Committee Structure

As our Troop has grown and dealt with growing pains, the Troop Committee has concluded that its structure must be changed in order to be effective in governing and responding to the needs of the Troop. We are making a transition to subcommittees for detailed discussions and development of the program elements, with the Troop committee review and approval of the recommendations and actions of the subcommittees. With this structure, there will be more opportunities for scout parents to contribute to the Troop as members or leaders of the functional subcommittees. The precise structure will be posted on the troop Website. Parents willing to participate in troop subcommittees should contact the appropriate subcommittee chair as soon as possible.

June Activities

• Summer camp orientation night will be Wednesday, June 5 at the scouthouse. Circle X will be at 6:30 PM and Emerald Bay at 7:30 PM. Final payments are due on information night.
• Medical exam night is scheduled for Tuesday, June 11 for Summer Camp and Longterm participants. Last names A to L will be at 7:00 PM and M to Z at 8:00 PM.
• Four hikes are scheduled for the weekend of June 7-9. Three of these hikes are longterm training hikes to Jackstraw, Dry Lake and Round Valley. The easier hike is to Fish Creek in Los Padres.
• On Saturday, June 15th, the Troop outing will be a Fishing Trip from Redondo Beach Sports Fishing. The meeting time is 6 AM at the boat and the cost is $25 per scout. Licenses are required and poles are available for rental. A sign-up and flyer will be posted.
• The Eagle Project scheduled for June 22 and 23 is postponed.
• Four hikes are scheduled for the weekend of June 28-30. Three of these hikes are longterm training hikes to Limber Pine Bench, Little Round Valley and Icehouse Canyon. We are in the process of getting permits and finalizing the itineraries.

July Activities

• The last scheduled hike weekend is July 12-14. Two training hikes are longterm hikes. All the longterm participants will need to have completed three (two if a repeating longterm hiker) training hikes.
• July 23 will be a Cooking Outing at Hermosa Valley Park for both Blue and Green groups.
• The Circle X summer camp at Lake Arrowhead will be from July 28 to August 3.
• The backpacking sub committee is reviewing the participant groupings for the scheduled longterm hikes. We may combine the two Whitney Loop hikes because to make the group size larger.

Discussions of Past Events

• An Eagle Court of Honor was successfully held on Sunday afternoon, May 5th at the O'Donnell Center.
• There was a great turnout at the advancement day on Saturday, May 11 at the scout house with good participation by the senior scouts. The Green Scoutmaster reported a special Orienteering class that was held at Pollywog Park on May 30th.
• Our first backpacking trips of the season were made on the weekend of May 17/18. There were four hikes: Valley Forge (14 scouts/9 adults), Skunk Cabbage (7 scouts/3 adults), Dollar Lake (5 scouts/3 adults) and Jackstraw (5 scouts/3 adults). All of the hikes went well even though water was at a premium and we had to carry our water on the three training hikes.
• An Eagle Project was completed for the Weekend of May 25/26. The project did improvements to the picnic area at Chilao in the Angeles National Forest. Participation was good and the project went very well.
• The Patrol Coordinator training that was scheduled for May 28th at 7:30 at the scout house had to be postponed.
• On May 11, a spring cleaning was held to organize, mark and inventory the troop equipment in preparation for the May 17/18 hikes. As a result of this work, we have an ample supply of complete and serviceable tents.

Committee Chairman Report

• All but one subcommittee chair position has been named. We are still looking for a "Ceremonies" subcommittee chair.
• Subcommittee chairs should be seeking out their subcommittee members and developing a draft subcommittee role and purpose document. All subcommittee chairs should be ready to report on their subcommittee plans/actions at each Committee meeting.

Scoutmaster Reports

• The scoutmasters reported success with scouts making announcements in lieu of adults when possible. It was pointed out that we do need to focus on better preparation and enforcement of quiet during the meetings.

Subcommittee Reports

• Backpacking Subcommittee - The plans and attendees for the Longterm hikes are being finalized. Remember that three training hikes are required to participate on a Longterm hike (two hikes if a previous participant).
• Merit Badge Subcommittee - A letter was sent to the Troop adults soliciting for merit badge counselors. We are striving to develop an active and dynamic merit badge program.

Other Discussion Items

• The recent Eagle Scouts of the Troop were honored at the June City Council meeting.
• Because the school calendar did not have a suitable three day weekend in September/October the canoe trip was dropped from the calender.
• Reservations were made for the Fall Rock Climbing hike at Joshua Tree.
• It was pointed out that a number of scouts and adults have signed up for activities but have not removed their names when their plans have changed. Please call the hike leader or strike out your name from the sign-up sheet if your plans change as a courtesy to the people who plan and coordinate the events.
• We are encouraging all parents and scouts to sign-up for our broadcast system at announce@troop849.org. We need to use this system to communicate more thoroughly and completely because of the size of the troop. If you are not on the list, please sign up by going to www.troop849.org/homeMailingList.html.
• 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, July 11th, 2002, at The School Hall, at American Martyrs School at 7:30 PM. (note that it is the second Thursday because of the 4th).

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