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Volume XXII | November 2019
Monthly NewsletterUpcoming Events
Appalachian Trail Hike, 11/2-3
Popcorn pickup Saturday, 11/9
Troop Elections, 11/11
Merit Badge Help Night, 11/12
Board of Review, 11/18
Link to Additional Events
All newsletters, pictures, calendar, events and up-to-date informationare at www.troop629.org.
IF YOU ARE NOT RECEIVING THE NEWSLETTER OR OTHERTROOP COMMUNICATIONS, please sign up on the main page of thetroop website. Green button, right hand side. If you have any issueswith this, please contact Susan Campbell, the CommunicationsChair, at [email protected].
Visit our Website
Scoutmaster Minuteby Jason Sutton
One of the greatest skills you can develop in your scouting career isleadership. Are you ready to learn to be a leader, or are wanting tobecome a better leader? There are plenty of upcoming opportunitiesfor all scouts, at all levels. Lead our guests. Coming up December 2nd is our Arrow of Lightvisitation where we will host 20+ scouts from numerous Cub Scout Packs. The visitation is a great timefor all of you to show off some of your Boy Scout skills and talk to the younger scouts about what it’s liketo be a member of Troop 629. But you should also be on the lookout for other nights where we haveboys visiting our Troop and help them have the same experience.
Lead our Troop. Coming up November 11th is our semi-annual SPL and PL elections. All those scoutswho meet the requirements for PL (1st Class and an NYLT graduate) or SPL (1st Class and an NYLTstaffer) need to turn in their name to the SM to be slated on the ballot. For our Troop to be a successfulyouth-led Troop it requires those who qualify to step up, volunteer to run, and help lead the Troop. OurILST for all old and new leadership positions will be held on Thursday November 14th from 5-9pm. Lead other Scouts in our Council. NYLT staff interviews are coming up in December. All NYLTgraduates should be considering their participation to enhance their leadership skills even more bystaffing NYLT in 2020. Go on-line and apply for an interview by December 1st.
ACTION NEEDED!
Please turn in updated medical forms (part A andB) and copy of insurance card.
Sign up for snack donations for the December 16meeting.
Pick up your popcorn on November 9.
Advancement
Scout HandshakeSCOUT – TENDERFOOT – SECOND CLASS – FIRST CLASS – STAR – LIFE – EAGLE
Colin B - Second ClassGreyson H - First ClassJohn S - Second Class
Danny M - Scout
Congratulations on your rank advancement!
Board of Review is November 18!
Current Events
News You Can Use!!!
Autrey Mill Scout Day Saturday, 11/16.
No troop meeting on 11/25 due to Thanksgiving break.
Save the date for the annual tree pickup, 1/4/2020.
Appalachian Trail Hike!
November 2 -3, 2019
Open to all registered scouts of Troop 629Join us for a short-hike(4-5 miles) or a long-hike (8-10 miles) on the scenic trails in NorthGeorgia. 2020Philmont crew is required to attend the long-hike.See the flyer for details.
Overnight Lock-In
Friday December 6th
Come spend the night with friends at this very popular annualevent enjoying various games and activities, pizza, snacks,and beverages. See this flyer for details.
Scout Day at Autrey Mill
Saturday November 16th
Autrey Mill Nature Preserve will be the siteof an organized scouting event forCub Scouts and younger Girl Scouts. Troop
629 scouts and adults are being asked to help during the day with the various activities. Volunteers areneeded from 9:30 – 2:30. Drop off is at the Nature Preserve and there will be lunch for thehelpers. See Garrett Hundt or Mr. Sutton for details.
See their website for the FAQ.
The Popcorn Fundraiser is WrappingUp! Saturday November 9th For those Scouts that submitted Popcorn Take Orders,Popcorn will be available for pick-up on Saturday,November 9th. Please make plans to stop by the Hundthouse at 9760 Rod Road in Chartwell, to pick up yourpopcorn on Saturday, November 9th, between 1:00 p.m.- 5:00 p.m. Contact Mrs. Hundt to make other arrangements if you have a conflict with this date andtime. On-line sales will continue through November to add to your High Adventure Account (receive 35% ofyour sales), and for Prize Selection. Scouts with on-line sales between Black Friday and Cyber Monday(November 29th – December 2nd), will receive a limited edition Cyber Sales Patch. And shipping isfree this year! Popcorn Prizes will be handed out at a Troop Meeting in December.
