Boy Scout Troop 648 Scottsdale, Arizona

Hello Troop 648 Scouts and Families,

David Yu (ASPL – Meetings) and Mrs. Hoberg have 3 announcements regarding meeting planning.

1. All November meetings are covered and will be about Engineering. The November 14 meeting will be a rank advancement requirement meeting, so be sure to come prepared to get some requirements signed off.
2. We still need 2 scouts to lead meetings in December on the theme of Safety. And be thinking ahead for January on Winter Camping.
3. In an effort to continue providing informative and engaging weekly meetings for our troop, we would like to solicit your input as we compile a list of ideas for thematic meeting activities. Senior scouts, this request is especially directed towards you! What have been your most memorable/interesting/fun meeting activities? Parents, do you have any adult connections, within the themes below, to whom you could introduce a scout?

The idea is to be able to provide newer scouts with a list of ideas to assist them in their meeting planning. If you can’t think of a specific activity, it would even be helpful to list “sub-topic” suggestions for the broader themes (eg. Safety – Fire safety, Internet safety, etc.). Remember to consider “field trip” meeting ideas.

Please email (LMHoberg@cox.net) or text (602-359-4611) Mrs. Hoberg (Jacob’s mom) with your ideas. You may also jot down your ideas on paper and give them to her at a meeting.

Themes for the upcoming year include:

• Safety
• Winter Camping
• Leadership
• Boating/Canoeing
• High Adventure
• Physical Fitness
• Aquatics
• Communications
• Backpacking
• Fishing

Thank you!

Scoutmaster T648

Calling all Troop 648 talented and generous parents and leaders. This is Arjun Blair’s Dad Mark. I’m the Troop Merit Badge Coordinator. Merit badges have been an integral part of the Scouting program for over 100 years. Merit badges exist to encourage Scouts to explore areas that interest them and to teach them valuable skills in Scoutcraft.^[4]The award of merit badges sometimes leads to careers and lifelong hobbies. The badge itself, being given in front of the troop as a sign of accomplishment and success, is an important part to stimulating the interest of the Scout in Scouting and instill the values of Scouting on the road to Eagle. It all begins with a Scout’s initial interest and effort in a merit badge subject, followed by a discussion with the unit leader or designated assistant, continues through meetings with a counselor, and culminates in advancement and recognition. It is an uncomplicated process that gives a Scout the confidence achieved through overcoming obstacles. Social skills improve. Self-reliance develops. Self-confidence evolves. Examples are set and followed. And fields of study and interest are explored beyond the limits of the school classroom.

I would like to take this time to ask all the current Merit Badge (MB) Counselors to re-register with the district, and the Troop. We currently have only a few parents/adult leaders officially registered as Merit Badge Counselors for the Troop (Myself, Jacob Benyi, Jon Komar and Mike Conrad). I will attach the forms required to officially register. Return these forms to me so that I can turn them in directly to the district. This includes everyone not on the above list. I would also like to encourage all parents to look at the Merit Badge list and choose at least 1-2 Badges that they have knowledge of or interest in. You can choose more if you desire, but if just starting out, try 1-2 to get started. Our goal is to have 100% parent participation. This will continue to show the Scouts how committed we all our to their, and the Troop’s, success. We would like to try to cover all of the Eagle required Badges, and have more than one counselor as back up for each (list of available MB’s attached).

Registering is fairly easy (AND IT’S FREE!!!!)… Each person just needs to complete an adult application. (attached) For the position code put “42” and write Merit Badge Counselor. A MB counselor is a registrant of the District, not the troop… So, it is not necessary for the Committee Chair and COR to sign these apps. They just need to be signed by the applicant, and then turned into Council (turn in to me and I’ll get them to Council). For those of us who are already registered Scouters, it is helpful to put our BSA ID on the application. This will make sure that we are properly linked to our existing account.

