Minutes from Parent / Troop Committee Meeting
Tuesday, August 19 2008
The following were in attendance:
Troop Committee Members: Bill Campbell, Paul Casadonte, Terry Parker, Pon Phongsavath, Skip Ross, Donna Rozansky, and Jean Stephano.
Assistant Scoutmasters: Robin Jewett and Dave Pederson.
The Committee approved the minutes from the June 10th, 2008 meeting.
Scoutmaster’s Report: Not present
Treasurer’s Report/Discussion (Donna): Profit & Loss vs. Actual Budget report was reviewed. There are no budget variances.
Troop Chaplain Report/Discussion (Skip): The Catholic Awards Program training was conducted on August 18th. St Raphael Church was represented by 5 participants. Father Sal counseled scouts who are enrolled in the program. Skip reported that the session went very well. Skip/Donna will follow up with emails with information of what Fr. Sal will need to know. Father Sal is Chief Youth Minister contact for St. Raphael Parish.
Outdoor Activities Coordinator (Bill): The Troop is pursuing the National Camping Award. Bill needs a record of a number of scouts attending camping/outdoor activities. The same data is needed for the Centennial Quality Award. Summer Camp 2009 will begin on June 21st at Camp Durant. Application and deposit has been submitted. The fees per scout will be $195.
Training Coordinator Report/Discussion (Brenda): Brenda was absent; she did provide some information via Terry.
More adult leader training has taken place. All adult leaders are encouraged to keep their certification updated. The troop also is committed to have a minimum of 50% adult leaders complete Basic Leader Training and Youth Protection Training.
She is still waiting for information on St. Raphael’s offer of Safe Environment Training, which is required by all adult leaders.
There was some discussion on purchase of Youth Leader Training DVD set. However, there were questions on how efficient the DVD is as a training tool.
On September 27th, Wake County Mega Training will take place at United Methodist Church, Downtown Raleigh, Edenton Street. Training includes Cub Scout Leader Specific, Youth Protection, and other position specific.
University of Scouting will be held on November 1st, at Wake Technical College, Fayetteville Road. The training is generally from 8AM-5PM, with registration beginning at 7a.m.
Robin Jewett reviewed the purpose of Boards of Review. He passed out a copy of a handbook. It stated that the Board of Review’s purpose is not to retest the Scout, but to make sure he has met all the requirements for rank. It is also a chance for the Scout to bring up any questions or problem he may have. To better prepare scouts for Board of Review, the Committee agrees that scouts shall have some guidance of what the Board of Review is. Terry asked Jean to compile some guidance information for Boards of Review.
5. Webmaster Report/Discussion (Paul): Everything is fine with the website. The Committee thanked Paul for keeping our website updated and looking good.
6. Membership/Advancement Report/Discussion (Jean Stephano):
16 of our 29 scouts have advanced in rank. This is about 50% of the troop. We had an objective in pursuance the Centennial Quality Award and goal of 75% scouts earning advancement awards. We would need 6 more scouts to advance to achieve this goal.
There are 4 Life ranked scouts. 2 Life ranked scouts are ready to apply for Eagle status. There are currently approved Eagle projects for 2 scouts. 4 life scouts have talked to Dave Pederson regarding Eagle projects. At any rate, our troop is projected to have 9 new Eagles by 2009. That number would make almost 100 Eagles since our Troop was founded over 52 years ago. If that happens, Dave suggested a plan for a dinner banquet honoring eagles and adult leaders in 2009.
Jean added that 1 new scout leader was recruited.
7. Community Service Report/Discussion (Rachelle Stracher): Troop T-shirt order is being worked on.
8. Publicity Report/Discussion: Sherri did Troop Eagle announcement in the newspapers. She is working on getting WRAL TV or The News and Observer to cover our Christmas Tree Sale event for publicity.
Recruiting Report/Discussion (Terry): The Falls District Cub packs have been contacted.
New Business:
Terry is working on ordering new neckerchiefs. There are discussions on design and quantity to satisfy our needs and budget. It was quoted for $10.95 per piece and minimum order of a lot of 100 for a design close to our current neckerchief. More research is necessary regarding this matter.
Gas cost increase for driving to troop camping will be considered for next year’s budget. Troop Gas Policy has been established and as follows:
Troop 314
Policy on Fuel Expenses for Camping
1. The troop will continue to reimburse the driver who pulls the trailer on any trips for the full cost of fuel.
2. Scouts and/or their parents that are not driving on a trip will be encouraged but not required to make a donation to cover the cost of fuel for other drivers.
3. Donations will be equally divided among those drivers who spend the entire weekend with the troop.
4. Donations will be collected prior to departure by a member of the Outdoor Activities Committee, an Assistant Scoutmaster or their designate and distributed immediately. However, if donations are made after this collection, they will be distributed as well in the same manner as above.
The next Troop Committee meeting will take place on October 28th. Please plan to attend!
Meeting adjourned at 9:00 pm.