Boy Scout Troop 1001

In keeping with tradition, Troop 1001 kicks off the scouting year with an overnight lock-in August 22-23, 2009 at Group Dynamix, an indoor ropes course and team building facility in Carrollton.

Drop-Off: Saturday, August 22 - 7:30 pm

Pick-up: Sunday, August 23 - 8:00 am sharp

LOCATION:

Group Dynamix (map)
1215 Trend Dr.
Carrollton, TX 75006
972-416-9646

The cost of the event is $15 per scout with additional money for vending machines. We will muster at 7:30pm Saturday evening. All the fun will conclude at 8:00am sharp on Sunday morning.Parents should arrive promptly to scrape up their scouts and allow the leaders to go home and recover from the night.

Pizza will be served late at night so each scout should have dinner before arriving. This is a class B uniform event. Scouts who feel they may not stay up all night may plan to crash on a bean bag chair or may bring a sleeping bag.

Work Session at GDX, Saturday, August 22

There will be a work session of the various troop coordinators at Group Dynamix (GDX) on August 22, 2009. It will begin as soon as the boys clear out of the front room, probably around 8:30 pm. It will run as long as needed.

We will be discussing the agenda for the full committee meeting to be held two days later as well as discussing dates and agendas for future parent meetings.

Requested to attend the GDX work session:

• Scoutmaster
• Secretary
• Treasurer
• Chaplin
• Outdoor/Activities coordinator
• Membership coordinator
• Advancement coordinator
  
• Training coordinator
• Equipment coordinator- Quartermaster
• Recruiting coordinator
• OA rep
• Webmaster
• Newsletter editor
  
• High Adventure
• Unit Commissioner
• Committee Chairman
• Anyone else who is interested.

Parents are always welcome at all adult meetings.

Full Troop Committee Meeting Monday, August 24

A full Troop Committee meeting will be held at 7 pm on August 24, 2009 at Trinity Bible Church. The SPL and ASPLs will present their annual plan for the troop. The committee will discuss afterward and vote on accepting it.

We will also discuss the idea of creating a new adult position—Troop Publicity Coordinator—and what that might entail. The vision is to have this person not only publicize the troop's activities through media outlets, but to work with the Troop Historian to gather photos and stories to be publicized.

The full agenda for the Committee meeting will be prepared at the GDX work session.

All parents and adult leaders are encouraged to attend.

A committee meeting is being planned in the near future, possibly August 10. Stay tuned for details.

The PLC Senior Leadership (SPL and ASPL’s) will present their plan for the troop for this year. This is an opportunity for the Scouts to work with adults, which is part of the methods of scouting. At this time, you will hear of the proposed dates and themes for campouts. Afterward, the committee will discuss the overall plan and vote on accepting it. Naturally, there will likely be changes that pop up, conflicts, etc... Every effort has been made using the Richardson, Plano, and Dallas school calendars, as well as North Trail Scout Calendar.

Also on the agenda: There has been a lot of discussion about having a parents meeting at the Troop Kickoff “campout” which takes place August 22nd. We have done this before with varied intent (recruiting and planning discussions, as well as training) and varied success. The committee needs to decide the goal of a parents meeting, as well as pick some folks to organize and run the various components of the meeting to see the goals are achieved. We also need to work with GDX on WHERE we will hold the meeting. They have the one large room in front that is probably not nearly large enough to hold all our parents (we have 70 Scouts!).

Please contact Committee Chair Doug Miller with additional agenda items.

Hello Scouts and Scouters,

I hope everyone is having a fun and relaxing summer break.

The PLC will be meeting at the end of this month to develop our program plan for next year. I have challenged them to continue finding ways to make our campouts fun and memorable. You have given them lots of good ideas for fun activities and now it's time to make it happen. After all, Scouting is "Fun - with a Purpose!"

Our Troop meetings will resume in early August. Specific dates will be published soon.

