Troop 14 Scouts, Long Beach CA: News

Troop 14 News and Events - Oct 4 2011

Many thanks to our guest speaker Howard Ito who took his time to come to our meeting last night to show the boys some of his rocket kits as well as to talk about the Space Exploration Merit Badge Requirements. Those wishing to pursue the space exploration can easily obtain it - we will be doing most of the requirements in our meetings while we build our kits. Speaking of which....we will be building rockets on the following dates: October 10, 17 and 24. YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THESE MEETINGS! These are going to be fun filled, high energy super educational and INTENSE (am I overselling?) - but you get my point. Please be sure to bring the following supplies: Ruler, Pencils, X-acto knife, sand paper, wood glue (and super glue if you care to donate) and masking tape. If you're planning on attending our campout in November, please sign up and pay at your earliest convenience. Finally, this Saturday - October 8 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 pm - our Charter Sponsor Church is holding a gardening service project where the church will be replanting their grounds. If your scout is available, PLEASE plan on attending this service project to benefit our community and our charter sponsor. Belmont Heights United Methodist Church as been extremely supportive of our troop and scouting and this is just a small way we can show our appreciation. EVERY SCOUT ATTENDING THE SERVICE PROJECT ON SATURDAY FOR AT LEAST 2 HOURS WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A DRAWING FOR A FREE CAMPOUT OUTING TO THE ROCKET LAUNCH - That's $35 BIG ONES folks. Please see Jackie Mackay on Saturday for confirmation of attendance.

Troop 14 News and Events - May 5 2011 - Eagle Court of Honor

For those of us who attended the last scout meeting, we got to witness the democratic process in action. Our scouts chose amoungst themselves a new leadership core as well as patrol leaders.

In case you missed out on our last two campouts, you can live the dream by viewing our photo gallery - Photo albums of our Mount Wilson campout and Josh Brydon's Eagle Service Project are featured here. Josh's project was to help the national forest rangers repair barriers, replace signs and clean up Bandito campground. While our planned visit to the Mt Wilson Observatory was cancelled (postponed) due high winds, this afforded our young men more time to upgrade the campground. http://www.troop14scouts.org/gallery.aspx?aid=66

The following link is of our Kelso Dunes rock climbing campout. Many thanks to scoutmaster Ted for previewing our campsite, providing equipment and expertise for an exciting, real life, rock climbing experience. For those of you who did not show up - you have NO IDEA what you missed. The pictures only speak a small part of this truly wonderful experience. I strongly recommend you reconsider your decision to honey-do the next time we have a campout!

http://www.troop14scouts.org/gallery.aspx?aid=65

Please join us for the following upcoming events:

Conor Maloney - Eagle Court of Honor. Scouts and parents, please join us this Saturday at Cabrillo Scout park at 11:00 a.m.
Troop Court of Honor. - Our troop will be having a troop court of honor where we will be recognize our scouts' rank and merit badge achievements. Parents, please join us for this special meeting - especially parents of scouts achieving a rank advancement - as you will be recognized for your efforts in your sons' achievement. Refreshments will be served shortly following the ceremony.

Troop 14 News and Events - Jan 14 2011

As we get past the holidays, our scouts are learning personal management and finances. Many thanks to parent volunteer Paul for lending his time to teach a few classes. Our next three meetings will be interesting - and we will need parent help!! - 5 parents are requested to assist Asst Scoutmaster Ted in running a STOCK TRADING SERVICE. With your help, our scouts will trade stocks with parent brokers and learn the thrill of victory and the agony of financial defeat. You do not have to volunteer for all three meetings - but continuity will help. Bring your calculator, your camera to record the memories and enjoy your scouts' learning experience. Parent volunteers are requested for the following dates: Jan 17 / 24 / 31. AND YES WE ARE MEETING ON MONDAY JAN 17

Following are upcoming events: For an updated program plan, you can always visit http://www.troop14scouts.org/files/Troop14ProgramPlan.pdf

Jan 22 - SNOW VALLEY SKI TRIP - Scouts can earn the WINTER SPORTS Merit badge in one day.
Feb 18-20 - Tahquitz Snow Camp
Feb 27 - Pack 14 bridging ceremony. If you would like to be part of the bridging ceremony for Pack 14, please see your scoutmaster. We are expecting 6 scouts

Troop 14 News and Events - Nov 30 - RECHARTER!

November 30, 2010

Dear Parents of Troop 14 Scouts,

Wow! what a year for T14. With more parent involvement, the leadership of Brian Maloney as committee chair and the dedication of our scoutmasters has helped make troop 14 the place to be. With fun, exciting and safe outings, hopefully we've built a great program for our young men to learn the character and skill building that's important in building strong character. I would like to personally thank the parents and scouts of Troop 14 for making it a fun program for my son Danny to earn his eagle rank in this 100th year of scouting.

