August a’Plenty

Greetings!

I will provide the weekly update this weekend while Mr. Cole is finishing up his trip to New Orleans. Though we seem to be on the downhill slope of summer, there are many troop related events coming up in August that I would like to share with you.

Mr. Grisa had his surgery last week and remains in the hospital. Please continue to keep Mr. Grisa and the whole Grisa family in your thoughts and prayers. A “CaringBridge” site has been setup where you can receive updates and leave a message of support. You can find Mr. Grisa’s CaringBridge site at: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/davegrisa. Best wishes for a speedy and safe recovery.

Eagle Scout Patrick Huston is also on the mend from his surgery last week. The Huston’s have set September 8, 2012 as the date for his Eagle Court of Honor. The location and time will be forthcoming, but please save the date!

For those who have partially completed Merit Badges remaining from Summer Camp, please see me as soon as possible to get your paperwork and complete your badge. The next troop Court of Honor will be in mid-September, so there is still time to finish MB’s and even get to the next rank. Please don’t wait until the last minute!

The next monthly PLC Meeting will be at 6pm on Tuesday, August 7, 2012 before the regular troop meeting. The annual PLC Planning Retreat will be held the weekend of August 24-26, 2012. This is a little bit later than usual; please plan accordingly. The meeting agenda is going to be slightly different this year; invitations will be going out by the end of July so please watch for that. Patrol Leaders and Troop Guides should begin consulting with their patrols about ideas for outings, service projects, and fund raisers. It is never too early to get started.

The August Outing will be taking place at the Military Sink Hole near Willow Springs Lake on the Mogollon Rim during the weekend of August 10-12, 2012. This outing will include canoeing and other activities and will be a good opportunity to get out of the heat and up into the cool pines. Also during that same weekend, Mr. Parizek will be leading “Outdoor Leader Skills” which is a required training for Scoutmasters and Assistant Scoutmasters. If you have not yet completed your Outdoor Leader Skills training, please use this opportunity to finish that up.

The next troop Committee Meeting will be held in early September, rather than August as originally planned. I will confirm the date in the next couple of weeks. There has been no Adult Leader Meeting in July; Mr. Cole will announce the date for the August Adult Leader meeting when he returns.

Congratulations to the entire troop once again for a fine showing at Camp Geronimo this summer. I hope everyone has a productive and enjoyable few weeks to round out the summer as we look forward to a new school year and the 2012/2013 Troop 648 Calendar year.

Best regards,

Mr. Benyi