h Volume LXXV March 2014 Inside this issue: Order of the Arrow Elections Order of the Arrow Elections will be held on April 8. The Order of the Arrow is considered the National Honor Society of Scouting. This means that the scouts elected to the OA are considered some of the best. Scouts are elected by their fellow scouts. The scouts vote for a candidate based on his leadership, willingness to pitch in and help (Scout Spirit), participation in troop meeting and campouts, evidence that he lives by the Scout Oath and Law. Scouts know their fellow scouts and vote for those that are the best of the best. Eligibility Requirements: Must be under 21 years old at the time of election Hold at least the First Class Scout rank In the past two years, have completed fifteen (15) days and nights of camping under the auspices of the Boy Scouts of America. The fifteen days and nights of camping must include one long-term camp of six days and five nights (usually this is summer camp), and the balance of the camping must be short-term (1, 2, or 3 night) camps. Have the approval of the scoutmaster. Scoutmaster will determine if the scout has Scout Spirit and is involved in all that the troop does The above requirements must be certified by the Scoutmaster, BEFORE the election is conducted In March scouts will be notified of their eligibility for the OA so they can decide if they want to be considered. The OA requires additional camping and service projects in addition to troop activities. Spanish Trail District Banquet March 13 is the date for the Spanish trail District Banquet at Cypress Shores Baptist Church. Eagle Scouts for 2013 will be recognized. Troop 292 had 7 Eagles during 2013. They included Zac, Dustin, Chandler, Thomas, Chris, Michael, & Adam. Many adults and troops will be recognized for both individual achievement and troop goals being met. The banquet is a fun time with good food catered by Sonny s BBQ. Scouts and families are encouraged to attend and show support for what our 7 Eagles have accomplished. A registration form is available at the troop meeting or thru the Council office at a cost of $15 per adult, Eagle Scouts at no cost, and other scouts at $10. Support our District by attending the Banquet. Scoutmaster Update 2 LPGA 3 April Campout 4 2014 Campouts 5 New Scouts 6 Reader Contest 7 Important Dates: March 11 & 18 Webelos Orientation March 14-15 OA Winter Gathering March 21-23 Troop Elections March 25 Bridging Ceremony April 1 Court of Honor April 25-27 Little River Campout May 16-18 OA Ordeal May 16-18 Desoto National Forest Campout May 17, 24, & 25 LPGA Work Detail by 292 Scouts June 15-21 1 Summer Camp/Maubila 50th Anniversary
Manny's Epistle! Troop 292 Scoutmaster Update Scoutmaster Update February has been a busy month of planning and preparing for new scouts to join the troop. On March 25, twenty one scouts will join the troop in our Bridging Ceremony. The calendar for the remainder of the year is set and can be viewed in this newsletter or on the website. The scout leaders (scouts, not adults) have selected two troop guides and four instructors to be in charge of the two new patrols. These scouts are demonstrating leadership and responsibility. It is this type of leadership that runs a troop. It is hard to believe that we are talking about summer camp. This is the 50 th year of Camp Maubila. The camp is already full for the four weeks of summer camp. See the article in this newsletter about signing up for camp. In May, the nationally televised Ladies Professional Golf Association Tournament will be in Mobile. The troop will be there in force to help with set up, take down, and other duties as assigned. This should be a lot of fun for all and demonstrate to the TV audience that Boy Scouts are giving back to their community. Parents, you are urged to review your scouts progress and help him with the partial merit badges that he has. Just a little help will go a long way toward finishing the badges. See the article in the newsletter about this. Manny Russo Scoutmaster March 2 Dow March 4 Chaz March 22 Jonathan March 26 Justin 2
