Boy Scout Troop 1001

Hello all Scouts and Scouters,

Thanks for the great turnout at Cottonwood last weekend. Many hands make light work. Mr.Carnes and Mr. Bryan did a great job organizing the event. Thank you to all parents of current and past scouts who came out to lend a hand. Special thanks to Mr. LeClair for his time, character and carts. A scout is helpful.

We have a lot planned in the coming weeks. Any Order of the Arrow members that have not been contacted about Webelos Woods should mark their calendars for October 31st, November 1st and 2nd. The OA is staffing Webelos Woods this year. Troop 1001 is running the archery range, we need at least ten scouts to staff. Please see Mr. Coon Monday night to get details. We need additional adult volunteers who have a background with the Webelos program. This year North Trail is hoping to create the opportunity for Webelos to earn many of their belt loops at this event.

Monday night's meeting plan sounds like fun. The first half we will be outdoors playing rat tail, tug of war, sprinting and having summersault races. At dark we will go inside where the Instructors will teach first aid topics including Hurry Cases, Injured Carries and discuss things that go in a first aid kit.

I look forward to seeing you all Monday night at TBC.

Yours in Scouting,
Scoutmaster Coon

Hello all Scouts and Scouters,

Fall is in the air so it must be time for Cottonwood! We need a great turnout to support the artists and the community. There will be sign-in sheets for the scouts. The patrol that has the best turnout in total hours worked will win a patrol meeting party at Main Event in Plano at a time to be set by the patrol. We need scouts on Saturday and Sunday to staff the kids art booth on the west side of the pond this year in addition to selling water and assisting artists with booth setup on Friday and breakdown Sunday night.

There will be no regular meeting next Monday night, October 6 to encourage scouts to contribute that time to the Cottonwood Festival. There will be a PLC meeting Monday night to continue planning this month's upcoming Physical Fitness/First Aid Olympics.

I look forward to seeing all of you this weekend at Cottonwood Park.

Yours in Scouting,
Scoutmaster Coon

Hello all Scouts and Scouters,

We had a fantastic weekend at Wisdom. Six patrols comprising 35 scouts built pioneering structures designed to launch tennis balls. Five of the six were seaworthy and made it onto the pond lashed to canoes while one patrol chose to shoot from shore. Jack R's patrol cooked some excellent dishes in dutch ovens including enchiladas and a delicious chocolate cherry cobbler. Thank you Walker W for your cooking efforts. They even showed us an interesting method of cooking bacon in canola oil which led to a fire suppression demonstration. The Vegetarian Vikings were named the overall honor patrol, great helmets Alex! We learned a lot this past weekend. A great time was had by all.

Many scouts failed to bring water bottles, which are necessary on every campout. Please check you gear list and highlight the essentials: medications, water bottles, mess kits - we all eat and drink and need the equipment to do so. For parents with children who need medication: if you send it please pick it up at the end of the campout. If your scout needs it, please send him with the appropriate medications. We all pack in haste sometimes but personal health and safety always takes precedence over being a little late for a Friday campout departure.

Our campout next month will be the Personal Fitness/First Aid Olympics in honor of this Olympic year. Monday night we will begin preparation by choosing the various events at the campout. Tom D. will lead the discussion and planning of this exciting event. By the end of the month we will all be in better shape and we will know how to better handle cuts and bruises.

It is Cottonwood time again! This is a key community service project as well as being our biggest fundraiser. Each scouting family should consider contributing a minimum of eight hours of time to ensure we have enough hands to get the job done. We will be helping artists setup their booths, selling water, providing artist breaks and some lucky scouts will get to help in the children's art area. Scouts will earn service hours toward advancement. Sign up Monday night and help the troop continue to grow in the community.

There is no First Aid merit badge class for the next few weeks as Mr. Reisinger is out of town. The God and Country class will continue as planned if Mr. Frank has gotten over his sudden illness that caused last week's cancellation.

Thanks to all the Freebirds that helped the troop soar this past weekend. Canoe wars is a tradition in the troop but a hard one to get all the gear to make it happen. Quartermaster Roberts and Committee Chair Miller made a great effort to ensure that our SPL's motto for the troop was met, "We are building and maintaining a tradition".

