November 28, 2006

Phil Reece, Belinda Cowdrey, Sandy Schwartz, Brian Murphy, Ed Blondin, Eric Schmidt, Dannette Holifield, Terry Nichols, Ken Hoxie, Greg Poulisse, Paul McCaffrey, Alexander Blondin, Mary Ann Bushaw, Bill LeFevre, Lois Blondin

Meeting started at 8:15 PM

Treasurer’s Report: Greg Poulisse is our new Treasurer. He gave his report.

Next Committee Meeting: The next meeting is after the pizza party. Change it to Monday, December 18th at 6:30.

Past Events

Popcorn (April 1, 2006): Steve Horan has the extra popcorn, if anyone is interested. (6/27) We need to collect $12.00 from one, and $88.00 from another, per Paul. Last two are unknown. We have not seen Ken. (7/18) One was Ben’s and one is Tyler’s. (10/10) Results next Tuesday. (11/28) Everything is collected now because the error was recovered; 14 participated.

Fall Popcorn Sales begin (October 16): (7/18) Paul did not decline being the new Kernel. Phil is also talking to Gina Yannone. (8/22) Jessica Tufly agreed to become the Popcorn Kernel. (9/19) It will start Oct. 14. Jessica went to Roundtable last Thursday to get the information. (10/10) Handed out sheets tonight. (11/28) 24 Scouts participated. Had 14 from the spring. Sold $4,000. Pick up on 9th at Wick’s Automotive from 1 3. Money is due on the 19th.

Festa Italiana (Aug. 47, 2006): (3/21) Steve Horan will be doing it no conflicts this year. (6/27) Sheet has been passed around. It is also online. (7/18) Five shifts are open on the schedule. (8/22) A later shift was suggested for the last shift, because people worked too late this year with respect to the times they started. The last shifts ended up going as late as 2:00am. Possibly have an hour earlier setup time. Phil disagreed because the morning shifts were very slim. It was suggested that the people who work the previous night shift be exempt from the next morning shift. Have people sign-up for the morning shifts to get commitments. Only 46% of scouts worked. We need to have a mix of younger scouts with older scouts. We need more complete participation from the scouts. Trying to get more shifts available. We usually get paid after a month, but we do have to ask for it. Steve is staying in contact with the Chairman. We still do not have the check. Possibly give Steve a reminder to check on this. (9/19) Still waiting! (10/10) Paul called Steve Horan on cell he will check again. We have not gotten a check yet. (11/28) We received $1750.00.; the same as last year. Money was delivered to the Tree lot on Sunday by Paul Maffioli. We got a note with it. They forgot about us; we need to send them a reminder. “All future invoices, pay requests and all correspondences should be addressed to the following Festa Italiana, P.O. Box 1915, Rockford, IL 61110-0415,” per Whitey Marinelli, 1198 Foxtail Lane, Rockford, IL 61108. Phil volunteers to pick it up next year.

Troop 224 Spud Hut (August 813, 2006): (5/23) They are going to need people this year. We should see sign-up sheets by next month. An adult must work with a scout; and everyone pays to get into the Boone County Fair. (6/27) Steve DeVlieger came and talked about it tonight at the meeting -- contact Steve at 544-8310 (home) or 670-9833 (cell). (7/18) Some shifts are still open people need to contact Steve DeVlieger directly. (8/22) A check will be received in about a month, after all their other expenses are paid. We filled 9 shifts. Troop 224 will need more help next year because their membership is down. (9/19) Money should be coming in next month. (10/10) We’re still waiting on the check. (11/28) A check has been received for $845 at $65 per shift; Chelsea Holifield worked 2 of those shifts for the Crew.

Wreath Sales (Sept 26, 2006): (6/27) Paul McCaffrey will take care of it. (8/22) Paul had handouts. We need to discuss prices for this coming year. We raised rates 1 to 4 dollars per wreath to compensate for the increase in costs. Funds for Scout Accounts will go back to $2 for up thru 20, and $4 for over 20. (9/19) Flyers will be handed out next week. Wreath sales start on the 26th. (10/10) Off and running! (11/28) 13 of 30 sheets have been turned-in. $2274 collected. Payment is due in mid-December. We have not received it yet. It will be paid a week or two after we receive it. Tree Lot deposits need to be made periodically; not deposited all at the end. Had (7) 36” wreaths at lot. After selling those, we had a request for 5 more on 11/25. Possibly, we should order 10 to 15 more next year.