If you have any questions, contact our Popcorn Kernel, Mrs. Hundt, at [email protected] or 770-605-0022.
Last December Meeting of 2019Snack Donations Needed
Monday, December 16, 2018 The last troop meeting of 2019 is on Monday, December16th. The Scouts plan a gift exchange and have refreshments
to celebrate. If you would like to send in some food items for them to enjoy during the last meeting ofthe calendar year, please see the listing HERE to sign-up. Thank you!
Health Forms Are Due!
Current health forms must be on file for every scout. Tiffany Benson is in theprocess of emailing all parents whose children's forms are out of date. Pleasebe sure that she has a paper copy so your child can participate in activities andgo on trips.
Coming Up Soon
Christmas Tree Pickup Coming Soon! Save the Date!
Saturday, January 4
Our annual Christmas Tree pickup is just a couple of months away and is afantastic opportunity for Scouts and Scouters to earn money for theirhigh adventure accounts. We'll need scouts that day to do the "heavy lifting"and we'll need a bunch of adults to handle driving as well as navigators todirect the drivers to the individual pickups.
More details will be in next month's newsletter.
Future Events:
12/6 Lock In1/1-4 West Virginia Skiing Trip1/4 Tree Pickup1/18-19 Caving & Lookout Mountain (tentative)2/8-9 Winter Backpacking Trip4/4-10 High Adventure trip to Sea Base Florida Keys7/17-30 High Adventure Trip to Philmont
High AdventureSpotlight - Philmont
Philmont Scout Ranch is the BoyScouts of America’s largestNational High Adventure Base. Itcovers 140,177 acres of ruggedmountain wilderness in theSangre de Cristo range of theRocky Mountains in northeasternNew Mexico. Philmont has aunique history of ancient NativeAmericans who chipped
petroglyphs into canyon walls,Spanish conquistadors, whoexplored the Southwest longbefore the first colonists arrivedon the Atlantic coast, the ruggedbreed of mountain man such asKit Carson, who blazed trailsacross this land, the great landbarons like Lucien Maxwell whobuilt ranches along the Santa FeTrail and miners, loggers andcowboys.
In addition to providing anunforgettable adventure inbackpacking across miles ofrugged, rocky trails, PhilmontScout Ranch offers programs thatfeature the best of the Old West—horseback riding, burrow packing, gold panning, chuckwagondinners, and interpretive history—with exciting challenges for today such as rock climbing, mountainbiking, and sport shooting. It’s an unbeatable recipe for fast-paced fun in the outdoors.
There are numerous opportunities to earn money to help pay for this with the scout's high adventureaccount. They include, but are not limited to selling camp cards, working at the Christmas tree pick up,selling popcorn, etc. Planning ahead is very beneficial.
See this flyer for more details on the upcoming trip to Philmont on July 17-30, and visit their websitehere.
Spring Break Trip To Florida Sea Base
Interested in spending spring break at Sea Base in the FloridaKeys? For more details on becoming part of the crew headedout April 4-10, see this flyer.
This trip was originally scheduled for Sea Base Bahamas, butHurricane Dorian forced it to be relocated to Florida Sea Base.
See the June newsletter for a spotlight on Sea Base, and visittheir website here.
Troop Needs
Adult Volunteers Needed for Two Open Positions
The Troop has an immediate need to fill two open Adult Volunteerpositions. Please contact Mrs. Hundt at [email protected] tovolunteer for either role, or with any questions you may have. Communications ChairMrs. Campbell is stepping down as the Troop’s Communications Chair. We have an immediate needto fill this very important role that keeps us all informed of upcoming news and events through themonthly Troop 629 Newsletter.This role is perfect for someone that would like a “behind the scenes” role. Responsibilities includecollecting and publishing announcements on a monthly basis, as well as sending out other neededannouncements through our newsletter platform which is Constant Contact. Mrs. Campbell will trainthe new volunteer, so knowledge of Constant Contact is not needed. It takes only 4 to 5 hours a month.Thank you to Mrs. Campbell for your service to the Troop!
