Troop 4 - Grapevine, Texas

Recent months have brought about many changes, most notably our new meeting location at Memorial Baptist (The Church at the Cross) in Grapevine. We’ve purchased a new trailer and held our first Troop Merit Badge College. There have also been some changes within the Troop Committee, including the addition of former Troop 4 Scouts to the Assistant Scout Master Corps.

New Meeting Location
There are many benefits to the new meeting location, not the least of which is the opportunity to work on the fishing merit badges in our own backyard so to speak. The parking situation is much improved as well. There are more parking spaces, no threat of car damage from errant baseballs and no driving through all of the soccer Moms precariously parked so that they can watch practice from their cars. The main meeting room definitely has a lower ceiling, though, so we’ve had to replace our Troop and American Flags to fit the new proportions. ASM Jim Logue graciously donated a 3 ft X 5 ft American flag that has been flown in the U. S. Capitol Rotunda. Co-Committee Chair Greg C. took care of getting us a new Troop flag which now has a blue medallion on it denoting our 20 years of service, and reflects our new sponsor, Memorial Baptist Church of Grapevine.

New Trailer
Thanks to diligent efforts of the scouts selling popcorn over the last few years and generous donations by ExxonMobil Foundation’s Volunteer Program relative to the time volunteered by
Co-Committee Chair Dick Cureton and IBM regarding ASM Scott Purdy’s time and talents, the Troop was able to purchase a larger trailer with added features that not only accommodate our growing size but make it easier for other vehicles to be able to transport our camping gear. In the coming weeks, ASM Gerard Smith will be adding shelving and other features to allow us to make the most efficient use of our new found space. The old trailer will be used as additional storage for items not needed on camp outs. Many thanks to Equipment Chair Juan Corona and his committee for all of their research and efforts in acquiring the new trailer.

Troop Merit Badge College
The layout of our new meeting location allows us to break out into separate groups, in separate rooms, making holding our own Troop Merit Badge College easier. We had 26 scouts working on 6 different merit badges, 4 of which are Eagle Required. Thanks to the following Merit Badge Counselors for making this possible: Tom Anderson - Communications, Dick Cureton - Personal Management, John Flynn - Reading and Scholarship, Linda Mitchell - Family Life, and Scott Purdy - Emergency Preparedness. Special thanks to ASM John Flynn for all of his research into which Merit Badges would have the most impact for the most boys, coordinating the counselors and facilities and making copies of the worksheets available to all of the scouts.

Scouts are reminded to keep in touch with their counselors as many of these merit badges have ongoing (90 day) requirements to be kept up with and followed up on in April.

Changes in Troop Committee
All of the Troop Committee members are listed on the troop website, but to highlight the recent changes... Toby Freyou of Memorial Baptist is now the Executive Officer and Scott Purdy is our Chartered Organization Representative or liaison between the troop and the church. The ASM Corps has welcomed Troop 4 Eagles Michael Berry, William Blume and Kevin Mitchell to their ranks. Julie Carter has graciously agreed to act as Secretary and record the minutes of our meetings. Linda Mitchell retired as Treasurer to become the Newsletter Editor and has been replaced by Jeff Booth. Jim Lippert is transitioning into Advancement Chair, replacing John Flynn. Juan Corona is assuming Equipment Coordinator duties from Dan Berry. Joe Shafer is taking on the Camping Coordinator position also formerly held by Dan Berry. Webelos Transitioning to Boy Scouts are being coordinated by Alok Kulshreshtha and Jim Logue.
Jim Lippert is now the Adult Training Coordinator. Please provide Jim with any training certifications (Online Youth Protection Training, BSA Life Guard, BSA/NRA Shooting, Rock Climbing Instructor, etc.) you acquire so that he can get them entered into Troopmaster. The Committee is still in need of someone to coordinate our fundraising efforts.

Summer Camp
Troop 4 will be returning to Camp Hale in Talihina, OK during the week of June 10 – 16th this year. The deadline for signing up is April 23. All who have already signed up should have paid their initial deposit of $25 to Treasurer Jeff Booth by now. If you haven’t gotten this to him yet, please do so A.S.A.P. The next payment of $100 is due on or before March 12th with the final installment due April 23rd. Medical Forms for Summer Camp are due May 14th. Please see the Troop website for additional details.

