Boy Scout Troop 648 Scottsdale, Arizona

Troop 648

I hope you enjoyed your holiday break and welcome to 2015. Believe it or not, it’s time to start planning for summer camp!

Anyone considering summer camp (July 18 – 25) please let Mr. Benyi or Mr. Murphy know within the next month. If you know you are going, our first troop payment is due mid-January, so we need the initial $100 payment by January 15th. We are currently anticipating the total cost per scout to be in the $475-$490 range. Email me if you would like to know how much money is in your scout’s account. And don’t forgot, we have the charity clothing drive and the Pancake Breakfast for fundraising opportunities between now and camp.

Final cost will be determined by the number of scouts attending, as the gas cost to and from will be a contributor to the overall cost. If you did not hear, we will be going to Camp Chawanakee on Shaver Lake in California. Click here for info on the location. More planning info to follow in  the coming months.

See you Tuesday night for our monthly PLC. If you are responsible for a meeting in January, please be prepared to discuss your meeting plans.

Scoutmaster T648

Camp Chawanakee

Hello Troop:

Reminder – our first annual Holiday Requirements Day will be held on Tuesday, December 30, 2014 at our house: 6550 E. Clinton, Scottsdale, from 3:30p – 5:30p.  We will be working on a number of requirements for Tenderfoot, Second Class and First Class ranks. Class B uniform is fine.

Come on out and join the fun!

Call or email me with any questions.

Scoutmaster T648

Hello Troop 648

With the holidays being the season of giving and January a great time of the year to clear out the old to make room for the new, it seemed the perfect time for Boy Scout Troop #648 to have a clothing drive!

We have partnered with Planet Donate and will be collecting used clothing, shoes, purses, wallets, backpacks, duffle bags, all linens and bedding, towels, curtains and draperies, sleeping bags, hats, scarves and belts in any condition. The items will go to help those in Guatemala and other third world countries. What is not wearable is recycled to make useable goods. Nothing goes to waste so the stained or torn clothing items, broken or dog chewed shoes, purses and backpacks with broken zippers are all welcome and usable, even a single shoe.

Just gather your items, give us a call by January 17th and we pick it up from you or you can drop items off at Blessed Sacrament Church on 64th Street between Cactus and Shea from 4-6pm on January 17th. We will be collecting items in the NW corner of the parking lot. Let us know if you have any questions. Please share this with friends and family. We appreciate your help in making this drive a huge success.

Troop 648

Hello Troop 648

The following will provide you with some troop news.

1. Holiday Schedule

The holidays are here!  As a reminder, we will NOT be meeting on Tuesday, December 23 and Tuesday, December 30th.  Our NEXT meeting will be January 6th.  Jan 6th will also be a PLC meeting. The following Scouts volunteered to lead a meeting during January. Please refer to your packet for the meeting plan and game description. If you have any questions, please email or call me. Lead Scout is listed first, back-up is listed second. The theme this month, Winter Camping, works well as we have planned a winter camp outing for Jan 23-25.

Jan 6 – Harry/Cullen

Jan 13 – Alex Demski/Kevin

Jan 20 – Zach Harper/Reese

Jan 27 – James/David

2. Blessed Sacrament Rummage Sale Service Project

We will be helping the church with their Rummage Sale on Saturday, January 17th. Additional information and sign-ups will be forthcoming, but please SAVE THE DATE!

3. I am thinking about hosting a ‘requirements’ meeting on Tuesday, December 30th at our house.  This would be an opportunity for any scout working toward Scout, Tenderfoot, Second Class and/or First Class ranks to work on and get signed off on a number of requirements. If any scout is interested and/or if any adult is interested in helping, please call or email me.

Have a blessed and safe holiday season with family and friends.

Scoutmaster T648

Not exactly a scene from Scottsdale, but thought it was beautiful anyway!

Hello Troop 648

It was a busy weekend for our Troop.  On Friday night, 5 scouts participated in a service project for Chaparral Christian Church and in support of their Christmas story performance – Follow the Star. Our scouts provided assistance in setting up luminarias and set-up and tended to a few parking lot camp fires.  It was a great event and with the support of a couple adults, we provided nearly 20 man hours of help!  Great job scouts!

Waiting for the sun to go down before we set up the camp fires

On Saturday morning, a few scouts lent their support to Zach Harper and Harry Kramer as they completed their Life Service Troop project.  The project entailed cleaning the patrol chuckboxes and clearing out the excess or worn down gear.  A scout is ‘clean’ was the day’s theme!  Look for a message coming soon with some kitchen gear requests.  Nice job by the scouts to get the chuckboxes clean enough to eat out of!

See you Tuesday night!

Scoutmaster T648

Troop 648 Scouts, Scouters and Parents of Scouts,

Thank you to everyone who signed up to help with the Follow The Star event at Chaparral Christian Church tomorrow (Friday, Dec. 12). Please meet in the parking lot at 4pm to help set up & light luminarias. We should be finished by 6pm.

