Boy Scout Troop 1001

Hello all Scouts and Scouters,

The Scouts covered a lot of ground Monday.

We started off with the annual Order of the Arrow elections led by Travis L. Congratulations to all the Scouts who were on the ballot. The results of the election will be available at Camporee.

The Scouts continued their lashings/camp gadget practice with each patrol making a tripod pot or lantern holder and then had a tips and tricks session on derby car building.

In spite of all this, the boys finished on time and were in PLC by 8:30.

Derby Day is coming soon.

This year’s derby will be held during the January 29-31 campout. That leaves only two weekends to finish your cars. There will be prizes for speed as well as style so make your cars fast and original!

Campout details will be posted soon.

Scout Sunday

Sunday, February 8, 2010, is “Scout Sunday”. All Scouts should plan to meet at Trinity Bible Church at 8:30 that morning. The service will be over by 10:15. This is a Full Class A event. TBC provides a fantastic home for our troop. Please show your appreciation by attending this special Scout service.

Scouting for Food

Our annual food drive will be February 20th. With the continuing economic conditions and high unemployment the need for donations of food is greater than ever. If our whole troop works together we can make a big difference in the lives of those less fortunate. We need each Scout to step up to this challenge and live the Scout Oath “to help other people at all times”. Watch this web site and your newsletter for details.

Next Meeting – January 18

On Monday, 01/18, the boys will be working on Orienteering skills. A course will be set up for each patrol to follow relying on their compass reading and pace count skills. Remember, there are often misleading markers in these courses but due diligence with your orienteering skills should allow you to find the right markers.

Yours in Scouting,
Scoutmaster Payette

Hello Scouts and Scouters,

During our last meeting the Scouts worked on advancement and preparation for the Court of Honor. Congratulations to all the Scouts who advanced in rank this week. We had 11 Scouts advance during this meeting alone!

Troop 1001 wins First Place at the Richardson Christmas Parade!

On Saturday, Dec.5, Troop 1001 participated in the Richardson Christmas Parade. When the judging was over, Troop 1001 won first place in their division for best float. Thanks to all the Scouts and Scouters who came out early Saturday morning in the cold to help out with this fun event.

Six Flags/Service Day - December 12

Saturday, Dec. 12, will be our day of service and fun at Six Flags. Scouts should wear Class B uniforms and bring work gloves. The cost is $20 per person, which covers ticket cost and parking for those who drive. If your Patrol Leader hasn't contacted you yet make sure to contact him ASAP and RSVP. Family is welcome to attend. Parents must accompany non-scout children and youth. Be sure to bring a signed permission form.

Parents - We need your help to make this event possible. At this time we have transportation for only 7 of the 40 Scouts who have signed up. Please contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , or call my cell at 972-880-6706 if you can help drive.

Itinerary for Saturday, December 12

• 9 a.m. Arrive at Cottonwood Park
• noon Break for lunch
• 1 p.m. Leave for Six Flags
• 2 p.m. Arrive at Six Flags
• 10 p.m. Park closes

Drivers may leave the park early with their Scouts but must contact our Senior Scouts, who will be monitoring attendance. Contact information will be provided.

Court of Honor - December 15

Our Winter Court of Honor will be held at Trinity Bible Church on Tuesday, Dec. 15. There will be dinner, a slide show, skits, and awards honoring the "Boys of 1001." Dinner starts at 6:00 followed by the CoH at 7:30.

Next Meeting - January 4th

Our next meeting is Monday, January 4, where the boys will be working on their orienteering skills. The compass work portion of orienteering takes patience and practice but is an essential skill for all Scouts to master. We will also be welcoming two new Scouts - Austin H. and Anton R from Pack 2007.

Yours in Scouting,
Scoutmaster Payette

Hello Scouts and Scouters,

Our last Troop meeting was kicked off with a uniform inspection by our District Commissioner, Mike Reisinger. I was very happy to see so many scouts in FULL CLASS A. Great job!

After uniform inspection and campout menu planning the Scouts learned how to use backpacking stoves and then went outside to practice cooking with the stoves.

The last few meetings have focused on the skills the Scouts will need for our backpacking campout this weekend. They’ve learned about backpacks and what to take with them (this isn’t car camping!), Shelter building, and cooking on the trail. Now it’s time to put those skills to use!

This weekend, 11/20-22, is our backpacking campout. We will travel to Camp Meisenbach Friday night and set up base camp. Saturday, we will hike most of the Governor’s trail and set up camp along the trail. Capture the Flag and Trail to First Class activities are on the agenda for Saturday. Sunday morning we will pack up and hike back to the base camp. Remember – always be prepared for rain. Bring rain gear and build rainproof shelters. Those who want to can sleep in tents. The Saturday and Sunday hikes combined will be roughly five miles. For details of this campout, see the link on the page.