Ladies Professional Golf Association Tournament Mobile is fortunate to be able to host the National Ladies Professional Golf Tournament at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Course off Schillinger road. Troop 292 will have about 45 scouts that are helping. On May 17, fifteen scouts will be needed to help set up the flags and ropes that designates where the gallery can stand. On May 24, thirty five scouts will be needed to be Standard Bearers which means they will walk with the teams of 2 or 3 lady pros and carry the sign that shows the score. All scouts will be in their full class A uniform. There should be a lot of national television coverage of the tournament which will highlight the work of our scouts. Therefore, scouts, look GOOD! On March 25, some scouts will again be standard bearers for the finals and then we will take down all of the ropes and ribbons that were put up. This is a great service project and will be fun for all scouts. ADULTS are needed to drive the golf carts and supervise our scouts. Summer Camp Maubila Scout Reservation June 15-21 Maubila Scout Reservation will celebrate their 50 th year of summer camp. The camp is already full for the 5 weeks of summer camp. The troop will be at camp during the first week which begins on Sunday, June 15. The scouts and adults are excited about this milestone in the history of the Mobile Area Council. Scouts can start signing up with the treasurer, Jay. The cost for summer camp will be $195. Scouts will start selecting their merit badges in April. Since the camp is full, it is probable that some classes will fill up so we want to sign up as early as we can to have a good chance of getting the badges we want. Court of Honor The Spring Court of Honor is Tuesday, April 1, at Providence Presbyterian Church. The Court of Honor will begin at 6:30, not 7:00. A Court of Honor is a special time for our scouts. This is a time for scouts to be recognized in front of their fellow scouts, parents, and adult leaders for their accomplishments during the past six months. Each scout will received recognition for rank advancements, earned merit badges, and position of responsibility (leadership positions). The Webelos that bridged over will also be recognized. All scouts are expected to be in attendance to show support for what their fellow scouts have accomplished. The new scout leaders for the next six months will be inducted into their positions. It is hoped that all parents wil be in attendance with their scout for this important ceremony. 3
Leonard Will Receive the 25 Year Veterans Award One of the Troops long time leaders will receive the 25 year Veterans Award recognizing 25 years of scouting. Leonard helped build Troop 292 into a healthy and progressive troop. His knowledge of scouting and guidance has been well received as he helped build a strong foundation for the troop. He attended Wood Badge Training which is the highest level of training for Boy Scout Leaders. Leonard is affectionately known by many scouts in the past as OMC (old man Christiansen). Many scouts owe a lot to the guidance and role model that Len has demonstrated. He has taken crews to Philmont Scout Ranch and served on staff at Northerntier (Boy Scout canoe base) for many years. Thanks for 25 great years of service OMC! Look What's New! The troop is now accepting debit/credit cards to pay for recharter, campouts, summer camp, and other scout activities. This will make it much easier for those who do not use checks. The troop will have to charge 3% extra to cover the cost of the card. For example, if you pay $25 for an activity, the amount debited will be $25.75. We hope this will make it easier for you. You can still make installments on activities and use your debit card each month to make these payments. Take advantage of this easy payment method. Little River Campout April 25-27 Atmore, Alabama Little River Park is a favorite for most of the scouts. The camping area is good, restroom and showers available, fishing, swimming, sliding down the spillway, and a campfire at the Gazebo. In addition, Little River Park has a lot of open areas so that we can teach the scouts about the use of a map /compass and take a 5 mile hike. This will be our first campout with the Webelos that crossed over. The cost of this campout will be $25. 4
VIEW THE TROOP WEBSITE TO STAY INFORMED OF TROOP ACTIVITIES. YOU WILL BE ABLE TO PLAN AND BUDGET IF YOU KNOW WHAT THE TROOP ACTIVITIES ARE. Mobile Area Council Recognition Banquet The Mobile Area Council will hold their annual Recognition Banquet on May 13. A registration form and site will be announced soon. The Council Banquet is a time to recognize scouts and adults for their accomplishments. All Eagle Scouts in the Council (Mobile, Baldwin, Clark, and Choctaw Counties) will have a sponsor and will be recognized. If the Eagle Scout has an idea of what he would like to do following high school, the sponsor will be someone in that area of work whether it is the Air Force, Marines, Army, engineering, auto Mechanics, computer field, etc. They will sit with their sponsor and will receive a gift. Many adults throughout the Council will also be recognized for what they contribute to Scouting. Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts will be recognized. You can get a registration form at the Council office by calling them at 476-4600 or at a troop meeting. 2014 Campouts March 7-9 Camporee April 25-27 Little River State park May 16-18 Desoto National Forest June 15-21 Maubila Summer Camp 50 th Anniversary of Maubila Scout Reservation August 1-3 Water Activities Campout TBD September 19-21 Fort Toulouse Civil War Reenactment & Coosa River Canoeing Eagle Scout Michael Eagle Scout Michael had his Court of Honor on February 26. At this Ceremony, Michael was recognized for his achievement in reaching the Eagle Rank. Michael s parents were also recognized for their support of Michael and the troop. It takes a family effort for a scout to reach the Eagle Rank. Congrats Michael October 17-19 Shooting Sports November 14-16 Tiak Ropes Course December 27-30 Winter Camp 5