2006 Record Year for Eagles
The national average for Scouts attaining the rank of Eagle is generally acknowledged to be between 2 and 4%. Troop 4 is usually ahead of the curve in that we have been averaging 10% or better the last few years. 2006 was a banner year for us, though, as we set a new Troop Record with 6 Eagles Scouts! Joining the Troop 4 Eagle Hall of Fame in 2006 were: Michael Berry, William Blume, Ken C., Michael Cureton, Nic Stephens and Bobby Urenda. Lakeview District finished the year with 85 Eagles. Many thanks to Life-to-Eagle Coordinator Tom Anderson for all of his work with Troop 4’s Eagle Candidates as well as Lakeview District.

Trip to the USS Lexington by CC/ASM Greg C.
The group of us, 12 boys and 4 adults left 12 Jan Friday evening around 6pm. The boys had selected Nathan S. as the acting SPL and formed into 2 patrols – older boys and younger boys. SM Jeff Carter sent us off with everything we needed and we were off with our 3 vehicles. After one rest stop just north of Austin, we arrived at Randolph Air Force Base at 1130pm and checked into our assigned Gym. Basketball, volleyball and football were popular sports far into the night. The Gym had wresting / gymnastics pads which were very comfortable. We were up early to shower and pack out by 7. Went to a nearby McDonalds for breakfast and hit the road south.

We arrived at the U.S.S. Lexington CVT-16 at 1015. Received a very strong (no nonsense) brief from Kenny the Live-Aboard Director about safety, conduct, appearance and etiquette. We were to act like U.S. sailors while we were aboard. Our guide took us to our quarters which were on the 3rd deck at Frame 186 starboard and outboard right next to the hull where a Japanese aerial torpedo had struck the ship on the night of Dec 4, 1943 off the Marshall Islands in the central Pacific. They were senior petty officer quarters and they were right next to a large head with 8 showers. We then went up forward on the 2nd deck to the crew’s mess for lunch. All meals were prepared in the ship’s galley and were representative of shipboard meals, except we had fresh milk and fruit. Lunch was Hot Dogs and beans.

After lunch the six younger boys, as a patrol, were escorted to the Texas State Aquarium (right next door) by Mr. Jordan and Mr. Berry. The older boys helped set up chairs for the afternoon ceremonies and then went on a tour of the ship with Mr. Smith and Mr. Greg C.. At 1515 (3:15PM) the older boys started rehearsing for the flag pageant. At 1600 the entire Live Aboard contingent assembled in the Hangar deck. There followed a very patriotic program with a flag pageant where our boys did very well. The guests of honor were two fathers just back from duty in Iraq. As the individual service flags (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard) flags came forward the people present who had served in that service were asked to come up on the stage, which was quite full by the time they were done. Kenny then said, “These are your real heroes”

After the ceremonies we went to chow – chicken, mashed potatoes, corn and biscuits. At 1900 (7PM) we watched a movie in the area of the hangar deck were elevator 1 used be. Now it has a very wide screen with fantastic acoustics which vibrated our chests. The movie was about the experiences of an F-15 pilot going through the 2 weeks of Red Flag exercises near Las Vegas. These are extremely realistic with live ordnance. Everyone loved it. There were then 2 hours available to tour the ship-island, flight deck with aircraft, hangar deck, crew messes, ready rooms, sick bay, dental, damage control, weapons, Admiral’s and Captain’s quarters, engine rooms deep in the bowels of the ship. In the engine room the boys read an original sign that due to the heat (110 to 120) no one was to be in the space for longer than 4 hours at a time.

At 2130 (9:30PM) most of the boys went to the Ghost stories in the forecastle (or foc’sle). At 2300 (11PM) lights were out. By this time the Live Aboard crew had our group figured as the most mature group aboard and instead of two of them the entire group was invited to be on the overnight fire watch. This meant they hung out in the Chief Petty Officer’s lounge and every hour went out with the crew to inspect a different part of the ship which were not open to the public – great opportunity – ask them about it. Of course by morning they were all zombies with very little sleep. Nevertheless they cleaned up, packed out and made morning quarters at 0715.

Breakfast was scrambled eggs, sausages, cereal and fruit. There was some free time before the 9:15 Muster Out ceremony and we left the ship at 9:45. Gassed the cars and headed north. Most of the boys slept. Stopped North of San Antonio for lunch. Gas stop in Waco and arrived at the church at 6:20PM Sun.

February Court of Honor
Our next Family Dinner and Court of Honor will be held on Monday, February 12, 2007 in “The Hangar”, the youth facility at Memorial Baptist. Dinner is being catered by Ti Amo’s in Bedford. The cost is $8 per person or $4 for kids under 5 years old. Signups will be available on the Troop’s website. Please do so as soon as possible so that we can give an accurate count to the caterers by Friday, February 9th. The Advancements Ceremony will follow dinner at approximately 7pm. Please plan to stay a few extra minutes to help with cleanup.