Troop 4 - Grapevine, Texas

SPL REELECTED -- Kevin M. was reelected senior patrol leader of Troop 4 at the August court of honor and will serve another six month term. His appointed officers are ASPL Ken C.; Quartermaster Michael B.; Scribe Jeff C.; OA Representative Cameron W.; Troop Guide Nathan S.; Den Chief Ryan M.; Librarian William B.; Historian Joseph L.; and Jr. Assistant Scoutmaster Michael L. Elected patrol leaders were: Titans--Bobby U., Green Moose--Arden S.; Dragons--Joseph S.; and Falcons--Abi K.

PADDLE THE BRAZOS SATURDAY -- Troop 4 scouts and adult leaders will leave CCF at 6 a.m. Saturday for the annual Longhorn Council's "Paddle the Brazos" canoeing activity. Scouts are being encouraged to wear Class 2 uniforms (a scout t-shirt and shorts) will meet at CCF at 5:45 a.m. and leave promptly at 6 a.m. The 14 mile competition last from 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m., the 6 mile competition is from 10:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., and the War Canoe Race is from 2 p.m.-5 p.m. All activities will be at Worth Ranch scout camp north of Palo Pinto, off U.S. 180. Take I-20 west to Weatherford, to the U.S. 180 exit, go through Weatherford and Mineral Wells and continue west to Palo Pinto (the county seat of Palo Pinto County) and turn right on FM 4 and go north to the Worth Ranch signs. You can also take I-20 west to the Santo exit and go north on FM 4 from there, but you will still have to go through Palo Pinto. Check the troop website at www.troop4grapevine.com/maps for maps prepared by Scoutmaster Jeff Carter. Scouts signed up to go include Jacob B., Robert L., Jeff C., Kevin M., Ken C., Ryan M., Christopher H., T.J. N., Micah I., Morgan S., Abi K., Joseph S., Joseph L.; and Cameron T. Adults scheduled to attend include: Johnny Barker, Alok Kulshreshtha, Ken Schiller, Jeff Carter, Jim Lippert, Robert Hurtado, and Terry Nichols.

POPCORN SALES --Joyce Hegeman and Nancy Logue, Troop 4's popcorn kernels, report that 20 scouts volunteered to sell popcorn last week during the initial "show and sell" phase of this troop and council fund raising activity. Oct. 2 the money and all unsold popcorn must be turned in to the council, however this should be turned into Mrs. Logue or Mrs. Hegeman by Sept, 27 so the troop can reconcile its records with the council. Troop 4's original allotment of $4,000 in popcorn was distributed and an additional $3,000 in popcorn was requested from the council. Scouts are reminded that anyone not participating in this fund raiser is required to pay the troop $75 because it is the only fund raising project of the year. Please contact Nancy Logue (817) 637-7584 or jlogue@comcast.net. There are still a couple of weeks left to participate. All money, certificates or unopened cases for Show and Sell will need to be turned in on 9-27. There is a PLC meeting that night but they can still be dropped off. By a special coincidence, the Take Order phase will be starting at the same time. If you are participating in Take Order sales, order forms can be picked up on 9-27. Mrs. Logue noted, each scout is responsible for a minimum of $150.00 in popcorn sales. If you don’t want to participate in either event, then a check can be issued for $75.00 payable to the Troop. If you have any issues or concerns, please contact Mrs.Logue or Mrs. Hegeman at jeh61@earthlink.net or (817) 281-5149.

SUMMER CAMP PARENTS MEETING --There will be a mandatory meeting of all parents who will be sending their sons to scout camp in the summer of 2005 on Monday Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. While the troop has a reservation to return to Camp Alexander Colorado June 26-July 2, 2005 for summer camp, other camping options will be explained such as determining interest in attending the National BSA Sea Base in the Florida Keys and an in-council camp. Projected costs are estimated at $475 for Camp Alexander and $1,000 including transportation for the Florida Sea Base high adventure camp. A $50 deposit per scout is due at Camp Alexander by Oct. 18. Exact costs will be determined later. If interested in the Florida sea base high adventure camp contact Troop 4 Equipment Coordinator Dan Berry at (817) 251-0963.

