Changes to meeting dates

We were planning on building our snow shoes this Monday, the 28th, and also the following Sunday, Jan. 3rd. We have decided to cancel these meetings altogether. We will now be building our snow shoes on the weekend of January 16th & 17th (if needed). More information will be forthcoming at our upcoming troop meetings. See you all there.

Pumpkin Carving

We will jump into the gooey mess that is the inside of a pumpkin. I love to carve pumpkins and I hope that I can show the boys it's fun too. We'll see you all Saturday!!!

PLC this Sunday

Just like the title says... We'll be meeting at the VFW hall from 4 to 5 pm.

Halloween Parrrtaayyy

Took a break from our normal type meetings and the boys had a party night. Lots of games this evening. They even surprised me with a birthday cake. Thanks everyone. I appreciate it.

10-19 Meeting

Productive evening. The boys began work on two Eagle required merit badges, all by themselves. They plan on finishing them up before Thanksgiving.

Can't figure it out

why I haven't been updating the blog lately. I don't mean not to. Just keep finding other things to do I guess. I'm just going to have to make sure and set aside, what, 10 minutes a day, maybe, to keep it updated.

August 17 meeting

Finished our push car. Looks good. We'll see how it performs this Saturday.

Popcorn sales

This weekend launched our efforts to sell popcorn in what is called a 'show and sell'. Think of when Girl Scouts show up in front of a store and sell cookies. The same thing, but as Boy Scouts we sell popcorn. This is the first time our troop has done the show and sell since I've been with the troop. We are selling all this weekend and also next weekend (August 14 thru 16) at the Wal-Mart on the corner of Antelope Road and Roseville Road.

So far it seems to be going very well for us. The nicest surprise has been the straight donations we have received. People wanting to help us out without purchasing the popcorn. That's obviously best for us as we get to keep all of that for our use. So, if you have any friends, and I know for a fact that some of you do, tell them to stop by and see us and buy some popcorn. Or not.

Push Car Derby build day - take 2

Actually, take 1. A few of the boys showed up to begin building their car for the race. Quite a bit of progress was made I believe. We're going to have the car at our next meeting so it can be worked on some more. And we will more than likely need to have a second Saturday build to complete it. I think the boys had fun working on it and that's the whole point. Not only teaching them something that they can use for the rest of their lives, but having a good time doing it. It's also a nice break from the usual type of meetings.

Push Car Derby build day

If you haven't seen it, Mr. Powers sent out an email to announce a build day for our derby entry. This Saturday, August 8th at Mr. Powers' house from 9 to 2. If that isn't enough time to complete the car, we will try again the following Saturday.

Annual Planning meeting

We held our annual planning meeting and it went very well I think. The boys gave input as to what they wanted to do next year and then we had discussions on where we should visit to do those things. I think we have a good year planned. The next step in this process is to select a boy to be in charge of each event and an adult to help guide them through the leadership of that outing.

September committee meeting date changed

The first Monday of September is Labor day. The troop will take that Monday off from meeting so we moved our committee meeting to the last Monday of August, which is the 31st. Make sure to update your calendars.

Monthly PLC & Annual planning meeting

This coming Sunday, August 2nd, will be the next PLC. This will be immediately followed by our annual planning meeting. We will meet at our normal weekly meeting place, the VFW hall. The PLC is from 4 to 5pm and the annual planning meeting will go from 5 to appoximately 7 pm. For the annual planning session, have your ideas for outings that you would like to see the Troop do for the upcoming year. All ideas are welcome. This is when we pick what and when we want to those fun things we enjoy doing during the year. See you Sunday!!!

Been absent awhile

Haven't updated the blog recently, don't know why. So lets get us up to date.

Since I wrote last, the big event was summer camp. Other than that, we have had our normal weekly meetings. So lets talk about summer camp.

Six of our boys and five adults went with us to Camp Fleischmann in Chester. This is our seventh or eighth year of attending this camp and the boys still love it and want to come back. While there, each of the boys earned at least 4 merit badges each. Only a couple of partials were brought back, so that's a good thing.

Best of all was that each of them took and earned the Citizenship in the World badge. This is an Eagle required badge. And when I say 'earned', I mean it. The counselor for this badge tested each boy at the end of the session before signing off the blue card. A couple of Troop 22's adults were recruited to help with the teaching of this badge and I was asked to help out with the testing at the end of the session. There were 4 or 5 out of 52 that signed up for the class that he wouldn't sign off on. This is a good thing because those boys that he didn't sign off weren't ready for this badge. They were too young to understand what it meant.