Only two weeks left before the Court of Honor

The next CoH is coming up on December 15th. That leaves less than two weeks to schedule your Scoutmaster conference and Board of Review. Don’t wait until the last minute!

Christmas Parade

The PLC has voted to take part in the Richardson Christmas Parade Saturday morning, December 5th. Watch your newsletter for details.

Six Flags/Service Day

Saturday, December 12th is our Service project / Six Flags day. The Scouts will perform a service project and then finish the day at Six Flags Over Texas. Watch your newsletter for details.

No Troop meeting Monday, November 23

Due to our campout this weekend, there will be no regular Troop meeting on Monday, November 23. The PLC will meet at 7:00, as usual.

Yours in Scouting,
Scoutmaster Payette

Hello Scouts and Scouters,

During our Monday Troop meeting the Scouts worked on shelter building in preparation for the November 20-22 backpacking campout. They learned four different shelter styles and then each patrol practiced building a shelter that will keep them warn and dry in the wilderness.

Service to our Chartered Organization – Trinity Bible Church

This Saturday, 11/14, is a Church Work Day at Trinity Bible Church. TBC cheerfully provides our Troop with an outstanding facility and support which allows us to have one of the best Troops in the Council. Please help us give back to those who do so much for us. The Church needs your help this Saturday from 8 am to noon with some light chores. We will meet in the parking lot. This is a class B event and also counts for service hours. Wear work gloves if you have them. Remember, many hands make light work. If you also would like to help with the Flag Service (see below) please bring your Class A in a bag so you can put it on after the Church Work Day is over.

Flag Pickup – This Saturday, 12:00 – 2:00

This Saturday, 11/14, is the last Flag Service Day of the year. Please plan to be on-hand for this fun event. We will meet at the TBC parking lot at 12:00 noon and should be finished around 2:00. This is a class A event.

Next Troop meeting – Uniform Inspection

Our next Troop meeting will be Monday, November 16. The Scouts will continue to prepare for their campout by practicing their cooking skills using backpacking stoves.

Remember, this is Money Monday! Make sure to bring your money for food, a campout permission form and your handbook.

Our District Commissioner will be joining us for a quick discussion of Uniform guidelines followed by a Uniform Inspection. Don’t forget to wear your full class A – socks, pants, belt, shirt, neckerchief, slide, handbook.

Six Flags Day – December 12

December 12 is our Six Flags and Service day. We will start out with a couple of hours of service and then head to Six Flags for a day of fun! The service opportunity is still being planned, but we are hoping to help out by picking up litter at our favorite park – Cottonwood! The cost for Six Flags is not yet final, but we should be eligible for a group rate that will save money off the regular ticket price. Watch your newsletter for more information.

Yours in Scouting,
Scoutmaster Payette

Hello Scouts and Scouters,

We had a wonderful campout at Camp Simpson, OK. Somehow we managed to thread the needle again and had a beautiful, rain-free weekend. The camp area was very spacious and provided lots of potential for some serious Capture the Flag.

Some scheduling challenges forced the Scouts to rearrange their activity plan a little but they still managed to cover everything on their agenda. Campfire building went well, considering the damp conditions, and most patrols managed to “burn their string”. Congratulations to Jared C.’s patrol for winning the campfire competition.

Our training team continued to focus on Trail to First Class. Our Training ASPL’s goal is “First Class in the first year”. If you completed requirements during the campout make sure to have your Patrol Leader sign your handbook!

The Saturday Campfire went well with lots of participation from all patrols, including the visiting Webelos. The campfire was closed with a flag retirement ceremony. Thanks to Grady F., Ben J., and our OA Scouts for a putting on such a touching and respectful ceremony to honor our flag.

Our guest Chaplain, Wilten H., conducted a lively Scouts Own Service Sunday morning and had all the Scouts very engaged in his message. Thanks go to Wilten and also to Grady F. for developing the guest Chaplain program. It is off to a great start!

Congratulations to Alex V.’s patrol for winning Honor Patrol of this campout. Great work!

OA Leadership

It is with great pleasure that I extend my congratulations to Travis L. for being appointed to the position of Election Lead for the Yanush chapter of the Order of the Arrow. Chapter advisor, Paul S., stressed the importance of Travis’ role and that a Scout can not be elected to this position. Election Lead is a position of great responsibility and a Scout can only enter this role by appointment.

Next Meeting

Our next meeting will be held Monday, 11/02, at 7:00. In preparation for our November backpacking campout the Troop will cover hiking gear and how to pack for a backpacking trip. Future meetings will focus on shelter building and cooking over a backpacking stove. Make sure to wear your Class A uniform and bring your handbook.

Yours in Scouting,
Scoutmaster Payette

Hello Scouts and Scouters,

After spending the last few troop meetings honing their fire building skills, the Scouts changed gears for last night’s meeting and focused on the promise of scouting – FUN! The Scouts practiced playing Capture the Flag in preparation for this weekend’s campout where CTF is one of the featured events.