Scouting Spirit in Action

The Scouts have started a new activity that benefits the Canyon Creek community and our Troop. On five patriotic holidays each year our Scouts help set up US flags on the curb in front of homes in the TBC neighborhood. The Scouts raise these large, 3' by 5', flags before each holiday and take them down after the holiday. For this service the Troop receives $2 per flag from the Canyon Creek HOA on each holiday.

Our first flag raising opportunity was last weekend during the July 4th holiday. We had lots of Scouts and Scouters on hand to help.

It was quite an inspiring sight to see our Scouts, in their Class A uniforms, raising nearly 200 flags. They received lots of compliments and encouragement from passersby while they showed our community that Scouting is thriving in Troop 1001 and continues to embody the highest standards of character and citizenship.

Thank you to all the Scouts and Scouters who helped with this event. It was a great success!

A group of our Scouts was also asked to perform the opening and closing flag ceremonies for the American Volksport Association National convention and again at the Highland Springs Retirement community's patriotic Fourth of July program. The Scouts did a fantastic job at each event and were publicly recognized for their service.

During the Highland Springs program all the veterans in the audience were asked to stand. It was overwhelming to see nearly three quarters of this large audience stand and receive recognition for their service to our country. The Scouts understood what an honor it was to be the color guard at such a gathering.

NAYLE

Six of our Scouts are heading out to Philmont on July 11th to participate in the week-long National Advanced Youth Leadership Experience. We appreciate the commitment these Scouts demonstrate by taking another week out of their summer break to sharpen their leadership skills. Best wishes to TJ F., James M., Alex O., Jack R., Alex V., and Walker W. on this exciting trip. The lessons they learn and the skills they bring back to the troop will be a benefit to all. I look forward to a great, boy-led year. Special thanks to Mr. Miller for providing transportation for the Scouts.

Group Dynamix - 08/22

Group Dynamix is one of the Troop's favorite Scouting activities. This year's date is August 22-23. As always, we start at 8 pm. And the fun continues until 8 am the next morning. Put this date on your calendar and watch the web and newsletters for more information.

Yours in Scouting,
Scoutmaster Payette

There will be a summer troop committee meeting Monday, June 6, 2009 at Romano's Macaroni Grill, 4535 Beltline Rd. in Dallas near Addison. We will start with dinner (to be paid for by the attendees) at 7 pm and discuss a few items after dinner at approximately 8-8:30 pm. All adult leaders and parents are encouraged to attend.

Troop 1001 has been asked to perform a flag ceremonies at two events. It is an honor to be asked to perform this service to our community and will count toward service hours. Please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it if you are interested.

Friday, June 26, meet at TBC at 4:30 pm. The group should be finished by 5:30 p.m. We need five scouts for a closing flag ceremony at The Renaissance Hotel/convention center on Lookout and Central Expy. This is for the 2009 AVA National convention (American Volkssport Association). Girl Scouts will perform the opening ceremony.

Sunday, June 28, meet at TBC at 4:30 pm. The group should be finished by 6 p.m. We need five scouts for opening and closing flag ceremonies at the early Independence Day celebration for the Highland Springs Retirement Community at Coit and Frankford.

Hello all Scouts and Scouters,

The Scouts had a great week at Hale Scout Reservation in Talihina, Okla. They accomplished a lot at summer camp, have only a few bumps and bruises, and have lots of stories to bring home.

Our youth leaders did a fantastic job keeping 45 boys organized and safe for a week in the woods. Congratulations to our new senior team, TJ F., Ethan H. and Jack R., for their great success in this difficult job.

Our new Patrol Leader team also rose to this week-long challenge. Thanks go to Ben J., Andrew M., Skyler M., Richard R., Alex V., and Walker W. for keeping track of our boys and making sure they were safe, clean (mostly), and organized. They also taught our first-year Scouts how to make cobbler and quesadillas!

Each morning we woke to our bugler, Zack M., playing a lively Reveille. He was always up early and bugling on-time to make sure we didn't miss breakfast.

Our quartermasters, James M. and Stephen C., were on top of equipment needs. They are always the first to arrive and the last to leave. In spite of this demanding job they are always cheerful and never hesitate to get the job done.