We didn't earn any special awards while at camp, but we did get many compliments on the cleanliness of our campsite. We also got many comments of one of our camp gadgets that one of our boys put together. One of the pet peeves I and other adults have while at camp is having day packs left wherever they get put down. So Steven built a day pack hanging station. It is the second one he has built for us and I think it needs to become a Troop 22 camp site fixture from here on out. Job well done!!

This years summer camp was different than years past because we left a day early. We broke for camp on Saturday so we could get our site up and running and not have to worry about it on Sunday, the actual start of the session. It worked out great and we plan on doing this in future years.

During the week we had some guests visit us as well. Mr. David and his son Andrew stopped by as well as Mr. Fox and his daughter Katie. That was a nice surprise to have some visitors. Remember, just because you may not be able to join us for the week, it doesn't mean that you can't come up and join us for a day or two. You are always welcome! Just make sure you bring snacks!!!

I'll end this entry here. Others will follow concerning specific topics. So keep a look out for more frequent updates.

June 22 meeting has been...

canceled!!! It came to my attention at Roundtable last week that we may be quite a few bodies short for the Pioneer District Twilight Camp being held at Camp Pollock all of next week. Since the first day of any twilight camp is always the worst, and since our meeting night of Monday is that same first day, I would like all of the boys (and any of you parents) to come to Camp Pollock instead and offer to help out where you may be needed. I know this is short notice, but it wouldn't be the first you had to make a change to your schedule with little or no notice. I'm not going to ask any of you to volunteer for the rest of the week, but if you can I'm sure it would be greatly appreciated. The main purpose of this is to help make Monday go more smoothly. We will return to our regularily scheduled meetings the following Monday.

June 15 meeting

Only a few of the boys made it to the meeting tonight, so it was a tough pull. They worked on some emergency preparedness items from the merit badge booklet, but I heard they didn't get as far along as I would have liked. I wasn't able to keep a watchful eye over them due to the parents meeting we held to discuss summer camp.

It's a tough transition letting them go it on their own. They are very rudderless right now. Part of that to me still seems to be a lack of respect to the leadership they themselves elected. Part of it is not really wanting or caring to work on 'scout' stuff. I'm trying to work it out in my head how to correct this.

June Court of Honor

A great COH tonight. All of the boys in attendance were able to stand before the audience and receive something. We had a few Merit Badges, a few Rank advancements, some special presentations, and some special guests.

The food as usual was excellent. Who knew hot dogs could taste so good? Maybe it was all of the side dishes.

Scotts Flat camping

That was a long weekend. At least it seemed like it to me. I haven't felt that tired after an outing since I was in the Cub Scout program with R. It was probably the excellent parenting going on in the campsite right next to us. If you were there you know what I mean, if you weren't any one of us can explain at length later.

All of our boys went to this event at Scotts Flat Reservoir which is located just Northeast of Nevada City. I had initially thought we were in for some very nasty weather, but it was quite nice really. It didn't get sunny until Sunday morning, but it was never really cold and we didn't get any rain.

A special thanks go out to the Mr. Powers for putting this event together. He signed up to be a Merit Badge councilor for both fishing and canoeing, so the boys had a chance to earn 2 merit badges this weekend. He put in a lot of effort to see that all of the boys had work books and spent a lot of time signing blue cards. When you see him next time make sure you say thanks.

Fishing was very difficult from what I heard, so none of them were able to complete it. Canoeing on the other hand came off quite nicely. Seven boys signed up to take the badge and six of them earned it! The seventh came this close, but wasn't ready to take that final plunge as it were. That's okay. He'll finish it at summer camp (hopefully).

We even had a boy earn a rank advancement at camp! B was able to have his Board of Review while at camp and was promoted to the rank of Second Class! Congratulations!!! An extra special thanks go out to Jeff Rogers. Jeff was at the campground with his church group. I had initially thought it was another scout group (not many other groups fly an American Flag while camping) and approached them to see if one of them would be willing to help us out. Turned out he is an Eagle Scout and was more than happy to be helpful.

Fundraising

It has become painfully aware that we need to have fundraising projects (other than the annual popcorn sales) on a regular basis. We discussed this at last nights committee meeting at length. Deborah has brought some great ideas to the table for us to make use of. I ask that all of us keep our eyes and ears open to any other possibilities that we can use.