I look forward to seeing you all Monday night at Trinity Bible Church.

Yours in Scouting,
Scoutmaster Coon

Hello all Scouts and Scouters,

It is finally time for our first campout of the year to be held at Camp Wisdom, which is just south of Dallas. We will be assembling at 5:30pm at TBC. Please read September Campout: Pioneering and War Canoes for complete details.

All scouts planning to attend should have paid $10 to the patrol member purchasing food for their patrol at last Monday's meeting. If the payment has not been made please take care of it Friday when we assemble. Permission forms are required as well. The gear list is provided on the permission form.

This campout has time planned on water so make sure your scout has the appropriate swimwear and sunscreen. Saturday's weather forecast calls for 85 degrees and sunny, so be prepared.

All scouts and scouters should have paid their annual dues to Mr. Watts by now. If you have not please contact Mr. Watts to arrange payment.

If you are not attending this week's campout please consider giving some time to Alex Van V's Eagle project. He is building a pond for a wildlife sanctuary in Wiley. Send me an email if you would like more details.

We are still looking for one more adult to fill the role of Patrol Advisor. This is a very important role which gives the patrol leader an additional adult mentor. Contact me or Mr. Miller to volunteer.

There will be no regular meeting Monday, September 22. The Troop Committee will meet in the scout room and the PLC will meet in room 2 at 7 pm.

The First Aid Merit badge class with Mr. Reisinger will continue as usual on Monday night at 6 pm in room 2.

I want to extend special thanks to all the Freebird Patrol (adults). Without the enthusiastic support of this group we would not have the depth or strength required to manage the growing troop we have. If you are not a member of the patrol yet, what are you waiting for? We welcome all who enjoy and support scouting. It is fun with a purpose.

Yours in Scouting,
Scoutmaster Coon

Hello all Scouts and Scouters,

We learned the importance of a Plan B at this week's meeting. The rain kept us inside the church. Thank you to Andrew M, Carter B, and Mr. Reisinger for the high adventure presentations. Troop 1001 was well represented this summer at Philmont and Seabase. Many scouts showed interest in future trips thanks to your presentations.

The scouts used their time well making meal plans for the campout September 19-21 at Sid Richardson Scout Reservation near Bridgeport Camp Wisdom in Dallas. Those meal plans should be emailed to me at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it The next meeting is Money Monday! All scouts and scouters planning to attend the campout should bring $10 for food and a signed permission form.

Patrols should be continuing to work on their Flags, cheers and songs. Senior Patrol Leader Richard H. has requested that each patrol have a flag to fly over its canoe at the upcoming campout. I look forward to seeing your creativity in action.

The First Aid merit badge class continues at 6:00pm Monday night with Mr. Reisinger. If you did not attend last week, it is not too late to join. This is an Eagle required merit badge and Mr. Reisinger does a great job with the class. Come learn from the best.

The God and Country class will begin this Monday from 6:00 to 7:00pm. This is an award that is a great way to learn the importance of the twelfth point of the scout law: a scout is reverent. All scouts planning to earn this special achievement should bring $5 to pay for the class materials.

We have three scouts committed to being Den Chiefs this year. The Den Chief is a critical member of the Scouting Leadership Team. There is limited class space for Den Chief Training held Saturday 9/27/08 10:00AM. If your scout is planning to be a Den Chief please sign him up for this important class on-line.

Two scouts stepped up to fill important positions last week. Skyler M. will serve as Webmaster and Maron W. will be our new Scribe. The PLC is still looking to fill the role of OA Representative and Cottonwood Chair, step up gentlemen!

We need a few scouts that will not be in the First Aid or God and Country class to come early to the church to help fill water balloons for the meeting activity. Weather permitting we will be launching H₂0 balloons with devices built from our pioneering expertise.

I look forward to seeing you all at Trinity Bible Church Monday night.

Yours in Scouting,
Scoutmaster Coon

Hello all Scouts and Scouters,

We started the year with an introduction to lashings along with a review of water safety. Our new Senior Patrol did an excellent job running the meeting. Thirty-eight scouts attended Monday night. We will be recording attendance at meetings this year which demonstrates Scout Spirit, a requirement to advance rank. Thanks to all the parents and scouts who attended this important meeting to start up our program for 2008-2009.

