January Activities

• The Rocket Hike to the Ricardo campground at Red Rock Canyon State Park is scheduled for January 12/13. Activities are planned for Saturday afternoon that will be led by the youth leadership. We are expecting well over 100 people for the hike. Hike prep is January 8.
• There is an Eagle project on January 25 and 26 that will be in Manhattan Beach. The project will paint playground equipment at Manhattan Heights and Marine Parks, and paint rooms at the Manhattan Heights and Live Oak Recreation Centers. The scouts and parents are encouraged to participate.
• Summer Camp sign-ups and $100 deposits were due January 8.

February Activities

• The annual Ski/Snowboard Hike to Mountain High is scheduled for Saturday, February 2nd. Payment for lift tickets and classes are due on Tuesday January 22nd.
• An Eagle Service Project is on the calendar for February 16-17. Because this is a three-day weekend, the Eagle Coordinator will investigate moving the project to the following weekend. The committee noted that with the project only five weeks away, the Eagle Candidate needed to expedite the review of his project with the Eagle Scout Coordinator, Senior Scoutmaster or Troop Committee.
• The Cross Country Ski Hike to Mt. Pinos is scheduled for February 23/24. Hike prep will be on February 19.
• The Order of the Arrow elections will be held on February 19.
• Adult Backpack Leader Training will be held on February 15-17 at the Will J Reid Scout Park in Long Beach. Adults are encouraged to become certified High Adventure Team Leaders. The Troop is now required to have a HAT certified adult on each backpack trip, and the troop has relatively few HAT trained adults. The information and sign-up forms will be broadcast via the announce@troop849.org distribution list.

Eagle Candidates

• An Eagle Board of Review was held. The committee endorsed the candidate to proceed with the District Character Board Review.

Discussions of Past Events

• The Night Hike to Henninger Flats was successful with about 20 scouts participating. The Panther Patrol won the Saturday patrol competition. Congratulations to the Panther Patrol.
• We had a successful Eagle Project on December 8 and 9. The project built catch basins to provide water for wildlife.
• The Troop re-registration was completed with a total of 85 scouts and 70 adults being registered. We are expecting to be over 100 scouts again when 20 to 30 Webelos to bridge from the Manhattan Beach cub packs. About $1,400 was donated to the troop through the "Friends of Troop 849". The committee thanks all those who chose to donate to the troop during the re-registration process.

Long Term 2002/Backpacking Subcommittee

• A subcommittee has been formed to review the guidelines, requirements, qualifications and makeup of the Long Term Groups. This revives the review program that the Troop used in the past with a great deal of success. If you are interested in serving on this subcommittee please contact the Senior Scoutmaster.
• We have three long term hikes planned for this year, including one to the Philmont Scout Ranch. Because of the summer camp schedule, one long term hike will be concurrent with Emerald Bay. The hikes will have to be defined to make the reservations on March 1.

Other Discussion Items

• The Troop Committee structure was reviewed. A subcommittee will be formed to specify the adult positions that the Troop needs to define to improve the effectiveness of the Troop Committee.
• Development of Patrol Coordinators was discussed. The Green and Blue Scoutmasters will investigate a training seminar with all the Patrol Coordinators where they can meet and discuss what they are doing, what is effective and what is not effective.
• The Summer Camp programs are developing. We have 20 scouts signed up for the 32 spots at Emerald Bay and about the same for the 40 spots at Circle X.
• The new scout transition sub-committee has visited with the second year Webelo parents from Grandview, Pacific, American Martyrs, Meadows and one of the Pennekamp dens. We gave a Troop 849 overview and discussion to help the parents through the transition from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. Feedback from the parents has been excellent.
• A list of activities that the scouts want to be developed was reviewed. A number of them have been assigned to adults to be investigated as possible outings. One activity, Trap Shooting, has been investigated and is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, March 16.
• Suggestions/ideas for improving the Troop are always welcomed and should be directed to the Committee Chairman or Asst. Committee Chairman.

The next Troop Committee Meeting will be Thursday, February 7th, 2002, The School Hall, at American Martyrs School at 7:30 PM.

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