Boy Scout Troop 1001

The April 4-6, 2008 campout will be to Camp Cherokee at Clements Scout Ranch near Athens, Texas for the North Trail District Camporee. As usual, we will meet in the TBC parking lot at 5:30 pm Friday to form up and load up. We will return Sunday about 12:30 pm to the hospital parking lot across the street from TBC.

At Camporee, we are competing with the other troops in the district. Our appearance is part of the scoring, so be sure to wear your complete Class A uniform, including Troop 1001 neckerchief and cap and BSA pants and socks. Also be sure to bring your green Troop 1001 Class B t-shirt to wear when the Class A is not required. Our apologies to our newest members; we may have run short on 1001 caps, but ask you to do your best with the rest of the uniform.

Trip Highlights

• Four day, three night bus trip
  
• Our favorite driver, Gus!
• Galveston beach
• NASA Space Center  Houston
• Sleep on the Battleship Texas 
• San Jacinto Battlefield
• Sign up now!
  

The new school calendar may not be your favorite act to come out of Austin but it has had one good consequence for Troop 1001. Because Memorial Day comes before the end of the school year, we are able to schedule a big, fun camping trip over the long weekend. It's such a big deal that now is the time to put it on your calendar and make your reservation. So read on about this exciting opportunity.

The Memorial day weekend trip to Galveston is rapidly approaching. This will be the biggest and the best trip of the year! The date for departure from TBC via Lone Star Coaches bus is 6:00 PM Friday, May 23rd. We will travel direct to Galveston State Park and stay in screened in shelters on the bay side of Galveston Island. We will spend Saturday on Galveston Island's West Beach. The park has bathrooms, showers and electricity next to our shelters.

Sunday morning we will depart for NASA for an afternoon of fun at Space Center Houston. Sunday afternoon we depart to the Battleship Texas for an overnight stay on the actual battleship that served in World War II. We will get a VIP tour and see a movie about the history of the ship. The ship has air conditioned bunks for 50 people. The ship provides breakfast before we depart from the adjacent San Jacinto Battlefield. Monday is Memorial Day and we will be in the spot where Texas won it"s independence from Mexico. How cool is that?

We should arrive back at Trinity Bible Church by 6:00 PM on Monday.

The cost for the three day all inclusive bus trip, lodging, and food is only $100.00 per person. Spaces are limited to the first 50 people who sign up, so make your payment and reservation early to assure you have a spot.

The March 7-9, 2008 campout will be to Myers Park, formerly the Collin County Youth Park, near McKinney for Camporee Prep. As usual, we will meet in the TBC parking lot at 5:30 pm Friday to form up and load up. We will return Sunday about 12:30 pm to the hospital parking lot across the street from TBC.

Update March 11, 2008: No class will be held March 17 due to spring break. Requirements 1 and 2 are due at the March 24 meeting.

This Eagle-required merit badge, suitable for Scouts 13 years and older, is again being offered by Mrs. Lofley in time to complete the badge at the May Court of Honor.  The merit badge class will meet on the following dates from 6:15 p.m. to 6:50 p.m:

• March 3, 2008
• March 17 (cancelled due to spring break)
• March 24 (the Monday after Easter)
• March 31
• April 14
• April 21 (even though there is no troop meeting)
• April 28

Field Trip

We will attend a meeting of the Richardson City Council on a date to be announced. It will be on one of our regular Mondays.

Requirements

There are nine requirements, including some written work. Most will be accomplished on your own time, with some classroom time devoted to presentations. Included is a requirement to deliver a speech, as well as a requirement to plan and act as master of ceremonies for a Court of Honor or Campfire program. So if you would like to receive this badge at the May Court of Honor, you must schedule a campfire program between now and then.

Please bring your blue card, completed and signed by Scoutmaster Coon, to the March 17, 2008 meeting.