Fall Camp-O-Ree (October 13-15): (7/18) No details yet. It will be Emergency Preparedness oriented; possibly manned by outside people. The Wanchanagi District Fall Challenge. We should get details at next month’s Roundtable. (8/22) Troop deadline is August 29. It’s possible we can add more later, but not guaranteed. We now have details; it’s limited to 130 scouts and will be staffed by the US Army. October 3rd meeting here leads into the Camp-O-Ree. We have a guest coming to that meeting, DSA Lee Ownly. (9/19) Only 9 slots were left. We needed space for 21 to sign -up. We are going to do our own. It will be at Camp Rotary FP. Other troops ran into the same problem. We like to open it up to other troops. Troop 40 (Terry’s friends) is small and only had 4 kids to sign up, but has several adults who would be interested. Troop 14 (Phil’s friends) also has shown an interest. We need every available adult to help. Sandy has talked to the Marines still waiting for a response. Her brother is trying to get some MRE’s. Belinda suggested checking to see if maybe the fire department or EMT’s could possibly help. First Aid merit badge can be worked into this program, Bill is looking into this. Terry suggested going to www.meritbadge.com to get the information on current merit badge requirement printouts. He suggested that everyone become familiar with the requirements. 4 scouts already have Emergency Preparedness and about 20 already have First Aid MB. Richard asked if we will charge the other groups. It was suggested if we offer it to other groups it will feel more like a camp-o-ree. We want to have planning meetings outside of troop meetings that would be a requirement. We will be having Rotary FP has a building, but we will be sleeping in tents. If we have other troops, they should have assignments and send enough staff to cover their kids. The majority thought it was a good suggestion. Terry said that the district was charging a fee to cover all food and supplies, so we should be able to do it for the same price. Lois suggested the ROTC at Auburn. Sandy is waiting for the Marines before checking into anyone else. Our open offer is closed off, except these 2 troops only. Sandy will set up the planning meetings. Lois also suggested asking our Eagle Scouts to help out. (10/10) We are at 25 boys from 181, 7 from 14, and 6 from Troop 40. 6 2 3 adults coming with their respective troops. We had another meeting last night. We still need someone to shop for groceries. (11/28) Other troops that went with us would like to participate again. Cost was less than we anticipated. Terry suggested we give the other troops a kick back. Refund $15 to Troop 40 and $25 to Troop 14. Paul seconded it. Ken gave a first. Sandy will give Troop 14 theirs. Terry will send the check to Troop 40.

Astronomy merit badge (November 4): (8/22) The MB will be offered on November 4th at the Discovery Center. It will cost $20 per Scout. The museum is open until 5:00. This course would run 4-8:00pm. Phil suggests we bring in pizza. Two suggestions include: charging the scouts for the merit badge or having the scouts pay for the food. This is a more expensive merit badge. Another suggestion is Scouts pay for merit badge and bring a brown bag. There is a minimum of 10 kids. Suggested to see how many are interested. Terry should bring it up at the next scout meeting. We will discuss this again at next committee meeting. (9/19) Phil is going to put together an announcement. $20 per scout and adults are free. Phil made a deposit. (10/10) We have 19 to 20 scouts signed-up tonight. They will brown-bag for their meal. (11/28) This was postponed! He’s looking at new dates in March. All collected funds will be refunded. We may possibly need to make it in February, because of the Council Merit Badge Event in March.

Veterans Day Parade (Nov. 11): (9/19) Still scheduled; contact Nancy Belt. (10/10) She was called. (11/28) Terry said it was successful. Had 14 scouts and 12 adults. Phil said he was not pleased with the way the Scouts were dressed properly. MaryAnn mentioned they took coats off and were not planning to do so. It was mentioned that they should always be prepared and should always wear the uniform properly.

Den Chief Training (Nov. 11): (9/19) Who is going to be interested? It is at Pow Wow in Pecatonica. (10/10) MaryAnn is not here, but Nic and Dan Poulisse may be interested.(11/28) No one went. MaryAnn said Caleb could possibly get a refund. Nic’s family was too sick for him to go.