It’s time to begin re-chartering our Scout Troop for 2011. That means dues for 2011 are now due. The fee for registration is $75 per Scout. $27 of this fee goes to BSA National ($15 membership + $12 boys life) and helps pay for administering our national and council programs and leader liability insurance. The remainder is used to sustain our annual troop budget for supplemented outing fees. Adult registration helps the troop with registered adult leadership and provides BSA insurance in scout related activities. Please submit these fees by Monday, December 16 so we can complete our paperwork on time. In order to provide the best access to what scouting has to offer, T14 offers scholarships to scouts in need. If you would like to stay in T14 and would like to apply for a scholarship, please contact your scoutmaster. Troop 14 also gladly accepts donations to help offset the costs of our open scholarship policy. Please feel free to double your registration fees to help pay for the scholarships we may offer. Checks can be brought to the troop meeting or mailed to:

Gail Hausback, 635 Los Altos Long Beach ca 90814

Please note that adult leaders are REQUIRED to have YOUTH PROTECTION certification. When submitting your recharter fees, please print your youth protection certificate for Gail. Please note, our charter and volunteer registration is ESSENTIAL in providing a safe, fun educational program for our kids. To get free online training, simply go online to https://myscouting.scouting.org and register online. It takes no more than 30 minutes to get youth protection trained!

Best Regards,

Committee Member, Troop 14

Phil Tsoi-A-Sue

-Scout 2011 Recharter Sigup-

Scout: __________________________ _____ $75.00

Adult Volunteer: __________________________ _____ $15.00

Troop 14 News and Events - Nov 18 - 2010

If you missed this year's campout (or if you want to relive the memories) - visit our newest album with photos http://www.troop14scouts.org/gallery.aspx?aid=59. Thanks Gail! - or newest Web Master!! - From rockets, to weeblos, stuck cars to Kurt's car getting punched by a runaway rocket, great times were had by everyone. One of the easiest, funnest ways you can support your troop is simply by attending our fun, adventurous outings. NOTE: Tonight's TLC Meeting has been postponed to Dec 2 2010 at the church. Also, the Leadership training planned for this Saturday has been postponed to be rescheduled at a later date. NOTE: There will be NO Scout meeting on Monday November 22 - due to the long week off by LBUSD. Have a great thanksgiving and see you on Nov 29. On Nov 29, we will be having a Court of Honor to recognize our scouts' rank and merit badge achievements. PARENTS: If your son is receiving a rank advancement, then you will also receive a recognition pin. Please plan on attending this important meeting as we recognize our scouts' efforts. As we wind down to the end of year, we will be re-chartering soon - Registration dues and information will be forthcoming. Your dues help us with supplies and equipment costs for our outings. However, this by no means covers the full costs - we appreciate the donations of paper supplies for our campouts, cash donations and participation in our fundraising efforts. This Saturday Joe Petro will be coordinating our winter fundraising event of collecting Mistletoe and selling. If you would like to help out, meet at Joe's house. Also related to chartering, if you are a registered leader, please note: YOUTH PROTECTION is REQUIRED for rechartering. If you have not yet taken this free, online course, please do so. You can find the Scouting e-Learning site at https://myscouting.scouting.org/_layouts/MyScouting/login.aspx?ReturnUrl=/_layouts/Authenticate.aspx%3fSource%3d%252f&Source=/ I strongly recommend YOUTH PROTECTION for ALL PARENTS - Registered or not - so you can help ensure the safety of our young men. As you can tell, our troop has been growing - thanks in large part to the EXCELLENT program run by Scoutmasters' Ken, Ted, Kim, Richard, Bob and our other scoutmasters on record. If you are not a registered leader, please feel free to volunteer, with a large troop, there's always something to be done.

Troop 14 News and Events - Nov 9 2010

Wow!!! - What a blast (every pun intended) building our rockets for the last few meetings. Many thanks to Chuck for taking his time to help us build our rockets and for supplying with our launch equipment for this weekend's campout. If you have not signed up for the campout and still want to go, please contact your patrol leader ASAP to get your name on the list. There is still time to purchase food for you.

As we prepare for our favorite campout (Other than advancement summer camp, this is the only outing that is on our calendar every year), remember it could get VERY COLD at night and VERY HOT during the day. The answer is LAYERS. Also, we will have a few visiting weeblos from pack 007 and pack 14 joining us on this outing as their weeblo requirement so please take a few moments to welcome our younger guests and show them the courtesy and respect that is expected.

Following are a few key dates to keep in mind...but you can find an updated program plan at http://www.troop14scouts.org/files/programplan.pdf at all times.

