Troop 1 Parents Meeting

Thursday February 7, 2002

PRESENT: Ken Boss, Al Degenhardt, Bruce Demsky, Tom Emrich, Dana Jensen, Greg Kent, Chris Klaren, Steve Murphy, and Mike Pedersen

OLD BUSINESS:

1) Review/approve previous meeting minutes – the minutes were approved.

2) Treasure's report – as of Jan 18, 2002, troop accounts totaled $3,314.50, not counting any pancake ticket sales funds. Approximately $1500 of the balance consists of individual accounts.

3) Review activities for last month:

3.a) Rank advancements – TJ Petullo received his Star rank at the Red/White banquet, and several other scouts awarded merit badges then as well. Luke Jensen is scheduled for a Star rank Board of Review at the next troop meeting. Mike Pedersen will speak with the first class eligible scouts at the next troop meeting to cover their Civics requirements. Al will make arrangements for a speaker for the Health 1st Class requirement at a later meeting.

3.b) Winter Sports/Wilderness Survival Campout January 26-27 – the campout was a blast with the spring-like weather and everyone seemed to have a good time.

3.c) Pancake Breakfast Ticket Sales at WalMart February 2 – 13 scouts participated in the ticket sales at WalMart, 3 of them credited with double shifts. 178 tickets were sold for $356, and another $107.32 in donations were received ($463.32 total). The scouts represented themselves and the troop well throughout the day. We should hear from WalMart in about two weeks on how much of the sales they will match, and we will hear back from the Flapjackers in mid-March for the amount to be rebated back from the ticket sales. A final accounting of the amount to be credited to the troop and individual accounts will be made after the match and ticket rebates are received. Many thanks to the scouts and parents for making this a successful event.

Ken commented that the scouts sold $152 in tickets after mass on Scout Sunday, and the sales will credited based on the time the scouts were present.

3.d) Scout Sunday February 3 – Comments before and at this meeting were very positive, as scouts were on very good behavior and looked sharp at mass and at the Red/White, Blue/Gold, and Webelos graduation banquet. We welcome four new scouts to Troop 1: Kyle Gordon, Nick Jensen, Dan Murphy, and Brent Stonskas.

3.e) Sundance District Swim program sign-up – 8 scouts are currently signed up for the Swimming merit badge, with another 2 indicating interest at this meeting. 4 scouts are signed up for the Lifesaving merit badge, and 2 adults have signed up for B.S.A. lifeguard, with another adult indicating interest. Contact Jane Murphy if you want to sign up but have not yet done so.

3.f) Boundary Waters trip sign-up – Steve indicated that all 27 openings have been filled, with about 16 scouts and 11 adults. Pac-Sac (not sure of spelling) is the outfitter we have been dealing with, and they will be at the Sports show at the UNI-Dome in March if you would like to stop by. The committee had some discussion regarding plans for a March chili supper to help raise funds for the trip, and more information will be forthcoming in the next few weeks. It was mentioned several times that it be made very clear to all participants that life jackets will be worn whenever we are on the water – they are not optional. This will be reinforced repeatedly in the months leading up to the trip.

4) Review scheduled activities for current month:

4.a) Red Flannel Campout at Ingawanis February 9-10 – this was canceled due to most of the scouts expected participation in a basketball game that weekend. Al will poll the scouts and parents at Sunday night’s troop meeting to determine if there is interest by at least 6 scouts to reschedule for February 16-17.

4.b) Sundance District Scout Pancake Breakfast March 2 – Scout and adult volunteers to work at the breakfast on March 2 have been identified:

6:00-10:00 Luke Jensen & Richie Emrich

7:30-11:30 Brian Klaren & Bobby Pedersen

9:30-11:30 Josh Musgrave & Mike Berns

6:00-10:00 Tom Emrich

10:00-2:00 Chris Klaren.

Volunteers, remember you eat free. Scouts keep selling those tickets and building up your individual accounts. An advertising photo for the Courier will be arranged by Al for sometime next week for the first 3 scouts that volunteered to work.

4.c) The next parents meeting is scheduled for Monday March 4.

5) Offet Air Force Base trip March 9-10 – Al confirmed that the base is still offering this service, and he will proceed with making firm arrangements. We will likely leave very early Saturday morning and return on Sunday. A possible conflict with the 8th grade basketball team is unlikely as the coach indicated that no games are scheduled for that weekend.

6) Troop trailer insurance – we haven’t had much luck finding an accountant to do the paperwork pro-bono. Al said he would check with his sister-in-law to see if she would be interested in donating the time.

7) Philmont high adventure camp registration (summer 2004, sign up early 2002) – Al is waiting for notification as to when registration will be opened. We will set up a telephone network with the parents as soon as it is know when registration will occur to improve our chances at making our troop registration.

NEW BUSINESS:

1) Amount owed from last year’s summer camp – When registering for summer camp last year, the troop wrote a check for the amount that was requested at that time. Since then, the council determined that more money was owed and has been invoicing the troop for an additional $240, of which $50 was deducted from our account at the scout office. As we believe the remaining $190 is legitimate and resulting from an initial error on their part, Dana will write a check to cover the unpaid balance.

At this point the group digressed to discuss the extremely poor food that was served at camp last year. Some scouts are not sure they want to go back to camp as the food was very unappetizing. Al notified the camp that if the food is that bad next year, they can expect McDonalds and pizza delivered to the dining hall each meal for Troop 1. Chris will draft a letter for the committee to review and send to the camp director explaining our concerns and asking for their corrective actions to prevent a recurrence.

2) Scout candy bar sales – the council conducts two fund raisers each year, popcorn sales and candy bar sales. As we did not sell popcorn this year, Al will sign the troop up for the candy bar sales to make them available for the scouts to sell if they want to participate. Approximately 25% of the proceeds each scout sells will go to the individual accounts. Al will have more information at upcoming troop meetings.

3) Email addresses for parents of new scouts – Dana will send Chris the email addresses for the parents new to Troop 1.

4) Merit Badge College March 2, 2002 – Steve Murphy is coordinating an out-of-council experience for Troop 1 scouts to attend a merit badge college in Clear Lake. Contact Steve at 291-7727 if you have interest in attending and earning a new merit badge.

5) Assistant Scoutmaster – Steve Murphy will be receiving B.S.A. training on March 2 to qualify as assistant scoutmaster to work with the new scouts. Thank you Steve for your time and commitment to the scouting program.

6) Other new business – there was no other new business, and the meeting was adjourned.

TABLED FOR FUTURE MEETINGS:

1) Trailer shelves