Tree Lot Campout (Nov. 18-19): (9/19) Who is going to organize it; Phil Objects! The committee vetoed his decision! (11/28) 13 Scouts camped. No major disaster. Ed said it was about normal.

Jamie Boone Yard Rake (Nov 18.): (9/19) Are we doing it; and when? Bill will look into it. (10/10) Yes. It will be done November 18th after tree lot. They’ll be back by 2:00 to pick-up wreaths. (11/28) 21 participants worked 14 Scouts and 7 Adults. Received $400. There will be $19 contributed to each Scout Account. Some wanted their money to go to their Venturing Crew account. Some adults wanted their money to be donated it to the Venture Crew. Paul motioned and Mary Ann seconded it. Terry will audit it and give the figures to Greg and Eric. [Post-meeting note: 7-people, $133 goes to the Crew.]

Christmas Tree Lot (Dec.): (8/22) Ed will run the tree lot, as its manager. Trees need to be ordered very soon. Terry has talked to Harold Kingma, who told us the trees, will be .50 cents more this year. This is in addition to the transportation surcharge (an additional .50 cents) which was paid last year. This is an additional $200 increase over last year. Want to order 80 Fraser Firs, an increase of 10. Have Scout families pre-order Fraser Firs, which could possibly raise that count. Last year we paid $33 for some Fraser firs and sold all Fraser firs to scout families for $25; we lost money on each sale. We want to individually tag the prices on the Fraser firs this year in relationship to their costs ($33.50, $25.50, and $20.50). We’ll reduce the quantity of scotch pines by 10. We’ll still order 400 trees. We basically have 4 weekends available to sell trees this year. We voted, and this order amount was approved. We will discuss cost at our September meeting. (9/19) Kingma Tree farm quote is $5,675 ($1135.00 deposit due ASAP). We voted to give Terry permission to send it out tonight. Approved. Paperwork was given to Craig. (10/10) Craig sent deposit. Ed will have a sign-up sheet ready soon. Last minute sign-ups will be accepted at next Family Court of Honor. Greg needs to send away for the $50 agricultural permit; it will be done this week. (11/28) Fraser furs have done well. We sold 39 Frasers and have 39 still on the lot. Lon Tryggestad praised us for sending thank-you letters last year. We need to make sure we continue that practice. He brought us the construction trailer this year. Reitzel Construction is interested in donating it to our troop, but we need to leave his company sign on it. Do we agree to not paint over it and do we agree to accept it if it is offered? We need to refinish it before the Fire Department allows it to be parked on their property. The answer is “yes,” we would like to have it providing we can store it. Phil asked Eric to check to see if the farm (Murphy’s neighbor’s parents) where we store our troop trailers would be interested in storing this trailer also. Either Brian or Eric will check into it. It was suggested that we store all Christmas tree lot stuff in that the new trailer, if acquired. That would surplus the existing trailer.

Future Events

Lake Ripley camp-in (Jan. 12-14): (10/10) Yes; we are signed-up, but it is not confirmed. They do not confirm this far in advance. (11/28) Terry will confirm reservation with Dave Walling some time in December. Terry will check to see if we could possibly change it to the following weekend. However, he likes having it early, otherwise it gets too close to the February campout at Russell Woods. A suggestion: We could leave from the camp-in and go to Klondike and then go back to the camp-in.

Leather Merit Badge (Jan 16): (10/10) Ed is doing it during Scout meetings in January. (11/28) It will be done in 2 sessions.

Klondike Derby (Jan. 13): (9/19) Are we running events or are we participating in events? We are competing!
(11/28) Event got changed to the 13th.