When it comes to the actual materials to turn in, we just need the adult application with disclosure page, a copy of our YPT (Youth Protection Training) completion certificate http://www.scouting.org/youthprotection.aspx and the MB registration form (attached). Note that each person has the ability (on this form) to specify if they want to work with everyone, or just a particular unit. If someone signs up to be a counselor for something, and does not restrict themselves to T648 only, then they will be on the master District list, and they will potentially get contacted by scouts from across the district. For some of you, that may be perfectly fine, and to others, you may just want to be involved with our Troop exclusively.  There is no right answer to that decision. It is an individual decision that everyone can make for themselves. I will confirm with everyone when paperwork is turned in what their wishes are.

This should only have to be done once for MB Counselors. The YPT needs to be recertified every 2 years, but is very straight forward and completed at your leisure on-line at the link above.

Once complete you can e-mail the documents to me or hand them in to me at an upcoming meeting. Please contact me if you have any questions. My e-mail is hornetdermdoc@gmail.com

Sorry for the long e-mail, and thanks in advance for all of your help.

BSA Adult Application

List of Merit Badges

MB Counselor Application

MB Counselor Orientaion

Hello Troop 648

An important announcement from Nick Murphy:

Nick Murphy’s Eagle Scout Project to benefit Chaparral Christian Church

WHEN:         Saturday, November 11^th from 7:00 AM – 2:00 PM

WHERE:      Chaparral Christian Church, 6451 E. Shea Blvd., Scottsdale

WHAT:         Painting the Children’s Ministry rooms

All scouts, scouters, friends and family are welcomed to participate.

Please wear clothing suitable for painting.

Continental breakfast and lunch provided.

* * Please contact Nick if you have any of the following items that we can use: * *

5’- 8’ ladders; paint roller frames, extension poles, and/or pans, drop cloths

Nick Murphy at 480-518-0402 or email murphynickp@gmail.com

Unavailable on November 11^th but would like to help? Please consider making a contribution to help defray the cost of paint and supplies. Any amount will help! Click here to donate!

Hello Troop 648

Reminder that we have an Eagle Court of Honor for Kevin Weinhold, Sunday October 29th starting at 2:00pm. The ceremony will be held at Chaparral Christian Church, with a reception to follow at 3pm. See you there!

Also, please note the following information for Alex DeAngelis’ Eagle Court of Honor:

The Scaramella – De Angelis Family

and Boy Scout Troop 648

cordially invite you to attend  the

Eagle Scout Court of Honor for

Alessandro De Angelis

Sunday, November 5, 2017

2:00 pm

Chaparral Christian Church

Reception following the ceremony

RSVP 480-329-0432

Congratulations again to Alex and Kevin!

Scoutmaster T648

Hello Troop

A quick message to SAVE THE DATE for Kevin Weinhold’s Eagle Scout Court of Honor. If you have not been to an Eagle Court of Honor, please attend as they are very special and not to be missed! Your Scout will love it.

More info to follow, but for now some specifics:

• Sunday, October 29, 2017
• Chaparral Christian Church
• 2:00pm ceremony in the Worship Center
• 3:00pm reception to follow in the East Hall

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Thanks,

Scoutmaster T648

Hello Troop 648

We had an excellent backpacking trip this past weekend in the cool pines of Flagstaff and in the shadow of Humphrey’s Peak. Four intrepid Scouts headed out for their first overnight backpacking trip and they could not have done a better job!

We covered about 6 miles total with the Scouts learning a few things along the way.  Most importantly, they now understand that they can indeed carry 30+ pounds of gear, food and water on their back, hike for miles in the wilderness and have fun along the way!

Congrats to Jacob, Stephan, Liam and Issac for completing this trip and here’s to many, many more. Also, thanks to Jacob for leading the group as the Patrol Leader. Great job Jacob!

We can’t have the awesome troop we have and do the things we love to do without the commitment of the adults in the troop. A special thanks to David Cole for providing adult leadership, trip coordination, driving and teaching the Scouts some map and compass skills. And to Kelly Engelhardt for his leadership and for driving. We really appreciate it!

See you at the troop meeting!

Hello Troop 648

Congratulations go out to Troop 648’s newest Eagle Scouts!

• Reese Galvin, Joe Hart and James DeAngelis

T648 Scouts Reese, Joe and James all passed their Eagle Scout Board of Review last night. We are very proud of all of their accomplishments, specifically earning the rank of Eagle Scout.  We are lucky to have such fine young men be a part of our troop!

