Important Updates and Reminders
- TROOP MEETINGS UPDATE - At the time of the release of this newsletter, due to Covid-19, the plan for troop meetings is to meet via Zoom every Thursday. Additionally, we will meet in person outside of the church (weather permitting) most Saturdays to sign off requirements and have fun. Keep in mind that as Covid-19 regulations change, the plan for troop meetings may change.
- Annual Outing Planning Update - A couple weeks ago, Mr. Beffel lead the scouts in our annual meeting planning night. We suggested possible outing ideas for 2021 and voted for our favorites. Mr. Beffel will do his best to get reservations for our troop at these outings, but due to availability and Covid-19 regulations, nothing is set in stone. The rough draft for our 2021 Outing Schedule is below.
- High Adventure Outing Planning - At the meeting mentioned above, many of the scouts suggested options for a high adventure trip for scouts who are the rank of first class and 13 or more years old. Among these were backpacking in Alaska, sailing around Catalina Island, and more. However, the meeting ended before the scouts could vote for their favorite, so we will tally the votes using a survey instead. If you are 13+ years old, currently the rank of first class, and interested in going on this week-long adventure, please press the button labeled "High Adventure Outing Survey" below. Please make only one submission per person. The results of this survey will be Mr. Beffel's main factor in deciding which outing we go on, so each submission counts!
- Troop Ski Outing - Covid permitting, the troop will host its first-ever ski outing in February 2021. This will likely be a quick day-trip to a nearby ski resort. We will divide up into groups based on skill level and ski the slopes for the day. If interested, please fill out the survey linked below titled "Troop 794 Ski Outing Survey." Adults who are interested can submit too! Please make only one submission per person.
- No Meeting on 12/24 and 12/31! There will not be meetings on Thursday, 12/24 and Thursday, 12/31 due to Christmas and New Years Eve. Because of this, the PLC meeting has been moved to 12/17 via zoom. Merry Christmas!
November Meetings and Outings
- Troop Meeting 12/3: Merit Badge Clinic - Anybody who is interested will be put in a virtual breakout room and the counselors will cover the basics of multiple merit badges. Those who aren't interested will be able to break out into other breakout rooms to learn scouts skills.
- Troop Meeting 12/10: Service Project - We will be helping out at the church with various activities. There are only 12 1-hour slots over a 3 hour period, so sign up soon! Use this link to sign up. This will count towards service hours for your ranks, so everyone who is looking for service hours should attend!
- Troop Meeting 12/17: Christmas Party - This will be our annual Christmas Party, though it may look a little different than usual due to Covid-19. The scouts in charge of this meeting are looking for ways to hold this meeting in-person. If not, the meeting will be online and we will watch a Christmas Movie and play Kahoot. Updates on this meeting will be sent out via email later this month. A PLC meeting is also planned to be held prior to this meeting.
2021 Outing Schedule (Rough Draft)
Below is the 2021 Outing Schedule determined at our annual outing planning meeting on 11/5.
- January: Ice Fishing Outing @ Tahosa - Historically a one-night campout including ice fishing, sledding, card games, and a campfire. Scouts may opt to sleep in a tent or hammock if they have a tent buddy, otherwise they will stay in cabins/lodges.
- January (Backup): Snow Mountain Ranch - Skiing, sledding, tubing, and other snow sports at a ranch near Winter Park. This is a backup in case we can't get into Tahosa for Ice Fishing.
- February: ILST 1 - Leadership Training for the incoming PLC, historically at Peaceful Valley.
- February: Lock-In - Meet at an arcade, theater, etc. and do all sorts of fun activities before driving back to the church and spending the night in the Mill.
- February: Ski Outing - Meet at a ski resort in the morning and ski all day before returning home.
- March: Winter Sports @ Snow Mountain Ranch - Skiing, sledding, tubing, and other snow sports at a ranch near Winter Park.
- April: New Scout Outing - A two-night campout focused on shooting sports and helping scouts under first class sign off requirements. Typically at Peaceful Valley
- May: Zip-line Campout - Two-night campout including zip-lining.
- May (Backup): Camping @ Rocky Mountain National Park - Hiking and fishing at Rocky Mountain National Park. This is a backup in case we can't book the zip-lining campout.
- June: Rafting Campout - Two-night campout centered around rafting on the Colorado River. May be shifted into July depending if the rapids are flowing to quickly.
- June: Summer Camp - 6-night campout including Merit badges, requirement sign-offs, competitions, and much more. Typically this is held at Peaceful Valley, but we are also considering Swamp Base, Camp Alexander, and Camp Buffalo Bill this year.
- July: 14er @ La Plata Peak - A two night campout where we will attempt to climb La Plata Peak, one of Colorado's many 14,000'+ mountains.
- July: Snow Mountain Ranch - A two-night campout including horseback riding, hiking, and more.
- July (Backup): Sailing - A campout centered around learning to sail. Will serve as a backup in case we can't get into Snow Mountain Ranch
- August: ILST 2 - Leadership training for the incoming PLC. Historically held at Tahosa High Adventure Base.
- August: Fishing - A campout dedicated to fishing, may live aboard a boat for a night or two and fish from the boat, or will fish from the store and camp on shore.
- September: Sand Dunes - Hiking, Sledding on Sand, Games, Foam Sword Battles, and more all wrapped into a two-night campout at Great Sand Dunes National Park. Some of the older scouts also make a backpacking trip into the dunes and camp on the dunes themselves on the second night. This campout is a troop favorite, so make sure to attend!
