Minutes

Troop 314 Committee Meeting Minutes

Prepared by

Pon Phongsavath

The followings are in attendance: Sheri Colquitt, Paul Casadonte, Brian Fulcher, Mike LeBlanc, Robin Thomas, Whitney Touch, Pon Phongsavath, Chris Poole, Kaye Poole, and Suja Vallabhaneni.

Christmas trees sales date is scheduled for Friday December 1^st through Sunday December 3^rd.

Mike LeBlanc has some information regarding trees suppliers and plan for the sales set up. The information is attached. It will be available on our troop’s website

This year, Christmas trees will be ordered from a different supplier, Smokey Holler Tree Farm. The new order is estimated to be $xxxx plus and estimate of $xxxx to $xxxx shipping fees. Last year, we spent $xxxx on trees order from our usual supplier, Hares Christmas Trees. We will save about $xxxx on trees purchase this year. Mike will provide our treasurer, Robin Thomas, an invoice with trees sizes and prices breakdown. He will need $xxxx set a side for additional supplies and tools to operate the sales. Mike stated that we need to purchase one more power saw, and the existing power drills will need repair prior to the sale function.

Smokey Holler Tree Farm is chosen not because of its cheaper price. It also distributes quality trees to some local dealers. Fresher trees are what we are looking for this year, as we would like to keep our regular customers’ support every year. With the new supplier, we will need at least 4 adults to unload the trees upon delivery which will be on Thursday November 30^th afternoon. The exact time is not yet determined. Adults and older scouts will do trees setting-up on the lot. The set up is expected to start around 5pm on the same delivery day. The Christmas Trees lot preparation will be done at St Raphael Church on Thanksgiving weekend, Sunday November 26^th. Adults and older scouts are to arrive at 1:00 PM to help with the work that is detailed with Mike’s information sheet. Please refer to the attachment or our troop website.

Christmas Trees Sale Postcards will be sent out to last year’s customers as a reminder. Adults and scouts duties schedule will be lined up for the 3 days sale event. Lorna Hodge is the usual scheduler and she has agreed do the task this year. Mike is to find out if the Girl Scouts Troop will have their wreath sale on our lot as they did the past years. The Committee discussed sale permit requirement and decided to not to pursue, as we did not the past years. Questions concerning insurance were raised. Whitney Touch is to call the church if the church insurance will cover the sale function. Kaye is to call the council if the Boys Scouts’ insurance will cover the function. Pon suggested having safety officers assigned during each slot of the Christmas tree sale duty. An adult and a younger scout could be specifically assigned to make sure each emptied spike is covered with a piece of PVC pipe immediately after a tree is picked up.

Kaye reported to the Committee that the troop has made $800 total for the St. Raphael Church Fair last month from our Arcade operation. Half of that amount was given to Thorpe Music. The remaining which is $400 is with the church. We usually give the church half of that, so the troop expects approximately $200 check back from the church fair fund. Dave Pederson suggested that we donate the $200 amount to the Interfaith Food Shuttle, which is the Backpack Program. It was estimated that for each $100 could feed a child for a year through this program. The Committee checked with our treasurer on our troop budget. Robin reported that our cash flow is good and that donation is a good idea since we did not have the opportunity to do the back to school supplies collections before this school year started. She could make a check to the charity since we are not obligated a big deposit check for the Christmas trees this year. The Committee voted and concurred with the decision to donate the money the troop earned from the Church Fair.

Robin would like all to be aware that groceries cards credit can only be used within troop functions once a scout has aged out. Credits could be transferred to family members who are remaining with Troop 314 and it is non-transferable to elsewhere. Unused portion of the credits will be turned into the general fund once a scout or his family members aged out or left the troop.

Chris Poole thanked the Committee and parents for their support and involvement. He would like 2 lists of phone numbers created. One list will consist of parents’ name and home phone. The other list will have parents’ name and cell phone number. The information is necessary especially during camping trips travel when drivers become separated or a scout is sick. Robin volunteered to make up the lists, which may be put into one list.

