Boy Scout Troop 648 Scottsdale, Arizona

Hello Troop 648

Please come help repair our troop’s trailer this Saturday, September 13th at 7:00am.  We have some repairs that need to be done in order to keep the trailer maintained and in proper working condition. Joe Hart has done a great job managing the details of this project and we could use your help.  Won’t take long, you’ll be done before noon. We will be in the back corner of the church parking lot near the troop shed. So far, Joe does not need any equipment. If that changes, we’ll let you know.

And there will be donuts and refreshments!  How can you beat that?

Thanks,

Scoutmaster 648

Hello Troop

A reminder tonight’s meeting is at the Weinhold residence – 6032 E. Mescal St. 85254 in Scottsdale.

Please remember to wear a swim suit and bring a towel.  Also, don’t forgot your Scout book as we will be working on some requirements.

Thanks

Scoutmaster T648

Greetings!

I hope everyone is enjoying the Labor Day weekend. I want to remind everyone that we will be having our quarterly Troop Committee Meeting on Tuesday, September 2, 2014 at 7pm. The meeting will be held in the classroom adjacent to the usual troop meeting room during the troop meeting.

Highlights for this meeting will include:

1) Review of the 2014-2015 Troop calendar developed by our PLC this past month. It looks promising for a very exciting year ahead!

2) Focus discussion on recruiting plans for this coming year. I am interested in unique, new perspectives on ways that we can reach out to potential new recruits.

This meeting is open to all interested parents, committee members, leaders, etc. You do not need to be a “formal” committee member to attend. If you haven’t been to a committee meeting before, please feel free to check it out. Enjoy the holiday tomorrow and we will hope to see you Tuesday.

Thanks!

Mr. Benyi – Committee Chair

Did you know the Troop has a new Facebook page and Twitter account?  Click on the links below and check them out here:

Troop 648 Facebook page – Like us on Facebook and catch all the action!

@BSATroop648 Twitter account – Follow us on Twitter!

Another fantastic weekend in the cool pines of Mogollon rim country.  Ten scouts and seven adults left the church last Friday night and embarked on our next weekend outing.  This trip was a base camp with a Saturday trip to Willow Springs lake for some canoeing and fishing.  The Scouts also found time to jump off some cliffs into the cool water.

The trip offered up the first opportunity for a break from the new school year and homework.  We topped it off with a spirited campfire program on Saturday night and a bevy of new skits and songs.  A special shout out to Mr. Patton and Mr. Jeorling for pulling the trailers.  Look for more information on the Family Campout, scheduled for September 19-21 in the Flagstaff area.

Finally, Adults, PLEASE join us for the Troop Committee meeting on Tuesday, September 2nd at 7:oopm during the regular Scout meeting.  Hear all about our amazing slate of proposed outings for the 2014-2015 Scouting year and sign-up to help continue making Troop 648 the best in the Valley.  There are a variety of ways to get involved and many with very small time commitment.  We can’t help our boys with only a few adults helping out.  Start by attending this meeting.

Yours in Scouting,

Scoutmaster T648

What an outstanding weekend! Fifteen boys descended upon the Sonoran Suites this past weekend for the 2014-2015 Patrol Leadership Conference, an annual weekend planning session for our troop. Working from Friday night through Sunday mid-morning, the Scout leadership team discussed a variety of items on the agenda including outings, summer camp and monthly meeting themes. A lot was accomplished and a good time was had by all. We have an impressive group of Scouts leading our troop and this year should be fantastic.

I encourage all the adults to attend the September 2nd Troop Committee meeting to review the 2014-2015 activity calendar. We will be meeting at 7:00pm at Blessed Sacrament while the boys will be having their weekly troop meeting. This Committee meeting will also be a great opportunity for parents to find out how you can help the troop and ultimately your Scout. We have needs in a number of areas with opportunities that vary in time commitment. We cannot continue our tradition of success without the help of our parents. Please consider getting involved even if it’s just to attend this quarterly Troop Committee meeting.

Yours in Scouting,

Scoutmaster Troop 648

Senior Patrol Leader busy capturing great ideas!

A reward for a hard day’s work – dinner at local Italian restaurant.

As a reminder, we have our monthly PLC meeting Tuesday, August 5th at 6:00pm. See you at Blessed Sacrament.

Mr. McFetters
Scoutmaster T648

Hello Troop 648:

As mentioned in the Troop meeting on Tuesday, Blessed Sacrament has an opportunity for service hours that involve moving and loading cases of water from tables inside the church to a vehicle in the parking lot.  This water is being donated by the church members and will be delivered to local charities during the summer.  You will also pass out some coupons to those that donate.

