Troop 131,
I hope you are enjoying your summer!
TROOP MEETING
We will have a Troop meeting at 7:30 PM this Monday at Immanuel Church on the Hill!
I will not be at the meeting on Monday and will be on Vacation for the next two weeks. However, if you need a blue card, scoutmaster conference, etc … any one of the other ASM’s can help you out.
Since most of the troop leadership will be at Sea Base in the coming week, there will be no meeting on August 11th.
Following the meeting tomorrow, the next meeting is on August 18th. Please note that we will have a PLC that day and can schedule a Board of Review if you need one. Please talk to or email Mrs. Farmer (Advancement Chair) if you are close to completing your next rank and ready for BoR.
See notes below concerning the upcoming CoH/Picnic and Patrol Activity. At the meeting, I would like the patrol leaders to start talking to their scouts about the activity they want to do the weekend of August 29th! Please make a list and take notes!
COMMITTEE & ADULT LEADERSHIP CHANGES
See the note below from Mrs. Devlin (Committee Chair) announcing some of the additions and changes to troop leadership.
Congratulations and a gigantic THANK YOU to our new coordinators/leads for these different committee positions, as well as our new assistant scout masters! This troop continues to run so smoothly because of the generosity of our talented adults. (Minimal time to help? Try the 45-minute, once-a-month boards-of-review, ask Kathryn Farmer!)
Tejas Patel – Religious Emblems Coordinator and Training Coordinator
Chris Grocki – Outdoor chair
Daren Devlin – Asst Outdoor Chair
Patrick Byrnett – Membership chair
John Yuda – Webmaster
Ed Mills/ Steve Green – Wreath Fundraiser Coordinators
John Yuda – ASM
Eric Reading – ASM
PHILMONT – Open Spots & Training Schedule
I know it seems crazy to be talking about Philmont when we have not even gone to Sea Base, however, preparation needs to start one year out!
We still have spots open for the trip, scheduled for August 1st-8th 2026. While this is a 7-day trek, we 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.
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 4 additional scouts and 1 additional adult.
See the link below to sign up and please pay a $150 Deposit fee to the treasurer. If you register, please email me directly as well.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdN4gfaMCcMhY5pKC53yJj7iaj_xf1rbGmptw73twFLusIKgw/viewform
We are in the process of putting together the training schedule, however, the current plan has us begin in September with at least one training hike or backpacking trip every month until we go to Philmont in August. This will culminate in a 6 day shake down back-packing trip at Goshen/Lenhok’sin (see link below) in Mid-July of 2026. Some of these will correspond with Troop Camping trips, for instance the Troop trip in November will be a back-packing trip, however in other months the training hikes will be in addition to the troop activity. All scouts in the troop are welcome to join the training hikes even if they are not going to Philmont.
https://www.gotogoshen.org/camps-programs/lenhoksin-high-adventure/
We will design the training and backpacking hikes/treks to satisfy the requirements for the Hiking and Backpacking Merit badges.
ASM Meeting- August 28th – Scoutmaster’s House
In support of training for Philmont, I am hosting a planning meeting at my house on August 28th. I ask that all the adults on the Philmont Crew please attend. In addition, ASMs, Committee Members or Unit Scouter Reserves who camp with the troop are also welcome to attend as there will be some areas where we overlap with typical troop outings. I already sent an invitation out for this, if you did not receive it, please email me directly.
WOOD BADGE
See a note below from our District concerning the wood badge. At some point, I will do this, however, this year is already packed for me. With that said, I would encourage all Scouters to do this if they can!
________
I am Bill Thewes and have the privilege of serving on the staff of the upcoming Wood Badge course. I am writing to you to ask you to consider attending a Wood Badge course or help encourage others to attend if you have already attended.
Wood Badge is intended for all adults in Scouting, as well as national, council, and district volunteers and professionals. It focuses on leadership. The objective is to demonstrate the aims and methods of Scouting through the presentation of leadership skills, organizational tools, and a variety of activities based on the best of Scouting traditions. In addition, participants will enjoy the fellowship of sharing the experience with volunteer and professional Scouters while having a great deal of fun.