June 1 meeting

While the adults had their monthly committee meeting the boys were visited by the Webelos of Pack 22. After discovering a problem with the water rocket launcher they had built, plan b was put into action. They still launched rockets, it was an air version. I didn't get to see any of this myself, but I heard that a good time was had by all.

Another scout reached First Class last night. Congrats to G!

B and I held his Scoutmaster Conference for Second Class. Hopefully we'll get the BOR done this weekend while camping.

Scott's Flat is this weekend. Looks like we're going to be getting wet, and I don't mean because we plan on canoeing and swimming.

Some upcoming events

Sunday, May 31

Orienteering. Not an official troop event, but a few of the boys did sign up to work on the Orienteering Merit Badge and this would be another item to check off for its completion. Of course, even if you didn't sign up for the badge, you could. Or show up any way and learn how to do it. I think it's a fun event. See the link for Gold Country Orienteers below right to learn more.

Sunday, May 31 (again)

Patrol Leaders Council. R will be making calls to those that need to be in attendance.

Monday, June 1

Troop Meeting and Committee Meeting. We will be visited by Pack 22 tonight. A joint activity is planned while the committee meeting is going on. If you haven't attended a committe meeting recently, or maybe at all, we could use your help. We have positions of our committee that need to be filled.

Friday, June 5

Scotts Flat canoeing/fishing outing. The plan is to have all of the boys that attend earn their canoeing and fishing merit badges. Lets hope that's possible.

Monday, June 8

Court of Honor. Need I say more? Seriously, come and see what's been going on with our boys. This will be totally(?) planned by the boys. At least as much as they can. Come and give them your support.

VFW Memorial Day Parade

A beautiful day! The weather was great, and the boys did an outstanding job on their float! We took part in the annual parade that works its way down Watt Ave in North Highlands. There were lots of scouting units out. Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts. It was great to see all of them. Our boys did a fantastic job of passing out fliers and Boys Life mini-mags to drum up membership for the Scouting program.

Our float was a thing to see. A flat bed trailer with an old style canvas tent. In front of that was a fire pit with a fake fire (nicely created by T by the way) and a 7-foot tall tripod. Attached to the tripod was our Fleur de lis insignia. Streamers and flags were hanging over the vehicle pulling the trailer as well as the trailer itself.

At the awards ceremony later in the day, Troop 22 took 2nd place for their float! I have the trophy and will present it at our next Court of Honor.

Cross/Flag placement

A few of our boys showed up to our annual tribute at East Lawn Memorial to those that made this Nation of ours a continuing possibility. Thank you to those that took part. And thank you to those that gave the ultimate sacrifice so I could write this.

May 18 meeting

The boys held troop elections tonight. We have a new SPL in D, his ASPL is our current SPL R, the Dragonslayers have a new PL in C, and the Rabid Monkeymen (or is it Krew now?) have a new PL in J. Congratulations to all of you! I look forward to working with you to help make this a great experience for yourselves, but for the troop as well.

We also had a visitor. L came to pay us a visit and decided that he wanted to stay. So now our ranks have swelled to 11 boys. Growth is positive.

Some of our adults held a meeting also. They are concerned about the lack of direction from the boys and wanted to discuss ideas for networking among themselves to help encourage the boys to advance. It was a very positive step in my opinion and I can't wait to see what it brings to the table.

TLT

Held our first TLT in... not sure when the last one was held. All of the boys except one attended. I decided that since we hadn't run this training in a while that we would pretend that all of our boys were going to be patrol leaders. That way they would all have the concept of how it is suppose to work.

Elections are Monday night. A new SPL and two new PL's. Here's to the next six months.

May 11 meeting

Talked about the upcoming elections next week. Basically performed module 3 of Troop Leadership Training. Next up, the elections.

May 4 meeting

The boys started working on a scale model of a trebuchet. We hope to build a full sized one at some point down the road. Elections are coming in two weeks, so we will be discussing leadership positions and how the troop will be planned/run at next weeks meeting.

April 20 meeting

Post camporee (or any camping outing for that matter) stuff. Tonight we opened up, aired out, and stenciled our tents. Boring stuff that needs to be done in order to enjoy them in the future.

Camporee...

has come and gone. The boys had a good time. One of our patrols, The Rabid Monkey Men, won the semaphore event and the other, The Dragonslayers, took second place for their patrol flag.

The top prize is this really cool powder horn. It was hand made by one of the adults from another unit. Very talented he is. Really beautiful work. It was very nice for us to win an event. I had some trouble getting the boys motivated to work on the events that were being played at camporee and it showed in their struggling. Hopefully it will show them that they must work at this in order to perform better.