Nov 11 - Parent Meeting - Brian M's
Ever wanted to know how to fill that huge empty time slot in your life? - EASY - Just join one of our parent meetings and see how you can help Troop 14 and Scouting. In addition to building a low cost program for our young men, scouting contributes in service to the community through work, conservation and eagle scout projects.
Nov 12-14 - Roc Stoc Campout.
Nov 15 - Troop Elections
Scouts seeking leadership positions....It's CAMPAIGN TIME. Polish your shoes and your speeches to make your pitch for leadership positions. See your scout master for more details - but here are a few of the leadership positions up for grabs:
Senior Patrol Leader (1 for Troop)
Assistant Senior Patrol Leaders (3-4 for Troop)
Patrol Leaders (1 per patrol)
Assistant Patrol Leaders (1 per patrol)
Scribe (1)
Instructors (2-3)
Librarian (1)
Nov 18 - TLC Meeings
Patrol Leaders, and Senior Patrol Leaders are required to attend monthly planning meetings at the church
Nov 29 - COURT OF HONOR.
Dec 12 - Leandro Leao Eagle Court of HonorMark your calendar! - come and help us recognize and celebrate Leandro's achievement of Eagle Rank on Dec 12 2:00 p.m. at Cabrillo Scout Park in San Pedro - More details to come

T14 News and Events

The Dingo patrol is back from their backpacking trip safe and sound. Many thanks to outing coordinator Chuck, and Scoutmasters Ken and Kim for leading this trip. You know these guys are serious fishermen when they plan their meals by what they're going to catch! For those of us who didn't get a chance to go fishing with Chuck, we have our fly fishing trip coming up in September. For an updated program plan, please visit http://www.troop14scouts.org/files/Troop14ProgramPlan.pdf

Please note the following upcoming events:

Aug 30 - T14 Court of Honor. 6:30 p.m. Dinner
COH Ceremony immediately following dinner. Please note the earlier start time to account for dinner. PARENTS!!! Your scout may be receiving a rank advancement - so you will be receiving a parent pin. Please plan on bringing the family and joining us for dinner, great videos / pics and the company of your special friends - like me.
Sep 17-19 - Fly fishing campout.
Richard W and the Casting club of Long Beach is planning a great fly fishing trip. With the help of these pros, maybe even I will catch a fish on this outing! Please look for a flyer at the next outing and plan on joining us.
Sep 10-12 / Oct 8-10 - Adults - Wood badge training
Come join your scout master Ken and other scouters to learn more about scouting in this great training opportunity. For more information, visit the council website, sign up and join us!
Oct 23 - Danny Eagle Court of Honor - WJR - 2:00 p.m.
Congratulations to Danny! - Please help us recognize danny (and join us for some great company and food) - achieving his Eagle Rank. Mark your calendar - more information to come!

T14 News and Events 5/31/2010

Kern River Pics and New Photo Gallery!
If you didn't go on Kern River trip, you can see pictures online on our NEW Photo Gallery and Resource Folder. See the kern river pics online at http://www.troop14scouts.org/gallery.aspx?aid=6.

Scout-O-Rama - June 5 - Rainbow Lagoon.
Please see the flyer for Long Beach Area Council Scout O Rama 2010. T14 will be hosting a booth at this very special scout o Rama and centenial BSA celebration. http://www.longbeachbsa.org/pdf/SORflyer.pdf. For our new scouts and those who have not achieved 1st Class Rank, our campouts and outings serve as opportunities to meet your "10 Outing" requirements for first class. Scout-O-Rama participation will count toward this requirement.

Why go camping?
When we go camping, it's more than an opportunity to go exciting places and do fun things. Though those are great motivations for getting the kids (and adults) to go on outings, our scouts get an opportunity to practice scout and survival skills they learn during our meetings. Whether it's setting up a tent, preparing a meal, cleaning up or lighting a camp fire, our scouts get a real world opportunity to practice and perform these tasks. During our last campout was certainly no exception. Met with a closed road to our campout, we forged ahead as a troop and stuck togehter to setup camp at night. Thanks to our Scoutmaster and scout leadership, we got our gear unloaded and camp setup in an unfamiliar area in the middle of the night. After a great day river rafting, our scouts endured the cold prepared dinner and campfire and woke up to SNOW the following day. These campouts serve as great experiences that build on your scouts' skills.

T14 News - Kern River Rafting Information

We leave on Friday afternoon - Meet at the church at 5:30 p.m. - There's lot to pack up and a long drive ahead of us.

Please pack for cold weather as we will be high up in the mountains. The rafting company requires that all participants wear footwear that is strapped (no flip-flops) while rafting. So please pack river shoes or a pair of shoes you don't mind getting wet. Also, Sierra South provides life jackets as part of your rafting cost but wetsuits are available to rent for an additional cost - so if you have em bring em.

