-Out (ropes course) February TBA, Lost Pines (climbing tower and canoeing) March 13-17, Enchanted Rock Camp-Out March 30-April 2, Camporee April 4, Troop Elections April 11, Spring Court of Honor May 5-7, Inks Lake June 2-4 Big Bend July TBA Summer Camp