BTW – This ‘hat trick’ is a first for the troop.

Congrats again Reese, Joe and James and be sure to hug your family and thank them for all their help and support.

Yours in Scouting,

Scoutmaster T648

Hello Troop 648

A couple quick reminders:

• Monthly PLC meeting at 6pm tonight. All Scouts with an official ‘job title’ in the troop should attend.
• Scouts should bring a pocket knife to the meeting tonight. We will be teaching the Totin’ Chip (safe handling and proper use of pocket knife, ax, saw) and learning how to use a whetstone to safely sharpen our knives.
• For parents – Troop Committee meeting tonight at 7pm. Hear about all the exciting stuff we have planned for the upcoming new year – Oct 2017 through Sept 2018.

See you tonight!

Scoutmaster T648

Greetings!

Happy Labor Day weekend to everyone! This is a reminder that we will be having our usual September Troop Committee & Parent Meeting on Tuesday, 9/5/17 at 7pm in the CCC Conference Room. All parents and committee members are invited to attend.

Among other things, we will be reviewing the Troop Calendar for the coming year that was put together by the Patrol Leader’s Council this past month.

I hope to see you there!

-Mr. Benyi

Hello Troop 648

I was on the St. Vincent de Paul website recently and noticed a picture on their home page that looked familiar. Upon closer inspection through the fruit and vegetable jungle, I saw a shed (with a new paint job and graphics) a fence and the freeway. I quickly recalled Alex Dahlmann’s Eagle Scout project from 2013.

Alex led the troop, family and friends in transforming a gravel lot into an Urban Farm! From SVdP’s website – “(Our) Urban Farm grows and harvests hundreds of pounds of fresh produce every week. These fruits and vegetables are then used in our kitchens and added to food boxes to feed families in need.” You can read an article from October, 2015 about the farm here as well.

An excerpt from the article states, “Once harvested, the produce is transported within the same campus grounds to the kitchen where it is then batched and distributed throughout the four other dining rooms in the Valley.”

According to Esther Martinez, St. Vincent de Paul public relations manager, the main campus serves more than 300 meals each night. The menu is designed by Chef Chris Hoffman everyday and is based on what is harvested. “We find ways to use it,’ Martinez said. “Nothing goes to waste.”

The article goes on to say, “Almost two years after the initial seeds were planted (fall of 2013), the St. Vincent de Paul Urban Farm is now producing tens of thousands of pounds of food each year and it continues to grow.” Talk about an amazing and lasting impact started by a scout in our troop!

Here are some before and after pictures. You can clearly see the shed in the before pictures, that has since been repainted and features a local juice company’s logo. Also, the white cinder block wall along the south side of the farm is visible in some of the before and after pictures.

Before (can you spot some of our current scouts in the picture below?!) Shed in background

Before – white cinder block wall on south side, view looking to the west

Before

Before – Shed again, but wait until you see what’s in the empty lot now!

” “

Before - Three Generations of Eagle Scouts (from left, Eagle/father Richard Dahlmann, Alex Dahlmann T648 Eagle #42 and if memory serves me, Alex’s Eagle Scout grandfather on the right)

” “

Before – the shed and empty lot

” “

After!!! Notice the shed and the not so empty dirt lot!

After

White cinder block wall in the background along the south side

After – cinder block wall again

Way to go Alex!

As if that wasn’t enough, a quick update from another project and the Troop’s most recent Eagle Scout #54, Kevin Weinhold. You may recall, Kevin led the troop, family and friends in building a number of ramps and other structures to be used by the Skate After School program. The program “matches talented and enthusiastic volunteers, with Phoenix area schools to provide skateboard instruction to underserved youth. With donated skateboard equipment, we are able to engage students in a challenging and exciting extracurricular activity.”

Kevin shared a video that was posted to Thrasher Magazine’s Instagram account that shows a principal from a local school skateboarding and using one of Kevin’s ramps. The video has over 540,000 views to date! It was a great project and the ramps have been traveling all around the Valley.

Here is the video.

Skate on Kevin!

Have a ‘Where are they now?” Eagle Scout story? Send it to me (dmcfetters@gmail.com) as we would love to share it with the troop family!

Scoutmaster T648