You can find links to some useful information:

http://www.troop14scouts.org/Resources/Files/Outings/White%20Water%20Rafting/Helpful_tips_for_Large_Group_Leaders.doc

http://www.troop14scouts.org/Resources/Files/Outings/White%20Water%20Rafting/Sierra_South_Release_Form.pdf

http://www.troop14scouts.org/Resources/Files/Outings/White%20Water%20Rafting/Sierra_South_Upper_Kern.pdf

http://troop14scouts.org/Resources/Files/Outings/White%20Water%20Rafting/KernWhiteWaterDirections.pdf

http://troop14scouts.org/Resources/Files/Outings/White%20Water%20Rafting/KernRiverCampsite.pdf

May 8 2010

Court of Honor this Monday night May 10 at 6:00 P.M. It’s a potluck so bring your favorite food to share. It’s a family event. Next weekend we will have a family planning meeting. Once a year we set up outings and themes for the year. We ask the parents in the troop to help coordinate the outings. This helps alleviate the load on the committee. Fifty four kids are anticipating a quality Boy Scout program. The kids voted on what they thought were exciting outings. We try to keep a balance on expensive outings with inexpensive outings so that everyone can participate. All parents, committee and scout leaders are encouraged to participate in this yearly meeting.

I urge all the new parents and scouts to register their kids with the troop. Even if you registered them as a Cub Scout they must register as a Boy Scout. The cost is about $2.00. The paperwork goes to Monique. Registering with the troop website helps you get up to date information on events. Our site is troop14scouts.org. Our coordinating webmaster is Phil.

We have the Kern River rafting trip coming up on May 21^st. We have 50 people signed up for the event and in order to get a permit we need the parents that are going to give some information to Jacquelyn. She is looking for driver’s license number, make and model of car, how many passengers, and Insurance information. This is needed for approval of Boy Scout permits. If you don’t know who these people are, at the Court of Honor we will introduce ourselves.

Camp Tahquitz is coming in July. If your Scout is going we would appreciate parent participation. We really need help, as we have so many new Scouts. We are required to have at least two parents there at all times. We expect no one to stay the whole time. We make a schedule to divide the days so that no one parent has to stay the entire time. If you decide that the best time to show is at the beginning of the trip you will be required to have a BSA health form filled out by your doctor. All the kids are required to have that too. You should see Linda with that information.

April 17

Tahquitz Summer Camp downpayment of $75.00 is due Monday, April 18. The Troop has to get an accurate count shortly in order to confirm resurvations. There will be $200.00 due June 15 with the BSA Physician form.

Rummage sale prep will start this Monday. Thursday and Friday night we will be at the Church for drop off and marking our item. Saturday we will open at 6:30 to set up. It would be wonderful if we could get some moms, dads and even scouts, to do some baking for a bake sale portion of the sale. It would be a tremendous help and addition for our rummage sale customers (also encourages them to stay and shop longer). Please send an email to Lisa (senesac@aol.com) if you are able to help with the baking.

Also, Monday boys should be prepared to sign up for shifts at the rummage sale. If possible (and strongly recommended) that adults accompany the boys at their shifts. The Scouts have a tendency to wonder off and play with items, rather than sell them. We need parents to monitor this situation. We will also be making signs at the meeting (to be posted by parents and Scouts Friday night).

T14 News and Events - April 16 2010

Troop 14 News and Events - April 16

Welcome new scouts (and parents). With the majority of our new scouts bridged over, we are finalizing patrol assignments. In case you have not done so, please see Monique S our records Committee member to complete registration forms. These registration forms are extremely important because your official boy scout record cannot be filed without proper registration. If you're joining us in March from a scout pack, Pro-rated T14 Registration dues are $35.83.

Please see the notes of our last committee meeting on April 15.

Brian, our committee chair outlined our committee member positions and our need for more adult volunteers. For parents interested in volunteering, council offers a number of training opportunities. New adult leaders should consider the following training courses:
This is Scouting
Scoutmaster Specific Training (or Committee Training)
Introduction to outdoor Leader Skills
Safety Awareness Training (May 8 - Will J Reid)

Brian made recommendations for how we can better, and more proactively, assist scouts with advancements. An advancement poster - with a record of each scout's achievements was suggested.

Brian reviewed our current committe position assignments:
Brian - Committee Chair
Leslie G. - Advancements
Susan K. - Finance
Monique S. - Records
Phil T. - Communications / Public Relations
Brian M. - Outing Coordinator (Need replacement)
UNASSIGNED - Quartermaster (Equipment Coordinator)

Ken B. - Scoutmaster
Ted Nye - the Science Guy - Asst. Scoutmaster.
Bob B. - Asst. Scoutmaster
Richard W - Asst. Scoutmaster
Ron L. - Asst Scoutmaster
Kim H. - Asst Scoutmaster (New! - Welcome!)

Susan K provided a recap of our finances and completed 1040 forms for everyone in attendance. Thanks for helping us with our tax deadlines Susan! Approved was our deposit of funds to Camp Tahquitz for 35 scouts.

Phil nominated Kim as Asst Scoutmaster and the motion went unopposed.

