2025-09-21 This Week: Troop Meeting, Philmont, Committee Meeting, Pumpkin Drop off, Philmont Training Hike, One Month Look Ahead

Troop 131,

I hope you had a great weekend!  I am in a good mood because of a great Commanders win and the Cowboys (at the time of writing this email) appear to be losing their game!

We had two scouts at the OA Fall fellowship this weekend and as always they had a great time.

I just wanted to say Good Job to everyone who was at the last meeting.  I was happy to see you all work on your uniform, salute, scout sign and flag ceremony protocol, now let’s make sure to put it to practice starting tomorrow!  Remember, crocs or sandals are not appropriate attire with your scout’s uniform and a pen and your scout book is considered to be part of it!

See the notes below, concerning Philmont Payment (due tomorrow) and the upcoming committee meeting (Thursday).  We also have two activities the following week, pumpkin drop off (Saturday the 4^th) and a training hike (Sunday the 5^th).

Just a heads up and for the meeting next week. In preparation for the upcoming Camporee (Oct 17^th) the troop will provide model rockets for you to build and then bring on the camping trip.  At the camporee (Wonders of Flight) we will have the opportunity to launch them and work on the Space Exploration Merit Badge.  We will have a limited number of rockets, so Scouts who sign up (coming soon) for the camporee will have priority over those who don’t.

TROOP MEETING

We will have a Troop meeting at 7:30 PM this Monday at Immanuel Church on the Hill!  Your leadership team has a great plan.  Since we have a big fall camping schedule … We will continue to work on our cooking knowledge!

Also, we have a little service project to do for the church concerning the fire pit.  I will need 4-6 scouts to help with this.

PHILMONT – Payment due 9/22/2025

Philmont participants, the advance payment of $622.50 per person is due on October 1^st, however, and so that we have time to process the check, we ask that you make payment to the troop by September 22^nd!

The final payment of $622.50 is due to the troop on 2/22/2026

We have reserved spots for two crews, with each crew allowed a maximum of 12 people including a maximum of 4 adults. If you are interested in going, we have spots available for 3 additional scouts and 1 additional adult.

The trip is scheduled for August 1^st-8^th 2026.  While this is a 7-day trek, we will likely spend a few days beforehand in Colorado doing training hikes and acclimating to the higher altitude and then a day or two on the back end for rest and travel.  From a planning standpoint we are talking about a nearly two-week trip, roughly from 7/29-8/9.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdN4gfaMCcMhY5pKC53yJj7iaj_xf1rbGmptw73twFLusIKgw/viewform

Easiest way to make payment for this or other Scout events is Zelle:

Name: TreasurerT131

Email: Treasurer@T131.Org

When making payment via Zelle, please be sure to add a note telling the Treasurer what the payment is for; alternatively, you can send a separate email.

COMMITTEE MEETING- (Thursday)

Parents, see note below from Mrs. Devlin concerning the upcoming committee meeting!  Hope to see you there.

______

Good morning, parents, ASMs, and committee members,

Please save the date for our semi-annual parent/committee meeting, Thursday, Sept. 25 @ 7:30pm. 

Parents can learn about troop processes and plans; ask questions, make suggestions, and find where you can support. 

All are welcome–either in person at Mr. Grocki’s house (902 Commonwealth Ave.) or online via zoom.

Zoom #1 (starting at 7:30pm)

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/78986803715?pwd=ZVNH95ymmfNUZe8285bl5sygq1Xsym.1

Meeting ID: 789 8680 3715 / Passcode: vuW00y

Second Zoom if we run over 40 min:

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/7362310020?pwd=szvRf55JWAOuYiVkigVen4CDRAxZit.1&omn=72382295079

Meeting ID: 736 231 0020 / Passcode: #2

Volunteer Needs

We are looking for some adult volunteers in these areas:

• Scouting for Food rep – November is our annual SFF drive–looking for someone to coordinate with the organization to plan sticker drop off and food pick up. 
• Summer Camp Coordinator – After Cat Lacayo’s overhaul, this sounds like a well-oiled system, looking for a newer parent to take the reins!
• Smaller ways – be a merit badge counselor, a BoR member or a weekend driver for camping trips.

See you next week! 

Anastasia Devlin

Chair, Troop 131

786.457.3043

PUMPKIN DROP OFF– Oct 4^th

Save the date, the pumpkin drop-off starts on Saturday October 4^th!  This is the same day as Art on the Avenue, so ideally, we should arrive at 8:30AM but come at any time if you have other morning activities.  Make sure to wear your GREEN Class B T-shirt and bring work gloves. This is a lot of fun, and we should come out in FULL force to help support our amazing sponsor- Immanuel Church on the Hill.  We will send out a sign-up sheet later in the week.

PHILMONT TRAINING HIKE – Oct 5^th

All, see note below from Mr. Grocki.  Remember, all scouts in the troop are welcome to come as well.  Please sign up.

__________

All,

The year of Philmont training continues on Sunday October 5th with another local 10 mile hike carrying backpacks this time (about 20lbs).  All scouts signed up for Philmont should attend unless they have a conflict, but anyone can join.  We’ll hike from Jones point to Mt. Vernon and then get rides back to Alexandria. Please sign up so we can track participation and progress toward the hiking merit badge and let me know if you’re able to provide road support.

https://forms.gle/ZDXyqL5kJB9ooFFbA

What: 10 Mile Hike

When: Sunday 7 Sep @ 0900
Where: Four Mile Run at end of Commonwealth Ave

– Bring your day pack with your 10 essentials -scoutmaster will review at the start of the hike!

– Bring a snack and plenty of water.

– Running or trail running shoes are acceptable in lieu of hiking shoes since this is mostly a pavement hike. 

– Wear your green T-131 Class B shirts.

Thanks,

Chris Grocki

Outings Coordinator

Boy Scout Troop 131

SCHEDULE: One Month(ish) Look Ahead

Monday, September 22^nd – Troop Meeting – 7:30 PM – Immanuel Church on the Hill

Thursday, Sept 25^th – Committee, ASM and Parents Meeting- 7:30 – Scoutmasters House (& Virtual)

Monday, September 29^th – Troop Meeting – 7:30 PM – Immanuel Church on the Hill

Saturday, October 4^th – Pumpkin Drop off 1 – 8:30am to noon – Immanuel Church on the Hill

Sunday, October 5^th – Philmont Training Hike (changed to avoid Art on the Avenue)

Monday, October 6^th – Troop Meeting – 7:30 PM (PLC) – Immanuel Church on the Hill

Friday, October 10^th – 13^th – Camping – NCAC Climboree (long weekend) – Camp Mountaineer, WV

Monday, October 13^th – No Meeting- Federal Holiday

Friday, October 17^th – 19^th – 4 Mile Run Camporee – Wonders of the Flight – Flying Circus Aerodrome – Bealton, VA

Saturday, October 18^th – Pumpkin Drop off 2 – 8:30am to noon – Immanuel Church on the Hill

Monday, October 20^th – Troop Meeting – 7:30 PM (BoR) – Immanuel Church on the Hill

Monday, October 27^th – Troop Meeting – 7:30 PM – Immanuel Church on the Hill