Silver Palm

It’s an outstanding accomplishment when a boy is awarded the rank of Eagle Scout. It is widely known that this is the highest rank a Boy Scout can attain and is the goal to which all of our Scouts aspire. What isn’t as widely known is that there are additional awards that can be earned even beyond that of Eagle Scout – Eagle Palms. It is with great admiration that I offer my sincerest congratulations to Ian S., who has earned his Bronze, Gold, and now Silver Eagle Palm. This is truly a rare accomplishment and is a testament to the spirit and character of this remarkable young man.

Campout this Friday – 10/23/09

This Friday we leave for our fire building and CTF campout at Camp Simpson in the Arbuckle Mountains of southern OK. This will be a fun campout where the scouts practice fire building, spend time on Trail to First Class requirements, and play Capture the Flag. If you weren’t at the meeting Monday please contact your Patrol Leader ASAP to make sure you are on the roster for this campout. As always, make sure you have turned in a permission form, money for food, and bring your handbook! See links on this page for details.

Webelos Woods – We need Scouts to staff the archery range

We need Scouts to help staff the archery range at Webelos Woods on 11/07. We will leave from TBC early Saturday morning and return that evening. This is a fun event, an opportunity to give back to scouting by helping the Cub Scouts, and also counts for Service hours.

Please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it if you can help.

No regular Troop meeting Monday, 10/26.

There will be no meeting Monday 10/26. The PLC will still meet, as usual, and the Geology Merit Badge class will be held at 6:00. The next regular meeting is November 2.

Yours in Scouting,
Scoutmaster Payette

Hello Scouts and Scouters,

Fire building

This week’s meeting was dedicated to building campfires in preparation for our October campout. In spite of the damp conditions most patrols successfully built their fires without using matches and were able to burn a string suspended above their fires. This is the same building and lighting process that will be used at Camporee. A little more practice at the October campout and all patrols should be in good shape with this important Scouting skill. Congratulations to Walker’s patrol for being the first to burn their string!

October Campout is almost here – October 23-25 – New location

Our October Campout is coming up in just over a week. Watch this site for details. Our current plan is to camp at Camp Simpson in the Arbuckles of southern OK. We will be practicing our fire building skills and hope to have time to work on other Trail-to-First-Class requirements as well. As always, bring your books so you can get requirements signed off.

No disposable plates, cups, or utensils

Each Scout should always bring a cup/plate/fork/spoon for meals on a campout. As mentioned on each permission form, these should NOT be disposable. In keeping with our obligation to be good stewards of our environment and the spirit of Leave No Trace practices we will enforce this policy and NOT provide disposable eating gear. Make sure to bring your non-disposable eating gear beginning with the October campout. If you can’t provide your own non-disposable gear let your Patrol Leader know before you leave for the campout.

Popcorn Orders and money due Monday, October 19

Don’t forget to bring your completed popcorn take-order forms and money to the meeting on Monday. The Popcorn Kernel will be on hand to collect these.

Next meeting is Money Monday – October 19. Please arrive by 6:50 so our meeting can start promptly at 7:00.

Our next troop meeting will be held Monday, 10/19 at 7:00 pm. This is Money Monday so remember to bring your signed permission forms and $10 for campout food. In addition to menu planning, the Scouts will be playing Capture the Flag. Please wear you Class B shirt under your Class A so CTF teams can be formed with Class A/Class B uniforms. As always, bring your handbook.

YiS,
Scoutmaster Payette

Hello Scouts and Scouters,

Service to our community

Last weekend was a busy time for our Troop. Scouts and Scouters spent most of the weekend at two different community service projects.

Many of our Scouts pitched in to help support the Cottonwood Arts Festival. Bringing art and entertainment to Cottonwood Park helps enrich the lives of all in our community. In spite of the weather the Scouts and Scouters stepped up to help make this community event a success.

While many Scouts were helping out at Cottonwood, another team of Scouts spent the day running the archery range at North Trail to Adventure. During this all-day event our Scouts trained and assisted hundreds of young Cub Scouts on the archery range. We heard lots of feedback from Cub parents who were impressed with our Boy-Led approach and were telling their sons that someday they could be Boy Scouts too. Excited Cubs were lined up the entire day for their turn on the range and, at the end of the day, our Scouts learned they had just staffed the largest Cub Scout event in the nation.

We applaud the dedication of our Scouts and Scouters who continue to demonstrate Citizenship and Scout Spirit by giving back to our community.

Next troop meeting is Monday, 10/12, 7:00 pm.

In our next meeting we will be putting our fire building skills to the test as we construct our fires and see if they will burn. Remember, the most important part of fire building happens before you light it. Our rule of thumb - One part tinder, two parts kindling, only as much fuel wood as needed.

YiS,
Scoutmaster Payette