T14 EVENTS...MARK YOUR CALENDAR!!! - Here are some IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER!

Rummage Sale - Sat - April 24. Time for SPRING CLEANING!!! Gather your saleable goods for donation. We will be planning our fundraising event for Saturday April 24. Parents and Scouts can drop off donations on Thursday and Friday April 22/23. Our fundraising efforts help us reduce outing costs, provide for equipment / supplies and allow us to provide scholarships.
TROOP ELECTIONS. Apr 26 & May 3. Parents / Scouts! - Pepare your nomination speeches! - Our troop scout leadership positions are up for vote and we will be having nomination speeches and elections on Apr 26 / May 3rd. Parents, come support your scout (and have a good laugh) and watch your future politions campaign.
COURT OF HONOR. - May 10. At our May 10th meeting, we will be holding a COURT OF HONOR. PARENTS, this special meeting is an opportunity to recognize our scouts' rank and merit badge achievements. We will be having pot luck (good luck) dinner so please plan on bringing the family and join us for dinner.
T14 ANNUAL PROGRAM PLANNING - Sat May 15.
Parents...Please plan on attending this VERY IMPORTANT MEETING. We will be meeting at the church from 9 a.m. - 11am working on our 2010-2010 program plan. Do you have an idea for an outing, a monthly theme? Got a great hobby / profession / skill that you would like to show off? Or how about a connection with a great organization that can entertain/educate/train 50 kids? Bring your ideas to the parent planning meeting and let's build a great program plan!
WHITE WATER RAFTING - May 21- 23. The time is coming Close! - Join Reserve your spot on the boat NOW! - there are only 50 spots and this outing will SELL OUT! Family members are welcome (minimum age / weight is 6yrs/50lbs). Please see a flyer for more details.
Tahquitz - Sun July 18 - Sat July 24. Join us for Tahquitz Summer Camp!!! Great Advancement Opportunity, great FUN. Deposits of $75 due ASAP.

T14 News and Events.

Well....the 2010 backpacking patrol is back and safe and sound! - You can see photos of their outing on our website at http://www.troop14scouts.org/photo/contents.aspx?Albumid=76.

For those of you thinking of Summer plans, here are a few important dates to remember:

July 18 - 24. Troop 14 Tahquitz Summer Camp
T 14 is scheduled for summer camp at Camp Tahquitz in Big Bear from July 18 - July 24. New scouts, this is a GREAT opportunity for advancements, merit badges as well as having a great time at camp. Parents, we appreciate any time you can help in providing adult supervision at a ratio of 2 / 10.

Sea base Merit Badge Schedule. In Case you can't make it to summer camp, or if you would like to make it a scouting summer, LB Area Council has released their sea base merit badge schedule. You can find it here at http://www.longbeachbsa.org/pdf/Aquatics2010.pdf

See you on Monday April 11!

T14 News and Events - April 4 2010

For those of us where were fortunate to visit the Long Beach Casting for the last 3 meetings, we had an opportunity to make our own flys, practice casting and of course, tie knots. Many thanks to Rich W for setting us up with this GREAT event and many thanks to the members of the casting club for dedicating their time and facilities to our kids www.longbeachcastingclub.org

By now, the backpacking crew has probably camped down for the night at the bottom of the canyon where they will spend the next 2 nights and days day hiking and exploring the canyon floor. The crew of 8 (6 scouts and 2 adults) are expected to be back on Wednesday. We wish them well and safe and exciting outing.

We wish to welcome the 10 boys (corrected) from pack 007 who bridged over to Troop 14 during the blue and gold dinner on March 21. Our troop count now stands at 57 registered scouts! Of course we will be looking at restructuring some of the patrols to make so please look for some changes.

Also, in case you missed the meetings from Council, now is FRIENDS OF SCOUTING season. This is our opportunity to support the counsil that serves our troop with facilities, programs and running the scout shop. If you have not participated in Friends of Scouting with the troop - or another scouting group, PLEASE pick up a card from me (Phil) - While you're encouraged to donate as much as you can, any donation will be graciously accepted. We would like to get as close to 100% PARENT Participation as we can on this most important fundraising effort for our area council's future.

Please see the following upcoming scouting activities:

April 5 - NO MEETING.
There will be no scout meeting due to the backpacking outing.
April 15 - Committee / Parent Meeting - Roundtable pizza. 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Our parent committee meetings are our opportunity for planning the upcoming months activities. If you would like to know what's happening and how you can help our troop, please join us.
April 17 - 18. Grand PRIX - SCOUT ALLEY.
In case you didn't get the word, council is participating in the grand prix and there is a FREE activitiy to scouts during the races. Council is also looking for volunteers to help out in manning booths and participating in recruitment activities. See the flyer for more details at http://www.longbeachbsa.org/pdf/BSAgrandprix.pdf
April 24 - Troop 14 Rummage Sale.
Our rummage sale is planned for Saturday April 24 but the festivities begin far earlier. For example, you can start organizing those closets to find useable toys, clothing and electronics that you'd like to donate. On April 19, we will be making signs and planning for the sale. On Thursday and Friday night prior to the sale (April 22 - 23), we will be accepting donations and pricing (NEED LOTS OF HELP THESE NIGHTS). Our rummage sale date April 24, we will start at 7:00 a.m. - SALE Starts at 8:00 a.m.