The church would also like our troop to build, light and maintain a couple of bonfires. Please let me know if you are willing to help from 6pm-8pm, 6:30-8:30 or 7pm-9pm.

Scouts should wear Class A uniform.

Scouts will receive service hours for rank advancement and honor patrol points for their participation.

This community event will give us an opportunity to try and recruit new scouts. “A steady flow of youth into a Boy Scout troop is essential to maintaining the troop’s health. New Scouts bring energy and enthusiasm to the troop program.” (www.scouting.org). Please help promote the troop by engaging in a conversation about the great benefits of the program with event attendees. We will have business cards with troop information to handout to people who express interest.

Event information:

Chaparral Christian Church Presents Follow The Star. An Outdoor Journey to Bethlehem event.

Friday, December 12th.
Beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Chaparral Christian Church
6451 East Shea Blvd.
Scottsdale, AZ 85254

Follow the Star is a unique outdoor journey to ancient Bethlehem. Join our expert guides along the bustling streets of Bethlehem as the story of Christmas unfolds around you. A journey begins every ten minutes and lasts approximately 25 minutes. This free annual event is presented by Chaparral Christian Church. It is a special experience for the whole family.

Best regards,

Karin McFetters
kmcfetters@mac.com
c. 602.524.9595

Greetings!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and is rested ahead of the busy holiday season of 2014. I just want to take a moment to remind everyone that we will have our usual quarterly Troop Committee and Parent Meeting tomorrow evening (12/2/14), beginning at 7pm. The meeting occurs at the church; we will be in one of the classrooms adjacent to the normal Troop meeting room.

All interested parents, guardians, and Committee Members are invited and welcome to attend. We will do a quick recap on a pretty successful 2014, and we will look ahead to the Troop business for 2015. We hope to see you there!

(Please also remember that PLC members should be present for the PLC meeting, beginning at 6pm in the youth room.)

Best regards,

Mr. Benyi

Hello Troop Family

We will be meeting this Tuesday, November 25th at Scottsdale Worship Center and NOT at Blessed Sacrament for our weekly troop meeting.  This week only.

Scottsdale Worship Center is located at 6508 E. Cactus.  From Blessed Sacrament, go north to Cactus, turn right (east).  SWC is up about 100 yards or so on the north side of the street.  SWC is where we have held the Pancake Breakfast for the last two years.

Thank you to SWC for accommodating us at the last minute and see you on Tuesday!

Scoutmaster T648

Hello Troop

It was a weekend to remember at the 2014 Four Peaks District Camporee! Our troop attended the annual district Camporee held at a new Grand Canyon BSA facility.  Located about 6 miles west of I-17 outside of New River, Little Grand Canyon Ranch was recently bequeathed to the Council. This beautiful facility is a working horse ranch situated in the desert along the Agua Fria river in a canyon setting.  2 1/2 weeks ago 12 scouts in the district were registered for the Camporee, but the flood gates opened and over 420 ended up attending!  Great job and kudos to the planning committee.

The Camporee is a celebration of scouting skills and showcases two competitions.  The Ultimate Scout competition emphasizes the basic scouting skills necessary to earn First Class and is applied in a series of high-adventure activities in the field.  The three-mile, multi-event course requires teamwork, cooperation, knowledge and skill.  Drum roll please…our Ultimate Scout team placed 2nd overall!  Well done T648!

The Patrol Competition evaluates scouts on their demonstration of scouting skills, teamwork, leadership, and scout spirit. This competition features a variety of events the scouts rotated through during the day and included campsite inspection, first aid, knot tying, scout trivia, tomahawk throw, archery, chicken launch, orienteering, shotgun shooting, fire building and more.  The result? Troop 648 — first place! A fantastic job by the troop!

Finally, our troop was given the honor and distinction of performing a U.S. flag retirement ceremony during Saturday evening’s campfire program. The troop performed a moving, beautiful and respectful retirement showing honor and paying respect to our flag and country. It was the best retirement we have performed in a long time and the scouts are to be congratulated for the work they put into it. Very proud of our scouts and the results showed how committed they are to excellence.

Up next? A backpacking trip on December 5-7.

Scoutmaster T648

Hello Troop

This past weekend a large contingent of troop 648 scouts, family and friends descended upon the Rio Salado Habitat Restoration area.  Along the historic Salt River, this 600-acre park is located less then two miles from downtown Phoenix and is a lush Sonoran riparian habitat used by over 200 species of birds and other wildlife—beavers, muskrats, coyotes, jackrabbits, cottontails, and javelinas—to name a few.

Alex’s project consisted of building 100 feet of split rail fence and laying down heavy gauge chicken wire necessary to keep the beavers from entering a specific section of the habitat.  It was back breaking work but the crew, led by Alex, did a great job and provided a much needed upgrade to the area.

Alex will conclude his trail to Eagle with a few more requirements to complete over the next few weeks and we are confident he will succeed.  Congrats and a big THANKS to all who attended.

Scoutmaster T648