Good morning!
A couple dozen Assistant Scoutmasters, Committee Members, friends and family gathered at a surprise birthday party last night for one of our own who has been through a rough patch lately. Assistant Scoutmaster D. Grisa is recovering from broken vertebrae in his neck, but got himself up and out to dinner last night with his wife and a party broke out. In spite of the neck brace, it is great to see Dave as himself again, regaling stories of biking, his Eagle son, and threatening to be on vacation by himself this time next year to avoid any repeat surprise parties. In other medical news, we are thrilled that Mr. Benyi’s father is back home from the hospital after a recent heart attack. Please continue to keep the Grisas and the Benyis in your thoughts and prayers.
The upcoming week is annually one of the most critical in the life of our troop. All boys should have been providing input to their patrol leaders and troop guides on outings they are interested in doing over the next year. If they have ideas on fundraisers or service projects they would like considered, now is the time to make those known, as well. This weekend from Friday night through late morning Sunday is our annual planning retreat at a local resort where about a dozen of our senior patrol leaders, troop guides and patrol leaders will plan the troop calendar for the next year. This year we will also have some of the newest leaders (Historian, Scribe, Instructors, Librarian, etc.) come by Saturday afternoon for an opportunity to get some initial role training, and to experience briefly the weekend that they will be leading in upcoming years. It is always an amazing experience to see the boys present their cases, threaten, cajole, plead, and dust off or develop new communication and negotiation skills as the calendar begins to take form.  Thank you to each of you for your investment in your future. It is a part of the DNA of our troop, and it is magical when it all finally comes together.
Tomorrow night is the troop meeting –  I believe there has been planning for some dutch oven cooking. Looking ahead, we have an Eagle Court of Honor planned for P. Huston on September 8th – 2PM at the Elks Lodge on 32nd Street & Acoma. Our September outing will be exploring Lava Tubes and summiting a peak west of Flagstaff the weekend of the 21st. Keep working on your advancement and finishing up your partial merit badges – our next troop court of honor will be late September / early October.
See you Tuesday night!
Mr. Cole