Three of our boys and one adult was called out (or tapped) to become Order of the Arrow members. Lets hope that they all will be able to attend the Ordeal and complete the process.

While at camporee, we were visited by the Webelos from Pack 22. They had their own campsite, which is how it should be, but they joined us for meals. They had a really good time and preformed pretty well at the games. They picked up two awards as well. There are some really good kids in that pack and it will be a pleasure to work with them should they choose us as their troop when they cross over next year.

April 13 meeting

Our last meeting until camporee. Some things were accomplished that will help at camporee by a couple of the boys. Some of the other boys just don't seem interested in anything other than everything that isn't scout related. Hopefully it's just me.

Two boys had their Scoutmasters conferences for Tenderfoot. Congrats to C and B. All they need to get past is the Board of Review.

Changes to how our meetings work/run is on the horizon. I hope they are prepared.

April 6 meeting

Probably should have canceled the meeting. Spring break for most of the boys. They weren't able to get much accomplished. That's going to change real fast however. I hope. As they say, it's always darkest before the dawn. I think that's where we are right now. Waiting for the dawn.

April 4 to 5 campout

We had our second pre-camporee outing this past weekend. While the camping was fun, the progress of the boys toward even wanting to compete was disappointing. We may have a less than stellar camporee again this year.

We were joined on our outing by Pack 22's Webelos Den 10. Four of their members came and camped with us. They worked on their Outdoorsman and Citizenship Activity Badges. I believe they even earned a belt loop. They helped with preparing meals and cleaning up afterward. They learned how to work a compass and tie some lashings. I think they all had a good time.

We also had our latest PLC while at camp. It was decided that we need to follow the themes more closely if only for the games and activities listed for each meeting during the month. It was felt that this would get us out of the doldrums our meetings seem to be turning into.

Camporee is next. Wish us well.

March 30 meeting

Practiced our compass work some more. A couple of the boys got better. Still needs work however. We'll see if we can't improve this weekend while camping. They also did a little (very little) tree height estimating. We'll work on that as well.

We had a visitor tonight also. A Webelos Scout from Pack 22 paid us a visit. He also did some compass work, and did pretty well. They are going to be hanging out with us at Camporee to get an idea of how our troop works together.

Speaking of that, I'm beginning to worry that a few of the boys are really only at the meetings for the social aspect of it. That's fine and all, but I'm wondering if I should reorganize the patrols so that those boys who are there to learn the scouting stuff don't get left out and drop out.

March 23 meeting

Planning for our next camping outing on the first weekend of April took place tonight. Menus were planned and duty rosters made. T had his board of review and was granted the rank of First Class Scout. Congrats T! Other than not knowing when to keep quiet, the boys are making some great progress.

Mr. P (T's dad) asked about putting together a 2 nighter canoe trek. We discussed what kinds of things we could do as far as activities and merit badge work. Sounds like it will be fun. I look forward to learning more about it.

March Camping at Gibson Ranch

This outing was different. We met at the VFW post, which is pretty normal. But this time we hiked to Gibson Ranch with our gear. It's only about a 2 mile hike, and as flat as can be. Nothing could be easier, other than not hiking at all. This was a new experience for many of our boys. Some liked it, others didn't. Those that didn't had better get used to it however. This is how we are going to be doing things from here out, if practical.

While we were hiking, there was a little wind. Nothing too bad. When we got to the campsite it was really blowing. It seemed as though it was being funneled through the trees leading right to where we were setting up. The boys had an experience setting up tents in a good wind. Quite a few laughs to be heard. Along with some screams when a tent would go rolling away, or various bags would take flight. I think they had fun with it, which what were supposed to be doing anyway isn't it?

After lunch, they worked on gateways. Each patrol set up similar ones, but the Dragonslayers took it a step further. The troop agreed to use the Dragonslayers version for Camporee. I think it will be a very good gateway. Lets hope the judges agree!

We then worked on campass reading and pacing. We need to keep working on it!

The evening was pleasant. The boys played capture the flag while the adults gathered around the fire and talked. Some smores followed and then bed. It rained on us in the middle of the night, but only for about 20 minutes, and not enough to make you wish you had stayed home.

The next morning during breakfast we learned a few things about how our set up works (or doesn't). The boys will need to come up with a plan to fix these issues for our next camping adventure.

Then we hiked back. I had a really good time. I think the boys had a really good time as well. I look forward to our next trek. Join us, won't you?

