Troop!

I hope everyone had a great time over the Holidays and wasn’t recruited by the Dark Side of the Force!  We are starting our meetings back up on Tuesday.  The main focus of Tuesday’s meeting will be to get back in the rhythm of things by plugging in the rest of the outing for the year on the calendar. We have already done the planning work. We just need to add it to the calendar. If you have any new ideas since the planning meeting then please bring them with you! I would also like to add a few more community service opportunities.

Let also refresh ourself of patrol names, calls, and such.

Plus, the McQuires found a pretty cool fundraiser that we can discuss and plan to help offset the cost of Sea Base or any other events that the troop deems worthy.

See you Tuesday!

Thanks!
Sean

Troop,

The time to sign up for Summer Camp has already arrived!

This coming summer we are going to Cris Dobbins for Summer Camp. We like to change it around every year to provide some variety to the scouts. Summer Camp is from 16-22 June 2019.  Here is a link to the Summer Camp: http://www.denverboyscouts.org/camp/boy-scout-adventures/peaceful-valley-scout-ranch/camp-cris-dobbins/46004

More details will come as we have them.  As we get closing we will have Merit Badge and activity signup. For now, we are just identifying who wants to go. Also, we need at least two adult leaders to attend summer camp with the scouts! Normally, the first two adult leaders that sign up are free (the Council Pays for one and the Troop Pays for the other)

please sign up here!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F054BACA929A4FC1-summer2

Thanks!

Sean

Parents,

It’s time to re-charter the troop for 2019, plus pay troop dues and summer camp deposits.  Please bring payments to Court of Honor on December 11th.  If you will not be attending COH, please email me and I can stop by your house or you can mail check.

What is due and how much?

Re-charter fee:  $33 per Scout and Troop Committee member

Troop dues:  $80

Summer camp deposit:  $55

How do I pay?

You may write one check, payable to Troop 287, for the total amount owed.

Does my Scout have any money in his Scout account?

Danny Reeves will have current balances available at COH.  You may pay for some or all of the amount owed with the Scout account, as long as the account has a positive balance.

Please let me know if you have questions.

Thanks,

Lisa Durrenberger

lisadurrenberger@gmail.com

Just a reminder that our Quarterly Court of Honor is Tuesday at the church at 6pm. Please arrive early to bring your food and help set up at 530pm. There are a lot of promotions and some merit badges at this one. Also, there are a couple of side dishes still available for someone to bring so if you can please sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f054baca929a4fc1-holiday

Thank you to those that ran and attended the Chess Merit Badge Lock in. It was reported that 6 scouts earned the Chess Merit Badge and everyone had fun staying up all night playing video games! On a personal note, I really appreciate the ASMs that stayed the night to make this happen!  Thanks Dan, Blake and Paul!!!

It is also the time of year where we collect dues and re-charter. Another message will come from the chair on dollar amounts to bring.  Thank you!

See you tomorrow!

Sean

Here is the menu from the Troop Scribe:

Lock-In Troop 287

FRIDAY

Dinner:
Scouts will be ordering pizza for dinner Friday night ( please bring $5)

Snacks:
Scouts can bring snacks to share if they would like to.

SATURDAY

Breakfast:
Cade will be purchasing cereal and milk for the scouts.
Cereal options are Captain Crunch, Fruit Loops, and Honey Bunches of Oats.

Lunch:
Scouts opted to not plan for lunch on Saturday.

**The Troop still has drinks available at the Church from previous events.

Please arrive at the church at 6pmon Friday.  Bring a sleeping bag, pad, toothbrush, tooth paste and whatever games  you might want to play in addition to Chess. Bring your Merit Badge Worksheet and your permission slip. Snacks are fine to bring as well.

The lock in should be done about noon on Saturday.  Parents will be notified if it finishes early.

Thanks!

