Troop 160 Lexington

I had not planned to send out another e-mail quite this quickly, but a few questions and problems have arisen which need to be addressed.

Advancement

Advancement, like everything else, is Scout-led. Moreover, it is not a race. Teaching/learning is followed by practical application on a trip is followed by a signoff. However, it doesn’t always work that way and things are missed. There is also the tricky business of scheduling Scoutmaster Conferences and Boards of Review.

There is no need for Scouts to have to find me for such things. There is a better way becasue the Advancement Team is coordinating all of that. If they don’t notify me or the Scout, then all the Scout has to do is to visit them in their office in the Scout Room in the basement of our meeting hall. They will check to make sure everything is signed off, then print out a sheet from Troopmaster, our advancement tracking software, and then the rest just happens.

So the bottom line is that if any Scout has any questions, see somebody from the advancement team. I will make sure that they introduce themselves at the meeting tonight.

All trip coordinators, Eagle project leaders, and the SPL in case of events such as Flag Day should notify the advancement team of participants so there can be proper service hour and participation credit given. Don’t delay. Do it as soon as you get home from the event.

Next Trip

I will not be able to go on the trip this weekend. It would be helpful if any adults who are going could meet with me sometime during the regular meeting this evening to go over such things as how to light stoves and lanterns and to review the general rules of the road for Scout trips.

Early Availability for the Scoutmaster

I try to get to meetings at least half an hour early. That is not always possible, but 90% of the time I am there even if no Scout has scheduled something he wants to go over with me. If the Scout is alone and I do not yet have a second leader, somebody should stay with us until another leader arrives so that Youth Protection guidelines are followed. Scouts take Youth Protection guidelines very seriously.

Rolling in at 7:25 PM in the hopes of doing something may not be reality, however. If a Scout wants to meet early, the best way is to e-mail me in advance and then show up NLT 7:00 PM.

Equipment
I am about 80% through an inventory and cleanup of the equipment. It strikes me that we do not always take care of our equipment (like that’s big news ), but more important, we don’t keep the various pieces together. There is no reason that stove tanks should be interchanged. There is no reason to have mismatched sets of tent poles. There is no reason for new tents to have old poles or bags. Keep the sets together. To that end things like stoves are now numbered to make repair tracking a little easier.

In looking at the stoves, they are actually in decent shape, but we have to get in the habit of cleaning them after each use. There is simply too much food and grease left inside and on the stoves. The residue causes the paint to peel and then the stove body rusts. It doesn’t affect operation of the stove, but it looks kind of sketchy.

Same with cook kits and chef kits. Get in the habit of cooking so that there isn’t as much to clean, actually do the cleaning after each meal, and stop interchanging parts.

Tent poles have become a serious issue. A look at the tents shows that they are good for another couple of years at least. The poles, however, are being bent. A new set of poles costs $90. Obviously we cannot afford that kind of expenditure, especially since they will just be bent again. We must stop treating the poles as toys to be used for games. In addition, I am going to ask the Guides, Instructors, and senior youth leadership to review how to put up and take down tents.

Hank Manz