Good morning,
I am thankful for the rain this weekend, but I am doubly thankful that next weekend is shaping up to be a much drier one for our annual Troop Family Camp at Catalina State Park on the northeastern side of Tucson. I hope many of you are planning on spending one or both nights with us – or if that is not possible, are considering driving down for the day on Saturday. We traditionally have many opportunities for advancement, there is often a chance to see many native species (snakes, turtles, gila monsters!)in a traveling exhibit in the trailhead parking lot, we’ll have a hike, a pot luck, a campfire, and plenty of time for fun and fellowship. Please stay tuned for a detailed update from young Mr. Yu and young Mr. Traynor as the boys finalize planning this week for this marvelous outing.
This week we will have our troop meeting offsite at AZ on the Rocks (16447 N. 91st Street, Suite 105) off of Bell east of the 101 (480-502-9777). Come prepared to “on belay, belay on!†up and down rock walls with climbing gear, and perhaps do some indoor bouldering as well. Please contact young Mr. McFetters with any questions. Next Monday night we will have an adult leader meeting, with the focus on boy leadership and some high level support planning for our April activities. Another committee meeting will be coming in early April, as well. Those older boys doing their Citizenship merit badges with Mr. Clapp should be making good progress by now on their homework – an excellent way to obtain these Eagle required merit badges taught by one of our own leaders with keen insights into how our government functions at all levels.Â
Mr. Benyi has indicated that if you are planning to attend summer camp at Camp Geronimo (July 7-14), he should have your confirmation by now, and the first $200 in payments should be deposited (either through cash, check, or scout account). We would love to have you attend – there is still plenty of space. We had good opportunities this past weekend for fundraising to help with the costs, as some older boys assisted the Knights of Columbus with their St. Patrick’s Day social dinner, and a number of boys sold Scout-O-Rama tickets out in front of grocery stores. Additional focus should be on selling Pancake Breakfast tickets for our upcoming 4/14/12 event (family, neighbors, friends, etc.), and the patrols should be gathering items for their themed auction baskets. Additional tickets can be obtained through contacting Mr. Parizek or Mr. Jeorling. This is the time of year when the boys can drive the scout account to a very healthy state – all it takes is a bit of energy and effort!
I look forward to seeing you tomorrow night, and for our outing this weekend. Happy trails!
Mr. Cole  Â