NAYLE (National NYLT) (Jun 2007): (11/28) Bring up again in March 07

High Adventure (June ’07): (8/22) The Chisholm Trail in the Longhorn Council near Dallas, Texas was desired. First choice is week of June 25 (Sunday through Saturday). Deposit is $50 per person. We must reserve our group size because they have various size boats. The scouts must be 13 years of age and have their first class by the date of the camp. Part of the reservation is reserving the boat. The largest boat will carry 15 people. Suggested to ask scouts next week to see who wants to go. The deposit will be non-refundable, including adults. Sandy will call people. The experience cost is $285 per person, but does not include traveling expenses. The information was just put out, so we need to make a decision soon. (9/19) 6 boys and 6 adults are signed -up and have paid their deposit at this time. Sandy is going to go ahead and reserve a boat based on those numbers. Last week of June is our first choice, 3rd week is our second choice. Sandy received a video and it was suggested that we show it to the boys at the Webelos Open House. (10/10) $1200 deposit was paid by Sandy. She signed-up for (2) 12-person boats. She has not heard confirmation about the dates. (11/28) We got the week we wanted, June 24 -30. That is just the camp, not transportation days. We will need to take 2 days to get there and 2 days to get back. Policy allows kids in the car for 10 hours. Need to know how much to charge the adults. It’s going to be approximately $350 per person. [Troop 57 did this last year. They stopped in at a Boy Scout camp near Missouri and stayed for free which included food. MaryAnn is going to check with Troop 57.] Next payment is due February 13th on Family Night. We need to figure out how the points convert to dollars so boys will know how much more they need to pay. Bring up cost again in December. Check what the Whitewater Rafting cost were for High Adventure in the past.

Summer Camp @ Canyon Camp (July 8 14, 2007): (8/22) A suggestion was made for the second week in July. (9/19) We are reserved! Poulisses and McCaffreys are already signed-up to go. (11/28) Need to know which adults are going. Greg and Tammy Poulisse, MaryAnn, possibly Dannette and then Sandy have plans to attend. We just need to know how much points are worth. Next payment is February 13th at Family Night. [Post-meeting note: The Courier has us posted as July 15-21.]

Miscellaneous Business

Training:

Wood Badge: Aug. 24-26 and Sept. 21-23, 2007: (7/18) Now officially for August 2007. Is anyone planning on attending? (10/10) Ken, Greg and Phil are signing-up for the 2007 course. E-mail Ray Warren: WarrenRJ@aol.com to get more information; also 224/623-3965. Only room for 48, and he already has 29 potential participants. (11/28) Those interested need to get their applications in with their $50 deposit submitted. Course will cost $195. In the past the troop has picked up the cost. Are we going to do that? When you earn your beads you get your $50 back. It was discussed that the troop pays it all. Paul motioned, Sandy seconded it. It was discussed that they got the training and should not have to wait to get their money.

Note: Craig will be getting his beads at Roundtable. MaryAnn suggested we should be there in uniform to support him. Craig will let us know the date it will be arranged.

Leader Specific (Oct. 2006): (7/18) Lois needs the October overnight campout with Dannette to finish.
(9/19) It starts next Wednesday. Vicki and Greg are planning on going. Terry had a flyer on it. Lois and Dannette need the outdoor session only. They must sign -up by Oct. 16th and pay their $15.00. Sign-up has to be done ahead of time. It is the weekend of Oct. 21st.-22. (10/10) It’s going on now; Greg and Vicki are participating in it. (11/28) Dannette finished hers from 2002. Lois finished from this spring. Greg and Terry completed the whole course. Vicki finished the 4 seminar sessions, not the outdoor session

Fast Start: Do it online and let MaryAnn know that you did it.

Youth Protection: Do it online and let MaryAnn know that you did it.

First Aid/CPR Certifications: (11/28) Several need to be done before Summer Camp. 6 to 7 need refresher classes in January 2007. Eric will check into doing it in the middle of January. He said class size should be limited to eight.

Troopmaster (5/23) Will start-up discussion again after summer camp. (7/18) Dannette has a handle on it.
Phil will start working on the online version and it will be installed in MaryAnn’s computer and taught to her. (8/22) Dannette is handling inputting all the information. They are collecting books. Lois suggested that we get spreadsheets for the troop advisers and they can enter the stuff for it. Derek Dwyer was just volunteered to help Dannette get the boys’ books and get the information for inputting. Phil will work on getting onto the ftp server. (9/19) Not here to report on. (10/10) Has been purchased and trying to get into the website. (11/28) Phil is having problems getting it onto the FTP site.