Troop Elections Troop Elections will be held on Tuesday, March 18. The troop will elect a Senior Patrol Leader, two Assistant Senior Patrol Leaders, a Patrol Leader for each patrol, and Assistant Patrol Leader for each patrol. In addition, the scout leaders will appoint numerous scouts to various positions. These positions include, Den Chief, Service Patrol, Chaplain, Instructor, Troop Guide, Quartermaster, Historian, Scribe, Bugler, OA Representative, and Librarian. All of these positions have been discussed with the scouts. Parents are urged to talk with their scout about these positions and if they want to take on leadership responsibilities they should talk with Riley, the Senior Patrol Leader. Positions of responsibility are the way scouts learn leadership skills. It is also the only way a scout can advance in rank to Star, Life, and Eagle. New Scouts Join Troop 292 March will be an exciting month for the troop. Twenty Webelos will cross over to the troop on March 25. These new scouts wil have their own patrols and wil be led by 292 Troop Guides, troop instructors, and adult advisors. These new scouts will begin their journey of learning about the aims of scouting which include citizenship, leadership, and character development. They will be camping each month and learning outdoor skills. This will be a fun time for the troop and the new scouts. The troop will need more parents to help with transportation and to serve on the troop committee. If you can help, please let the Scoutmaster or Committee Chairman know. Step Up Accept Responsibility Be a Leader Partial Merit Badges Parents: In the fall of last year the adult leaders worked for three months with scouts who had Eagle required partial merit badges. Some of these badges included Emergency Preparedness, Citizenship in the Community, Environmental Science, and nine others. However, even with the adult help, many scouts did not do their homework assignment to complete these badges. They took the badge at summer or winter camp and paid for it! We are urging parents to review the advancement report that Scott sends out and help your scout complete these required badges for the rank of Eagle. However, he must have the desire to do this. One reason that only three out of one hundred scouts earn the rank of Eagle is because they do not take responsibility for these badges and simply let time run out. Talk with your scout about this and give him a little nudge in the seat of the pants! 6
News You Can Use Reader Contest Scouts, read your newsletter cover to cover to locate our logo, or, and then email your editor, Irene Watson at mom96rn93@aol.com, with the total number of logos you find in the entire newsletter. Look everywhere, including on uniforms and flags. The first three scouts to email will be entered in a drawing to receive the prize of the month from Mr. Manny. You must be in full uniform with your scout book at the meeting in which the prize is awarded. And I would bet you ll be really informed about all your troop s happenings, too. Good Luck! Website and Photo Gallery If you would like to submit articles for the website or tell us about something your scout has done outside of scouting, please email this information to: Manny at manny292@comcast.net or Steve Marcantonio at steve@cpsinet.com. Troop 292 News You Can Use Providence Presbyterian Church 2320 Schillinger Rd Mobile, AL 36695 Editor s Note - If you have any suggestions or contributions for 292 News, please contact Irene Watson at mom96rn93@aol.com. Scoutmaster: Manny Russo E-mail: Manny292@comcast.net We re on the web! www.bsa292.org Troop 292 is a very active troop that camps each month regardless of the weather! We will camp in excess of 30 nights and days per year. The Boy Scout Program is an Outdoor Program, meaning that scout skills and leadership skills are developed throughout this outdoor program, not only at Tuesday night meetings. We also provide hundreds of hours a year in service projects as we teach scouts this key value of Service to Others. Join us as we provide a quality program that turns young boys into young men who live the Scout Law and Oath in all that they do. Our Mission The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law. 7