T14 News and Events March 14 2010

T14 News

For those of us who went on the Midway overnight, WHAT A BLAST!....while extremely exhausting doing the 5 mile tour of the midway air craft carrier on Saturday night, we all learned of the technology, procedures and traditions of the navy and what it takes to run an air craft carrier. If you'd like to see photos of the midway and what it has to offer, see our online photo album at http://www.troop14scouts.org/photo/contents.aspx?Albumid=75

Many thanks to Rich and his entourage for giving us the instruction on fly fishing last week monday. We will be following up with fly fishing practice at the LONG BEACH CASTING CLUB for our March 15 meeting. (see below for details).

Upcoming Events.

Mar 15 - Fly Fishing practice - Long beach casting club - 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
We will be meeting at the long beach casting club pond near Ximeno and 7th for fly fishing practice in lieu of our regular meeting. See the following like for directions. http://www.longbeachcastingclub.org/map-directions
Mar 18 - Parent / committee meeting Thu Mar 18 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.Parents / Troop committee members are invited to attend our monthly committee meetings. If you have a void in your life, please feel free to come to one of our meetings- we know how to fill your free time :)
Mar 21. Pack 007 Blue and Gold dinner and T14 Bridging
This year, we will be bridging 18 weeblos from pack 14! T14 scouts participating in the bridging ceremony are expected in class A uniforms at the Golden Sailes at 4:00 p.m.
Apr 3-7 - Grand Canyon Backpacking and Camping trip.
For those of us who are not going on the backpacking trip - but would like to join the camping expedition, we will need head counts soon for planning. The "surface" troop will visit the south rim and other sights in the flagstaff area while the backpacking crew goes down to the canyon.
Apr 24 - Rummage Sale Fundraising eventIf you've never participated in one of our fundraising events, you haven't lived. That said, please plan on attending and participating in our primary fundraising event for the troop. Scouts are expected to help on Wed Apr 21 - Fri Apr 23 as well as Sat Apr 24 the actual sale day. If you have gently used items, please save them and bring them to the church on wed-fri prior to our sale day so we can catalog and price items.

Troop 14 News and Events Feb 18 2010

For those of us who visited fire station 14 last week Monday, a fun and educational time was had by all. Many thanks to the firemen at station 14 who took ther personal time off to give us a tour! If you didn't go, you can see pics at http://www.troop14scouts.org/photo/contents.aspx?Albumid=74

Brian, our new committee chair, hit the ground running at our committee meeting on Wed Feb 17 - the following items were reviewed:

Rummage Sale - Lisa M gave her plan for our upcoming fundraising event - the annual T14 rummage sale. Plans are underway - so save your sellable stuff and make plans to help out on April 24.
Lisa also indicated that Long Beach Memorial has a DOUBLE HOURS volunteer opportunity for Mar 25 / 26 from 4 - 7p.m. to help with their vendor faire. Contact Lisa for more information. This is not a scout event - but kids needing service hours can fill the need here.
Phil reported on our incoming weeblos:
Pack 007 - We will be bridging 10 cubs on March 21
Pack 14 - We will be bridging 1 cub on March 3
Pack 81 - We will be bridging 1 cub on Feb 27
If you would like to participate in any of the above bridging ceremonies, please contact phil ASAP - we need to get headcounts to the respective cub packs.
Our White water rafting plans were reported on. Our current reservation is for 50 and the thought was given as to increasing the count or not. Due to Seirra South's STRICT cancellation policy, we decided to hold the count at 50. This means there are currently ONLY 20 Spots left for famiies and scouts who have not paid. If you are planning on going on this outing, we encourage you to get signed up ASAP.
Susan K reported on the troops finances. From the looks of how she manages our books, anyone needing help with their taxes should ask Susan! She presented us with a GREAT report of our finances with an income / expense report detailed by source and outing that gave us a great perspective! MANY THANKS!!! Our current reserve is at $2,333.40 with no current liabilities.
Ken reported on current outings and indicated that he would be lead coordinator for our Tahquitz summer plans but would solicit the aid of parents in this outing. Summer camp is EXTREMELY difficult task - and we encourage parents to volunteer - in planning and/or camping with the boys during the week.
Our Grand Canyon plans were discussed and as you may know, we're planning on two itinaries: 1 backpacking trip, 2) camping / touring the south rim / flagstaff area. If you are planning on attending EITHER trip, please contact your scoutmaster ASAP so we can plan accordingly.