Service Project for the Church: They have two projects that could be used for Eagle projects. One is to make a sign for the church. The second is to dig out the playground so it can be made deeper and enlarged. If the playground is not picked up as an Eagle project the troop will look at doing it as a service project in the Spring. One Scout asked about it, but changed his mind. Playground in rear of church needs improvement to meet new DCFS guidelines. Bill Ziemke furnished a sheet with the proposal for the project. (4/25) If no one is doing it as an Eagle project we need to jump on it for the troop to do. No Eagle candidate was interested. Ed Blondin will talk to Bill Ziemke about getting this organized. (5/23) We need to wait until after summer camp. Between day camps, summer camp, and fundraisers we will not have enough people to do it right. Besides, the church does not have the final specs yet. (7/18) Ed talked with Bill. He needs to talk with Eric Schwitzer, from the church committee. Phil will supply Ed with the phone number. (8/22) The number for Eric Schwitzer was wrong, need to call the church and find out the new one. (9/19) Ed was looking for his contact. 970-6695 is a new cell number for Eric Schwitzer. Ed will try to contact him. (10/10) Ed has not done anything with it. (11/28) Bill Ziemke dropped off information. Ed read a letter. It is on hold until spring. According to the letter, DCFS could not meet with the church at this time. Therefore, the church decided to donate the old playground equipment and look into purchasing new equipment in the spring. They want the troop’s help then.

Numerals and Patrol Medallions: (3/21) Terry sent for a quote. From DeKalb: $2.25 ea. for 100; $1.55 for 250, and $1.47 for 300+. He had a quote for the extra “35 years” strip. The troop decided not to go with the extra strip. The committee decided to order 250 patches. Patrol patches: there are no stock patches that match our patrols. Welsh Industries in DeKalb would charge $5 a piece or blank patches for $1 each. Greg Sparks will look into it during his next trip to India or Shanghai. (4/25) Patches came in and Terry rejected them because they were not acceptable. (5/23) Greg Sparks dropped the blank patrol medallions off in India. He is getting pricing on 200. Terry is still working on numerals from Welsh Industries. Patch is larger and numbers are too skinny. (We have 250 bad patches.) He suggested changes by email and Welsh emailed a picture of a correction. That needs changing too. More suggestions have been submitted, but no final reply. (6/27) Terry said it is still in-process. Lois talked to Greg Sparks; the minimum order is 2000. Lois wanted to check with Necchi New Home center to see if they could get them. Phil said that there are people who would be willing to put the time in there if we give them the blanks. Paul suggested talking to his wife, which he will do (Midge has a fancy, new machine. Lois will talk to her also. (7/18) Lois will talk with Midge. (8/22) Paul’s wife is meeting with a sewing rep tomorrow to see if they can do it. We are not sure yet whether or not she will need to purchase another card. The patrols may need to be renamed in order for these cards to work. Phil suggested that they should check to see if we can download the information onto a card. Paul’s wife will make samples when she has time. (9/19) We could not do the patrols that we have now. The boys will have to choose patrol names from what are available symbols. It will be at least a couple of weeks to get these ready. (10/10) Paul passed-around a sample of a patrol medallion. Phil is working with him to get new pictures available. (11/28) Terry said he got the numerals from Welsh and they were not acceptable. He cannot get a response from Mike Welsh. ITL quoted them for 90 cents. They are going to give him a stitch-out. We need to buy a minimum of 300. ITL was recommended by Andy Murray. We will get samples of patrol medallions in a couple of weeks.

Health Forms: (6/27) Lois wants to be in charge of it. (7/18) Lois needs to work on it. (8/22) Lois has gone through them all. We have some that do not have health forms filled out at all. There are also some whose information has expired. Lois will be calling people to get those and to get updates. Terry suggested a summary onto a spreadsheet. She has also made up a list of non-active adults. Duplicate books made up for small group outings. There are about 15 to 20 that we need forms fixed for. Lois wants to return the outdated forms back to the respective families. (9/19) Lois has spoken to people of those she needs information for. Mostly, she needs forms from the new Squirrels. (10/10) She still has quite a few new people who do not have a form on file. Lois is continuing to work on it. (11/28) Lois still needs some. New practice: Class 1 and 2 medical forms must be filled-out as soon as someone joins our troop.

