The following are DRAFT minutes from the 9-14-10 Troop Committee meeting. The minutes will be approved at the October 5 meeting.

Present: M. Payne, N. Hopkins, F. Mitchell, G. Potamianos, B. Robertson, R. Rogers, D. Gmitro, P. Rohm, C. Anderson, R. Olszewski, R. Buffo, and D. Cox.

1. Minutes of previous meeting were approved.
2. Treasurer – F. Mitchell wants us to call Muskegon Luge, who never cashed our $1,000 check. No need right now to buy any more tents. (Prices are $119 w/o vestibule, $199 with vestibule.) We have about $8,325 in the account now.
3. Scoutmaster – M. Payne had leader meeting 9/13, to finalize plans for the next few months. Several events coming up: ScoutFest, EAA outing, Kennedy-Nixon Debate 50th anniversary outing. C. Anderson might go as a leader on EAA trip. D. Gmitro will put out forms for that outing 9/15. Troop 459 might fill in spaces, if our troop has space for that outing. Council Centennial theme Camporee sounds interesting. Our station will be Wood Fire Cooking. Camporee is at Camp Lakota in Woodstock. Meet at 6:00, leave at 6:15 Friday 10/22. J. Ringbloom working on details for Shooting outing for older scouts. More info later.
4. Wreath-laying (new business, out of agenda order) R. Buffo described the work of a wreath company in Maine, which sends “leftover” wreaths to military cemeteries for volunteers to lay on the graves. Event is scheduled for Dec. 11 at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, IL – about an hour away. Exact details about number of wreaths and number of volunteers needed can’t be determined until about 4 days before the event, which is not subject to change. Dec. 11 is also the planned time for our Eagle Cave and possibly Blue Lake Cave outings. If parents take their sons, the troop does not need tour permits or assigned trained leaders. R. Buffo was thinking of this outing as one for the 2nd year Webelos to do with the troop, but Waterfall Glen in November would work better. M. Payne asked R. Buffo to prepare a short presentation for the upcoming Court of Honor, since parents will be there. F. Mitchell expressed interest in the event for the RPC Youth Groups to participate in too.
5. Venture Crew – P. Rohm reported on the 4th of July drink sales, the Hunt Club outing, and the service project in Appalachia. The Crew has not met yet this school year.
6. Eagle Committee – G. Potamianos reported that Christian F. had his Eagle Board of Review at Council, and it went well. M. Payne asked about what the troop needs to do next, and G. Potamianos mentioned the packet prepared by S. Jones for parents of Eagle Scouts. He thinks the packet should be handed to the parents at the end of their son’s Eagle Board of Review. Christian F. will be attending college locally, plans to stay involved as a leader in the troop. Sam C. will turn in his write-up tomorrow to Council. Bruce R’s idea for an Eagle project was approved by our Eagle Committee and by Council, but he has hit a snag with the Village Preservation Commission. They will not allow pavers for any public walkway, and are suggesting poured cement instead. This change takes some of the scout work out of the idea, and also increases his project budget. Mike Kilgore at Council wants a revised plan submitted to Council for approval. No word from Cody V. on his project. Karl J. has a project idea for the British Home, to be done in the spring. M. Payne will check on getting a Life to Eagle presentation scheduled for our troop.
7. Advancement – R. Olszewski reported that 70 merit badges were earned at Camp Owasippee, 42 partials. There were 25 badges earned elsewhere by scouts. Scouts who partially completed badges at camp will get their blue cards, so they can complete the badges with other counselors. We will have 2 rank advancements at the Court of Honor too. A Board of Review will be held this Thursday for at least one scout, and we may need to have several, up to Oct. 7, to get more advancements ready for the Court of Honor. We are asking scouts to arrive early, with their books, to the Thursday night meeting. This will allow leaders to sign off items in the books. There will be a cut-off of October 7 for any badges and rank advancements to be awarded at the next Court of Honor (Oct. 21).
8. Popcorn – R. Ricchio will attend the meeting this Thursday to talk to the scouts about the popcorn campaign.
9. High Adventure – J. Ringbloom has booked two groups of 12 at Apostle Islands for July 10-16 and July 17-23. Scouts will need to be at least 14 years old to be able to go. He and F. Mitchell will finalize the Sea Base money. Some people owe, some will get money back.
10. Online payment for troop outings – N. Hopkins tried online registration for our first meeting, which was the overnight at Scout Cabin last Friday, and it went smoothly. Pack 24 will use WePay.com for members to also pay for outings online. We would only be charged 3.5% of amounts charged – no big monthly fees. Records are transparent, so members can look and see who is signed up, who has paid. R. Rogers moved to start using it for our troop, the motion passed.
11. Volunteer needs – Parent meeting was good, all registration forms were taken by parents, a good sign. R. Olszewski suggests calling Chris Isit any time we need help navigating through Council for information.
12. Roundtable – Oct. 13, M. Payne might go. The subject is the Council Camporee.
13. Upcoming Training – Winter Training doesn’t seem like something we need. It is 12-hour drive each way, not like what most scouts think of when they imagine winter camping. M. Payne explained how the assistant scoutmasters are being given different jobs in the troop. By having a distinct area for each AS, we have a description to give any parent who wants to volunteer to help. T. Hartwig will get training and become a contact leader, after he is done with his Master’s degree.
14. Meeting adjourned. Next meeting Oct. 5.