I invite you to participate in one of our upcoming Wood Badge courses that our council is presenting. This will be a tremendous opportunity for you to:
• Understand Scouting as a family of interrelated, values-based programs providing age-appropriate activities for youth.
• Recognize leadership concepts used in America and discover how those concepts are relevant to our values-based movement.
• Apply the skills you learn to your Scouting role, at work, at home, and elsewhere.
• Revitalize your commitment to Scouting by sharing in an inspirational experience that helps to provide Scouting with renewed leadership to accomplish its mission.
Wood Badge has served as a source of inspiration to thousands. In return, Wood Badge participants have positively affected the lives of millions of America’s youth. Wood Badge will help you perform your Scouting functions more effectively and with less time and trouble, improving your unit for your child and all the other members.
The next course will be conducted at Camp Snyder in two weekend sessions. The dates are September 12-14 and October 4-5. You must attend and participate for all five days, and after the course you will do some projects to help your unit and Scouting in general. You design the projects and complete them within the 18 months after the course.
If you can not attend the upcoming course, please consider attending a future course.
The cost of the course is $310.00. There is limited scholarship assistance available. Please contact Mr. John Keenan (john.keenan4@protonmail.com), our course director, if you have any concern about attending because of cost.
Course enrollment is limited. I encourage you to register as soon as possible to reserve your spot. You can register at the NCAC Wood Badge webpage: https://scoutingevent.com/082-woodbadge2025.
I sincerely hope that you can participate. You will enjoy it fully and benefit from it immensely. Thank you for all you already do for Scouting. The Wood Badge experience will enable you to make an even greater contribution as you help deliver the promise of Scouting.
Should you need more information, I would be happy to talk with you.
Yours in Scouting,
Bill Thewes
Assistant Scoutmaster, Wood Badge Course 25-2.
william.thewes@gmail.com
M: 253-985-0687
COURT OF HONOR/PICNIC: 8/25
As is now our tradition, in lieu of a Troop meeting we will have our annual Court of Honor and Picnic!!! This is a lot of fun, and I encourage everyone to attend. It is a great way to acknowledge all your accomplishments over the past few months, socialize with the other families in the troop and celebrate the end of summer!
For the new scouts, this is a family event, so parents, grandparents and siblings are welcome!
The picnic starts at 6:00 (earlier than previous years), however, we ask that Scouts participating (and any other scouts who want to help) arrive at least ½ hour earlier to help with set-up!
The troop will supply burgers and hot dogs; however, the rest is potluck. We will send out a link for the potluck closer to the picnic!
As always, the Court of Honor is Scout led, so please support the Scouts in their speaking parts.
PATROL OUTING- 8/29-8/31
Each patrol will plan our own activity and while I would prefer an overnight camping trip, I am fine with a day trip such as going to a baseball game, seeing a movie and then getting pizza afterward, a day hike on the Billy-Goat trail, etc. It is up to you all to decide.
Patrols of approximately the same age can plan joint activities. For instance, the Pickles and Bananas could do a joint activity as well as the Goats and Penguins.
Adults, we will need 2-3 adults to help cover these outings, with the ASM’s divided up we will need plenty of help, so this is the activity to join your scouts!
SCHEDULE: One Month(ish) Look Ahead
Monday, August 4th – Troop Meeting – 7:30 PM – Immanuel Church on the Hill
August 6th -11th – SEA BASE- Coral Reef Sailing (Boat-1) – Islamorada, Florida
August 8th -13th – SEA BASE- Keys Adventure Sailing (Boat-2) – Islamorada, Florida
Monday, August 11th – No Troop Meeting
Monday, August 18th – Troop Meeting – 7:30 PM (PLC) (BoR)- Immanuel Church on the Hill
Monday, August 25th – Court of Honor- Family Picnic 6:00 PM – Immanuel Church on the Hill
Thursday, August 28th – ASM and Philmont Planning Meeting- Scoutmasters house
Friday August 29th – 31st – Patrol Outing 2.0 (ACPS no school on Friday) – TBD
Monday, September 1st – No Troop Meeting Federal Holiday
Saturday, September 6th – Troop Fundraiser