Sean

Troop,

Sorry for the late send on the sign up genius. This weekend we are doing a lock in and will start the chess Merit Badge and some other stuff. Scouts will plan the lock in tonight.  I think we will start around 6pm on Friday and go until about noon on Saturday. This is just a one night event but still scouts as an over nighter for camping in the scout log in your Handbooks.

Please sign up if you are interested. We need at least two adult leaders.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F054BACA929A4FC1-chess

Thanks!

Sean

Troop,

This Tuesday’s meeting will focus on two main events, planning for our lock-in and rank advancements. Right now I’m tracking that the lock-in will consist of games to include the Chess Merit Badge and possibly doing some equipment maintenance.

As far as advancements, I believe we have two Scout Master Conferences this Tuesday, Mark and Daniel. If you need one then please let your SPL and Scoutmasters know in the beginning of the meeting!

Also, don’t forget to sign up for the Soup Kitchen on Dec 23rd, Philmont and Sea Base under Activity Signup

Thanks!

Sean

Troop,

This year’s Christmas Soup Kitchen will be on December 23th at the Sacred Heart Church. It will start at 5:45pm and probably run until about 7pm. Please come in your class A’s and full of Christmas Spirit! It will be at the Sacred Heart Church located at 2030 W Colorado Ave, Colorado Springs, CO 80904.

We need at least 6 scouts and 4 adults.

Please sign up here:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F054BACA929A4FC1-soup3

Thanks!

Sean

Good morning everyone,

I received some donated camping gear from a retired scoutmaster of another troop. The gear includes three backpacks, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, amongst other items. The items seem to be in good shape. I will be bringing them to tonight’s troop meeting if you are interested.

Best Regards,
Danny

Troop,

Let’s focus on getting as much advancements and merit badges completed as possible on Tuesday.  I know of two scouts that need scoutmaster conferences already.   All those that went to summer camp last summer should be ready for the Tenderfoot, Second Class or even First Class SMC. Please take a look at what you need and come prepared to complete those missing requirements that you might be lacking. I know of a few scouts that are only missing the Fitness test for Tenderfoot. Please fill out that exercise tracker and wear running shoes if you need the second portion of that.

ASMs, please show up in force ready to help scouts advance.   The more adult leaders present then the more we can get done.

Our next COH is on the 11th and it would be awesome to finish the year with a bunch of advancements!

Thanks!

Sean

Happy Thanksgiving to the Troop Family!

I wish you all a blessed Thanksgiving Holiday. Boy Scouts of American and Troop 287 has been a blessing for me since my oldest son entered scouts in 2005. I have done so many activities with my sons Michael and Lance in scouts that positively impacted our lives.  Without scouting, I’m not sure we would have accomplished so many skills in adventuring, seen so many of nature’s wonder’s and developed such a strong sense of citizenship.  There have been so many times that I felt overwhelmed with scouts, but all that goes away when I see that sunrise cresting over the frozen mountains and trees of Colorado, or seeing a scout catch his first fish, or seeing them work as a team to make dinner, or seeing the determination in a scout’s eyes as they carry that 35lbs pack over 10,000 ft peaks to make it to the campsite.  I loved seeing scout’s use a map to navigate, seeing them help each other with medical first aid, and saluting the flag at every meeting.  It warms my heart to see parents come together to ensure summer camp is coordinated, drive on frozen streets to put out flags, balance check books, schedule outings and every other aspect of that goes into running a meeting or outing.  These selfless acts are not always easy, normally a sacrifice of time or money, and often come without instant appreciation from those around you. But!, these actions are derived from a sense of love for our scouts, family and community. The troop is full of people that want to make our community a better place and most often, the troop is only one aspect of your efforts.   It’s because of people like you, the ones reading this email, that I am personally thankful for this Thanksgiving. Please talk to the scouts and remind them that it’s not the big TV, Smartphone or the Xbox that we need to be thankful for.  Those things are simply a secondary effect of our successful society derived from the positive actions of our ancestors and people like you that work every day to make this country and community a better place.  Let’s be thankful for the basics…food not the table, family, shelter, and the then everything else.