Camp Card ChairAn adult volunteer is needed to run the annual Camp Card Sale that will begin in January. Mrs. Hundthas volunteered for this role the past two years, and cannot continue in the role given the needs offilling the Troop’s Committee Chair position.Please note – if we do not have an adult volunteer for this role, the Troop will not participate in the 2020Camp Card sale. Thank you to Mrs. Hundt for your service to the Troop!
Small Group Meetings
Troop Committee Chairs
Our next Troop 629 Committee Meeting will be Sunday, November 3, 6:00pm -7:00pm. We will meet in room S305 on the 3rd floor at Mt. Pisgah.
Assistant Scoutmasters
The next assistant Scoutmaster Meeting is on November 6 inNC S303 West Foyer, 7-8pm.
Patrol Leader's Council
The next PLC meeting is on November 14 @ NC S215A, 7pm - 8pm.
ILST
ILST will be on November 14 from 5-8pm followed by PLC from 8-9pm @ NC.
Adult Volunteers
Interested in Helping?
Please see Troop Committee Chair Kelley Hundt at our weekly meeting or contact her via email [email protected] to see where you might be able to pitch in!
VolunteersWe have several volunteers “aging out” with their Scouts or transitioning roles and need help withvarious positions. If you would like to get involved, we will find just the right place for you! Descriptionsare online. Please contact Kelley Hundt at [email protected].
AdvancementBy now, everyone should be working from the updated handbook. Please see Randall Jackson if youdo not have one or if you have any questions about how this affects you and your rank.
RSVP for ActivitiesWe ask that you please submit your RSVP form for Troop activities 2 Mondays prior to the event. Thatgives us about 10 days to finalize the details with a solid number of participants. We would like to give
everyone as much notice as possible when planning and arranging for adult volunteers, drivers, andpaying deposits.
High AdventureDid you know that we start planning these over a year in advance? That’s what it takes to secure a spotfor our Troop to participate in Sea Base, Northern Tier, Philmont, Summit or the new Cavalcade. Adultsare needed for High Adventure too, and special training is required and well worth the fun!
Life to EagleCheck the Troop web site to see where you are in the process. Randall Jackson has updatedeveryone’s records. Please be sure to follow the directions for the Eagle advancement process; it willhelp you be sure to get everything done on time.
Merit Badge Counselors
Please remember to update your YPT training. We want to be sure we observe allYouth Protection rules at all times with all of our Adult Leaders and Scouts. See Mr.Sutton with any questions.
Merit Badges
The Merit Badge Process
Please remember our policy: Troop meetings are for group and teamdevelopment and NOT generally for Merit Badge time. There is to be NOmerit badge work during patrol meeting time, instructional time andcompetition. The only exception on Mondays is that a Scout can opt to workon Merit Badges during game time.
Scouts occasionally come forward to work on a merit badge withoutreading the whole MB book from cover to cover. This is not negotiable andit doesn’t matter where the MB was started or with whom. To complete thesummer camp merit badges or any other please follow these simple rules:
1: Read the book from cover to cover.
2: Bring any completed paperwork to a meeting or merit badge help nightand coordinate an approved counselor from the scoutmaster.
3: Sit down with the counselor and explain, show or complete therequirements as detailed.
4: It’s not a memory test - it is about comprehension and covering thematerial as stated.
Merit Badge Help Night 11/12
Merit Badges Awarded
Ian C - FingerprintingTJ M - Coin CollectingGarrett H - CommunicationDrew J - Digital TechnologiesVumsee P - Citizenship in the CommunityVumsee P - CampingVumsee P - Personal Management
Vumsee P - Family Life
Calendars
Keep Up to Date!
The Troop calendar has all events posted for the rest of the year. Take a look ahead to see whichadventures you don’t want to miss! There’s something out there for everyone!
Click here or on the calendar image to see!
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