March 9 meeting

I was not at tonight's meeting due to an unexpected trip out of town. I heard that the boys worked on some semaphore and other games for the upcoming Camporee. From what I heard they had a good meeting.

March 2 meeting

Tough meeting tonight for the boys. The leaders weren't getting much cooperation from a couple of them. I'm not sure how effectice the meeting was seeing as I was involved the committee meeting. One of those days I suppose.

We have a campout coming up at Gibson Ranch. Our first of the year. We are using this as a practice session for the upcoming Camporee. We are going to work on some of the games that we will be competing in. I also plan on having the boys practice some basic compass work, along with some map work if I can pull it together. I would really like to see them build a gateway, so we'll see how that goes.

Should be a good time, even if it is wet.

Feb. 23 meeting

The boys took apart, dried out, and repacked our tents from over the weekend. We also emptied, cleaned and rebuilt the patrol box. There were some other mundane items going on, which is a good thing. The leadership is getting there.

We went!

but didn't get to stay the night. We had been hearing about this massive stormfront moving in and how much rain it was going to dump and how windy it was going to get. The adults had coversed a few times about whether to pull the plug.

After setting up camp, which took far longer than it should have (many, many thanks to Mr. F for tamping down much of the campsite), we were having dinner. One of the boys had some very cold feet and wasn't doing so well. The other boys were great about saying they had this or that item of clothing they would be able to share to help this boy out, but after about 15 minutes of soul searching it was decided that it would be more prudent to break camp and head back home.

So we did. We got back into town around 11 pm. Even though it wasn't a complete outing, it was still successful. We learned plenty of things to better prepare us for the next time, which there will be.

We're going!

The weather took a turn for the better. I had decided to go up and have a day in the snow at least. Now it looks like we won't have any issues with too much snow bearing down on our tents. Some rain maybe, but that we can handle. I look forward to expanding not only my knowledge, but the boys as well to this new experience.

To cancel or not to cancel

I'm debating cancelling the snow camping this weekend. All the news reports say that another big storm is moving into the area and will dump a lot of wet on us. However, the NOAA web page says that it will snow, but I can't tell how much. Our tents can handle a light snow, but not anything over 1 inch or so (at least that's my guess, their 3 season tents). I don't want to put anybody into a bad situation. I also don't want to think we can do it and then have to abandon in the middle of the night. I'm leaning toward canceling.

Upcoming Snow Camping

We will be heading to the snow this weekend to try our hand at camping in the snow. We will be venturing to the Emigrant Gap area (Yuba Gap Sno-Park) and the boys will experience snow camping for the first time! We have Mr. D to thank for this. The snow park is owned and operated by the Thousand Trails organization. Mr. D has been a member for quite a few years and his membership gives us access to areas not open to the public.

We will also be holding a gear check on Friday at the VFW Post. Make sure you're there!

Feb. 9 meeting

A little iffy, but they pulled it off. Each of the patrols were supposed to have researched various aspects of winter camping and present what they discovered to the rest of the troop last night. A couple of the boys individually had done some research, but the majority of them did not. Being resourceful, some quick searching was done in their handbooks and a demonstration was able to be put together. In the future I will be looking for them to be more serious about these types of assignments.

We also had our annual Order of the Arrow (OA) elections last night. Three of the four boys that were eligible put their names on the slips of paper for the election. The results will be anounced at the Camporee in April.

PLC meeting

An easy meeting this time. The meetings were very easy to plan as we will be working on those skills that we will need to perform at the upcoming Camporee. We spent a majority of the time conversing about the troop and what is going right or wrong. We also talked about the upcoming Court of Honor and what the boys would like to see happen at that.

Cache-O-Ree

7 brave ones (4 boys and 3 adults) ventured out and tried our hand at Geocaching. Geocaching is a combination of map and companss work with a treasure hunt. The main difference is instead of using a map and compass, you use a GPS device.

You start by entering the coordinates of your 'Cache' into your GPS unit and then following the arrow. Sometimes you need to drive somewhere, sometimes you just walk to the location. Once there the real fun(?) begins.

Your cache can be any size, camouflaged to look like its surroundings, and sometimes frustrating when you can't find it. But that is the fun of it. When you do find it, a great sence of accomplishment comes over you.

I look forward to more events like this in the future. I hope you do also.

PLC meeting date changed - take 2

Remember, the PLC has been moved to this coming Sunday, February 8. I will call with the location.