In summary, thank you all for contributing to make my family’s life better, everything you do for your scouts and the Troop. The world is a better place because of people like you.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Sean

Troop,

Believe it or not but its time for us to Enter the lottery to attend Philmont in 2020.  For those that don’t know, Philmont is one of the BSA’s high adventure camps.  We are going to Sea Base next year, Philmont in 2020 and Boundary Waters in 2021.

For a BSA high adventure camps, a scout must be 14 years of age or 13 and a graduate of 8th grade. This is one of the best adventures (probably the best adventure) that they will ever experience. I did a 107 mile trek with my older son in 2014 and it was an amazing experience.  We will likely do something a little shorter this time, 50-75 miles on either a 7 or 12 day adventure.

Please read up on Philmont at their link here:  http://www.philmontscoutranch.org/About.aspx

“Philmont Scout Ranch is the Boy Scouts of America’s largest National High Adventure Base. Born in 1938 as Philturn Rocky Mountain Scout Camp, Philmont has become a bustling center for high adventure and training. It covers 140,177 acres of rugged mountain wilderness in the Sangre de Cristo range of the Rocky Mountains in northeastern New Mexico. Philmont has a unique history of ancient Native Americans who chipped petroglyphs into canyon walls, Spanish conquistadors, who explored the Southwest long before the first colonists arrived on the Atlantic coast, the rugged breed of mountain man such as Kit Carson, who blazed trails across this land, the great land barons like Lucien Maxwell who built ranches along the Santa Fe Trail and miners, loggers and cowboys. All left their mark on Philmont.

Philmont Scout Ranch operates 35 staffed camps and 55 trail camps across the rugged terrain that ranges in elevation from 6,500 to 12,441 feet. More than 1 million Scouts, Venturers, and Advisors have experienced the adventure of Philmont since its first camping season in 1939. Most activities take place during the summer, but Philmont also offers programs during the offseason such as Autumn and Winter Adventure. Throughout its existence, conscientious attention to low-impact camping techniques and diligent wildlife and forestry conservation work has helped maintain Philmont’s wilderness.

In addition to providing an unforgettable adventure in backpacking across miles of rugged, rocky trails, Philmont Scout Ranch offers programs that feature the best of the Old West—horseback riding, burrow packing, gold panning, chuckwagon dinners, and interpretive history—with exciting challenges for today such as rock climbing, mountain biking, and sport shooting. It’s an unbeatable recipe for fast-paced fun in the outdoors.”

The cost of Philmont will be between $650 vs. $1025 depending on what adventure we choose!  Since this is so far out, we will be able to have a payment plan and this is plenty of time to raise money to support your adventure!

Please sign up if you would like your scout to attend!!!

Here is the link to sign up!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F054BACA929A4FC1-philmont

Thanks
Sean

Scouts and Family,

The next COH is a Thanksgiving/Christmas/Holiday COH.  Thanksgiving will have passed, but we can still give thanks and also dine in the Christmas spirit with a great potluck dinner prior to awards and advancements.  We truly have a lot to be thankful for….living in Colorado, our happiness, health and most importantly our wonderful kids that bring us all together and allow us to have such great scouting adventures! Please sign up for what you are able to bring to the dinner.

2 Ham’s

1 Turkey’s – (keep your receipt for reimbursement by the Troop)

3 Salad’s

6 – 8 Sides

4 – 5 Desserts

Here is the link to the sign up genius!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F054BACA929A4FC1-holiday

Thanks

Sean

Troop!

First, I would like to thank everyone that braved the cold and participated in Flags yesterday.  This troop demonstrated true grit and determination to complete the mission.  I feel I can speak for my fellow veterans in the Troop that we really appreciate all your efforts to honor Veteran’s Day, parents and scouts alike.  I’m sure half of Mountain Shadows were surprised to see us putting up Flags in that weather!  I’m very proud to be a part of this troop!