The Patrol Leaders Council (PLC) met after the regular meeting to consider requests for positions of responsibility in the troop, a requirement for advancement beyond the rank of First Class. Several scouts stepped up. We still have two very important roles to fill: Webmaster & Scribe. Here are the results of the PLC's decisions thus far:

• Chaplains Aide: Travis K, Ben J.
• Quartermasters: James M, Stephen C, Trevor R.
• Historian: Carter B.
• Instructor/Troop Guide: Alex Van H, Andrew B, Travis L
• Den Chief: Ray P, Zach M, Alex B
• Cottonwood Chair: Tyler C.
• Webmaster: ?
• Scribe: ?
• Cheermaster: ?

We will need a scribe to keep notes for the PLC as well as take attendance at meetings and campouts. The Webmaster prepares an article for the web site each week to keep scouts informed; this is a vital role which remains unfilled. A cheermaster will lead the troop in cheers and songs and help patrols maintain their exuberance during the year. Any scout First Class or above is eligible. Step up, gentlemen!

Patrols should complete work on their name, begin work on their song and cheer and have a flag ready to fly over their war canoes by the time we campout on September 19th.

Next week's meeting will involve building devices to launch tennis balls and H₂O Balloons. Review your lashings to prepare for this patrol competition. The winner will be determined by the Senior Patrol Leader and his assignees.

For all scouts who need to earn their First Aid merit badge, classes begin Monday at 6:00pm in room two. This class will meet through November. This is an Eagle required merit badge. The knowledge you gain attending this class will be directly useful in our October campout - First Aid/Physical Fitness Olympics. Please attend if you do not have this merit badge.

I look forward to seeing you all at TBC Monday night.

Yours in Scouting,
Scoutmaster Coon

Hello all Scouts and Scouters,

Our new scouting season is underway. The kickoff event at Group Dynamix was very well attended. Forty-six scouts managed to keep the GDX staff busy from dusk to dawn. We even had former SPL Kevin F. helping out with the fun. Thank you Kevin.

SPL Richard H. did a great job of forming up the troop and ensuring that the patrol method was used throughout the evening. Comments made at Monday night's PLC meeting indicated that working by patrol made the evening more fun for all. True to his word our SPL started the year by building and maintaining a tradition.

Next week September 1st at 7:00pm will be our first regular meeting. The agenda includes a water safety review and a pioneering demonstration and practice. Scouts should read pages 137-148 in the scout handbook to prepare for this month's meetings which will focus on pioneering skills.

Those scouts needing a position of responsibility in the troop will need to attend the PLC meeting after the regular meeting to request the post. Scouts that are first class or above need a troop position for rank advancement.

Mark your calendar for Saturday September 13 to get some service hours. Alex Van V. will managing his Eagle project at an exotic animal sanctuary in Wylie. More details will be provided at upcoming meetings.

Thanks to all the Freebirds that stayed late this weekend, I hope you finally got some sleep. Parents, if you are not yet a Freebird, get trained and come enjoy the fun.

Yours in Scouting,
Scoutmaster Coon

Hello all Scouts and Scouters,

I hope this message finds you in the middle of your summer fun. We do have an opportunity to serve this weekend and next. I trust that those that do not already have plans will meet the next two weekends at the Trinity Bible Church to assist our next Eagle candidate with his project. Here are the details:

Upcoming Eagle Project: Logan's Eagle Project will be the beginning of an overall property improvement plan to benefit Trinity Bible Church, our chartering organization. The plan will include the removal of two storage buildings, a tree, and the general removal of trash from the storage area. This will also make it easier to park the trailers after we return from campouts.

Date and Time: Saturday July 19th and Saturday July 26, 2008 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

All Volunteers welcome - Bring safety glasses, sunscreen, gloves, shovels, rakes, and/or implements of destruction. Bottled water will be provided and Little Caesar's Pizza will be served for lunch.

I hope to see you Saturday at TBC.

Yours in Scouting,
Scoutmaster Coon