It was a good service weekend for the troop and thank you to all of you that came out for Scouting for Food as well as those that stayed on to help John Wells on his Eagle Project! We had plenty of help this weekend (thank you all) and as a result we collected the food in record time. Alexandria Troops and Packs collected 10,587 lbs (5.29 Tons) of food goods of which we collected 948 pounds, see attached photo. Way to go everyone!
A special thanks to Mr. Moore for running this activity this year and Mrs. Ramirez for helping promote it!
NO TROOP MEETING
There will not be a meeting on Monday, in observance of Veterans Day. For those going to the Naval Academy next weekend, please see the email from Mr. Mulvany concerning carpool assignments!
MEMBERSHIP UPDATE
See note below from our Committee Chair, Mrs. Devlin. Scouts BSA (National) has a new system for re-chartering this year. Instead of the troop collecting your fees and paying collectively, each family is asked to pay directly. The only caveat is that the troop will still collect our dues directly. See note below and thanks for your patience as we get used to the new system.
Good evening scouts, parents, ASMs, committee members and T131 fans,
……
Cutting to the chase here, it’s almost time for fees/dues/recharter.
Adults
BSA Adult Volunteer Annual Fee = $65 paid direct to BSA
Scouts
BSA Youth Annual Fee = $180 (up $5 from last year):
- $85 National BSA fee
- $80 Participation fee for NCAC (National Capital Area Council)
- $15 for Scouts Life magazine (optional)
- Paid directly from parents to BSA, they’ll reach out to you via email in the next month or sowhen your son’s registration is expiring (most T131 scouts expire 31DEC2024)
Troop 131 Scout Dues = $25
- Goes toward camping gear, scout food, rank patches and merit badges
- Troop 131 dues are only for scouts—no dues for adults
- Paid via Zelle/cash/check to Mr. Baldwin by Nov. 15
- Scouts can pay some or all of this with the funds in their scout accounts on file with the troop—see attached doc from Mr. Baldwin for your scout’s balance
Note: We never want the ability to pay dues to stand in the way of the Scouting experience. If you would like a scholarship, please contact me or any adult leader directly and we’ll take care of it!
This is a big shift for us as a Troop—we used to collect all Troop money and submit a check directly. We’re taking notes on the new system, and BSA is eager to improve the process however they can.
Last important piece of info from the committee meeting is the adult camping fees–starting in 2025, we will waive adult camping fees for those volunteers who are supporting our activities! (If there are extra per-person fees for events like climbing or rafting, it will be announced.) Thank you to all who continue to support our boys’ outdoor experiences.
Please reach out with questions.
Anastasia Devlin
Chair, Troop 131
786.457.3043
SCUBA CERTIFICATION & MERIT BADGE SIGN-UP/INTEREST FORM
See link below for this amazing scuba program that Mr. Saulki has set up. There are three parts starting with Discover Scuba in December, then the Confined Water Course in May and the Final Scuba Campout and Open Water Course in June.
You do not have to commit to all three activities at this time, however, they build on each other, for instance you cannot do the Open Water Course if you have not completed the previous two activities. You must compete all there to get the Merit Badge and Certifications. Some scouts completed the Discover Scuba Course last year, so they can skip this first part if they want and move right to the confined water course.
I would encourage all of you to take the Discover Scuba course. If you love it, then sign up for the other two courses. If not, then no problem.
Please use this form to sign up (commitment) for the Discover Scuba but indicate interest only for the Confined Water and Open Water Course. We will have separate sign-up sheets for those two and following the Discover Scuba Course.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfbxA9oTZsJbSlW31xic50bwQt3wkxm7M7S5YebMvWIj2ODnQ/viewform
PHILMONT SCOUT RANCH-2026
I know it seems crazy to be thinking about the Summer of 2026, but such is the requirement for High Adventure Camps
Thanks to the efforts of Mr. Farmer, the “lottery” (where we request certain dates) for Philmont Scout Ranch opened earlier this month and I am pleased to announce that we were able to reserve a spot for two crews for a 7-day trek for August 1st -8th 2026!
See link below for additional information and sign up/interest sheet. Please note that an initial $150 deposit will be due in late November of this year.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdN4gfaMCcMhY5pKC53yJj7iaj_xf1rbGmptw73twFLusIKgw/viewform
SCHEDULE: One Month(ish) Look Ahead
Monday, November 11th – No Troop Meeting Federal Holiday
Friday, November 15th-17th – Camping US Naval Academy Scout Day
Monday, November 18th – Troop Meeting (BoR)- 7:30 PM – Immanuel Church on the Hill
Monday, November 25th – No Troop Meeting- Thanksgiving
Monday, December 2nd – Troop Meeting – 7:30 PM – Immanuel Church on the Hill (TROOP ELECTIONS)
Saturday, December 7th – Discover Scuba – Chinquapin pool
Monday, December 9th – Troop Meeting (PLC)- 7:30 PM – Immanuel Church on the Hill
Monday, December 16th – Troop Meeting (BoR)- 7:30 PM – Immanuel Church on the Hill
Monday, December 23rd – No Troop Meeting
Monday, December 30th – No Troop Meeting
GENERAL TROOP MEETING INFO:
For our typical meetings, please wear your full Class A Uniform! Bring your Book, Bring a headlamp! Leave your phone in your pocket! and have a good time!
Blue Cards! Did you know that your Scoutmaster can email you a blue card? Just send me, Mr. Ramirez, an email (scoutmaster@t131.org)! Note that the SCOUT must request the blue card, not the parent!
See you all at the next troop meeting.
-MR