Following are upcoming events.

NEWS FLASH!!! - Volunteer and GET!!! For those of you who don't know, Disney is offering "Give a day get a Disney day" - Where you volunteer for a qualified service project - and Disney will give a pass! Up to 1 MILLION passes will be given - and the opportunities fill up QUICKLY. I managed to get online today and spoke with a volunteer coordinator who is HOLDING 50 spots for a cleanup this SATURDAY - Feb 20. Children 6 and up qualify. If you would like to participate, visit http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/disneyparks/en_US/WhatWillYouCelebrate/index?name=WhatWillYouCelebratePage&int_cmp=DPHomeGADGAD and look for the cleanup on 1175 E 11th Street. If there are no spots available, email me ASAP with your contact information and names and I will attempt to get you registered on the 50 reserved spots.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Please note the following (tentative) changes / updates to our program plan:

Mar 1- Campout Prep. We will be going over our plans for the Midway trip - As this is a very Large trip, PARENTS, please plan on staying for the meeting so you get all of the specifics. Also, we will be having a representative from long beach area concil visit so your attendance is really appreciated.
Mar 15 - We are planning on practicing FLY FISHING at the casting pond at the park next to Wilson. Please look for a flyer coming soon!
April 19 - In preparation for our Rummage sale, scouts will be making signs and planning volunteer service hours. We will need help on Thursday and Friday night as well as on Saturday of the rummage sale - so please check your calendars!!!

Troop 14 Committee / Parent Meeting Minutes - Jan 21 2010

Troop 14 Committee / Parent Meeting Minutes.

For those of you who do not know Doug Z, he is a long time supporter of our troop efforts. Thanks to Doug, the troop has a trailer to haul our gear on campouts. His participation on troop outings many times has made the difference in carrying cargo and scouts. Our thoughts go out to him as he goes in for surgery next week Thursday.

Following our troop committee / parent meeting, we've updated our program plan through July. You can find it online at troop14scouts.org/events/calendar.aspx - Click on the link to download the program plan.

To keep you updated, following are the minutes from our Committee / Parent meeting of January 21, 2010:

Scoutmasters' reports. Ken and Ted reported on recent outings and meetings. Our winter campout to Tahquitz was visited by three weeblos and parents from pack 007.
Finance Report. Our recent ribbon project brought in almost $500 in donations.
MIDWAY. MAR 5-6 Ted reported on our upcoming Midway visit. Instead of struggling to make the 40 quota, it turns out that we may be hitting the capacity of the air craft carrier! With invitations going out to weeblo dens and prospective scouts, our count is currently close to our new maximum of 70! If you haven't paid but still want to attend, see your scoutmaster to see if there is any space available. More details on the campout to come.
GRAND CANYON BACKPACKING AND CAMPOUT. APRIL 3-8. Ted reviewed the current backpacking plans. The current plan is as follows:
Sat - Drive to Camp Raymond (450 Miles)
Sun - Drive to South rim - hike into Cottonwood Creek (6 Miles -4500FT)
Mon - Day hiking at canyon floor
Tue - Hike back (6 Miles +4500FT) Drive back to camp Raymond
Wed - Drive back to Long Beach (450 Miles)
For those of us who will not be backpacking and want to tour the Flagstaff area, we are planning a "Surface Campout". That will be far less rigourous and based at Camp Raymond. If you have never been to the flagstaff area or visited the Grand Canyon, you can choose HIGH-ADVENTURE or RELAXING CAMPOUT. Stay tuned for more.
WEEBLO Recuitment / Bridging Ceremonies. Currently we expect to get a few scouts from pack 007 and are planning on attending the pack 007 and pack 14 Blue and Gold dinners. If you would like to be part of the bridging ceremony, please see your scoutmaster.
RUMMAGE SALE. - April 24 - At the Church. Mark your Calendar, save your "valuable junk". Doug Z will request the use of the Church and we unanimously elected Lisa M to lead the rummage sale committee.
ANNUAL PROGRAM PLANNING - Saturday May 15. 9-11 a.m. - Parents! Please plan on attending the ANNUAL PROGRAM PLANNING MEETING. If you have a skill, interest or hobby, let's turn it into an outing or program meeting!
COMMITTEE POSITIONS Treasurer - Susan Kirk will be taking over as Treasurer for the troop. We reviewed our current accounting procedures and Susan will be great in taking over these very important responsibilities.
Committee Chair - Brian Maloney was selected to be the new committee chair. Many thanks to Brian for stepping up and taking the lead! Brian has been serving as our troop outing coordinator. If you are itching to find a purpose in life, please see brian. He's got a job for you!

Troop 14 News and Events - Jan 19 2010

After a short hiatus, the email blasts resume....