New Equipment: (8/22) It was suggested that we buy more tents, since our treasury can afford it. Our PLC previously voted that we buy 2 dome tents a year and a half ago, per Eric. He suggested we replace 2 stoves. The stoves were voted down. Terry suggested that we approve buying the 2 tents. After we get an inventory from the Quartermaster, we can discuss what else we possibly need. More will be discussed at the next meeting. Tents may go on sale at this time of the year. (9/19) Lois (parent of our Quartermaster) said we did need 2 tents. Zachary (QM) suggested we buy those tents. Eric pieced some partials together to make a total of 7 tents. It was authorized earlier to get two. Motioned we get 4 tents. Seconded. Passed. Eric will buy them. Do we have a cost? Eric said, “Either buy good tents or buy inexpensive ones and replace more often.” Terry suggested we give Eric the authority to use his discretion for buying the 4 tents. This motion was passed. (10/10) Four tents have been purchased from Gander Mountain for about $70 to 80 per tent. (11/28) $388.76 for the 4 tents; 97.19 each. We are missing 3 green tents. We have known since last Spring. Need to know how to label tents. Ken suggested we label them by first digit of the year and then number them. Example: 6-1, 6-2. Terry wants 181 on them. Suggested 06 for the year. Zachary needs to mention them at the next couple of meetings to look for tents at everyone’s homes. It was suggested that you have your assistant do it. Need to have Nathaniel and Chris check the trailer again

Garage: (9/19) Eric and Bill are the only ones on the sub-committee for a Scout garage. They want help with planning it. Terry volunteered because he would like to see it happen. We could have our own personal space. We could hang tents when we come back from campouts and not send them home with scouts. (10/10) A 24 x 36’ garage was approved at Township’s budget meeting last night. They will get the permit. We would like to start it next Spring. It will go on the fire department property off 42nd Street. Tim Nease works for R&D Thiel, his father works for Hines Lumber. We need to make it known that we want to build the garage and see if we get anyone showing interest in helping with materials and labor. Phil will send-out an email. We could mention it at Family Court of Honor too. (11/28) Eric and Bill are working on it.

New Business 11/28

Russell Woods (Feb 9-11, 2007): Terry will confirm the reservation.

Scouting for Food (Feb. 24 and March 3, 2007): We believe Craig will be heading this up again, he did not decline.

F.O.S. (Feb. 13, 2007): Need someone to work with district for the Friends of Scouting presentation. Terry sent an email for February 13th to Jim Behrenmeyer. Phil will talk with Terry about it later. Phil discussed arrangements with Mark in detail last year.

Uniform Inspections: We need to have inspections more often at Troop meetings. Alexander needs to discuss this with the PLC.

Patrol Coaches: Eric suggested meeting with them weekly. Ed and Sandy will reorganize them.

Philmont 2008: Eric talked about Philmont. Bill has a string of dates requested. Eric has 2 dates in for the Crew. If we’re offered, we must pay $50 or we lose our reservation. Our Council has 4 crews reserved to arrive June 16th. Someone needs to get down to the Scout office to sign up tomorrow. It has already been announced in the Courier. We need to get a contingency plan. Sign-up ended Nov. 26; will not hear whether or not we got it until the middle of December. Terry will check tomorrow. [Post-meeting note: Phil McCrery is taking request for those four crews until January 12, then, he’ll decide.]

Eagle Scout Recognition Dinner (Mar. 25, 2007): Terry mentioned Nathaniel IS an Eagle Scout. It has been confirmed. Anyone interested in the dinner needs to make reservations when it comes up. Nathaniel should submit pictures of his Eagle Project.

Adult OA Elections: We need to consider who is eligible for 2007. We can only elect one. It must be someone who is willing to be truly committed.

Order of the Arrow: Dues are due now, December 1. They are $13.00 annually. If you do not pay, you should take your pocket patch off.

VFW Flag: Do we need or want a new flag? The VFW offered us a 4 x 6 flag. We would like one the same size as our Troop flag. We would donate our other one. Ours is 5x3. We do not want the new one.

Service Project (Dec. 16, 2006): Mobile market through Belinda’s church would like to have some Scouts come and work. It is December 16th from 12:30 to 4:00. Need a flyer for next week. Belinda will email one to Terry. Need to know who will be coming by December 10th.

Christmas Party (Dec. 19, 2006): $7.50 for gift exchange. Eric will do Pizza again. He needs a printout of last years purchase. Need to ask at troop meetings if boys and parents are coming for party; to get a reasonable count. Lois will do the drinks (pop) and paper products.

Adjourned at 9:40 pm