Dear Hank and all,

Thank you so much for your kind words. Being part of Troop 160 has, from the start, been a wonderful experience. This is the best Troop I’ve ever been associated with or even known about. The Scouts are a great bunch of boys and young men, and the parent volunteers are the best. And to the extent that I’ve put in a lot of “work” over the years, I’ve also had a lot of fun, even at the pancake breakfast! My fondest memories, however, are on the outings, and especially the ones in the White Mountains. Scouting was also a nice way to be involved with Jon, even if it was at a distance.

I leave for New Mexico with many warm memories, and thank all those who’ve helped make those memories possible, in particular you, Hank, for your unwavering commitment to Scouting, as well as to John, Steve and all the past Scoutmasters, Committee Chairs and parents who’ve been a part of Troop 160 now or in the past.

All my best,

David Belford

When I first became Scoutmaster of Troop 160, I was extremely lucky in that I inherited a great SPL and a corps of Asistant Scoutmasters who were absolutely top of the line.  One of them was David Belford.  If I say “Mass Jam,” I think David will know exactly how much I needed all the help those leaders could give me.

David was uniquely qualified–how often does an Eagle who became a professional forester who became a social worker come along after all–and he was a key player in the changes the troop has gone through over the past few years.

David is moving out of state and will no longer be able to help us as he has in the past.  I will miss him and I know the troop will, too.

My thanks to David for his help over the years.

-Hank Manz

Hi All,

This is just a reminder to all scouts and adult volunteers to bring in your permission forms on Thursday for the Deep Freeze camping trip. The Deep Freeze will be held over the long weekend during the February break. Any adults who are able to go please let me know. The final day for permission slips will be February 4th. I will also have permission forms available for you to fill out on Thursday.

Thanking you,

Ann Singh
991 Mass Ave, Lexington, 02420

Hi everyone,

We are in need of an adult to coordinate a contingent of Troop 160 scouts and parents who are interested in attending a “Mass of Thanksgiving Celebrating 100 Years of Scouting.”  This very special mass will be celebrated by His Eminence Cardinal Sean O’Malley at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston on Sunday, February 28, 2010 at 2:00pm. Light refreshments will be served after the mass at Cathedral High School and Cathedral Tours will be available before the mass, beginning at 12:15pm.

If you think you may be interested in coordinating a group from Troop 160 to attend this mass, please let me know as soon as possible.

Thanks,
Margaret Stebbins

The first part of this message is for Scouts:

Well, another way you can tell you’re an old guy is when National announces bringing back four historic, old time, merit badges … and you earned three of them as a Scout.  More on this later, but in the early 1950s, BSA did some housecleaning and closed the books on several merit badges, among them Carpentry, Tracking (then called Stalking before that word took on new meaning), and Pathfinding.  Signaller (later called Signalling) followed.  Most of the requirements were covered by other merit badges and rank requirements, but you will have a chance, for a year, to earn them again.  As I said, more on that later.

A Merit Badge University is coming up starting March 6th.  There will be two sessions.  Both must be attended to earn the merit badges.  Read all about it at:

http://bsaboston.org/registration/calendardetail.asp?orgkey=909&ActivityKey=716137

Note that you should make up your mind quickly.  Classes tend to fill quickly and tomorrow and the next day, it opens to other councils.  Right now, as I write this, it is only open to Boston Minuteman.

The four historic merit badges will not be offered at this MBU by the way.

The next part of this note is for adults, especially those who want to be ASMs or to help with events:

There are a series of training courses you should take.  Many are online and will be covered in another note.  But two important ones are:

Scoutmaster Fundamentals
Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills

Starting in February, a special, combined, version of these courses will be given on five successive Sunday evenings at St Brigid’s plus a weekend at Camp Sayre in Milton.  The cost is minimal and is reimbursable.  I encourage as many adults as possible to take the course because this is an intensive version of it which will help you a great deal in becoming an effective leader.

There is a move to teach a lighter version of the SMF portion of the course at the upcoming MBU, but that is not set.  You would still need to take IOLS even if you do take the SMF course at MBU.

Keep in mind that ASMs must be trained by registration time at the end of this year.

If anyone is interested in talking about all of the training which is available and what you should be taking, please send me an e-mail.  No need to send it to the list–just send it to me.

-Hank Manz