Chris continued with the discussion and plans the scoutmaster and assistants have regarding the directions the troop is going. Chris would like to organize a meeting for adult leaders on a weekend day. He also encouraged Committee members to get a shirt uniform with Committee patch on, as this will look make our troop and their leaders look together when traveling or serving a duty at a fundraising event.

Troop hats can become part of troop uniform when camping out or doing fundraising. It will not be required to wear a troop hat, but if a hat must be worn with a uniform it has to be troop hat. Chris has yet to get a quote on a price for each hat and the Committee agreed that $5 will be charged per hat and will be collected in addition to the next annual charter membership dues, should a scout decide to buy a troop hat.

More of the same type of troop T-shirts will be ordered. More of the smaller sizes will be available for purchase. Currently we have only some larger sizes.

The Committee is looking for parents who have portable sewing machines and are interested in donating their time to sew patches for our troop at the regular Monday meetings. They may charge for sewing each patch for $1 which will go back into the troop general fund. The troop will pay for the thread.

Scoutmaster and his assistants are to consider a Monday without a meeting. It could be a Monday of the month or a Monday after a camp out / Christmas tree sale weekend.

There will be PLC meeting on the Monday after each camp out weekend. So that Monday could be considered a no meeting day. That way Patrol leaders do not have 2 meetings in one night. This is part of an effort to have fewer but effective meetings with the scouts’ school work in consideration. Chris will consider a Monday of a month to every 6 weeks or so for a no-meeting day. He will discuss the subject with Dave Pederson and Joe Rhoden.

Our troop website is well up to date with new information. Thanks to Paul Casadonte. Leaders are requested to remind the kids and parents to check the website at every meeting.

Chris would like to remind parents that they are not supposed to keep their child straight when participating in a scouts function such as camping trip. It will be all right for parents to tell other adult leaders to correct their child. This is a part of the troop policy. Robin suggested that parents be reminded at each camping trip at departure time. There was a suggestion that rather than parents can address the whole group of kids involved rather than correcting their own child.

Chris and the Committee commended Sheri Colquitt, our camping coordinator, for her job well done in coordinating the trips especially on the recent one, Busch Garden. Her excellent preparation ad coordination made the trip of 50 people went smoothly. Sheri briefed the Committee about the November camp out at Umstead Park. She said the Maple Lodge, which is like a log cabin sleeps only 25. Adult leaders may need to put up their tent outside. It was brought to her attention that the lodge may not be appropriate for co-ed facility should a female member of scout’s family want to camp out also. It was decided female members will be welcome and that there are separate hygiene facilities for use for both males and females if they would like to change their clothes. That would be appropriate according to the BSA council policy. Umstead Park gate is closed at 6 PM. Therefore, the troop will have to plan 2 dinner meals. On the returning Sunday, scouts who would like to stay for Orienteering training can stay on. The cost for Orienteering is $3.

Giving immediate rewards for advancement in between court of honors was considered. Scouts who advanced a rank will be given the new patch and smaller ceremony will be conducted during this advancement. They will be recognized again at the main court of honors, which is scheduled 3 times a year.

The troop is in need to fill a Training Coordinator position. About $60 to $80 was spent on the purchase of Youth Leader patches. Robin agreed that the troop budget could afford to set aside this amount of money per year for the youth leader patches.

The Committee decided that new kids who get bridged over and have their paperwork turned in and paid would receive the uniform items from our troop. Those items are scarf, slide, epaulette, and patch 314. No troop hat will be given at bridging. Troop hat will not be required but will be available for purchase and payment could be made together with membership dues.

A First Aid and CPR Training is being planned. The class duration is 8 hours. The cost is about $6-7 for the official certified card. The training involves watching a video or presentation, hands on practice, and test taking. Chris Poole could give this training.

Paul reported that tents would be set up at a meeting after the November camp out. Tents will be inspected for repair. They will be sent off for repair during the non-camping out month of December. Kaye was informed some parents that the dishes and utensils from the patrol boxes were dirty. It may be that dirty dishes were packed after a camp out. The Committee decided that an inspection by adult leaders is needed at each camp out before the patrol boxes be put in the trailer on departure day.