Mrs. Lofley can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or by cell at 214-793-6131

This coming Sunday is Scout Sunday at Trinity Bible Church! All scouts and scouters should plan to attend. Here are the particulars:

The 98th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America will be celebrated by Trinity Bible Church and Troop 1001 on the morning of Sunday February 24 this year. All Scouts in the Troop and your families (regardless of faith) are invited to visit this Trinity worship service together as a Troop in full Class A uniform. Trinity will honor Scouting and recognize our Troop. Troop 1001 will present a Flag Ceremony. The Scouts will sit together on the designated pews near the front. Scout families may sit wherever you are comfortable. Patrol Leaders call your patrol for a headcount and to spread the information:

• 8:30 – Meet in the atrium. Class A uniform.
• 8:45 – Form up in two lines (in the atrium. Do not crowd the lobby right in front of the sanctuary.)
• 8:55 – Enter sanctuary in formation and sit in designated pews.
• 9:00 – Service begins with opening music and Pastor’s welcome.
• 9:05 – Enter Color Guard. Flag ceremony. Pledge of Allegiance, Scout Oath and Scout Law.

The service ends at about 10:00 and there is a 45-minute break in the atrium which all are invited to stay for, or you are free to leave. Any Scouts who want to stay and visit the Youth Ministry, it is very good and is from 10:45 to Noon. See Grayson or TJ, Zack, or Alby. If you have any questions, call Mr. Frank, 972-658-0103.

The 2008 Friends of Scouting Dinner is March 13 at the Anatole Hotel. Pat Summerall is the Master of Ceremonies and Rayfield Wright is the guest speaker. The dinner is for persons who have given or will pledge to give $250 to the Friends of Scouting in 2008. It is sort of an advanced "Thank You."

So, all you need to do is to secure a reservation through David Wakefield (you can contact me if you don’t know David), show up for the dinner, make a pledge at the dinner to give $250 or more to FOS and that’s it! (Of course you need to make good on your pledge, and you will receive a reminder in the mail later.) A spouse can go on the same donation. Several Troop 1001 families have given this much in the past, and thus they should feel free to make a reservation if they plan to do it again this year.

Let me know if you have interest in attending, donating, sponsoring, etc... Contact Doug Miller or David Wakefield for more information.

Scouting for Food helps many DFW food banks including Network Ministries in Richardson and is the largest single day food collection event in DFW. Scouting for Food is an excellent opportunity for scouts to earn service project hours for rank advancement. This year's Scouting for Food will be Saturday, February 16. Please meet at the church at 8:30 AM. We also need 6 adults to drive and assist the scouts. Depending on the number of scouts and adults we should be done by 10:30.

Be Prepared! 

• Bring a permission form signed by a parent
• Wear your Class A uniform including neckerchief, belt, and socks
• Eat dinner before boarding the bus or bring a sack meal
  
• Check the weather forecast

 Troop 1001 will be camping in Inks Lake State Park northwest of Austin, Texas, for the Report to State parade (details) and a tour of Longhorn Caverns on the weekend of February 1-3, 2008. Scouts should be at the church parking lot no later than 5:30 p.m. on Friday evening in Class A uniform. We will be returning about 1 p.m. Sunday to the TBC parking lot.

  The troop will be traveling by charter bus. We will set up camp at Inks Lake State Park Friday night. On Saturday, we will travel by bus to downtown Austin to participate in the annual Report to State parade. Following the parade, we will again travel by bus to Longhorn Caverns for a 3 hour tour guided by a geologist and then return to Inks Lake for the night. Sunday morning we will break camp and return on the bus.

Be sure to wear your full Class A uniform. We want to look sharp for the parade. Also be sure to eat dinner before you board the bus Friday night or bring a sack dinner as the bus will not be making any stops.

Scouts will have the opportunity to work on their Citizenship in the Nation and Geology merit badges during this trip. If you want to participate and have not already obtained the scoutmaster's signature on a blue card for each merit badge, be sure to do so Friday at departure.

If you have not already signed up for this trip, there are a limited number of slots still available. Contact Mr. Coon or Mr. Watts as soon as possible. You will need to bring the $50 fee with you Friday.