Feb. 2 meeting

An easy going meeting last night. We had some poor communications and the lessons that one patrol was supposed to pass onto the troop didn't happen. We have now given tasks to the boys from each patrol to help the troop learn some winter camping ideas. As the evening that we had hoped for didn't come off as planned, the boys played some board games. They had a great time. It's always a good idea to take a break and just play a game.

PLC meeting date changed

The upcoming PLC meeting currently scheduled for February 1st is being rescheduled for February 8th. What was I thinking having a PLC on the same day as the Superbowl?

Upcoming Jan. 26 meeting

Remember everyone, this meeting is to show off and demonstrate your hobby of choice to the troop! Parents are welcomed/encouraged to participate as well. Show your spirit and take part!!!

Jan. 19 meeting

This evening the hobby of choice was cooking. A 'real' chef wasn't to be found by the boys, so they asked yours truely to demonstrate. I have a hobby of baking bread. I showed the boys how to make pancakes and demonstrated making yeast bread. I had the boys perform some kneading to get an idea of how to do it properly. Hopefully they will take these new skills home and surprise their families.

Jan. 18 PLC meeting

A couple of our leaders didn't make it to this one. But, that's okay. We were still able to get all of our February troop meetings planned. That gets us to where we need to be so that we are planning a month out and giving the boys enough time to research, plan and organize the events/activities they want to do and see. Our next major item for the PLC is to get them the proper training for their positions. I'll keep you informed of course.

University of Scouting

Another good day of classes. I have been attending this for the last 7 years and it is always a well put together event. The only unfortunate part this time were the restrictions placed on us by our meeting place for attendance. It seemed like there were half the people from last year. Really sad.

2 of the 3 funateers (R & G) attended the event as well. They took the Den Chief training. Whether or not they become Den Chiefs isn't important. It's the lessons they learned about leading. I do hope that they both decide to become Den Chiefs however. It will only help them as they progress on the scouting trail.

G's parents also attended. That was fantastic! It really shows that they are interested in helping and want to know what the heck it is we are supposed to be doing for the boys. I look forward to future input from them concerning the troop.

Changes to our outings

There have been a couple of changes to the outings in February. We have decided not to attend Klondike this year. It was felt that we as a Troop are not properly prepared to take on this activity. We will work diligently this year to make certain that we are prepared to attend next year.

We have also shifted the snow day from February 14th to the 21st. This will be our first step in becoming prepared. It will be an overnighter. We'll know soon enough if it is even something that we want to do!

Jan. 12 meeting

10 of our 12 boys were at this meeting. A guest speaker, Ruth, from A-1 comics in Roseville paid us a visit to talk to the boys about the history of comic books. This was in conjuction with our theme this month of Hobbies.

We also had two Webelos scouts visit us from Pack 22. They were treated to building and playing a camporee favorite, chariot race. They seemed to have good time with us. I hope that if they don't choose us, they at least stay in the scouting program.

Next week you get yours truly to teach the boys about one of my hobbies, breadmaking. Unfortunately, it's probably going to be messy!

Jan. 10 Rock Climbing

The 3 muskateers (R, D & G) came down to Sacramento Pipeworks to do some rock climbing. We had a good time again, and I found out that you don't have to be at least 14 to belay! It is a judgement call to the employees at the facility, but those boys that they feel can handle it will be able to help out when we visit in the future. We'll come back again shortly and do some more climbing.

Jan. 10 Jamboree meeting

All of the boys from the greater Sacramento area came together to have the kickoff meeting to Jamboree in 2010. We saw lots of slides about what the boys can expect during their trip. It's going to be a great two weeks for them. There is still a little time left to sign up, so if you have any inkling that you might go, sign up now!

Jan. 5 meeting

First meeting of the new year. The boys worked on some knots and lashings. I want to see them get back into building gateways at our outings. We have been slacking in that area recently. This also helped those that needed these requirements toward the first major goal of reaching First Class rank. Some others also worked on first aid requirements.

They were supposed to play a game with a device that they built while doing the lashings, but it apparently took longer to build than I thought it would. Next week.

Speaking of next week, we will have a guest speaker from A-1 Comics paying us a visit. We are working on hobbies this month and the boys will always find an excuse to talk about, play with, look at, whatever it may be, playing cards. In my day it was comic books. Times change, just like my waist line.

See you next week.

Jan. 4 PLC meeting

We had, I thought, a very good meeting yesterday. All of the boys in leadership positions were in attendance. We were able to plan all of the meetings for the month of January. We discussed our outings throught the month of February. This was a great way to begin this new year.

Thanks guys!