The church is serving a treat each day and you would be able to partake – I think the treats this week are root beer floats.  One shift will be about 30-60 minutes and you can work multiple shifts if you would like.  Following are the available service days and times.  Please arrive 1/2 hour before the service time.  Look for any of the tables set-up including one that should be near the entrance to the main worship hall.  Class A uniform required.

Saturday, July 26th – 4:00pm

Sunday, July 27th – 7:00am, 8:30am, 10:30am, 5:00pm

If you participate, thank you and please be sure to let me know.  There is no maximum to the number of scouts that can participate during any shift.

Mr. McFetters

Eight scouts and two scouters from the troop headed out last Friday for a cooler climate, pine trees, camaraderie and a little cave spelunking.  What we found was so much more. David Y took ‘photo bombing’ to a whole new level, Alex D found his inner Chef Ramsey and cooked up some incredible meals including a ‘banana boat’ and Reese had us all in stitches throughout the trip.  Claustrophobia, smushaphobia…let’s crawl into the tiniest space just to say we did!

We arrived late Friday night but, thanks to Mr. Cole’s extra effort, we landed in a perfect campsite.  Next to the pine trees, with an open meadow and a $100 million dollar view.  1,000 acres all to ourselves…oh and an old ‘ghost’ tractor engine/generator about 1/2 mile away that apparently does not need fuel to run.

Campsite

After breakfast Saturday, it was across the meadow to Antelope Hill (elevation about 8300 feet) and a hill climb.  Straight up the hill, climb.  Straight up over 600 feet in elevation… hill climb.  While the adults took more time on the way up to ‘enjoy the view,’ the scouts bounded up in no time.  And what better place then the top of a hill to break out the Magic deck!  The first picture below is the view outside our ‘room.’  The second picture below is the top of Antelope Hill.  In the left corner where the meadow meets the forest is our camp.  The haze was smoke from a nearby managed fire.  No one around for miles!

Looking at Antelope Hill

From the top of Antelope Hill

After lunch it was off to the Lava River Tube.  It’s a rocky climb down into sub 45 degree temperature and a near mile hike to the end.  Turn off your flashlight and you can’t see your hand in front of your face.    This lava tube cave was formed roughly 700,000 years ago by molten rock that erupted from a volcanic vent in nearby Hart Prairie. The top, sides and bottom of the flow cooled and solidified first, after which the insides of the lava river continued to flow emptying out the present cave.

The Crew

Heading into the Cave

Kind of hard to time a ‘smile’ when you can’t see your subjects!

Emerging out of the Cave

A great campfire with lots of laughs, trivia (some ‘considerably less interesting’) and stories capped off a perfect day.  Sunday brought us out of the forest and into the fire.  I hope everyone was able to cool off and perhaps catch a few extra winks.

BTW – click on any picture for a larger view.

See you at the troop meeting!

Mr. McFetters

Happy Fourth of July! I hope that you have had a festive time with your families, complete with celebrations, fireworks, and reunion dinners, while also taking time to give thanks for our many freedoms. Freedom of speech is a wonderful thing, right up there with the freedom not to listen. Better not get too used to that latter freedom, however, as summer is officially more than half way over. Scottsdale Schools are back in session in exactly one month, and listening with comprehension will again become exceedingly important to the ranking of one’s scholastic standing!

In the meantime, we have opportunities to gather as a troop, listen to each other’s meeting ideas, and prepare for our July outing. Tuesday night is our PLC meeting at 6PM – remember that all PLC members are to bring two brainstorming ideas for a meeting agenda to flesh out further at the PLC session. At 7PM is the troop meeting – which will be an overview / training on how to plan a troop meeting, presented by the two Jeorling brothers. Next week, on the evening of the 14th at 7PM will be an adult leader meeting at Scottsdale Worship Center. Our outing this month will be a base camp with hiking and advancement at the Lava Tubes. For those of you who have not had the opportunity to experience them, they are tunnels formed through ancient lava flow that travel ¾ of a mile below the surface of the ground up northwest of Flagstaff. At points the ceiling is 20 feet high, at other points, you crawl on your stomach to get through the narrows. It is an exciting, dark, cold trip underground, and is really unlike any other cave / cavern I have been to. I hope that all of you in town the weekend of the 18th – 20th are planning to attend.

I’m looking forward to seeing you all on the 8th. This will also officially be the evening that we will transition Mr. McFetters into his new role as the 7th Scoutmaster in our illustrious history. Please come and provide a warm T648 welcome to Scoutmaster McFetters!

Mr. Cole