EAGLE UPDATE -- Eagle Scout Drew Sc. will have his Eagle Scout Court of Honor Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. at the Colleyville Center (just south of the Colleyville Post Office) at 5301 Riverwalk Drive. Life Scout Joe K. has had his service project proposal of designing and building podiums for the Holy Trinity Catholic Middle School faculty approved by both the Troop 4 committee and the Lakeview District Eagle pre-cert committee. His planned work days are Oct. 9 and 10. Life Scout Drew St. will conduct his Eagle service project Sept. 18 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (rainout date Oct. 2) of digging and constructing a fish pond and environmental area at Faith Christian School. If you have any questions, then feel free to call Drew at 817-577-1559 or 817-223-7683(cell). Eagle projects are a great way for scouts to earn service hours for rank advancement. Also, Life Scout Kevin M. has had his proposed Eagle service project approved by the Troop 4 committee. The project, assembling comfort kits for returning military personnel at the D/FW Airport USO Facility, must still be approved by the District's precert committee on Sept. 23. He plans on conducting the project Oct. 30.

TROOP 4 BOR's -- Troop 4 boards of review are held the first and third Monday meetings. Scouts are required to fill out a BOR request form available from the troop scribe. Also all scouts are requested to bring their scout handbooks to each meeting so rank advancement requirements can be checked off. Scouts should report merit badge completions and rank advancements to Advancement Chairperson Joyce Hegeman in person, e-mail-- jeh61@earthlink.net -- or by phone to (817) 281-5149. Deadline is the Monday BEFORE the Court of Honor.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

September 20 -- 7 p.m. Troop 4 parents meeting on summer camp plans for 2005.
October 5 -- Lakeview District Recharter training call Phillip Hand at 817-329-7664 for information.
October 16 -- District SCORE-O competition and campout at SR2
November 11 -- Longhorn Council Highland Games at Camp Tahuaya
December 26-30 --Longhorn Council winter camp, cost $155, see council web page.
Jan 8 & 22, 2005 -- Lakeview District Merit Badge College
June 26-July 2, 2005 -- Summer Camp at Camp Alexander CO

http://www.longhorncouncil.org Longhorn Council web page.

HOW TO EARN A MERIT BADGE IN TROOP 4

1. Select a merit badge you want to work on. Decide what rank (Star, Life, Eagle) it will go under. Merit badges can be earned at any lower rank (Scout, Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class) however, only Star, Life, and Eagle ranks each require a certain number of Eagle required and optional merit badges for advancement. Eagle required merit badges are listed in your Scout Handbook.

2. Get a blue card from Advancement Chairperson, John Flynn. Have either the Scoutmaster, Jeff Carter, or one of the Assistant Scoutmasters sign the card. THE BLUE CARD MUST BE FILLED OUT WITH YOUR NAME, ADDRESS, AND TROOP NUMBER BEFORE YOU START A MERIT BADGE. BLUE CARDS WILL NOT BE GIVEN OUT AFTER A MERIT BADGE HAS BEEN STARTED OR FINISHED. Blue cards are usually not normally needed in advance for merit badges earned at summer camp, however each camp has its own policy.

3. Select a merit badge counselor from the list on the Troop 4 website http://www.troop4grapevine.com/merit.badges , unless you know of a registered counselor beforehand you are going to work with. Remember the BSA requirement of working with another scout or making sure two adults are present.

4. Your merit badge counselor may decide to keep your card until you complete the merit badge, or he or she may give it back to you to keep. If you keep it, it is your responsibility to keep up with it and not leave it at a troop meeting or somewhere it might get lost.

5. Once the merit badge requirements are completed, RETURN the blue card to the Advancement Chairperson, John Flynn, so it may be entered into your troop records.

6. The merit badge will be added to your troop record as soon as it is finished and recorded, however the badge itself will usually be given to you at the next Troop 4 court of honor.

7. Parents wanting to volunteer as merit badge counselors may obtain a MB counselor and adult BSA application at a troop meeting. If you so desire, you may request to work only with scouts in Troop 4. The application process is very easy.