Rank Advancements!

We have two more meetings in the Month of November….the 13th and the 27th.  Both of these meetings are going to be focus on Rank Advancement and Merit Badge Completion.  Our Court of Honor will ben December 11th. The goal over these next two meetings in November is to finish up what you need in preparation of the Court of Honor. If you went to this past summer camp, you should be really close to getting 2nd class.   Let’s have as many Scoutmaster’s there as possible to help our scouts tie up some loose ends and advance!  We will be available for scoutmaster conferences tomorrow and the 27th.  There is no meeting on the 20th dude to Thanksgiving Week!

Community Service Opportunity: 

On 29 Nov, from 1800-2000 (or so), the Mountain Shadows Community Association (MSCA) is hosting a Tree Lighting Ceremony at Mountain Shadows Park. This is the same location as last year, next to the playground and pavilion (near Chipeta). This celebration will mark the “beginning” of the Mountain Shadows neighborhood Holiday Season. During the ceremony, there will be hot cocoa offered, the Community Choir will perform a few songs, and the Community Tree will be lit.

The MSCA is requesting about four “servers” for the hot cocoa. I offered up our Troop for this volunteer opportunity. The servers will basically stand behind a table and fill cups for hot cocoa and maybe coffee if supplied. Last year, there were reportedly about 100-150 neighbors in attendance from around the area. The turn out is expected to be about the same as last year.

This counts as community service for those that attend.

Community Night at the Space Foundation for a night of STEM fun! It’s Free!

Mr McGuire found this is a fun local event that is coming up. Its not a scout thing but its a fun and interesting community thing. It’s free and all family members can attend.

• Construct a lander to survive a Martian landing
• Drive a rover around a simulated Mars landscape
• Virtual reality displays – explore the planet Mars and repair historical landers
• Science On a Sphere^® – enjoy a presentation about the planets of the solar system, emphasizing the red planet, Mars
• Audience with an Astronaut™ – Former Astronaut Duane “Digger” Carey will share tales of his time as a Space Shuttle pilot on Columbia mission STS-109 scaled models of the planets in our solar system
• Explore the gallery – see awesome artifacts demonstrating the various technologies and accomplishments of space exploration
• Learn how Harris is involved in the Colorado Springs community

https://www.harris.com/forms/colorado-springs-community-night-rsvp

https://app.peachjar.com/flyers/614479/schools/148649

Folks,

Just a reminder that Veteran’s Day flags is coming on on November 11th. Thanks to all that signed up!  We are short on Navigator so it would be awesome if someone could sign up for that position. Looks like we are full on Driver’s and scouts.

We will meet at the church on Sunday at 630am to put out the flags and we will meet back again at 4pm to pick up flags (Since the sun sets at 450pm..ish).  Please wear Class A’s and also bring headlamps incase we run into limited visibility.  There used to be flag buckets that had reflective vests. If they are still in there I recommend wearing them.

Another email will come closer to Sunday with the Routes and who is on what route.

If you are on the list and cannot make it then please let us know in advance!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f054baca929a4fc1-flag1

Thanks!

Sean

Troop,

Tomorrow’s night meeting is a game night and we are going to have game night at Overdrive this week! Overdrive is a go cart racing track that goes to a pretty fast speed from what I can tell on the website.  Here is a link to the site https://overdriveraceway.com/racing/  The is a liability waiver on there that parents can fill out in advance to save time. It looks like a race is $17 for 12 year olds and below and $20 for 13 year olds and above. Parents can pay Overdrive directly for whatever package you decide to do. Let’s meet there at 6pm and we can get after it!!