I extend my sincere thanks to this great team. Their experience, maturity, leadership, and diligence kept 45 boys and 7 adults safe and engaged in their summer camp activities.

All the Scouts did an outstanding job with their classes at summer camp.

We had:

• Seven rank advancements
• 141 merit badges/rank classes completed
• 47 merit badges close to completion
• Two Paul Bunyan awards
• Two mile swimmers
• Two Wilderness First Aid certifications for adults
• Lots of Totin' Chips and Firem'n Chits
• Lots of adult leader training completed
• The honor of being chosen to perform our skit at the closing campfire
• Jack R.'s tent filled with large rocks to celebrate his birthday

Congratulations to all the Scouts and Scouters for such remarkable accomplishments!

This week wouldn't have been possible without the help of the adult leaders, the Freebird Patrol, who watched over the boys, attended to minor medical emergencies, taught cooking, washed 50+ uniforms, and kept the photos and emails uploaded to the web. Thanks to all who attended summer camp as well as those who couldn't attend but helped with all the planning, organizing, and paperwork required.

The youth and adult leaders will be getting together over the summer to plan the activities for the coming year. I look forward to a great year starting this Fall!

Yours in Scouting,
Scoutmaster Payette

Hand carry:

• Medications
  
• Prescription medication (in original packaging with dosage and doctor's name)
• Over-the-counter medication (in original packaging with dosage)
• All medications in a plastic zipper bag with a note containing scout's name, name of medication, dosage, and when it is to be taken. Turn in to Mrs Van Hamme.
  
• Inhalers and epi pens should remain on scout's person (but advise Mrs. Van Hamme). Spare inhalers and epi pens are recommended in the bag given to Mrs. Van Hamme.
• Sack lunch (avoid messy foods and sugary drinks)
• Water bottle (use the same one you will be carrying with you all week)

Uniform (worn while traveling and each evening at dinner):

• Scout shorts or pants (convertible recommended)
• Scout shirt (short sleeve recommended)
• Troop 1001 neckerchief
• Slide for neckerchief
  
• Scout belt
• Scout socks

Other clothing:

• Activity shirts (1001 Class B or other scout-related or without any printing; dark green is preferred; poly shirts such as Under Armor or off brands are better than cotton)
• Troop 1001 cap, other scouting cap, or wide-brimmed hat for shelter from the sun
• Jeans/long pants
• Extra socks (6 quality pairs recommended)
• Extra underwear (6 recommended)
  
• Swimming suit
• Hiking boots or sturdy shoes (spare shoes recommended in case first pair gets wet)
• Poncho or rain suit

Personal equipment

• Backpack or duffel for gear (no footlockers--scouts will be hiking out of camp the last day
• Day pack/small backpack for carrying supplies during the day
  
• Folding cot (inexpensive aluminum Coleman suggested)
• Sleeping pad to place atop cot (optional; not a substitute for cot as platform is not suitable for supporting a mattress or pad directly)
• Sleeping bag (summer weight) or blankets and sheet
• Laundry bag
• Rubber-soled shower shoes (no open toed shoes or bare feet allowed)
• Toothbrush, toothpaste,
• Soap, shampoo, comb, towel
• Flashlight
• Insect repellent
• Sunscreen
• Canteen or water bottle (1 quart or liter with clip recommended)
• Pillow or pillowcase to stuff with clothing and use as pillow
• Boy Scout Handbook
• Money for merit badge supplies, souvenirs and snacks

Optional:

• Notebook and Pencil/pen
• Camera with extra film
• Drinking cup
• Shaving gear (if needed)
• Watch
• Musical instrument
• Wallet
• Duffel-bag lock
• Personal first aid kit
• Compass

Leave at home:

• Electronics such as phone and iPod
• Candy, snacks, sugary drinks
• Aerosol products (insect repellent, sunscreen, and toiletries should be non-aerosol)

Be sure to label everything with the scout's name and troop number.