Troop News – 1-July-2018

Patrols will be meeting on their own at any time this week. Each Patrol Leader should notify the SPL and me of their plan ASAP and report on how many members participate.

The purpose is for each patrol to plan an activity that will be fun and get the whole patrol together outside of a troop meeting or campout. This could include minigolf, bowling, waterpark, watching the fireworks on the 4th, etc.

As a reminder, safe scouting guidelines and BSA principles must be followed!

The Venturing Crew is hosting a climbing event at Great Falls on Saturday, July 7th. We have tentatively set aside the 11am-1pm block for Troop 893 participants.

Please contact Adam Weiz <adam.weisz@gmail.com> ASAP if your Scout plans to participate and he will provide additional details.

The Phoenix patrol is planning a version of the game Battleship that will involved some scouting skills associate with communication and perhaps signals to keep things interesting. More details to follow in the coming week

We are hopeful that the weather will hold so we can get out on the river for some great fun in a few weeks. All info remain the same, just a new date. Reminder that all meals etc are planned by each attending family, no Troop grear or trailer will be taken to the event. For those already registered, no action needed. If changes are necessary, please be patient as we finalize the process for making modifications. .

What an awesome week for summer camp! A quick moving storm on Sunday afternoon actually was a blessing in helping us locate leaky tents before we got settled. After that it was all fun in the sun and only water was from aquatics center or humidity of which there was plenty to go around. Our Scouts enjoyed the super awesome new STEM center which offered movie making, engineering, electricity and nuclear science (our own Ernie Barreto was guest teacher). The air conditioned classrooms were also a plus. Scott Powers and Matt Conner also served as guest speakers for Search & Rescue and Citizenship in the Community. The Nova Corp had a great week with a combination of Swimming or Leatherwork, Nature and First Aid, with guidance from Matt Connor and Christian Wilson. The prep work from our summer camp team ensured that out scout has a great week, so big hat tip to Steve Barnett and Paul Taylor. This included additional support from CJ Staton, Ryan Pschigoda, Arthur Patterson and Jim Lakie.

Our service projects while attending camp included resetting 3 missing orienteering points. Nothing like digging holes and mixing cement in oppressive heat and humidity. The Nova Corp created planting bed for the milkweed seeds we received from NCAC, so hopeful some will grow and help the Monarchs on their southern journey this fall.

In addition to earning nearly 200 merit badges, we also had a number of other successes during our week at camp which deserve recognition:

Mile Swim – John Stephen Powers

1st place, Iceberg Challenge – Artur Dowd

1st Place, Aquatic Dodgeball – Our Scouts crushed all other troops and finished it off with a big win over the staff.

1st Place, Archery Tournament – Spencer Morley. Our troop had a solid showing in this invitational event, which also included Nicky Lymburner, Luke Caballossa, Tyler Morley, Darius Patterson and Ethan Jastrzembski.

1st Place, 3D Archery – Ethan Jastrembski & Spencer Morley set the all-time course record for Camp T. Brady Saunders.

2nd place, Swim Relay – Ethan Jastrzembski, Alioune Fall, Henry Jobe, Ryan Jastrzembski

2nd place, Canoe Race – Spencer Morley, Owen Pschigoda

2nd place, Scoutmaster Relay – Scott Powers on Paddleboard, Ryan Pschigoda on 25yd Swim, Kevin Morley on kayak with rowboat oar. We were also aided by another Troop SM on the rubber ducky swim.

2nd place, Scoutmaster Belly Flop –  Kevin Morley. Scott Powers was unfortunately DQd after doing great flip and flop…apparently flips are not allowed.

Scoutmaster Nature Photo of the Day – See our tree climbing rat snake below, yes that was in our campsite…super cool for the Scouts in camp to watch.

Retreat Cup – awarded to the most impressive looking Troop during evening retreat…the 15 foot flag pole certainly made a statement.

Gaga Ball – I have been advised that our Scouts applied the Patrol method very effectively against the competition.

As you can see it was a very busy week, not to mention eventful, including several encounters with Fifi the albino skunk.

Jacob Major is the current Troop Historian. He is always seeking pictures that can be added to the troop website and history log that documents all of our great activities, including Eagle projects, service projects, campouts, hikes etc. Please send pictures and a couple sentences about the activity to historian.troop893@troopmaster.email.