For those of us who participated in the holiday ribbons setup and takedown, our efforts was met (mostly) with appreciation and the generosity of our friends and neighbors added approximately $500 to our troop outing funds. These funds help pay for supplies and equipment as well as provide funding for scholarships.

Many thanks to Brian and Lisa M for their efforts in last Monday's meeting - the first of two scheduled for scouts wishing to earn the Family Life merit badge. In case you missed out on last Monday's meeting because "it was a holiday" - we meet every Monday except the ones between christmas and New Years. Not to worry - Brian and Lisa will be at it again going over Family Life on Jan 25. Those of you who started the worksheet, be sure to bring it back on Monday. Those of you who need it and missed on Monday, there's still time to catch up.

Upcoming Events...

In case you're wondering what's happening to the calendar, it's normal for us to plan - and then to plan contingencies. Please be sure to 1) Visit our website, 2) Come to our meetings, 3) email your leaders 4) Sign up online for email updates 5) Volunteer! :) Nonetheless, here is a recap of our UPDATED Calendar. More to come after our parent meeting this Thursday.

Troop Parent / Commitee Meeting -Thursday Jan 21 - 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Our regularly scheduled parent / committee meeting is schedule for this Thursday at 7:00 p.m at Roundtable pizza. Come, get informed and get involved. Our Agenda on Thursday will include:
Scout Masters Reports
Finance Report
Calendar / Outings: (Midway Campout, Grand Canyon, Fishing Trip, NHRA Drag Races?)
Future Calendar Items (Weeblo Recruitment / bridging, Rummage Sale, Annual Program planning.
Committee Positions / Assignments - Committee Chair, Finance Coordinator.
Midway Air Craft Carrier Outing - Sat Mar 5 - Sun Mar 6.
Instead of camping on Feb 20/21, we will be overnighting ON the Midway in San Diego. This promises to be an action packed, fun filled outing for our scouts. Cost is $85 per person and that includes Dinner and Breakfast, accommodations ON BOARD the Midway and tours of the ship. If you have not paid as yet, Monies are DUE THIS THURSDAY Jan 21 - so please make arrangements NOW!
Grand Canyon Backpacking / Camping trip - April 3 -7.
Stay tuned for this trip - but mark your calendar. While the backpacking portion promises to be a HIGH-ADVENTURE outing for our experienced back packers, we may be planning an accompanying campout / family vacation for our other scouts. For the backpacking trip, cost is $115 per person and limited to 8 scouts.

Troop 14 News and Events - December 30 2009.

I trust that everyone has had a happy holiday and looking forward to a great new year. As we look back on the year in scouting, we were graced with a huge influx of new scouts that brought a new energy to the troop. We attended some great outings and a few of our senior scouts were able to perform community service projects.

Most significantly, for me scouting meant an opportunity to meet some great people and great scouts. Our troop adult leadership, council leaders and parent volunteers - we can all find things to look up to. It's also a great feeling of acomplishment to see our new scouts advancing and maturing so quickly. It was just a few short years when I first joined the troop and the metamorphasis and am constantly amazed that the changes - you will certainly want to witness your scout growing and learning. I encourage you to attend as many of our outings and meetings to bear witness for yourself.

This is a reminder that we are back ON on January 4 2010 - our first scout meeting for the new year.

Also, on December 2 - this SATURDAY, we will be taking down the ribbons from the neighborhood and putting them away for use in the future. To date, we have raised approximately $450 for the troop - Many thanks to those who helped.

Troop 14 News and Events - December 11 2009

To all of the scouts that helped with putting up the ribbons, Many thanks! We had a great turnout - among the attendees were: Connor, Danny, Josh, Jared, Carl O, Andy, Johnny, Austin B, Nick, Matt M, Mr. Brydon a few friends and a few visiting weeblos. All in all we covered at least as many streets as we've done in the past and have collected over $200 in donations to date. Thanks again T14!

Also, at the service at the Belmont Heights United Methodist Church, we were published in the bulletin for the eagle projects of Danny and Connor at the Church. Pastor Sheena and Mrs. Dines (the sunday school teacher) gave the scouts and adult leaders in attendance a very warm welcome and words of appreciation at service. Again- congratulations to our young men and their contributions to the community.

EVENTS

If you haven't heard yet, our campout planned for this weekend has been scrubbed due to weather.

Dec 14 - Winter camping. In Preparation for our winter campout at Tahquitz Snow Camp (We will be camping in the cabins at Tahquitz), we will learn about preparations for winter camping. This will be our last meeting for the calendar year 2009. May you have a great holiday and look forward to a great new year.

Dec 18 - 25 - Family Life Merit Badge Counselor. Brian M, our future committee chairperson, will be going over the requirements of the Family Life Merit Badge. Brian is a counselor for this and a few other key EAGLE REQUIRED Merit Badges. This is a GREAT Opportunity to earn this merit badge. Please note - the merit badge requires more than the two meetings - but the two meetings will get you well on your way.