Please wear close toed shoes. Here are the FAQs so please ready these prior to coming. https://overdriveraceway.com/frequently-asked-questions/

Overdrive is located at:

See you there

Sean

Troop,

I apologize that we did not give much notice for walking in the Veteran’s Day parade this year. I thought it was on the 10th (During Veteran’s Day Weekend) but instead ended up being on the 3rd.  Right now we have one scout signed up to attend. I’d like to have a least 5 scouts and one adult sign up before promising the Special Forces Association that we will attend. We would need one to carry the troop flag and one to carry the American Flag and others to walk with them.  Unfortunately, I cannot even commit myself as I will be working all weekend. I am going to leave the signup on there until noon on Friday to give scouts and an adult leader a chance to sign up, but if we can’t get at least 5 scouts and one adult leader then I’ll politely decline the invitation from the SFA. At a minimum, I hope that the scouts and families get a chance to see the parade. We have such a strong Veteran presence in Colorado Springs which results in an impressive parade.

Here are the details and link again 🙂

Veteran’s Day Parade:  The Special Forces Association asked if we can march with them in the Veteran’s Day Parade on 3 Nov 2018.  We will meet at the VFW  Post 101, 702 S Tejon Street Colorado Springs 80903 at 7am. The SFA will provide donuts for those who attend!  Adult leaders are more than welcome to walk with the scouts as well.  Come show your pride!  Please sign up soon so they can account for numbers

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F054BACA929A4FC1-veterans4

Thanks!

Sean

Troop,

I just got a call from the Tour Guide and she canceled tonight’s tour because they are expecting a lot of snow and the steep streets can get pretty slippery. We can talk about re-scheduling at the next Troop meeting.  As for tonight, there will be no meeting to keep cars off the road. Enjoy your night off!!

For Nov 3rd.  I replaced the bike ride with the Veteran’s Day Parade. I didn’t realize the parade was on the 3rd and it seem un-patriotic to schedule a meeting over it 🙂  I did put a sign up to walk in the parade with the Special Forces Association in the last post and I hope we get a bunch of us to sign up!!

Thanks and Happy Halloween!!!

Sean

Folks, two opportunities coming up to support our community and have some fun!

Veteran’s Day Parade:  The Special Forces Association asked if we can march with them in the Veteran’s Day Parade on 3 Nov 2018.  We will meet at the VFW  Post 101, 702 S Tejon Street Colorado Springs 80903 at 7am. The SFA will provide donuts for those who attend!  Adult leaders are more than welcome to walk with the scouts as well.  Come show your pride!  Please sign up soon so they can account for numbers

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F054BACA929A4FC1-veterans4

Warren Miller Movie at the World Arena: The Assistant General Manager of the World Arena reached out to me and asked if our troop could help support the Warren Miller movie on November 2nd and 3rd. She is looking for 8 volunteers each night, 4 at each door and arrival time of 5:45pm to get prepped for doors.  We would need 2 adults to accompany the scouts (4 at each door with 1 adult with them, so 2 adults and 8 Scouts each night).

They would be handing out vouchers and a sponsor coupon.    Once we feel most everyone is seated and had their material, the Scouts and the adults can watch the film if they want to or feel free to leave.

Also please let me know as soon as possible if you can do this so I can commit the Troop! Here is the sign up genius link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F054BACA929A4FC1-warren1

Folks,

Just a reminder that the haunted tour is Tuesday night @ 7pm. We are meeting at a parking lot directly across from Hell Kitchen Pizza in Manitou Springs located at 9 Ruxton Ave, Manitou Springs, CO 80829.   The weather report looks pretty bad right now….Rain and Snow.  The tour guide mentioned that she might cancel the tour if the weather is too bad. Please check your email before departing to the tour.  I told her that we are scouts and can be prepared for anything!  The cost is $10 a person (normally $15), family and friends are welcome to attend. Registered adult leaders are free. Please bring cash only! I will collect the payment and pay the tour guide. For the record this is a historical tour of events documented in legitimate resources.  You will not be disappointed! Its one of the best tours I’ve ever had in Manitou.

Thanks

Sean