- October: Hut Backpacking - Snowshoe/hike to a large hut where everyone will spend the night. A great introduction to backpacking!
- October: Senior Scout Backpacking - A multi-night backpacking trip for the older scouts in the troop. Location tbd.
- High Adventure Outing - Unfortunately, the meeting ended before we could decide on a high adventure, so if you are an 13+ and first class, please take the survey above to help Mr. Beffel get an idea of what the troop is interested for high adventure outings. Some of the options include backpacking in Alaska, sailing in Catalina island or Washington State, Florida Sea Base, Hiking the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim, Bike-packing in West Virginia, 4wheeling in Moab, and many others.
Inspirational Message
Scouting isn't just about earning badges and recognitions, scouting strives to prepare youth to become responsible, participating citizens and leaders who are guided by the values of Scout Oath and Law. You make a living from what you get, but you make a life from what you give. Also, actions always speak louder than words and your attitude is contagious. Baden-Powell also said, "show me a poorly uniformed troop, and I'll show you a poorly uniformed leader." Remember that the way you present and conduct yourself will be reflected by other Scouts.
- James Craig, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader
A Word from the Wise
Hello Troop 794!
What in interesting time to be alive, huh? I’ve noticed that I spend a lot of time being on a screen, whether it be for school, work, with friends, or anything to do with entertainment. Must I say, it’s tiring right? Yep. Very much so.
I’ll share some of my favorite tips to help get rid of screen-fatigue!
Tip #1: pick up a new hobby! I’ve recently picked up oil painting, as well as playing the piano. Enjoy the toilet-paper still life! Music is also a great way to relax the mind and make new connections in your brain.
Tip #2: go outside! The weather isn’t always beautiful, but go enjoy a sunrise/sunset or take the dog for a walk. Hiking and biking are a great way to refresh the mind.
Tip #3: family board game! If you’re stuck at home with family, might as well make it fun. Qwirkle, Code Names, and Spot-it are my three favorite games to play to have an active mind and have fun.
I hope all of you are staying safe and managing your situations well with Covid. There has never been a better time to be a light and spread positivity as far and wide as you can than right now. Everyone has an impact on this world, big or small – do your best to make an encouraging one right now!
-TJ Dubler, Junior Assistant Scoutmaster
Merit Badge of the Month
Aviation
Aviation is a good merit badge for you if you would like to learn more about aircraft. During completion of this merit badge you will learn how to use a GPS on an airplane, how to read all of the avionics, about three career opportunities in aviation, the different types of aircraft, and more. If you were lucky enough to make it to merit badge night and to Mr. Rymer’s presentation you have already completed 3 of the requirements. If you are interested in aviation and want to find out more about them this is the perfect merit badge for you.
- John Challenger, Troop 794 Librarian
Gear Tip of the Month
For any scouts who are looking for a new sleeping bag, there are so many different types it is hard to keep track, so here is a guide for different types of sleeping bags. Basically, there are two types of insulation that can keep you warm at night. The first is down, which is very lightweight, compressible, and has a much longer lifespan than synthetic insulation, the other type. Synthetic is less expensive, but is usually heavier and larger when compressed. If you are still deciding between the types, I recommend down-it will last for much longer than a synthetic bag. However, because of its high price, only buy a down bag if you will fit in it for a long time. It is often said that synthetics are warm when wet, but if you have water repellent down then that should help with down clumping up when it gets wet.
-Jack Ballard, Troop 794 Quartermaster
Patrol Reports
Below is a list of all of the accomplishments each patrol made during the past month:
Alpha Patrol:
- The younger scouts in this patrol had a lot of requirements signed off at the sign-off night on November 19th.
- Aidan Luna earned the rank of Scout
- Grant Anderson earned the rank of Tenderfoot
- Andrew Beffel earned the rank of Life
- Will Ballard earned the rank of Eagle!!!
Bravo Patrol:
- Had the highest average attendance amongst patrols; about 55% of the scouts in the patrol showed up to each meeting.
- Noah Halsey earned the rank of Scout
- Garrett Rymer earned the rank of Star
- Gabe Ohnstad earned the rank of Star
- Cowan Dohrman earned the rank of First Class
Charlie Patrol:
- Boston Crew earned the rank of Scout
Delta Patrol:
- Won the first patrol point competition!
- Kevin Bogan earned the rank of Scout
- Tyler Sunahara earned the rank of Eagle!
- Tanner Morton earned the rank of Eagle!
Echo Patrol:
- Younger scouts are having a getting a lot of requirements signed off
- Patrol Outing planned for 12/5.
- Plan for Patrol Hike emerging
- 5 scouts planned to earn a rank at February COH
- Everett Williams earned the rank of Scout
- Tyler Beffel earned the rank of Scout
Thanks for Reading!
Scouts and Adults,
I hope you liked this edition of the troop newsletter. I apologize that a lot of the regular portions of this newsletter are missing; Unfortunately, a lot of the members of the PLC were busy this month and were unable to submit their portion for this edition. If you have any comments, questions, concerns, or have a request for the next edition, feel free to email me at garrettrymer@icloud.com. Thanks and Stay Safe!
- Garrett Rymer, Troop 794 Scribe
Credits:
Editing by Garrett Rymer Photos by Tyler Sunahara Patrol Updates by Andrew Beffel and Patrick Hurley